Christmas and the Cross

Each Christmas season I am increasingly concerned over the fact that our culture is forgetting or ignoring what Christmas is all about. In this nation that was founded by Christians and that has always been a place where Christianity has flourished, Christmas has become X-Mas, a holiday without the Christ. American children hear more about Santa Claus and the latest toys at Walmart than they do about the One whose birth is the reason for the season. We all need to be reminded that if it were not for Jesus Christ there would be no Christmas!

This Christmas I hope that more people will hear the message of Christmas and the Cross. You may be asking what Christmas has to do with the Cross. Simply put, it has everything to do with it. There had to be an incarnation before there could be a crucifixion. Jesus had to be born before He could die for us. He had to become human before He could take our place. His birth was the beginning of a journey that would lead Him to the Cross. That is what we hear from the Bible in places like Hebrews 2, where God's Word says, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15, NKJV). The New Living Translation expounds upon these verses saying, "Because God's children are human beings-- made of flesh and blood-- the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying."

A human birth was required for Jesus to be able to die on the Cross to save us. The Bible explains why, saying that "...when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7, NKJV). The Son of God became one of us so that we could become one of His! Without Jesus we are nothing more than slaves to sin, but with Jesus we are set free and adopted into God's family! Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36, NKJV). It's sin that enslaves us, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NKJV), and it's sin that kills us, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a, NKJV), but "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NKJV)! The Bible also explains that God "...made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).

Jesus was sent into the world to take our place and our punishment, as the Bible teaches, saying, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10, NKJV). That word "propitiation" means "the satisfying price," and in this case refers to the price that Jesus paid for our sins, which was death. Jesus wasn't forced to pay that price; He was willing to take on the mission. The Bible says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:5-8, NKJV). He was willing to do whatever it took to save you and me, no matter how it changed Him and no matter what it cost Him! It required becoming human at Christmas and it required dying at the Cross, but Jesus did it for you and me! That's why Christmas and the Cross are inseparably linked, so that we might never forget what Christmas is truly all about.

So how do we put the Christ back in Christmas? Well, the Apostle Paul gave us a good example to follow, saying, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15, NKJV)! The greatest form of thanks that you can give is to simply believe in the Christ of Christmas and the Cross! Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, NKJV). That's why the Bible later explains, saying, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, NKJV). That's the greatest Christmas gift of all, but if you choose not to believe, you will never receive it! Friend, please believe in the Christ of Christmas and the Cross. No Christmas could be merrier than the one with Christ in it!

May you and yours have a very merry Christmas this year!

The Perspective of a Changed Man

When I think of people in the Bible whose lives have been changed through having faith in Jesus Christ, one person comes to mind more often than any other. I think of the man who was once called Saul, when he was still an unbeliever, a persecutor, and an enemy of Christ, but who would later be called Paul, when he became a believer, a follower, and an ambassador for Christ. Paul's dramatic conversion that began on the road to Damascus is one of the most iconic stories in the New Testament. It is a story that gets our attention and tells us that God can indeed save and change the life of anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ, no matter who they are or what they have done. As we southern preachers say, the story of Paul's salvation will flat preach! And that is what Paul often did concerning his testimony; he talked about it, he preached about it, and he wrote about it. It would do us all good to hear what he had to say.

Toward the end of the book of Acts, in chapter 26, we find Paul standing before King Agrippa, having been given the opportunity to defend himself against his accusers. But even though he had already been unjustly imprisoned for over two years, Paul did not plead for his freedom, but instead he mainly preached about how his life had been changed by Jesus Christ. He told the king how he had been an unbeliever who actually fought against those who believed in Jesus, having been a part of not only imprisoning believers, but also executing believers (see Acts 26:9-11). But then he told the king how God chose to have mercy on him, though it took being knocked flat on his back and being temporarily blinded before he would listen to the voice of the Lord Jesus (see Acts 26:12-15). He finally told the king that God had given him a new purpose for his life, to tell the world that anyone can "receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith" in Jesus Christ (Acts 26:16-18). Paul's life was turned upside down when he began to follow Jesus Christ, but for the better. It's no wonder that he changed his name from Saul to Paul, because he was a totally different person from then on.

Up to that point, Paul had been a rising star in the religious establishment of Jerusalem. He had been considered a faithful Jew and a Pharisee of Pharisees. He had been trained by the great Jewish teacher, Gamaliel, and had quickly become a force to be reckoned with in teaching and enforcing the Law of Moses. He had been both respected and feared, but when he became a follower of Jesus Christ, he became an outcast and a traitor. All that he had worked so hard for all of his life went up in smoke that day on the road to Damascus. You might think that such a loss pained Paul to think about and gave him regrets about his choice, but you would be wrong. Paul's perspective was changed just as much as his life was changed. Paul wrote to the Philippians, saying, "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:7-9, NKJV). The New Living Translation explains Paul's point quite well, saying, "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith." To Paul nothing from his old life could compare with his new life with Jesus. In fact, his old life without Jesus had simply been a waste of time full of things to be discarded in contrast to the rewards of knowing and having faith in Jesus Christ. Paul went on to say that his goal in life was to be "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV).

One of the main things that made Paul who he was and determined what God could do with him was that he never forgot or got over the change that God had made in his life. Toward the end of his ministry, Paul wrote once again about what God had done in his life. He told Timothy, his adopted son in the faith, that he thanked "...Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:12-15, NKJV). The New Living Translation puts that last verse a little stronger, saying, "This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' -- and I am the worst of them all." Paul looked back at his life before he came to know Jesus and said that the only way that he could have been saved was through the grace and the love of God that Jesus came to provide for all sinners, even the worst like him. Paul went on to explain, "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Timothy 1:16, NKJV). Paul said that his life was meant to stand as an example of what God can do with anyone who comes to have faith in Him, as the New Living Translation puts it, saying, "...God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life." Paul was saying, "If God can save and change somebody like me, He can save and change anyone!"

Paul's perspective was the perspective of a changed man, the perspective of someone whom Jesus Christ has changed from the inside out. Though the particular details of his story are unique, his experience is not. I too have experienced the change that God can make in someone who chooses to believe in and follow Jesus. About 10 and half years ago, I was still basically an atheist or an agnostic, alternating between someone who denied that there is a God and someone who wasn't sure that there was a God. I was a self-centered, sin-ridden man of this world, just one of the crowd. But all of that changed on the day that I gave my life to Jesus. I told Him that I believe what the Bible says about me and about Him, or in other words, that I was a sinner and that He died to save me from the punishment of my sins. Then I simply asked Him to save and change my life, surrendering it to Him to see what He could do with it instead. Just like Paul, I wasn't the same man anymore after that. In fact, I'm glad that my past is my past and that the old me is dead. Paul's life goal is now my own: "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV). That's the perspective of a changed man. Is that your perspective?

In Him

I was reading in the book of Colossians today and came across a passage that really struck me. Over and over again, in the space of just five verses, the Bible talks about who we are, what we have, and what we should be doing "in Him," or rather "in the life of Christ Jesus, our Savior and Lord." For those who believe, it is "in Him" that we have eternal life, it is "in Him" that we have the adoption and inheritance of the children of God, and it is "in Him" that we can live the life that God intends us to live. The Bible says, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:6-10, NKJV).

In verse 9 of that passage, the Bible made a strong statement concerning who Jesus is that none could deny. It said that "...in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." That means that, though Jesus was a man, He also was and is fully God. If he were just a man, he would be dead and we would not be able to rely upon Him in our lives today, but because He is God, He is alive and we can rely upon Him in our lives today!

That brings me great comfort, as I face the struggles of this life. I don't care who you are, whether you are a preacher or a ditch-digger, it's hard to live the Christian life in this world of sin, but thank God, I don't have to do it in my own. I have strength beyond myself "in Him." When I chose to believe in Jesus by faith and surrender my life to His will, I received Him into my life. When He began to live in me, that's when I began to truly live "in Him."

Living “in Him” is what the Bible was referring to when it said to “walk in Him.” If you walk around each day living the life of Jesus, the Bible promises that you will be “rooted and built up in Him.” In this case, the Bible uses the example of a tree to describe those who live in Jesus. Like a tree must dig deep into the soil to gather the nutrients that it needs to survive and grow, a Christian must dig deep into the life that Jesus gives to grow and survive. Also, just like a tree that is anchored in nutrient rich soil is built into a living tower that can withstand the storm, the lives of those who live in Jesus stand through the moral and social storms of this world.

Each of us are told to “walk in Him” being “established in the faith, as you have been taught,” which in turn should cause you to be “abounding… with thanksgiving.” You can’t live “in Him” without having faith in what the Bible teaches about Him. To be caught up in what this world thinks and teaches apart from God is to be “cheated” out of the kind of life that God intended you to have. When you hear, believe, and apply the Word of God to how you live your life, your faith in Jesus will be “established” as the very best thing that ever happened in your life. And that’s when you will be overwhelmingly grateful for the difference that His Word has made in your life, because it was God’s Word that told you the truth about Him and you now live “in Him.”

The last verse in that passage in Colossians (vs. 10) tells us that if we live “in Him” we are now “complete in Him.” That word “complete” is translated from a Greek word that also means “to be made full.” For many years I thirsted and hungered for something that I didn’t really understand or realize I was thirsting and hungering for. There was something missing in my life that left me unsatisfied and wanting more. Time and time again, I tried what this world has to offer to meet that need, but I always ended back where I began, still thirsty and hungry for whatever it was that was missing. But then I called upon Jesus to save and change my life. That’s when I found that He was what I was looking for all along. “In Him,” I finally found the strength I needed to defeat the things that ensnared me. “In Him,” I finally found the purpose for my life. “In Him,” I finally found what satisfies the deepest longing of my soul. “In Him,” I finally found a friend like no other. “In Him,” I finally found the One who gave His life for me. I could go on and on about what I have found “in Him,” but above all else I have to say that my life is now “complete in Him.”

What do you have “in Him?” With faith you have everything. Without faith you have nothing. Have faith “in Him” today!

The Right Perspective on Suffering

Yesterday, a man posed a question to me that is not easy to answer.  He basically asked, "Why does God allow His own to suffer?"  The man had been studying the book of Job and he couldn't understand why God would let Satan attack Job so severely.  My answer was that God makes our faith stronger through allowing it to be tested.  An untested faith is a vulnerable, weak faith, but a faith that is tested by trials is a faith that is tempered to withstand any attack that may come.

I gave that man the best illustration of this that I had ever heard.  One of my uncles once asked me, while we were in the mountains, which tree would be stronger, the one on the top of the mountain or the one in the valley.  It turns out that the one on the mountain top is stronger than the one in the valley.  The tree on the mountain top is accustomed to the strong winds that have threatened to topple it its whole life, that's why its roots go deep so that it can endure the winds.  But the tree in the valley is sheltered from the strong winds most of the time and its roots have no need to go deep, leaving it vulnerable and more likely to fall in a storm.  The Christian life is much the same as those trees.  God often allows us to go through difficult trials so that our faith will be strengthened for the road ahead.  Our family knows this from personal experience.  On June 23rd, 2001, our third child, Rebekak, was born, but to our shock, she was born with a life-threatening heart problem.  Despite of our prayers and all the effort of the doctors, Rebekah died after living only ten days.  But rather than destroying our faith, when we resisted the temptation to be angry at God, this trial strengthened our faith.  God gave us the kind of faith that we needed to follow Him through the challenges that He has put in our path since.  We could not have stepped out on faith and followed God to two different states away from our home in Georgia, if our faith had not been strengthened first.  We also could not have experienced the great victories that God has won through our lives without having our faith strengthened.  James must have also experienced this because he declared, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing" (James 1:2-4, NKJV).

When I was telling all of this to that man, another thought struck me about why God would allow His faithful followers to suffer like Job did.  A big part of it could have been that God allowed Job to go through those things so that his story could encourage the millions that would later read about it in Scripture.  You never know how God can use your suffering for the good of others.  I have also learned this by experience.  About a month after Rebekah died, I was preaching at a Christian rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug addicts.  I had not planned on saying anything about my daughter that night, because the pain was still too great, but in the middle of my sermon, I found myself telling her story.  I told about the challenge that it was to our faith, I acknowledged the great temptation that we fought, and I described how God had brought us through it and was still bringing us through it.  Several of the men decided to put their faith and lives in the hands of Jesus that night.  One of them came to me afterwards and said that he had also lost a child.  He had been angry with God for years over it and had turned to alcohol and drugs to try and soothe the pain.  But that night he confessed that he had been wrong and he said that it was all because of Rebekah's story and how we responded to her death.  Do you see the point?  Because of our family's great suffering and our right perspective on it, another person will be in Heaven that might not have been otherwise!  There have been others since this man and I'm sure that there will be more.

I say again that you never know how God can use your suffering for the good of others, but don't forget that it is also for your good as well.  The Apostle Paul said it best:  "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28, NKJV).  Paul also said, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, NKJV).  We were never promised to be spared all trouble in this world, but we were promised that it would serve a good purpose and that we would be rewarded for faithfully enduring it.  So Christians, let's have the right perspective on suffering, an eternal perspective rather than a temporary one.

What Makes Good Friday So Good

Good Friday seems to be a bad name for the day that Jesus was crucified so long ago.  Think about it.  Terrible things happened on that day:  the innocent Son of God was falsely convicted, humiliated, beaten, scourged, and finally nailed to a wooden cross to die in agony.  It just doesn't sound like a good day from that perspective.  So what makes Good Friday so good?  Thankfully, the Bible gives us the answer.

First of all, Good Friday is good because of what all of us were spared!  The Bible says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18a, NKJV).  In other words, the One who had not done anything wrong to be punished for, was punished for all the wrongs that we have done instead, so that we could be with a Holy God who cannot tolerate sin.  Such an act can only be understood as an act of love.  The Bible explains that "...God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, NKJV).  Jesus literally suffered and died in our place, taking the ultimate punishment for sin, which is death.  Good Friday is good not because of what Jesus suffered on that day, but rather because of the fact that Jesus suffered for us on that day, sparing us the punishment that we deserve for our sins!

Good Friday is also good because of the victory that was won on that day!  This might be confusing to some who have always thought of that day as a victory for Satan.  It is often described as a battle in which Satan and his forces succeed in killing the Son of God, which is then followed by a demonic victory party that abruptly ends when Jesus rises from the dead three days later.  The impression is given that the Resurrection of Jesus rather than the Crucifixion of Jesus was the victory that was won.  If this what really happened, then Good Friday should never be called good, but that it was not what the Bible says happened that day.  The Bible explains to believers, saying, "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:13-15, NKJV).  The Bible also explains, saying, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15, NKJV).  Did you get the point?  Your forgiveness was provided at the cross, not at the tomb.  The victory over Satan was won at the cross, not at the tomb.  Good Friday is good because it was Jesus who won and Satan who lost on that day!

Finally, Good Friday is good because of what it led to!  Jesus personally warned His disciples ahead of time, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death,  and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again" (Matthew 20:18-19, NKJV).  Jesus had to go through the crucifixion to get to the resurrection.  The Gospel requires both to be complete.  The word "Gospel" means "Good News" and that news would not have been near as good without the events of Good Friday.  The Apostle Paul explained the Good News, saying, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you -- unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NKJV).   Before there could be an empty tomb, there had to be a bloody cross.  Good Friday is good because there would be no Good News of Jesus' Resurrection without the Good News of Jesus' Crucifixion!

So, why would anyone not think that Good Friday is good?  I can think of two possible reasons.  First of all, they may simply not understand what Jesus was doing for them.  They may think that day represents a tragic miscarriage of justice, resulting in the death of a good man.  That is true to a point, but the Bible tells us that He was so much more than just a good man and also that His death served a far greater purpose.  There is hope for those who miss the point of Good Friday for this reason, because they can learn from the Bible what Jesus did for them that day and choose to believe.

But that brings us to the second reason why someone would not think that Good Friday is good: they may have refused to believe in what the Bible says that Jesus did for them.  If this is the case, they will not only miss the point of Good Friday, they will miss out on the salvation that Jesus provided for them that day.  That's why Good Friday only becomes good to you when you believe, because the salvation that He died to give you can only be received through faith in Him.  That's why Good Friday is good to me and I hope it is to you too!

Have a Good Friday and a Happy Easter!

The Tongues Question

As a pastor, I get a lot of questions.  They are often very surprising, perplexing, and intimidating, but I welcome them all.  It's part of what I am called to do in weilding the Sword of the Spirit to help people understand what God has said to us all.  I do get some questions more than others and so I decided to post some of my answers.

This week, I got the tongue question.  It usually goes something like this:  "Brother Jonathan, what do you believe about speaking in tongues?"  Well, I told them and I am going to tell you, but you may not like what I have to say.  This is a controversial subject and some of the poeple that I know and love disagree with me about it, but my disagreeing with them doesn't get in the way of me loving them.  They have a right to be wrong.  I hope that you realize that I have the same right if you disagree with what I have to say.  So, here goes...

First of all, the word "tongues" is the same as the word "languages."  Speaking in tongues is literally speaking another human language, rather than speaking gibberish that no-one can understand.  The best explanation for speaking in tongues is found in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles.  When they stood and preached, everyone that was there heard them in their own native language.  In fact, several languages were mentioned.  No-one heard gibberish what-so-ever.  I believe that this passage is saying that they all spoke at the same time and were heard in all these different languages at the same time.  This was clearly a miracle of the Holy Spirit to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ.  This kind of miracle is only mentioned three more times in the New Testament and all in the book of Acts.  It wasn't something that happened often.

There are also very specific gifts concerning speaking and interpreting languages that the Holy Spirit blesses some believers with for the work of ministry (1 Corinthians 12:1-11, especially vs. 10).  These are gifts that people are given to make them much more capable to speak and interpret other languages for the point of reaching people who speak those languages with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have met people like that and have been amazed at how easy they pick up other languages.  This gift of tongues is used by missionaries everyday around the world to tell others about Jesus.

Strangely though, today there are many denominations who believe that speaking in tongues means speaking some unknown language.  They think that they have Biblical support for this in 1 Corinthians 14, where in the King James Version it talks about "unknown tongues," saying that it is okay to be spoken in Church as long as there is an "interpreter."  The problem is that the word "unknown" was added in by the translators.  That's why "unknown" is in italics in the KJV because it is not found in the Greek text.  Those translators meant well.  They added the word "unknown" because they thought that it would help explain the kind of languages that Paul was talking about, but it gave the impression that these languages were foreign to all of humanity rather than just foreign to that congregation.  What Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 14 is somebody exercising a Spiritual gift with foreign languages.  If that person is speaking in the Church without someone to interpret what they are saying, God is the only One who understands them and it is doing nothing for anyone else there.  It would be like someone getting up this Sunday morning and speaking Chinese to our congregation.  To us it would be gibberish and without someone to interpret, it would do nothing to help any of us.  Even with an interpreter, Paul said that it would better for someone to prophesy, or in other words, proclaim God's Word in a way that can be understood.

I do want to say that most of those people mean well.  They honestly think that by doing this stuff, they are going to cause more people to believe because of their "signs and wonders," but God wants people to have more faith in His Word than anything else.  I believe that most of this stuff is human-driven and fake, but I am afraid that some of it is spiritually-driven, but not by the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we are told to "test the spirits" to see " whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1, NKJV).  That test is based upon our knowledge of what the Holy Spirit came to do.  Jesus explained, saying, "...when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth...  He will glorify Me..." (John 16:13-14, NKJV).  When I have seen people doing this stuff (i.e. being slain in the spirit, speaking in tongues, etc.), they give glory and credit to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit then becomes the focus of their praise.  That's why they call these things "Manifestations of the Spirit," or in other words, occurrences through which the Holy Spirit reveals Himself.  But when it is truly the Holy Spirit at work, the focus is always on Jesus.  The Holy Spirit does not bring attention to Himself, but to Jesus.

The bottom line is, I don't believe that what most people call speaking in tongues is anything like what we see in Scripture.  I also believe that the Devil wants to use anything that he can to distract people from the Good News of Jesus Christ, even under the guise of spirit-filled praise and worship.  The Devil has this strategy:  If he can't stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ from being proclaimed, he will pollute what is being proclaimed.

If you disagree with me, please don't write me and try to change my mind.  It will be a futile effort.  As a country singer once said, "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!"  In fact, I believe that my answer is entirely based on God's story, the Holy Bible.  God bless you all!

12 Year Old Pro-Lifer

Hello all! I'm sorry that I have not written for awhile. Things have been a bit hectic.

I will be writing another article soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you a link to a video that you must see. A twelve year old Canadian girl recently gave a speech in her school that spoke out against abortion. Despite much controversy and efforts to talk her out of it, the girl delivered one of the most eloquent speeches that I have ever heard on the subject of abortion.

It would do you good to click on this link and watch the video: http://www.nmatv.com/video/1318/Preteen-pro-life-speech-goes-viral

Her parents have something to be very proud of!

Drawing Near to God

I would like to tell you a dog story, but first I need to set the stage. We live within the city limits of a town that has a leash law. We also have no fence around our back yard. So that is why we keep our family dog on a chain. The chain is very long and allows her to get up on the back patio within easy reach of us when we are out there. Anytime we go out the back door, our dog is there to greet us with a wagging tail and a great happiness to see us. Invariably, she will flop on her back and look expectantly at us for a good belly rub, which she usually gets.

The other evening I was out on the back patio to grill some hamburgers and hotdogs. I lit the charcoal and began to wait for it to be ready to cook over. This particular circumstance is too much for our dog to handle. Not only does she know that I will be cooking something that smells very good to her, I am also standing within ten feet of her, while being completely unreachable. On this occasion, her response was to whine and stare at me, as if to beg for me to come a little closer. I could have ignored her, with the excuse that I was going to be cooking soon, but I knew that I could wash my hands before I actually started handling any food. That is why I came over and sat down on the edge of the patio where our dog could sit down next to me. I was greeted with a shower of affection, which included many many licks and many attempts by the dog to get completely into my lap. After a few minutes, she calmed down a bit and just sat there with me, while I looked at the stars that were beginning to appear in the sky.

It was at that moment that I began to think about my relationship with God in a way that I had not considered before. I thought of how much it bothered my dog to not be able to reach me, no matter how much she wanted to. I thought about how she longed for me to come within reach of her, and how that overrode everything else in her life. I thought about how excited my dog was when she was finally able to be in my presence and it gave me an idea. Though it may sound strange, I told God that I want to have the same kind of desire for being in His presence that my dog has for being in mine. I told Him that I want to be just as excited about being in His presence as my dog has about being in mine.

The Bible makes it clear that the main purpose that Jesus had in dying for us on the cross was so that by taking our punishment, the separation between us and God would be ended. Sin separates us completely from the holy God, but salvation ends that separation that we might be with Him forever more, both here on Earth and in Eternity. The Bible says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18, NKJV). The Bible further explains, saying, "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight..." (Colossians 1:21-22, NKJV). Jesus did everything it takes to end that separation between you and God, but you have to believe in what He did for that separation to end.

Until we have faith in what Jesus Christ did for us, we are all like my dog that is chained in the backyard. Without having faith in Jesus, we are still chained away from God's presence, unable to reach Him no matter what we do to change that. But when you choose to believe in Jesus Christ, you can now come to God and God can now come to you! The Bible declares, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..." (Hebrews 10:19-22a, NKJV). Through faith, you can be as close to God as you want to be, but the choice is yours to make. That's why the Bible says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8a, NKJV)!

I want to draw nearer to God this year and I believe that will only happen if I become as excited about being with Him as my dog is about being with me. I know that He is ready and waiting for me to simply desire and pursue being nearer to Him. That is when He will draw near to me. In fact, maybe today will be the day that He puts me on the leash and takes me for a walk. It may sound strange, but a dog can help you understand what it is to love being with your Master and Lord.

"Dear Lord, help me to draw nearer to You this year. Help me to remember that I should seek Your presence each and every day. I can't make it through life on my own. Thank-you for being with me. Amen."