The Mirror

I was just reading through the Book of James again and the Lord pointed out this passage, which is such a neat illustration!

Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 1:22 - 25

We've all looked into our mirrors, shaving, grooming, etc. Who could forget what our favorite face looks like? But he who hears the Word and doesn't do it, does just this.

Second Thoughts on Leaving Out Hell by Bill Bright

Shortly before his death, Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, said,

"I have never felt the need to focus on telling people about hell. However, as a result of . . . a growing indifference to the afterlife, I have come to realize the need for a greater discussion of hell . . . I have thus come to see that silence, or even benign neglect on these subjects, is disobedience on my part. To be silent on the eternal destinations of souls is to be like a sentry failing to warn his fellow soldiers of impending attack."

- From a great article by Ray Comfort.

Good Questions

I wonder what our churches might be like if we responded honestly and seriously to the following...

What if we didn't care who got the credit as long as God got the glory?
What if we told the truth about what was really going on in our lives?
What if leaders of all kinds in the church, on occasion, said, "I really don't know what to do"?
What if we had the confidence in the Lord to confess that we messed up?
What if we occasionally challenged one another to grow up in Christ? (especially when we are behaving so immaturely).
What if we were to talk with the most godly men or women who we know (of your choosing) about our giving each week to the work of the church? How do you think they might respond to what we are giving?
What if we were to play a recording of what we said about one another in conversation the previous week? Would there be powerful moments of encouragement and affirmation? Or would we hear something else...
What if we deplored a divisive spirit as much as the early church did? Would we handle divisiveness any differently?
What if we were to look at a schedule of time actually spent in prayer and time in the Word of God? Is our actual practice what we would recommend to the rest of the church?
What if we were to begin living as if we only had a short time left on this earth? How different would we be living?

Source: Jim Martin

"God is the first priority..."

I ran across this article called "Worship 101" and really enjoyed it. Here's an excerpt:

God is the first priority of the church. Not people. Not ministry. Not growth. Not success. God and God alone occupies the place of ultimate and absolute priority in the church. However, this biblical ideal does not receive much attention in the highly people-centered, growth-dominated, success-oriented American church of today. From our preaching, our writing, and our lifestyle, it would appear that today's church is preoccupied with other matters.

It was the Apostle Paul who wrote to the Colossians saying that Christ was to have the pre-eminence in everything. The priority of God is not an option in Scripture, nor can it be anything but the very centerpiece of Christian belief and practice in the contemporary church. If the church expects to be all that it is intended to be, God must be first. If the church is to accomplish its great mission in the world, God must be its first priority. If the church is once again to become salt and light in an increasingly darkened and decadent culture, it must recover the priority of God for itself.

Worship and the priority of God
What, then, is the connection between the priority of God and worship? Worship is essentially about the priority of God. It is predicated upon the reality of God's being in the supreme position in relation to everything that exists within the created order. Worship is a personal, human expression of that relationship by which we honor and praise God as supreme. The results of such worship include a greater understanding of who this unique God is and an increased desire to make Him first in all of life. Consider the names and titles by which we address God in our worship. These all explicitly or implicitly reveal a God who is first and ultimate in His being-a God before whom we, together with all of creation, assume a place of humble stature.

As King, He is ultimate, the King of Kings, and we approach Him as loyal, contented subjects. As Lord, He is supreme, the Lord of Lords, and we come into His presence bowing and kneeling. As Master, He is one, and we all honor Him as willing servants. As Father, He is alone, the true Father of us all, and we come to Him as loving children. As Creator, God is the solitary source by whom everything was made, and we come before Him as lowly creatures. As Savior, He is unique, for there is no other savior, and we celebrate Him as the One who alone has rescued us out of our helpless and hopeless condition.

Worship and the Character of God
Not only does our worship express God's superior position in relation to all that He has made, but in our worship we affirm the superiority of God's character set against the backdrop of humanity's universal moral failure. In our worship, we extol those divine virtues and draw upon His wealth of virtue by which our lives are restored to more and more Christ-like reflections of His moral perfection's and by which our weakness of character is replaced by divine strength.

God is holy -we worship Him with awe and reverence.
God is love-we worship Him in loving adoration.
God is good-we worship Him with a spirit of gratitude.
God is all-knowing-we come to Him in our ignorance seeking genuine knowledge.
God is all-wise-we come to Him in our foolishness, seeking the wisdom that comes only from Him.
God is merciful-we worship Him in contrition and with repentant hearts, seeking His forgiveness.
God is compassionate-we come to Him casting our burdens and cares upon Him.
God is everywhere-present-we worship Him at all times and in all places, confident of His personal presence.
God is truth-we worship Him, trusting every word He speaks to us to be true, for He cannot lie.
God is righteous-we worship Him with deep respect and with a desire to be like Him.
God is unchanging-we worship Him with living faith and quiet confidence that He will always be as He has always been.

There's more here.

Psalm 7:11

"God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day." Ps. 7:11

Violent protests have been taking place outside a Focus on the Family "Love Won Out" conference in Boston. This conference was for people who want to get out of the homosexual death-style and seek the Lord's forgiveness and healing.

"On its weblog after the protest, QueerToday.com...expressed obvious delight in the impact [of their protest]."

Quote: "The twighlight of the Right's twenty-five year reign of terror is quickly approaching. This protest is probably the largest confrontation [Love Won Out] has experienced, and hopefully our example will inspire others to take similar stands against them. We will continue to hold homophobes accountable for their actions, regardless of what kind of sugary, sing-songy voices they say 'God loves you' in. Yes, God loves us, but they don't."

Here's the problem. Christians need to quit saying stupid things like, "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner." This is patently false. It sends a confusing message to people bound by the abomination of homosexuality that they can continue in their depravity but be "loved" by God, anyway.

In actuality, Romans 1 says "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." Who? Specifically "men [who] likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. ... Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

1 Cor. 6:9-10 spells it out: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality...will inherit the kingdom of God."

"Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." John 3:36

Charles Finney stated, years ago:

"God is not angry merely against the sin abstracted from the sinner, but against the sinner himself. Some persons have labored hard to set up this ridiculous and absurd abstraction, and would fain make it appear that God is angry at sin, yet not at the sinner. He hates the theft, but loves the thief. He abhors adultery, but is pleased with the adulterer. Now this is supreme nonsense.

The sin has no moral character apart from the sinner. The act is nothing apart from the actor. The very thing that God hates and disapproves is not the mere event—the thing done in distinction from the doer; but it is the doer himself. It grieves and displeases Him that a rational moral agent, under His government, should array himself against his own God and Father, against all that is right and just in the universe. This is the thing that offends God. The sinner himself is the direct and the only object of his anger."

The "Love" that will "Win Out" is that God in His LOVE, sacrificied His Son and became sin on the Cross, so that every one of us could be granted repentence from dead works, be crucified with Him, and turn away from vile abominations.

Thank you, Jesus!

Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks
By Jason Stern
Originally Published in A Bit of History - Louisiana Family Advocate, November 2002

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, [and] into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, [and] bless His name." Psalms 100:4

In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish and meat that was smoke cured over fires. Edward Winslow, a leader of the colony recounts:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as…served the company almost a week. Many of the Indians coming amongst us…with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they [gave us]. Although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

The deepest roots of our Thanksgiving celebration are found in our Judeo-Christian heritage.  Our celebration is derived from The Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkoth, which has been celebrated for over 3000 years! When celebrating Sukkoth, the Jewish people build small huts of branches, which recall the tabernacles (booths) of their ancestors. These huts are constructed as temporary shelters, as the branches are not driven into the ground and the roof is covered with foliage.  Inside are hung harvested fruits and vegetables, including apples, grapes, corn, and pomegranates. Moses and the Israelites lived in these as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land.

Here in Louisiana, we have a unique culture that adds a bit more spice to our Feast in Thanks to God.  Many Americans will have turkey, but in Louisiana, turkeys will be fried, blackened and some will be turned into turduckens!  There may even be a Cochon du Lait and some jambalaya to go with the pumpkin pie!  

On this day of Thanks to God, make a point of recognizing the King of kings for His bountiful blessings.  It’s more than just eating and football. Take time to count every blessing and to give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for you and yours.