Today I was walking with a group of brothers in Christ and we saw a few guys sitting on a bench smoking pot.  One guy had a big flashy cross.  I asked him about it and if he knew what it meant.  He got offended by my asking.  He showed us some of his tattoos, which include doves and a written out prayer.  He was clearly showing me “look how spiritual I am”.  I said that if God is so important to him that he’d put that on his body, wouldn’t he want to talk about it. He said religion is personal, it is meant to be self-centered.

Self-centered!  That breaks my heart!

Earlier a woman came up to us and was telling us about her spiritual beliefs.  She said as long as you don’t hurt yourself or hurt others, you’re fine.  It’s all about our self, growing ourselves, getting self-enlightenment, etc.  She talked about reincarnation and a lot of Buddhist ideas.  But everything revolved around the self.  She even said “I’ve kind of made my own religion that works for me”.  Self-centered.

The Apostle Paul tells us:

3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.(2 Tim. 3:1-2a, 4b-5)

Our culture is about our SELVES.  The American Dream is about our SELVES.  We talk about self-esteem, self-worth, self-actualization, knowing yourself, experiencing yourself.  Self-centered. Why is that so bad?  The prophet Jeremiah tells us:

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9)

We cannot trust ourselves!  We cannot trust our own thoughts, our own man-made religion.  Our hearts will lead us astray!

Christianity is not about our selves.  Christianity is not like man-made religion.  Christianity is about God.  It is about how Jesus loves us so much that he laid down his live for our sins.  As it says in Hebrews:

Let us fix our eyes (focus) on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2 NIV)

So is Christianity a personal thing?

Absolutely not.  It’s a God thing.  It impacts our lives and the lives of everyone around us.  It is a message that was meant to be shared.  Many will say it is wrong to share about Jesus, because religion is person.  I would say it is wrong to not share about Jesus, but that is withholding the joy of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ from someone who needs it!

I’ve normally been someone who runs from one thing to another.  The journey between point A and B was mostly a necessary expense that should be gone through as quick as possible.  That’s why I loved longboarding places.  I did not have to stop to talk to people, instead I could focus on getting someplace fast.

That is something big that God confronted me on.  It is a lesson I share a lot with people.  God also wants to maximize our time, but not necessarily how we want.  He wants to use those times while “along the way” to do ministry.  Jesus did much “along the way” ministry.  Like the rich young man.  In Mark 10:17 it says:

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

Note the context:  ”as [Jesus] was setting out on his journey”.  He had just started going!  That’s the time I am least wanting to be held up.  If I’ve started going, I get going.  But look at Jesus, he took the time to talk to the man (Mark 10:18-22).  And not only that, he then took the time to teach his disciples about what had just happened (Mark 10:23-31).  Jesus maximizes those “along the way” encounters.

Not all the encounters will seem fruitful.  Yesterday I was skateboarding and I saw a guy who looked like a close friend from behind.  As I got closer I realized it was not.  I then had an urge to talk to him but ignored it and kept on skating.  As I skated away, God more fully said “talk to him”.  I stopped, prayed about it – as I was admittedly a little bit annoyed at having to stop – and then turned around to talk to him.  I chatted with him a bit.  Turns out he attends a Catholic school and I got to chat about the meaning of the name.  He did not know, so I challenged him to look it up and read more about Jesus.  Did something major happen?  No.  Will I see the kid again?  Possibly.  Do I know what will come of this?  Not at all.  But did God want me to talk to Him for some reason and will use it?  Yes.

Listen to God in those times along the way to/from somewhere.  He may just use you in ways you were not expecting.

of the ridiculousness of my sin!  Here is a photo of (just some) of my old clubbin’ clothes.  Paul and I got to go through them.  Wow, there were some doosies in there, including one that had slits in the back that my roomie and I used to wear backwards.  Yes, so the slits were in the front.    Ah!  Good thing I have only one man I’m interested in enticing now.

Jesus has saved me from so much, including wasting hard earned money on very small glittery pieces of cloth that should never have been mistaken for a shirt!  Although, just because I look a little tamer these days doesn’t mean I can’t run with the best of em  when it comes to offending God.  Wondering where I’ll find myself next “cleaning out my closet”?!

The more people you add to your family, the more of a miracle it is to get everyone looking and smiling!  But here we are with our TWO boys!  We were at my parents’ for “Daddy’s birthday party,” where Luke played Unckie Dylan’s boom booms for hours.  He now thinks you play the boom booms at everyone’s birthday party!

A couple sundays back, our Pastor (Trike) preached on Missional Living.  He pointed out that “missional” is the latest Christianese buzzword that basically means people are living out their faith.

Here are some ways I’ve learned to live out my faith in such a way that it invites others to see Jesus:

1)  Let God be a natural part of your day

I would say “pray continuously”, but you might miss the vastness of what experiencing God continually in your day is.  I mean, really seek God’s presence in every part of your day.  Ask Him for help on things.  Invite Him into your conversations and thoughts.  If God becomes a natural part of your life, it will be natural for others to witness Him through your life.

2)  Listen

First, listen to the Holy Spirit, especially when He prompts you to say something or talk to someone.  God really is talking to you!  Listen!  Second, listen to people.  Don’t just hear their words so you can respond, but actually listen.  Hear the heart behind their words.  Often hearing the echos of someone’s heart will open up chances to really talk deeply about life and God.  Oh, and listen to their name.  Knowing someone’s name is essential for them to feel important to you.

3)  Be Authentic and Transparent

This goes along with #1 above.  If God is real to you and you demonstrate a real passion for Him, it’ll be apparent to others.  Plus, be all that God made you to be.  Don’t cover up who you are so as not to offend.  Let your passions out!  If you are passionate about God, don’t be afraid of that.  People respect that authenticity more than trying to be fake to win their approval.  And be open and honest (transparent) about your life.  Share your struggles and be honest about your faults.  God chose you as a cracked and broken vessel to show off how wonderful the treasure is inside (2 Cor. 4:7), not because you were pristine and perfect (which you aren’t).

4)  Don’t worry about the clock / Trust God with your Time

As you read the Gospels, you’ll find that Jesus often ministered to people who came in his path as he was going somewhere.  I find that God most often puts people in my path as I am walking somewhere or doing something.  It’s those times at the grocery store, while pumping gas, while reading in the waiting room, or while walking out to my car that God puts people in my path.  Sometimes its new people I meet, but often it is people I know already.   It’s those informal conversations that often mean the most to people!  I’ve learned that often I need to leave more buffer-room in between things, as God will surely bring someone into my path.  Yes, of course honor your commitments and be on time to work, but work in a healthy willingness to drop what you decided to do in case God puts someone right in front of you.

5)  Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel – Be Passionate about the Gospel!

This goes along with #3 and #1, but I wanted to hit it again.  Jesus died for your sins even though you had rejected God and sinned against Him again and again.  Now, by faith, you can be in relationship with God now – experiencing His blessings today – as well as be in perfect joy with God in heaven forever.  That is a wonderful and beautiful message.  If you really believe that, you should be happy to share it with someone who is open to hearing.  If you are honestly passionate about Jesus, people will respect that even if they don’t necessarily agree with it.  In our post-modern culture, people respect strong beliefs.  But being hesitant and overly apologetic makes it seem like you’ve got bad news, not good news!

6)  Bless

The Gospel is the message that God has come near us to bless.  We often bring that message by our own presence of blessing.  Take opportunities in your life to bless others, serve others, love on others, listen to others, empower others, give to others, support others, or share with others.

On Wednesday we decided to go to the mid-week worship and prayer service at Bethlehem Baptist Church since we live so close and yet had never gone.  I looked at the weather and although it did not say rain, the regional radar showed otherwise.  But it was also apparent that both Kaelin and Luke wanted to walk there since they had not been outside yet that day.

I was resistant to walking because I was worried about the rain.  But as I was walking out the door, I felt God impress upon me: “trust me”.  I figured if we were making an effort to go worship God, He wouldn’t leave us stranded.

So we walked there.  It was a very nice walk.  As we were in the service, we began to hear the rain start.  It pounded on the roof of the church.  It was POURING rain and thundering.  It was far too rainy and windy to walk home.

After the last song we walked out and were wondering what to do.  As we talked about what to do, a guy walked up to us.  We had met him about a week earlier.  He looked outside and said he needed to run home to close a window to stop water from getting in.  Since he was already leaving, he offered to give us a ride.  After we got in the car and told him where to go, we realized that we live just down the street from him.  It could not have worked out more perfectly!

God is in control!  He loves to show Himself off when we take steps of faith!

Do you worship God?  Or do you worship something else and use God to help you get it?

Jesus declares at the end of the book of Revelation:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (Rev. 21:6)

The Apostle Paul in the book of Colossians tells us:

15 He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.   18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col. 1:15-19)

God created all things through Christ (v. 16).  Christ is now holding all things together (v. 17).  And everything is eventually for His Glory (18).  He is the beginning and the end.  God is the end Himself.  He is not a means to our own ends.

If we make God a means to an end rather than the end itself, we deny the very nature of God as being our source and our goal.  If God is a means to an end, we no longer worship Him but the object we try to acquire.  This is called idolatry (Ex. 20:4).

Examples:

• The Rich Young Man (Matt. 19:16-30) – Using God for eternal life – This man wanted to use God as a means to get eternal life.  He did not really want God, demonstrated by his unwillingness to part with his money for God; rather, he wanted to be able to use God to get eternal life.
• Simon the Magician (Acts 8:16-24) – Using God for Spiritual powers - This man wanted to use God to receive the supernatural power of the Spirit.
• Prosperity gospel – Using God for health, money, and success – I’ve written on this before.  The prosperity gospel tells us to use God as a means to get what we want:  health, wealth, and success.  God is not our goal, he is more like Santa Claus who can give us the toys we want.
• Signs and Wonders gospel - Using God for healing and miracles - This is a variation of the prosperity gospel.  It focuses on how God MUST heal us if we have enough faith and God MUST work in miracles if His Spirit is indeed present in people.  God quickly becomes only a means for physical healing or spiritual “highs” and people’s faith then rises and falls on God’s answer to their demands.
• Mormonism - Using God to become our own god - In the words of LDS leader Lorenzo Snow, “As God once was, man is. As God is, man may become”.  In Mormonism, worship of God is a means to our own glorification as gods.  Obedience and faith are not end goals, but a means to eventually have others obey us and worship us as god.
• Social gospel - Using God to establish our view of justice - A trend in liberal Christianity is to use God as a means for social justice.  God is only useful to the extent that using His name can bring about equality, justice, freedom, etc., although those are all defined in human terms and not how God defines justice, equality, or freedom.
• American gospel – Using God for political ends - The left (Obamites) and the right (Glenn Beck followers) both see our country as savior.  If the country just does X, Y, and Z, then we’ll live in heaven.  But if the other guys win, it’ll be hell.  Both Obama and Beck (and many other politicians) use God as a means to their political (and usually self-glorifying) desires.
• Self-Help Christianity – Using God to become a better person -  Living by the Spirit indeed transforms our lives and we live more in accordance to God’s desires and designs.   There are lots of “Christian” books out there that take that truth then distort it to focus on positivity and moralism, as if those were end goals.  This focus on the self usually leads to self-worship and pride.
• Traditionalism - Using God to uphold our traditions - Many older denominations fall into this often.  They revere their traditions, liturgies, and lifestyles so much that they worship those instead of God.
• Cultural Christianity – Using God to gain a social identity - Often people go to church not out of a desire to worship, but out of a desire to be a part of a close community or to be identified as a Christian (or a “good person”).  I have seen many teenagers from Christian homes who were not properly instructed in the gospel see God as the way they can have friends and have a unique social identity.

Many of these things are GOOD things.  Eternal life, spiritual power, healing, miracles, justice, being a better person, belonging to a community.  All are good things.  But if we make those good things into god things, that’s a bad thing.  We stop worshiping God and instead use God for our own desires.

God loves us and wants to be our satisfaction and joy.  God created us to worship Him; we are incomplete without Him.  Although we rejected God through sin, He still pursued us.  He proved His love in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to be raised from the dead, conquering sin and death and guaranteeing that by faith we will one day live forever with God in His Kingdom.  That is a proper end to be seeking!  We have faith in God and obey God out of our love and reverence for God, knowing that ultimately God will work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

God is not a means to an end.  Don’t Use God, be satisfied in God!

I ran into two Mormon missionaries in the park.  I felt an urge to talk to them, so I got into a great chat.

Now, I do want to say I have a number of great Mormon friends.  They are great people and I love them.  I am somewhat confused on what they really emphasize in their beliefs, so I took this opportunity to ask.

I talked to two men named Simpson and Stewart.  For the sake of brevity, I’ll skip the pleasantries of our conversation and cut out some bunny trails and get to the meat.  I know this post looks long, but it reads fast because it is a dialogue.  Enjoy!

The 60 Second Elevator Pitch

Me: So, if you were in an elevator and had 60 seconds to talk to someone, then you knew you’d never see them again… what would you tell them?

Stewart:  I would tell them about the Book of Mormon and I would tell them about my testimony.  I would tell them about how reading the book of Mormon has changed my life and about the joy it brings to me and my family.  I would tell them to read the Book of Mormon and pray to God to ask if it is true.  It is only in that way can we personally see it as true.  (This is the pitch almost all Mormon missionaries lead with)

Simpson:   I would tell them about how the Book of Mormon tells us that God rewards those who do righteous things.  So if we do what is right, God will bless us and make us prosperous.  (Rather than going with the regular pitch, he goes for the prosperity gospel).

Me:  What about Jesus, does he have anything to do with this?

Simpson:  (Dodges question, starts asking me about my skateboard)

That didn’t work.  What about the Death-bed Speech?

Me:  So let’s say you are called to someone on their death-bed.  You know they have never gone to any kind of church and do not know about God.  They don’t have time to read the book of Mormon.  You have a short amount of time.  What would you tell them?

Stewart:  I would point them to (place in the Book of Mormon) that talks about the spirit world.  I would tell them that if they did not learn about God here, they will learn about it in the spirit world and have another opportunity.

Simpson:  Well, we don’t believe that people who go to other churches don’t go to heaven… (He then went on to say that everyone basically is saved already)

Fleshing out what is Sin

Me:  Okay, okay.  I’m still a bit confused.  Do you know the story of Noah and the flood?

Both:  Umm… flood?  Noah?  (They had never heard about Noah and the flood.  Didn’t they at least see Evan Almighty??)

Me:  God flooded the earth and killed everyone.  Why would God do that?

Stewart:  Umm… because they wouldn’t listen?  And they were wicked?

Me:  Exactly.  It says the world was full of violence and that every intention of the thoughts of mans’ heart was only evil.  God wiped out everyone because of their sin.  Not just big sins, but even little sins.  There were probably some perfectly nice people who only told some lies and maybe had an idol in their house but didn’t hurt anyone.  They were wiped out too.  Why were they killed?

Stewart:  Um?

Me:  Well it says in the Bible in the Book of Romans that the wages of sin is death.  That means when we sin, even little sins like a lie or – as Jesus said – looking at a woman lustfully, then we earn death.  We earn death upon death for ourselves.  So how do we pay that penalty of death if we only have one life?

Simpson:  Spiritual death?

Me:  Both.  Death entered the world because of sin, but also spiritual death forever because of our sin.

Stewart:  Well, do you believe in repentance?  If you repent and have faith, then God does not hold your mistakes against you.

What about Jesus?

Me:  What about Jesus?  How does he fit in with that?

Stewart:  Well, we do believe that Jesus was the Son of God.  He lived a sinless life and was born of a virgin.  He did have to die on the cross, and on the cross he experienced all the pain we feel when we make mistakes.  Because of that, the book of Mormon says he is our advocate.  He is our mediator to God.  We believe that he died for everyone and that we are to accept that gift by faith.

(NOTE the careful choice of words!  Mormons will say a lot of evangelical stuff to get you listening, but they will not say that Jesus Christ took the wrath of God for our sins upon Himself on the cross.)

Me:  But why did he have to die?

Stewart:  That was the plan.

Me:  But what about his death makes it important?  Why was dying important?  Why did he HAVE to die?

Simpson:  Well, you see… you won’t find any crosses in our church.  We don’t use crosses or pray to crosses.  We more emphasize that Jesus is alive today.

What is of First Importance?

Me:  Can I show you some scripture.  Let’s read 1 Corinthians 15:1-5:

15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Me: It says that the most important thing is that Christ died for our sins.  It says in 2 Corinthians 5 that “he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”.  The MOST IMPORTANT message is that we were helpless in our sin and that the wrath of God was against us, but Jesus Christ took upon Himself the wrath of God and now we are righteous not because of what we do but because of what Jesus did.  (I then read them Ephesians 2:1-2 and Ephesians 2:8-10)

Stewart:  Yeah…. um.  Yeah, we believe that.   (said more out of confusion than out of acknowledging what I said.)

Where was the Important Message?

Me:  That is great… but why didn’t you say so?  You did not talk about that earlier.  If it is the thing of first importance, shouldn’t you tell people about it???  If someone is on their deathbed, shouldn’t you tell them that Jesus died for all their sins and they no longer have to worry about death!?!?

Simpson:  Well, everyone we talk to are already Christians.  They are Lutheran or Catholic.  We only share what is different, which is the Book of Mormon.  We try to get them to read the Book.  They already believe in Jesus, so we don’t talk about that.

Me:  So by reading the Book of Mormon they will get that most important message?  When I’ve read the Book of Mormon, it does not seem to really focus on the fact that sin is our problem and Jesus is the only answer.

Stewart:  It is in there, but like any book it talks about a lot of stuff like chronologies and such.

Me:  I think we have a big difference on our hands.  See, the Bible says the most important thing is that Jesus made sinners righteous, and that righteousness is a gift, not a result of works.  You seem to be talking about doing things to be righteous and not talking about Jesus at all.

Stewart:  I’m sorry, but we have an appointment so we have to go… it’s ummm… over that way.  Good-bye. (an “appointment” is a very typical excuse I’ve heard)

Simpson:  Thanks for talking to us.  Thank you for being a good person and doing what you are doing.

Me:  Thanks for your time guys!  It was fun.  But don’t thank me as I’m a sinner, thank Jesus for what He did and is doing.

————————————————————–

This is a segment of a longer conversation.  These men – missionaries – did not have a Christian message and knew almost nothing about the Bible.  They didn’t even know about Noah and the flood nor about King David and Israel.  They preached a self-help message (be a “good” person) which they will get in the Book of Mormon.  Are these men saved?  I have no idea, only God does.  But their message would not save anyone.

(Update 9/14)
I do not ask everyone to give an “elevator” summary of their beliefs.  I’m sure that it would be difficult for many of us.  But keep in mind these are trained and funded missionaries officially sent by their church.  And these two were officially sent to North Central (a Christian university) so that they can try to convert those Christian students.  I think it is reasonable to hold them to a bit higher standard in terms of knowing what they believe.

(Part 3 a series of posts)

So there is major construction on Chicago Avenuenear our house.  There are “Road Closed” and “Detour” signs everywhere.  Despite the clear signage, many people still blast on by the signs and ignore the detour signs.  All day long there are cars lost in our little neighborhood.

This really highlighted the obvious signs God has given us to point to Himself.  Most of us blow on by them, as if they did not mean anything.  But obeying these signs is important.  Our life depends on it.

Another car blowing by a "Road Closed" sign. He eventually gets lost in the neighborhood.

Sign 3:  The Bible

The Bible is a collection of 66 books written over the span of a few thousand years by various authors in various genres such as narrative, poetry, and letter.  It is written by human authors inspired directly by God the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).  The Bible is clearly supernatural in origin, because despite the vast diversity of the books, it is amazingly consistent and cohesive.

Indeed, the Bible is God’s Word to us.  The Bible is a clear account that God has given us which tells us about who God is and what He has done for us (John 5:39, 1 Cor. 15:3).  It also tells us how we should live in response (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Romans 15:4).

Jesus tells us that the scripture is proof of who God is and what our condition is.  We see this in the parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31.  In the parable Lazarus (a poor leper) and a Rich man die.  Lazarus goes to heaven and stands next to Abraham.  The Rich man goes to hell.  They then have a conversation.  The Rich Man asks Abraham to warn his family, saying “if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30).  Abraham replies:  ”If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead”  (Luke 16:31).  Here, Jesus is saying that the scripture alone (here referencing the Old Testament) is enough of a sign that people will either obey (repent) or not.

My first Bible, given to me when I was 17. It took me another 6 years to actually sit down and read it to seek truth.