Sunday, December 27, 2015
GodsView : For Those Who Do Not Feel Worthy to Approach God i...
GodsView : For Those Who Do Not Feel Worthy to Approach God i...: Do you ever feel as though you are not “worthy” enough to approach God in prayer? If so, then read this Scripture: “His unchanging plan h...
For Those Who Do Not Feel Worthy to Approach God in Prayer!
If so, then read this Scripture: “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to! Now all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son” (Ephesians 1:5-6 TLB).
So often, we hear about what we are supposed to do for God. But the emphasis of the Bible is not so much on what we are supposed to do for God, but rather on what God has done for us.
If we can get hold of that in our minds and hearts, it will change our outlook and actions. The more we understand of what God has done for us, the more we will want to do for Him.
This is no small truth. In fact, it’s fundamental to our spiritual lives.
The devil would love to keep you from praying at all by reminding us how “unworthy” we are—telling us, in effect, that we have a lot of nerve to even think that we could approach a holy God. He whispers, “Do you think that God would hear your prayers after what you have done?” But the real question to ask is this: “Is Jesus Christ worthy to come into the presence of the Father whenever He wants?” Of course, He is.
The fact is that we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Because Christ has open access to the presence of the Father at any time, we have the same access when we come to God the Father through our relationship with Jesus. It’s not on the basis of what we have done for God. It is solely on the basis of what Christ has done for us.
Listen to the writer to the Hebrews: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him” (Hebrews 10:19-21 NLT).
I just can’t imagine any better news than that.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
GodsView : Midnight Flurries!
GodsView : Midnight Flurries!: Those tiny, temporary wisps of ice we call snowflakes are a wonder of creation. They are the artwork of the heavens, God’s celestial geo...
Midnight Flurries!
There’s no easy way to explain the complexities of a simple snowflake. When you see millions of them falling across the mountains or prairies or among the skyscrapers of your city, just think that each one began as a wisp of water vapor or a tiny droplet of moisture high in the earth’s atmosphere. A small sheath of ice formed around it until it became a crystal of ice. As these tiny crystals blew around like dust in the clouds, they grew in size and became heavy enough to tumble out of the cloud.
During any one snowstorm, billions of these snowflakes make their descent. They’re white-clad paratroopers leaping from airplanes in perfect sequence and formation. These tiny skydivers pass through various temperature zones on their descent, and that’s what determines whether they arrive as rain, freezing rain, sleet, biting snow, or fluffy flecks.
Precipitation is most beautiful when it arrives on our level as snowflakes. They naturally form six sides or branches. Some are perfectly shaped; but many of them, while tumbling through the atmosphere, become irregular, unsymmetrical, disjointed, and odd. They may resemble crosses, window panes, twinkling stars, frozen webs, silver trees, icy crystals, tiny flowers, or images from a kaleidoscope. Each is uniquely beautiful, and when it falls at midnight on Christmas Eve, the effect is . . . forgive me, “magical,” in the wonderment sense.
Things to Remember When You’re Snowed Under
Perhaps for you the season doesn’t feel magical. Millions battle loneliness and depression at Christmas. There’s something pensive and reflective about this time of year. The sights, songs, and smells of the holiday bring back memories. We miss our loved ones. We bear extra expenses, consume extra calories, and pack extra events into our schedule. We grow tired. And sometimes the very snow that seems so beautiful through the window traps us indoors until we get cabin fever.
But in the midnight flurry of the season, let’s remember some things.
First, remember the uniqueness of God’s creation. Billions of flowers, yet every one different. Billions of stars, but no two alike. Billions of snowflakes, yet each one unique. Perhaps you’ve been blown around in the storm, disjointed and lost in the crowd. Perhaps you feel unloved. Perhaps you’re around some snowflakes that seem perfect, and you feel inferior.
Not every snowflake is perfectly formed but every snowflake is unique and beautiful. Somehow in God’s design, a snowflake’s imperfections enhance its beauty. Perhaps you’ve forgotten how special you are to Him, that you’re one of a kind. The Bible says that we are His workmanship, fearfully and wonderfully made.
Second, remember the uniqueness of His Word. Did you know that the Bible compares itself to snow? The prophet Isaiah said that just as the snow comes down from heaven and hydrates the earth, so is the Word that goes from His mouth. It shall not return to Him void, but shall accomplish what He pleases and shall prosper in the thing for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:10-11). Think of every Bible verse as a snowflake sent from heaven to beautify and nourish your heart.
Third, remember the uniqueness of His redemption. Jesus was born to live a righteous life and to die a redemptive death. His blood was red, but it has a remarkable effect when it touches our souls: “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).
King David, after his terrible sins, prayed: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:76). Those who confess their sins and invite Christ to be their Savior experience that transformation in their lives.
The Only One
I believe that if you were the only person on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ would still have descended to this planet, been born of a virgin, and died on the cross for you. That’s how very special and unique you are in His heart. As you celebrate Christmas this year, take time to remember His love for you—as gentle as a snowflake, yet mighty to save and redeem.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
GodsView : What Is Grace?
GodsView : What Is Grace?: Many years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined a term that has come to characterize much of evangelical Christianity — it's the term &quo...
What Is Grace?
Cheap grace is not at all a reference to God's grace; it's a contemptible counterfeit. It's a grace that is "cheap" in value, not cost. It is a bargain-basement, damaged-goods, washed-out, moth-eaten, second-hand grace. It is a man-made grace reminiscent of the indulgences Rome was peddling in Martin Luther's day. Cheap? The cost is actually far more than the buyer could possibly realize, though the "grace" is absolutely worthless.
Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and Nazi resister. He was hanged in 1945 by SS guards, but not before his writings had left their mark. Bonhoeffer's theological perspective was neo-orthodox, and evangelicalism rightly rejects much of his teaching. But Bonhoeffer spoke powerfully against the secularization of the church. He correctly analyzed the dangers of the church's frivolous attitude toward grace. After we discard the neo-orthodox teachings, we do well to pay heed to Bonhoeffer's diatribe against cheap grace:
Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian "conception" of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure the remission of sins. The Church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has, it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God.Cheap grace has not lost its worldly appeal since Bonhoeffer wrote those words. If anything, the tendency to cheapen grace has eaten its way into the heart of evangelical Christianity. While verbally extolling the wonders of grace, it exchanges the real item for a facsimile. This bait-and-switch tactic has confounded many sincere Christians.
Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. "All for sin could not atone." The world goes on in the same old way, and we are still sinners "even in the best life" as Luther said. Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world's standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin (The Cost of Discipleship [New York: Collier, 1959], 45-46).
Many professing Christians today utterly ignore the biblical truth that grace "instruct[s] us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12). Instead, they live as if grace were a supernatural "Get Out of Jail FREE" ticket-a no-strings-attached, open-ended package of amnesty, beneficence, indulgence, forbearance, charity, leniency, immunity, approval, tolerance, and self-awarded privilege divorced from any moral demands.
Sadly, the rank-and-file Christian is further cemented in an unbiblical view of grace by what comes out of some seminaries. There are scholars who actually legitimize the error as a correct understanding of grace. They call their teaching "grace theology" and their movement "The Grace Movement."
They advocate a "grace" that alters a believer's standing without affecting his state. It is a grace that calls sinners to Christ but does not bid them surrender to Him. In fact, no-lordship theologians claim grace is diluted if the believing sinner must surrender to Christ. The more one actually surrenders, the more grace is supposedly watered down. This is clearly not the grace of Titus 2:11-12.
No wonder Christians are confused. Christian churches mirror the world; Christian leaders follow the culture; and Christian theologians provide their stamp of approval. The situation is nothing short of deplorable.
But here's what I propose — let's start by laying down a biblical definition of grace with this simple question: What is grace?
Grace is a terribly misunderstood word. Defining it succinctly is notoriously difficult. Some of the most detailed theology textbooks do not offer any concise definition of the term. Someone has proposed an acronym: GRACE is God's Riches At Christ's Expense. That's not a bad way to characterize grace, but it is not a sufficient theological definition.
One of the best-known definitions of grace is only three words: God's unmerited favor. A. W. Tozer expanded on that: "Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines him to bestow benefits on the undeserving." Berkhof is more to the point: grace is "the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man, effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit."
Grace is not merely unmerited favor; it is favor bestowed on sinners who deserve wrath. Showing kindness to a stranger is "unmerited favor"; doing good to one's enemies is more the spirit of grace (Luke 6:27-36).
Grace is not a dormant or abstract quality, but a dynamic, active, working principle: "The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation…and instructing us" (Titus 2:11-12). It is not some kind of ethereal blessing that lies idle until we appropriate it. Grace is God's sovereign initiative to sinners (Ephesians 1:5-6).
Grace is not a one-time event in the Christian experience. We stand in grace (Romans 5:2). The entire Christian life is driven and empowered by grace: "It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods" (Hebrews 13:9). Peter said we should "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
Thus we could properly define grace as the free and benevolent influence of a holy God operating sovereignly in the lives of undeserving sinners.
Paul frequently contrasted grace with law (Romans 4:16; 5:20; 6:14-15; Galatians 2:21; 5:4). He was careful to state, however, that grace does not nullify the moral demands of God's law. Rather, it fulfills the righteousness of the law (Romans 6:14-15). It does not annul the righteous demands of the law; it confirms and validates them (Romans 3:31).
Grace has its own law, a higher, liberating law: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2; cf. James 1:25). Note that this new law emancipates us from sin as well as death. Paul was explicit about this: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2). Grace reigns through righteousness (Romans 5:21).
That is the good news of the gospel! God has acted to set us free from sin — not just the consequences, but it's very power and presence. One day we will never know the experience of temptation, a stray thought, a misspoken word, a false motive. Guilt will be gone, and with it shame, and "so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
In the meantime, we enjoy the liberation from sin's cruel power and defiling influence. God has enabled us, through grace, to "deny ungodliness and worldly desires" so that we can enjoy a sensible, righteous, and godly life in the present age (Titus 2:12). "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
Sunday, December 6, 2015
GodsView : Raising Godly Kids!
GodsView : Raising Godly Kids!: Only be careful and watch yourself closely, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as...
Raising Godly Kids!
Every one of us will stand before God and answer to Him on many counts. One will assuredly be our response as a parent, grandparent, or spiritual mentor to the scripture above. He will ask: “What life-giving knowledge of Me and My precepts did you instill in your children? What did you impress upon them?”
And every one of us children who had the incredible privilege of living in a regenerate family, however imperfect, must also answer for our response to our own parents’ spiritual teaching. Will our children look at our lives one day and say, “I want to be like you when I grow up” Will they see us handle suffering and adversity with cheerful courage — especially single parents living in this “double world” who even when betrayed, abandoned, or heartlessly treated, trusted on?
It’s my experience that Christian parents don’t suddenly quit Christian parenting. It’s a slipping thing. A little slip of our spiritual disciplines here and there. A quitting of family prayer as schedules crowd out mealtimes or family times. A falling away of worshipping as a family or worshipping in the church at all. Putting sports or our own recreation first before serving our church. We don’t even realize the slippage is taking place. We must take responsibility for our own spiritual slippage.
What are our children seeing? Do they watch us parents dying inside because of some personal family pain or loss, or see us leaning hard on an unseen hand, finding special compassion, strength and enabling from our God? Do our offspring catch us in prayer, our face to the rising Son, not wanting to spoil the moment spent in forever listening to the seraph sing? Do they find us often with our Bible open, absorbed in gathering manna — soul food — impossible to live without?
And, how will those of us, who by His grace have no heartache or wounds, be remembered when we are gone? What dependence on the God we profess to know will we have demonstrated? What attitude of gratitude? What statement of humility that acknowledges we could do nothing, be nothing, accomplish nothing, and possess nothing without His gifts of grace and blessing? Will our small watchers say of us, “We found them faithful”?
Why not put it all — triumphs and failures, weaknesses and regrets, bad examples or models — where they all belong? At the foot of the cross and with our eye on the empty tomb, recommit to whatever calling we have clearly heard in this sober moment. We can profitably borrow John Mohr’s words:
Oh may all that come behind us find us faithful,
May the fires of our devotion light their way
May the footsteps that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey;
Oh may all that come behind us find us faithful!
Why not spend some time in Proverbs 31:1-9? There is a sermon on this subject I just had the privilege of preaching. It’s a passage of scripture that has challenged me for years. It tells of a queen influencing her son, the prince, about his calling as a man of God and a future king. It tells of her heart and of her vows to bring up her child for the Lord and make him a king to be reckoned with in his generation. A king for good and for God.
She tells him he is “the son of her vows,” mirroring the vows of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1, who vowed that if God graced her with a child she would lend him to the Lord for life. The young man here in Proverbs records his mother’s similar heartbeat for him: her love and prayers for him, and her righteous training.
We parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and Christian educators can all choose to bring our children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Of course we have to first know Him thoroughly ourselves and be serious about it. In this hard age of doubt and disbelief, with college-age kids leaving the faith of their fathers when they go to universities, we should all revisit our calling in this regard. Let’s pray for each other as we parent our children for God.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
GodsView : The Planned Parenthood Shooting and Anti-Christian...
GodsView : The Planned Parenthood Shooting and Anti-Christian...: As expected, no sooner had blood been spilled at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado than accusations of "Christian terrorism&qu...
The Planned Parenthood Shooting and Anti-Christian Hysteria!
In the words of Jason Benham, posting on Twitter, "True
pro-lifers care about all life, including employees and clients of
#PlannedParenthood. Praying for those in #ColoradoSpringsShooting."
Or as stated by Tony Perkins of the Family Research
Council, "While the investigation into the shooting at the Planned
Parenthood center continues, regardless of what the motive is determined
to be, we strongly condemn this violence. ... Only through peaceful
means—not violence—can we truly become a nation that once again values
all human life, born and unborn."
In contrast, Bette Midler was quick to point a finger, also
using Twitter: "Thanks to overheated screeds spewing from the mouths of
the GOP, and in Congress, innocent people have died in CO, including a
policeman." And "We share the concerns of many Americans that extremists
are creating a poisonous environment that feeds domestic terrorism in
this country."
Others began to ask me on Facebook when I was going to
denounce "Christian terrorism," just as I regularly denounce Islamic
terrorism, with one man asking me about "apparent Christian terrorist
Robert Lewis Dear." (Dear was the shooter, who ultimately surrendered to
police.)
A blogger on the Patheos website went as far
as stating that "Christian terrorism is a bigger threat to U.S. freedom
than Islamic extremism."
He concluded his article with these startling and plainly
ridiculous words: "Today's attack is an act of religious terrorism,
there should be no other words to describe it. Just as many demand we
label terrorism carried out in the name of Islam as Islamic terrorism,
we must do the same to Christianity and realize the Christian religion
is just as dangerous and prone to incite violence as its younger
brother, Islam."
How do we respond to irresponsible and irrational rhetoric like this?
The respected Newsweek journalist Kurt
Eichenwald even tweeted, "The time has come to
hold @daviddaleiden accountable for violence spawned by his lying 'baby
body parts' video. Indict him 4 manslaughter."
Like many other leaders, as soon as I heard the news about
the horrific shooting, I tweeted out, "In light of today's news about a
shooter at a Planned Parenthood, we state again that this is NOT the way
of Jesus or the way of pro-life."
Then, as I began to see the mounting charges of "Christian
terrorism" or "Christian extremism," I tweeted, "In light of some crazy
rhetoric here re: pro-lifers wanting to kill abortion doctors, if that
was the case, 1,000's would be killed by now."
The fact is that the pro-life movement is an overwhelmingly
peaceful movement, despite our profound and deep objection to abortion
on demand and despite the deplorable practices of Planned Parenthood. As
blogger Matt Walsh noted, "Interesting fact: Planned Parenthood kills
100 times more people in a day than alleged 'anti abortion extremists'
have killed in 40 years."
As for those "anti-abortion extremists," their actions have
been condemned by all major pro-life groups as well as by all major
Christian leaders involved in the pro-life movement, since, by murdering
another human being, they violate the very spirit of being "pro-life."
More importantly, there is not a single word in the
teaching of Jesus or the New Testament that supports murdering an
abortion doctor (or worker), nor is there anything in ancient Christian
tradition or example that would support this.
That's why it was no surprise to learn that the alleged
shooter in last week's tragic attack was completely unknown to the
pro-life movement and that, according to one report, after a divorce in
2000, "he appears to have posted apocalyptic rants online and sought
sadomasochistic sex and pot-smoking companions." This is hardly
Christian!
That's why Christian leaders in Belgium are scratching
their heads upon hearing the report that "a menacing letter from the
group called 'Christian state' has been sent to the major Belgian mosque
Attadamoune. It threatens all Muslims will be killed, and their
businesses destroyed."
They too have no idea who this alleged "Christian" group
could be—if the letter is even genuinely from such a group—since there
is no connection between Christian teaching, in any recognized
denomination or tradition, and threats like this.
And in stark contrast with radical Islamic groups, pro-life
leaders in the church and government have called for the defunding of
our ideological opponents at Planned Parenthood whereas radical
Islamists call for the beheading of their ideological opponents.
So I have a challenge for everyone who wants to brand the
tragic Planned Parenthood shooting an act of Christian terrorism: Find
one verse in the New Testament, in context, or one example from the
early church, or one statement from a recognized pro-life organization
that supports these murderous acts.
Radical Muslims can find plenty of support for their
violent actions in the Quran, the life of Muhammad, early Islamic
history, later Islamic history, and from the lips and pens of respected
contemporary leaders, which is why I refer to it as radical Islam.
Radical Christianity, in stark contrast, stands for the giving of
life and the preservation of life, not the taking of life. And while the
term "Islamic terrorism" is hardly an oxymoron, the term "Christian
terrorism" is absolutely oxymoronic and fundamentally self-contradictory.
Monday, November 23, 2015
How to keep anxiety at bay! Gods Way!
|
How
many people will dine on your turkey this Thanksgiving? Imagine 5,000
growling stomachs waiting for lunch! That sparks enough anxiety to crack
Gibraltar, yet Jesus faced such a challenge with calm serenity. The key
was in “giving thanks.” Jesus was anxious for nothing because gratitude
was the continual condition of His heart. Anxiety-free living is not
hovering in space, detached from everyday issues, but living in the
midst of the furor without worry, or a persisting anticipation of
disaster. Giving thanks before you distribute seven loaves and a few
throw-back fish is an act of faith. Jesus’ heart was “thankful” because
it was “thinkful.” He meditated on God’s sufficiency before He dealt
with the people’s insufficiency. His heart focused on the Father’s
faithfulness in the face of the mob’s fearfulness. Gratitude kept
anxiety away from Jesus, and it will cure yours as well.
TODAY’S SPIRITUAL HEART FOCUS
Don’t let the Holidays drive up your anxiety, but take time to meditate on God’s faithfulness.
TODAY’S SPIRITUAL HEART FOCUS
Don’t let the Holidays drive up your anxiety, but take time to meditate on God’s faithfulness.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
GodsView : Heavenly Hope!
GodsView : Heavenly Hope!: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” —John 14:2 (NKJV) We...
Heavenly Hope!
We don’t have to be stressed out or troubled in our hearts because, as Christians, our destination is eternal life in heaven. No matter what happens, no one can rob us of that great hope.
Maybe you’ve lost your job or your car won’t start. Maybe you have all kinds of problems in your life right now—but you are still going to heaven.
The apostle Paul encouraged the church with these words: “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 TLB).
Jesus promises that there is a real place called heaven, and you have His word on it—the surest word in the entire universe.
Now when Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” I don’t believe He was speaking of a celestial Beverly Hills with beautiful, palatial mansions for those who live really godly lives on earth. The Amplified Bible renders this verse: “In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (or homes).”
Who can begin to imagine what these “homes” or “dwelling places” will be like? All I know is that Jesus Himself—the One who created the universe with all its wonders—has been working on preparing a place for us for more than 2,000 years.
I agree with Paul when he wrote: “No mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord” (2 Corinthians 2:9 TLB).
Jesus has promised us that we will be together with Him in heaven, for eternity, in the place He has prepared for us. And He will keep His word.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
GodsView : Slander and Accusation Destroy Others!
GodsView : Slander and Accusation Destroy Others!: Church splits, divisions, gossiping and all kinds of fleshly problems is something we can think is normal in the Church life. Who has not...
Slander and Accusation Destroy Others!
With our mouths and careless words we can destroy another brother and sister (Proverbs 18:21). Many Churches and ministries have been split by malicious rumors, untrue accusations, without speaking to the individuals privately. The sin of slander is also dangerous in that we partake of the very character of the devil. When we follow the Lord and act godliness we are being like God as its his character. The word slanderer, or “malicious talkers” (1 Timothy 3:11) is the greek word diabolos, meaning “false” accuser. This is a title given for the devil (Jude 1:9, Revelation 20:10). When we commit the sin of slander we are doing one of the main practices of the devil. He is known as “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Revelation 12:10). This should sober us to realize the severity of the sin of gossip and slander. We are never called by God’s Spirit to criticize and speak evil of others in the Church but to always look how to serve and love each other. Though we might be slow to change like the Corinthian Church may God give us grace to not speak evil of the brethren. To pray for those who fail and are weak, and never spread gossip or give an ear to it ourselves, as Paul recommends to disassociate with a believer who slanders (1 Corinthians 5:11). Lord, forgive me for any gossip and slander I have done over the years, cleanse me of these sins and allow me to build up your body and not tear it down anymore. Amen.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
GodsView : God Has a Future for You!!
GodsView : God Has a Future for You!!: When the apostle Paul was imprisoned for proclaiming the gospel, he was no doubt feeling a bit down and discouraged. Perhaps he was w...
God Has a Future for You!!
Paul could take comfort that there was a future for him because Jesus said, “You must also bear witness in Rome.” They wouldn’t kill him. He was still to bear witness in Rome. He had a future.
One of my favorite verses about God’s future for each of us is in the book of Jeremiah: “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
It is worth noting that these words were given to Israel when they were in captivity in Babylon. They had lost hope. They saw no future, and felt as if God had forgotten about them. But the Lord was saying to them (and us too), “I have not forgotten you, and there is a future!”
Note that God does not say, “I know the thoughts that I have thought toward you.” Rather, He says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you.”
Now it would be wonderful enough to know that God ever thought of me as an individual. But it is not something God has merely done in the past. It is something He is doing in the present and will continue to do in the future.
Know this: God is thinking about you right now! He is not thinking about you merely as a member of the human race. He is thinking about you as an individual.
Psalm 40:5 says, “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be counted to You in order. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”
Think about that! God Almighty, the One who holds the heavens in the span of His hand, the One who spoke and creation came into being, is thinking about you right now.
Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of a future. Now the word used here for future could be translated “an expected end.” Another translation describes it as “a ground of hope” or “things hoped for.”
There will be an outcome in your life, regardless of what you are going through at present. There will be completion. God will tie up the loose ends. You are still a work in progress. God is still finishing you, so don’t be impatient. Don’t feel it’s over, just because you are not where you want to be yet.
We see only the beginning. God sees “the expected end” and it is good! God still had a future for Paul, just as He does for you.
Monday, September 7, 2015
GodsView : Is the Allah of Islam the God of the Bible?
GodsView : Is the Allah of Islam the God of the Bible?: "No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." ( 1 John 2:23 NIV) Long before ...
Is the Allah of Islam the God of the Bible?
Long before Muhammad was born, Arabic Christians were already referring to God as Allah — and millions continue to do so today. The Allah of Islam, however, is definitely not the God of the Bible; for while Muslims passionately defend the unity of God, they patently deny His triunity. They recoil at the notion of God as Father, reject the unique deity of Jesus Christ the Son, and renounce the divine identity of the Holy Spirit.
First, while Jesus taught His disciples to pray "Our Father in heaven," devotees of Muhammad find the very notion offensive. To their way of thinking, calling God "Father" and Jesus Christ "Son" suggests sexual procreation. According to the Qur'an, "It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should beget a son" (Sura 19:35); and Allah "begetteth not, nor is he begotten" (Sura 112:3). The Bible, however, does not use the term "begotten" with respect to the Father and the Son in the sense of sexual reproduction but rather in the sense of special relationship; thus, when the apostle John speaks of Jesus as "the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14 KJV, emphasis added), he is underscoring the unique deity of Christ. John goes on to state, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John 1:18 NIV). When the apostle Paul likewise refers to Jesus as "the firstborn over all creation" (Colossians 1:15 NIV, emphasis added), he is emphasizing Christ's preeminence or prime position as the Creator of all things (cf. vv. 16–19). Christians are sons of God through adoption; Jesus is God the Son from all eternity.
Muslims, furthermore, dogmatically denounce the Christian declaration of Christ's unique deity as the unforgivable sin of shirk. As the Qur'an puts it, "Allah forgiveth not (the sin of) joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth whom He pleaseth other sins than this" (Sura 4:116). Muslims readily affirm the sinlessness of Christ, however, they adamantly deny His sacrifice upon the cross and subsequent resurrection. In doing so, they deny the singular historical fact that demonstrates that Jesus does not stand in a long line of peers from Abraham to Muhammad, but is God in human flesh. The Qur'anic phrase, "Allah raised him up" (Sura 4:158) is taken to mean that Jesus was supernaturally raptured rather than resurrected from the dead. In Islamic lore, God made someone look like Jesus, and this look-alike was crucified in His place. In recent years, the myth that Judas was crucified in place of Jesus has been popularized in Muslim circles due to the propagation of a late-medieval work titled The Gospel of Barnabas. Against the weight of historical evidence, the Qur'an exclaims, "they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them" (Sura 4:157).
Finally, in addition to rejecting the divinity of Jesus, Islam also renounces the divine identity of the Holy Spirit. Far from being the third person of the triune God who inspired the text of the Bible, Islam teaches that the Holy Spirit is the archangel Gabriel who dictated the Qur'an to Muhammad over a period of 23 years. This is ironic considering that Islam also identifies the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus in John 14 as Muhammad. The Bible, however, roundly rejects such corruptions and misrepresentations. The Holy Spirit is neither an angel nor a mere mortal; rather, He is the very God Who redeems us from our sins and will one day resurrect us to life eternal (e.g., Acts 5:3–4; Rom. 8:11).
Sunday, August 23, 2015
GodsView : An Unraveled Life!
GodsView : An Unraveled Life!: For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great. 2 Samuel 11:1-4 records, incredibly, that while everyone else was ...
An Unraveled Life!
2 Samuel 11:1-4 records, incredibly, that while everyone else was out at battle and David stayed home, he saw Bathsheba. Verses 2-4 say, "He saw from the roof a woman bathing.... [He] sent and inquired about the woman.... [He] sent messengers and took her." You're like, "Who can do that?" The king can do that! And nobody contradicted him! That is until God began to use his friend Nathan and his son Absalom to absolutely crush David. Consequences began to unravel David's life.
As the next several years unfolded, Absalom murdered his brother Amnon because he raped his sister, Tamar. David did nothing about it. He lost Absalom's respect because he was so passive late in life. Absalom led a revolt against his father. He was trying to take over the kingdom. David's authority and power had blinded him to his own sin.
The word guilt in today's verse means literally to bend, to twist, to distort, to warp, to pervert, or to ruin. The word means sin. David in effect said, "For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my bent-ness; pardon my twistedness, God. Pardon my distorted, warped, perverted way of thinking, God. Pardon my ruin, what I've done with myself." It's an incredible statement of personal admission. David's prayer flowed from humility born of adversity. "I'm wrong, God! My actions are wrong! My words are wrong! My motives are wrong! I am wrong!"
When was the last time you were undone? When was the last time your life was unraveled by your own shortcomings? How quickly we are worked up about the shortcomings of others. When was the last time you were taken apart by yourself? Not by what your spouse needs to learn. Not by what your mom's doing wrong. Not by the shortcomings of the leaders in your church or where you work, but by yourself. That's the moment that God's trying to bring about. That's where all this is headed. Not that you should observe the shortcomings of others, but that you should have a better understanding of yourself and where you're failing. That's what God is always going for in your life.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
GodsView : Marriage As It Was Meant to Be!
GodsView : Marriage As It Was Meant to Be!: Our entertainment-saturated society helps feed all sorts of illusions about reality. The fantasy of the perfect romantic and sexual rel...
Marriage As It Was Meant to Be!
The worst fallout comes in the marriage relationship. When two people can't live up to each other's expectations, they'll look for their fantasized satisfaction in the next relationship, the next experience, the next excitement. But that path leads only to self-destruction and emptiness.
Marriage is the capstone of the family, the building block of human civilization. A society that does not honor and protect marriage undermines its very existence. Why? Because one of God's designs for marriage is to show the next generation how a husband and wife demonstrate reciprocal, sacrificial love toward each other.
But when husbands and wives forsake that love, their marriage fails to be what God intended. When marriage fails, the whole family falls apart; when the family fails, the whole society suffers. And stories of societal suffering fill the headlines every day.
Now, more than ever before, is the time for Christians to declare and put on display what the Bible declares: God's standard for marriage and the family is the only standard that can produce meaning, happiness, and fulfillment.
Divine Directives for Wives
One of the most explicit passages of Scripture that outlines God's standard for marriage is Ephesians 5:22-33. Wives often bear the brunt of that section, but the majority of the passage deals with the husband's attitude toward and responsibilities for his wife. Nonetheless, here's the wife's responsibility before the Lord:
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything (vv. 22-24).Submission in no way implies a difference in essence or worth; it does refer, however, to a willing submission of oneself. Wives, submission is to be your voluntary response to God's will — it's a willingness to give up your rights to other believers in general and ordained authority in particular, in this case your own husband.
Husbands aren't to treat their wives like slaves, barking commands at them; they are to treat their wives as equals, assuming their God-given responsibility of caring, protecting, and providing for them.
Likewise wives fulfill their God-given responsibility when they submit willingly to their own husbands. That reflects not only the depth of intimacy and vitality in their relationship, but also the sense of ownership a wife has for her husband.
Keep in mind that the wife's submission requires intelligent participation: "Mere listless, thoughtless subjection is not desirable if ever possible. The quick wit, the clear moral discernment, the fine instincts of a wife make of her a counselor whose influence is invaluable and almost unbounded" (Charles R. Erdman,The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966], 103).
Elisabeth Elliot, writing on "The Essence of Femininity," offers a fitting summary of God's ideal for wives:
Unlike Eve, whose response to God was calculating and self-serving, the virgin Mary's answer holds no hesitation about risks or losses or the interruption of her own plans. It is an utter and unconditional self-giving: "I am the Lord's servant…. May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). This is what I understand to be the essence of femininity. It means surrender.
Think of a bride. She surrenders her independence, her name, her destiny, her will, herself to the bridegroom in marriage.... The gentle and quiet spirit of which Peter speaks, calling it "of great worth in God's sight" (1 Peter 3:4), is the true femininity, which found its epitome in Mary (John Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood [Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1991], 398, 532, emphasis added).
Divine Directives for HusbandsAfter giving the divine guidelines for the wife's submission, Paul devotes the next nine verses of Ephesians 5 to explain the husband's duty to submit to his wife through his love for her: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church" (v. 25). The Lord's pattern of love for His church is the husband's pattern of love for his wife, and it is manifest in four ways.
Sacrificial Love Christ loved the church by giving "Himself up for her." The husband who loves his wife as Christ loves His church will give up everything he has for his wife, including his life if necessary.
Most of you husbands would give verbal assent to that — literally dying for your wife is such a remote possibility for most of you. But I would speculate that it is much more difficult to make lesser, but actual sacrifices for her.
Husbands, when you put aside your own likes, desires, opinions, preferences, and welfare to please your wife and meet her needs, then you are truly dying to self to live for your wife. And that is what Christ's love demands.
Purifying Love Christ loved the church sacrificially with this goal in mind:
That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless (vv. 26-27).Love wants only the best for the one it loves, and it cannot bear for a loved one to be corrupted or misled by anything evil or harmful. If you really love your wife, you'll do everything in your power to maintain her holiness, virtue, and purity every day you live.
That obviously means doing nothing to defile her. Don't expose her to or let her indulge in anything that would bring impurity into her life. Don't tempt her to sin by, say, inducing an argument out of her on a subject you know is sensitive to her. Love always seeks to purify.
Caring Love Another aspect of divine love is this:
Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church (vv. 28-29).The word translated "cherishes" literally means "to warm with body heat" — it is used to describe a bird sitting on her nest (e.g., Deut. 22:6). Husbands, you are to provide a secure, warm, safe haven for your wife.
When your wife needs strength, give her strength. When she needs encouragement, give it to her. Whatever she needs, you are obligated to supply as best you can. God chose you to provide for and protect her, to nourish and cherish her, and to do so "as Christ also does the church."
Unbreakable Love For a husband to love his wife as Christ loves His church he must love her with an unbreakable love. In this direct quotation from Genesis 2:24, Paul emphasizes the permanence as well as the unity of marriage: "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh" (v. 31). And God's standard for marriage still hasn't changed.
Husbands, your union with your wife is permanent. When you got married, you had to leave, cleave, and become one with your wife — never go back on that. Let your wife rest in the security of knowing that you belong to her, for life.
Just as the body of Christ is indivisible, God's ideal for marriage is that it be indivisible. As Christ is one with His church, you husbands are one with your wives.
Paul goes on to say, "This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church" (v. 32). Why is submission as well as sacrificial, purifying, and caring love so strongly emphasized in Scripture? Because the sacredness of the church is wed to the sacredness of marriage.
Christian, your marriage is a testimony to the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church. Your marriage will either tell the truth about that relationship, or it will tell a lie.
What is your marriage saying to the watching world? If you'll walk in the power of the Spirit, yield to His Word, and be mutually submissive, you can know that God will bless you abundantly and glorify His Son through your marriage.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
GodsView : The Prophecies of Ezekiel Concerning the Restorati...
GodsView : The Prophecies of Ezekiel Concerning the Restorati...: Ezekiel prophesied about the judgment of Jerusalem and other nations in Ezekiel 1-32. In Chapter 33, a messenger came and gave the news t...
The Prophecies of Ezekiel Concerning the Restoration of Israel!
In trying to understand Ezekiel’s prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel, we must realize that he was giving hope to his immediate audience who were the Jews in exile. He was giving them a message from God that told them that all was not lost and that their nation would be restored in the future. This restoration would take place beginning when many of the Jews returned to Palestine under Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel and the temple was rebuilt. However, we cannot say that Ezekiel’s prophecies concerning the restoration of Israel were fully fulfilled in this return of the Jews from exile. True, there was a definite restoration and the temple was rebuilt. Yet, his prophecies pointed to more than just that return from that first exile of the Jews in the time of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel.
For one thing, Ezekiel prophesies that David would be their shepherd and king. Now, David was long dead when they returned from the first exile. So, this prophecy could not have been fulfilled then if Ezekiel was referring to the David in Israel’s history. He would have to be referring to another David who would yet come. Who then was that David and had he come when that first restoration from exile took place? We read in Ezekiel 34:23-24 – “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.” Again, we read in Ezekiel 37:24 – “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.” This David could only be referring to the Messiah who would yet come and not to the historical David who had already died. David was a type of the Messiah who would come in the future. When the people of Israel came back to their homeland under Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel, the Messiah had not yet come, but He would come to their descendants in the future.
Certainly there was a beginning of the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecies at the first restoration. The Jews came back to their homeland and rebuilt the temple. It was this same temple to which the Messiah would come. Two passages point out the significance of this second temple and its relation to the coming of the Messiah. First is Haggai 2:6-9 which says, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” Another passage is Malachi 3:1 which also points to the Messiah and says, “’See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty.” The Messiah did come to His temple when Jesus came. He visited the temple, He taught in the temple, He cleansed the temple, He prophesied concerning the temple, and eventually brought judgment on the temple in 70 AD.
This first return of the exiles prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah by the rebuilding of the temple and it would be their descendants such as Zechariah, Simeon, Anna, and others who would welcome Him when He came. He would also be welcomed by all who believed on Him during His earthly ministry.
Though David had died long before, yet His descendant was there in Jesus Christ. It was this descendant of David who was recognized and welcomed as the Messiah. On the Day of Pentecost Peter declared that Jesus was indeed the descendant of David who would come that it was this Jesus who was the Messiah. In Acts 2:29-36, Peter says, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Not only had the Messiah come but He had poured our the Holy Spirit upon His disciples to be with them reminding us of Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 37:27 where he says, “My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
So, we can say that Ezekiel’s prophecies were fulfilled when the Jews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple at the first restoration and was further fulfilled when Jesus came to the temple Himself being the David that was promised. It was further fulfilled at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out and came to live in and with the disciples. However, we cannot say that this completely fulfills Ezekiel’s prophecies for there seems to be more yet to come.
One thing we must make clear is that God’s people were continued in and through the church. Even now Ezekiel’s prophecies are being fulfilled through the church, the new Israel, as people come to the new David, Jesus Christ and as God’s Spirit lives in and among them. There is a definite continuation of God’s people in the church of Jesus Christ and we cannot accept the sharp distinction made between Israel and the Church by some popular teachers today. This can be the only proper interpretation of passages like Ephesians 2:11-22 – “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (that done in the body by the hands of men) – remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
This passage and others like it in the New Testament seem to teach that the church is a continuation of Israel and the people of God. The prophecies of Ezekiel point to a time when the people of Israel would serve David, their King. Certainly a beginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy happened at Christ’s first coming. The New Testament church was begun by the descendants of those who heard this prophecy of Ezekiel the first time. The New Testament church was founded by Jewish descendants of the very ones that Ezekiel gave the promise to.
Again, we read Ezekiel 37:24-25 – “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. The will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever.” The founders of the New Testament Church were certainly the ones to whom this prophecy initially referred. They lived in the land of Israel and they served the new David, Jesus Christ. However, we cannot say that they completely fulfilled this prophecy for it speaks of their living in the land forever.
Therefore, we must look for a further restoration of the Jews in which they would return to their own land and this time would not leave it again. We must remember that in 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were disbursed among the nations. So, the first restoration was not a permanent one for the Jews. There would have to be another restoration in the future to see these prophecies of Ezekiel fully completed. Chapters 38 and 39 seem to point to some future period beyond the first restoration. It would be a time when the Jews would once again return to their homeland but this time they would not be scattered about but would remain in the land. Although nations would attack them, the Jewish people would remain for God would rescue them. It would also be a time when they would turn to the Lord and the implication is that they would accept the Messiah at that time and as a whole would become the followers of the new David as their shepherd. Ezekiel 39:21-29 describes this wonderful conversion of the Jewish people to the Lord – “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God. And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleaness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Ezekiel 38-39 corresponds remarkably to Zechariah 12-14 and seems to describe the same events. God pours out His Spirit on the Jews in both passages. Zechariah 12:10 says, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” It is true that in the early church there were Jews who mourned over their rejection of Jesus and then turned to Him. Yet they were only a remnant of the total Jewish population. Many Jews continued to reject Jesus and also persecuted the Christians. The prophecy in Zechariah mentioned above seems to show a mourning of a much greater extent encompassing all of the Israelites. Zechariah 12:11-14 tells of the extent of the conversion that takes place among the Jews – “On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the rest of the clans and their wives.”
This future conversion of Israel predicted by Ezekiel in chapters 38-39 seems definitely to be a future event that is yet to come. Though the Jews are even now back in their homeland in Palestine, the Jewish people have not as a whole been converted to Christ. Yet, that day will come according to the Apostle Paul who seems to describe a future conversion of Israel in Romans 11; 25-27 (ESV) – “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’” Earlier Paul talked about the olive tree representing the people of God. Israel was the root of the tree but some of her branches had broken off and had been replaced by others showing that the Gentiles had been grafted into the olive tree. Yet, he points out that the Jews could yet be grafted in again to their own olive tree. In Romans 11:23, Paul says, “And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.” Romans 11 predicts a future conversion of the Jews associated with the fullness of the Gentiles. This could very well be pointing to a future worldwide revival including the conversion of the Jews to Christ.
Unlike my dispensational friends, I believe that Israel’s future conversion will not be a separate event from the church but rather a wholesale coming into the church and becoming followers of Christ. Their coming in will be accompanied by an extensive revival among the Gentiles as well (fullness of the Gentiles).
What we see in Ezekiel 34-39 points to the Messianic age and a future conversion of the Jews. Parts of those chapters are fulfilled in the New Testament church but they also point to a future conversion of the Jews to Christ and a future grafting in of the Jews into the church.
This article is not a detailed study of Ezekiel 34-39 but rather a simple overview showing that the prophecies given there point not just to the first restoration of Israel from exile but rather to a further fulfillment some of which occurred when Jesus came the first time and more will be fulfilled in later times when the Jews as a whole are restored and accept Jesus as their Messiah.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
GodsView : When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty!
GodsView : When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty!: Q: Why are Christians so judgmental and unloving? A: Because we live in an age of tolerance where almost anything goes, openly question...
When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty!
A: Because we live in an age of tolerance where almost anything goes, openly questioning or criticizing other people's belief systems can quickly get you labeled as judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful, and even ignorant. With regard to Christianity, Matthew 7:1 is often quoted (or should I say "misquoted") as discouraging Christians from putting other religious teachings and practices to the test: "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
This interpretation of Scripture, however, is simply mistaken. The Bible clearly speaks out not against passing judgment in general, but against rendering inaccurate and unfair judgments (John 7:24). In 1 Corinthians 2:15 Paul tells us that Christians are called to make "judgments about all things." Our judgment, though, should not be based on what God has not revealed; but rather, on what He has revealed (v. 13).
God's revealed Word, the Bible, tells us that Jesus Christ is the only way we can possibly reach God and that there's no alternate route (Acts 4:12). It stands to reason, therefore, that other beliefs offering alleged alternate pathways to God only lead to dead-ends. And if we as Christians really want to follow our Lord's teaching to love our neighbors, we can't escape our responsibility to warn them about spiritually destructive roads paved by non-Christian belief systems (Prov. 14:12). True love and compassion should move believers to sound warning cries, even in the face of opposition, to avert countless lives from heading toward eternal separation from God.
Let's realize that when we call teachings into question, it's only because we're concerned about the eternal destinies of people. Let's also keep in mind that Scripture doesn't command us to simply rail against false teachings; rather, it encourages us to offer biblical reasons with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15). Always remember that when it comes to personal relationships, tolerance is a virtue; but when it comes to truth, tolerance is a travesty.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
GodsView : The Great Gay Deception!
GodsView : The Great Gay Deception!: In February 2007, a colleague of mine attended the annual fundraising dinner for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the world’s largest gay...
The Great Gay Deception!
Next to him at the table was a homosexual couple, and as my friend was talking to one of the men in the couple, he suddenly had a vision—and he is not prone to such things—of a snake wrapped around the man’s neck. He knew he had to kill it before it strangled the man to death, but he also knew if he didn’t exercise extreme care in killing the snake, he would kill the man in the process.
That, in vivid pictorial illustration, is the predicament we find ourselves in today in the church. On the one hand, we see the real dangers of gay activism affecting virtually every area of our society. In fact, it can be said without exaggeration that gay activism is the principal threat to our freedoms of speech, religion and conscience. And we see how our kids are being negatively influenced in their schools and through the media by curricula and programming produced by gay activists and their straight allies.
At the same time, we want to reach out to those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender with the love of God and the compassion of Christ, recognizing how much rejection many of them have suffered and being fully aware they perceive conservative Christians to be their greatest enemies, viewing us as hateful, bigoted, intolerant and homophobic—as condemning all of them to hell.
How then do we stand against gay activism without hurting our witness to gay individuals? And how do we reach out with sensitivity without softening our stance for righteousness? How do we walk in both grace and truth together?
Reach Out and Resist
In January 2005, the Lord spoke this word to my heart: “Reach out and resist.” I knew this word to mean I was to reach out to the homosexual community with compassion while resisting gay activism with courage—and I have been seeking to live that out ever since.
I can hear already what some believers will say: “We agree we need to reach out to gays and lesbians with the gospel. Of course we do! Homosexuals are loved by God just as much as heterosexuals. Jesus shed the same blood for gays and straights. All of us are created in the image of God yet are broken and fallen. It is our sacred responsibility to share the gospel with the LGBT community—but we’ve got no business opposing gay activism. That’s mixing politics with religion, and it will only hurt our witness.”
Really? Are you sure? Was it mixing politics with religion when Christians opposed slavery and the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries? Is it mixing politics with religion now when Christians stand up for the lives of the unborn or oppose human trafficking?
In the same way, it is not mixing politics with religion when we stand up for gender as God intended it, for sexuality as God intended it, for marriage as God intended it, just to name a few of the issues here. And while there is a real challenge to our witness to the LGBT community when we stand for righteousness, we really have no choice.
Let me explain why the stakes are so high and why it is imperative we practice the “reach out” part as well as the “resist” part.
The War on the Bible
Forty years ago, gay activists concluded their two main enemies were the psychiatric profession and the church. The former classified homosexuality as a sickness, the latter as a sin, and so an ideological war was launched to combat these mindsets.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (followed by a host of other organizations) depathologized homosexuality, saying it was not a mental or emotional disorder of any kind.
This meant the last major obstacle to overcome was the view of the church, and that’s why there has been a concerted effort to change public perception about the Bible and homosexual practice. This effort has involved arguing that the message of the Bible is antiquated and irrelevant or, in more conservative circles, that the Word of God was condemning things like pedophilia and homosexual prostitution as opposed to committed, loving, same-sex relationships.
Make no mistake about it: Gay activists will not be satisfied until Christians across the nation believe Moses and Jesus and Paul would affirm same-sex marriage. After all, love is love, right?
This battle is coming to a church or denomination near you.
The War on Gender
What many believers do not realize is that there is not only a war on heterosexism (defined by the San Francisco Unified School District as “an overt or tacit bias against homosexuality rooted in the belief that heterosexuality is superior or the norm”). There is also a war on gender—on male-female distinctives and on the male-female dichotomy.
As stated by lesbian sociology professor Barb Burdge, “The social construct of dividing humans into male and female is oppressive and should be rejected altogether.”
In keeping with this ideology, Newsweek magazine asked almost four years ago, in its August 16, 2010, issue, “Are we facing a genderless future?” and further stated that “a small but growing number of people are rejecting being labeled male or female.”
Even more shockingly, standard policy in Los Angeles schools states, “‘Gender identity’ refers to one’s understanding, interests, outlook and feelings about whether one is female or male, or both, or neither, regardless of one’s biological sex.” (I’m not making this up.)
That’s why you’re hearing more and more about female prom kings and male prom queens. As one 16-year-old girl explains, “It’s not like the stereotype where the [prom] king has to be a jock and he’s there with the cheerleaders anymore. We live in a generation now where dudes are chicks and chicks are dudes.”
Who can imagine what’s coming next if we don’t uphold the standard of God’s male-female creation?
The War on Children’s Education
Writing in the flagship gay publication The Advocate in 1995, lesbian journalist Patricia Nell Warren stated, “Whoever captures the kids owns the future.” Long before this, in 1958, Allen Ginsberg, the famed Beat poet and gay hippie icon, shouted to a young conservative leader, “We’ll get you through your children!”
Gay activists have been incredibly successful capturing the hearts and minds of our kids, not primarily by trying to seduce them into gay sex (as if all gays were child predators), but rather through indoctrination. As stated by the National Union of Teachers in the U.K., “It is particularly important to begin to make 3- to 5-year-olds aware of the range of families that exist in the U.K. today: families with one mum, one mum and dad, two mums, two dads, grandparents, adoptive parents, guardians.”
Coloring books like Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls seek to deconstruct traditional gender roles. Children’s readers like One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads and Oh, the Things Mommies Do! What Could Be Better Than Having Two? influence the minds of nursery school kids.
And “Terminology Game Cards,” provided by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, quiz elementary school students on terms such as biological sex, gender identity, gender role, transgender, gender expression, sexual orientation, heterosexism, transphobia, asexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, transsexual, intersexual, androgyny, cross dresser, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, queer, LGBTQ, sexual reassignment surgery, D/L (down low) and MSM.
In the last two years, the state of California passed bills that 1) call for the mandatory celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history in America for all grades and districts, with no ability to opt out for parents or students; 2) make it illegal for a minor with unwanted same-sex attractions to get professional counseling and help, even with parental permission; and 3) give rights to a student in any grade who identifies as the opposite of his/her biological sex to use the bathroom of his/her choice and to play on the sports team (male or female) of his/her choice with use of the respective locker room.
And you say we shouldn’t care about this or get involved? (Remember also that what I’m sharing here is the tiniest tip of a massive iceberg; for many more details on all these fronts, see my book A Queer Thing Happened to America.)
The War on the Media
Writing in 1989, gay strategists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen called for the “conversion of the average American’s emotions, mind, and will, through a planned psychological attack, in the form of propaganda fed to the nation via the media.”
They and their colleagues have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams to the point that film critic and radio host Michael Medved noted several years ago, “A Martian gathering evidence about American society, simply by monitoring our television, would certainly assume that there were more gay people in America than there are evangelical Christians.”
We could now say the Martian would also conclude gay people are, with rare or no exception, incredibly nice, family-oriented, creative and considerate, while evangelical Christians are mean-spirited, judgmental, dull, greedy and hypocritical.
Back in 2010, gay media activist Jarrett Barrios stated, “It’s not enough to be Will and Grace anymore. The benchmark is higher.” (For our kids, Glee has certainly gone a good way toward advancing that goal.) That same year, an article on the insidemovie.com website noted “a particular sub-genre has emerged as perhaps the hottest gimmick in Hollywood: girl on girl [kissing].”
Yes, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is now old hat and Brokeback Mountain (which featured gay sex scenes with mainstream actors on the big screen) is remembered with nostalgia for its groundbreaking role.
Today, Hollywood is becoming more and more militant, with leading actors like Mark Ruffalo, who appeared in the lesbian-themed movie The Kids Are All Right, saying this about the stand for marriage as God intended it: “It’s the last dying, kicking, screaming, caged animal response to a world that is changing, a world that’s leaving a lot of those old, bigoted, unaccepting views behind. It’s over. Those against it are very tricky, and they’re using really dark ways to promote their ideas.”
Hollywood has declared war on biblical values—and, sad to say, many American evangelicals are more familiar with the latest movies than with the Word of God.
The War on Our Freedoms of Conscience, Speech and Religion
Whole books could be written on this subject detailing the stories of university students punished or kicked out of their schools because they could not affirm gay activism, employees fired from their jobs or fined for posting their views on homosexuality on their private Facebook pages or in local newspaper editorials, street preachers arrested for preaching the Word of God on sexuality, business owners fined for refusing to participate in gay commitment ceremonies—and the list goes on and on.
As I wrote in December 2013, “It is not just private individuals who have been punished for refusing to bow the knee to gay activism or for speaking out of turn, but also public figures like Dr. Ben Carson, pastor Louie Giglio and Sen. Rick Santorum. (In case you missed what happened with Mr. Santorum, in April, a Michigan high school canceled his speaking appearance out of concern that he would address same-sex marriage, eventually agreeing to let him speak with the caveat that students could only attend with parental permission [!]. In stark contrast, Bible-bashing, gay-sex-exalting speakers like Dan Savage are hailed as heroes in our schools and campuses, given carte blanche to talk about the most vile subjects to our young people.)”
And who can forget what happened to Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson after his comments about homosexuality were published by GQ magazine?
The simple truth is that if we don’t stand up for what is right today, we will have to apologize to our kids and grandkids tomorrow. Yet many Christians refuse to believe this, thinking that by ignoring these critical social issues and simply building bridges to their LGBT friends and co-workers, they will remove the gay community’s opposition to the gospel.
The reality is that unless we affirm that homosexual relationships and homosexual practice are fine in God’s sight, we will still be branded as homophobes and bigots.
Our Reaching and Resisting Response
What then must we do? First, we must ask God for His heart of love and compassion toward those who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, recognizing the vast majority of them did not simply choose to have these attractions or gender-related issues and that, more than anything, they want to be accepted for who they are.
Second, we must get our own houses in order, repenting of our sexual sin and of our rampant, no-fault divorce.
Third, we must pray for the LGBT community and reach out to them in friendship with the message of the gospel, remembering that Jesus offers forgiveness and redemption equally to all.
And fourth, we must stand firmly against the encroachment of gay activism, recognizing the unspoken mantra of LGBT activists is, “We will intimidate and manipulate until you capitulate.” We must make it known clearly—with love, grace, compassion and humility—that capitulation is not an option.
It is our nature to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and in Jesus we will stand.
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