The Cross

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
and from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.


I Cor.1:17-24 - For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Oh dear ones, where is the cross? Why have we sold our hope for a mess of pottage? Why do we preach morality and patriotism and family and finances and everything else under the Sun, but backpedal the cross except for some perfunctory asides that make us feel good about our doctrinal selves? Watch as some well known pastor is invited to be on Larry King and listen as they speak of homosexuality, abortion, moral values, traditional marriage, and the political issue du jour. But cup your ear and see if they spend any time speaking about the cross. Sadly, your ears strain in vain.
Do we not believe the cross and its power survived the Industrial Revolution? Do we now believe the preaching of the cross is so unsophisticated to the modern mind that we must now use other means that are more palatable to the unsaved spiritual taste? I mean, what idiot would converse with Stephen Hawkings and share the cross of Jesus Christ with his massive intellect? We might be mocked for such an archaic idea. So many churches have become circuses designed to either ignore the cross altogether, or slip it in the back door so as to avoid any real offense. The cross has become an offense to the visible, western church. God forgive us.
We have become so wise in our own eyes, and so crafty and cunning. Experts in the art of communication, entertainment, effective lighting, moving music, and relevant preaching, we have abandoned that which the Apostle says is the power of God. And jettisoned along with the cross of Jesus Christ is any cross bearing in our own lives. We desire the resurrection, or at least the newness of life, without the suffering and shame of the cross.
Most Christian television and radio is an affront to God and His message. The Christian bookstores have no conscience and Biblical compass; they are nothing more than money making enterprises. But so are many churches. Ask your church for the list of sermons and sermon series over the last five years and see how often the cross is the theme as compared with earthly themes. And more personally, think about how often you worship Christ for that cross in your daily walk, and recall any time where you actually shared that cross with a lost person in the last five years.
Compared with the cross, we have no problem sharing with a lost person how Jesus can help his life. But a crossless Christianity is no Christianity at all. And I do not mean just having the cross as a conspicuous part of our religious creed. There are many “orthodox” churches who have as part of their creed the words “Jesus died for our sins upon the cross”. Oh yes, we believe that! We are not liberal or emergent and our statement of faith proves that and reveals how orthodox we really are. But as I said, in mixed company and when on the national stage, the cross doesn’t even make the topic list, much less be the core theme.
The cross is our life, and it should be the banner of God’s people. Should Jesus tarry the cross will continue to be ignored and even maligned. Many emergents have suggested it represents defeat and even cosmic child abuse. Many modern day thinkers no longer embrace the cross as wholly redemptive, and many now suggest it is a spiritual example of what we should not do to others. But those things are easily recognized as deceptions and departures from the obvious teachings of Scripture, but there is a more subtle deception. When we take solace in the fact that we see that deception and remain steadfast doctrinally concerning the cross, we are deceived as well. You see, when the evil one cannot get a people to deny the cross or change its redemptive message, he showers them with pride while they themselves move away from the cross, not doctrinally, but in their words and lives.
And voilà! The cross has become a doctrinal relic that no longer actually has a discernable place in our everyday lives, and is a fringe issue in many of our gospel presentations. Let’s be honest, the idea that a dead Jew on a Roman instrument of extreme public torture is unsavory and sounds so out of place in any reasonable discussion of spiritual things. With the rise of education, and with the advent of technology, and with the elevation of our standard of living, the message of the cross seems so primitive and unrealistic. So unless we actually believe the words of the New Testament, we are left to our own wisdom and spiritual strategies, which in fact, is exactly what Paul warns against.
And faced with such a dilemma, we can only address our own plight while praying for the body of Christ collectively. It just may be that the western church will not return to faithfulness to Christ and His gospel, but God only holds you personally accountable. And meditate upon this thought: If I was the only believer on earth right now, how would Jesus desire me to live and speak? And if I was the only believer on earth today, when I died would Christianity die with me? Is there anything concerning Jesus in my life right now that would warrant persecution? Are people around me affected by my walk in Christ, either positively or negatively?

The cross of Jesus Christ is the power of God.

And take notice of these last two lines,

Content to let the world go by to know no gain nor loss
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
and from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess:
the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Go ahead and dive into that mystery. The Word which was God from the beginning cries unto the Father God and expresses a sense of detachment from His Father. The words “Father” and “Son” are given for our benefit and understanding, but since Jesus was God eternal the term lacks complete congruity with what we know as human sons. But of that profound mystery we can be assured of this: It was all for us.

That truly is all we actually know and that is all we need to know. The cross and everything that transpired in those six hours was all for us. A glory, a mystery, a sacrifice, a wonder, and a hallowed event…all for us.

And we are called, not just as grateful spectators, but as participants and imitators.

Selah.

Our Life in Christ

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

We believers in Christ Jesus are for the moment locked into the irrepressible “now”, and this three dimensional reality seems to hinder our acknowledgment and comprehension of the unseen and the eternal. Everything from hunger to pain to the entire range of human emotions call to us constantly, and all our senses feed us information that we can see, hear, taste, and feel. This environment tends to make our relationship with Jesus little more than sweet mental notions and the satisfaction we derive from some lifestyle adjustments.
But the Apostle Paul says that we should “seek” those things which are above, and he unambiguously tells us that our very lives are not even here on this earth. And in a startling and unsettling revelation Paul says we are dead. When was the last time you considered yourself dead? I do not mean in a theological sense and when discussing that doctrinal reality. But when was the last time you rose from sleep and literally embraced your death, and walked out in the spiritual realm that made eternal life a metaphysical reality in your earthly life? When, if ever, did you feel as though you were looking out from behind your eyes at the things and people of this world as though you were a redemptive visitor?
My point is this: We have become complacent, and even more disturbing we have become contented with complacency. We walk through this life with success, entertainment, and survival as our daily goals, and in so doing we have lost the spiritual actuality that should be, that must be, not only a believer’s trait, but his very existence. And blended effortlessly into a culture of darkness we walk to and fro with a self centeredness that operates redundantly and with a reflection of the community wherein we live. In short, we are exactly like our lost counterparts, howbeit with a few words that seem religious.
The dramatic metamorphosis that should accompany such a spiritual experience has been swallowed up by the dictates of “now” and because we compare ourselves with the standard of other believers and not the New Testament revelations along with the example of the life of the One we follow. But our life is hidden with Christ. We are commanded to walk in newness of life that follows in His steps. Do we actually suggest that living like Jesus lived, and with a divine habitation of the Creator and Redeemer alive within us, results in the lives we now live? Should we not hold ourselves accountable for such a claim, and should not our pitiful reflection of such a spiritual reality lead us to repentance and a substantive reevaluation of…um…uh…everything?
Most pastors would never suggest such an inventory since, and I speak from experience, much of the pastor’s job is to keep people attending and convince them that their church is growing and Biblically based. A happy and contented church pays the mortgage and the salaries and keeps the lights on. A little cynical, I know, but it does reflect how the average evangelical church operates with few exceptions. And the millions of professing believers here in the west remain a saltless community who have even lost the status of “subset”. We are part of the main set.
Our life is not here. The politics of this nation are an affront to everything that is of Christ, and this nation is nothing more than an organized vehicle in which 300 million souls live, move, and have their being. But we have not so learned this in Christ. Our life is in Christ, and in Him we live, move, and have our being. Let us take that reality and imagine a scenario that might bring the matter into stark focus.
Imagine that we are with Jesus in the place we call heaven. And Jesus calls us together and tells us that He loves a certain fallen race called humanity, and that he has paid for their ransom, and that He is going to clothe us with earthly bodies and send us to live among these people and bring them the message of redemption. He informs us that we will live like these humans and even get married, work, and be a part of the communities in which He will place us. But Jesus tells us that we will always remember heaven and the visual revelation of Him, as well as having an open spiritual communication to Him personally. And at the appointed time Jesus said we will either die and return to Him, or He will come for us.

“Do not grow attached to the world in which I am sending you,” says the Savior.

Now I ask you, when we arrive upon this earth, fresh from the throne room of the Risen and Exalted Christ, what would attract us about this world? What political cause would grip our hearts? What nation would elicit our love and affection? Would we be concerned about our careers or our financial portfolios? And with the distinct memory of being with the Son of God, would we be so excited about sports and the temporal passions of the day? And missing Him, and longing for a return to our Blessed Savior, how much time would we spend in prayer with Him? Could we go even a day without spending time with our Redeemer, with whom we spent such time in glorious worship and adoration?
You see? When we put in that context, does it not expose our current expression of discipleship as a fraud? There are so many things that completely betray our professions of faith and the spiritual realities we claim are true. And if we desire a life that is an accurate reflection of the Resurrector, we are going to have to die. But since we have grown so attached and entangled with the things of this life, this spiritual death will be painful. Things that we now feel are acceptable or innocuous must be exposed as hindrances to the life of Jesus. Our current expression of spiritual life will be found wanting and even completely unacceptable. And when the Spirit filets our hearts, we just might have to face a treasure trove of things that do not belong there and have taken up residence in the very place that should belong exclusively to Him.
You see, this death is not a quick and painless execution. Our deaths must follow in the footsteps, or nail prints, of our Master. This is a crucifixion. Do not think the flesh is willing. And indeed the flesh, when faced with the prospect of crucifixion, will feign death way before it has ceased to breath. Your flesh will suggest that a few alterations are all that is actually necessary, and it will use others to convince you that you need not proceed further lest you are viewed as a fanatic and self righteous. And your flesh will feely offer you a bit of self righteousness if you are granted some victories and begin to compare your spiritual progress with those around you. Yes, your flesh is a cunning enemy who will be as elusive as is possible. And most blasphemous of all, the flesh often speaks as if it is the Spirit.
But our flesh has no part of our life in Christ. And crucifixion in the spiritual sense must be performed every day. And any day that the flesh is allowed to operate only serves to strengthen its resolve and allow it to surreptitiously assimilate into our very lives. A daunting task? Perhaps. But I remember a poster I read in 1975 just after I became a believer. It said:

Serve the Lord. The pay isn’t much, but the retirement is out of this world!

Your Name is Lifted on High

Rick Frueh, 1989

Redeemer, Creator, Jehovah Rophe
The Rock and Mighty Tower ,The Author of Faith
The Living Word of God, Faithful and True
Jesus, Savior are You

Chosen One of Israel, God’s only Son
The Christ and Messiah, Anointed One
Lilly of the Valley, Bright Morning Star
Blessed Hope, that’s what You are

(chorus)
Your name is lifted on high
Your name is lifted on high
King of Kings, Lord of Lords
Your name is lifted on high

You’ve saved me, delivered me, and called me Your own
You now are preparing my eternal home
You said you’d be with me, both now and always
Jesus, you’re worthy of praise

San Jose Mine, Chile

Sixty-nine days ago, thirty-three miners were trapped almost one half mile underground in San Jose, Chile. For over two weeks no one even knew if they have survived the collapse, and when it was discovered that they were alive, their rescue was unsure. But people from all different walks of life and many different vocations came together, forged a plan, and today these men have been lifted to safety. It is a miracle.

The rescuers spared no expense, they eschewed personal comfort, and they worked long and hard hours to bring these men “back to life” as it were. As I watched some of the live coverage I experienced some emotion as one by one these men were reunited with their families.

What would happen if the church operated in like fashion? What impact would we have on our communities if churches were consumed with one colossal endeavor, to bring lost sinners to the life found in Jesus Christ? It might require a sacrifice of our entertainment, recreation, and our many vices. It would require a cooperation and a brotherhood that overcame differences and idiosyncrasies, and a passionate pursuit of Him and His ministry. It would necessitate a faith in eternity that dramatically and observably affected every single aspect of our earthly lives.

It would require a love for lost sinners that was so intense and so deep that we counted our own lives as nothing in comparison. The gospel message would become so paramount that we were unwilling to spend such obscene amounts of interest money on comfortable buildings, large staff salaries, and all kinds of religious activities designed to attract new members as well as keep the ones we already have contented, or at least pacified. We would gather for times of worship and prayer many times during the week, not just the redundant oblation observed on Sunday mornings.

And if there was a collective passion to serve the Risen Christ and have the power of the Spirit direct and permeate the entire gamut of all our ministries, the communities in which we live could not remain indifferent. And what did we witness in Chile as each miner was raised in rescue? The government had orchestrated a glorious welcome, and a brief history of each man’s life was rehearsed as they were brought to safety. No one around that tunnel was looking at their watches or had a roast in the oven. Everyone was consumed with the task at hand, and the atmosphere was electric. No expense was spared and emotions were overflowing. And yet in an average baptismal service in church a smattering of applause is acceptable, and after the baptisms the crowd is dismissed to drive to wherever they have planned to eat.

Of course many will be sure to eat quickly enough to get into some comfortable clothes and watch whatever sports are in season. The entire narrative undermines the enormity of the gospel message and relegates the practice of Christianity to a redundant and powerless exercise that bears no resemblance to the Book of Acts or the life of Jesus. And in the midst of all of it lines are drawn between believers, furthering the perception that we are more interested in our ecclesiastical cliques than we are about the Father’s business.

I rejoiced as I watched those miners being rescued. But my heart grieved as I realized how powerless we are in the western church. The only answer is a revival that strips us of our earthly eyes and opens our hearts to the things of Christ in a way that transforms us with such force that our entire lives are completely refashioned. And like the Chilean mine rescue, perhaps the world might take notice. Until that happens the church remains a nice and tidy part of the culture that passes on their innocuous religion from generation to generation. Sleep tight…

Nationalism, Again.

A lady commented on my post Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This message is in response to her encouragement.

If one takes the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution seriously, it soon becomes evident that they are in conflict with written Scripture. These documents were specifically written to promulgate a pluralistic nation that showed no deference to any one religion. Jefferson himself, a core architect of the documents, was a Christ denying deist who attacked orthodox Christianity, and yet his portrait hangs in thousands of Christian schools. But, sadly, many believers still pay homage to these writings and even suggest a divine inspiration.
It would be innocuous and a mere distraction if it was just a fringe activity, but in fact nationalism has become deeply embedded into the fabric of evangelicalism until outright idolatry is considered godly. Battling over this moral stand and that, the church has lost her way and attempts to bring redemption to a nation through the idol of democracy and placing the gospel itself as creed and not the all consuming power and message of the followers of Christ. And millions of professing believers have convinced themselves that if the government recognizes gay marriage that the sky will fall and God will judge this nation.
But tell me, where in the New Testament does God deal with secular nations as a whole? And many nations today operate freely with all sorts of immoral lifestyles and abortions. And since the Scriptures clearly teach that sinners without the Son are already condemned, how do we measure “more condemned”? The root of the problem is that believers consider themselves Americans, not because they were born here and are identified as such by the government, but because they have given their hearts over to this, or any, nation. And in that singular act they have desperately compromised their spiritual journey and discipleship. We cannot have two masters.
When Pilate said, “Behold your king!” the Jews replied that they had no king but Caesar. But in a stunning display of cunning, believers today have meshed Christianity with secularism and have created a national narrative that, although completely fictional, gives them license to embrace, protect, and even love this secular, pluralistic nation. And once we give our allegiance and love, even in part, to anything or anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ, we have begun to dismantle any authentic hope of entering into the cross bearing mystery of knowing the crucified and risen Christ. And what has been birthed is a back and forth moral conflict that is the epitome of self righteousness and void of any redemption.
The American church has become just that…American. No one should hate any nation, and even when the Cold War was at its zenith believers hated the Soviet Union, while a very small group loved, wept, and prayed for the Russian people. Some lost their lives while attempting to bring the gospel through the barriers of communism. But most believers in America were drawn into an “us verses them” mentality which completely deviates from the heart of Paul who wished himself accursed so his unbelieving countrymen could be saved. If you can for a few days step back, and with the overarching theme of the New Testament as your prism, and compared with what is now the evangelical norm, I am sure many of you might sense at least a little discomfort.
As many of you know I have debated with many believers from a wide range of theological spectrums. But the most virulent and intransigent arguments come when the debate centers on nationalism. If you know believers from other nations you may sense some loyalty about their own place of origin, but when pressed most will admit that American believer exhibit an aura of nationalism that is beyond what most know abroad. If you share your thoughts about nationalism, as have I, be prepared to be hated and avoided. I am often accused of hating America which is patently false. Hating a nation would be like hating a rock, or hating black holes. A nation is a concept ordained by God to keep a sort of construct upon the earth. How can we hate a concept, especially one that God ordained?
But acknowledging that God created the concept of a nation should never elicit any sort of fondness or allegiance to it, just like we should show no fondness or allegiance to a rock, also created by God. In essence, nationalism is worshiping the creature more than the Creator. I realize these thoughts are radical and are at odds with everything we have been taught as Bible believing Christians here in America. And with something so ingrained and so deeply hidden in our hearts, it is most difficult to dispassionately consider the issue. We come to the table with not only preconceived ideas, but with a strongly held and defended idolatry. And coming from some like me who used to sing “I’m Proud to be an American” in church on 4th of July weekend, I absolutely know what it feels like to be a patriotic American and what it feels like to vigorously defend that fortress. And I also know what it feels like to hear someone malign America and be outraged and dislike/hate that person.
Do you want to hear a steady stream of hatred, self righteousness, and idolatry? Listen to talk radio or television and you will be subjected to hatred for fellow sinners as well as a call to return to the “founding fathers”. I often wonder how black Americans feel when they hear white Americans long for those “good ole days”. We are commanded to avoid murmuring and complaining, and just a cursory reading of I Cor.13 reveals some profound tenants of true love, and yet listen as believers consistently complain about everything from taxes to Obama to gays to liberals and all the rest. Watch some of the Tea Party gatherings and see if you can feel the love of Jesus in their midst. Are they clothed with humility? And the liberal gatherings are no different.
People hate each other, and the distaste is palpable in politics. Political adds eviscerate others and elevate themselves. Everyone has the answers and yet we who have the only answer get sucked up into that carnal melee. And the two motivating factors in all of this? Defending America and attempting to better of our lives primarily by gaining and keeping wealth. As if we do not already live like earthly kings, we desire more. My son’s Christian school teachers once lamented that because of the illegal aliens in America, he and his wife could not afford going to the Outback and had to settle for Chile’s. And he drives a Mercedes Benz. The commandment to love your enemies is nothing more than a religious saying applied within a very small network of neighbors and fellow workers, but is ignored when the person is viewed as an enemy of America.
The western church has placed Dagon upon the altar and is worshiping a false god. I know, I used to sit in the front pew and lead. Let us continue to pray for revival with us being the first ones led into repentance. Being led out of nationalism is no reason for self righteousness, it is our reasonable service. And leaving Egypt is only the first step; entering Canaan Land must be our pursuit. But the path that follows Christ does not leave footprints; it leaves knee prints.

Life is...

Life is breathing; life is blinking; life is moving; life is thinking; life is pumping; life is sharing; life is laughing; life is crying; life is dying. But they’re all wrong.
Life is Jesus.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

If you deny equal rights to all gays and lesbians,

including the right to marry, you deny the Declaration of Independence.

Twitter

The twitter phenomenon illustrates several things:

Fleshly voyeurism, time wasting, self absorption, adolescence, and some of the more unpleasant thoughts that usually remain hidden in the heart.

Other than those it is a profoundly spiritual activity. (Not)

Our Heavenly Bodies

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows)

When our spirits leave this earthly body we will be given a heavenly body, or a spiritual body. Just what that body will be is a mystery, but we know it will be made in the same way as the body of Jesus. Now some have suggested that Jesus is still human in heaven and with that I disagree. Jesus is not a glorified human, and although He bore a human resemblance on this earth is was never a human as we define and experience being a human. What human can walk upon water or speak with authority over the weather? The writer of Hebrews says,

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

If Jesus had a human nature, along with His human body, then He was partially a created being, not just a divine being inside a created body. It is my contention that the body was human and created, but inside that body was Jehovah the Son.

…being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,…

I make this distinction, with malice toward no one and even while admitting no one can fully grasp the mystery of the Incarnation, to illustrate how we will have a celestial body like the one Jesus now has, but that we will not be divine. We will be glorified humans, which is very different than the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. But I want to digest the glory that will be ours.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

There can be no way a human being can fully understand, or even imagine, just what this glorified body will look like or how it will operate. But we can know that it will be like God the Son’s body, and this heavenly body will allow us to know Him more completely and worship Him forever. The depth of that mystery cannot be overstated. And this wonder, this glory, will be ours. We will be clothed in the garment of eternity and all vestiges of this earth will be completely gone as spiritual saints worship the Risen Lamb in wave after wave of glory, honor, and blessing. There is no greater imagination of the coming reality.

Imagine further. The spiritual body that will be given to us has its benefits to us indeed. No more pain, no more tears, no more sickness, and no more sin are just a few of these benefits. However the greatest and most consuming benefit will be that this body will give us the capacity to worship the Christ fully and without dilution and indeed…forever. So as you read these words, imagine one million years from this very moment where you will be worshiping the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in all His supreme glory. And your present fallen body cannot do this, in fact, your present sin filled body can never enter the eternal throne room of God. The entire realm is presently the mystery of all mysteries. Even the Lord uses metaphors and symbols and earthly examples in order to just give us a holy glimpse, but what a glimpse it is. And when you meditate on the glimpse that we have, and when you imagine and rejoice in the coming glory, you must include this essential element of it all:

None of it will be deserved.

Eternity

Eternity lurks in the shadows and is hidden by the now. It is ignored by the present and finds only a passing doctrinal nod in creeds and theology. Eternity is a concept, a fanciful thought which has been molded to fit altogether in the future and with little, if any, role to play in the present. There are church classes that deal with finances, marriage, relationships, and every imaginable subject that could possibly have some stretched thin line to Christianity. But where is the class entitled, “Preparing for Eternity”? No, why waste today on the uncertainty of eternity? Why meditate on eternity when we can vent our energy, worry, and thoughts on the things of today?
Clothes, food, vacations, sports, politics, money, careers, appearance, and a thousand other concerns that flesh is heir to consume our very lives while eternity waits, ignored and abandoned like a senior girl who remains unasked to her prom. How many believers have actually taken one entire hour and dwelt upon the reality and implications of eternity? So many metaphors have been offered that tickle the cerebellum and then are catalogued as resource material. It does not affect anything in our lives. What can we honestly claim that our professed belief in eternity affects, especially in light of the magnitude of such a claim?
Does it affect what car we drive? What television we buy? What home we live in? What food we eat? Many unbelievers go to a religious meeting place every week, and most religions do the same. Many practitioners of every religion give money to the organized symbol of their particular faith. Many unbelievers do not smoke or drink or curse, and many unbelievers and members of other religions are faithful to their families. We not only claim to believe in eternity, but have already inherited eternal life, including the deposit of the Living Creator within us. And when challenged with a living reflection of such a profound and astonishing claim, to what can we point? Of course we can accurately claim to be imperfect mirrors, but when we are seen as just another unremarkable flavor in a culture of many flavors does that not present a serious indictment?
If our beliefs are so staggering why are not our lifestyles so congruent with our beliefs? Why can the unbelieving neighbor live a life that is so like our own? Could it mean that our profession of faith in eternal life has become a faith tenant and not a living reality? They martyred early believers while today they welcome them. And the early believers were not killed because they had become caustic moral police. They were martyred because they lived outside the dictates of Roman tyranny and exhibited a love and compassion that drew the attention of idol worshipers and led them to Christ. And that was a threat to Caesar.
And so the western church trudges forward, counting noses and money, paying mortgages and salaries, planning events and conferences, and holding on for dear life to what we have already. We take no real chances and we avoid anything remotely dangerous to our well oiled machine. We are willing to speak out for moral issues and political causes, and even give some perfunctory lip service to Jesus. But what have we really sacrificed that means something to us? When have we rejected the things of here and now and embraced fully the things of eternity?
We say we believe that every soul lives forever in eternity, either with Christ or separated forever from Christ. And yet we spend well over 90% of everything we make on ourselves, and a large portion of that is entertainment, recreation, and other accoutrements. And yet we castigate those liberals and infidels for their unbelief while we ignore the Scriptural truth that to whom much is given much is required. It is all so much vanity and religious chatter that is full of sound and fury but signifying nothing. Talk is very cheap, and the discourse market in this age has plummeted to an all time low.
In all of it I count myself a full participant but in the embryonic stage of evaluation. When a man screams out, “This house is on fire!!”, but he continues to sit in his lounge chair and watch television, how much weight can we assign to his words? In fact, the more the hourglass transfers sand the less the church even warns of anything because the tension between what we say and what we do becomes unbearable. Eternity pulls up a doctrinal chair and is allowed to speak in theological terms. But eternity’s bid for authority is denied, and it remains an ecclesiastical curiosity. If we actually allowed eternity to impact every single aspect of our lives, perhaps the unbelievers still would not believe in Jesus, but they could not deny that we do.

What does surrender to Jesus actually mean and how is it lived out dramatically?
What is moderation?
What is sacrifice?
What is a living sacrifice?
What does it mean to forsake all?
How can a living person manifest eternity in his lifestyle?
What does it mean to follow Jesus?

War

A soldier, a lost sinner, bleeds out his life in the deserts of western Iraq. His last moments were spent in indescribable pain and fear, and his soul enters a lost eternity. His body lies far away from home and with an appearance quite different than the portrait on his mother’s dresser. From his first steps to his little league experience; from his trusty bicycle to his parents car; from high school football to prom night; it is all gone and forgotten by everyone but a small group of relatives who will one day smile again, watch television, and eat ice cream. This desert has opened up an eternal portal and he has slipped out of his wounded body and into forever, escorted by fear and pain.

And somewhere in air conditioned comfort and the safety of locked doors, sitting in padded chairs, followers of Jesus Christ justify violence and war with the emotionless detachment that resembles a discussion of which Stooge was better, Curly or Shemp. If we can justify and approve of war as followers of Jesus, then we can justify pretty much anything we so desire.

A Metaphysical Certainty

In the end, with Galileo, Newton, Da Vinci, Hawkings, and Einstein as bowing spectators, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be proven as the greatest metaphysical certainty the world has ever known.

Deception

Deception has two heads; you are deceived about something and you are deceived about your deception itself.

A Dead Jew

There are sub-molecular studies that stretch the mind of man. There are plans to thwart asteroids that threaten Earth. There are telescopes that see into almost limitless space. There are organ transplants that were impossible 10 years ago. There are computers that can solve a math problem in a 10th of a second that would take a man two years. The intellect of man continues to be astounding.

But a dead Jew impaled upon two wooden planks is still the only way to eternal life.

Double Minded

Sometimes I feel if I could only be double minded it would be a numerical improvement.

Jesus is Coming Quickly

Time gains speed and the horizon races toward us.

The end is near. Jesus is coming quickly.

Time gains speed and the horizon races toward us.

The beginning is near. Jesus is coming quickly.

The Heart that Follows God

I Kings 3:7-10

7And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.

Solomon comes with humility and asks for personal gifts that can benefit others.

Let us go and do likewise.

The Redemptive Vacuum

Love the sinner and hate the sin is overwhelmingly practiced in the church with a distinct and profound compromise on the love side, especially if the sin is one in which we are either not engaged presently, are committing secretly, or is an unapproved sin. Lying, speeding, hedonism, divorce, lust, greed, gluttony, judgmentalism, idolatry, self righteousness, legalism, and gossip are all on the approved sin list. Most churches have their own unapproved sin list which include homosexuality, non-tithing, abortion, apposing the pastor, and all kinds of liberalism.

The cross of Jesus is now a creed and has ceased to be a bleeding message with legs.

Let's Assume the Worst

Hypothetically, let us assume that all of Islam is conspiring together to bring sharia law to the United States. Let us assume there are no moderate Muslims, and that there is a genuine conspiracy afoot in this country to take over, whatever that means. Let us assume that all the moderate Muslims are only role playing in order to surreptitiously gain some kind of “foothold”. So let us assume the worst is actually true and the extremists do indeed represent Islam and are telling the “God’s (Allah’s) honest truth“.

What should be the response of Americans? Fear, hatred, bigotry, and returning violence for violence should be the American response.

What should be the response of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and follow His teachings?

It will always be the same regardless of the situation. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is our divine calling to any and all situations. America as a nation will one day pass away, but the souls of all Muslims are eternal. You do the math.