Do You Believe In Miracles?

When you read the Bible, you will find that there are many different miracles that were performed. From the Old Testament parting of the Red Sea, and the New Testament miracles Jesus performed which include turning water into wine, feeding of the 5000, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Not to mention Jesus Himself rising from the dead. 

What some people point to as evidence that Christianity is false is that they say God is not performing miracles of this magnitude today. Why is that? 

All of these miracles were examples of God showing His power and that He is indeed the one and only God, and examples of Him protecting His people here on Earth. To say the least, these are all very dramatic examples. 
To answer the question why do miracles like this not happen anymore, you have to ask the question why did God perform these miracles in the first place. He performed them to show the world that He is in fact God. To put it mildly, He has already proven this point. 


The Bible has everything that you need to know that God is God, and the Bible has everything necessary for salvation. You see, we have it easier than the people mentioned in the Bible. They didn't have a Bible to refer to, seeing as how the events were unfolding at the time. If there was a dispute, the churches in the New Testament had to wait for a letter from Paul to settle matters. But now, we have proof, written down proof, of God's awesome power.


Miracles still do happen everyday, they are just not as blatantly obvious as the ones mentioned in the Bible. God is still performing miracles everyday in our lives, we just may not notice the significance until later. Remember, God is God, He still exists, and He still cares.

I'm Late, So Sue Me

Yes, I'm a little late with this weeks post. This week was finals week for Heather and I, and a bunch of time was dedicated to that. However, we are both done with our bachelor's degrees. In other words WE'RE FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well, In essence, I was going to do a post about freedom. However, I haven't had the time lately to put into this project to give something worth reading, and may do something on it next week. Or, if the Lord moves, I will blog on something else. Anyway, keep looking here for future posts, this week has just been a long one.

I wonder how may people will actually read this.

Ghost Hunters

Ghost shows have been becoming more and more popular recently. Just on the Syfy Channel you have Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, and Ghost Hunters Academy. Even the shows Destination Truth and Fact or Faked dabble with the paranormal. For those that don't know, the first three shows follow teams of investigators around who are doing pseudoscientific research trying to either find ghosts, or present other possible explanations to purported hauntings. I will say that I do watch these shows, and enjoy them, but greet them with a little bit of skepticism.


Growing up in a Southern Baptist area, I have been told ghosts do not exist. However, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Ghosts are supposed to be dead people that haven't left earth yet and are just roaming around. The Bible says that once you die, you either go to Heaven, or to Hell. At least one of these statements must be false.


Well, I've come to a conclusion. Ghosts are real, but not necessarily what people think they are. Follow me if you will. You have credible people claiming to have encountered ghosts, or heard voices, or whatever. These people have nothing to gain by lying to you (in fact they may be afraid to tell someone), they are not known to lie to you, they are not crazy people, and they haven't suffered any head injuries recently that would lead to them seeing a white figure in their hotel room. This would leave someone to believe that something is indeed there. On top of this, you have Biblical evidence that states that when a person dies, they leave this planet. That would then mean that whatever this something is, it is something other than your great uncle who died fighting against your great grandfather during the Civil War.


That would leave two other options, angels or demons. We'll examine the possibility or angels first. Angels are fully allied with God, and God will not lead us away from His truth. These ghosts are leading people to believe that they are your or someone elses dead ancestors, therefore they cannot be angels. What does that leave us with? Demons.


The Devil and the demons that report to him have devoted eternity to getting people to turn away from God, and will stop at nothing to achieve this objective. Ghosts are one way that they will do this. Psychics, mediums, tarot card readers, and anyone willing to talk long lost great aunt Gladys that you didn't even know you had, fall along the same lines. The best way to combat this is to know the truth ahead of time. 


Amen.

Enemy Occupied Territory

Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. - C.S. Lewis


This quote came to mind the other day when I was thinking about the people around me. Jesus called us to be in the world, and not of the world, and that would lead to the fact that some people are of this world. I started to think about specific people and I began to start categorizing them. I think this little list should help you out.


Allies - These are the people with a true, authentic Christian faith. Not only do they talk the talk, but they walk the walk. More specifically, they walk as Jesus walked. These are the people that love their neighbors as themselves, without forcing any particular religion or denomination on them, but still sharing the Gospel in the way they live. 


The Other Side -The original title I had for this was The Enemy. However, that phrase carries too much with it. An enemy is someone that is avoided, despised, or possibly even killed. This is not how you should approach members of the other side. In fact, this is precisely how Satan wants the Allies to act. If members of the other side are never met by the Allies, then they will never hear the Word of God. If someone never hears and accepts the word of God, then the Devil has won. 


The Other Side is filled with people that have no faith in any sort of God, and have no problem telling you that. Members of the other side that have moved up in the ranks will even spend a great deal of time and energy trying to convince people that there is no God. However, keen observers will notice, that most of these arguments revolve around disproving Christianity. The other side spends a great deal of time trying to disprove what the Allies know to be true, because our God is the only real threat, because our God is the only real God, and they have already won over those that believe in other gods.


The Spy - The spy comes in various forms. One form is the person who claims to be a Christian, but leaves it at that. Another form is that of a person who claims to be Christian, but preaches a gospel different than that which Jesus preached. Another form is the person who claims to be Christian, but lives in a way that is hateful towards others, which is to say living a life contrary to how Christ has told us to live. Spies are people who claim to be Christian and say that things in the Bible did not happen. They claim that the Bible is open to individual interpretation, that I may see something in the Bible one way, another person in a different way, and so on. A hundred people could read a passage from the Bible, have one hundred different takes on it, and all one hundred be right. How that even makes sense, I have no idea. The Spy is the worst of all. The spy may be so deeply undercover that they do not even know which side they are truly on. Unfortunately for the Allies, the Spies are what the world sees as Christianity: Hateful, judgmental, and hypocritical. 


Jesus teaches us to love God with everything we are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The other side and the spies will have us believe that these are impossible tasks. They will say things like "It must be impossible, just look at what you're up against. People will not listen to you, and the ones that do will make fun of you. Why even try?" Speaking for myself, and perhaps other allies, we have all heard this argument. The other side and the one they report to will do anything to keep you down. I will end with this: The other side and the spies may have a numerical advantage, but with God there is everlasting strength, which will win in the end.




Amen.

A Case For Traditional Worship

Unraveling the Mega-Church: True Faith or False Promises?

I've started reading the book mentioned above. I have only made it through the first chapter, but it looks good, kinda. I will say that so far, Amazon is charging WAAAAAY too much to buy the book. If you are interested, check it out at your local library, like I did.

People can be selfish. Most of what a person does revolves around themselves. When they go to school, it is to ensure future success in life (or because one is required by law to do so). When one goes to work, it is to collect a paycheck. If one donates to a cause, it can be for a few reasons: To make oneself feel better and brag about it to friends, or it is easier to give the beggar/homeless person/bell ringer/Disabled American Veteran some spare change than to ignore them. Not to mention you may get a tootsie roll out of the deal. So then it would stand to reason that a selfish person would go to church for selfish reasons, like if I go to church and put ten bucks in then God is required to make me happy, rich, and popular.

To this end, certain churches, primarily mega-churches, have created and spread a gospel that caters to selfish people. (Side note: McNair asserts that all mega-churches are guilty of this. I, however, am uncomfortable making all-encompassing generalizations.) They have thrown out old songs in favor of new ones, they have thrown out the traditional worship service in favor of a rock concert like one. They do this in the name of reaching people that have never heard of, or rejected Jesus Christ. A noble cause, to be sure.

One of the reasons I have heard people give me for the benefit of these types of services is " is all about God. There are no distractions, it's just God." The truth is that a great deal of these churches ARE a distraction. The worship service is all about making YOU feel good and making sure YOU have a good time. In fact, the sermon may actually be about how God can make YOU happier/richer/healthier/taller/etc. Is that what the church service is supposed to be about?

No. Sure, if done properly, the worship service will enrich your life, and you will learn from it. But you cannot forget what the worship service is supposed to be centered around, which is God. That is one area where the traditional liturgy and worship service excel. Many of the mega-churches formulate their worship service to avoid tradition based the assumption that it is filled with rituals that mean nothing and cannot enrich your life.

Well, here's the truth. A traditional worship service (speaking from an Anglican perspective) is basically a re-enactment of the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. All the traditions are too numerous to name, so I'll hit on a few key points. The beginning of the worship service begins with the priest, or other celebrant, coming from the rear of the sanctuary to the front, following a processional cross the entire way, signifying Christ entering the world, knowing full well crucifixion lies ahead. The celebrant delivers the gospel reading by going into the middle of the sanctuary, and reading the gospel there, reminding us that Jesus went to the people to bring them the Good News (Read my most recent post: What is Mission?) At the end of the service, the priest makes his way to the rear of the sanctuary, and proclaims: Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord. This signifies Christ's ascension into Heaven, and more importantly, He is not dead.

What is my point? I have a couple of them. First off, if you are in a worship service devoted entirely to you, it is an invalid worship experience. Whether that be in a contemporary mega-church, or a traditional worship service, if the experience is about you, you're not doing it right. Second off, the traditional worship service is not a bunch of empty rituals there for the purpose of looking neat. Sure, they do look neat, and if practiced as empty rituals, they mean nothing. If practiced properly, the experience will continually bring new understanding of Unchanging Truth to your life. I'll end my blog with this: What are you worshiping, and why are you worshiping? Keep these in mind as you head to church this weekend, keep it in the back of your head during the worship service, and reflect upon it after the fact.

Amen.

Legal Disclaimer: Again, I am not making all encompassing generalizations. There are contemporary worship services that are valid, as long as the purpose of it is to worship God, and the worshiper is actually worshiping God, and not merely a participant. Furthermore, some traditional worship services are geared towards worshiping you, it's quite easy to tell them from the God-centered ones. Anywho, no matter how what style you worship, make sure the whole focus is on God.

What is Mission?

For those of you that don't know, I am applying to be an Anglican Priest. The first part of this process is filling out an application, which includes essay questions. I was trying to figure out what to do the blog about this week, I was answering a question that dealt with what my definition of mission is, and to reflect on the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. This is how my answer stands so far, but sure it will change before the application is sent to wherever it is that it goes.

Essentially, what mission means is to change the world, a little bit, or a lot at a time for the glory of God. By change the world, I don’t mean things like recycling soda cans and carpooling to work, but to spread the love of Christ to as many people as possible.

Mission is supposed to be an active thing. Christ commands all of us in Matthew 28:19-20 to go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. The key thing to point out here is that He says go out. Mission is reaching out to others, and not just waiting for people to enter into the doors of your church, you have to go out and get them.

You do no good getting people into church if that is your purpose, and once they are butts in seats, you leave them as that. The Great Commandments “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” provide a clear picture of what mission is supposed to be. If your idea is only to get someone into your church, then you will only tell them about the things that your church offers that you think they will like. For example, “my church has an awesome band” or “my church has Starbucks coffee and a variety of pastries” or “my pastor is a really nice guy.” While none of these things are bad in and of themselves, they do nothing to show love for your neighbor. What is happening is that instead of glorifying God, you are glorifying yourself, because you got these people to come to church. If every week this person goes to church, but if they are never fed the Gospel and only donuts from their worship experience, then the Great Commandments, and thus mission, have not been met.

Mission is achieved when you continue to minister to people even after they have started going to your church, another church, or have not made a decision yet.  Even after a person has given themselves to Christ, they still need Christian leadership and teaching. If you leave them be after their conversion, they are likely to turn to heretics and false teachers that will undo everything that God has done in their lives. Mission is when God leads you to love others for His glory, and not for your own. This should be the basic model for the individual and for the local church. God uses everybody to further his mission, since it is something that no person could do on his or her own. That is why the local church comes into play. People need to work together in order to accomplish the mission laid out by Christ Himself.

Don't They Know?

Yet again, I will be reflecting on one of my favorite songs. Most of you have not heard of this band or this song (although I know for sure that two of you have). A band out of Virginia called True Liberty has a song called Don't They Know? which is what I'll be writing about today. Sorry, I couldn't find the song on the internet, but the link takes you to the band's website where they have the lyrics.

I would like all the Christians reading this to think about their non-believing friends. I will talk in general (not to be giving things away) about mine. Some are those I work with currently, some are those I have worked with in the past, and some of those who my wife has worked with. I see a great deal of problems that they are faced with (not saying that following Christ automatically fixes all problems), and think of the refrain from Don't They Know?

Don't they know that God has the answer?

Don't they know that He has a plan?

Don't they know that God has the answer?

We must seek the Master's plan.

Jesus and His name are almost everywhere. From t-shirts, to books, even to billboards. These all fall short of explaining Him and who He is. No one pays attention to t-shirts that don't interest them, the same for books. And the billboards only say the name of Jesus, and nothing else. I start thinking about all these people and what they have in common. If you could take a moment, think about your non-believing friends that you thought of earlier, and now think about what they have in common. And no, I am looking for something other than they are your friends and they don't believe. The answer is much simpler, and possibly even more frightening. I thought about it, and it came to me.

Me. That's right, me. That is what they all have in common. Furthermore, most of these people hang around other non-believers, and may never hear the word of God except for one thing. Me. I would dare say, that the common link between your non-believing friends, is you. If your first reaction was anything like mine, it was most likely something along the lines of "Wow, this sucks. That's a lot of responsibility placed on my shoulders. How am I supposed to do this?" Well, I won't give you an exhaustive list, but here is a few important first steps.

Do what True Liberty says in their last verse:

God can heal a broken heart

And the wounds that are too deep to bear

Because if we would only do our part

And bring it to the Lord in prayer

Well, that doesn't sound so hard now does it. Praying is not, but the answer may be. The second part, and the answer to my prayer, was that I had to live a life that was a reflection of Jesus. Simplistically put, you're not going to be able to bring the Gospel to someone that you are currently trying to stab behind their backs. Live your life honorably, keep your tongue tamed, and most importantly, keep your eyes on Jesus. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commands us to "go and make disciples of all nations" as well as "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." The point is you actually have to get up and GO do something. As was said recently, Christianity is not a sedentary faith.

The act of bringing Christianity to your non-believing friends is just that. This aspect of the Faith, along with all other aspects, is an action, something you have to physically do. I know it's hard, it is for me. But with every step of the way, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and take it to the Lord in prayer.

Amen.