Month: February 2020

It seems like more and more Christians are trying to hide their faith. Christianity certainly isn’t very popular amongst the population of the world. If one wants to fit in, then talking about the Savior of the universe doesn’t seem to be the way to go.

However, keep in mind that we were not called to be popular. We were not called to fit in. We were called to spread the Good News that Jesus had given us salvation and redemption. He has given us the way to eternal life with God.

Our pastor was recently talking about how when he is traveling, he can have some really good conversations. That is, until the conversation turns to work. When he is asked what he does and he answers he is the pastor of a church, then the conversations end.

He told us he had come up with a way to continue conversations. Instead of telling what his job was, he decided what he would do is to tell the other person(s) about what his “company” does. He’ll talk of the things they do for the community, for people at risk, for individuals who are in poverty. He said that he could go on and on all day about the things that his group does for the good of man.

He thought that was a great answer. I disagree. I feel that he is being evasive. And, when you get right down to the heart of it, he is doing so to fit in and to have good conversations while he is traveling.

How could he know whether or not God has put him in the path of an individual to tell them about Jesus if it never comes up even obliquely? He can’t and he won’t if he continues with his plan.

I know that if I were traveling (at one time in my life I traveled extensively every single week) and someone talked to me in this fashion, I would still want to know the name of the company and what the individuals actual job was.

If it came out after much conversation that the individual was involved with a religion that was different than my own, I would feel like I had been lied to. It would not only stop the conversation but it would leave a bad taste in my mouth about that religion as well.

Groups that are known for this type of behavior are cults. They will discuss all the great things that they do in order to draw individuals into their web.

I know that the pastor does not have that in his mind, but I would wonder about it if someone did this to me.

In this instance, he seems to have placed the world and culture ahead of living for Jesus. I know, generally, that he is true to true theology. It just seems to have gone out of the window when it comes to conversations while traveling.

We were given a huge task and it is one that all Christians are called to do. That is, to share the story of Jesus and to tell others about what God has done for you personally.

Since the pastor stood in front of the congregation to tell us of his plan, he is, perhaps unwittingly, condoning others to put culture ahead of God.

In the life group that my husband and I recently left, one individual did not feel it necessary to ever tell anyone about Jesus. We spent a year in that group, lovingly trying to teach them how to share their faith and why it was so important to do so in order to grow spiritually and connect to God in a deeper fashion.

In the last meeting we attended, the topic came up once again, and, once again, she gave the same response.

I have to admit it was terribly disheartening. We left for other reasons but this was certainly a big part of it as well.

When the pastor stood in front of our church and told his plan, it probably condoned this type of behavior for that individual as well as any others would feel that they don’t need to ever talk about being Christians.

Don’t get me wrong, there are correct times to share faith and times when it is not correct. If you work at a company where sharing religion is prohibited, then you should either do as they ask or look for another job where you are welcome to talk about such things.

However, it seems like the Church, in general, are being pressed to change to meet the needs of the “new” culture. This culture isn’t new. Sin is the same as it was the first time Adam sinned. Turning away from Christianity also isn’t new. Most recently, it happened in the 1960’s.

At that time, if the entire Church had changed, the Jesus Freak movement would not have happened. Actually, some churches did change and we see the results today as the mainstream Protestant churches are losing more and more parishioners.

They turned their backs on God and, when their message no longer resonated with real truth, people lost interest and starting looking for other sources of spiritual experiences.

That’s where we are today. If we change our message, we will no longer grow in the countries where this occurs.

I look at the persecuted church throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In those areas, Christianity is growing. The people in those areas are looking for, and finding, the only true savior, who is Jesus Christ.

Perhaps Western Civilization needs a little persecution to get back to the truth of the Gospel.

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

There is so much confusion in the world. These days, most people don’t seem to have a grasp on what is right and what is wrong. In the past, it was easy to distinguish between the two. People looked to the Bible to give them their moral compass. It was the map and guide to living a life for God.

Still, without knowing Jesus, the Bible may seem to be a set of rules without any understanding of how the rules were made and why we have to live by them.

In truth, the rules were given to us to show us how far we had fallen from the perfection that God had given to mankind when he created Adam and Eve. When they sinned, they lost it and had no way to get it back again.

The Bible and its rules are meant to show us that, on our own, we can never be good enough to be able to approach God. We will always sin and God cannot allow sin in his presence. He is good, sinless, holy and awesome. We are the opposite.

The way of life that the Bible gives to us is still what we should strive to do. Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we should turn from our sin-filled life and live the way that Jesus did.

He was the only individual who could actually live by the rules of the Bible. He was both God and man at the same time. He could have sinned, Satan did his best to tempt him and to convince him to rebel against God the father.

Jesus withstood temptation by relying on the word of God, which is written in the Bible. To every temptation that Satan sent his way, he responded by telling what the Bible had to say about it. He would not back down, he would not sin.

We, who are born-again Christians, do try to live his way. Still, we are sinners, and so we will not be able to live sinlessly in this lifetime. When we sin, which for me, is probably every day, we are to repent and ask forgiveness and ask God to help us to stop us from committing that sin.

He is always ready to forgive and to help us. All we have to do is come to him with a true spirit of repentance and a sincere desire to stop sinning.

The rest of the world doesn’t understand this and so, they think the Bible is archaic and no longer relevant. They have begun to think that they can create their own moral code.

Of course, one person’s code is not the same as another, so what is good for one is not good for all. Likewise, what is evil in one individual’s eyes is not evil in another person’s view.

That is a recipe for disaster. It creates disharmony and worse. It gives people the freedom to attack one another. Not only verbally but physically as well. They are sometimes, and increasingly so, ready to kill one another over these areas of disagreement.

From what I’ve seen, when placed against the word of God, the moral code of man is wrong. It doesn’t matter which individual it is, they can never understand the perfection of God. They may think they have come close but they are still wrong.

We are a world that is broken. Everything, except for God, is in a state of decay. Everything we think is wisdom apart from God, is foolishness in the eyes of God. All of our knowledge is flawed. There is not one of us who understands what God understands. We see the present and think that the future will be based on what we do today. Except for one thing, that is completely incorrect. God has a plan and his plan is different from anything that mankind can dream up.

The one exception that is not foolishness, is accepting Jesus as your savior. He has given us a way to receive redemption. By living sinlessly and dying for us, he became a worthy sacrifice to take all of our sin to himself and to exchange his sinlessness in its place. He did this to give us a way to have a relationship with God.

He didn’t ask us to do anything else, just to accept his freely given gift. There is nothing good enough we can do to deserve it. It is completely undeserved. That is the astounding part of this gift. It was given when we were still sinners and God’s enemy.

How many people would willingly die for an enemy who was trying to kill you? Jesus would and did. He loves you that much that he died for you to save you from the consequences of your sin. All you have to do is accept it, knowing that Jesus is God and was raised from the dead, and start to live your life, with his help, in the way that he showed us.

Use his moral code and stop trying to create one of your own. Do not think of your own way or accept any other individuals code. Jesus’ way is better. His is the best. His is the only true way to live.

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

There was a time when the United States prided itself on having free-speech. That simple right allowed individuals to speak what they wanted. It allowed Christians to tell the world about the good news of Jesus Christ.

It also allowed atheists to speak their minds as well. It gave an open forum to other religions, too.

It seems that those days are long gone. We, as a people, face censorship every single day. Especially Christians. Those who don’t like to hear about sin and salvation have labeled it hate speech.

Not only is the government censoring us, other avenues are also limiting what is allowed to be said. If you say something that they don’t agree with, then your message is deleted and, in some cases, you are blocked from ever posting again.

While it is difficult for someone of my age to accept, those who are younger have always had it and don’t realize the dangers of censorship that await them. When those in power don’t allow individuals to speak truth, the next steps are to destroy those individuals so that truth is never spoken again.

This is exactly what happened to Jesus. He spoke out against those in power who were forcing their view of religion on the people of Israel. He told them of their hypocrisy and their lives of sin. He told them how they gave the appearance of living faithful lives while, in truth, they were sinners just like everyone else.

Those people in charge knew that the masses were listening to Jesus and that if they didn’t act and quickly, they would be toppled from their lofty positions.

At first, they tried to get Jesus to sin and when he did not, they plotted to kill him. They worked unceasingly and sent spies to listen to him to find a reason to have him put to death.

In the end, they trumped up charges against him and got one of Jesus’ own apostles to betray him. Beware of those who tell you that they agree with you but behave differently. Judas told Jesus he loved him but was willing to turn him over to death for the price of a slave.

They pushed the trial through and demanded that the Romans put Jesus to death. Although Pontius Pilate could find no fault in Jesus, he put him to death because the Jews demanded it.

If that happened to the God who created the of universe, why would any of us think that it could not happen to us?

That is where censorship leads. It leads to those with a certain mindset dictating what is good and what is not. It is based on their choices not on the choices of God. God gave us a clear view of what he expected from us.

He also let us know that we would fail and never measure up to that high standard. But, rather than let us be put to deserved death, he sent his own son to die for us and to give us forgiveness for our sins.

No man or woman is sinless, not one. Only Jesus, as God and man at the same time, was able to live a sinless life. Because we all sin, we all need forgiveness.

Isn’t it wonderful that God loved us so much that he gave us the way to get back into his presence? Man is nowhere even close to him.

Mankind will condemn you and destroy you but not forgive you.

Those who follow Christ are taught to forgive those who hurt and sin against them. It is a hard thing to learn to do and Christians fall back into old sins of hate and destruction. With God’s help, they can repent and try again to live according to his will.

Why censorship? At its most basic form, it is to keep God’s story from being told. It is Satan, as he was from our beginning, trying to destroy mankind. He lost the war when Jesus rose again from the dead. While the war is over, Satan wants to take as many people as possible to hell with him for eternity.

The Bible predicts a time toward the end of the age of the earth when teaching sound doctrine will be banned. Sometimes, it feels as if that period of time is right now. Most people only want to hear what is pleasing to them and don’t want to hear about the truth which carries conviction of their sins.

Before it is too late and you will not hear the good news of salvation because of censorship, this is the time to accept Jesus, to have your sins forgiven, to know your eternal destiny and to start living your life for him.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction.

For the time will come when people 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.

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

The news regarding the coronavirus is rather scary. It is hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction. Whether or not this is a virus that will cause a pandemic, one thing is for sure, one day there will be such horrible diseases racing across the earth that a huge population of the world will die.

It’s happened previously with the Spanish ‘flu. It was a strain of influenza in the early 1900’s following World War I that took several years to cross the world. It was only stopped because so many people died, there were too few individuals who were sick and still alive to allow the virus to continue to transmit.

In those days, we traveled the world by boat. That is why it took so long to wreck its devastation.

Today, a virus can circle the globe in a matter of a day. It reminds me of a movie I have seen called “Twelve Monkeys.” In that movie, a single unhinged individual plots to spread a deadly virus and is able to do so by flying around the world in a matter of a few short days. Truth has become more than fiction.

There are so many diseases that are migrating that it really is a matter of when and not if.

There is so much fear among the people of the world. They are reacting to this latest threat as if it were immediate. It may be. It’s difficult to say as the government of China appears to be covering up the true numbers and the methods of transmission.

Still, the fear is there and it is real regardless of whether it is warranted or not. People are afraid of dying. They are afraid that their children may die. They are suspicious and want answers. Sadly, there are no answers that will satisfy them.

It’s at times like these I am very thankful to be a born-again Christian. I know that one day, perhaps sooner than later, I will die. However, I have no fear of death. My Lord and Savior has conquered true death. The body may die but the soul is eternal.

The eternal death of the soul is a separation from God and unending torment. The eternal life of the soul is to spend eternity in the presence of God and to be filled with love and joy forever.

I know that when I die, my soul will be with God for eternity. That takes the sting of death away.

The majority of the world has not accepted Christ. With their fear of death, there is also the fear of the unknown. Whether they believe in nothing or in a false god, they have no assurances of their spot in eternity.

I can understand how their fear can take over and cause them to act in ways that they would not do ordinarily. Fear will not save them. Trying to avoid death will not work forever. We all must die physically.

If fear is gripping you over this virus or anything else, the only answer to overcome fear is to know the love of Jesus. With his love will come the peace that passes our understanding.

God has this type of love and man does not. That is why we don’t understand it. We don’t understand how it can give us peace. But it exists regardless of our human and flawed understanding. The peace that comes with the knowledge of that love also exists.

I know this for a fact because I was told over two years ago that I was going to die that day. I was at peace and knew that when my eyes closed here, I would see Jesus for the first time. I didn’t long to die, but I wasn’t afraid of it, either.

God spared me but I know that it was only for the moment. However, I know that my place in heaven is a sure thing and it is only a matter of time before I go to be with my God.

If you are afraid and want to feel the peace of God, look to the love of Jesus. He was both man and God at the same time. He lived and died and rose again to give you a way to obtain forgiveness for your sins and to make you righteous in God’s eyes.

All you have to do is to accept him as Lord and Savior. Ask him to give you the gift of his forgiveness. Know that he rose again from the dead and because of that, you will do so, too, one day. Then start learning to live in the way that he did. Learn to follow Jesus. He will give you his peace and will take away your fears.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.