by admin | Apr 25, 2013
It is not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God. 2 Cor. 3:5
No matter what subject I teach from now on, I think I’m going to call it, “Loving People Who Are Hard to Like.” You should probably do that, too, if you teach some sort of class somewhere and want lots of people to come. I’m serious. Call it that, even if you’re really teaching a class in aroma therapy. Just trust me on this. People will come in droves.
That was the title of the seminar I taught at the BGCO statewide ladies’ retreat this weekend, and WOW! I had no idea how popular the topic would be. I wish I had taken a picture so you could understand how packed that room was each of the three times I taught it. There were 2300 women at this retreat, and it seemed like they were all trying to fit in the room at once. 30 minutes before the session started, all the chairs were taken, and people just kept pouring in. At “go” time, I had about 1 square foot of space to call my own, and women were standing in the doorways and out in the atrium to listen from there.
Of course, that so many people long for that sort of relational help says a lot, and could be a blog topic all on its own. But, for today, I want to talk about something else.
After the first two sessions on Friday afternoon, plus participating in the two main sessions in the auditorium, I was pretty spent. I found myself dragging a bit on Saturday morning as I made my way up the hill back to my room for the 3rd and final session that I would teach. It seems like it’s easy to get geared up to teach that first time, but by the third, the temptation is to just coast. Add that to the weariness, and the fact that I hadn’t found a Coke Zero anywhere, and I was facing the very real possibility of coming across much like the monotone economics teacher who put everyone to sleep on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Anyone? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. Voodoo economics”
I didn’t want to do that, so I prayed. It went something like this: “God, I just want to give them my best.” And just as soon as the words came out, He spoke to my spirit: “But we could give them so much more.”
First, I laughed. Because I knew exactly what He meant and how right He (naturally) was. But I’m not gonna lie, my second thought was, “That’s kinda scary.” I mean, I’ve read the Bible. I know at least some of the stuff God can do when people leave things up to Him. I wasn’t sure I was really up for that.
I don’t know about you, but I think I probably forget just how powerful God is, and how He can reveal that power through me, way too often. Also, I shy away from it from time to time because it scares me. Ephesians 3:20 says that He’s able to do far more than we can ask or imagine through His power that works in us. When Job considered all the ways God has revealed His power, he said, “These are but the fringes of His ways; how faint is the word we hear of Him! Who can understand His mighty thunder?”
Clearly, I was praying too small. Don’t get me wrong. Certainly God is pleased when we give Him our best. But. as we do, it’s important to remember that, even on our very best day, we aren’t sufficient in our talents and abilities. Our sufficiency comes from God, and He has plans way bigger than we ever could.
You can do your best at your job this week, and you should. I’m sure your patients, clients, employer, or employees will really appreciate it. Your best can earn you a nice paycheck and the admiration of people. Some people might feel good because of your efforts, and that’s great.
I’m just wondering what would happen if you, and I, invited God to give them more.
Originally posted on Cynthia’s blog.
by admin | Apr 22, 2013
- Be sporadic and irregular in your attendance on Sundays.
- Just show up. Don’t serve or volunteer. Don’t make any sacrifices of your time, talent and treasure.
- Refuse to get involved in a Community Group (small group, life group, etc). Put the burden of building relationships on everyone else.
- Place unrealistic expectations on the pastor and his wife. Pretend as if you are the only person attending the church.
- Never bring friends or non-Christians to a Sunday morning gathering.
- Never open up or communicate with the leadership of the church on areas of disagreement or frustration. Bottle it all up and continue to grow in your irritation towards the leadership.
- Do the extreme opposite of #6. Nitpick every decision made and every direction taken. Whenever you have a minor disagreement or different opinion, make it a deal-breaker and blow it out of proportion.
- Talk negatively about the leadership of the church behind their back. Tell your frustrations to as many people as possible without letting them hear any of it.
- Don’t do what the Bible says. Ever. When the church tries to call you to repentance for specific areas of sin, blow it off and stop showing up.
- Leave the church when your personal agenda(s) or hobby-horses aren’t pursued by the pastor. When you do leave, be sure to not tell anyone. If asked why you left, say something like, “God called me to go to ___________(new church name here)”.
by admin | Apr 11, 2013
The life of a believer should look so much different than that of the world that you should “not fit in.”
I’ve heard the argument that you should try fit in so you can make new friends and lead them to Christ. Although this is partially true, in that you should love everyone you encounter with a passionate and welcoming love, you are not called to conform to the world around you in order to fit in.
Romans 12:2 says…
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
I think about modern day Christian music artists, and also ones I’ve seen in the past, who denounce their Christian title in order to reach a broader audience. While in a sense, I can’t judge where their hearts are, I am smart enough to realize many do this in order to broaden their success, not their audience. Because let’s face it, anything saturated in Christ isn’t popular in our sin-soaked society. When these talented artists “put away” some of their Christian title, they lose a severe amount of effectiveness.
Our lives are supposed to look like Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:12 tells us we are supposed to follow Christ. And if Christians are following Him, our lives should produce beautiful fruit.
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matthew 3:8
So, the production of fruit in your life will show that you do indeed follow Christ.
Although you do not become a Christian by “moral goodness”, fruit WILL be evident if your heart is after the Lord.
Plain and simple, a believer cannot live in sin. While yes, you will struggle with it, you cannot live in it. That’s why Christ mentions repentance (which is a turning away from sin) so much in the Bible.
As a 17-year-old, I’ve struggled with sin enough to know that living in and loving it will pull you far away from where God wants you. When you are more concerned with self-satisfaction than with pursuing God’s plan for you, you begin to miss out on some beautiful blessings. I’m not saying that you MUST be completely innocent, because as humans, it is inevitable that will see fallible. But the important thing is that you’re seeking truth. Seeking truth will result in identity in Christ, the production of fruit, and the abstinence of indwelling sin. These are three critical attributes of an effective believer.
by admin | Apr 1, 2013
This month, I have been divorced for 5 years. Before that I was married for 5 years. I say that as a reference to you before you read any further. I don’t claim to know much of anything about having a successful relationship or tips on how to make a marriage work. However, as I said, I’ve lived half my adult life married and the other half single. So I have perspective on both. I’ve reached through the fence a few different times, thinking the grass was greener and turns out it’s not.
Here are my thoughts on this dilemma, today directed to the married folks….
For whatever reason, I’ve recently had conversations with several good friends (both guys and gals) about marriage and divorce. Not sure if it’s in the water or it’s something this storm is bringing in or what. But it’s a trend that disturbs me because of my personal experience with divorce.
As I said from the top, I have no advice that you can implement that will change your married life overnight. But what I can give you and what I describe to everyone I meet with about this topic is this.
Here is a picture of what your life will be like if you decide to get divorced…and specifically to those of you with children.
- Be prepared to rarely; if ever tuck your kids in at night.
- Have a lot of Kleenex the first 3 years. You will need them.
- Get your story ready to deliver to your kids when they ask you why you left their mother/father.
- Alone. Lonely. Defeated.
- Say good-bye to waking your kids up and dressing them for school every day.
- Get ready for most people to look at you differently.
- Depressed. Discouraged. Constantly.
- Get your profile pic ready for the dating site of your choice.
- Get prepared to watch other women…. “mother” your children, dress your girls, love what was your spouse.
- Embarrassed. Insecure. Distraught.
- Don’t forget how many kids you have, because every potential suitor will ask. Then walk away.
- Buy a football for the guy who will be teaching your boy how to throw it.
- If you do find someone, get ready to be asked to pick one. Them or your kids.
- Just be primed to say “it’s ok” when your kids call you the wrong name. Yes, I mean not mom or dad, but the other “persons” name.
- The “rings” will come off, the lawyers will control everything and you will be served papers. Publicly.
- Pick out which Christmas mornings you want to spend with your kids. You no longer get them all.
- The thought of love will be sickening, yet you’ll long to have it back. Many will search for it for years with other people.
- Failure. Desperation. Darkness.
I don’t share these intimate details in hopes of you inviting me to a pity party. In fact not all of these examples and emotions are from me. The list is more of a culmination of examples from my life and dozens of other divorced men and woman whom I’ve counseled. Friends who thought the grass was greener elsewhere. So why do I share? I share these specifics in hopes of slapping some of you across the face with the reality that will be your life if you break your vows. Five years after divorce I still deal with several of these issues and emotions on a weekly basis. Now, my life is what it is today and I believe God has grace that covers a multitude of sins. And that I am living proof that God does and can restore and make all things new. But it comes with a price, a very brutal and often times painful price that few people fully realize.
My message is this. Single or married. The grass is NOT greener elsewhere. You are where you are for a reason. Take charge of your marriage, claim your contentedness and grab some gratefulness for your situation.
Being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5
But most of all forgive and love. …. just like you have been forgiven and loved.
Read the singles’ edition of this post here.
by admin | Mar 29, 2013
The Christian faith revolves around the historical fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. In this brief article, I outline the historical evidence supporting resurrection faith. Simply put, Jesus’ resurrection is the best explanation for five established historical facts listed below. These facts are established historical data acknowledged by virtually all (more than 95 percent of) scholars (including non-Christian scholars).
Why do scholars affirm these historical facts? Historical knowledge derives from artifacts, particularly written documents. When historians study written sources for knowledge, they look for certain qualities. (1) Early Date: is the source written close to the time of the events it discusses? (2) Eyewitness Status: does the source contain eyewitness testimony? (3) Multiple Attestation: do multiple independent sources affirm the same basic account?
The historical facts listed below (a) are confirmed by multiple independent written sources which are (b) early accounts, written soon after the death of Jesus, of (c) eyewitness testimony. Early, multiple, eyewitness attestation explains why virtually all scholars agree they are not just beliefs, but historical facts demanding explanation. I submit that these can only be reasonably explained by Jesus’ bodily resurrection.
–Fact No. 1
Jesus Death Burial
Jesus’ tomb cannot be found empty (Fact No. 2) unless He is dead and buried. It is nearly unanimously affirmed that (1) Jesus was sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, and died upon a Roman cross on the Friday of Passover week; and (2) Joseph of Arimathea gave Jesus an honorable (though hurried) burial before the onset of the Sabbath. No ancient sources question Jesus’ death and burial.
–Fact No. 2
Women Discover the Empty Tomb
After the Sabbath, a group of women (including Mary Magdalene) came to Jesus’s sealed tomb, only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. This fact alone (amongst those listed here) lacks virtually unanimous consent among scholars—about two-thirds of scholars agree that the empty tomb is a historical fact.
Why do most scholars agree the tomb was found empty? (1) Our ancient sources unanimously confirm the empty tomb. (2) Enemies of Christianity agree that the tomb was empty and accuse the disciples of stealing Jesus’s body (see Matt. 28:15). The fact of the empty tomb is undisputed; skeptics only question the cause. (3) Women discover the empty tomb, an unlikely scenario if the account is fabricated. Women’s testimony was considered unreliable (see, e.g., the disciples’ reaction in Luke 24:11). Imaginative Christians would place key disciples at the discovery of the empty tomb, not untrustworthy women. (4) The empty tomb is discovered in Jerusalem, and proclaimed in Jerusalem shortly thereafter (Acts 2). If the tomb was not empty, opponents of Christianity would have capitalized on that reality.
–Fact No. 3
Disciples Encounter the Risen Jesus
Scholars agree that the disciples had experiences they interpreted as encounters with the risen Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection appearances were unapologetically bodily (Luke 24, Matt. 28, John 20-21). Jesus appeared to individuals, small groups and large groups (see, e.g., 1 Cor. 15:5-8).
–Fact No. 4
Skeptic James, Opponent Paul
Encounter Jesus and Believe
Jesus’ brother James did not believe Jesus was the promised Messiah during His lifetime (e.g., Mark 3:20-32)—James was a skeptic. Nonetheless, James encountered the risen Jesus (1 Cor. 15:7), becoming not just a believer, but a key leader in the early church (Josephus, Acts 15). Paul was an active disbeliever and opponent of the early church before his encounter with the risen Jesus (Acts 7-9). Paul subsequently becomes a missionary to the Gentiles, and eventually is martyred for his faith (see Clement, Polycarp, Tertullian, Origen).
–Fact No. 5
Disciples Willingly Suffer and Die
for Resurrection Faith
Outside of John (and the suicidal Judas), the original disciples (plus Paul, Stephen, and others) are persecuted and ultimately martyred for their proclamation of and belief in Jesus’ resurrection. As critics often note, people die for false beliefs quite regularly. However, the disciples knew whether their resurrection faith was true or false. People die for false beliefs they believe to be true; but people do not willingly die for false beliefs they know to be false.
–Conclusion:
Fact or Fiction?
There is much more that could be said: the growth of the church; the transformation of the disciples’ worldview; worship of a crucified ‘Messiah’ as God; worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath (Saturday). More supporting evidence could be mustered for each listed fact (see suggested reading below). What has been said demonstrates that the resurrection is not an article of blind faith—something believed despite lack of evidence. We have resurrection faith on the basis of solid historical grounds. We confidently and reasonably affirm and proclaim: Jesus is risen; He is risen, indeed.
For an in-depth readable treatment, consult Habermas & Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus; and/or Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter.