The Apostles Told Us It Would Happen

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Jude 1:17-19 (NIV)

I am not surprised when I read or hear an atheist discount Christianity. Maybe a bit irritated with the whole "blame a god you don't believe exists for the evils a godless society perpetuates upon itself" diatribe. Annoyed but not surprised.

But when I hear people who call themselves Christians, priests, pastor or Biblical scholars denying the authenticity and reliability of Scripture or the existence of Christ as described in the Bible that alarms and angers me. 

Whenever we try to stuff our understanding of God into the finiteness of our understanding we create a god less than the God of the Bible, the Eternal, Almighty God. Occasionally public television will produce a series on the Bible. Naturally most of the Bible scholars they consult and/or interview are liberal theologians. Liberal theologians are like modern day Sadducees. Neither believe in the miraculous so they always try to explain away anything outside of the realm of their own limited and finite understanding. What will they do when they meet the God who rose Jesus from the dead? 

Know the Truth, He Never Lies

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 2:20 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6 (NIV)

The truth can be hard to come by. Think about it. How many times have you thought someone was telling you the truth only to find out they were lying. When someone tries to represent themselves as something they are not, we call that living a lie. Of course you have heard the joke, "Do you know how to tell when a politician is lying? Their lips are moving."

Knowing Christ is knowing the truth. God can not lie. What we learn from Christ, from the Bible, we can depend on as truth. I know that some people view the Bible as an antiquated piece of literature full of myths and fables. But, that is not what it is at all. One hundred plus years ago dictionaries defined Hittites as a mythological  group of people referred to in the Bible. Later, they discovered evidence of the existence of the Hittites. Admittedly, many people have misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented the Bible. But, it has proven itself true again and again. 

Yet, truth is more than just an opinion of what one perceives to be true. Truth is about knowing who Christ is and knowing him as the truth. When you know Christ as Lord you know that the universe was made through him (Hebrews 1:2). Christ is the truth. Science may discover things but it does create the laws that govern the universe. Albert Einstein said, "I want to think God's thoughts, the rest are details." 

We can choose to live by faith in the truth or not. If you know Jesus, you know the truth. 

Father, thank you that Jesus is the truth and we may know him. Praise be to you in us today!

Zip Lines, Stars and the Glory of God

The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
   night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
   no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.
Psalms 19:1-4a (NIV)

This Fathers Day weekend I was blessed to spend it with my youngest son and his Boy Scout Troop. We were in the mountains and we went on a three and a half hour zipline tour! It was awesome! The zipline was great, although I still get a bit freaked out rappelling. One run was a quarter mile so there was time to enjoy the view of the mountains and the valley below. 

We spent the evening around the campfire, making smores and gazing at the stars. Psalm 19 says that the heavens declare the glory of God and night after night the skies display knowledge. Chance did not create such a universe. Aliens did not plant us here on earth. God created the world and everything in it. The heavens declare the glory of God and when I look out on the stars I am humbled. 

I know that some deny that God exist and insist that chance plus time equals the universe we live in. But, I have never heard an atheists tell me my they are an atheist without mentioning the God they say does not exist. God spoke. The heavens declare his glory! 

Father, open the hearts of men to see your glory in the heaven and give you glory in their hearts! Praise be to you in us today!

Voting for Justice?

I have been receiving a lot of voting guides and ads lately. An election is coming up in a few weeks. My son marched in the Torrance, CA Armed Forces Day Parade on Saturday with his school's band. At the beginning was a long group of dignitaries from including our new U.S. Congresswoman, Maxine Waters. Below are a few verses I find enlightening.

“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.

Exodus 23:2-3 (NIV)

“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits." 

Exodus 23:6 (NIV)

"Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 16:18-20 (NIV)

One of the things that I find sincerely troubling is the corruption in government and how apparently easy it is to manipulate those who consider themselves Christians. You see, during the last presidential election the Democrats were voting on their platform issues. One of the key issues was whether or not to keep God in their platform and the support of Israel. It took three votes to strike it down and it sounded pretty even to me. 

The truly troubling issue is that the Democratic party is considering the idea of removing God from their platform at all. Take away God and you take away justice. 

As Christians we can not be persuaded by the illusion of feigned outcries by politicians about social justice when they do nothing to actually help people get out of poverty. When I saw Maxine Waters in the parade I wondered how she continues to get elected when she does so little. Where are the jobs? With rampant gang activity, senseless killings, drugs and corruption the hallmarks of her district, where is the justice? 

Christians beware. I know that I am taking a controversial position here but, I also know that I can not see how anyone who says they believe in God, can vote for someone whose party consistently denies God to the point where they are voting to remove his Name from their party platform. 

The Day of the Scoffers

First of all, you must understand that in the last day scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires." 

II Peter 3:3

It is as if the Apostle Peter foresaw the twenty first century, the world as we know it today. Atheist's demand that people of faith stop mentioning God on nearly a daily basis. Go to Hot on Google! and you will find someone raging about the evils of Christians and mocking Christians for not believing in their cartoon religion/science dogma known as evolution. 

According to revisionist history every evil ever done was because someone acted in the name of their god. They blame the god they don't believe in for the evil that is the natural outcome of mankind choosing to deny God. 

This world mocks the idea of a literal interpretation of the Bible which states that God created the world in seven days. They scoff at the second coming of Christ. They "forget" that God created and will judge the world.  

Here's the deal: the world mocks out of arrogance and ignorance. We believe and trust in Christ's faithfulness in humility and faith (being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see - Hebrews 11:1). 

Father, help us to stand strong in our faith with hope and certainty in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

ARE CHRISTIANS SIMPLEMINDED?

"For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
     and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 
 but whoever listens to me will live in safety 
     and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Proverbs 1:32-33 (NIV)

I recently responded to a post by an atheist. What I said was that I found it funny that so many people who don't believe in God talk a lot about a god. Of course there were a few "responses" that assumed things like I believed in a state endorsed church. What I did not read was a rational statement about what an atheist believes about anything. 

Here's the deal: if you reject God, the simplicity of your denial and the arrogance of your self assuredness will lead to self destructive actions, the end of which will be answering to God at the final judgement. 

In contrast, listening to God and living according to the truth will lead to peace and in the end eternal life in his Presence.  

To the world we may seem like ignorant fools, but, the fear of the Lord is anything but ignorance and the avoidance of knowledge. In Proverbs 1:29 (which sets the context for the verses 32-33) we are told, "Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD." Rejecting God and hating knowledge go hand in hand. Listening to God leads to knowledge, safety and peace. 

Listen to God. Fear God. Live according to the Truth. Be blessed.

Father, help us to live in the fear of the Lord, not the fear of man. May your Presence lead us in peace. Praise be to you in us today!

TIME TO SHUT IT DOWN: Titus 3:9

"But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." Titus 3:9

If you have ever been involved in an online "discussion" with someone with an opposing viewpoint,  then you probably have a pretty good idea what this verse is talking about. Most of the time people just write whatever pops into their minds without really thinking about it. Frankly, most people are trained to think anymore and it shows in what they write. I thought I was involved in a decent conversation with an atheist about two weeks ago. But, he just kept avoiding responding to anything that would cause him to evaluate why he actually held any of his beliefs. It was time to shut it down. 

The point is to be wise. Know when it is time to not say something. Sometimes silence makes people listen to not only what they said or what they were going to say, but, it also allows God to speak.

Father, give us wisdom to know when and when not to speak. Praise be to you in us today!

YOU CAN'T ARGUE SOMEONE INTO THE KINGDOM: II Timothy 2:23

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels." II Timothy 2:23

When I first started teaching there was a group of guys who started teaching couple years after me. They were all atheists and liberals. When they found out I was a Christian and not a liberal they just couldn't believe it and would ask all kinds of questions. I would ask them a few. The discussion would usually turn into a full on argument brawl. After a while I just told them that if they really wanted to know why I believe what I believe, just ask. They did and in the end about three guys found their way to Christ. 

I also notice that I have become a bit more tactful myself. I found that you need to always allow someone a way out, because, if you back someone into a corner (even verbally) they usually will try to fight their way out. Francis Schaeffer said that he once debated an atheist and when he got home his wife asked him if he won the debate. He said yes, but he'd never do it again because he felt that he beat the guy up so bad that he would never come to Christ. Truth without love can just be a battering ram. 

You can't quarrel/ argue someone into the kingdom. You may give an answer to your beliefs and that may be an opening to share the gospel. Proverbs 15:1 reminds us that, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Remember, the goal is to turn people to Christ, not away from him. 

Father, give us grace to gently answer those question or challenge our beliefs. May we turn people to you, not away from you. Praise be to you in us today!

GO BACK TO THE CROSS: II Timothy 2:8

"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel." II Timothy 2:8

Many moons ago I was talking with a graduate student who was a Muslim. I was just out of high school. The conversation had begun to spin out of control. My mom had told me that whenever you get into a discussion with someone, particularly from another "faith" (or cult) to just keep going back to the cross. He kept wanting to say that Jesus was just a prophet, I would remind him that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Mohammed did not. If he did not understand something he would say something about leaving it to the prophets. The central issue which he wanted to avoid at all costs was that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, the gospel. 

You know, that are a lot of things to learn from the Bible. There is a lot you can benefit from studying apologetics, yet, it is always going to boil down to this: Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead.

Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Praise be to you in us today!