NaNoWriMo 2019

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month where armature, professional, and hobbyist writers from all over the world attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Since I was in High School, writing a book has always been on my bucket list. I wanted a career as a writer and danced between writing and going into electronics. At the time, electronics engineering was more of a logical choice, but writing was always on the back of my mind. Since leaving one crappy job for another "crappy" job, I thought I made the wrong choice many years ago.

Getting back into writing has been really good for me, both physically and mentally. It allows me to free up my mind and become less stressed. Between working with Optavia as a weight loss coach, and writing, I have lost about 50 pounds, and have never been this stress free in my life. Though I am not making the money I used to when I was working as a Field Service Engineer, I am not worried about it. The sum of a man's life is not based on riches. I am a rich man because I am a Christian child of God, I have a great understanding wife, and good health with my wife never seeing me this thin.

So you're probably wondering what my book is about. Well, I am calling it Parallel Lines, a memoir of my first year and a half as a newly married new Christian. When I got married my wife and I were not Christians. The Pastor who we wanted to marry us said that he couldn't because after taking a personality test, our graphs never intersected on anything. It was if we were two parallel lines going in opposite directions. So, when the Lord found me, and I became a believer, that pretty much sealed the coffin of my marriage. But through the things God led me through, and using my new Pastor, his wife, and Christian friends, we were able to come to the other side beat up, but alive. I am writing this memoir to give hope to believers married to unbelievers and maybe some of the good guidance I received along the way.

So this is the reason why you haven't seen me in a while. I'll try to post some more things, but in the meantime pray that I can see the other side and this work of art published. Also I will be writing another article for the Gideon's International Magazine, which is exciting.

Joyful Inconvenience

We go through life being inconvenienced for many different reasons. Whether at the store when they don't have our favorite ice cream. We are inconvenienced when we are stuck in traffic trying to get home to our wives who have an amazing night planned. And, we are inconvenienced when we break down on the side of the road and are late for an important event and can't do anything about it. No matter what, when things go awry and not the way we planned, for the worse and not the better, we are not happy, and deserve better. Or do we?

For the past 3 weeks I have been in Georgia away from home training for my new job. Away from my wife, listening to lectures, watching films, taking tests, and working with people my personality is not compatible with to then come back to the hotel, grab a meal, and go to bed to wake up hours later and do it all over again. For 3 weeks. I was ready to come home. Guess what? Didn't happen. Got to the airport and my flight was delayed. Then delayed some more to the point where I missed my connecting flight. With no flights available, I am stuck in an Atlanta Ramada Plaza that looks like it hasn't been updated since it was built in the late 1970's. Not to mention that they gave me meal tickets to use at the hotel that hasn't had a working kitchen since Ronald Reagan was President of the United States. I'm not happy, or joyful, and yes, feeling put out. 

So where does the joy come in? It comes in Jesus Christ. That no matter what situation I am in, I can use it for Christ's glory.

People ask me often why I am so patient and that in really sticky situations I let things (for the most part) roll off my back like water on a duck. Not always the case trust me. My friends know me better. But for the average person I'm pretty patient. How did it happen? The Lord for one. Of course, but also there are some things I do to help me through a situation, like I'm having right now.

Heartbeat?

Next time you're having a crappy day, and things are just not going your way. No matter what you do, it's just not working out, do this. Take your right index and middle finger, put them together, and put them up to your neck and feel your heartbeat. Is it beating? Then you're doing pretty good. Seriously. When I get really messed up, depressed, sad, angry, put out, I just feel my heartbeat and say, "Yup, still beating. Praise the Lord. Doing good today." Now this may not work for everyone and I would never belittle any condition people may have like chronic pain, disease, cancer...etc...etc. I've met people who would be thankful their heartbeat wasn't there. But for most of us, the average person, that heartbeat is the only thing keeping you from sudden death. I mean think about it. You have a pump in your chest that never needs maintenance, lubrication, oil, repair, or primed and pumps at least if not over 100,800 times a day, every day, without stopping. How can you think about that for a few minutes and not praise God for what you have?

Look Up.

Many times when I've been down or anxious, I go outside on a nice clear night away from city lights, and look up at the stars and think to myself, "I am a very insignificant part of this entire universe that God created for His glory." Depressing? No. Because I am traveling 67,000 miles per hour on a rock that is spinning at 1,000 miles per hour, the sun that heats the earth enough to grow plants, lets us see, create solar energy, among hundreds of other thing but not too close that we burst into flames or far enough that we turn into Popsicles and freeze to death. Every morning I know the sun will rise and at night I know the sun will set, and there is nothing I can do about it. You know what? It's cool with me. I can't control what goes on in space, but God is in control. He's way better at it than I would be. Read Job 39-42 and prepare to be amazed at God's glory and His control on our lives. 

Look Out. 

Now when I say "look out" it's not a warning, but a comfort. Every once in a while I will put my face up against the bathroom mirror, close one eye, and stare at my eyeball. I'll study it, check out every line and detail. The colors, the shapes, size, and just say to myself, "wow, God created that, and that is just one small piece of me." Blows my mind every time. He took care to make that, among many other parts. Designed and engineered for His glory. I am His special creation. What is He going to do with me today?

God's Plan Usually Isn't My Own

Here is my point. I am a part of the entire creation. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, created in God's image for His glory. God is the potter, and I am the clay. Formed with a purpose and function with love. Since He created me, He can do whatever He wishes in my life. Do we really have free will? What if I made a pencil from scratch. Does my pencil have free will to write whatever it wants?  Do I own the pencil? Can I write anything I want with the pencil? What if I snapped the pencil in half and threw it away? Can I do that? Do I have that right, or does that make me a mean person? So if I am God's creation, made with a purpose and function, does that give me the right to do whatever I wanted? Nope. Does it give God the right to do whatever He wanted with me? Yup. 

So I think about this and wonder, "what if I am here in this Hotel for a reason other than missing my flight?" What if this was God's will I was here? Here's what happened to me today. For the past three weeks I've been reading a book my John Piper called, When I Don't Desire God, How to Fight For Joy. So I had it in my hands when I checked in and the guy who was working the counter saw the book and commented on it. I told him what the book was about and he took a picture of it and said he needed to read it. He's been a joyless Christian for months and has been praying for a revival in his heart feeling bad that he doesn't have a desire for God much lately. What if I was meant to talk with him and encourage him, and give him a Gideon New Testament to put a smile on his face (which I did). God has plans for us that we don't know. A man plans his ways, but God directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). 

Better Than I Deserve

Years ago I had the privilege to know a man at church named Ken Hunt. I never really talked with him until one day he overheard me telling someone about a problem in my basement and he offered to help. After helping me with the basement we ate dinner my wife cooked and chatted about things to get to know each other. One thing about Ken is that when you asked him, "How you doing?" he always answered, "better than I deserve." One day I asked him about it and  was curious what he meant. He just answered something like, "No matter what we get in this life, it is better than what we deserve, and that's hell." That was a key moment to my thinking as a Christian, that no matter what I receive in this life, it will be far better than anything I deserve in the next. Thank God (literally) that He sent His Son to willfully pay my fine with His life blood on the cross so I can have that better life. This helps me have a thankful heart as much as I can. 

So, tonight I will be sleeping in my clothes with the light on, but thank God I have a roof over my head and a lock on my door. I'm not going to get much sleep, but thank the Lord He will allow me to get up another day and breathe His air. 

I have a heartbeat. Life is good, and no matter what, it's better than I deserve. 

I Want A Principle Within - by Charles Wesley

1. I want a principle within of watchful, godly fear, a sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near. I want the first approach to feel of pride or wrong desire, to catch the wandering of my will, and quench the kindling fire. 2. From thee that I no more may stray, no more thy goodness grieve, grant me the filial awe, I pray, the tender conscience give. Quick as the apple of an eye, O God, my conscience make; awake my soul when sin is nigh, and keep it still awake. 3. Almighty God of truth and love, to me thy power impart; the mountain from my soul remove, the hardness from my heart. O may the least omission pain my reawakened soul, and drive me to that blood again, which makes the wounded whole.

What Does God Want From Me? Obedience

You ever have one of those bible studies where the Lord has been working in each of you throughout the week and then when you get together you all have had the same thoughts? Not only that but then each of you talk about what the Lord has been pressing on your heart and then gives you even more ideas on what you had been thinking about? This happened recently to our regular weekly fellowship with some friends after dinner.

I have been thinking about obedience all week long, especially since I had lost my job in November. Between posts like Airport Dreams and Visions, and recently, Make Me!, my prayer for myself has been, "I just want to do [for work] what the Lord wants me to do." What does that look like? Well, I know that I don't want my job to come between men and the Lord, my wife, or my purpose in life. I don't want to work weekends so that I can be free to do ministry with my church, and I can have a day of rest. I don't want to work nights because let's face it, bad things happen at night. Not to mention that the body was designed to sleep at night. And I don't want to travel long distances or stay overnights because I have a wife that I worry about and also a Precept Inductive Bible Study that I teach at 7pm. My previous job was getting in the way of some things and I just know the Lord has something better for me. I have to be open to what He wants me to do. Even if it means changing careers at 43 years old. 

Another person in our group, who came from a legalistic background, also has been thinking about the difference between obedience and sacrifice. He asked the questions, "What does obedience look like and what is the difference between obedience and sacrifice?"  "Does God help those who help themselves?" One section of verses that I was reminded of throughout the week was the destruction of Jericho in Joshua 6. 

First, it was the Lord's work and we are to just be a part of it. God said to Joshua, "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor." (Joshua 6:2). We must realize that it is God's work and fight. He has done all the hard work and we are to just reap the blessings. 

Second, God gave them specific instruction on what to do (Joshua 6:3-5). 

1. Men of valor march around the city once a day for six days with seven priests bearing ram's horns before the ark.  
2.  The seventh day march around the city seven times. The priests shall blow the trumpets, the people will shout, and the wall will fall, and you will take the city. 

Third, they obeyed the Lord and did what they were told (Joshua 6:6-20). And the result of their obedience? Blessing and a fulfillment of the promise God gave them. This could have only come from obeying the Lord. 

Now, let's think about this in laymen's terms. God told them to march around a city a bunch of times, blow some horns, and yell at a wall, and then the wall will fall, and then after you walked around a city all day, you are supposed to have enough strength to fight and wipe out all people inside with the exception of Rahab and her family? Makes alot of sense, right? But here's the thing...you mean to tell me that the blowing of ram's horns or their shouts had anything to do with the wall falling? Did God need Israel to shout at a wall to make it fall? No. I can think of about 20 ways off the top of my head to make a wall fall, and shouting at it is not one of them. What did the Lord want from them? Their obedience. What does God want from us? Our obedience. 2 Samuel 15:22-23 states, "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And the stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD..." The difference between obedience and sacrifice is that obedience is what we do that God commands us to do. Sacrifice is what we do for God that we want to do. Obedience, God chooses what we do. Sacrifice, we choose what we do. 

Sometimes the Lord will tell you to do something. Sometimes it will sound absolutely ridiculous, like walking around a city and shouting at a wall. God doesn't need us to accomplish anything He wants to do. He doesn't need me to witness to people to save them. He doesn't need me to give to my church to keep the lights on and the doors open. He doesn't need me to fast and pray for people to overcome major adversity in their lives. But when we do what He says, blessings will come. And if you don't, there will be consequences, like in the next story of the battle of Ai (Joshua 7). There are no shortcuts with God. We are to do what He wants, His way; Quickly, thoroughly, and cheerfully. 

So where does that leave me today? No matter what the Lord wants for me I need to be open, obedient, and willing to do whatever. Even if it means doing something I think is really stupid, insignificant, or crazy. It may mean switching careers, moving, doing ministry full time, or whatever. But with anything I ask prayer for guidance and clarity. In my next blog post I will talk about another thing God wants from me...my love. For Him and others. Thanks for reading. 

Make Me!

Yesterday morning I started to pray and I asked God to help me be the man He wants me to be. I asked Him to guide me, and to help me be a good example of a Christian man not only when others are around, but especially when I am alone in my thoughts and on the computer. Then it hit me, "When did God ever say in His word that He would help me in character and integrity?" So I started to ponder this and turns out in my unprompted bible study that when it comes to the character of man, people asked for help, but most of the time the prayer was, "Lord make me..."

Psalms

Many places in the Psalms when David is crying out to God he asked the Lord to make him the man He wants him to be. 

"Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths." (Psalm 25:4)

"Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am." (Psalm 39:4)

"[Lord] Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish." (Psalm 39:8).

"Behold You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom." (Psalm 51:6)

"Make me understand the way of Your precepts, so I will meditate on Your wonders." (Psalm 119:27)

"Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." (Psalm 119:35).

Job

Even Job, who suffered greatly at the hand of Satan in which God allowed honestly asked the Lord..."How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin." (Job 13:23). 

Habakkuk

In Habakkuk's hymn of faith, the last verse in his book states, "The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills" (Habakkuk 3:19). 

New Testament

Even in the New Testament, "make me" in one form or another is used many times. 

Jesus said to His disciples, "Follow Me and I will make you fisher's of men." (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17). All the disciples had to do was follow Jesus, and Jesus would make them fishers of men. 

The leper's statement to Jesus was, "If You will, You can make me clean." (Matthew 8:2; Mark 1:40; Luke 5:12). How can a leper heal himself apart from Christ? He cannot. It takes an act of God to cleanse the rotting flesh. So does He cleanse the hearts of sinful men like me. 

 In Luke 15, in the parable of the prodigal son, the father portrays God the Father. Here, when the son returns home he asks the father, "I am not worthy to be called your son, but make me like one of your servants."  (Luke 15:19). 

Now What?

Here is the point to this. When we ask the Lord to help us do a thing, or help us in character, we are saying to Him, "Lord, please fill in the gaps that I cannot fill or that I have missed." In essence, we say to Him, I can do most of it, but need your help to do what I cannot. My aunt said to me the other day, "The Lord helps those who help themselves." But I was quick to point out that verse is nowhere in the bible. When it comes to the character of man, miracles, and especially salvation, there is nothing a person can do to help themselves.Why? Because God is sovereign, good, and powerful and man is dead to sin, flawed, and helpless. God, who also has given all authority to His Son, has the authority, the power, and the will to make us vessels of honor or dishonor. So the next time you pray for good character, integrity, and sanctification...I suggest praying to God to make you the man or woman He wants you to be.

Horse Story

This amazing piece was sent in by one of my readers. 

"I had this experience yesterday and your rat blog inspired me to write it down. 

While I have worked with or around various animals, the horse has always seemed uniquely special.  Yesterday, as I was getting ready to ride, I paused as I stood next to one whose back I couldn’t even see over.  I stopped, lay my hand on his smooth side, and breathed in the stillness.  Peace washed over me as a spring rain clears away fall’s dead leaves.  I gently pushed on him and he respectfully stepped away from me.  He towers over me, could kill me if he wanted to, and yet was a mountain that moved quietly away from me.  His eye turned to mine with the long lashes slowly blinking and with just a look, asked what else I wanted.  Remembering time, I resumed grooming him, saddled, and rode away from the barn. 

We’ve been together six months now.  When we first started, there were lots of disagreements about which direction to go, how fast to go, when to go home, and his back must have been sore as I was returning to riding and had lost all my muscle tone from years previous.  But today we were a new creature together.  I sat atop and yet flowed with his every movement and motion.  We had no arguments and enjoyed the journey together.  Somewhere around the curve of the river, I realized through layers of cloth and leather that I was feeling his every muscle contract and expand and could tell exactly what his footfalls were.  No sight, simply feeling, and yet more than feeling because I could tell what the next move would be and we made it together.  I was thunderstruck with the spirituality of the moment: to be two and yet work as one to the joy of each.

In that heartbeat, I knew that’s how it can be with God.  He in us and we in Him.  The horse and I place trust in each other, get out on the trail, and through time and trials, connect with each other.  An experience is born that neither of us could have without the other.  I place my trust in God and in turn He entrusts Himself in me.  He is glorified and I receive a fullness I never could have otherwise.  The longer the horse and I work together, the more responsive to each other we become.  He obeys my direction on the faintest of cues and I no longer jar against his movement.  How the horse and I combined reflect what the Father wants to do with me!  To get on His narrow path no matter how hot or exhausting the day, to yield to His directions, to no longer chaff against the propelling forward is to arrive at destinations I never would have otherwise and see the wonders of His nature I never would have otherwise.

When horse and man unite it is an experience that can only be understood by those who have likewise done so.  When God and man unite it is also only an experience that can be understood only by those who have done so.  But the sacred scrolls are full of the histories of those who gone before us and they are waving us forward, even warning us to get up and go.  May I read the warnings are change course and may I hear the encouragements and charge forward."

The Gospel According To Buzzfeed.

So this is the gospel according to Buzzfeed. Watch the video and read the transcript below for added effect.

I'm a Christian but...

1. I'm not homophobic
2. I'm not perfect
3. I'm not closed-minded
4. I'm not unaccepting. 
5. I'm not uneducated
6. I'm not judgmental
7. I'm not conservative
8. I'm not ignorant
9. I don't place myself on a pedestal. 
10. I don't have all the answers. 

But what are you?

1. But I am accepting. 
2. But I am queer. 
3. But I am gay. 
4. But I am a feminist. 
5. I am a feminist. 
6. I am definitely a feminist. 
7. But I do believe in science. In fact I think that science makes god really cool. 
8. But I'm not afraid to talk about sex. 
9. But I'll love me some Beyonce [whatever that means]. 
10. But I love wine. 
11. I do believe in monogamy before sex, but will give sex advice. 
12. But I do go to church on Sundays. 
13. I was a young life camp Councillor. 
14. I do listen to Christian music. Christian rock, rap, T-Mac, all the cool kids.  
15. I have friends from all walks of life from different religions. And I love them all. 

What Do You Want People To Know About Christianity?

1. We're all kind of not crazy. 
2. We shouldn't be judged on just the people you see in the media or the people you meet in your everyday life. 
3. Every Christian is different and we deserve the chance to explain ourselves. 
4. Alot of people think that Christianity ruins people, but to me I think it is people that is ruining Christianity. You never really see the good that happens, you only see the hypocrites and the people who put themselves on a higher pedestal. 
5. That at it's core, it is really about love and acceptance, and being a good neighbor. 
6. Just because we prescribe to a faith that has some terrible people in it, doesn't make all of us terrible. 

I wrote the transcript out because I wanted you, the reader, to see with your own eyes what is important to these "Christians". If we were to do a Precept Inductive Bible Study and pick out the key words of this transcript, what do you think we would find? Would I be wrong to say that it is the words "I, I'm, We, Us"? See, the problem with American Christianity is that it is all about me. Its about me, myself, and I. Its about my feelings, my beliefs, my lifestyle, my wine, and my music. That's not what Jesus taught. Its about God and others. He said in Mark 12:28-31 that we are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Not only that, but how do these people define themselves? Not just as Christians, but as open-minded Christians, gay Christians, queer Christians, educated, and not ignorant Christians. And they really want to be called Feminist Christians for some reason. Do you notice these words that come before Christian? These are what they really align themselves with. This is their true identity. And not Conservative? What does that mean? Does it mean that they voted for a political party that agrees with the murder of innocent babies through Planned Parenthood? Does this mean that you are a card-carrying member of the ACLU or Equal Rights Organizations? This video teaches me nothing about Christianity. It is just a video promoting the homosexual / feminist agenda.  

And when asked what Christianity is all about?  Well, its about love, acceptance, and not being judgy or crazy like those who do nutty things like share the gospel or talk about Jesus and go to bible studies [emphasis mine]. But as stated by the Gospel According to Buzzfeed it's not about Jesus or the Holy Spirit. What about holiness, righteousness, forgiveness, and repentance which is turning from sin. What about dying to self, putting off the old man and putting on the new? You talk about loving others, but how about loving your neighbor as yourself (now that's a kooky crazy idea huh)? What about acts like fasting and prayer; bible study and doing good for others so that God gets the glory. 

But the crazy thing this video points out is that they are not those Christians who are terrible people who are hypocritical and put themselves on a higher pedestal...right? Guess what? Its the epitome of being hypocritical when you are a practicing, unrepentant homosexual and pretending to be a Christian when the bible (the book you are supposed to rest your faith in and believe totally) condemns such actions like sodomy and sexual acts with the same sex (Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  Here's a thought Gay "Christian"...how about removing the hypocritical beam out of your own eye (Matthew 7:3-5) before you start calling me names. So a note to you hypocritical homosexual "Christians"...quit calling yourselves Christians and making the rest of us look bad. 

If I were to do a video, I would answer the questions like this...

I'm A Christian and...

1. Love the Lord and love others. 
2. Love bible study, prayer, and experiencing God's faithfulness every day. 
3. Love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength the best I can and when I fail I am not condemned because He saved me not by my works, but by His grace and mercy. 
4. I don't have to give, go to church, talk to at least one person a day about Jesus; but I get to give, go to church, and share Jesus with others. I enjoy it. 
5. I have a peace and a joy in my heart and the faith that I will be with my Father in Heaven. Not by what I have done, but what Jesus has done on the cross for me personally to erase my sins. 
6. I'm not controlled by my flesh, this world, or the devil, but by the Holy Spirit living inside of me. 
7. I make mistakes like everyone else and I'm not condemned by them but move on and try again. I stumble in my sin, but not dive into it. 
8. I'm a husband, son, brother, and friend. I babysit and can even change diapers. I'm also an electronics technician, educated, and teach Precept Inductive Bible Study. 
9. I enjoy watching sports, love to read, and exercise almost daily. And yes, I like ice cream. Especially Rita's Italian Ice. My ideal place to hang out is a quiet coffee shop with my Kindle. 
10. And I enjoy an occasional beer or glass of wine but don't need it to fulfill my life. 

What Are You?

1. Born again. 
2. Forgiven. 
3. Redeemed. 
4. Child of God. 
5. Sanctified and set apart. 
6. A work in progress.

What Do You Want People to Know About Christianity. 

1. It's life changing and exciting. If you are bored you are doing it wrong. 
2. Since I love Jesus and He lives in my heart, I love to talk about Him and introduce Him to people who do not know the Lord. It's the same as if you are pregnant and cannot but help to talk about the life that is inside of you and how excited you are. 
3. We are not better, just better off. 

Of course there is so much more to say but I don't want to make this post too long. Here are some helpful articles that explain what it means to be a Christian. 

What does it mean to be a REAL Christian?
What does it mean to be a Christian?
What is a Christian?

Nancy's Chosen Rats

This is Nancy. She is one of three kids that I occasionally babysit. Recently she wanted to show me her new pet rats who she named Tippy and Topper. Awww...ain't they cute? She bought a large cage with her own money and made it very comfortable for them.They have lots of toys and she takes great care of them. She loves them and as you can see they love her too.

But looking at these rats you can't tell that they are not just any ordinary rats. They are feeder rats. Feeder rats are rats that are specifically bred to be fed alive to snakes and other large reptiles for food. That is their relatively short life, with one purpose in being born...to be killed to feed other animals. Sounds like a terrible existence doesn't it? But Nancy, out of 100 breeder rats, saved these two, to live with her for the rest of their natural little rat lives in joy, peace, and free from harm. There was nothing special about these two, just that she chose them. That's so nice of Nancy. She's a sweet girl, isn't she?

Now we look at this story and think, "Wow, Nancy saved those two from certain death.  Man, she is really nice to take them with her, and how blessed those rats must be to live with her." And that is true, they are blessed. So then why didn't we get all bent out of shape about the other 98 that she didn't save, who are going to die by snakes and vipers? What about their lives? Why didn't Nancy save the rest of them? Why didn't any of you show utter disgust towards Nancy for letting the other rats die? She must be mean and cruel, right? I can't believe she would do that!

But you know...that's what most of you say about God when it comes to the doctrine of election and predestination, and how God predestines and chooses some, but not all people to be saved. How come its ok for little Nancy to do it, but when it comes to God, who Christians say is sovereign over all and created all things, they just loose their minds?  I hate to break it to you folks, but God IS sovereign over ALL THINGS, which INCLUDES US!

Years ago when I became a Christian I thought it was all my choice, I really did. It wasn't till I studied Romans inductively through Precept Ministries International that I began to have second thoughts. Verses like Romans 8:28-30 in that those who are called, predestined, are those who are justified and glorified. Those who are justified and glorified are believers. Also verses like Romans 9:10-13 where God calls Jacob and not Esau according to God's purpose and no one else. Notice too that He called Jacob not according to his works or anything that he had done, because He called him when he wasn't even born. He had done neither good nor evil. God just called Jacob according to HIS OWN WILL. It is not because I was so great or good that God saved me, or that I wanted to be saved so bad that I beg and plead and He couldn't take it anymore and He saved me. (Romans 9:16). It is not about us. God is not unrighteous. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and will have compassion on whom He will have compassion (Romans 9:14-16).

I claim not to have all the answers, and actually I can't say that I fully understand it. But what it boils down to is that first and foremost, we are His creation, and he can do whatever He wills with our lives. Our free will does not trump God's. If that were the case, God was in the wrong for trumping Jonah's free will, along with Soddom and Gamorah, everyone who (with the exception of the eight members of Noah's family) was killed by the flood, and the list goes on.

As I read Romans 9, I was blown away at the fact that God did not have to save me, but chose to. Not on the basis of anything I had done, or any redeeming qualities I had, but on His mercy and compassion towards me. Like Nancy's rats, it just makes me love Him even more, and gives Him glory. I never complain about why He doesn't save everyone, but I'm just in awe that he saved me.

Is "The Sinner's Prayer"...a Prayer?

Ever since I got saved I have had the desire to share my faith and learn the bible inductively.  Within the past few years I have gotten into a teaching role and sharing with believers what I learned through the years in witnessing and studying God's word inductively.  With that being said I am always running into unbiblical views that run through the church.  If you know me or have gone out with me witnessing, there is one thing that absolutely makes my skin crawl, and that is when newbies use "The Sinner's Prayer" method in making converts to Christianity. 

Now I am not talking about a genuine, honest prayer that a repentant sinner prays in his own words to ask a Holy Just God to save them from their sins and ask for mercy. "The Sinner's Prayer" I am talking about is an unbiblical teaching that was created during the 1950's by Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ and author of Share Jesus Without Fear.  This concept in which a person could repeat a prayer by a person leading them and that the person repeating would be saved.  This is also called in some circles, "Decisional Regeneration."  No one, and I mean no one is saved because they prayed a prayer.  It is not reciting the words or a phrase that saves anyone.  We are saved by grace through faith and it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Let's put it this way, if a person has to repeat a prayer to get saved, it shows several things.

The Person Does Not Understand The Gospel

If the person has no clue what to pray or why they are even praying in the first place, chances are they do not understand what the gospel is.  One time I asked a person what they thought the gospel was, and they told me it was a type of Christian music.  That may be true, but it's like the difference between an elephant trunk and a car trunk. Both are trunks, but different types. Instead of using the "Sinner's Prayer", explain the gospel to the person you are witnessing to and make sure they understand it. When we pray we need to pray with understanding (1 Corinthians 14:15). Qualify them and ask them questions to see if they know what they are doing.

They May Not Understand What Repentance Is or the Need For It

One time I was witnessing with a newbie and he asked the person he was sharing with, "Are you a sinner?  Do you need forgiveness?" and the person said he was a good person and didn't need to be forgiven for anything.  So my witnessing partner said, "Ok, well if you repeat this prayer after me you can be forgiven and be right with God." and the person agreed.  Hold the phone Henrietta!  This person just said he did not need forgiveness and does not understand the seriousness of his sin and how it affects his standing with a Holy and just God. 

It Gives The Person Praying a False Sense of Security When He May Not Really Have It.

If the well-intentioned evangelist after praying the prayer with the person and says to him, "Well congratulations, you are now a child of God.  Welcome to the family brother/sister Christian." and the person goes away thinking he is ok, when he may not be. That person then thinks they have "fire insurance" or a "get-out-of-hell-free card" and that is all Jesus is to them. They go on sinning and their lives do not change because they think they are ok.

The problem with this is that it's not our job to assure the sinner of forgiveness, but the Holy Spirit. According to Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit is given by God as the promise or IOU note that they are saved and will receive the promises of heaven. To be honest...sometimes I have a hard time telling who is saved and who is not. I have experienced many times that people who have gone witnessing with me over the years, hard core fearless laborers, just walk away from the faith and say they love something else more than Jesus. That is frightening to me. It doesn't mean that they lost their salvation...but rather they didn't have it to begin with (1 John 2:19).

Do Not Be Deceived!

The reality is that not everyone who calls himself a Christian really is (Matthew 7:21). That's a sobering thought. But one that we need to consider. People claim to be many things in this world. They claim to be a good person (Psalm 14; 53); claim to love God (1 John 4:20); they claim to know God (1 John 4), and so on.  Most of the time it's not that we are playing the hypocrite or pretending to be a Christian when we are not. It's that we are deceived in thinking we genuinely are when we are really not. The bible warns us "not to be deceived" many times (1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 1:6, Galatians 6:7; James 1:16), but to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (Lamentations 3:40; 1 Corinthians 11:28; and 2 Corinthians 13:5). 

So let us continually examine our hearts and always be in prayer diligently searching the scriptures to see what God expects of us, and how we can draw closer to Him each and every day.  In an upcoming blog post I will share some scriptures and help you understand what it means to be in the faith to see if you truly are a child of God. 

You're A Loser!

I remember being called that a few times while sharing the gospel.  Most of the time it was while I was open-air-preaching downtown at the Des Moines Farmers Market.  I can still hear the disdain in the young man's voice and the laughter of his friends around him.  There was even those moments when I actually believed what they were yelling and said to myself, "What am I doing?  Is this even making any difference?"   The other day I saw this quote by Martin Luther and it really struck me. 

 "The righteous man always resembles more a loser than a victor, for the Lord lets him be tested and assailed to his utmost limits as gold is tested in a furnace."  

Martin Luther. 

I think about some of the conversations I have with friends in the mission field and how they feel like losers. Many of them gave up good paying jobs.  Some move thousands of miles away to live in third-world countries to minister to people who are eating dirt on the bottom of the totem pole.  Or those who have jobs in ministry, serving local ministries to teach other welfare cases like themselves about Christ.  Others who don't have hobbies or play sports but thrive on studying and teaching God's word and serving others who can't give back, and those who do give back, give them grief, steal from them, and stab them in the back. Or those who instead of baiting a hook and fishing for actual fish, fish for men with gospel tracts out on the street and look like fools in the eyes of the world.  Talking with these men and how disheartening it must be to give all you can and then at the end of the day, month, year look back and see what looks like a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" with not one piece of fruit on it.    

But giving up is not an option.  For to them and to me the bible is full of those who by quick glance are perceived as losers, but are actually winners. Men like John the Baptist, who lived in a tent eating bugs and whose only comfort was itchy clothes of camel skin coat (Matthew 3:4), but to God there was no greater prophet than him (Luke 7:28). Or Moses, who was abandoned by his mother (Exodus 2:1-4) and stuttered (Exodus 4:10), only to answer the call of God lead His people out of the bondage of Egypt (Exodus 3:1-10) (Exodus 14:30-31).  Or Paul [Saul], who had everything going for him as a Pharisee in training (Philippians 3:4-6) only to give it all up for Christ who is way better (Philippians 3:7-11).  Or Jesus, who was born among dirty animals in less than a barn(Luke 2:6-7).  Yet, He was God in the flesh and savior of the world. 

No one wants to be called a loser.  No one strives to become one.  It's not the end game for any of us.  It's not part of our plan.  The plan though is that if you are a Christian, a child of God, God will use all things together for good to those who love Him  and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  He uses the weak, the dumb, and not so talented (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).  God puts the last first, and the first last (Matthew 20:16).

This gives me great comfort knowing that no matter what I do, or who I am, it will not be in vain.  Not only that, but why do those go to great lengths to help others?  Because of their love for God, and their love for man.  It's the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

Book Review: FINALLY FREE - Fighting For Purity With The Power of Grace by Heath Lambert

In the realm of battling pornography addiction, there is not alot of help in this area.  We have in recent years
just begun to touch the tip of the iceberg of what causes this addiction, and what it does to the human body physically and psychologically.  Websites have surfaced like Covenant Eyes Accountability Software to help in this battle.  Internet blocking has only started in the past few years to help with this, and even web servers are starting to block porn at the ISP level.

But pornography has increased in a dramatic rate, and has overtaken and saturated the culture. Porn has gone from pictures, to movies, to VCR cassettes, to DVD's, and now has saturated the web and is available free on phones and other portable devices to access from anywhere at any time.  It has become a multi-billion dollar industry that is only getting bigger and its destruction is felt world-wide.

I recently bought a book on my Kindle called Finally Free - Fighting For Purity With The Power of Grace by Heath Lambert because of my own battles with porn and wanting to win this war over my soul.  I have purchased other books in years past like Every Man's Battle by Arteburn & Stoeker as well as the book/DVD combination Freedom Begins Here by Pat Springle forwarded by Gary Smalley.  I have even viewed websites and YouTube videos on the topic, but they only left me angry, bitter against myself, hopeless, and have even fueled my lust even more with the images and graphic detail I don't need.  

But Finally Free was different than any other book I have read or even known about in the topic of porn.  What's the difference?  All other books, videos, web content focused on the action rather than the cause, whereas Finally Free focused on the cause in why we look at porn, and tools to help prevent lustful thoughts from overtaking us.  They are guilt motivated or needs based rather than gospel oriented and practical to our lives and gives us a new pattern of living.  All other websites and books seemed to make it worse by fueling my lust in graphic, sexual detail.This book even has useful, practical strategies that we need in our daily life.  Not just feeling bad about it in the aftermath, but preparing our hearts way before we even think about looking at porn.  It's not enduring the moment when you look at porn, but taking the steps to rebuilding and fortifying the walls of our heart so that we don't have to even endure the enemy face to face.

Grace empowers obedience.  Grace is not only God's unmerited favor, but it's also God's power to us and is used in every tool that this book uncovers.  Grace is the thread in which sews the individual parts of a coat of overcoming porn.  Those individual tools are:

• Gratitude - Greed and selfishness feeds porn.  It's what drives sin in the hearts of man.  Porn is only consumed by thankless people.  To battle porn we need to grow in the attitude of gratitude and thankfulness.  If your married, grown in the thankfulness of your spouse.  What are the ministries and responsibilities that God has given you?  Be thankful for them and the jobs that the Lord has asked you to do. What has the Lord done for you?  Meditate on these and be thankful.  Thankfulness and gratitude results in gladness and joy.  
• Relationship with Jesus - Abide in Jesus.  Yearn to be like Him, not just pray to Him to end your porn addiction.  Praying to God to end your addiction is like the crowds praying for bread in John 6.  Instead, Heath tells us to pray to Jesus to be more like Him, to draw close to Him, and to spend time with Him, and the rest will follow. 
• Sorrow - 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 says there are two types of sorrow...one that leads to obedience, and one that doesn't have any lasting change.  Not all sorrow is created equal.  Worldly sorrow is only concerned about keeping the objects of selfish desire, while Godly sorrow is pained over a break in the relationship with God.  It's heartbroken about hurting or offending a just and holy God and grieving the Holy Spirit.  
• Confession - Not only confessing your sin to God, but to others.  But even more importantly who we are to confess to, and how.  You are not to confess to just anyone, and this book gives a great plan on how to do that because you could make matters worse and hurt more people with your sin.  
• Humility - Only arrogant men and women look at porn...period.  Men look at porn out of an arrogant desire to see women in a way that God does not allow.  Considering salvation (what God has done in your life and saving you from your sin), sin (the depth of your sin that God has forgiven), and service (how you use your time).
• Accountability - Getting an accountability partner and how to appropriately choose an accountability partner is extremely important.  Heath does an amazing job in doing that and helping us choose a person that will help us rather than keeping us in a place of sin and hurting the person we chose to be our accountability partner.  Not only this, but he gives help to the accountability partner to show him/her, what their roles are and what is their job description as an accountability partner is.  
• Radical Measures - How to take radical measures and get serious about dealing with our sin as a whole and not just in porn.  Repenting immediately, remembering scripture, and reaching out for help are very important in this battle.  Heath also goes into great detail about taking radical measures in the use of our time, and cutting off access to pornography which could radically change our lives and can be extremely important in helping us become porn free.  
• Your Spouse (if you have one) - Not as a police officer in the "Porn Police", but as an encourager.  Never ever use your spouse as an accountability partner.  You need someone as the same sex.  You cannot be a wife and be a private investigator in your husband's porn issue.  

If you haven't caught on though, this book is written to Christians.  Why?  Because only by faith in Jesus Christ and the power that comes through the relationship with Him can you have victory in this area.  Grace and mercy are given to those who are children of God and the only way to be a child of God is to be repent of your sins and trust in Christ Jesus the spotless lamb and sacrifice for your soul.  If you would like to know more about how to be right with God, please CONTACT ME.  It's not a hidden that porn is a problem not only in the world, but also the church.  We struggle with issues like this too.  But it's a struggle.  Sheep get dirty and once in a while we need a bath.  This book helps with that.  

Heath Lambert is not only very knowledgeable in this area, but just helps realize the power in us through the Holy Spirit to life a life of purity in the eyes of the Lord.  This book can be given to teens as well as adults. I believe this book could be given to sons and daughters as well as teens in your Youth Groups at church.  Its written clearly, respectfully, and clean with no cause for embarrassment.  If you have a problem with pornography, and want out, have tried many other ways to be free from porn, and just want to live in the grace God offers, I highly recommend this book.  

Here is an interview with Heath Lambert by Covenant Eyes TV about his book Finally Free.  

Repent, Lest Anything Worse Happen To You.

Ever since I was a kid I and went to a Chuck E. Cheese I had a fascination with video games.  I loved video games.  I remember going to the arcades down the Jersey Shore and I would spend hours inserting quarters and trying to get high score.  Games like, Choplifter, Spy Hunter, and Star Wars Tie Fighter were some of my favorites (I guess I just dated myself right there).

Several years ago my wife wanted to bless me and bought me an X-Box, a headset, and the game Modern Warfare 3.  It was a great game, a first person shooter that was right up my alley and the graphics were intense.  I was starting to get really good at it and was talking and playing with people online. I was hooked and before I knew it I was playing about between 2 and 4 hours a day.  As my playing increased, my bible reading, prayer, and fellowship with God decreased.  The Lord convicted me, and within several months I got rid of the game.  It was a blessing because I was drawing close to God, praying, reading the bible and totally seeking Him.

Several years later I thought I had self control enough to play again.  This time I purchased, Battlefield 3.  It came out around the time of Modern Warfare 3, but this one you could drive tanks and fly helicopters and such.  Not to mention blow up buildings.  The graphics were even better than the other, and I started meeting new people online.  I told myself I would keep my playing to a minimum, and only one or two days a week.  At first it went well, but then I was in my old routine.  I played so much within a few months I made it to rank of 2nd Colonel.  Now what do I do?  The conviction started and I was ignoring the signs.

The night of June 10th I had a dream that was quite unusual for me.  I had dreampt that I was surrounded by white light and I was in the presence of God.  He told me that I was to get rid of the game and that he had become jealous and wanted my attention.  I had abandoned my post and forgotten about him.  If I wouldn't stop playing that he would chasten me and keep me from playing.  So that morning I shrugged it off and went to work.

The next day right after work I walked in the house, hit the on button on the X-Box and started playing.  Lisa had gotten home and needed to cook.  I went to help her cut some sweet potatoes while she went to the Chiropractor.  So I'm looking at these things, and trying to remember the instructions she gave me.  I was confused and cut them my own way.  With blade in hand I made a decision that to this day I have no idea why I did it.  The blade slipped, and went across my left middle and index fingers.  Blood poured out of them immediately, and I knew I was in trouble.  Panic set in, called Lisa, and off to the Urgent Care we went.  I spent the next 10 days with 6 stitches, and then another week with sutchers because it wouldn't heal correctly.

You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson right?  Wrong.  I was justifying my game playing, and within days I was back playing my favorite game.  So July 4th rolls around and the same dream happened that night.  The Lord was very displeased with me, and told me to repent lest anything worse happen to me.  Did I listen?  Hardly.  I was convinced it was just a dream and my imaginations were getting the best of me.  I just needed to put the game down for a while.

The next day I went into work.  As a Field Service Technician I use my hands constantly.  At 2 pm my shift was almost over and all I wanted to do was play that game.  A machine went down and I had t crawl under, open a panel which weighs about 50 lbs and remove the item.  All went well until I had to put the panel back on. It went on a little difficult, but screwed it in and started to scoot myself out from under the machine.  All of a sudden the door came off the hinges, and all 50 lbs of weight landed on my ring finger of my right hand.  I let out a yell, grit my teeth, and instantly teared up.  I ran out to the ice machine to stop the swelling and I was to late.  I had a grape on the end of my finger and I knew it had to be broken.  The pain was so bad it was almost as bad as when I got frostbite in both my legs in 1999.  The next day after another Urgent Care visit, it was indeed broken.

So, out of work on workers comp I have alot to think about as I sit alone at home with an ice pack and throbbing pain.  But I know what I don't have to think about...not playing the game.  That's right.  I was afraid if I didn't get rid of it, I was going to lose a digit, or my job, or maybe both.  So in the trash it went, and I had tremendous peace in the process.

So what is the moral of the story?  Do what God tells you to do quickly, thoroughly, and cheerfully.  Spend quality time with Him.  Put away the idols in our lives and be fully devoted to the Lord.  Now do I believe that I was talking to God in a dream?  I don't know.  But I have two messed up hands and alot of time to spend with Him.  I reflect on different ways the Lord got the attention of people in His word through a physical chastening.  Jacob (Genesis 32:22-32), Saul (Acts 9:1-9), the Israelites in the wilderness, along with others.  But you know...it's been great.  I have great peace, I'm getting things done, and studying for my Precept Inductive Bible Study classes I will be teaching in September.

Are We Lovers...or Prostitutes?

"Lover or Prostitute?” The Question that Changed My Life

By David Ryser

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a... quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.

Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued, “But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”
The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.
Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

What do I mean when I say “really know Him?” Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience--or so we think.

An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, “No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England.” In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to England.” We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, “Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We’re from there, and we know wheat grows there.” They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge.

A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, “I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock.” That’s a lot of money for me, so I ask, “Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?” He/she answers, I sure do.” I say, “That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?” He/she answers, “None.” Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don’t think so, and suddenly I don’t believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also.

So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha’s question again one day, and considered the question, “What’s the difference between a lover and a prostitute?” I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, “What would happen if God stopped paying me?”

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

Dr. David Ryser
Responses to this article are welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
 

Santa's Coming...Have You Been Good?

I’m a field service technician for a company that builds and maintains banking machines.  The week before Christmas has been really rough for me.  Actually things have been going completely wrong.  At one account we have had two machines go completely bonkers to the point that we have no idea how to fix them.  With the bad weather I couldn’t make it to one account and the customer was furious.  I’m struggling spiritually and find myself going backwards in my walk.  I was never much of an angry person, but have lately in recent weeks noticed me losing my cool taking it out on different people, mainly my wife.  It seems like it’s never ending and I haven’t been able to catch a break.    

So this morning my boss sends me to Cedar Rapids, IA at an account with a down machine.  As I’m traveling the early hours I looked up and noticed this electronic road sign above me which read: 

308 TRAFFIC DEATHS THIS YEAR

SANTA’S COMING

HAVE YOU BEEN A GOOD DRIVER?

 The day went just as awful the previous week.  I walked into the account and waited about 45 minutes for someone to escort me upstairs.  I finally get upstairs and find out it’s on a machine in which I had absolutely no formal training on.  Images were messed up on the bottom of the docs and checks and the banks are rejecting them.  No matter what I did I couldn't fix it.  The customer is getting angrier by the minute wondering why I can’t fix it.  What I find is that the camera had melted from the inside out, and was completely destroyed.  No replacements on-site, and Christmas break the next two days.  Great…another furious customer.    

 Just when I thought it could not get any worse my boss calls me.  He chews me out for a half hour about the first furious customer I couldn’t get to because of the weather.  I made some poor decisions lately and now for the first time ever (12 years) I am getting reprimanded for something I did.  “You’re one of my best guys…I just don’t understand how you could have done that?” he said.  I totally let him down and made a difficult problem much worse.  Now since no one will be on-site to check in my package at the Cedar Rapids site, I volunteered to have the parts delivered to my house the following day and have to wait on them to arrive.  Plans ruined. 

 On my way out I realized that I was 15 minutes past the time on the parking meter.  No sweat, I’m only a block away.  As I approach my car I looked up and saw a police officer writing a ticket. 

 

 So as I am driving back home from Cedar Rapids I passed by 4 tractor trailors and 6 cars in the ditch.  I saw the same road sign above.  This time it read:

 

313 TRAFFIC DEATHS THIS YEAR

SANTA’S COMING

HAVE YOU BEEN A GOOD DRIVER? 

I paused for a moment.  Then it hit me.  While I was having a bad day at work 5 people lost their lives.  

5 people who were not coming home.

5 people who are going to be missed by loved ones this Christmas.

5 daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, who are leaving behind grieving family or friends. 

5 people in heaven or hell for eternity. 

 

That's when the Lord put on my heart a roadsign for me:

 

150,000 DEATHS TODAY

JESUS IS COMING

HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING YOUR TALENT IN THE DIRT

OR YOUR LIGHT UNDER A BASKET?

 

Though my job is important, it's not as important as witnessing and sharing Christ with the lost of this world.  Lately it seems that the Lord is making my job less and less desireable so as to change my life for His glory.  In the end, my job won't mean much to me, but those whom I have touched with the gospel will mean everything.  I hope this blesses you and puts an idea to go share Jesus with the Lost of this world. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What To Do When the One You Are To Love Becomes Your Enemy

Sorry, it has been a while.  It's been one of those few months where it seems like life just gets in the way of writing.  I also have been writing in another blog I co-author called Iowa Seed Sowers.  Please check it out for news, evangelism events, and also ideas on how to reach the lost of Iowa and around the world.  Thanks for sticking with me and not giving up. 

With that being said, a few things have been on my mind lately, one of which is how to live and share the gospel in a world like today.  People today most definitely describes the people talked about in 2 Timothy 3:1-9.  These people are the most unloving of them all.  But Jesus commanded every Chrisitian to love thier enemy (Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 6:27).  But the problem that I run into is this...who is my enemy, and what do I do when the people I am trying to reach become my enemy? 

Who Is My Enemy?

I know that we as Christians obviously have enemies like Satan and his demons.  But if we look at the word enemy from Matthew 5:44 in a Strong's and Thayer's concordences, it takes on a more important meaning.  The word enemy litterally means:

A person who is hateful, actively hostile, and an adversary.  It is talked about as a person who is hostile toward the things of God.

So what this means is that those who oppose me on the street as I witness, those who try to stop me preaching, and those who are yelling and cursing at me are those who I am supposed to be loving.  So those who the bible says, "curse you, hate you, spitefully use you, and persecute you", I am supposed to love. 

How Am I To React... In Thought, Word, and Deed (Matthew 5:44)

The human knee-jerk reaction to a person yelling at me would be to yell back.  An eye for an eye...right?  But Jesus said to love these people.  So how do I go about doing that?  Lets look at some scripture to get a better understanding. 

Bless (Word)

Bless those who curse you.  What does it mean to bless?  It means to:

Speak well of, to consecrate a thing or person with God's blessing and prayer, to cause to prosper, make happy, and bestow blessings on.

Blessings here indicate more of spoken words and not action (which we will see next).  So when a person is cursing me out, I should respond with a sincere, "God bless you."

Do Good (Deed)

Do good to those who hate you. 
What does it mean to do good?  I can think of alot of things, but scripture says:

To do beutifully, finely, excellent, well.  To do things that are excellent, noteworthy, commendable, noble, and worthy of honor. 

So here it's putting your action to the blessings of your mouth.   We must not only love in tongue, but in deed and truth.  Some practical things we can do is buy them lunch, offer to help them in any way. 

Pray (thought)

Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).

Alot of times we may say the right thing, do the right thing, and then all there is left to do is pray.  I cannot change a person's heart, but I can lift him up in prayer to the one who can, and that's God. 

There are some times when I cannot say or do anything in the moment, or I'm not even near the person who is coming against me.  To spitefully use really means to threaten, unjustly accuse, or to insult and slander.  Most times when people sling insults they are behind your back and not to your face.  Look at the Apostle Paul and his dealings throughout his letters on how people accused him and slandered him before he got there and after he left.  They were cowards. 

But praying for people not only helps the one who is coming against me, but helps me, the one who is being persecuted.  When things are at their worst, and seems like there is no hope, a person can get bitter, angry, and want to seek revenge.  But it's hard to be bitter and angry towards a person who you are praying for.  It for the most part aligns my thinking with God's word. 

This has been a good reminder for me.  I always have to keep my heart in check and often site 2 Timothy 2:24-28 as a good example of what an evangelists heart needs to be when sharing the gospel with the lost, saving them from the ultimate enemy which is Satan himself. 

What Easter Is Not...

My wife and I received this card today in the mail to celebrate the Easter holiday.  It is a very pretty card with lots of color and really cool writing.  Nice and pleasant things are written to the reader which is to promote a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.  And, oh yes, it's made by Hallmark with it's gold seal of approval on the back of the envelope.  But here is what it said...

From time to time-
and Easter's A good time-
It's nice to hear
that you're loved, admired, valued, thought about, and prayed for...
It's nice to know that people notice what a REALLY GOOD PERSON you are.
And you are REALLY.
Happy Easter
 

   If this card was written for a birthday or some special day like a new baby or a pay raise, I may have let it go.  May have. But it wasn't.  It was written for Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  So why does this card bother me so much.  It defys everything about what Easter and the ressurrection stands for.  For here is the problem, if people are "good", then there would be no need for Christ be crucified, die, be burried, and risen.  Because if people are good enough, then there would be no need to be saved, and people would go to heaven free and clear because it would be deserved. 

The truth is that people are not good.  This is what the bible says about people who are left to themselves without God:

10 There is none righteous, no not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open tomb;
With thier tongues they have practiced deceit;
The poison of asps is under their lips;
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Thier feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known. 
18 There is no fear of God before thier eyes.

- Romans 3:10-18 NASB

 

This is basically what God thinks of people left to their own devices, and in their own strength without God.  It is God's indictment against humanity taken from Psalm 14 and 53.  Verses 10-12 is man's character...evil, stupid, blind, useless, and deserters of God.  Verses  13-14 is against what man says with hurtful words full of lies.  Verses 15-18 is against what man does.  He is quick to injure and kill; pain and suffering are in his path and people don't know harmony and tranquility is.  Left to themselves, they will always be at war with God, without fear of Him before their eyes. 

The Epistle to the Romans is a great place to start for anyone.  Whether they are a new Christian, the hater of God, or someone in the middle.  Chapter 1 deals with the wrath of God against the wicked.  Chapter 2 deals with the wrath of God against the Jew and moral man, and Chapter 3 states that everyone is guilty before God...including the Christian apart from Christ's forgiveness (Romans 3:5-9).  The truth is no one is inncoent before God.  We ALL have fallen short of God's glory. 

But the beutiful thing about all of this is that even though we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). 

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed pubilaly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.  This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, He passed over the sins previously committed;
26 for the demonstration I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

- Romans 3:23-26 NASB

 

Jesus was God's gift to us so that we can be justified in His sight, and we would have redemption and be with Him forever.  No one can boast in what only God is able to do.  God is the one who gave Christ to us.  It is by Christ that we are free from the curse of sin and death.  Praise God who is the only one who should be praised.  Thank the Lord for His mighty work in that even though we are all sinners deserving of hell, that He gave us an escape through His Son Jesus, so that He should recieve all glory.  Praise God and Happy Easter.