GodsView : The Humiliation of Christ!

GodsView : The Humiliation of Christ!: "We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death cr...

The Humiliation of Christ!

"We . . . see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9).

In serving as our substitute, Christ humbled Himself supremely.

Jesus' death on the cross was not easy or costless—it was a horrific death. It was not calm and peaceful; it was accompanied by outward torture and inward agony. The death He tasted was the curse of sin. In a few hours on that cross, He suffered the total agony of every soul for all eternity. He was guilty of no sin, yet He chose to suffer the weight of all sins committed for all time.
God sent His Son, and His Son willingly came to die to redeem mankind. Paul writes, "When the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law" (Gal. 4:4-5).
Only by tasting death as a man could He free mankind from death. Historically, kings have had someone taste their food and drink before they consumed it. Christ drained to the dregs the cup of poison rightfully meant for us before it could ever touch our lips. He substituted His death for ours, releasing us from the deadness of sin to life with God.
What moved Jesus to suffer for us? Grace. What we did not deserve (salvation) we received, and what we did deserve (death) we did not receive. Unbounded love prompted Christ's gracious work on our behalf: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
After He accomplished the work of His substitutionary death, He was "crowned with glory and honor" and exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He will reign forever and ever. He is our great Substitute, whom we can thank and praise throughout all eternity.
Suggestion for Prayer
Ask God to give you opportunities to communicate the gospel to new people, even if you might suffer in the process.
For Further Study
Read Isaiah 52:13—53:12 to understand what the God of the universe had to endure at the hands of men.

GodsView : The Truth About the Devil!!

GodsView : The Truth About the Devil!!: The day you put your faith in Jesus Christ, your eternal address changed from a place known as hell to a place called heaven. It was a ...

The Truth About the Devil!!

The day you put your faith in Jesus Christ, your eternal address changed from a place known as hell to a place called heaven. It was a day in which you passed from darkness to light, a day in which you found new purpose and meaning.
It was also a day in which a very real spiritual war began in your life. Conversion made your heart a battlefield. You came to realize that not only is there a God who loves you, but there is also a devil who hates you and wants to pull you back into your old ways again.
We should never underestimate Satan. He is a sly and skillful adversary with many years' experience in dealing with humanity. Though he is a powerful foe, he can be overcome. Let's examine some facts about him.
Satan is nowhere near to being the equal of God.
God is omnipotent: He is all-powerful. God is omniscient: He is all-knowing. God is omnipresent: He is present everywhere.
The devil, in sharp contrast, does not reflect these divine attributes. Satan is very powerful, more than any man, and more powerful than most angels. But he is not anywhere near to being the equal of God.
His knowledge is limited, and he can't know all of our thoughts. And while God can be everywhere at the same time, Satan can be in only one place at one time. However, he does not work alone. He has his minions, his demon forces that do his dirty work (Ephesians 6:10–12).
He can do nothing in the life of the Christian without God's permission.
While God may allow demonic attacks in your life, you are still under God's divine protection. In the book of Job, for instance, we read of the angels coming to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan being among them. God said to him, "From where do you come?" (Job 1:7).
Satan answered, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
Then the Lord essentially began bragging on Job, who was "a blameless and upright man" (v. 8). Satan, in response, pointed out the hedge of protection God had placed around Job's household and everything he owned.
We see by this passage that in spite of his power and wicked agenda, the devil must ask permission when it comes to the life of the child of God, because God has placed a divine hedge of protection around His own.
You can be oppressed to some degree, but if you are a Christian, neither the devil nor a demon can ever take control of your life. When you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you came under His protection. He placed His I.D. tag on you that says, "Property of Jesus Christ. Bought with the blood." Satan knows that and must back off.
Having said that, it doesn't mean the devil can't try to lure you out of God's protection and draw you into his web of deception. That's why, as a child of God, your objective should be to stay as close to the Lord as you possibly can-and keep as much distance between yourself and the devil as possible.
The devil wants to pull you down before God. Then he wants to accuse you.
On more than one occasion, the Scriptures refer to Satan as an accuser. Revelation 12:10 calls him "the accuser of our brethren who accused them before God day and night...".
Satan wants you to believe that you are not worthy to approach God. But you are not approaching Him on the basis of your worthiness. You are approaching God on the basis of what Jesus did for you at the cross. Remember that, because the devil doesn't want you to know it. He wants to accuse you before God and keep you away from Him.
The difference between Satan's accusations and the Holy Spirit's conviction is that Satan will always drive you from the cross. Jesus always will bring you to it.
The devil was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary.

GodsView : Make Room for Jesus This Christmas!

GodsView : Make Room for Jesus This Christmas!: Have you ever had one of those birthdays when you wanted people to throw a party for you? You wanted them to buy some nice gifts. You h...

Make Room for Jesus This Christmas!

Have you ever had one of those birthdays when you wanted people to throw a party for you?
You wanted them to buy some nice gifts. You hinted at what gifts you wanted and even left maps to the places where you wanted them to shop. You were hoping someone would get the idea of throwing you a surprise party. You were certain that every time you went out to dinner with a friend that people were going to jump out and yell, “Happy Birthday!” You were looking forward to it with great excitement. But nothing happened. The party never took place. In fact, it seemed like people forgot your birthday. Or worse yet, they remembered it but failed to acknowledge it.
Christmas is a Birthday.
In theory, that is what Christmas can be like. It is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In contrast to your birthday or mine, everyone recognizes it. Everywhere we go there are reminders that Christmas is coming. Merchants want you to shop till you drop and spend money. Shoppers, in turn, can get psycho about getting good deals.
The Reason for the Season.
We all need to just relax a little bit and remember what this season is about: it is the time when we celebrate Jesus’ birth. In the midst of our activities and preparations to celebrate Christmas, how often do we forget about the honored guest? We string our lights. We trim our trees. We talk about Christmas. We hear recorded songs mentioning the birth of Jesus. But how many people actually take time for Him? We run around the malls and buy things for everyone we know—and even some people we wish we didn’t know. But we can forget to make room in our schedules for Jesus.
Make Room for Jesus.
The fact there was no room for Jesus at the inn that first Christmas was indicative of the treatment that He would receive throughout His entire earthly ministry. One telling passage is found for us in John’s Gospel, where it says, “And everyone went to his own house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives” (John 7:53–8:1 NKJV). Everyone went home for the night, but Jesus went to sleep out in the open air on the Mount of Olives.
There was never room for Jesus. And today, there is just no room for Him in so many situations. Is there room for Jesus in your life right now? This Christmas, as we prepare to start a new year with new opportunities, will you make room in your life for Him?

GodsView : Dying With Christ!

GodsView : Dying With Christ!: Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [He] made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved ), and raised us up...

Dying With Christ!

Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [He] made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. - (>Ephesians 2:5–6)

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, when Christ died, you died with Him. When Christ arose, you arose with Him. When Christ was seated at the right hand of the Father, you were seated with Him. You were made to function in concert and cadence with Jesus Christ. In order for you to access Christ’s sovereign authority over all things, you and your world must be aligned underneath His headship. This includes your thoughts, choices, words, and perspective. It is as you align yourself under Him and His Word that His authority becomes manifest in your own life as you seek to advance God’s kingdom on earth.

In fact, you can go to all of the church services that you want, read all of the spiritual books you want--but until you place yourself under the comprehensive rule of God in every area of your life by aligning yourself under the lordship of Jesus Christ, you will not fully realize nor maximize the rule and authority He has destined for you.

Reflection: Who did the work to transfer you to Christ’s kingdom? Who now does the work of making you holy? How does God’s Word work in your life to conform you to the image of Christ? How is God currently working through you to advance His kingdom on earth? Are you more concerned about His kingdom or your own?

Father, I want to fully realize the rule and authority that You have destined for me. I want to live out all of my days in the abundance that You have promised to give me through Jesus Christ. I place my heart, thoughts, and actions underneath Your divine and sovereign authority.

GodsView : Give Thanks...in Everything!

GodsView : Give Thanks...in Everything!: Sometimes worship and thanksgiving can be a sacrifice. That may be because we are down or depressed or things aren't going all that...

Give Thanks...in Everything!

Sometimes worship and thanksgiving can be a sacrifice. That may be because we are down or depressed or things aren't going all that well for us. Maybe hardship or tragedy has struck our lives in some way and we don't want to thank God.
Yet the Bible urges us to give thanks to the Lord. Psalm 106:1 says, "Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (NKJV). We are told in Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (NKJV). And Hebrews 13:15 says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
We are not told to give thanks to the Lord because we feel good; we are to give thanks to the Lord because He is good.
As we approach God to ask for new blessings, we should never forget to say thank you for the blessings already given. We should be just as definite in returning thanks as we are in requesting help. But many times we aren't. We are quick to ask for help, but we are slow in giving thanks.
Sometimes this can be difficult, because we feel as though we have been dealt a bad hand in life or there are things that have happened to us that we don't understand. But here is something we need to remember: "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This verse doesn't say give thanks in some things or in what you think are the good things. It says to give thanks in everything.
Now I can give thanks when something wonderful happens to me. But when something bad happens, I think, I won't give thanks for that. Yet I don't know that we ever will fully know what was good or bad in our lives until much later. I would even suggest that what you are thinking of as a bad thing today may turn out to be a good thing tomorrow or down the road. And what you have thought of as a good thing may, in time, turn out to be a bad thing. As you look back in time, you will be able to say that the Lord knew what He was doing.
I lived with my grandparents for a number of years, whom I called Mama Stella and Daddy Charles. My grandmother was an amazing cook. She never reheated anything, and I don't think she had ever seen a TV dinner (and wouldn't be interested in one if she had). She made everything from scratch, including the best fried chicken I've ever tasted. But the crowning achievement of my grandmother's cooking was her biscuits. Once you started eating them, you couldn't stop. In watching my grandmother make them, it appeared to be such a simple process. But no one could quite make it work like her. The ingredients were simple: vegetable oil, self-rising flour, and of course, some buttermilk. No ingredient she used was appealing to me on its own. But she would blend it all together and then put it into a very hot oven. And when she took those biscuits out, the results were good. Really good.
In the same way, God will take the events of our lives, the good things and the so-called bad things, and put them in the oven of adversity. Then when it is all done, sometimes much later, we will realize that it is good. What may seem bad today actually may be good tomorrow. So we need to trust God.
To give thanks, we must recognize that God is in control of all circumstances surrounding our lives. We must realize that God loves us and is always looking out for our eternal benefit, even if what we are presently going through is difficult. And we must remember that God is wiser than we are. He is always dealing with us for our best and eternal good. But sometimes what is good for us eternally is not easy for us temporarily. God will make that decision and work in our lives.
There is so much to give thanks for. Have you been thanking God? Don't wait until Thanksgiving Day. For the Christian, every day should be Thanksgiving.

GodsView : Read the Gospels: JC Is Not PC!

GodsView : Read the Gospels: JC Is Not PC!: Let's be brutally honest: most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture. I'm ta...

Read the Gospels: JC Is Not PC!

Let's be brutally honest: most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I'm talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.
Consider the account of Jesus' public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of his first sermon was "Repent!" — a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of his public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year-long conflict with society's most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed him over to Roman authorities for crucifixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.
Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.
Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.
Against such a culture Jesus' message strikes every discordant note.
Check the biblical record. Jesus' words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25). "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).
At one point an unthinkable Roman atrocity took the lives of many Galilean pilgrims who had come to worship in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered his men to murder some worshipers and then mingled their blood with the sacrifices they were offering. While the city was still reeling from that awful disaster, a tower fell in the nearby district of Siloam and instantly snuffed out eighteen more lives.
Asked about these back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:2-5).
Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all his listeners were sinners in need of redemption. Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many — perhaps most — of Jesus' audience.
Those with no sense of personal guilt — including the vast majority of religious leaders — were of course immediately offended. They were convinced they were good enough to merit God's favor. Who was this man to summon them to repentance? They turned away in angry unbelief.
The only ones not offended were those who already sensed their guilt and were crushed under the weight of its burden. Unhindered by indignation or self-righteousness, they could hear the hope implicit in Jesus' words. For them, the repeated phrase "unless you repent" pointed the way to redemption.

GodsView : A Full Life!

GodsView : A Full Life!: How should I live my life on this earth? What purpose does God have in mind for me, now that I have received His Son Jesus Christ into m...

A Full Life!

How should I live my life on this earth? What purpose does God have in mind for me, now that I have received His Son Jesus Christ into my heart?
This is a question every believer should ask, because if you have no goals or purpose, you can waste your life. As I have often said, if you aim at nothing, you are bound to hit it.
Many people simply want to prolong their lives, rather than try to find their purpose in life. Certainly medical science is helping us live longer lives. We can add years to our lives, but we cannot add life to our years. Should our primary goal be to prolong our lives, or should it be to live life to its fullest?
Jim Elliot was fresh out of college when he felt the call of God to go to the mission field. Tragically, Jim and four other young missionaries lost their lives in the jungles of Ecuador in an attempt to reach others with the gospel. It might seem like a terrible waste of life for such a young man with so much promise. But after his death, this entry was found in one of his journals: “I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”
That’s a good goal: to live a full life, a life with meaning and purpose. We don’t know how long we will live; that’s up to God. But life isn’t merely a matter of years. It is a matter of how we live. It is not the years that count, but what you do with those years.
Sometimes, heartaches, trials, and tragedies can threaten to squeeze all of the meaning out of life. In our darkest moments, we may even wonder why God leaves us on the planet. But if our heavenly Father has chosen to give us life for another day, we can be sure that He has a purpose in doing so. We need to wait on Him, keep our eyes open to every opportunity, and trust Him daily for the grace to keep us going.
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house” (Matthew 5:14–15 NKJV).

GodsView : Hope for the Future!

GodsView : Hope for the Future!: While many look to the government, material possessions, drugs, or pleasure, they quickly find that these only lead to temporary distra...

Hope for the Future!

While many look to the government, material possessions, drugs, or pleasure, they quickly find that these only lead to temporary distractions on a lifelong quest for happiness.

Never have so many people been so unhappy as they are today. Perhaps the true source of despair and hopelessness among many people today is simply the recognition that life isn’t what it ought to be. Some of the things that promised them satisfaction and joy have not delivered on the promise.

One thing I can tell you for certain is you can’t live very long without hope. Hope is a main ingredient in life. It is the very core of who you are and your existence as a person.

Psalm 146 is called one of the hallelujah psalms, meaning they “praise the Lord.” And the hallelujah psalm in Psalm 146 portrays a wonderful picture of hope. It is an invitation to those who know despair all too well. It presents and opportunity to take another look at the hope that can only be found in God.

Let’s work through this psalm together on three key points, all of them leading to the One who can and will provide.

1. There is a strong resolution to find hope in God.
In verses two and three the psalmist writes, “Praise the Lord, oh my soul, while I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” Hope in God is a decision that we make. Sooner or later in our life we come to a fork in the road where we have to make a choice. Either we will put our faith in our own strength or we will make our journey toward God. The psalmist here, with great resolution, says, “I will praise and sing unto my God.”

2. There is a strong resolution to reject placing hope in man.
The psalmist writes, “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.” It is a very interesting day for us at this particular juncture in history. If you examine the lives of our leaders, you will discover they have glaring flaws. The psalmist challenges us not to put our hope in these mortal men or women, but rather we should put our hope in God who lives forever and reigns throughout all generations.

3. There is a strong resolution that man’s plans will end, but God’s truth lasts forever.
The last part of the psalm contains some of the most encouraging truth I have read on this subject of hope. The question is, “What can God do for those who look to Him for help?” The description given for those whom God helps makes room for all of us. The psalmist writes, “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow.” God allows hope to spring out of hopelessness for all people.

Life has a way of setting us on the course of hopelessness unless we have God at the center of our lives to hold us steady. I want to challenge you that if you don’t have hope in your life today, begin to cultivate it by looking to God as your source of strength. When you feel you are sinking into despair, ask yourself the question of the Psalmist in Psalm 42, “Why art thou cast down O my soul? Hope thou in God.”

GodsView : It Isn’t Over!

GodsView : It Isn’t Over!: When Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified t...

It Isn’t Over!

When Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4, esv).
It’s not hard to imagine the desperation of these two biblical sisters, Mary and Martha, who sent a messenger to Jesus, communicating to Him the dire condition of their brother Lazarus. It’s now or never, Lord! You need to get here. One of your best friends is dying!
They knew what they were seeing, feeling, and what everyone around them was saying. The combination of all these things created the filter through which they were processing reality. Lazarus was dying. And then Lazarus was dead. And Jesus, for whatever odd reason, “when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was” (John 11:6), rather than beating it down to Bethany as fast as He could get there.

“Nothing is over until Jesus says it’s over.”

It was over.
Everything was over.
Right? Wrong. Because nothing is over until Jesus says it’s over.
You probably know what happened with Lazarus—how Jesus, arriving four days after the man’s body had been wrapped in a linen shroud and laid in a tomb, told someone to take away the stone from the cave-like opening. Then He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43, nasb). A dead man came to life that day on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
But do you believe dead things can still come to life, even now, in the place where you live? Because nothing is over till Jesus says it’s over—regardless of what you see, feel, or what everyone is telling you.
I’m in a loveless marriage. I’ve tried everything. It’s over. No, I’ve seen God break through. I’ve seen hearts humbled. I’ve seen things turn completely around. It wasn’t over . . . because Jesus said it wasn’t over.
I’ve made horrible financial decisions. I’m losing everything. It’s over. No, I’ve seen what can happen when people in desperate straits make Christ the head of their finances. I’ve seen it come down to the last minute. But it wasn’t over . . . because Jesus said it wasn’t over.
The illness that Lazarus faced was not going to “end in death,” Jesus said. “No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:5, niv). He didn’t say that Lazarus wasn’t going to die. He just said that in the end, Lazarus wouldn’t be dead. This ordeal that His friends and family were enduring was infused with a higher purpose that would result in God receiving maximum glory.
So hold in your hands today the lifeless remains of whatever situation in your life you’ve concluded is over—something in your family, job, health, or something that keeps hounding you from your past. You know what it is. And you may have convinced yourself that it’s never getting any better.
But not everything that dies ends in death.
It’s not over until Jesus says it’s over. And He never gets over resurrecting things that can bring Him the glory due His name.
Journal

• What situation have you given up on, without clear indication that Jesus has said it’s over?
• What truth from God’s Word can you meditate on today to reinforce in your heart that God is good, in control, and able to resurrect whatever He chooses?

Pray
Lord, please birth in me an increased level of faith, and help me see the situations in my life through Your eyes and Your authority rather than my own. I believe that through relationship with You, I can resist limiting my vision to what’s right in front of me. Thank You that I’m not relegated merely to what I can see and feel, or what others are saying, or even what I’m thinking. I choose to base my reality on what You’ve said, knowing that You will be faithful to Your promises. You can do anything, Lord. I surrender my situation to Your sovereignty and goodness, trusting that You can do anything and that You will do what’s best. In Jesus’ name, amen.

GodsView : The Problem with "The New Morality"

GodsView : The Problem with "The New Morality": In the aftermath of 9/11, I was interviewed by a number of reporters who asked how something so horrible, so unthinkable, could take pl...

The Problem with "The New Morality"

In the aftermath of 9/11, I was interviewed by a number of reporters who asked how something so horrible, so unthinkable, could take place in the United States. They couldn't comprehend the capacity of someone who would kill thousands of people and lose their own lives in the process. I reminded them that not only was there a God, but there was also a devil. I told them that humanity was not basically good, as we often hear, but it is basically bad. I said the Bible teaches we are sinful to the very core. Many of them seemed shocked to hear this.
In the weeks following that horrific September day, our churches were packed as never before. Services at Harvest Christian Fellowship on the Sunday following 9/11 had the largest attendance in the history of our church. It was also the greatest response on the part of those making decisions for Christ. It was my hope and prayer that this renewed interest in God would ultimately lead to a nationwide revival. But that has not happened. In fact, something quite the opposite has occurred: a resurgence of moral relativism.
Moral relativism can be defined as a lack of moral absolutes. It is the belief that just because something is true to you doesn't necessarily mean that it is true to me. Moral relativism teaches that we are all products of the evolutionary process. There is no evil, there is no devil, and there is no God. Moral relativism teaches that we are all basically good, and if we do something bad, it is because we are victims, the result of our upbringing or environment. Moral relativism teaches freedom from all restraint. But the irony is that if you disagree with these things, then you are insensitive. If you have the audacity to say you believe there is right and wrong and good and evil, then you are classified as insensitive, intolerant, bigoted, and narrow-minded. If you dare to quote the Bible and say it is the source of truth, then you will be accused of pushing your puritanical belief system on others.
Yet biblical Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. When someone says he or she believes in God, but that Jesus isn't necessarily the only way, I can assure you, on the authority of Scripture, that such a person cannot be a Christian and believe this. If you truly are a Christian, then you must believe what the Bible says. You cannot make up the rules as you go. I cannot get into my car today and say, "I have made up a new rule. I think it is OK for me to drive 120 miles per hour." I cannot walk into a store and say, "I believe it is OK for me to take whatever I want. It is mine for the taking." Of course, I can choose to believe these things, but I will have a new prison ministry very soon. There are rules. There are absolutes. Whether I believe in them or not, those absolutes are still true.
Therefore, when it comes to the Bible, we cannot pick and choose what we will believe and what we will not. It's a package deal. We take it the way God gave it. Yet we have removed God's absolutes from our culture. We have done our best to take God out of the classroom, out of the courtroom, and out of everything we can. Then we are amazed to see chaos breaking out as a result.
But this should not surprise us, because the basis of morality is belief. The basis of belief is the Bible, which gives us the absolute truth on which we can base our faith. When we say there is no right and wrong, when we do not have this belief, then the result will be chaos.
We have to get back to what God says. Solomon, after sampling everything this world had to offer, said, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all" (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NKJV). If anyone could ever say they had been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt, it would be Solomon. He had violated many of God's commandments. Yet after all was said and done, Solomon concluded, "Fear God and keep His commandments." God has given us His commandments for our own good: to show us how to live our lives.

GodsView : Jesus: The Only Way to Heaven!

GodsView : Jesus: The Only Way to Heaven!: In the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and '70s, the "One Way" sign — the index finger held high — became a popular icon. &quot...

Jesus: The Only Way to Heaven!

In the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and '70s, the "One Way" sign — the index finger held high — became a popular icon. "One Way" bumper stickers and lapel pins were everywhere, and the "One Way" slogan for a time became the identifying catchphrase of all evangelicalism.
Evangelicalism in those days was an extremely diverse movement. (In some ways it was even more eclectic than it is today.) It encompassed everything from Jesus People, who were an integral part of that era's youth culture, to straight-line fundamentalists, who scorned everything contemporary. But all of them had at least one important thing in common: They knew that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. "One Way" seemed an unshakable belief that all evangelicals held in common.
That is no longer the case. The evangelical movement of today is no longer unified on this issue. Some who call themselves evangelicals are openly insisting that faith alone in Jesus is not the only way to heaven. They are now convinced that people of all faiths will be in heaven. Others are simply cowardly, embarrassed, or hesitant to affirm the exclusivity of the gospel in an era when inclusivity, pluralism, and tolerance are deemed supreme virtues by the secular world. They imagine it would be a tremendous cultural faux pas to declare that Christianity is the truth and all other faiths are wrong. Apparently, the evangelical movement's biggest fear today is that Christians will be seen as out of harmony with the world.


Postmodernism
Why has this dramatic shift taken place? Why has evangelicalism abandoned what believers once all agreed is absolutely true? I believe it is because church leaders, in their desperate quest to be relevant and fashionable, have actually failed to see where the contemporary world is going and why.
The dominant worldview in secular and academic circles today is called postmodernism. To the postmodernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. That means what is "true" is determined subjectively by each person, and there is no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to humanity universally. The postmodernist naturally believes it is pointless to argue whether opinion A is superior to opinion B. After all, if reality is merely a construct of the human mind, one person's perspective of truth is ultimately just as good as another's. "Truth" becomes nothing more than a personal opinion, usually best kept to oneself.
That is the one essential, non-negotiable demand postmodernism makes of everyone: We are not supposed to think we know any objective truth. Postmodernists often suggest that every opinion should be shown equal respect. And therefore, on the surface, postmodernism seems driven by a broad-minded concern for harmony and tolerance. It all sounds very charitable and altruistic. But what really underlies the postmodernist belief system is an utter intolerance for every worldview that makes any universal truth-claims-particularly biblical Christianity.


Postmodernism and the Church
The church today is filled with people who are advocating postmodern ideas. Some of them do it self-consciously and deliberately, but most do it unwittingly. (Having imbibed too much of the spirit of the age, they are simply regurgitating worldly opinion.) The evangelical movement as a whole, still recovering from its long battle with modernism, is not prepared for a new and different adversary. Many Christians have therefore not yet recognized the extreme danger posed by postmodernist thought.
Postmodernism's influence has clearly infected the church already. Evangelicals are toning down their message so that the gospel's stark truth-claims don't sound so jarring to the postmodern ear. Many shy away from stating unequivocally that the Bible is truth and all other religious systems and worldviews are false. Some who call themselves Christians have gone even further, purposefully denying the exclusivity of Christ and openly questioning His claim that He is the only way to God.
The biblical message is clear. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The apostle Peter proclaimed to a hostile audience, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). The apostle John wrote, "He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).
Again and again, Scripture stresses that Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation for the world. "For there is on God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). Only Christ can atone for sin, and therefore only Christ can provide salvation. "And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12).
Those truths are antithetical to the central tenet of postmodernism. They make exclusive, universal truth claims, declaring Christ the only true way to heaven and all other belief-systems erroneous. That is what Scripture teaches. It is what the true church has proclaimed throughout her history. It is the message of Christianity. And it simply cannot be adjusted to accommodate postmodern sensitivities.
Instead, many Christians just pass over the exclusive claims of Christ in embarrassed silence. Even worse, some in the church, including a few of evangelicalism's best-known leaders, have begun to suggest that perhaps people can be saved apart from knowing Christ.
Christians cannot capitulate to postmodernism without sacrificing the very essence of our faith. The Bible's claim that Christ is the only way of salvation is certainly out of harmony with the postmodern notion of "tolerance." But it is, after all, just what the Bible plainly teaches. And the Bible, not postmodern opinion, is the supreme authority for the Christian. The Bible alone should determine what we believe and proclaim to the world. We cannot waver on this, no matter how much this postmodern world complains that our beliefs make us "intolerant."


Tolerant Intolerance
Postmodernism's veneration of tolerance is its most obvious feature. But the version of "tolerance" peddled by postmodernists is actually a twisted and dangerous corruption of true virtue.
Incidentally, tolerance is never mentioned in the Bible as a virtue, except in the sense of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering (cf. Ephesians 4:2). In fact, the contemporary notion of tolerance is a pathetically feeble concept compared to the love Scripture commands Christians to show even to their enemies. Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you" (Luke 6:27-28; cf. vv. 29-36).
When our grandparents spoke of tolerance as a virtue, they had something like that in mind. The word once meant respecting people and treating them kindly even when we believe they are wrong. But the postmodern notion of tolerance means we must never regard anyone else's opinions as wrong. Biblical tolerance is for people; postmodern tolerance is for ideas.
Accepting every belief as equally valid is hardly a real virtue, but it is practically the only kind of virtue postmodernism knows anything about. Traditional virtues (including humility, self-control, and chastity) are openly scorned, and even regarded as transgressions in the world of postmodernism.
Predictably, the beatification of postmodern tolerance has had a disastrous effect on real virtue in our society. In this age of tolerance, what was once forbidden is now encouraged. What was once universally deemed immoral is now celebrated. Marital infidelity and divorce have been normalized. Profanity is commonplace. Abortion, homosexuality, and moral perversions of all kinds are championed by large advocacy groups and enthusiastically promoted by the popular media. The postmodern notion of tolerance is systematically turning genuine virtue on its head.
Just about the only remaining taboo is the naïve and politically incorrect notion that another person's alternative lifestyle, religion, or different perspective is wrong. One major exception to that rule stands out starkly: It is OK for postmodernists to be intolerant of those who claim they know the truth, particularly biblical Christians. In fact, those who fancy themselves the leading advocates of tolerance today are often the most outspoken opponents of evangelical Christianity.
Why is that? Why does authentic biblical Christianity find such ferocious opposition from people who think they are paragons of tolerance? It is because the truth — claims of Scripture — and particularly Jesus' claim to be the only way to God — are diametrically opposed to the fundamental presuppositions of the postmodern mind. The Christian message represents a death blow to the postmodernist worldview.
But as long as Christians are being duped or intimidated into softening the bold claims of Christ and widening the narrow road, the church will make no headway against postmodernism. We need to recover the distinctiveness of the gospel. We need to regain our confidence in the power of God's truth. And we need to proclaim boldly that Christ is the onlytrue hope for the people of this world.
That may not be what people want to hear in this pseudo-tolerant age of postmodernism. But it is true nonetheless. And precisely because it is true and the gospel of Christ is the only hope for a lost world, it is all the more urgent that we rise above all the voices of confusion in the world and say so.

Read the Gospels: JC Is Not PC

Let's be brutally honest: most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I'm talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.
Consider the account of Jesus' public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of his first sermon was "Repent!" — a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of his public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year-long conflict with society's most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed him over to Roman authorities for crucifixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.
Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.
Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.
Against such a culture Jesus' message strikes every discordant note.
Check the biblical record. Jesus' words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25). "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).
At one point an unthinkable Roman atrocity took the lives of many Galilean pilgrims who had come to worship in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered his men to murder some worshipers and then mingled their blood with the sacrifices they were offering. While the city was still reeling from that awful disaster, a tower fell in the nearby district of Siloam and instantly snuffed out eighteen more lives.
Asked about these back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:2-5).
Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all his listeners were sinners in need of redemption. Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many — perhaps most — of Jesus' audience.
Those with no sense of personal guilt — including the vast majority of religious leaders — were of course immediately offended. They were convinced they were good enough to merit God's favor. Who was this man to summon them to repentance? They turned away in angry unbelief.
The only ones not offended were those who already sensed their guilt and were crushed under the weight of its burden. Unhindered by indignation or self-righteousness, they could hear the hope implicit in Jesus' words. For them, the repeated phrase "unless you repent" pointed the way to redemption.

GodsView : The Rising Tide of Teen Dishonesty!

GodsView : The Rising Tide of Teen Dishonesty!: I always speak the truth and refuse to tell a lie. --Proverbs 8:7 (CEV) Some claim that the silly gesture of crossing your f...

The Rising Tide of Teen Dishonesty!

I always speak the truth and refuse to tell a lie. --Proverbs 8:7 (CEV)

Some claim that the silly gesture of crossing your fingers behind your back to cover up a lie originated with Roman persecution of Christians. To escape death, those who lied about their faith in Christ, just as Peter did, made the sign of the cross behind their back to ask God's forgiveness.
That sounds more like a fable to me, but it's a fact that teenagers today seem to be crossing their fingers behind their back more and more. They are cheating and stealing more, too. The latest Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth, by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, shows teens are lying more often and more easily than ever. The report indicates an increase in lying, cheating and stealing among youth since 2006, when the report was first published.
Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they lied recently for financial gain. Sixty-four percent said they cheated on a test during the past year, and 38% had cheated more than once. Eight-three percent said they had recently lied to their parents about something significant.
Concerning theft, 33% of the boys and 25% of the girls in the survey admitted to shoplifting in the past 12 months. Twenty-four percent said they had stolen something from a relative or parent in the same time period, and 20% had stolen something from a friend. Perhaps the most telling bit of data was that 93% said they are "satisfied with their personal ethics and character."
All teenage behavior, including dishonesty, has a motivating factor. Teens hope to get something out of everything they do. Some will cheat or lie to feel esteemed or to appear perfect at any cost. Some just need to feel that they are never wrong, so they lie to cover it up when they are. Some are untruthful because they fear the consequences from mom or dad for telling the truth. And as far as stealing, kids steal things because they feel entitled to own them, or for the thrill of getting away with it, or just to fit in with their peers.
Let's not overlook the way our culture glorifies all forms of dishonesty. It's difficult for one to think of an unimpeachably honest public figure today. Every day we hear of politicians, business leaders, sports figures, police, teachers and judges -- people whom we once looked up to as role models -- who have been caught in a lie or a cheat or a theft of some kind. And consider the explosion in popularity of so-called "reality" TV shows, whose plot and strategy are usually based on deception and lying in order to gain a monetary prize or fame. It's a far cry from the most popular TV shows in my teen years, like Bonanza, The Waltons, and Little House on the Prairie. They may have been corny at times, but they had recurring themes of honesty and good character.
The most popular form of entertainment for teens today is the Internet. Due to its anonymity, deception and fantasy are rife on the Internet. Parents should be concerned that such deception, what I call "digital courage," can spill over and fuel an attitude of deception in other areas of the teen's life. So, I tell parents to follow their instincts. Even if there is no obvious cause for concern, they should keep a wary eye on their teen's online surfing and make it a policy to know all of their teenager's web passwords. In fact, I recommend parents install good monitoring software to track all of their teen's Internet activity. Knowing that mom and dad are monitoring will go a long way toward keeping the teen honest in what they see, do and say on the Internet.
High academic expectations can also put a lot of pressure on a teen to cheat. Holding kids to unnecessarily high achievement standards can sometimes pressure them into getting a good grade at any cost. This and social stresses at school are more troubling for kids today than most parents realize. In fact, the Journal of Adolescent Health recently found that the stress of school keeps 68 percent of students awake at night, with 20 percent of them at least once a week. And of course, lack of sleep reduces their ability to think clearly and handle stress, so it becomes a vicious cycle. Could this be pushing more kids to cheat? Possibly.
Dishonesty may seem like a minor issue in comparison to other problems like drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and eating disorders, but it is a vice that parents should never ignore. Dishonesty is rooted in an attitude of disrespect; disrespect for others, disrespect for authority, disrespect for other people's things, disrespect for your family's values, and disrespect for oneself. If you ignore dishonest actions by your teen today, you may have to deal with bigger problems later. It won’t usually go away with the mere passage of time. It will reappear at significant stress points later in your child's life - when they go off to college, get a job, or get married. Getting away with lying, cheating or theft today can lead to a lifetime of dishonesty, and that can land them in real trouble or heartache in the future.
It reminds me of the story some parents recently told me of their immature 18-year-old who had to learn this lesson the hard way. While skateboarding, he and some friends spotted an abandoned, broken-down farm house nearby and decided to go exploring. The boys didn't know that the old house with no front door had recently been vandalized, nor that the neighbors were on the lookout. Taking some souvenirs of junk they found in the vacant house -- things worth no more than a few dollars -- they were putting them in the boy's vehicle when the Sheriff arrived. Long story short, the boy was arrested and charged with felony burglary of a building. Though given probation for his first offense, he learned how difficult it is to survive thereafter with a felony arrest record. No one would hire him for years to come, regardless of the less than sinister circumstances of the "burglary."
I've always said, "Life is hard, and harder if you’re stupid." Mistakes can cause a heap of trouble for both a teen and his parents, and many of those mistakes begin with some form of dishonesty or disrespect for normal boundaries. Since nothing is more central to a person's character than honesty, it is important to address dishonesty any time you discover it in your teen. Seek, search, and pry into areas you don't normally think about in order to uncover and understand the root of it. Do all you can to ensure your teen is truthful in even the smallest things. I tell kids, "If you lie, I will pry. If you hide something, I will seek the truth. If you steal, I'll make sure you suffer the legal and social consequences before your lying results in a life-long problem."
If you're a parent who sees dishonesty creeping into your teen's talk, texts or website; or if you learn they have cheated or stolen something, today is the day to expose and deal with it. Here are the steps I recommend taking:
1. Briefly describe the dishonest behavior.
2. Tell them how you feel about it and how it is counter to your values.
3. Affirm that you know they can do better.
4. Make them right the wrong, including confessing to whomever was wronged from the dishonesty, cheating or theft.
5. Enforce appropriate consequences and make sure they know that you will be on the lookout for any form of dishonesty in the future.
Parents need to "keep a vigilant eye" if they want to turn the rising tide of dishonesty. Call it an "alert mom or dad," or an "involved parent," if you will. Let your teen know that it is your job as a parent to keep your eyes wide open for dishonest behavior, not so you can "catch them doing wrong," but so that you can keep them from falling into that trap.
And by the way, be sure to model honesty yourself, and make it a habit to be truthful. If you think you've hidden dishonesty from them in the past, think again. Teens can read their parents like a book. They don't miss a thing and they detest hypocrisy. So, if you know you've been dishonest in front of your teen, ask their forgiveness, and give yourself some consequences for the bad behavior, so your teen knows how important it is to be honest. Teens need some good role models in regard to honesty. If not you, then who?

GodsView : Does Voting Make a Difference?

GodsView : Does Voting Make a Difference?: Perhaps I'd be more inclined to vote if I felt it would really make a difference, but I'm skeptical, to say the least. Can you gi...

Does Voting Make a Difference?

Perhaps I'd be more inclined to vote if I felt it would really make a difference, but I'm skeptical, to say the least. Can you give me any evidence that would convince me otherwise?

Our nation's recent political history is sprinkled with examples of when election outcomes hinged on a handful of votes. I recall former senator Bill Armstrong, who invested twenty-eight years of his life in public office, relating the story of his good friend Representative Lou Wyman's campaign. When Wyman ran for a Senate seat, he lost by twelve votes statewide. Other instances in which candidates squeaked through by the narrowest of margins include Averill Harriman's gubernatorial election in 1954, George McGovern's senatorial campaign in 1960, and John Warner's run for the Senate in 1978. All were decided by one vote or less per precinct.¹ And don't forget the Nixon/Kennedy electoral results of 1960; when the dust had settled, the presidential prize was awarded based on an average margin of only one-half vote per precinct nationwide.
Even when elections do not appear to be closely contested, it is a moral outrage that more Christians do not take their voting responsibilities seriously. If they did, this would be a very different nation, and a better one. But for reasons beyond my comprehension, evangelicals are either too involved, too preoccupied, or too disinterested to hold our elected officials accountable and keep our democracy on track.
Because so few citizens vote, many of us are unaware that a small minority actually dominates national politics (not to mention local elections). To illustrate, let's hypothesize that the country as a whole goes to the polls at the rate of ten out of every twenty people. If evangelicals stepped up their voting involvement to thirteen out of every twenty, instead of accounting for only 20 percent of the overall vote, their proportion of the votes cast would increase to nearly 25 percent. Did you know that if most of that additional 5 percent vote had been directed to the loser in four of the presidential elections that have taken place since World War II, it would have tipped the scales in favor of the loser?² And obviously, more is at stake than merely the influence of chief-executive policy for a four-year term--judicial appointments made by the president can directly impact our culture and our families for half a lifetime or more.
Your vote is crucial if we are to reintroduce the traditional, family-friendly values on which our nation was founded. A great member of the British Parliament, Edmund Burke, said something years ago that still resonates today: "All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world is that good men do nothing."³ So get involved! The same Jesus who multiplied the young lad's loaves and fishes will be faithful to multiply the efforts of those of us who honor His name in the political arena.

GodsView : Why We Need to Teach Our Children About Gratitude!...

GodsView : Why We Need to Teach Our Children About Gratitude!...: One of the great privileges of my life has been visiting orphanages in places like Russia, China, and South Africa. Taking our children ...

Why We Need to Teach Our Children About Gratitude!

One of the great privileges of my life has been visiting orphanages in places like Russia, China, and South Africa. Taking our children to see those little ones who had no parents, no room of their own, no toys or clothes of their own was life changing. Through these many visits we learned that those who have little are often much more grateful than those of us who have much.
Gratitude is not natural. It is an attitude that must be taught and nurtured. And it is a task more difficult for parents in the West because of our abundance and prosperity.
There is a story in the Bible that is very hard for us to understand. It is the story of the Israelites being punished for ingratitude by wandering in a desert for 40 years. As a parent, I hated it when my children complained about what they had to eat or what they weren't allowed to wear that everyone else could wear or what they couldn't have. After all, didn't they know we were trying to do our best in raising them? We gave penalties for complaining and had them memorize Bible verses in hopes that they would get the point, but we never were as radical in our discipline as God was with His kids. I might have banished my children to their rooms for 30 minutes for complaining, but to be banished to a desert for 40 years seems a bit over the top!
Why did God make such a big deal about only a bad attitude?
I think because He understood better than we can possibly imagine how an ungrateful heart is really a proud heart, a heart of rebellion to the parent who is providing with love. Because children are born selfish, it is the parent's job to train their hearts to be grateful. It's not an easy task, but it's a worthy one, for a child with a thankful heart is a delight to parents and to others. And I'm quite sure our Father in heaven will be smiling as well, on your child and on you for a job well done.

GodsView : God's Secret Agents!

GodsView : God's Secret Agents!: It seems that Americans today are fascinated by the concept of angels, depicting them in everything from jewelry and Christmas decoratio...

God's Secret Agents!

It seems that Americans today are fascinated by the concept of angels, depicting them in everything from jewelry and Christmas decorations to movies and television programs.
A poll conducted by Time magazine in 1993 reported that 69 percent of American adults believed in the existence of angels, and 46 percent felt they had their own guardian angel. Also, 32 percent claimed to have felt an angelic presence at some time in their lives.
In addition, a 2000 poll conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California, found that 81 percent of adults polled said they believed that "angels exist and influence people's lives."
But is it correct to assume that angels are the nonthreatening, loving beings that many people believe them to be? That all depends.
We find instances in the Bible when angels were sent to deliver specific messages from God. They often began their messages with phrases like "Do not be afraid," or "Do not fear."
But we also find instances in which God used angels to execute His judgment, as in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah and elsewhere.
Generally, God's angels operate undercover. They don't draw attention to themselves, but instead carry out God's assignments.
One reason we may not recognize the presence of angels in our lives is because they are doing their jobs properly. Angels are actively involved in the lives of the people of God, and even in the affairs of people in general. They have a specific function and ministry in the lives of Christians.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:7, "The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them" (NKJV). Hebrews 1:14 says of angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" (NKJV).
It is even possible that you have personally met an angel. Hebrews 13:2 teaches, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels" (NKJV).
It is amazing to think that some of us may have communicated with an angel, but were unaware of it. Angels are nearer than we may realize.
If an angel of God were to appear before you right now, you would stand in awe because angels are very beautiful. When we read biblical accounts of people who encountered angels, they were often overwhelmed by the glory and beauty of them.
Still, angels remain invisible most of the time, except on very special occasions when God sends them on a unique mission or clothes them in human form.
Contrary to what some have been led to believe, angels are not deceased human beings who are trying to earn their wings. Also, when someone dies, their friends or loved ones may say that person is now an angel who watches over them. However, this is not true.
When people say that someone who has died now helps them or guides them or their presence is felt, it is not true. People who have gone from this life into eternity do not communicate with us. They do not comfort us. They do not guide us. Certainly, they do not turn into angels. Angels are an altogether unique group created by God.
Also contrary to what some people have attempted to do, it is incorrect to attempt communication with an angel, to try to pray to an angel, or to specifically develop a relationship with an angel. We find in Scripture that the focus is on praying to God, looking to God, and developing a relationship with God.
Yes, God does work through angels, but that is not the point. The point is that it is God who is doing it.
We don't know how many times angels have been working behind the scenes, how many times they have delivered us, helped us out of tight situations, or intervened on our behalf. Angels are all around us, taking care of us and ministering to us, even when we are not aware of their presence. This certainly gives hope in these troubled, dangerous times in which we are living.
When we think of all of the violence and chaos and danger in the world today, it is comforting to know that God's angels are watching out for us. They may not help you find a parking space or make your casseroles more flavorful, but you can be certain that angels are God's secret agents, powerfully and effectively doing the work He has called them to do.

GodsView : Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!

GodsView : Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!: Over a quarter of a century ago the late apologist and Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer asked the question, "How should we then l...

Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!

Over a quarter of a century ago the late apologist and Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer asked the question, "How should we then live?" in his landmark book of the same title. The relevance of that question has not changed. If anything, it has only become more urgent for believers at the dawn of a new century and millennium.
Society has taken a nosedive into greater and greater evil, debauchery, violence, and corruption, and outside the church, the landscape seems filled with "modern barbarians." The temptation is strong for believers to jump into the cultural fray as self-righteous social/political reformers and condescending moralizers. All the while those self-styled Christian activists forget or ignore their true mission in the world and completely miss the answer to Schaeffer's question — an answer that God's Word spells out quite clearly.
As noble as a desire to reform society may be, and as stirring as the emotions sometimes are when involved in the "rightness" of a political cause, those activities are not to be the Christian's chief priorities. God does not call the church to influence the culture by promoting legislation and court rulings that advance a Scripture point of view. Nor does He condone any type of radical activism that would avoid tax obligations, disobey or seek removal of government officials we don't agree with, or spend an inordinate amount of time campaigning for a so-called Christian slate of candidates.
The church will really change society for the better only when individual believers make their chief concern their own spiritual maturity, which means living in a way that honors God's commands and glorifies His name. Such a concern inherently includes a firm grasp on Scripture and an understanding that its primary mandate to us is to know Christ and proclaim His gospel. A godly attitude coupled with godly living makes the saving message of the gospel credible to the unsaved. If we claim to be saved but still convey proud, unloving attitudes toward the lost, our preaching and teaching — no matter how doctrinally orthodox or politically savvy and persuasive — will be ignored or rejected.
The New Testament is very clear about how we ought to embrace and live out our primary mission in a pagan society. One such example is in Titus 3:

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. (vv. 1-2)

Notice that Paul simply followed the Lord's model and did not expend time and energy admonishing believers on how to reform pagan culture's idolatrous, immoral, and corrupt practices. The apostle also did not call for believers to exercise civil disobedience to protest the Roman Empire's unjust laws or cruel punishments. Instead, his appeal was for Christians to proclaim the gospel and live lives that would give clear evidence of its transforming power.
Believe it or not, Christians have obligations to a pagan society. When you live as God wants you to in an unbelieving culture, the Holy Spirit uses your life to draw the sinner by softening his attitude toward God (cf. 1 Peter 2:12).

Submission and Obedience The first two duties — submission to government and obedience to all human authority — I've combined under one heading because they are so closely related. They are just one more reminder that Christians have certain requirements of attitude and conduct in relation to their secular leaders. Those reminders reiterate the idea that believers are not exempt from following civil laws and directives, unless such orders contradict the Word and will of God (see Acts 4:18-20; 5:40-42). That twofold prompting also gives us the scriptural premise from which all our other public actions ought to flow.

Readiness for Good Works Our third major duty toward society is to have a readiness "for every good deed." Here the apostle Paul is not referring to some minimal, reluctant adherence to doing what we already know is right, but to a sincere willingness and heart preparation to do good works to everyone, as we have the opportunity. No matter how antagonistic the people around us may be, we are to be kind servants to them when their lives intersect with ours. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Galatians 6:10).
God wants us to be recognized for what we might call "consistent and aggressive goodness" — good deeds done out of love for the Lord and love for other people.

Respectful in Speech Next, we have the scriptural duty of not maligning anyone, not even those unbelievers who are most antagonistic toward biblical standards. Titus 3:2 begins with Paul's command "to malign no one," and refers to cursing, slandering, and treating with contempt. In fact the Greek term rendered "malign" is the one from which we derive the English word blasphemy. We can never use such speech with a righteous motive.
It is sad that many believers today speak scornfully of politicians and other public figures. When they do that, they actually manifest a basic disregard of their responsibility toward authority and hinder God's redemptive plan. In another of Paul's pastoral letters, he urges us to pray for everyone's salvation, even for that of those who occupy official positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Peaceful and Gentle Paul goes on in verse 2 to mention two more Christian duties. First, he reminds us that we must be friendly and peaceful toward the lost, not belligerent and quarrelsome. In the ungodly, postmodern world we live in, it's easy to condemn those who contribute to the culture's demise and write them off as corrupt sinners who will never change. If God's love for the world was so broad and intense that His Son died for a multitude of sinners (John 3:16), how can we who have received that redeeming grace be harsh and unloving toward those who have not yet received it? Until God is pleased to save an individual, he or she is going to behave like an unbeliever, and it is wrong for us, meanwhile, to treat them contemptuously for acting according to their nature.
Secondly, Paul reminds us that we must be "gentle," a word in the Greek that means being fair, moderate, and forbearing toward others. Some have translated this term "sweet reasonableness," a definition denoting an attitude that does not hold grudges but gives others the benefit of the doubt.

Consideration for Others
The final duty in the apostle Paul's list of reminders to believers is that they should be "showing every consideration for all men" (v. 2). The word rendered "consideration" always has a New Testament meaning of genuine concern for others.
Scripture clearly describes Jesus as the One supremely characterized by humility, or consideration for everyone — the same trait that should identify His followers. Jesus used the word to depict Himself when He told His followers, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29, emphasis added).
All our dealings with unbelievers should display that kind of attitude, as the apostle Peter also wrote: "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15). Sincere, heartfelt consideration to all men is foundational for our Christian walk in a pagan society.
Our duty as we relate to an increasingly secular and ungodly culture is not to lobby for certain rights, the implementation of a Christian agenda, or the reformation of the government. Rather, God would have us continually to remember Paul's instructions to Titus and live them out as we seek to demonstrate His power and grace that can regenerate sinners. Changing people's hearts one individual at a time is the only way to bring meaningful, lasting change to our communities, our nation, and even the whole world.

GodsView : The Courage to Stand!

GodsView : The Courage to Stand!: Not too long ago, I read that violence on television is at an all-time high. Then, of course, there is all the sexual perversion that is...

The Courage to Stand!

Not too long ago, I read that violence on television is at an all-time high. Then, of course, there is all the sexual perversion that is depicted.
In addition to all that, it seems like people are going out of their way to get God out of our culture. Not only do they want to elevate perversion, but they want to demote God. They want Him out of the picture — out of everything, for that matter.
This can be very discouraging to us as Christians. We can be tempted to think, Well, really there is no hope. There is nothing the church can do and there is certainly nothing that I can do.
But I want you to know that is simply not true. In 1 Kings 17, we find the story of one man who lived at a time in Israel’s history that closely parallels our world today.
Elijah lived during one of the darkest and most evil times in the history of Israel. It reminds us that when God is abandoned, moral breakdown will always follow. That is because you cannot have morality without spirituality. And you can’t have real morality without a relationship with the living God.
That is what happened to Israel. They had pushed God out of their culture. It is not that they didn’t believe in God any more. But they elevated other gods to an equal level as they engaged in open idolatry.
For more than 100 years, Israel had lived under the reign of three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. Each had their flaws, some more than others.
At the end of Solomon’s reign, a civil war broke out, and Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms. Israel had become progressively more and more wicked when King Ahab emerged, who was the most sinful of all.
His wife Jezebel was even more wicked than him in many ways. She was effectively the power behind the throne. She was also a full-tilt idol worshipper, and soon the nation was turning to idolatry too. Of the thousands who were under Ahab’s reign, there were only 7,000 who had not bowed their knee to the false god of Baal.
It was into this wicked moral climate that God’s man, Elijah, burst on the scene: “Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, ‘As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives — the God I serve — there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!’ ” (1 Kings 17:1 NLT).
Elijah threw down a gauntlet that challenged the very nerve center of the country and the people: he declared a drought.
How was he able to take such a bold step? Because he knew God. Elijah, in contrast to Ahab and Jezebel and most of Israel at this point, served a living God — not a dead one. Elijah recognized that wherever he was, he was in the presence of God.
Second, Elijah was a man of prayer. James 5:17 tells us, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months” (NKJV). It was Elijah’s prayer in private that was the source of his power in public.
Third, Elijah faithfully delivered the message. And it was not an easy message God had given him to deliver. He wasn’t even able to offer any hope. But Elijah delivered God’s message, and he delivered it in its entirety.
Lastly, Elijah was a man of faith and obedience. He faithfully delivered the message to Ahab and Jezebel, but then God told him to go disappear. So for three years, Elijah disappeared into obscurity. God would eventually use him to challenge the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, but the Lord had to first do some work on the prophet’s heart. He wasn’t ready yet.
Maybe you are in a place right now where the Lord is telling you to step forward, or maybe He is telling you to step back. Perhaps He is telling you to speak up, or He might be telling you to be quiet and just obey.
May God help us to be like Elijah — not a perfect person or a flawless person, but a godly person. And may God use us to be people who will affect our generation — people who will make a difference.

GodsView : Bring Back the Glory!

GodsView : Bring Back the Glory!: As we think about the birth of our nation this month, it may surprise you to know that as nations the United States and Israel actually ...