Destruction of a Nation and the Christian's Responsibility

A friend of mine posted his astonishment that America could be on the cusp of electing a bonafide "Socialist" to the office of President, from either primary party. I began to formulate a response then realized that my reply would be far more suited to a full-on blog post, so thank you Donny Parrish for kick-starting this!

"Christians" have remained silent too long. Notice that the paths of ungodliness our nation has actively pursued are 100% based in the "squeaky wheel" principal--- homosexuals have "gay marriage" because they screamed and hollered the loudest. God was "banned" from schools because the haters if God screamed and hollered the loudest.

60 million + babies have been murdered in this nation, perfectly legally because the worshippers of self/Molich screamed, hollered, and put their money where their mouth was and swayed the courts (without a single genuine constitutional basis).

And we have become (or are in the edge of) becoming a socialist nation all because of a direct violation of the 10 commandments, particularly the commandment against "covetousness"...  Those who covet what others have are screaming and hollering loudly to get what you have (without working for it). And that gave us the current President, and a few candidates who are now unapologetically pandering to the covetous culture.

And so much more.

There are three fronts in the war for the very soul of this nation---

1. We must begin ON OUR KNEES as God's children, humbling ourselves in out very knees in repentance for our own sin and ungodliness and for our failure to be the "watchmen on the wall".

2. We must be far more proactive in sharing Jesus Christ with this list and dying world. It IS NOT ENOUGH to "invite people to church".  That has NEVER been enough, not does it fulfill the Great Commission.  But just as the first front (and step) towards actually doingsomething is humility before God, we must also BE the salt and light as Jesus Commanded. We cannot live like the world, yet expect the world to act like Jesus. It just doesn't work that way! Repeat the first front!

3. And we must be willing to stand for the TRUTH, live out the TRUTH, vote for the TRUTH, even if it means our pocketbooks are affected, even if it means our "friends" might reject us, and even if it is inconvenient and painful (I do not believe Jesus promised an easy road!). Every time we bend our morality for financial or social gain, we betray our hearts and faith. The "fruits" of our faith become very evident - by their lacking of real impact.

Christianity is not a passive spectator sport, it is a way of life. If our hearts are not absolutely broken for the ungodliness (and what the Bible clearly spells out is the coming result for it), if we don't grieve for the lostness all around us, if we are not so broken that we are willing to speak up for the TRUTH, then stop pretending to be offended by all the garbage around us, and by path this nation is traveling. You are part of the problem. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (and be a part of the solution).

Reformation Day, and a Call For a NEW Reformation!

For many, October 31 is known as "Halloween", but for others, it represents something far more important to church history - Reformation Day.

Just what IS "Reformation Day"? It is an official holiday in some areas of Europe (particularly heavily-Lutheran Germany) and in Chile, and observed by some protestants that celebrates the "95 Theses" of Martin Luther, who famously nailed his objections to practices of the Catholic Church, on the door of the church in Wittenberg. This event was one of the sparks that lit the "protestant reformation".

While many Baptists do not directly claim lineage from the Reformation (rejecting the "protestant" label - a whole other historical discussion), the spirit of the Reformation is important to remember, in that it was a case where someone within the formal church was willing to speak up for what scripture said vs. what the church "authority" was proclaiming. Among Luther's objections was the practice of selling indulgences - essentially "get out of Purgatory free" cards.

While Bible-believers of today don't necessarily feel a strong connection to the Reformation that came about so many centuries ago, it is my personal opinion it is time for a NEW REFORMATION! With so many individual churches and even entire denominations blatantly rejecting the Bible's clear teachings on many issues, with even the current Pope seemingly mocking those who believe in the biblical account of creation, and with morality being thrown under the bus of "feelings", it is time for those who still believe God's Word is what IT says It is - the truth - to take a stand, to "nail our theses" to the doors of churches across this nation and around the world. Stand up for what the Bible says. Stand up for right, while standing against evil.

It is time for those who call themselves preachers and pastors to speak the truth - the horrendous and eternal consequences of sin and the failure to repent and trust the redeeming "paid-in-full" price He paid. It is time to proclaim what the Bible says is right and wrong. It is time to caution against continuing in sin (Romans 6:1-2).  We are living in a time when church pews have a disturbing number of people that passages like Hebrews 6 are warning against - those who have seen the truth, who have "experienced" it (or as 2 Peter 2:20-22 puts it - who have escaped the defilement of this world through "knowledge" of the Lord - but who are not indeed redeemed - who will face an end far worse than had they experienced the Lord in the first place).

We see Christianity losing influence - because "Christianity" has come to mean little with people professing the "religion", but demonstrating through their lives something far different.

IT is time for the true believers to stand up for the Truth - it's time for a "New Reformation".  It's time to quit "majoring in the minors" and get the foundation right - that is, the Word of God!

False Teachers, Prosperity, and Satan

I will make a startling admission to my readers.  You might want to sit down for this massive, earth-shattering confession!

I have never, ever trusted, believed, or liked Joel Osteen or his Satan-led, Serpent-pleasing, sugar-coated, snake oil message. There has never, ever been a doubt in my mind regarding his true allegiance.

I have taken grief from many for my views.  I have been called judgmental.  I have been told I have no right to question that "fine man of God".  I have been told to check for a log in my own eye.

But ladies and gentlemen - Joel Osteen (and his wife Victoria) have repeatedly given every evidence, from a biblical perspective, for genuine believers to witness that the couple have far more than a splinter in their eye - they have a dozen tractor-trailer loads of garbage hanging out of their eyes (and mouths)! Jesus said if we acknowledge (confess) Him before men, He will confess us before our Heavenly Father, but if we do NOT acknowledge Him...  You get the point.

Time any again, Osteen has had a very public stage to profess, acknowledge, and show forth that Jesus Christ is Lord.  That Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Light..  That NO man can come to the father, but by Jesus alone.  This comes directly from the very Word of God that Osteen professes to preach... despite such a drought of even a complete verse from scripture gracing his lips as he spews his prosperity-gospel bile. Time and again, Osteen has even stated that he cannot say for sure that Jesus is the only way!

But recently, news has been made (and the truth about the Osteens been very publicly spotlighted) by what his wife Victory has stated.

“I just want to encourage every one of us to realize that, when we obey God—we’re not doing it for God, I mean that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy. That’s the thing that gives him the greatest joy this morning. So I want you to know this morning, just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church and when you worship him, you’re not doing it for God, really; you’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy.”

What did she say? She tried to temper her statement, but there really is no hiding the self-serving, self-centered mission - both personal and organizationally of the Osteen circus.

But lets be brutally honest - tens of thousands (some numbers as high as 30,000) "worship" at the Osteen Temple on a weekly basis.  Countless millions outside that building, across this nation, and around the world, hang on every word that drips from Joel and Victoria's mouths.  Undoubtably, there are many of the "faithful masses" of Osteen disciples who have professed Jesus Christ as Lord. Sadly, one has to wonder how a supposedly born-again Christian can swallow the anti-Christian bile that the Osteens hurl.  But one only has to open scripture to see a resounding and clear explanation that would be wise for us all to ponder on, pray on, and remind others of:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

2 Timothy 4:3

Perception = Reality?

One of the struggles pastors have is with perception. I cannot even begin to guess how many times I have hear the old chestnut "pastors only work one day a week!". Maybe there are some who claim to be pastors who don't pray, study, and actively minister. But a dedicated pastor and minister of the Word will spend the hours in prayer and study that is so necessary to "rightly dividing the Word".

Of course, this perception of pastors is very similar to that of school teachers... After all, they only work 9 months out of the year, right? Well- not if they take their responsibility seriously. There is no way to effectively teach without preparation. And when you add the many hours in meetings, training, grading,extra duties,most people who haven't been there would be shocked.

It all comes back down to perception. Those on the "outside" see a pastor show up Sunday morning, preach, and go home. They assume he just walked in and spit out a sermon and went home. Never mind that he has at least one more Sunday service to preach or teach, he likely has some form of Wednesday ministry to prepare for, fields calls from church members, visits, and anywhere from 6-12 hours per sermon in study and writing,hours in prayer,and possibly voluntary work for the association or denomination in which the church associates. Pastors are generally "on call" 24/7, all while trying to be a husband and father, and a member of his community.

And he lives his life under a virtual microscope both from the outside world, and maybe more troubling, by his own flock.

I know of a pastor who's ministry was nearly destroyed over one person's perception.  This man picked up aluminum cans in his "off time" to supplement his income.  He had done this for quite some time.  One day, a church member saw the bags of cans in his vehicle, which included beer cans, and - instead of speaking to their pastor, this church member picked up the phone and began a wave of calls that spread through a major portion of the congregation.  Of course, the story that spread was not of a pastor trying to make ends meet by picking up and selling aluminum cans.  The story was that the pastor had been drinking and was scripturally disqualified from being a pastor (1 Timothy 3:1-7).  By the next time the congregation assembled together, there was a sizable faction ready to run the pastor out of town.  The pastor was blind-sided because nobody had the brotherly love to speak to him, beginning with the church member who began the whole episode.  Even more sad, the church split over the issue, not because the pastor had done anything at all wrong, but because members were more concerned about their personal pride (they couldn't stand admitting that they were the wrong ones for backbiting and passing judgement without evidence).  One person's perception caused chaos and pain.

On the flip side,pastors struggle with many of the stumbling bocks everyone struggles with. All while being constantly being reminded that he is going to answer to God for how he handled the ministries entrusted to his care.

And we wouldn't trade it for the world! There is no greater calling!

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