Come to Me...

I heard a pastor give his testimony on Good Friday and it is the kind of testimony I believe the world needs to hear more often.

The pastor told how he came to Christ, not as a result of an addiction or other dramatic event in his life, but as a normal, ordinary man. He had a job, a good income, a family and a solid marriage. He made the point that, in cases like his, coming to faith must bust through an immense self-sufficiency and independence. In his mind, he was quite able to take care of himself. His need for God was not readily apparent. But the day finally came when he did accept Christ, acknowledging that he, like all of us, are broken and in need of a Savior.

I love this testimony because, quite frankly, I don't hear it very much. How common, I wonder, is it to come to Christ this way? I also love it for the power of redemption it speaks to those who think they've got life and the future all squared away and nailed down. I've often thought that it is easier to carry the Gospel over miles of ocean and through corrupt governments and have people accept it than it is to break through the comfort of a 3,000 square foot house, dual five-figure incomes and German engineering parked in the heated garage. We all are broken and in need of a Savior. For some, it just appears to be more obvious than for others. But the need, on all fronts, is equal. This became patently clear to me as I recently walked through the Titanic exhibit: monetarily rich and poor alike; those in first class and in steerage, died together. Death shows no partiality.

And neither does Jesus. He will break through addictions. He will break through criminality. He will break through promiscuity. He will break through infirmity--all things through which people tend to more readily see their brokenness and need for Jesus. But Jesus will even break through the stronghold of self-pride that says, "My life is good. I don't have any need of a Savior." Jesus, as this pastor testified, can break through even that.

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24

He Reigns

"but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen." Acts 10:40

"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice." Psalm 97:1

Amazing Love

"He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows,
and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him,
and afflicted.
But he was pierced
for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace
was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:3-5

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

Adam Lambert

Christine McVie, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Prince, Peter Furler (Newsboys), Mac Powell (Third Day) and now Adam Lambert-- American Idol's reigning contestant. What these artists all have in common is something much greater than themselves. And that greatness is that they don't (or didn't in their lifetime) focus on their greatness, but on living out their art because they must.

The heartening thing about each of these artists is that it isn't about them. They have no choice but to do what they do because their art is in their heart, mind, body and soul. It's called performing, but for these artists, it's the very fabric of their being. It's no act.

What these artists possess is a drive that takes them so beyond themselves that they are able to connect with their audience time and time again, building a bridge between their emotions and ours. They've tapped into and are living out (or did live out) the very essence of who God made them to be. They may not have been or may not be people of faith. But God created them just the same. They aren't perfect, just as you and I aren't perfect. ("for all have sinned..." Romans 3:23) But Adam Lambert has joined a contingent of those living out (or who lived out in their lifetime) the very thing our Creator created us to live out: the gift He gave us to experience and share joy and be a witness to the glory of God (whether we believe in Him or not). And for the artists I've mentioned here, even though I don't know where all of them stand or ever stood in their faith, I see that they do understand one thing: they know to be humble with this gift.

Adam Lambert is a living example of someone completely in tune with God's anointed gift. For Adam, it's clear that to stop performing would be to stop breathing. It may be hard to believe, but each of us has that same kind of gift: it doesn't look anything like Adam's because no two gifts are the same. But every person has been given a gift for the purpose and call of God (again, whether we believe in Him or not). God wants so much for us to discover, develop and unselfishly use that gift.

Maybe watching Adam has motivated us to look to God to find and use ours.

"I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind." 1 Corinthians 14:15

Newsweek Headlines Deceiving

The April 13, 2009, Newsweek proclaims on its cover: "The Decline and Fall of Christian America," with the inside feature article titled "The End of Christian America." I checked the byline to make sure it wasn't written by Chicken Little himself.

The article, written by Jon Meacham, is, in actuality, more about Christianity at a crossroads and Christianity and the political order more than anything. In fact, very early in the article Meacham states, "Let's be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated." Maybe he should re-think the title of his article then, if that's what he truly believes and the facts prove.

Meacham does do a good job of interviewing and including quotes from Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, throughout the article. Mohler, although sounding a bit hopeless in some places, takes a thoughtful stand for Christianity and boldly proclaims, in the last paragraph, "Jesus Christ promised that the very gates of Hell would not prevail against his church." You can read the entire Newsweek article at http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583/page/1

Another take on this story appears in today's Wall Street Journal. Written by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, the article looks at the founding of our country and how "betting against American religion has always proved to be a fool's game." They take a closer look at the new poll numbers and see something a bit different than the Newsweek folks: "A significant number of Americans are becoming more godly, not less so: The increase in the number of atheists is going hand in hand with ever more conservative Christians and Pentecostals."

Read the entire WSJ article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123906081768295037.html#mod=djemEditorialPage

"...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18

"Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." Acts 20:28

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Why Worry?

The above photo is a picture of the grass I stood over this morning while I sipped my coffee. It's the same grass that should've been covered with three to six inches of snow: the very snow that people began buzzing about Friday night. I was on a field trip to Chicago over the weekend and frequent weather updates and text messages were coming in on various cell phones regarding the incoming storm, which was, as usual, now sounding a bit more like a blizzard than the three inches of your typical Wisconsin spring snow flurry! So when I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I had to laugh. It made me think how God is once again testing us to see where we're at on the worry meter. As my son put it, "All that worry to no avail."

But what about the big things in life: worrying about an addicted loved one, an impending divorce, a job loss, the car breaking down or our child getting hurt? What's going on when we worry about these things? Many people think that if they don't worry they are being cocky, smug or nonchalant. Some people think that to not worry is to not care. But that's a worldly perspective. From God's perspective, worry is absolutely worthless because it accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Instead, God wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). One of the ways we can renew our minds is to replace worry with a trust in God. This is an intentional, active trust that is never uncaring or lazy. It was probably one of the most difficult things to do when I was a new Christian because I had not yet experienced the results of trusting in God. It's like going off the high dive the first time. We're terrified because we've never experienced the exhilaration and joy that comes with jumping off a high dive. But as soon as we do it, we're climbing the ladder to do it again.

Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” If we are a new Christian, we must not lean on our understanding of how we dealt with things in the past. And those of us who have walked with Christ for a long time must be careful not to trust God on a limited basis and only in certain situations. Trust is our only joy and hope in the midst of tragedy, misunderstanding, uncertainty and loss. Trust is what gets us through every time. Worry is a dead end.

We can worry and the snow may come—maybe even worse than predicted. Or we can worry and the snow doesn't come at all. And God asks, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27; Luke 12:25)

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Zeitgeist Online Film

WorldNetDaily reported last week on an internet film that's been promoting false teaching and leading some away from Christianity. The film is titled "Zeitgeist," a film WorldNetDaily says documents "the close ties between ancient pagan religions and today's Christianity" and which "is 'antichrist' in nature, destroying the faith of believers by combining some astonishing truth with plenty of error."

The WorldNetDaily article features a video of a portion of the film, in which author and narrator Peter Joseph says, "Let's examine the most recent of the solar Messiahs," Jesus Christ. To Joseph, Jesus is just one of "numerous other sun gods."

WorldNetDaily writes that Joseph's film "concludes Jesus of Nazareth is merely a fictional character, a combination of many fabled solar messiahs." Watch the clip and you'll see that this is indeed the claim being made.

But Richard Rives is providing excellent Truth to counter Joseph's claims. Doing what the Bible calls all believers to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Rives has tested everything that Joseph is falsly promoting as truth. To learn what, in fact, the Truth is, you can watch a video, also found in the WorldNetDaily article, that Rives has created to counter these claims. A link to Rives rebuttal website can also be accessed there.

Rives makes an excellent point in the article when he says "If [traditional] Christianity does not start telling the truth about the fact that many Christian traditions never had anything to do with Jesus, the antichrists will continue to claim a substantial victory."

What he's referring to is things like the fact that Jesus has nothing to do with December 25, and the false links that Christian theologians have promulgated regarding Easter and the supposed "three wise men." Read the Biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus and the wise men to find out the Truth and what it is that the Bible actually says (and doesn't say).

You can read the entire WorldNetDaily article, view the Joseph and Rives video clips, and access all of the resources at

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92903

This movie and accompanying Zeitgeist movement (Joseph is now taking his show on the road in the form of seminars) is just another reminder that we must always be fulfilling the call in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 which says, "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 1 Timothy 4:1-2

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing." 1 Timothy 6:3-4.

"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene." 2 Timothy 2:16

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4