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"I am in them and You are in Me"

     In Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul is telling the believers in Ephesus that he is praying for them.  And in John 17:20-23 Jesus promises us that He will pray for us as well.
  

     Tomorrow, Saturday July 26^th, our Brothers and Sisters in Jesus that live in Mosul Iraq are facing their Day of Judgment or Glory depending upon how you view faith and eternity.  ISIS has given them a persecution ultimatum – to either deny Christ or face death.

     So, how do we pray for them?  Do we pray for ISIS to change their minds?  Well, we know God can intervene but if you have read any of the book of Revelation you already know the plan.  Paul gives us this example of how we should pray:

“This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what the hope of His calling is, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens—  far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.”

      Ephesians 1:15-23 (HCSB)

Vs15 “giving thanks”:  we must thank God for their very existence.  To be a Christian is hard enough in today’s world but to be a Christian in Iraq is a miracle 

Vs17 “a spirit of wisdom and revelation”:  pray that in this darkest hour they still see the promise of their salvation and eternal life and find peace in that and peace in Christ.

Vs19 “immeasurable greatness of His power”:  The word translated “power” is the Greek word dunamis. From this word, we get our English word “dynamite.” So the power we have in us because of Christ is explosive in power. Despite what is likely to come pray that they feel this great power.

Vs22 “He put everything under His feet”:  Pray that they still know that Jesus is in control.
 
Vs23 “the fullness”:  Pray that in that final moment they feel the fullness of Christ within them.

And then the words of Jesus:

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message.

May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me”

   John 17:20-23 (HCSB)

 

     Powerful words to remind us to pray that in their pain and fear that we are one with them just as we are one with God.  We should submit ourselves spiritually to the very suffering they are being persecuted with.  Pray that as they stand fast to their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that we also grow in our Faith, Trust and Love in Him who lives in us – all of us who have called Him Lord.

 

  At the beging of this post you probably noticed an Arabic letter.  This is the letter N and is being painted on the doors of Christians in Mosul to label them as "Nazarenes" - Christians. 

So that their homes will be targeted tomorrow

Offend a Believer or Shun a Sinner

 

  I’m sure that this is going to step on a few toes but this is how God has called me to act in my ministry – Bold and Unafraid

  I recently had this discussion with a gentlemen of, let’s say, a more stringent theological view point after he sat through a sermon I gave on how to live with our Freedom in Christ.  I had done a two part sermon starting on the Fourth of July weekend, first part being a close exegetical examination of Galatians 2.  (As a refresher; Paul is chastising Peter for withdrawing from his gentile ministry in Galatia when men of a more law based view come into town.  Peter would rather not offend these men and return to the law and in doing so he shuns the sinners.)

  In part one we looked at this passage and how we are now saved completely by grace and to return to the law would mean that Jesus died for nothing.  I closed that sermon with a note to Galatians 5 where Paul emphasizes that freedom from the law does not give us permission to sin freely.

  So, second week of this sermon, how to live in the Freedom of Christ;  we went through the life of Jesus and looked at Him blessing gentiles, eating with sinners, preparing food on the Sabbath and forgoing certain traditions of man that were interpreted from the law. I spoke of a narrow path between the law and sin that we must walk and why. 

  I closed with a story and compared it to Peter eating with the sinners of Galatia.  The story concerned having a beer with some of my Soldiers and how that simple act of not placing myself above them allowed them to be open to the Gospel message.

  Today we would not think twice about having a meal with a sinner, any sinner and say it was evangelism.  But are you willing to push the boundaries like Jesus did or will you withdraw from that shared experience like Peter? Are you willing to be seen going into certain establishments or will you hide in the alley?  The truth is simple, the Gospel message is clear and the command from Jesus is to GO into the world and make disciples. 

Are you willing to offend a believer in your Going so that you don’t shun a sinner?

 

The offense to this man was not just me having a cold one with some of my men, but the fact I would share this story in church.  Now, why would I hide something that is not a sin and was a direct act of loving my neighbor? 

Matthew 28:19

 Note: prayer, trust and following God’s calling to you is essential in the going

Is Your Faith Strong Enough for Ridicule?

   At the National Prayer Breakfast a few months ago Dr Ben Carson, a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon said that “PC is Dangerous”; he went on to say ““In this country, one of the founding principles was freedom of thought and freedom of expression. (Political correctness) puts a muzzle on people. We have imposed upon people restrictions on what they can say, on what they can think. And the media is the largest proponent of this, crucifying people who say things really quite innocently.”

   Standing up for one’s faith, for the Truth of the Bible is now under attack as being hateful, unfounded and bigotry.  Yes some, like Westboro church, have stepped over the line into hateful, unfounded and un-Christian rhetoric. But that does not mean proclaiming the Truth of God should be silenced!  In fact it is more important now to proclaim Christ as King and His Truth is the Only Truth than any other time in history.

   Will we be ridiculed for it? Yes, we may even be accused of all sorts of things in our future.  But look back t o Daniel who refused to compromise in the face of similar attacks.  God held him up and he will hold us up as well. 

The following is a letter found among the personal effects of a martyred Christian in Africa:

   “I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit’s power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look up, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
   I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fact, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, and my mission clear.
   I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate and the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, stored up and stayed up the cause of Christ.
   I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.”

    This man knew he could be killed for his faith.  Daniel knew that he was in danger for his convictions.  What have we got to lose in our stance?  Being called narrow minded or a bigot? Perhaps we may lose some friends.  But if we fail in our faith, how will it feel that day when we come face to face with God?

Holy Week

   We are at a critical point in the history of mankind, a crossroads of faith and culture.  And it is never more apparent than during Holy Week, the time between Palm Sunday and Easter.  Easter, just like Christmas, is being lost to an unbelieving world.  Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny are taking over and Christ is being pushed out.  Why? Faith! Or the loss of it.  We still claim to being a Christian Nation, but one that accepts the diversity of all cultures and religions.  The truth is we are becoming a faithless nation that has been distorted by the acceptable practice of calling belief intolerance. Diversity and acceptance in America did not involve the reduction of the Christian faith, yet here we are.  And Holy Week was God’s forecast of what is happening today.

   Throughout Christian history this week has been known as Holy Week, a week designed to focus our attention on the “passion,” or suffering, of Christ.  The story of Christ is the story of God Himself coming to earth in the form of a human being, a man named Jesus, living the perfect, sinless life and then willingly going to the cross in order to die for the sins of the world.  Not a story of the Easter bunny or egg hunts on the lawn.

   There are five days in this week that are set apart:  It begins with Palm Sunday, and then includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and then Easter Sunday.

   Palm Sunday – the Triumphant Entry.  The day that Jesus Christ is declared King.  All the people of Jerusalem welcomed Him in with cheers and palm branches to form a path to walk on.  We once proclaimed Christ as King also.  He was welcomed into our homes as well as our public places and schools and government buildings.  No one was ashamed to do so and everyone was sure even in the face of unbelievers.

   Maundy Thursday denotes when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet during what is known as the Last Supper on the night He was betrayed. The word “Maundy” is built off of the Latin word for “command”; when Jesus washed their feet, He said, “A new commandment I give you – love one another as I have loved you.”   Jesus humbled Himself to us as He still does.  He has left this world to our faith in Him.  Yet, just like the faith of Peter, we too will deny Him when the challenges come.  And as far as loving one another, we have a hard enough time loving other Christians let alone unbelievers. 

   Good Friday is the day we mark the anniversary of when Jesus was crucified.  What Jesus did for us, what His death accomplished on our behalf – that was good. Good because He took on our sins, and then hung in our place, paying the price for our sins so that we could be forgiven.    Anyone that is a Born Again Believer has accepted this “Good” from Jesus.  He did this for all, anyone who accepts the free gift receives His unconditional pardon.

   Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, marks the time of Jesus in the tomb. The time Jesus spent in Hell for us, for punishment of our sins.  Sins that we commit of our own free submission to our flesh.  Sins that we continue to commit daily because we are of the flesh but also sins that are becoming called acceptable to our society.  Every sin we allow to become the American standard, every time God is removed from our society; it is like Jesus is back in Hell again because we are saying what he did for us already wasn’t enough……

   And then, of course, comes Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. A day that so altered human history that we are still talking of it, and marking it, over 2,000 years later.  But how much significance has it lost to the world?  When this one instance of ultimate sacrifice has not been forgotten but is celebrated by millions who do not even believe, understand, know or even those that ridicule true believers. 

   Think again about the people over that one week in history.  They went from celebrating Christ as Lord to tossing Him out as a criminal.  Now think about the history of our nation, Jesus was once King and now He is on the verge – once again – of being called a criminal.  A criminal for the Truth He brings to our world, a criminal for being the only way to salvation.  And just like Peter, many believers are denying Him in these waning days.

   I am reminded of an essay I once had to write in High School, the assignment was title – “The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same”.  The Good News is – Jesus will return just like on the first Easter Sunday.  But this time He will come, not as a humble King, but as a powerful King to make His final declaration for His Kingdom.  And there will be no more doubt, no more lost or weak faith, but also more second chance…………

Liberty

   This week my family and I watched a little known documentary called “Monumental”.  In this film Kirk Cameron goes on a journey to discover why America is in a downward spiral and how we can go about stopping it.  He speaks out about not being the Christian who accepts that “bad times are coming, but that means Jesus is closer”.  He wants to stop the bad times and restore America to it greatness so our children and our grandchildren can have a life here on earth as well.

   It is a great documentary in my opinion that received much criticism, was kept out of most theaters and probably done so by liberals who are afraid to be governed by the one true leader we have – God.  Afraid to live according to the virtues that He instilled in us and in which our country’s liberties, laws, justice and freedom were founded. 

   It is Not about forcing everyone in America to be Christians but about using the true laws of life, of humanity, and of God to ensure that all are given morally sound and ethically based freedoms in which to live and to allow others to live. 

   What is destroying our freedoms? The very opposite of the purpose in which our forefathers sought out this land, the freedom to worship God freely and to govern its people justly – yes, using God’s laws! Because they work!! 

   Atheists who cry out that religious freedom means no religion are so far off base it amazes me that they are being allowed a leg to stand on.  People out there crying out for freedom of religion are twisting it into freedom from religion and thus cut the strings that keep us morally straight. 

   Are atheists immoral?  NO, they whether they believe or not, were created in God’s image and therefore do have the ability and the desire for moral living.  But when a movement to remove the moral foundations of our government, when we resort to a standard of “Do what you will, so long as it harms none”.  Then we open the door to an immoral life.  By the way, that standard may sound good to many but it is a direct quote from the wiccan rede – the foundation of that pagan witchcraft sect that is destroying many of our youth by giving them permission to do whatever they want.

 

   There was one part in this film that was very important to me.  A monument that I will bet many of you have never heard of (Some of you New Englanders may have).  It is call “The Monument to our Forefathers”, dedicated in 1889 to the Pilgrims who risked all for freedom, it sits atop a hill in Plymouth Massachusetts; all alone, forgotten, neglected and lost in our history.  It is the “recipe” for our freedoms that this country was founded on.  This recipe has all but been tossed aside in our governing body today, to be replaced by “Do what you will, so long as it harms none”. 

What follows is a description of this great, probably our greatest monument in our country:

 

        The monument stands at 81 feet tall, America’s largest granite monument.  At its centerpiece is “Faith”, with her finger pointing to God and clutching a Bible in her hand.  The Bible worn, to indicate that it is well used and that it was the solid foundation for our liberties.  On “Faith’s” forehead is a star representing the wisdom that only comes from studying God’s Word.  At her feet, counter-clockwise from the east are Morality, Law, Education and Liberty.  The four principles, only obtained from faith in God, upon which this country relies on for freedom and liberty. 

 

    Morality, the internal liberty, the beginning of all freedom.  She sits with no eyes to indicate that she looks within herself for her morality, she checks herself first.  In her hand is the ten commandments upon which the basis for morality and our laws rests.  She must transform, through God and Jesus Christ, into her new moral character. She alone is responsible for her moral behavior, not government telling us what is moral but God changing us to desire moral behavior and standards.  On her right side is a depiction of the evangelist, the Christian’s responsibility to teach God’s moral law to the world, not sit back and let the world go to “hell in a hand basket”.

    Next is Law, in his hand he also holds the Ten Commandments for it is from God’s Law that our law is based.  It is a merciful law and that extends guidance and hope to the world rather than imposes and oppresses us.  When we started removing the Ten Commandments from our court rooms then we have an enabling effect to break the law.  Impose immoral rulings upon our society, stop protecting the innocent and allow for an atmosphere of handouts rather than accountability.  On his side is justice, the scales of equity, punishment fits the crime and mercy, a loving father who holds his child to a standard yet does so lovingly.

 

   Following Law is Education, she holds the Bible and trains her children up in the words, the truth and good of God.  On her side is a picture her training youth, it is the parents responsibility to train our children to ensure the foundation of our liberties are passed on to our next generations rather than allowing government to dictate what is taught and passed on. 

   On her other side is a grandfather, the matriarch who ensures that all is not lost from one generation to the next for, as George Washington so aptly put when morality and religion are not passed on then the country will fall.

 

    Last is Liberty, the culmination of all; based upon faith in God, with a moral foundation, a just and merciful law and all being passed on from one generation to the next; then true Liberty is accomplished.  In opposition to the current thought that Christianity is oppression, he sits with the chains of man’s oppression broken.  He holds a sword in one hand to indicate that liberty must be fought for or it will be lost.  On one side is Liberty beating tyranny and on the other side is peace. The idea that one must be ready to fight and defend liberty but being prepared will bring peace.

 

This monument says a great deal, about how true liberty is found and how it is lost.  We the people, alone, are responsible for ensuring that liberty is not not lost and that our children and our children's children will also experience the liberty that is only found in "One Nation Under God"