A Challenge for Today and Beyond: CD!

Here is a thought for today (and every day) - maybe better a challenge: Corum Deo- to live your life each and every day before the LORD.

What does this mean? After all, God sees all things - so everything is done and lived out "before God"! Coram Deo, simply put, is to intentionally live out our lives, our decisions, our words, and our hearts with God at the forefront. It is to really grasp that God is really Omnipresent, and so we also must come to grips with the fact that not a single action or thought in our lives is beyond God's view! It is also the vivid reminder that we all must give an account one day. Whether we be lost headed for eternal judgment in Hell and the Lake of fire because we are unregenerate sinners, or we are born-again, yet living outside of our professed faith (Jesus said if we love Him, we will keep His commands! - John 14:15). All must give an account.

Living Coram Deo means to live out our entire lives, every moment of every day, in the presence of, and in submission to God and His Sovereign authority.

To live a life of Coram Deo means to live a life of integrity. It means we will recognize that our lives paint a picture to the world (I have preached it as our lives as a living epistle to the lost world).

Living Coram Deo means that we not only keep Christ's commands, but that we most importantly act out of love, and speak Truth even in the face of opposition.

Coram Deo will rarely be the easy way. Indeed, living every moment of our lives under awareness of God's oversight and authority will indeed put all of the trifles and struggles, temptations and frustrations in proper perspective.

How has my life today honored and glorified God? Are my decisions today pleasing to God? Are the words I choose to use going to point others to the Savior? Are the priorities I set, God's priorities?

Won't you prayerfully contemplate the challenge?

A Day That Will Live In Infamy

Friday is the anniversary of a day that will live in infamy for me. I remember so vividly walking in to the library at Carlisle High School, passing through to the study hall room when Ms. Vanessa Haun, with tears and a shaky voice met me and asked if I had heard about an airplane hitting the World Trade Center.

We quickly got a TV out and hooked up to the cable-just in time to see the 2nd tower hit...

I remember the feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I remember the questions that flooded.  I recall the one know-racist and anti-American student who laughed and celebrated and caused me to come unglued.

And I remember praying. Praying like I had never prayed before. 

I remember watching the towers fall in on themselves.

I remember the initial reports of possible casualties upwards of 50,000 or more. 

I remember the somber "relief" that the number was far lower.

I remember when the third plane hit the Pentagon, which actually was the event that made me feel the most vulnerable, as that represents the center of the military that is our nation's defense...

And then he news of flight 93 going down, with the revelation over the next few days of the heroism exhibited by passengers.

And I remember the sadly brief unity our nation nearly saw. Unity to seek justice. 

Yet somehow, 14 years later, we now have a nation and leadership that won't even call such at tacks "terrorism".  A nation that now is offended by everything, and is afraid of insulting those who practice the religion that is at the core of those attacks in 2001. The religion that has perpetrated ongoing attacks in a smaller scale all around the world since then.

I am no war-monger. Indeed I am tired of the loss of life,with far less of a strategy than we had post 9-11. I grieve for those who gave their lives only to have the near victory surrendered to Islamists who are far worse than the enemies we faced a decade ago.

I am grieved that we have an administration that has chosen the path of evil, the path of surrender to cultists of Satan who are Hell-bent on destroying this nation. Instead, we ratcheted up the entertainment, the prosperity "gospel", and made hollow sales pitches based on unbiblical ideas. And now we have a nation more spiritually dead than ever, so easily offended by the slightest hint of offense. 

I am disgusted that our nation has so rebelled against God that the wholesale slaughter of millions of unborn babies barely stirs more than a minority of citizens, even when confronted with the butchery and profiteering coming from it.

We have become a nation of the offended. The slightest "offense" is grounds for riots and looting. Those in highest office have fostered a spirit of hate for law enforcement, claiming that police have declared an open hunting season on Black men, while actually encouraging the daughter of police officers.

I long for the unity we nearly saw right after the sorrows of 9-11.  Many turned to God and the Bible, giving an open door for genuine Christians an opportunity to live out the Apostle Peter's instructions To "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..." (1 Pere 3:15).  An opportunity to draw people together in the Gospel. 

And now in the United States of America,smoke public schools are teaching the "5 Pillars of Islam", while the mention of "Jesus' Name" is forbidden. Where even a school band is barred from playing music the MELODY from a Christian hymn.

Where Christian, biblical values are the enemy, and where those who live in open rebellion against the Word of God are lifted up as brave heroes.

Come Sweet Jesus!

Freedom FROM Religion? Really?

I find it hugely ironic that organizations such as "Freedom From Religion", funded by and representing Atheists exist. Why, you might ask, is it ironic?

The answer is quite simple - you see, 100% of people adhere to a "religion" - even avowed Atheists! You see - "religion", at its simplest meaning is a system of beliefs that affect your life/how you live. Whether one is a Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Animist, etc., your beliefs have an impact on your life. Atheism, the professed belief in NO God still directs how they live. Some might refer to their belief system as "secular humanism".

So, by railing against other religions (with a particular distaste for Christianity), they are actually imposing THEIR system of beliefs (aka - Religion) on the those around them.

So, remember the principal of "Freedom OF Religion" in light of the above. The Funding Fathers and the Constitution never even imagined a "freedom FROM religion" - because that is an impossibility, nor did those same Founders promote a LACK of religious expression in the public.

And a parting blow: Even the less religious of the Founding Fathers - those that many anti-religion zealots like to point at... those men were primarily Deists - they were welcoming of Christian values and did not express offense at the words and actions of their Christian fellow leaders. They worked side-by-side with them. They didn't insist on silencing the Christians. They even enjoyed Congress opening with a Christian preacher giving a sermon to open their sessions.

Be Thankful To Don't Get What You Deserve!

Have you stopped to think, even for a moment... while we make a big deal out of thanking God for particular blessings in our lives... and often even get a bit miffed when God doesn't give us what we want (or THINK we "deserve"), that maybe, just maybe we should pause, reflect, then truly fall on our faces before a totally and purely HOLY God - who indeed does NOT give us what we REALLY deserve! As sinners - we deserve nothing better than the unmitigated WRATH of God! And it is by nothing but HIS Grace, not based on any perceived merit on our part - that He withholds that wrath from us! And indeed - it is the same God who calls us unto repentance and redemption - forever staying His divine hand of judgment and wrath from us.

Dear sinners (of which I am among the chiefest), don't cry for what you don't have, or that you "deserve better" - for none of us do. But praise be to God that He gives us much better than any of us deserve!

US Supreme Court vs the Word of God

I am certain I will take a great deal of heat for this post. I have little doubt I will further be labeled a hater, a bigot, evil, mean, and much worse. Somehow that doesn't really bother me. The truth is the truth, and that is what I expect in response.

Today will go down in history as either a major win for evil and the "Evil One" himself - Satan, or it will be raised up on a poll and idolized as a great day for "equality".  The problem is  - there is nothing inherently "equal" about today's Supreme Court decision, nor is there anything in our Constitution that guarantees equal results or equal outcomes for any circumstance. But this fight was never really about "equality".  The issue is much deeper and darker.

You see - the Bible clearly speak, both in the Old and New Testament, about homosexuality. Indeed, the language is quite clear time and again. Further, marriage is referenced 100% of the time in connection to male + female.  Never in Scripture has marriage been depicted as a same-sex union.  Despite hundreds of years of attempts to change the meaning of scripture, and recent decades trying to rewrite the clear language in the Bible regarding marriage and same-sex acts, the definition of marriage, both in natural law, and by God's design is one  man and one woman joined for life.

But this presents a huge problem for those who refuse to give up, and instead just keep ratcheting up their war on God. So long as the majority believe the biblical version of marriage is correct (even if they often fail to be good examples of it), those who desperately desire to practice homosexuality will be marginalized.  But there is a "solution" - it is the normalizing of what God calls abnormal.  It is a mainstreaming of what God calls an unnatural and even an abomination.

You see, even the unregenerate mind knows, down deep, that homosexuality is wrong. It is not unloving to point this out. I know - people have been "driven" to kill themselves hearing such words. I am so sorry, but people have been taking their own lives for a lot of things related to the corrupt and sinful heart. That is often how sin works - destroying you from the inside. But far too many have chosen to continue to raise their voices while at the same time, undermining reality and the truth of God's Word.

Add to the equation, there are false teachers (as the Bible warns repeatedly about) who have thrown their support behind this issue, not as a means to "grace, but as a way to fill their bank accounts and pews, and to promote themselves.

Just a few years ago, a movement began to protect the definition of marriage through a Constitutional Amendment. Many notable politicians loudly objected saying that marriage was a right for each individual state to determine. Fast forward less than a decades and what do we see - they were flat wrong.  Maybe they were as guilty as those crying out for "gay marriage"?

The Southern Baptists (of which I am not a member of) recently had their annual Convention, at which they resoundingly voted to support the biblical definition of marriage, no matter come what may. I applaud their action, though I fear this will not be universally applied among their churches.

My own association, the Baptist Missionary Association of America began the two-year process of amending our national Constitution/Articles of Agreement to include the biblical definition of marriage. The local church I lead included a very clear definition of marriage in its founding Constitution as well.

I could spend my next days and weeks weeping and mourning for this nation.  But I refuse. This nation has bought its path, much as old Israel and Judah bought their own judgment and brought down righteous wrath from God. I could get ramped up and spew my own anger all over every form of social media, but that would accomplish little. So I will simply speak/write/post the truth. John 8:32 records the reassurance that "...the truth will set you free".

God's Word also commands that I love my neighbor - and that represents nothing new. It often is a struggle to love those who would rather you be silenced or even dead because you speak the truth, but indeed the command is still there.

But I also am under conviction from the Lord God who created me, and who designed marriage, to never willfully participate in or condone sin. Again, this is nothing new, yet the very definition of sin (according to the world and to the US Supreme Court) is being altered in that ongoing rebellion against God.

One final thought that I want to share (this is my blog, so it is my prerogative!): Those who practice homosexuality, particularly those who are celebrating this landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, you may celebrate for a time, and you may even find some level of "freedom", yet you will never, ever find genuine peace.  Even if your neighborhood "church" (using the term in a very lose way) gleefully climbs on board with this decision, you will find no peace in your heart until you call your sin what it is - SIN. And the wages, the just payment for sin is death - an very real and eternal punishment that is the just and righteous Wrath of God. Sure you can live a life of denial. But the reality is there before your eyes. You can file lawsuits. You can scream and holler.  You can play your "pride parade" games, while forcing good, God-fearing people out of business for refusing to condone or participate in your lifestyle.  But you still will find no peace apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Period. Oh - but you say you "prayed a prayer", or that you believe in a God who is love, not a god of wrath.  You had better check your Bible again! The Word of God is clear - those who are genuinely saved by faith WILL not continue in willful sin. Repent! turning from your sins and believe in the One and Only Jesus Christ - "The Way, The Truth, and The Life".

Just because black-robed judges who have chosen to completely change the meaning of words and laws, who have decided to twist and rewrite what is not even in their legal authority to do so have chosen to condone this form of sin, does not change God, nor does it change the definition of Sin in the eyes of the One you WILL stand before in judgment.

Quick Question - Does This Mean That?

This week, the nation's largest Baptist association, the Southern Baptist Convention, voted this week to firmly and resolutely uphold "God's definition of marriage" as between one man and one woman in a lifelong, covenant relationship. Of course, the responses were immediate and often filled with vitriol.

But my question (actually a couple), since I did title this "Quick Question" is this:

1. Does taking a stand on marriage, as based clearly on the Bible (what this denomination lays claim to being it's foundation to all things of faith and practice), automatically make the organization "anti-gay"? (Indeed - what does the term anti-gay REALLY mean?)
2. Does taking a stand on marriage, as based clearly on the Bible automatically mean that you "hate" anyone?

Does this not ooze of the same logical fallacies as the automatic label of "racist" when one opposes the policies and general political ideology of President Obama?

I am personally glad to see a major denomination actually taking an official stand on this issue.  I would like to say, in all fairness, that I would also like to see them take an equally firm stand on all sorts of sins that are plaguing our nation and world - there are plenty chiseling away at what little is left of our moral foundation as it is.

I'm also glad that the association in which I serve, the BMA of America, is also int he middle of the process to include the Biblical definition of marriage in our Constitution/Articles of Cooperation. And a summary look at the constitution of the little church relaunch that I lead will find that we too have articulated the Biblical definition of marriage into what we believe and live by.

The Ongoing Conviction of The Word

I have now been leading a regular Bible study (Coffee & The Word) at a local coffee shop for several weeks now. Unlike most Bible studies I've been a part of most of my Christian life, we are approaching the study in a somewhat different way (admittedly a format I should have adopted long ago)- beginning squarely with what is on the page.

And I will also confess that this outward study has been one of the greatest tools of personal growth for me. What's I saw as simply a means to engage others has become a tool God has used to bring heart-molding, life shifting conviction to my soul. Indeed, I am so very thankful for the personal growth I have experienced with the frank and open study with others.

But the unexpected side effect has been heart melting... every day I am more and more appreciating and understanding what the apostle Paul meant when he recorded in 1 Timothy 1:16:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

In-context, Paul had just mentioned in remembrance who he WAS before his conversion, but then uses the present tense in referring to himself as the foremost (or chiefest) of sinners. You see, the Word of God is indeed "sharper than any two-edged sword". And every time I open God's Word with an honest and humble heart, He convicts me with His Word. He motivates with His Spirit, and reminds me of the need for ongoing repentance each and every day. And oddly enough, I cannot get enough of it!

After all, God is molding me, transforming me into the likeness of His marvelous Son. And it is why I believe all who are redeemed should have a growing love for the Bible! Indeed, find yourself not only time to read, study, and pray God's Word, but find you a group in which to honestly mine the depths for the treasure found in the Bible! 

If you are in our area, consider joining us at Rock-N-Java on Highway 65 in Clinton, Arkansas!

If you really want to grow in your personal relationship with the Lord, and grow in Christ with others who are drawing near to The Word, you have a prime opportunity with the faith family of #NewHopeClinton to make a difference! http://newhopeclinton.com