And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

(Colossians 1:21-23 ESV)

The truth and gratitude and what is it that you need? Grace for today, hope for tomorrow and mercy to be. Just be.  Yesterday I was being by basking in The Presence of the LORD at the beach.  Not concerning myself with the time or the text or the email, just relaxing and resting at the Atlantic, it is where I experience the Almighty hand of God in creation and recognize my own smallness, how incredibly dependent I really am on God. And in less than 24 hours time, I find myself tangled up in the web of self-centered fear and can't fight my way out of it, drag my family into it and wonder why I can't seem to carry the love, rest, peace, joy, clarity, kindness and confidence I had in the LORD yesterday into today?

Identity Crisis: It breaks in to steal and kill and destroy because if I really knew that I "once was" and now "I am reconciled" then I would rise and walk in the midst of this day in the same spirit that I walked upon the sand and through the shallow water. So, I have fallen, and crawled and cried and been tripped up by my sinful response to my day and the way that it has unfolded. So, I find myself in an interesting place, another opportunity to preach the Gospel to myself, another day to look at My Rescuer in the face (in His Word because I hold onto the hope of One day meeting Him face to face) and there is where I am to behold my Identity. It is IN Christ, that I am reconciled by the Blood and Righteousness of Christ that HE may present me holy and blameless and above reproach because in and of myself, I can NOT cut it. And it is only when I realize that I am nothing without HIM that I can begin to taste the sweetness of light when I am basking in the LIGHT of the TRUTH which is available each and every day.

This morning I read: "Do not let your hearts be troubled....." from the Gospel of John. I started over, out loud, "Let not your heart be troubled, Catherine, believe in God, believe also in me...." Jesus goes on to say a few verses later, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, his return to the Father but that He will not leave them orphans and He has not left us orphaned. He has sent His Holy Spirit who is also called the Helper. Where does my help come from? Where is my hope? One in the same, My LORD and my God who is with me. As Paul David Tripp tweeted 2 days ago: "No need to like feel like your alone today because if you're God's child, Emmanuel has moved in and isn't leaving."

Mine is to believe that Jesus is who He says HE is and that as His Child, I am who he says I am, loved, delivered, transferred, adopted, forgiven, being made new, kept, sealed, a sinner once enslaved and now bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ my Lord and I have been set free to live in the LIGHT of His grace and truth.

An Assemblage of Graces

To cradle a newborn infant,

To hear a song for the first time and it brings me to tears,

To drive toward the shore and smell the first hint of the salty air

To witness one person come along side another with comfort and compassion

O to be comforted!

The first bite of a meal prepared for you, the aroma prepared your glands.

A story told with passion;

words meant only for you;

Commitment reaffirmed.

Swimming in a sea of hope,

Helpless!

Sipping the first hot cup,

Cool breezes after the heat,

Sun catching and settings glorious.

Your smiling and dancing eyes,

The curve of your face and light of your countenance,

The sound of your voice.

Beholding!

Laughter contagious,

Kindness in trouble

Love in the midst of war

At the center of the storm - peace

Joy not denying the pain,

Thoughtful!

© Catherine Mullaney 2011

The Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ

It is my privilege to also follow and read a number of blogs. This blog I am about to write is inspired by Ambition and Apathy and I just want to thank Hayley for continuing to write. Hayley asked herself, Why am I a Christian?

Today, I want to start by saying the reasons that do not make me a Christian.

It is NOT because I am intellectually superior to the next gal on the block and that I have weighed all of the evidence and have determined that this is the best way to live life as a human being.*

It is NOT because I was raised in a religious home.

It is NOT because I was baptized as an infant.

It is NOT because my husband perfectly shared the Gospel with me. **

It is NOT because I was desperate and in need of meaning in my life.***

I am a Christian by Providence, the grace of God was poured out upon my life. I can not take any credit for what Jesus did for me on the Cross. The Holy Spirit quickened my spirit, invaded my heart and gave me New Life. Just like a newborn baby does not understand their move from the womb of their mother to her arms, so a newborn babe in Christ does not completely understand what is/has happening/happened to them at the moment of New Life.

My response to this New Life was with much gratitude. I knew that I was a selfish brat. My eyes and ears were opened by the power of the Holy Spirit in order to realize that God was willing to give His Very Life up for me that I might be forgiven and given Eternal Life by His Own Blood. This wasn't just Good News, this was Great News. The one who led me to this birth place did not promise me anything but New Life.

Upon rereading what I just wrote, I see that this is the "how" I became a Christian but does not answer the question why? Couldn't I be anything I wanted to be? My parents told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be and the world caters to that mentality. My parents also wanted me to grow up and be a member of the religion I grew up in as well. (so I guess they even had their limits to the "anything") In the words of one of my children, "None of us choose our personality, our parents or the country where we were born. Everything we make choices out of is determined by something other than us." So, after being given New Life and learning to walk in it. I have discovered that being a Christian is the way to live in the Truth and that I am determined by God's grace to walk it out for the rest of my days.

Has this Pilgrim Road been a life of easy? Well, Christian means Christ follower and that means dying to self or as my friend Oswald Chambers puts it, "a willingness to go to the White Funeral," which I take to mean as laying down your own life and living for Christ. Jesus himself said, anyone who wants to save his life he must lose it. Have I had moments, dare I say seasons of wanting to throw it in my Lord's face and say no thanks, the Christian life is not for me? Yes, heartache and suffering are hard but His Grace is sufficient. Most of my heartache and suffering have been by my own hand, my sin and the Loving Hand of my Father has been there to restore, to forgive, to love me back into His arms. The suffering I have had at the hands of others has been minimal compared to my persecuted brothers and sisters. I have never renounced my faith in the One True God. Instead, I have gotten to know Him better and love Him more because He continues to reveal Himself to me. One thing for sure is that there has never been a dull moment.

My main reason for being a Christian is that in the light of the Glory of the Gospel it is the most authentic way for me to live. A number of the Christian Confessionals asks:

What is the chief end of man?

To Glorify God and Enjoy Him forever.

Living for His Glory, not mine own and Dancing for all Eternity. I am loved, forgiven, disciplined, lifted up, brought low, made righteous, justified, purified and made whole.

*I do however believe living a life of following The LORD is the best way to live.

**Dan did share the Truth of the Gospel with me.

***Even though I was desperate and wanted to live a meaningful life.

The following post was written over a month ago. It is a case of me speaking the truth to myself and I hope it is helpful to someone out there who is reading.

Who are you?

Who am I?

To whom do you belong?

Light has broken through the darkness. The darkness of sin and death has been conquered by first One born from the dead, The Risen One! The One who gave me life and then renewed it by the power of the Holy Spirit is what brings me to the above questions which were raised by two younger bloggers that I follow. My initial thought is we are all becoming, constantly changing and growing.

To know and be known. This is what we are attempting to look at through our questions and observations. One of the things that shapes and molds us is how we relate to others and how others relate to others. First we relate to people and then we relate to God.

Some people worship their parents and never transfer that worship to God. As a parent, my shortcoming have kept me humble and my willingness to relate to my kids as a fellow human beings have hopefully made such a transfer easy and early enough. These dear ones who are now all young adults have felt the sting of my wrongful acts and I have been showered with grace, mercy and forgiveness from each of them. I am often stubborn, prideful and arrogant when I am wrong, looking to be justified and it isolates me from those that I love. So, if I want to be relatable, it is going to require humility and a willingness to admit that I am wrong and ask for forgiveness. You would think after so many years of practice that it would come easily, not always. Forgiveness is what restores a relationship and there is nothing quite like a clean slate in order to continue to build a good relationship.

When you forgive me and I forgive you, we bid one another to come up higher because we will fall again, we will need to be restored again. I am doing my best to learn from my mistakes. Some sins are however harder to overcome than others. Without the Love of Christ and His grace, I am a reckless troublemaker.

Beliefs with Benefits

"What people who are saved, but who don't feel saved, need to know is that their salvation does not depend upon how they feel but upon what Christ has done for them. What Christ has done is summarized in the thirty-sixth question of the (Westminster) Shorter Catechism. the assurance of our salvation, the love of God, and our progress in the Christian life are depicted as the fruit of God's work on our behalf. We must look outside of ourselves to what Christ has done to rest assured in these benefits." Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

After reading this article "Basking in the Benefits" where the above paragraph is from, I couldn't help but think about how important it is to know what we believe and why we believe it. The American Church is so diverse, you could shop for a church for weeks, months and years and not find one that suits you, if you did not set a criterion for which you will even consider becoming a part of a local body of believing Christians, never mind shopping for one.
The article goes on to say,

"This particular question and its answer reminds us of the precious truth that the work of Jesus Christ is the ground of our assurance, the proof of God's love for us, and the sure sign that God intends to finish that good work that He has already begun in us. (Phil 1;6)"

We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd and it some ways we are stupid, trust our feelings instead of the Truth and we need to be reminded. C.S. Lewis has written in one of his books that it is not so much that we need to be taught as it is we need to be reminded. Reminded that it is Jesus Christ who justifies, adopts and sanctifies. That as His child, I am dearly loved. Obedience brings freedom to live by the Spirit and the list could go on.
These days I am in search of the truth about God, His Word, The Gospel, and Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, what people are for and what God would have me do as I near the end of the race called parenthood. I am thirsty for His Grace and I want to know the truth, so that I can make headway in one of the most if not the most important endeavor in this life and that is to love my fellow man. Knowing what I believe about God and Man, may be the avenue in which the Love of God can flow through me and spill out on to my fellow human beings. It takes effort on my part but I am totally dependent on God. The results are in His Hands not mine.
So my devotional this morning is a urging me to remember that "The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end." (answer to the Q36.) We can run and not grow weary as long as I am dependent on God and not on myself and my feelings.
I guess I am just a realist who doesn't believe in feel good Christianity that may try to tell me that if I am not feeling good then perhaps I am not a child of the living God. Life does not always feel good. Sometimes you find yourself riding the subway and it feels like you will never get off or see the light of day again, but being in good company, enjoying the ride anyway and knowing that yes, the train will let you off without paying another fair and soon you will feel the wind at your back.

Value life

This past Saturday was National Suicide Survivor's Day and I was made aware of it by a younger friend on Facebook. I just want to be another voice added to those who are crying out, "Life is worth living. There is an Author of life, He writes the book and you play your part. The role He has for you only you can play. Life is not easy but we tend to forget that Death comes to all and that it will be soon enough."

In an article in the Dallas News a young man committed suicide with a live streaming on the internet:

Montana Miller, an assistant professor of popular culture at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, said Biggs' very public suicide was not shocking, given the way teenagers chronicle every facet of their lives on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

"If it's not recorded or documented then it doesn't even seem worthwhile," she said. "For today's generation it might seem, 'What's the point of doing it if everyone isn't going to see it?"'

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/112308dnnatwebsuicide.10081a7.html

This quote from the article got me to thinking about living life to an audience of One. The question posed "What is the point of doing it [whatever 'it' may be] if everyone isn't going to see it?" So often the riches things in life are the hidden treasures. Right now our family is finding some in the midst of a small trial, it is those things that the Father sees done in secret that reap rewards. Those who are web camming or are fully documenting the deeds on a social network, you have your reward in full. I am not saying there is something wrong with documentation, we need to have documentation for many things, what I am saying is that some things are intimate and ought to be private. There are times when we need to be extremely courageous or humble depending on what our circumstances present us and to know that the Father has his eye on us is enough. (see Matthew 6;3-6)

To achieve balance between knowing when to keep your own life private and when to live your life as an open book takes discernment. We so need to continue to keep a check on ourselves as well as guide our children. I continue to make mistakes. If there is one lesson that I would like to have solidly down it is "to pause and to think before I speak or act." Failing to do this gets me in more trouble then anything else. There are many things that we could list definitely on each side of the ledger.

One thing that I would like to be more invested in is the sharing of ideas on the open book side. I think this is one of the hardest to discern. Some ideas come from left field and don't belong on either side, other ideas are excellent that we may share with a close friend and that friend may encourage us or help us to know whether or not to share it with others. The young man who committed suicide with an Internet audience, talked about it. Generally, those who really don't want to go through with it will start talking about it because they want help and perhaps they don't know how to ask. If you go and read the article it says that this guy was talking about it. It is not a joke. The pain of living does appear to be greater sometimes to some people but if someone you know starts talking about suicide, I implore you to help them to get help.

The hope that I have as a believer in the Giver and Sustainer of Life is the first thing I want to share with the hurting. God created each and every human being in His likeness, in His image. Let that be the first word, "You were made on purpose." There is a lot of help out there, counseling, medication and meditation. Most people need the right combination but all people need to know the truth, that their life matters.

Non-Readers read no further

Has your Christianity included a steady diet of Max Lucado, John Elledge & Gene Edwards, perhaps Ed Young & Joel Osteen, or G.K. Chesterton & C.S. Lewis maybe John Calvin, Martin Luther & Wycliffe? Now that I have probably offended everyone, please hear me out at least continue to read.

As a family we have been reading Table Talk for the last year and 1/2 or so. It is a monthly publication put out by Ligonier Ministries. The April 2008 issue's theme is the 3 forms of Unity. One of the articles is about the Heidelberg Catechism which I have never heard of before picking up this magazine, as I finished reading the article, it dawned on me - the Lord has given me a rich diet from a variety of saints who have gone on before me. This is why I posed the opening question. If we stay in one spot and let's say it is marked "Baptist & its' sympathizers" (my apologies to all my baptist friends) and only drink and eat the literature approved by them then we reject a whole bunch of wisdom that comes from other brothers & sisters in the faith.

Ecumenicalism is not what I am advocating but what I am saying is let us continue to be seekers of the truth. When the Bible says "seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open' it is not addressing the unbelievers - Jesus was speaking to His followers - when the Word says "seek, find & know" it is not for the unbeliever. Some may disagree but let's look at just three of those passages in context.
Matthew 5 verses 1 & 2
"1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying: "
The Lord began to teach these followers for the next 3 chapters including
Matthew 7; 7-12
"7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

John 8; 31 & 32

31"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

If you continue searching the Scripture for these 3 verbs, look at them in context and ask the question, "who is being addressed in this passage?" You may be surprised.

It was one of those shining bright moments of gratitude that I have not been limited to just a certain flavor of Christianity. Please know that I realize that we are called to be discerning (and some who I have listed you or I may have an issue with) and to not just accept every book, author or preacher who holds up the bible and says, I am in the way of Christ. The scripture is my measuring stick and if you are a believer then I hope it is yours too.

Grateful for a God bigger than all my aha moments! CM

PotPoG IV
More from Brother Lawrence
"We must behave very simply with God, and speak frankly to Him, asking Him for help in things as they happen. It had often been his experience that God does not fail to give His help."

This in a way describes my prayer life. As things approach and as they are happening, I am praying and asking for God's guidance. I don't tend to be one of those pray'ers who have a big list of things around the world that I am praying about and it is only recently that I have peace about it. Strange the lies we tell ourselves: "because I am not praying for the soldiers in Iraq, and the people of Durfur, I thought I was a second class Christian." Then the TRUTH swept in to dispel the lie. God has all
different kinds of children and therefore, we will pray in different kinds of ways. So, when I do ask for help, I get what I need and that makes all the difference. When I spin my wheels and try to do things in my own strength, I will get things done and even do a good job, but often it is not the best or on occasion not the right job. On this journey called life I continue to learn.

Case in point, this past week I was offered a platform which I took but failed to deliver the message that I believed God wanted me to give. It was at a meeting where I was the speaker, the topic was the 2nd step of Alcoholics Anonymous part 2 "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." I did pray prior to the meeting, prior to speaking but I stumbled. I am still learning and I believe that this failure was for my benefit.

I shared how I no longer ask God to keep me away from a drink and a drug because it is a gift that God has given me and He wants me to simply be grateful every day for the gift. I left it at that and really didn't tie it into the chapter we read or the other comments that I made. In the chapter, it says, "elimination of our drinking is but a beginning" then further it says,"the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind." This is where the restoration of sanity needs to take place in the mind. If my main prayer concern is simply the physical sobriety then I will not get down to causes and conditions which are centered in my mind. I had to go on in my relationship with God and turn my whole will and life over to the care of God (not just physical sobriety: which is included), ask to do His will and not my own. Still isn't this the wrestling match we stay in while living life in the flesh. I believe we have times of rest because we surrender utterly to God and we know His peace but we are a living sacrifice which means we have the ability to crawl off the table and go do our own thing. We must go on and grow spiritually.

The message I believe that I was to give is WHO I came to believe in and that would be Jesus Christ, not the one of the imperfect church but the one of the Bible, the Son of God who came to seek and save those who were lost. I didn't go looking for Him, He came found me and changed the course of my life for all eternity. This is the Carpenter who is in the business of restoring mankind. We are his workmanship and consequently we cannot take any of the credit.

So, these two cross section of my life are interwoven and I was afraid of what other people would think of me or what they might say in response to my sharing and I had to ask God to remove my fear just to share it here with you, my readers. This is real life and at times it seems very complicated. Living is simple if we let go of all the junk, ask God to restore (or renew) our minds, and let Him live through us.

May peace, mercy, joy and a sound mind be multiplied to each of you.

April 19th ought to be a Federal Holiday
Today was the day that a shot rang out on the Lexington Green. The timeline
of that fateful day actually began the day before. Most Americans know at least of the story of Paul Revere's ride "one if by land, two if by sea" and "the British are coming." Yet, only the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Maine actually acknowledge this holiday. This day was the birthing pains of a country about to be born. Our forefathers labored for 14 months before declaring independence from England.
The day is nearly over and I am grateful to have been raised with the Boston Marathon, the Red Sox and the rememberance of the Patriots who valued freedom more highly than there very lives.
To continue your own history lesson go to the real story about Paul Revere.
CM
(still a Bostonian at heart)

Simple truth
Sometimes the simple truth is worth revisiting even if it wasn't that long ago that I posted about forgiveness. In my last post I wrote about how Christians (those who are called ministers of reconciliation) when told that their brother or sister is sorry or even ask for forgiveness directly, respond with "it's OK" and I am not the only one who thinks that. Author Paul Tripp says in his book War of Words,

Scripture is clear that it makes no sense to rejoice in the amazing forgiveness we have received in Christ if we refuse to forgive others (see Matt. 18:21-35). Scripture is clear that committing myself to forgive means being willing to do it over and over again . . . .God's Word stresses that forgiveness should not be taken for granted, but that we must speak unmistakable words of forgiveness to one another. Our model of forgiveness is the Lord, who does not assume that we will understand that he has forgiven us. He declares it over and over again in his Word. Relational forgiveness always means speaking words of forgiveness to the offender.
It is not helpful to say, "That's okay," or "It's no problem" to a person who has been convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit and has come to seek forgiveness. The Lord already has convinced the person that what he did was not okay. He needs the gift of forgiveness from you to put his heart at rest. In this situation, we need to say, "I forgive you and I have already committed myself never to bring up this issue to myself, to you or to others." These words do two things: they block the work of the enemy and they promote the work of sanctification and reconciliation that the Holy Spirit has already begun.

So, I have been sitting with this another truth concerning forgiveness for almost 24 hours. It was humbling. I have to be willing to accept when a brother or sister refuses to forgive me or ignores my attempts at making things right. The proper response is for me to forgive but I can't say, I forgive you for not forgiving me. Instead, I need to pray and let it all go. If I have put myself out there, named my sin, asked for forgiveness, then there is not one thing I can do to make someone else forgive me. It is now between them and God. Mine is to be loving toward that individual and to be ready if at a later date they decide to forgive because I will get to rejoice in the freedom that they experience.
To know the truth and not feel compelled to go and let the other person know what I have discovered is also a freedom. To sit with the truth is comforting and convicting. To rejoice in the truth is loving. I am being shaped and molded by relationships and experiences in this life. The Word of God reveals and restates the truth about forgiveness over and over again. The Good News is Jesus shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins.
I no longer have a right to myself, I have been bought with a price and I can take anything from anyone because I belong to my Savior Jesus Christ and it is in Him that I find my refuge and my strength.
Thank you Lord.
CM

"forcing tactics can only do damage, perhaps incalculable damage, to men's souls . . . Evangelism must rather be conceived as a long-term enterprise of patient teaching and instruction, in which God's servants seek simply to be faithful in delivering the gospel message and applying it to human lives, and leave it to God's Spirit to draw men to faith through this message in his own way and at his own speed"( A Quest For Godliness , 164).

--JI Packer

- J.I. PACKER

"At the center of every culture is a cultus, a form of worship. Suffice it to say that the Great Commission requires us to disciple, baptize, and teach obedience to all the ethnoi, all the nations of men. This means that robust evangelism cannot be done without challenging the gods of the system. While we must not despise the day of small beginnings, and must labor faithfully in the little things, we must not be distracted from the ultimate mission and goal, getting diverted into picking off the devil's stragglers, and going off with them to build an isolated evangelical ghetto. Evangelism is combat between the gods, that is, between the living and triune God of the Bible and the idols of the age. Evangelism is therefore religious war at the highest level."

--Douglas Wilson

“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one GO there UNWARNED and UNPRAYED for.”
--C. H. Spurgeon

The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt to look upon Our Lord as One Who assists us in our enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simply says - "Go ye therefore and teach all nations." Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.
--Oswald Chambers

"The poor quality of Christian that grows out of our modern evangelistic meeting may be accounted for by the absence of real repentance accompanying the initial spiritual experience of the converts. And the absence of repentance is the result of an inadequate view of sin and sinfulness held by those who present themselves in the inquiry room. " (A. W. Tozer)

"Somebody said once that evangelism, true evangelism, is only this—one beggar telling another beggar how to find bread. There’s nothing that should make me boastful about my faith. I recognize that my faith is a result of the grace of God. And so we must understand that when we’re talking to people, we’re called to be gracious and kind. The fruit of the Spirit that the New Testament calls us to exhibit includes gentleness, meekness, patience, and love. That’s the spirit in which we are called to communicate to people. "

--R.C. Sproul

Those are the thoughts of some men who have (or had) made preaching the gospel their lifework. I would contend that Christians are expected to share their faith, preach the gospel: evangelize. Like I said in one of my previous posts, the results are in God's hands. It is more about planting and watering seeds and leaving the growth up to God; that is his business (my paraphrase of 1st Corinthians 3).

We don't want to water down the gospel (IE leave out that part about sin). The truth is to be spoken in love. One of the hardest truths to swallow is wanting all the people to be saved, and facing the reality that not all will be. Get to know your audience and speak their language so that they can understand what you are getting at is also important for us to do. Just because we know that the gospel is offense to some does not mean that we are to be offensive in presenting it.

2Corinthians 2;15 & 16

"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life."

Decaffeinated Truth
Yesterday I wrote:
"Since the church is being used as the tool of evangelism, the truth of the gospel and the truth of God's Word has been watered down and Evangelism has been reduced to a sales' pitch."

What is the truth of the gospel?
1Corinthians 1;18 "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Paul continues:
21"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached tosave those who believe.22For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;23but we preach Christ crucified,to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
Basically, it is crazy, the Message (a paraphrase) calls it "sheer silliness." I would say that biblically, the gospel is that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, buried and was resurrected. Finishing the work of Redemption for the salvation of His people.
However, the "Jesus loves you and He wants to make your life a blessing and you will receive many blessings if you just put your faith and trust in Him" (you will get what you want) message is at best a half truth. It is the decaffeinated gospel.
We want the whole truth (we being those of us who have been adopted by God the Father). Paul says we preached Christ crucified. Many say that love was the motivating factor of Christ being crucified and dying for the sins of the world. But Jesus had a different motivation: In John 12 Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." John 17, "Father the hour has come, glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You" The more I read through the gospels the more I see that the primary motivator was for God's glory. How would He glorify His Father? By paying the penalty of our sins, providing New Life for those who were dead in their transgressions, by being the first to be born from the dead.
This does not take away from the Love of Christ. He even says that "greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15;13 When asked what is the greatest commandment? How did Jesus answer?
"You shall Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22;37-39
One of the sales pitches I have heard is "if you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for you. He loves you that much." I don't think that we can find anything in the Bible lines us with that thought. If you can please let me know. This me focused message is not sustaining or life giving.

What do we need with the gospel anyway? There is a need. Man is sinful in his core. There is no way for man to rescue himself from sin and death. First we need to believe that we are dead spiritual. Ephesians 2 says it perfectly especially verses 4 & 5 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved.)" We are doomed we'll never make it without the power of God.
In most of the modern American Evangelical Churches (MAEC) you don't hear that. I would say on balance MAEC say look at the gifts, blessings, benefits that Christ has to offer you. Your life will turn around 180%, all you have to do is accept Christ and you will be on your way. It is a self-centered, selfish decaf. gospel. Everyone wants to "be blessed" but not everyone wants the Blesser. Romans 3 says, "there is none who seeks for God"

So where is the hope? For those who believe our hope is in God and that He is the keeper of His promises.

*Disclaimer about the book: I have not read this book but I was going for the caffeine look ;-)

Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship


Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship. Let me say that again, Evangelism does NOT equal salesmanship. We don't need to beg and plead for someone to come to Christ (and that is what this guy is doing in a video I watched online today). The Lord said, when I am lifted up I will draw all men to Myself. We are to lift Him up! Preach the gospel! The good news is that we were dead in our transgression on the fast train to hell but then CHRIST came to bring good news to the afflicted, to proclaim liberty to captives, to bind up the brokenhearted. To demonstrate the mercy and loving kindness of God.
Today in the van we talked about what is the purpose of the church (the visible church). What we observe in the American church at large is that the church is the tool of evangelism instead of a fellowship of like minded believers where we can sharpen our tools, gain strength from one another, encouragement and healing for those of us who already call God their Father. Then we are sent out to GO and preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Since the church is being used as the tool of evangelism, the truth of the gospel and the truth of God's Word has been watered down and Evangelism has been reduced to a sales' pitch. "Imagine God loves you so much that He sent His own Son to die for you, it is as if God is getting down on one knee and asking you to accept Him and all you have to say is I do." This is a close paraphrase. Isn't this man reducing God to the ways of man? Remember what Jesus reminded Nicodemus just as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
Let's not reduce the Creator of the Universe down to a man size God. Who wants to love, serve, honor and glorify someone like that? Not me. He is a Mighty God, fully just and fully loving, our Abba Father (daddy), Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Redeemer.
At this point are you wanting the link to the website. Before I do give that to you, I do want to say that I agree with quite a bit of it. It was the sales pitch that turned me off. The site www.juststopandthink.com

I will clearly admit that a lot of evangelists are charismatic and persuasive and for the most part I believe the Lord uses those abilities to preach the gospel but again it is the Holy Spirit who does the Work and brings about the results. It is not the salesman (excuse me) the evangelist closing the deal (getting a response via the alter call). The alter call I believe is also used by the Lord. The Lord uses His children to call His other children to Himself. I believe that we are or have the ability to be in the delivery room and get to help in the birthing process of someone being born again. It is an exciting place to be, an honor.
Tomorrow I will continue these thoughts on evangelism.
PAX, CM

Catch the Vision
In 2002, Grace and I attended our first Communicators for Christ (CFC) conference in MA. It was here that I first heard about the vision of Communicators for Christ. The next one we made was in New Albany, IN when we were living in VA Beach in the October 04. It was there that I began to see the vision but it was not until the fall of 2005 in the city of Nashua, NH that Dan and I caught the vision the Lord had given to David & Teresa Moon for the up and coming generation, to coach cultural communicators for Christ.

Communicators are being trained. Some of the most godless young people are being trained to lead our country and some of them will be leading flock astray as well (yes, I do mean from the pulpit). CFC says we can and must train our young people for Christ. It is not about the awards and accolades. It is about communicating the truth. We are indeed swimming upstream but in God's strength and not our own, there is great hope for this generation of young people.

It is our first priority to make sure our children know the truth and are walking in it. Of course, we realize that our children can not give away what they themselves do not possess. It is however, not enough for us to simply leave them there, knowing and walking in the truth. They need to be able to communicate the truth effectively, winsomely and intelligently. CFC is helping my husband and I to do that, as well as, giving our children opportunities to help others.

Now, I can't wait to get back to the club here in Gainesville and continue to encourage and exhort others to press on and continue to sharpen those skills to make a difference now as well as in the future.
PAX,
CM