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Taking a break from sex scandals

10/20/2015

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Does a faint voice somewhere deep in your spirit not cry out to you: "Be still, be calm, see, and understand, I am the True God. I am honored among all the nations. I am honored over all the earth" (Psalm 46:10 The Voice)? We might as well face the fact that we must, more often than perhaps we realize, break away from the sin and evil and tragedies rife in this world, get away to a quiet place with the Lord, and give Him thanks, adoration, worship: acknowledge His goodness; delight in His saving and merciful presence; be still in His grace. Know and understand with confidence that His justice, His righteousness, and His holiness will rule over all the earth in a place where love will be the Law.

Unrest, strife, murder and war are rampant in various parts of the world; disease is still ravaging lives; starvation exists even in our own decadent and wealthy country; Christians are in the media for sex scandals, sex addiction, financial greed and back-biting; politicians with a Messiah complex are promising new methods and new hope; and we have barely scratched the surface. These are merely a few issues about which we are aware.

Henri Nouwen astutely comments:

The world lies in the power of the evil one; there's nothing new about that. We don't have to get panicky about the fact that there is so much evil ... St John said that whilst in the world, we live with the mystery that the world is in the power of the evil one. That is why Satan says to Jesus, "You can have it all, it's mine anyhow." Jesus doesn't say, "That's not true." He says, "But I don't want it." So the point is how, in a world that is evil, do we create places that allow us to get a glimpse of God's goodness, of God's love?

St Peter writes: "Since all these things [all of life and the world] are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God?" (2 Pet. 3:11, 12 NRSV)  If we are to live in holiness then we will have to learn how to be in the world but not of it. (John 17:16; Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 2:12; 3:18, 19, 20) Those who are of the world care solely for the events of the world. We as followers and disciples of Jesus are called to be active in the world, in a redemptive sense (Matt. 5:13, 14, 15, 16), but not to be caught up in the affairs or politics or scandals of the world. God is constantly, through His Spirit, calling us away from the place of that world to a place of confident stillness in His presence.

I will never understand people, including professing Christians, who thrive on drama, gossip, and the latest scandal.  How could one's spirit feed on the wickedness, the depravity, and the rampant sin in the Church and in the world without breaking away from it in order to give thanks to God for His goodness, grace, and mercy; to adore and love on Him for extending that goodness, grace, and mercy to such wretched creatures as us; and to worship Him -- give Him honor and praise for His inherent worthiness -- as an act of pure devotion? If nutritionists are correct, and we are physically what we eat, then the same must be true spiritually: we become upon what we feed our hearts, minds, and souls.

Again, Nouwen writes:

I have a feeling that we need to turn everything upside down. We are always surprised by darkness. A certain darkness is brought about by evil. If you listen to the radio, or watch television every night, you see the news. You see that the world is in the power of the evil one. We keep telling people, "Look what happens, isn't it terrible? Isn't it awful? Isn't it incredible?" We keep being surprised by evil, but we should be surprised by goodness.

There is a quiet place of rest for your heart, your mind, and your soul in the stillness and presence of God. Rather than be shocked by evil we should be shocked by grace. Rather than be startled by sin we should be startled by God's righteousness. According to Nouwen, and I think he is correct, rather than be surprised by evil we should be surprised by goodness. Some suggest that they cannot believe in a good God because of all the evil in the world. Are they suggesting that if the world were full of goodness then they would be obliged to believe in God? Doubtful.

But there is a world where goodness, righteousness (rightness), and purity reigns supreme. That place is the very presence of God. One day soon God's world and our world will collide. "Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb [Jesus Christ] will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever." (Rev. 22:3, 4, 5) Everlasting goodness (rightness, righteousness) will be established forever (Dan. 9:24). God calls us to believe not in this world but in the world to come.

If you think you cannot believe in a good God because of the fallenness and brokenness, sin and evil of this world, keep in mind that God declared this world good before we brought about this calamity (Gen. 1:25, 31). Blaming God is quite the misplaced blame. We deserve the blame, not God, not the redeemer of this world Jesus Christ. Because of our stubborn disobedience, what should absolutely cause us immense wonder is not evil, but the goodness of God on our behalf. We can trust Him and we can thank Him and we can praise Him that we get to enjoy Him and His goodness in this fallen world before He brings about justice in the earth forever.


This post was written by William Birch.  You can find his blog here:  ​http://www.williambirch.net


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Do not fear the breaking

10/19/2015

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​For some people, myself included, being strong masks a fear of being broken. Because breaking down and weeping over a desperate situation appears weak, as though our inner integrity has been compromised, this exposes a horrible truth we do not care to admit: we are not in control of the universe. I learned recently that being broken is a normal spiritual discipline; and to shun the process only hinders my spiritual growth. We must allow God to break us so that he can refashion us into a vessel for His honor.

When Israel had grown hard and stubborn, much like the dried clay of a jar, God decided to break her. But He did so not out of His wrath, or disgust, but because He so very much cared about her well-being. Israel, like you and me, can become spoiled, if you will, in the hands of the Potter. But God does not smash into pieces the hardened clay. He reworks it into another vessel, as seems good to Him. (Jer. 18:4) But to do so He must bend and break and remold us -- uncomfortable means toward our restoration and well-being. Still, we cannot skip the process and expect to be made whole.

I fear that too many of us, myself included, shun being broken and yet expect to be more and more sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ. We forget that even Jesus Himself, even though He is the Son of God, learned obedience through what He suffered. (Heb. 5:8) If Jesus suffered being broken by the Spirit of God, in order to learn obedience to the Father, should we not expect the same? Moreover, since He is the Son of God, how much more brokenness should we expect to endure in order to become a pleasing vessel in the hands of God? What we fear as weakness, i.e., being broken, God views as strength.

In other words, learning how to be obedient through suffering the difficulty of being broken requires great inner strength, and viewing the same as weakness is actually wrong. What is weak is trying to be strong, trying to avoid being broken, because only when we realize and embrace our inherent weakness, when compared to God's sovereignty, can we then be strong. This is how life works in God's kingdom. The greatest is the servant, not the one served. The stalwarts are the humble, not the proud. The mourners are the comforted, not the exuberant. The weak are strengthened, not the strong.

Kingdom living is topsy turvy to our cultural norm. In this life, one has to exalt oneself in order to get noticed or advanced. In God's kingdom the genuinely lowly and humble are exalted. In this life, the perceived strong, brash and bold are looked to as role models. In God's kingdom, the gentle, simple and self-effacing are spiritual examples of godliness. But being humbled, being conformed, and being made holy is a process that is both painful and fearful -- painful, because the process chips away at our ego and self-reliance; fearful, for much the same reason, except that the fear also relates to the breaking away of life-habits with which we have become too familiar. We fear what life would be like without them.

Truth be told, this fear often keeps us from growing in Christlikeness, and so we try to be strong and convince ourselves that this strength pleases the Lord. But whatever inner strength is derived from ourselves, and not the Spirit of God, cannot be pleasing to Him. If Jesus Himself, the Son of God, allowed His own spirit to be broken by the Holy Spirit, we should expect nothing less than the same, but perhaps even more of the same. Do not fear the breaking. Shun the praise lavished upon you by others. You are not great: Jesus is great. Who shall inherit the future kingdom? The meek and humble, not the celebrity, the proud and the strong. Receive the humbling breaking of the Spirit of God as life itself.

This post was written by William Birch.  You can find his blog here:
 ​http://www.williambirch.net


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Sunday Meditation

10/18/2015

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Keeping Desire Subject to God​
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It is very important that our desires should be kept in entire subjection. If the providence of God reaches to all things, not excepting the numbering of the hairs of our heads, it is certain that a man never desires strongly without running the hazard, which is always a very great and responsible one, of exercising desire against the claims of God's providential order. We cannot keep in harmony with God, without having our desires in subjection to a higher desire or purpose, that of God himself.

Edited from Religious Maxims (1846) CXLII by Thomas Cogswell Upham.  His blog is managed by Craig L Adams and can be found here:   http://thomascupham.blogspot.com

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Christ in me

10/17/2015

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The more I learn about Jesus, the more I desire to know Him. Consequently, the more I get to know Him, the more I realize that there have been times that I have misunderstood Him. 

In my early Christian days, there was this unspoken fear that whatever I did would drag me down to Hell where I would burn forever. I was always looking over my shoulder, paranoid that Jesus was hiding behind the bushes, waiting to pounce whenever I veered from the righteous path.

Then, there were my college days. It was interesting to read the perspectives of philosophers and theologians. The words I read helped me to relax, and I began to look at my spiritual life in a more lenient manner. God was not out to get me. He loves me. His grace is abundant, so my disobedience doesn’t mark the end, but the possibility of a new beginning. Jesus looks at the big picture, right? True, but there was still so much lacking. My inner life turned into one that I cultivated when it was convenient for me to do so.

As I have grown older I have come to the conclusion that there have been times that I truly did not know Jesus for who He truly is. I knew about Him. I accurately understood His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love, but I never thought to analyze Christ in me. What fruit could Jesus produce in my heart if He took control? Complete control. Who is He in me? Well, I have thought about this and I attempted to put it into words. Not only who He is in me, but what this really means.

Christ in me is power to stand up to the temptation of the flesh.

Christ is me is the end of all excuses and a desire to follow.

Christ in me is the desire to see the world changed by being a small part of His kingdom come.

Christ in me is an abandonment of self.

Christ in me implies life only from embracing death.

Christ in me means becoming weary of all that grieves Him.

Christ in me is a yearning to be whole.

Christ in me is not a political stance but a life devoted to serve the world.

Christ in me is a desire to become less.

Christ in me is a desire to live out my purpose.

Christ in me is recognizing the reality and importance of His word, His fellowship, and His grace.

Christ in me means passionately loving my wife.

Christ in me means firmly, and compassionately loving my children.

Christ in me means becoming a rescue to the broken.

Christ in me means boldness.

Christ in me means a dissatisfaction with all that is unlike Him.

Christ in me is a deep longing for more than a religious label with no outward devotion.

In order to know Him more, I must allow Him to move in, destroy what once was, and replace everything.


This post was written by Rev DeCrastos.  You can find his blog here:  ​
http://other-words.net



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Playboy - no more nude women

10/16/2015

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In an interview with the New York Times, Playboy executives announced they will no longer feature naked women in their iconic magazine. Instead, they will showcase women in provocative poses and legitimize men's excuse of reading the magazine for the articles. Aiming for a target audience of millennials between the ages of 18 and 30-something, the new Playboy format will come into place in March 2016. 

Since December 1953, Playboy has been introducing adolescent boys and desensitizing men to scantily clad women. In the beginning, the competition was thin and their degradation of women was heavy. Now, they are being crowded out due to the ravenous appetite of a highly sexualized audience. 

According to Kassia Wosick, assistant professor of sociology at New Mexico State University, pornography is a $97 billion industry globally. $10 and $12 billion of that comes from the United States. 37 percent of the Internet is made up of pornographic material. Hollywood currently releases 11,000 adult movies per year, more than 20 times the mainstream movie production. And as of late, a personal sex tape going public is less of a shameful blunder and more of an introduction to fame and notoriety. 

General Hugh Hefner was a leader of a sexual revolution that stormed the bedrooms of America. Triumphing over social mores and defeating societal values, Hefner transformed private desires into a public hunger. Over the years, his following has satisfied by his leadership and his Playboy products; however, as of late they have been leaving wanting more. According to the Alliance for Audited Media, Playboy's circulation has dropped from 5.6 million in 1975 to about 800,000 now. 

John Biggs writes that Playboy could have gone one of two ways. They could either get cleaner or go harder, following after Penthouse and seizing audiences that flocked to 50 Shades of Grey. Playboy chose the former. "That battle has been fought and won," Playboy's Scott Flanders told the New York Times. "You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture."

The battles of the sexual revolution have been going on for years. Sex sells things, it completes individuals, and it solves every problem according to 50 Shades of Grey. Contrary to popular lore, the sexual revolution began back in the 1940s, well before the Woodstock movement in the late 1960s.America was rebounding from the Great Depression and her soldiers were returning from the war as back-to-back world champs. Statistics from the 1940–1960 U.S. Census reveal staggering levels of premarital pregnancy and single motherhood. 

Alan Petigny, a professor at the Univerity of Florida, found that "People didn't start having sex because Elvis Presley was shaking his hips or because Hugh Hefner came out with Playboy." He goes on to say, "After fifteen years of Depression and war, there was also a desire on the part of Americans to live in the moment and enjoy life, and they were accordingly less likely to defer to traditional restraints on their behavior."

While the sexual revolution was emphasized greatly through the media attention given to Woodstock, it was simply not talked about during the 40s and 50s. Social conventions and taboos continued to restrict discussion about it, though activity abounded. The announcement by Playboy may be one less source of pornographic material that degrades and dehumanizes women, but the revolution moves on. 

Playboy is a small part of the problem; it is not the whole problem. It is the blossoming of a petal that was rooted in a desire for intimacy. Boycotting magazines and praying for their demise does not solve the problem. Such behavior may only heighten the problem by not fully addressing it and giving a false sense of victory. The fact that Playboy is making this move reveals more about our moral climate than about their business plan.   

No longer satisfied with the products of Playboy, audiences are going elsewhere to gratify their yearnings. This is a part of the human experience, seeking after that which we love. Augustine of Hippo wrote in his seminal work Confessions: "My weight is my love, and by it I am carried wheresoever I am carried." 

The numbers do not lie. Many have fallen in love with themselves and gratify their selfish and sexual longings by using other people's children to satisfy their appetite, may that be through pornography or prostitution. Using people, they gratify themselves. And in turn, they create markets whereby daughters and sons are taken and sold as property. This is because sexual longings are a voracious appetite, never content and always wanting more (i.e. Playboy's demise and the proliferation of pornographic material). Instead of using their gifts to love others, they have loved themselves by using others. 

But for the Christian, the weight of our love will carry us as well. Jesus serves as our example in that we deny ourselves in order to bless and give to others. This love is primarily focused on God and manifested in acts towards others. 

As Shakespeare said, love is the smoke raised with the fume of our sighs. Those are not sighs of judgment, but rather sighs of trying to catch our breath due to multiple acts of love. Kindness leads to repentance, not judgment. These addicted individuals are often isolated and broken. Thus they are in need of a love that binds the broken and draws near to the lonely. 

As Shakespeare so eloquently quipped in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Though the path may not be smooth, it is always worth it. Love well.

This post was written by Nick Pitts.  You can find his post here:  
http://www.denisonforum.org/america/2009-playboy-bunnies-are-getting-clothes

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The white guy in "that" photo

10/15/2015

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Sometimes photographs deceive. Take this one, for example. It represents John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s rebellious gesture the day they won medals for the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and it certainly deceived me for a long time.

I always saw the photo as a powerful image of two barefoot black men, with their heads bowed, their black-gloved fists in the air while the US National Anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” played. It was a strong symbolic gesture – taking a stand for African American civil rights in a year of tragedies that included the death of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

It’s a historic photo of two men of color. For this reason I never really paid attention to the other man, white, like me, motionless on the second step of the medal podium. I considered him as a random presence, an extra in Carlos and Smith’s moment, or a kind of intruder. Actually, I even thought that that guy – who seemed to be just a simpering Englishman – represented, in his icy immobility, the will to resist the change that Smith and Carlos were invoking in their silent protest. But I was wrong.

Thanks to an old article by Gianni Mura, today I discovered the truth: that white man in the photo is, perhaps, the third hero of that night in 1968. His name was Peter Norman, he was an Australian that arrived in the 200 meters finals after having ran an amazing 20.22 in the semi finals. Only the two Americans, Tommie “The Jet” Smith and John Carlos had done better: 20.14 and 20.12, respectively.

It seemed as if the victory would be decided between the two Americans. Norman was an unknown sprinter, who seemed to just be having a good couple of heats. John Carlos, years later, said that he was asked what happened to the small white guy – standing at 5’6”tall, and running as fast as him and Smith, both taller than 6’2”.

The time for the finals arrives, and the outsider Peter Norman runs the race of a lifetime, improving on his time yet again. He finishes the race at 20.06, his best performance ever, an Australian record that still stands today, 47 years later.

But that record wasn’t enough, because Tommie Smith was really “The Jet,” and he responded to Norman’s Australian record with a world record. In short, it was a great race.

Yet that race will never be as memorable as what followed at the award ceremony.
It didn’t take long after the race to realize that something big, unprecedented, was about to take place on the medal podium. Smith and Carlos decided they wanted to show the entire world what their fight for human rights looked like, and word spread among the athletes.
Norman was a white man from Australia, a country that had strict apartheid laws, almost as strict as South Africa. There was tension and protests in the streets of Australia following heavy restrictions on non-white immigration and discriminatory laws against aboriginal people, some of which consisted of forced adoptions of native children to white families.

The two Americans had asked Norman if he believed in human rights. Norman said he did. They asked him if he believed in God, and he, who had been in the Salvation Army, said he believed strongly in God. “We knew that what we were going to do was far greater than any athletic feat, and he said “I’ll stand with you” – remembers John Carlos – “I expected to see fear in Norman’s eyes, but instead we saw love.”

Smith and Carlos had decided to get up on the stadium wearing the Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, a movement of athletes in support of the battle for equality.
They would receive their medals barefoot, representing the poverty facing people of color. They would wear the famous black gloves, a symbol of the Black Panthers’ cause. But before going up on the podium they realized they only had one pair of black gloves. “Take one each”, Norman suggested. Smith and Carlos took his advice.
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But then Norman did something else. “I believe in what you believe. Do you have another one of those for me ?” he asked pointing to the Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on the others’ chests. “That way I can show my support in your cause.” Smith admitted to being astonished, ruminating: “Who is this white Australian guy? He won his silver medal, can’t he just take it and that be enough!”.

Smith responded that he didn’t, also because he would not be denied his badge. There happened to be a white American rower with them, Paul Hoffman, an activist with the Olympic Project for Human Rights. After hearing everything he thought “if a white Australian is going to ask me for an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, then by God he would have one!” Hoffman didn’t hesitate: “I gave him the only one I had: mine”.The three went out on the field and got up on the podium: the rest is history, preserved in the power of the photo. “I couldn’t see what was happening,” Norman recounts, “[but] I had known they had gone through with their plans when a voice in the crowd sang the American anthem but then faded to nothing. The stadium went quiet.”

This post was written by Richard Gazzaniga.  You can find his post here:  
http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-white-man-in-that-photo/

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7 signs you are a phony Christian

10/14/2015

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Here are 7 signs you are a phony Christian.

1.) YOU FEEL MORE GUILTY FOR MISSING CHURCH THAN HURTING YOUR NEIGHBOR.I grew up in a culture where church attendance was the ultimate mark of righteousness. Under no circumstances did you miss worship on Sunday or class on Wednesday. A Christian who had “gone astray” was someone who hadn’t been to the church building in a month.

Intentionally or not, I was led to believe my presence at a building was more important than my actions towards other people. So most weeks I would walk into my church building, worship God, interact in class discussion, then go home. In the meantime, I disrespected teachers at school, gossipped about friends and classmates, and used women for my selfish desires.

If you value church attendance more than loving people, you don’t understand Jesus. The two greatest commands, love God and love your neighbor, are relational. Jesus even says the entire law is summed up by these two commands.

Here’s the deal. It’s entirely possible to be a perfect church attendee and a long ways from God. On the flip side, it’s also entirely possible to be a sporadic church attendee and have an intimate relationship with God.

It’s time to drop this false idea that God values attendance more than people.



2.) YOU BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN JESUS.For much of my life, I placed more trust in the Bible than in Jesus for eternal life. It was more important that I knew the five steps to salvation than the source of salvation. I could sing the 66 books of the Bible. I knew the VBS stories.

If you’re like me and know more about Scripture than living like Jesus, here’s a strong word for you courtesy of the son of God himself.

You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.John 5:39-40The Bible is NOT more important than Jesus. Oh, you can recite the books of the Bible using an annoying song? You memorized the book of James? That’s great. The Pharisees memorized the first five books of the Old Testament and Jesus told them their knowledge was useless.

Why?

They memorized Scripture, thinking their knowledge made them righteousness. Instead, their knowledge inflated their egos and blinded them from the Savior.

The whole point of the Bible is Jesus. Go ahead, have your morning meditations. That’s great. Memorize Scripture. Good for you. But those things don’t give you brownie points with God.

Instead, answer these questions. 

Does the Bible increase your love of God and intimacy with Jesus? 

Are you confident in your salvation because you know Scripture or because you know the one Scripture points to? 

Remember, the first-century Christians, especially Gentile Christians, had no Bible. They had no background about Jesus. They just heard a message of redemption, believed that message, and lived in community with others who accepted it.



3.) YOU WONDER HOW CLOSE YOU CAN GET TO SIN WITHOUT ACTUALLY SINNING. Few questions upset and sadden me more than this one. “Frank, is _______ a sin?” Just fill in the blank. Spending the night with your boyfriend/girlfriend. Getting a buzz. Watching a movie glorifying sex and worldliness. As a church leader, I am asked these questions quite often.

I refuse to answer them.

Here’s why. I can’t, in good conscience, answer a question that feeds your desire to flirt with sin. Most likely, if you’re asking this question, you need to check your heart. I know because I used to ask those questions.


Why would you see how close you can get to sin rather than how close you can get to God? How crazy does that sound?



4.) YOU BELIEVE IT’S OKAY TO HOLD A GRUDGE AGAINST SOMEONE IF HE OR SHE HURTS YOU BAD ENOUGH.I’m not sure where the line is drawn, but at some point, counterfeit Christians believe it’s acceptable to refuse forgiveness. Maybe that line is murder, rape, or your best friend sleeping with your spouse. I’m not real sure, but there are certain unforgivable sins.

I’m not trying to minimize the pain you experienced. I’m trying to elevate the example Christ provided. On the cross, after mere men nailed the son of God to wooden beams and mocked him, Jesus looked up and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

If God can forgive men for mocking him, you can forgive anyone for the pain they caused you. Is this easy? No. But you can’t claim to follow Jesus and refuse to forgive.



5.) YOU BELIEVE REAL CHRISTIANS WOULD NEVER ENGAGE REAL SINNERS. Several years ago, I was talking with a minister about a church in Nashville that was meeting in a bar. This church was baptizing former alcoholics and drug addicts. God was really working.

But not according to this church leader. His response? “Frank, do you really think God is okay with people worshipping him in a bar with alcohol and drunks? Surely you don’t think that?!”

You see, counterfeit Christians don’t think it’s acceptable to associate with real sinners and remain a real Christian.

Jesus, however, would have a thing or two to say about this. Repeatedly, Jesus associated with tax collectors, talked to prostitutes, and touched sick people. In Jewish culture, touching sick people made you ceremonially unclean. That was bad. But Jesus didn’t seem to care.

Why is this? Jesus was more concerned with healing people, both physically and spiritually, than maintaining a solid reputation with church folks. Call me crazy, but I think if Jesus were here today, he would spend more time in bars with homeless and drunks than in church buildings.

This whole point centers around your understanding of holiness. In the Old Testament, holiness equated to separation. The Israelites couldn’t marry people from other nations. They couldn’t form alliances with them. They were called to be separate. 

When Jesus came, he changed the idea of holiness. It no longer meant separation from, but engage with.


The holiest, most godly Christians are the ones who engage others with the goal of healing and restoring them.



6.) YOU BELIEVE GOD RESTS IN A BUILDING, NOT IN A GROUP OF PEOPLE.Until the death of Jesus, the temple was the place where the Israelites encountered God. The temple was everything. No one dared to speak a word against the temple. And only a handful of appointed people could enter it.


After Jesus’s death, God’s presence left the temple and entered his people. But don’t tell this to counterfeit Christians. Like the Israelites, they view their church building as a sacred place. Actions change. A certain type of behavior is expected.

Counterfeit Christians use their Sunday commute to talk with their homeboys or girlfriends about the hot guy or girl they slept with the night before. But as soon as they turn into the church parking lot, those conversations cease, and it’s all about God.

Counterfeit Christians spend the entire week sacrificing their family on the altar of work. But as soon as they enter the church building, they grab their spouse’s hand, put their arm around their children, and wear a smile as big as their bank account.

Counterfeit Christians might serve as a deacon at church, but they spend Saturday nights getting thrown out of their kid’s t-ball game, trash talking every umpire and fan who thought little Tommy was out at first. Who cares if little Tommy is still learning not to pee in his underwear? He was safe at first.

It’s time for Christians to stop saying the church is not a building and actually start living that way. Physical locations aren’t sacred. When you arrive at work, you are a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Treat your employees like Christ. Handle conflict with your peers like Christ. When you travel to the ballfield, you’re a temple for the Holy Spirit. Treat the umpires, coaches, and fans with the love of Christ.

You’re a mobile temple. Allow God’s power to work in you, regardless of where you go.
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7.) YOU THINK CHRISTIAN MATURITY IS MORE ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU KNOW THAN WHAT YOU DO.The night before Jesus was crucified, he gathered with his twelve disciples to enjoy one final meal. Not long after dinner, Jesus grabbed a basin, a towel, and started washing his disciples’ feet. Unless you understand Jewish culture, you miss the scandalous nature of what’s going on here. Footwashing was a dirty job reserved for slaves. Jesus, in essence, made himself lower than the lowest person in society.

Now, catch this.

Jesus didn’t get out a chalkboard and summarize his teachings. He didn’t quiz his disciples. He didn’t say anything. Instead, he humbled himself. In this moment, you see the summation of Jesus’s ministry. Every sermon. Every healing. Every conversation. Everything is summed up with this…wash one another’s feet. Become a servant.

If you want to point the world to Jesus, stop talking about your theology. Stop telling the world how much you know. Get on your knees and start serving.

There’s a trendy message, even in Christian circles, that challenges people to “Rise up!” If you’re a follower of Jesus, that’s a faulty message. Christianity isn’t about rising up. It’s about falling down. In God’s kingdom, the more power you have, the more feet you wash.

Be very careful about people who love to talk but hate to serve. The most spiritually mature Christians aren’t always the most eloquent or wise. Those most like Jesus are the ones who grab a towel and place the needs of others above their own.

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Everything goes back to this: love God and love your neighbor. The question Christians must wrestle with is, “Do I actually believe it’s that simple?” In a culture where denominations argue over the correct way to baptize someone, grasping the Jesus life can seem like an impossible task.

But it’s not.

The Jesus life is about loving God with all of your heart, mind, and strength, and it’s about transferring God’s love onto every person you encounter. Counterfeit Christians don’t get this. Don’t get caught up in the endless interpretations about doctrines. Get caught up in the love of Jesus.

This post was written by Frank Powell.  For his original post, go to:  
http://frankpowell.me/signs-counterfeit-christian


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Christians martyred here

10/13/2015

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A female student whose life was spared when she played dead after being shot in the back Thursday during the Umpqua Community College massacre says that she heard the gunman’s words targeting Christians as he carried out his assault.

Stacy Boylan, the father of Anastasia Boylan, who was struck in the back and is being treated at a local hospital, relayed the story to reporters on Friday.

“From what I understood, what she said is he shot the professor point blank—one shot, killed him,” he recalled. “Others were injured.”

Boylan said that the gunman, who is identified as 26-year-old Christopher Harper Mercer, then declared, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time” and let out a laugh that “was not human.”

Mercer then ordered students on the ground and began asking each student if they were a Christian.

“This man had enough time—I don’t know how much time elapsed before he was able to stand there and start asking people one by one what their religion was,” Boylan explained. “‘Are you a Christian?’ he would ask them. ‘And if you’re a Christian, stand up.'”

“And they would stand up, and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,'” he continued. “And then he shot and killed them. And he kept going down the line doing this to people.”

Boylan said that his daughter played dead as she lay injured in order to save her life. He states that the gunman ordered her to stand, but she refused to move, and so he asked a student next to her whether Boylan was dead or alive. The student replied that they didn’t know, and Mercer moved on.

Boylan said that his daughter feared that Mercer might see the cross tattoo on her neck.

She was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery to remove a bullet near her spine.

According to reports, Mercer left a note behind stating that he felt the world was against him. He lamented the course of his life, but remarked that he would be “welcomed in Hell and embraced by the devil.”

One unnamed source told People Magazine that Mercer was interested in Satanism and had a manifesto to “serve darkness.”

“The guy did this strictly for satanic purposes,” they stated. “He did it to become a god in hell. He wants to be evil. That is his goal, to serve Satan.”

This post is from Christian News.  You can find the original post here:  
http://christiannews.net/2015/10/03/student-who-played-dead-in-oregon-college-shooting-heard-gunmans-words-to-christians/





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Christians martyred "over there"

10/12/2015

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Ten Christian missionaries and a 12-year-old boy lost their lives in August after they were executed by the barbaric Islamic group ISIS because they refused to deny Christ.

Christian Aid Mission (CAM) reports that on Aug. 7th, the indigenous missionaries were captured near Aleppo, Syria after rejecting advice by their ministry director to leave  the area due to violence. The men chose to stay to share the gospel with those suffering from the ISIS insurgency.

“Every time we talked to them, they were always saying, ‘We want to stay here. This is what God has told us to do. This is what we want to do,'” the unidentified director told CAM. “They just wanted to stay and share the gospel.”

The director later learned of the plight of missionaries from relatives who had been in hiding. He states that on Aug. 28, two of the men were pressured to renounce Christ and return to Islam. They refused.

“In front of the team leader and relatives in the crowd, the Islamic extremists cut off the fingertips of the boy and severely beat him, telling his father they would stop the torture only if he, the father, returned to Islam,” the ministry reports. “When the team leader refused, relatives said, the ISIS militants also tortured and beat him and the two other ministry workers. The three men and the boy then met their deaths in crucifixion.”

The men and boy were left hanging on the crosses for two days with signs hanging overhead that read “Infidels.”

The same day, eight others were brought out before a crowd of witnesses and also asked if they would renounce Christianity. When they explained that they were there to share God’s love with the people, two women missionaries were raped publicly.

All eight were then beheaded.

“Villagers said some were praying in the name of Jesus, others said some were praying the Lord’s prayer, and others said some of them lifted their heads to commend their spirits to Jesus,” the ministry director relayed to CAM. “One of the women looked up and seemed to be almost smiling as she said, ‘Jesus!'”

Their headless bodies were hung on crosses.

As previously reported, ISIS has targeted those who profess Christ, executing 30 Ethiopian “followers of the cross” in April.

“You will not have safety, even in your dreams, until you accept Islam,” the fighter, who resembles “Jihadi John,” threatened. “Our battle is a battle between faith and blasphemy, between truth and falsehood.”

In February, 21 Egyptians were also marched to their death and beheaded.

“All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together,” the ISIS fighter declared. “The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama Bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”

This post is from Christian News.  You can find the original post here:
 http://christiannews.net/2015/10/06/christian-missionaries-crucified-by-isis-after-refusing-to-deny-christ/





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Sunday Meditation

10/11/2015

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The Trials of the Sanctified Life
It is perhaps a common opinion, that those, who are greatly advanced in religion, and have experienced what may properly be regarded as the grace of present sanctification, are not very much tried and afflicted. They are supposed to possess not only an inheritance of constant peace, but of much joy.

That a truly sanctified person is never in darkness, in one sense of the term, viz. condemnatory darkness; in other words, that he never loses the grace of a confiding trust in God and of solid internal peace, which his Savior has given to him as his inheritance, is undoubtedly true. If there ever be an exception, as for instance when the mental powers are depressed and darkened by the pressure of some physical disease, yet such exceptions are, probably, few in number, are explainable on principles peculiar to themselves, and are not to be regarded as essentially affecting the general doctrine.

But although those, who are wholly devoted to God, may be said always to have a solid and permanent peace, it is not true, that they are exempt from heavy afflictions both external and internal. On the contrary, there is some reason to believe, that those, who love most, will suffer most; that those, who are the strongest in the Lord, will have the heaviest burden to bear. "In the world," says the Savior, "ye shall have tribulation." "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ," says the Apostle in his Epistle to the Philippians, "not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." 

It  is important to understand this, to know that it is our lot and our privilege to be partakers of Christ's sufferings, so that those, who enter into the way of holy living, which is just what it is described to be, viz. a narrow way, may not be discouraged and overcome in the season of heavy trial. Satan will say to them at such times, Where now is your God? And it is exceedingly desirable, that they should know how to answer him.

Edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (1844) Part 2, Chapter 12 
by Thomas Cogswell Upham.  His blog is managed by Craig L Adams and can be found here:   http://thomascupham.blogspot.com



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