Tag Archives: Religious

How Long Halt Ye?

bird on branch that forks

There’s no way the Old Testament is relevant to me. People from 3,000+ years ago and 6,000 miles away living in a culture radically different than mine could NEVER speak into my life! Oh really.

“And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.  – 1 Kings 18:21 (NKJV)

Is this not the same exact question we must answer today?

  • How long will you waver (NIV), hesitate (HOL), go limping (ESV) between?
  • How much longer will you try to have things both ways? (CEV)
  • Or my favorite: “How long halt ye?” (KJV)

The original Hebrew is really vivid. The literal translation is: ” ‘Till when are ye leaping on the two branches?” (YLT)

Here’s the word picture Elijah is painting: a bird is walking down a branch and it forks. Instead of choosing one branch or the other, the bird begins leaping between the two.

He’s saying: YA GOTTA PICK A BRANCH!

Is it going to be God or satan? There is no third branch.

A fork in the road splits the road. Now it runs in completely different directions; one goes North and one goes South. The further along you go, the further away from the other you get.

The word pacach; to halt or hesitate also has the idea of “dancing” between two.

Are you dancing between God and satan?

Try showing up to Prom with two dates and see how that ends up for you. No, both demand your affection & loyalty. But you can give it to only one.

Jesus said you cannot serve two masters (Matt. 6:24a). At least have some conviction; If the LORD is God, (which He is, of course), then give Him your 100%. If the Baal is God (which he is not, of course), then give him your 100%. This wishy-washy, back-and-forth nonsense is just annoying.

Notice the people’s reply. Crickets. What’s your reply?

You CANNOT be silent on this issue. Its the most important issue of your life! God has set before you life & death, blessings & curses; now choose life! (Deut. 30:15-20)

Hmmm, the OT’s seeming awfully relevant suddenly, isn’t it?

If this blessed you, please Like & Share!

Ref:

http://biblehub.com/1_kings/18-21.htm

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6452.htm

Why Are Churches Dying?

closed-church

Churches are dying. Some are thriving, but the overwhelming majority are not. Attendance is dwindling. Most are hanging on by a thread. Many will have to shut their doors in as little as one generation.

A lot of this is because we live in a Post-Christian society that embraces the emerging postmodern worldview.

  • Millennials (born ’82-’04) aren’t being reached.
  • Generation X (born ’61-’81) & Y (born ’77-’95) are dropping out.
  • Baby Boomers (born ’46-’64) are ready to pass the torch.
  • The Builders (born ’25-’45) are going home.

Look, people: we are at a tipping point. It is the 4th quarter and we are trailing.

We must re-think, re-tool, and re-frame. We must shift, evolve, and adapt.

If not, we will be mourning church closing after church closing.

“Churches across this country are going out of business, closing their doors, because they’ve lost their relevancy. They chose not to change with the times. They chose to keep people over 60 happy and forget about reaching people under 30. They, like my granddaddy, measured faithfulness by doing things the same way year after year, regardless of the response or the results.” – Edward H. Hammett

Please read that quote again only slower this time.

(I can feel you nodding your head in agreement.)

Traditions are great. But if traditions are only servicing personal preferences, then we need to take a hard look at them.

  • Are we inwardly-focused or outward?
  • If we closed, would the community even notice?
  • Are we a museum for saints or a hospital for sinners?

I know these are tough questions, but they need to be asked and honestly answered.

I’m convinced that people love Jesus, but have lost their love for church. I’m not saying that is correct, I’m just saying that seems to be the trend. The next generation does not see the relevancy church.

How do we reach a new generation for Jesus Christ? How do we help them fall in love with church again?

Ref: Hammett, Edward H. Reaching People under 30 While Keeping People Over 60: Creating Community Across Generations (TCP the Columbia Partnership Leadership Series): TCP Books, 2015.

http://thomrainer.com/2017/08/dying-churches-die/

Please Take Jesus Personally

Lunatic liar lord

How many times have you been told, “now, don’t take this personally, but…”? Well, I want you to take this personally: Jesus is THE ONLY WAY to God.

The postmodern ear may bristle at that, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Jesus, Himself said that. Not me. Not anyone else. JESUS.

“No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

Either you believe that or you reject it. There is no riding the fence. John Duncan called this argument, “inexorable” (meaning unbending, unyielding, & unstoppable). It is black or white, one way or the other, but it can never be both or neither.

For a much more eloquent argument, look up C.S. Lewis’s “Lunatic, Liar, or Lord” trilemma in Mere Christianity.

Exclusive claim? Oh Yes. The claim is indeed, exclusive,but the invitation to accept it is 100% inclusive and universal (Gal. 3:28)!

So, please take this personally! In fact, it doesn’t get any more personal!

How do YOU answer the very same question that Jesus asked His disciples: Who do YOU say I am? (Matt. 16:15)

– If this post blessed you please like and share!

Ref:

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; Harper Collins: 2001) 51-52.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis%27s_trilemma

http://merecslewis.blogspot.com/2010/11/deciding-about-jesus-liar-lunatic-or.html

Do & Teach; The Holy Knot

Knot on the ropeMy mom is a retired educator. My wife is an educator in a family of educators. So, I know firsthand the real life of teachers: the extra hours, the out of pocket expense, and the grading papers late at night. They have hilarious & heart-warming stories. Stories of triumph & defeat. Stories of devotion & sacrifice. Stories of life.

I also know firsthand the absolute LOVE they have for education and for the future of “their kids.” You see, they are like family.

I have had many wonderful teachers in my life. However, there is One that stands above them all; the greatest Teacher ever, the Master Teacher: Jesus.

“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.” – John 13:13

In Acts 1:1, Luke says that he is writing “of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Calvin called to do and teach “a holy knot that cannot be untied.”

That’s a teacher, isn’t it? Do and teach. They not only give you the tools, but also show you how to use them! They get right in the trenches with you! They fight with and for you! Teachers get up every morning to inspire, encourage, and challenge.

Eternal wisdom is imparted from Jesus (John 7:16). Every word that falls from His lips instructs and improves. Abide in the teachings of Christ (2 John 1:9)!

Recently a co-worker was talking about how much his mom hated Latin. Yet Latin was never mentioned. The comments were all about the teacher. The teacher made it a bad experience. Ironically, my mother also took Latin… but loved it.

Same subject. Different teacher. You see, a good teacher can even make Latin come alive.

If you love a subject, thank the passion of a teacher. If you excel in a subject, thank the encouragement of a teacher. And in all things, thank the Teacher of us all, Jesus Christ.

Ref: http://biblehub.com/greek/1321.htm

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/acts-1.html

Stuff Is Just Stuff, Jesus Is What Matters

stuff 3

You are rich. You live in America, which means:

  • You have more than one phone, TV & car.
  • You make more than $2 a day.
  • You have so much stuff that you don’t know what to do with it all.
  • You have a word that the rest of the world doesn’t comprehend: “left-overs.”

You knew all that.

I’m not here to give you a guilt trip over your stuff. Who am I to talk? I’ve watched “Hoarders” and thought… how close am I to that?! I’m also not here to tell you to sell all your stuff and give it to charity (but you gotta admit: that would be pretty epic).

I’m just trying to get you to see your stuff for what it is: stuff.

Even though you have all those things, and even though (by the world’s standards) you are rich, if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have diddly-squat.

WITHOUT JESUS – you are completely bankrupt. WITHOUT YESHUA you are as broke as a joke.

Jesus said, “apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The world’s wealth indicators could be lost in an instant: one fire, one flood, or one thief. If your happiness and sense of accomplishment were tied to those objects, then – there it goes.

If you lose all your stuff and even if you lose your health, but you HAVE JESUS, then – you are rich beyond compare:

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  – Rom. 8:32 (also note Rev. 3:21!)

Real wealth is knowing the LORD and being known by Him (1 Cor. 8:3). Real riches are only found in Him (Matt. 6:19-24).

– If this post blessed you please like and share!

Ref:

How Americans compare with the global middle class

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoarders

Social Media: The New Bible

bowing before technology

Charles Spurgeon said that “Newspapers are the Bibles of worldlings! How diligently they read them! Here they find their law & profits, their judges & chronicles, their epistles & revelations!”

I trust the Prince of Preachers would indulge me just a minor update: “Social Media is the Bible of worldlings!”

Not much has changed in 2000 years. Paul basically said the same thing to the church at Colossae:

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. – Col. 2:8

Paul said bowing before anything other than Christ is cheating you. This is the only occurence of that Greek word. It has several implications such as someone plundering & taking captive and making a victim by fraud. But here is the most literal translation (and the most chilling): “to carry off like a predator with its prey!” Bowing before anything other than Jesus is carrying you off like a viscous predator. What are you bowing before?

Social Media is fine as long as we are not neglecting time in God’s Word. Is this ratio out of balance? I know its harder and harder to fit all that we have going on in, but – FIGHT FOR THAT TIME! Make it a priority. Maybe something needs to go. What’s it going to be? What’s most important? If this were your final day, how would you spend it? Scrolling through Facebook?

Time spent with the Lord is never wasted. His Word heals & delivers us (Psa. 107:20). Don’t know where to begin reading the Bible? Start with the Gospels (it introduces you immediately to Christ).

Please don’t give up that precious time to see what someone else had for dinner.

Where are you getting your news? Which is your Bible: the actual Word of God or the internet?

– If this blessed you please like & share!

Ref: http://biblehub.com/greek/4812.htm

Your Sins Have Been FIRED!


Let’s say someone comes up to you, removes your coat, and sends it away. Would you say you still had your coat?

No. It was removed. It was sent away. Literally, the coat is no longer here.

Jesus takes our sins away. (1 John 3:5). When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:19)!”

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE US OUR SINS and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 (Emphasis mine)

Just like that coat; they’re gone. Now, of course we don’t miss the coat or go shopping for new coats, right?

“No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin,” – 1 John 3:9 (AMP)

Therefore, if we repent and turn to Him, Jesus forgives our sins (something only God can do, by the way).

The Greek for “forgive” carries the word picture of discharging something so as to leave.
I note it because:

  • It is so much fun to say: aphiémi (af-ee’-ay-mee).
  • Its roots are apó, “away from” and hiēmi, “send.”
  • Properly then, aphiémi means: send away; release (discharge).
  • By forgiving our sins, Jesus removes them and discharges them.

Therefore, because of Jesus’s wonderful Love & Grace, your sins have been:
Let go; fired, dismissed, sacked, axed, laid-off, and canned. They have been given their “pink slip” and “walking papers.” Like Elvis, your sins have left the building.

  • Stop re-living them.
  • Stop obsessing about them.
  • Stop beating yourself up over them.

Brother and sister, they are not even there! (Heb. 8:12, Rom. 11:27, Mic. 7:19, Psa. 103:12)

To pretend otherwise is to act like you still have that coat on that someone removed from you and sent away.

– If this blessed you, please like & share!

Villain Worship: A Dangerous Culture Shift For Our Children

villian

David Koresh led a cult in Waco, Texas wherein more than 70 men, women, & children died in 1993. Taylor Kitsch will be portraying him in a new 6-part miniseries.

Ted Bundy was a serial killer, rapist, & necrophiliac who murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s. Zac Efron is set to star in a new movie about him.

Tonya Harding was a two-time Olympian and Skate America Champion who was stripped of her title and medals when she allegedly conspired to have her competition assaulted in 1994. Margot Robbie is playing her in a new movie.

These are the monsters, people – not the heroes! These are the villains, not the victims!

This culture shift of presenting the bad guys as the good guys is very dangerous, particularly for our children.

Sadly, this is nothing new. Remember Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent (Disney, 2014)? In the original Sleeping Beauty she was a fairy who cursed a newborn to die. In our Post Christian society, she is the misunderstood hero!

There is even a show called Lucifer where the devil is bored of Hell and wants to help humanity by solving crimes. I know that sounds like a joke, but it’s not. Lucifer was nominated in 2016 & 2017 for “Choice TV: Breakout Star, Breakout Show, & Favorite TV Crime Drama” for the Teen Choice Awards. (Teen choice! TEENS are choosing this show!) Lucifer is currently filming its fourth season.

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! – Isa. 5:20

Here’s why this is dangerous:

Yes, there are good and bad qualities in us all. Each is capable of good and bad. In this sense, we have all at one time been a villain as well as a hero. That much is true. I understand writing more interesting, multi-dimensional, and rounded characters in a story. I understand the concept of an anti-hero (someone who is not the traditional hero and may do bad things for a good purpose, like Batman). I understand offering a more realistic mixture to the stale dichotomy of the Good vs Evil tropes in movies and television.

However, the same cannot be said of our enemy, the devil. He is not multi-dimensional and rounded. He is boringly flat. He is a one-trick pony. He is not an interesting character with many layers. He’s never been the good guy and never will be the good guy.

If a child grows up seeing movies or reading stories where the bad guys are actually kinda good, then it is not too far of a leap for that child to think the same thing about the devil. Maybe he’s not all completely evil like the Bible says. Maybe he’s actually a good guy that’s just misunderstood. Maybe he got a bad rep. Maybe he’s not so bad after all!

NO!

  • He is always bad.
  • He is always evil.
  • He is always the villain.

We should never, ever have (like the Rolling Stones song) Sympathy for the devil. If you give him so much as an inch, he will take everything from you (Eph. 4:27)!

He is not the anti-hero. He is the anti-Christ!

There is never a day the devil isn’t trying to get you to doubt God. There is never an instant where he wouldn’t set you up and then pounce on you. The devil doesn’t go on holiday. He doesn’t ever “take it easy” on you. He is always, always, always, monstrously evil.

We know (and he knows) that Satan is going down (Rev 20:7-10). So he’s trying to take as many down with him that he can.

He is trying to convince our youth that bad guys are actually good. Don’t let him.

He’s a sly, sly devil. But his time is almost up.

Ref:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2481498/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2481498/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580036/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587310/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4052886/

What If It Were Illegal To Be A Christian?

trial-by-jury-730x365If it were against the law to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence in your life to arrest you?

Or would you be released with a warning?!

Is there fruit in your life that Jesus is your Lord? Is there hard evidence that you are a follower? Would your life convict you? Are you convicted right now? (See what I did there?)

Christian-ese would be: Is there proof in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:8; Luke 3:8; Acts 26:20)? Would your case be thrown out due to lack of proof!

How hard would the prosecutor have to look for clues of your Christianity? How many witnesses would have to take the stand to corroborate your faith? How long would the jury have to deliberate; a week? a day? an hour?

Testimonies are crucial. They can sometimes sway the jury. What would yours do?

  • Would there be a smoking gun so to speak?
  • Would you have been caught red-handed?
  • Would there be an acquittal (insufficient evidence)?
  • Would you be charged with a misdemeanor (jail time), a felony (serious jail time), or a capital offense (death penalty)?

Finally, it all comes down to this: The verdict. Are you guilty or innocent of being a Christian? I would want to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, wouldn’t you? Then what are you waiting for? Start leaving behind evidence!

– If you were blessed by this please like & share!

Jesus Will Lift You Up

featherLook, I know it’s heavy. Too heavy. Who can lift it? Troubles, trials, & temptations; I know they crush you. They weigh you down. I know you feel defeated. Conquered.

So please listen: Jesus can lift you up.

All that heaviness? Light as a feather to the LORD. Lighter still!

  • He’s eager to do the heavy lifting. Let Him!
  • He wants to take the burden. Let Him!
  • He longs to break your chains. Let Him!
  • He yearns to set you free! Let Him!

Sound too good to be true?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke? – Isa. 58:6

He desires for you to hand over the reigns of your life to Him. Is there anyone more able? Is there anyone more willing? He takes your burden and exchanges it with His rest. Where’s the verse for that you scream?

Come to Me, all you who labor & are heavy laden, & I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you & learn from Me, for I am gentle & lowly in heart, & you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy & My burden is light.” – Matt. 11:28-30

Jesus will lift you up no matter how heavy you think your life has gotten. Jesus will lift you up no matter how badly you think you’ve messed everything up. Jesus will do all of these things & more, if you but submit to Him.

Then WATCH GRACE WORK!

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:6-7 (also Psa. 55:22)

  • He will hear you (Psa. 34:17).
  • He will carry you (Isa. 46:4).
  • He will deliver you. (Isa. 40:11).
  • He will help & uphold you with His righteous right hand (Isa. 41:10).

Its all for His glory, not yours. Its all for Him, not you.

So, go out now with a lightened load. Go out with renewed strength. Go out & help your brother (Gal. 6:2). Go out & bring others so He can do the same for them!

– If you were blessed by this please like & share!

Inspired by: X Ambassadors, “Feather.” (VHS)