Love Is Marching

Some girls choose to live a quiet life in the shadows, blending into the background. Others spend their entire lives grappling for the limelight, desperate for both independence and acceptance simultaneously.

Very few choose the path that these three sisters are traveling on. The Barlow sisters have helped to blaze a trail in Christian music by not producing ‘inspirational’ lyrics that get lost in really cool guitar riffs and drum solos. But they have started a bonfire in this genre by drawing people in with their amazing talents; and instead of lulling their audiences to spiritual sleep with what our ‘itching ears’ want to hear, they sound the alarm with a call to war in love. Their lyrics speak truth and love to the heart of the wavering Christian, and resonate in the souls of the unregenerate. Their music flows beautifully through the media’s sound waves, giving them platforms for sharing the Gospel. Their lives touch so many through their testimonies of perseverance, purity, and confidence in their heavenly Father.

Rarely does one see such beautiful girls (inside and out) in the public eye stand faithfully at the foot of the Cross over the years. I’ve followed BarlowGirl for the past several years, and have been encouraged that their main ‘inspirational message’ is directed at young girls, challenging them to fall in love with the Saviour, instead of chasing after the lusts of this world.

So what are you doing with your life? Are you simply living day to day, chasing the momentary pleasures that this world offers as lifetime satisfaction? Or are you living to “Carpe diem”? Seize the day! Make every moment count…not for yourself, but for the One who created you. If you’re a Christian, take risks! Don’t just sit back and expect ‘opportunities’ to come to you. Go out and seize those opportunities!

If you sense the Holy Spirit prompting you to strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you at school, on the bus, in line…go for it!

If you have a passion for sharing the gospel in your local community, be the one to stand up and form groups and prayer meetings!

If you have something on your heart that you want to take a stand for, such as being a voice for the unborn, do it!

If you have a desire to spread the gospel to the unreached parts of this earth, do what you can to get on a mission trip to a foreign country!

Any and all of these can bring glory to the Father. Do not reach the end of your life and only then realize that you’ve wasted it! Seek the Lord on what He would have you, His laborer in the field, do. Then go out and do it! J

Come As Little Children

A friend/pastor of mine recently used this illustration by Charles Spurgeon in a message he gave. Spurgeon helps us take a different look at the story of the prodigal son, and it so affected me that I wanted to share it with the rest of the world. ;)

This poor young man, in his hungry, faint, and wretched state, having come a very long way, had not much heart in him. His hunger had taken all energy out of him, and he was so conscious of his guilt that he had hardly the courage to face his father; so his father gives him a kiss, as much as to say, "Come, boy, do not be cast down; I love you."

"Oh, the past, the past, my father!" he might moan, as he thought of his wasted years; but he had no sooner said that than he received another kiss, as if his father said, "Never mind the past; I have forgotten all about that." This is the Lord's way with His saved ones. Their past lies hidden under the blood of atonement. The Lord saith by His servant Jeremiah, "the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve."

But then, perhaps, the young man looked down on his foul garments, and said, "The present, my father, the present, what a dreadful state I am in!" And with another kiss would come the answer, "Never mind the present, my boy. I am content to have thee as thou art. I love thee." This, too, is God's word to those who are "accepted in the Beloved". In spite of all their vileness, they are pure and spotless in Christ, and God says of each one of them, "Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore, though in thyself thou art unworthy, through My dear Son thou art welcome to My home."

"Oh, but," the boy might have said, "the future, my father, the future! What would you think if I should ever go astray again?" Then would come another holy kiss, and his father would say, "I will see to the future, my boy; I will make home so bright for you that you will never want to go away again."

Whatever there was to trouble the son, the father gave him a kiss to set it all right; and, in like manner, our God has a love-token for every time of doubt and dismay which may come to His reconciled sons. Perhaps one whom I am addressing says, "Even though I confess my sin, and seek God's mercy, I shall still be in sore trouble, for through my sin, I have brought myself down to poverty."

"But I have even brought disease upon myself by sin," says another. "There is a kiss for you, for I am Jehovah-Rophi, the Lord that healeth thee, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thine diseases."

"But I am dreadfully down at the heel," says another. The Lord gives you also a kiss, and says, "I will lift you up, and provide for all your needs. No good thing will I withhold from them that walk uprightly." All the promises in this Book belong to every repentant sinner, who returns to God believing in Jesus Christ, His Son.

The father of the prodigal kissed his son much, and thus made him feel happy there and then. Poor souls, when they come to Christ, are in a dreadful plight, and some of them hardly know where they are. I have heard them talk a lot of nonsense in their despair, and say hard and wicked things of God in their dreadful doubt. The Lord gives no answer to all that, except a kiss, and then another kiss. Nothing puts the penitent so much at rest as the Lord's repeated assurance of His unchanging love. Such a one the Lord has often received, "and kissed him much," that He might fetch him up even from the horrible pit, and set his feet upon a rock, and establish his goings."

Are You Going To Next?

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, the NEXT conference is led by Joshua Harris, the senior pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD.

This weekend is designed to be "an even more focused way of helping see the gospel transferred and received faithfully" from a group of pastors to the next generation. The teaching received at this conference is invaluable; and the fellowship, relationships, and ministry received is equally precious.

Registration ends May 16th!

The Dearest Place on Earth

I want to share with you a radical change of heart that has taken place in my life in the past few months.

Since the beginning of this year, my local church has been going through some really tough changes on the heels of a tumultuous, challenging season. I've never experienced the emotions, good and bad, towards my church family that I have in the past few months. I've been confused, anxious, and scared...all of which are evidences of my LACK of trust in God's sovereign plan over my life. Sadly, I chose to first distance myself from my Savior instead of first crying out to Him for faith and direction. I caused myself hours of needless worry and anxiety...not because I now realize I can put my full trust in the leaders at my church, because I can't. They are sinners saved by grace, just like me. But the anxiety and worry was needless because I CAN and should put my full trust in the sovereign God of the universe...the One who has full authority over my life, over the life of the church, and over its' leaders.

I feel like God suddenly lifted the veil from my eyes to see my OWN self-righteousness in how i was responding to these past few months. What He's revealed to me, is this: if I believe God called me to this local church, and the Church is the Bride of Christ, then why would I not treat the bride of Christ as I would my own earthly spouse? If my spouse, whom I made a covenant to stick with 'for better or WORSE', has sinned against me but is now showing signs of repentance and humility, who am I to cast judgment on them and say they don't DESERVE my forgiveness and then walk away from that covenant? If we as Christians firmly believe that a husband should not leave his wife even if she sinned against him, but that he should stand by her side and lead her to genuine repentance...why would we not take on the same attitude within the Church? Yes, a pastor has more spiritual responsibility weighing on his conscience because God has anointed him to shepherd a flock, but that pastor is STILL just a man. So for me to not forgive, or to pass judgment, or to 'flee when things get hard' is to ultimately say (I believe) that God's grace is sufficient for MY sins, but not for my pastor's. God opened my eyes to see that I was headed down a road where I was quickly allowing my heart to be governed by pride and my own judgments, rather than be governed and led by the Gospel. Praise be to God that He stopped me in my tracks!

I want to thank the pastors at my local church for how, though they are still sinners, they continue to pursue humility no matter how difficult things become.

In looking for some form of encouragement, I came across Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening for today. =)

The King's Highway

The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. (Isaiah 35:8)

The way of holiness is so straight and plain that the simplest minds cannot go astray if they constantly follow it. The worldly wise have many twists and turns, and yet they make terrible blunders and generally miss their end. Worldly policy is a poor, shortsighted thing, and when men choose it as their road, it leads them over dark mountains. Gracious minds know no better than to do as the Lord bids them; but this keeps them in the King's highway and under royal protection.

Let the reader never for a moment attempt to help himself out of a difficulty by a falsehood or by a questionable act; but let him keep in the middle of the high road of truth and integrity, and he will be following the best possible course. In our lives we must never practice circular sailing nor dream of shuffling. Be just and fear not, Follow Jesus and heed no evil consequences. If the worst of ills could be avoided by wrongdoing, we should, in the very attempt, have fallen into an evil worse than any other ill could be. God's way must be the very best way. Follow it though men think you a fool, and you will be truly wise.

Lord, lead Thy servants in a plain path because of their enemies.

Christianity? Or American Religion?

In seeing some disturbing online headlines on a couple of well-known televangelists, I started clicking on a couple of different links to see what different newspapers and intellectuals had to say about televangelism in general. I found this review by Gerard Reed on the below mentioned book (bold print is my emphasis):
“Most of us know, if only on a tacit level, that television has transformed our world's cultural landscape. Yet few of us seriously probe its workings and implications for the church as well as for the broader society. Quentin J. Schultze, in Televangelism and American Culture: the Business of Popular Religion helps us do so. One of the authors of Dancing in the Dark, Schultze teaches communications at Calvin College and is a highly regarded scholar who's devoted much care to the study of television. He not only watches the programs, he studies the flood of solicitations sent to those who respond to the televangelists' appeals. What concerns Schultze is "how and why televangelists are helping to transform American Christianity from a church into a business, from a historic faith into a popular religion based at least in part on superstition". Still more, he argues that "televangelism is probably the most characteristic and remunerative expression of American religion. It is the nation's own religion, a special Protestant hybrid raised in American culture and nurtured by the mass media. Televangelism may even be the flagship of American religion, setting the style and tone of local and denominational life". TV "ministries" almost always share certain traits. They are "audience-supported" --since funds come from viewers' contributions the ministries must cultivate and maintain a loyal audience, so the message is tailored to please those who watch. You can easily shift channels. You write checks only when you're happy with the presentation. Keeping the audience happy, maintaining its allegiance becomes a preeminent concern. They are "personality-led"--we want "stars" and "celebrities" in religion as much as in athletics and films, so successful TV preachers and singers must be attractive personalities. It helps if they're good looking. (Knowing I planned to visit Lloyd John Ogilve's church in Hollywood, a lady who works with my wife asked me to see if he's really as handsome as he looks on TV. Well, I've seen him . . . and he is!) They are "experientially-validated"--few doctrines or historical traditions receive much attention, but practical, how-to-do-it-and-enjoy-it messages abound. The audience, of course, likely includes folks from a variety of theological persuasions, so you must not risk alienating any of them. Even moral stances may be muted. (One study found a direct correlation between TV viewing and knowledge of the 10 Commandments--the more religious TV watched, the fewer of the commandments were known!)
"Technologically sophisticated," TV ministries rival the best, state-of-the-art equipment and production techniques of their secular counterparts. They are "entertainment-oriented"--to keep folks' attention you must use variety show or talk show formats and imitate the Johnny Carsons who score with the American public. Not many Lloyd John Ogilve type church services last long on TV. Finally, they are "expansionary-minded"--the "success" of the ministry is judged by the number of viewers and size of their offerings. Were the above characteristics restricted to TV ministries, they might not overly concern us. But a serious problem appears when the people who watch TV programs come to the local church--and most all the folks who watch televangelists also attend local churches--and expect TV-style religion! Early critics of TV ministries feared they would tempt people to stay away from church, but that's not happened. What has happened is perhaps worse: TV addicts crave similar "fixes" in their weekly worship services! (Even more problematic in my mind, though Schultze doesn't focus on it: those who never watch religious TV watch incredible hours of regular TV, and their whole attitude toward life, their basic taste in communication, has been thoroughly shaped by the medium.)
So we want messages and programs that please us--if not, we scoot down the road in search of a church which "ministers to us," unconcerned with denominational or community ties. We demand that our singers and preachers be alluring personalities, as polished and winsome as Robert Schuller or as old-fashioned and fiery as Jerry Fallwell. We really want to be free of dogma and denominational distinctives--after all, it's what we feel in our hearts, what enables us to cope with family problems, what provides therapeutic advice illuminating our psychological ills, which most matters. TV ministries, and TV in general, breed "Christians" who have little concern with what the Christian faith has historically considered central. Americans have always demanded up-to-date technology, and Evangelicals, while often resisting intellectually "modern" trends, have embraced technically "modern" developments with reckless abandon. (I'm always amazed by the sound systems in churches which serve 50 people! Without a microphone, it seems, no message amounts to much!). We've refused to see "modernity" as a whole, as something you cannot easily pick and choose purely wholesome dividends. We really want our church services to be entertaining. We insist our congregational plans be growth-oriented--woe to the pastor who doubts the need for a new gym of "family worship center"!
After brooding about such developments, Schultze says we must discern the "demonic" in the medium. Quoting William Stringfellow, Schultze declares that "televangelism exists in a 'state of alienation from God, cut off from the life originating in his life, separated from its own true life and, thus, being in a state of death'". Nevertheless, Schultze insists TV will not go away, nor will Televangelism. What we need to discover, he suggests in the book's final chapter, are ways to redeem it. He thinks televangelists should be more accountable to governing bodies. He urges churches to focus more study on the medium, helping believers see how they are manipulated and thus prepare them to more wisely cope with it.
I'm not sure Schultze's recommendations will solve the problems, but his treatise certainly helps me think about how powerfully TV dominates our culture, even our religious culture, and stimulates us to consider ways to correct or counteract its influence.”
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I’m not familiar with Reed’s background, but I find his analysis of televangelism and my limited personal views of televangelism to be extremely similar. While I believe that men like Billy Graham revolutionized televangelism and spread the Gospel to numerous unreached cities across the world, it’s sad to see Graham’s work ‘overshadowed’ (in a sense) by more cutting-edge, charismatic men who appeal to the “itching ears” of America.
Don’t get me wrong- I certainly believe that God can use the prideful attempts of money-hungry men to further the Gospel, which only displays the greatness of His power; but the materialistic empires that are being built in “the name of God” are sickening to me. In my opinion, if your “messages” stray so far from the truth in Scriptures from the very beginning of your “ministry”…you weren’t ‘in the biz’ to see lost souls come to Christ.
The Christian life is not about living happily on this earth with as many comforts and pleasures as we can grab for ourselves. Jesus didn’t live a ‘comfortable’ life…why should we? =) As gloomy as that may sound, the ‘discomfort’ of the Christian life does not come without promise of future happiness! Scripture says that we, as Christians, WILL experience pain and trials in this life; but we are instructed by God to rejoice in our own sufferings and trials because we have the glorious promise of what’s to come.
We were not called to live overabundant lives…hoarding money for ourselves, taking advantages of our ‘weaker brothers’. We were not called to share ‘messages’ without substance or conviction.
Christians are called to “go forth and preach the gospel into all the nations” (including our own communities) and to live in contentment, happy with the resources God has given us. In an article by Robert D. Jones, we’re shown what contentment looks like as described by Paul in Philippians 4:11-13. Jones writes, “contentment does not depend on our circumstances…our spiritual happiness does not depend on our life happenings. Contentment can occur in even the worst situation.” So why do these televangelists insist on pushing the ‘prosperity message’? Could it be because they lack conviction and substance in their own lives?

Visit this website to decide for yourself whether some televangelists really do preach the Gospel message...or the prosperity message.
The following link will take you to a radio broadcast by Todd Friel on The Way of The Master: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SuZoHYUZ7o&feature=related and Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYFKFdxdGPw&NR=1 where Friel addresses Osteen’s most recent published work (A Better You). Notice also, Osteen’s ‘message’ drops in confidence from when he’s on stage giving his ‘messages’ (mucho confidence onstage), to whenever he’s being interviewed (where there’s a lot of “I think…I don’t know…I don’t like to judge…I don’t like to beat people down”). I’m not all about 'bashing' people, but when you're claiming to be a Christian preacher, and you have a following as big as Osteen, I can't help but feel the need to reveal him as the false prophet that he is.

In my opinion, Joel Osteen has become the Pied Piper of American religion and people need to hear the Gospel truth on a consistent/weekly basis…not just a motivational pep-talk.