Bunny Christians

I read Mike Cope's blog regarding to what I am going to call, "Bunny Christians", aka "Church Hoppers":

It's not necessarily wrong to switch churches. There are several good reasons someone might decide they need to do so. But I'm through catering to church-hoppers. These are the religious consumers who:

1. Hop from place-to-place, seeking the congregation that best serves THEM.
2. Worship like they like it.
3. Change only when they approve.
4. Children's ministry the way they think it should be done. Ditto with youth ministry.
5. A class or small group where they are the center of attention.

God bless the Church-hoppers, for theirs is the eternal quest of self-fulfillment.

Here's my growing conviction:
1. Let's live missional lives--lives poured out for the world.
2. Let's seep and leak into the crevices of society; let's offer our lives for God's purposes of mercy and justice; let's be poured out like wine upon the altar.

If people aren't happy with that, let's love them and bless them as they leapfrog to another place. But let's not get off task in order to keep them. It isn't the way of Christ. All things in love. But the mission of Christ must guide us.

...connects with those outside the faith by, well, connecting with those outside of the community in their world. Connecting happens not in a 'come to us' CHURCH service, but through 'go and dwell' church SERVICE, i.e. service in the community -- living alternative lives.

Wow. How many churches can say that something other than the Sunday morning service is the major connecting point in their fellowship? Probably very few. But Bolger's assertions are not unlike the description of the church in Acts, where a once-a-week "service" was not at all central to the life of the community:

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.

Is the church of Christ a cult?

LONG READ!!

Since starting working with the Fairfax Church of Christ, I have been asked over and over whether or not, the churches of Christ is a cult church? If you don't mind, why don't you look up in the dictionary the definition of "cult". We all understand the cult is led by one person and he controls all of his followers: mind, time, money, and life. I just thought I'd give you this article explaining this question and I hope this does answer your pondering questions regarding cult church in the world!

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It has not been too long ago when I heard a report of someone accusing the church of Christ of being a cult. Now before I even address the question of the church of Christ being a cult, let me first state that the person who made the accusation does not understand the description, "church of Christ." In fact, any time someone uses the phrase "church of Christ" in such a way demonstrates that he or she really thinks that the church of Christ is a denomination. Such of course is a misrepresentation because the church of Christ is not a denomination. That phrase is merely a description for the people of Christ worshipping at some location. I dare say that the person who made this accusation would call the church that belongs to Jesus, a cult. So I am sure that when the accusation was made, the individual in question assumed that in referring to the "church of Christ" he felt like he was speaking of some denomination. With such in mind, let's consider the matter further.

When one thinks of a cult, of what does one think? The first thing that pops into my head is a single living charismatic person who controls everything his or her devotees practice. You identify the cult by the name of its leader: David Koresh, Jim Jones, etc. Of course, if having a single charismatic leader in and of itself meant that you are a cult, then almost every denomination that is out there would be a cult. The one man "pastor" system is one of the most common practices among Protestant denominations. Some of these denominational leaders even exercise cult-like power over their members. I heard a story of one who told his members that singles who were part of that congregation had to get the "pastor's" permission before they could go out for the evening. In sharp contrast to this type of system, churches of Christ do not have a one-man "pastor" rule. In contrast we have a plurality of men referred to as elders (also called shepherds and overseers in the Bible, Acts 20:17, 28) which serve as the leadership for the individual congregation. The preacher within churches of Christ has no authority beyond teaching and preaching God's word. If the church of Christ is a cult based upon this standard, then more so are the denominations.

The second thing that comes to mind is brainwashing. This is usually done by isolating the cult members from the rest of society, controlling their communications, and feeding them on an exclusive diet of whatever doctrine the cult is propagating. Through this technique an individual can be programmed to believe whatever the cult leadership wants the individual to believe. In contrast, I personally know of no preacher or leader within the churches of Christ who practice such a technique. In fact, the Bible teaches just the opposite and so we preach. The Bible says that Christians need to be in the world in order to be lights of the world (Matthew 5:14). In my preaching, I encourage our members to participate in community activities such as civic organizations, pancake breakfasts, volunteering at schools, enrolling children in baseball or soccer, or being members of the local community center. Involvement in any wholesome community activity is something which cults discourage their members from doing. We also encourage our membership to question the preacher. Our standard of right from wrong is the Bible and not some individual. If the preacher is not preaching what the Bible says, then he needs to be questioned and challenged. This is not how things work in many denominations. In many places, what the preacher says, goes and if you challenge the preacher then your allegiance is questioned. If the church of Christ is a cult based upon this standard, then more so are the denominations.

The third thing that comes to mind is a group of people who claim to be the sole proprietors of certain "mysteries," which if you want to understand what they are, you must join their group. I would say that the Klu Klux Klan, the Masons, and other "secret" organizations fall into this category. These exercise cult like power among their members and encourage them to believe their "mysteries." In contrast, the Bible teaches that anyone can come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This is what I preach and teach and most other gospel preachers I know preach and teach the same thing. There are no "mysteries" that you can only understand only if you attend the church of Christ. In contrast, the Bible teaches that it is a book that can be understood just like any other book can be understood, that it is not hard to understand, and that if we sit down and read it, we can understand exactly the meaning that those who wrote it intended (Ephesians 3:3-5). In fact, the Bible says that the mystery that once existed in the word of God has now been revealed so that all can know God's saving truth (Romans 16:25, 26). The Bible requires you to believe nothing but the truth that is revealed within it and that is what I and most preachers I know, teach. On the other hand, I have heard many a denominational preacher say that the Bible cannot be understood and that in order to interpret it correctly you had to listen to him and him alone. I have heard many speak about the "mysteries" that are within the gospel and heard many say that they only have the key to understanding them. If the church of Christ is a cult based upon this standard, then more so are the denominations.

The bottom line is, there is no valid evidence to prove that the churches of Christ are cults. So what is the motivation for individuals saying that the "church of Christ" is a cult? Their motivation is simply this: they don't like the church of Christ and they don't want others to listen to the preaching of the gospel. So, they make up names and doctrines and ascribe them to the church of Christ as "straw-men" in an effort to dissuade as many as possible not to listen to faithful preachers, teachers, elders, and members. Their sole concern is to get you to believe something about churches of Christ that is simply not true. Now judge for yourself; is this the way a Christian behaves, or is this the way a cult member behaves? Christians, true Christians, have nothing to fear from those who are teaching the Bible. However, those who are not teaching the Bible have everything to fear from those who are. I challenge you, dear reader, to examine all the doctrines that all the different "churches" are teaching and compare them to the Bible. You will find that the Bible is always right, and those who are following the Bible are clearly recognizable. You will also find that there are many that have gone astray.

If the church of Christ is following the Bible in your community, then become a member. If it is not, then find one of Christ's churches that are faithfully doing so. In so doing, you will not go wrong, and will never be a member of a cult. You will be a member of the church that the Bible talks about, the church that belongs to Christ, the church of Christ.

Disclaimer: This article does not represent a defense of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC). The author has not been and is not affiliated with that religious group.
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Rescue

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,.." Colossians 1:13 (niv)

"..if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment." 2 Peter 2:9 (niv)

God makes a very great difference in his dealings with the godly and the wicked. When he saves his people from destruction, he delivers over his enemies to deserved ruin. The unjust has no share in the salvation God works out for the righteous. Yet, he does rescue us from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light, His Son!

But... There's another kind of rescue... Satan's!

Screwtape says to his nephew, Wormwood, "In modern Christian writings, though I see much (indeed more than I like) about Mammon, I see few of the old warnings about Worldly Vanities, the Choice of Friends, and the Value of Time. All that, your patient would probably classify as "Puritanism" - and may I remark in passing that the value we have given to that word is one of the really solid triumphs of the last hundred years? By it we rescue annually thousands of humans from temperature (spiritual warmth), chastity (purity in conduct and intention), and sobriety of life (straight-forward; right)."

What I am about to type rings extremely true to us all and our friends today. Peer pressure is evident today. We do just as much as we can to avoid an embarrassment; avoid being oddballs; and one of those, "Holier-than-thou" people.

"He can be taught to enjoy kneeling beside the grocer on Sunday just because he remembers that the grocer could not possibly understand the urbane and mocking world which he inhabited on Saturday evening; and contrariwise, to enjoy the bawdy and blasphemy over the coffee with these admirable friends all the more because he is aware of a 'deeper', 'spiritual' world within him with they cannot understand. You see the idea - the worldly friends touch him on one side and the grocer on the other, and he is the complete, balanced, complex man who see round them all."

Here portrays two different worlds: Relationship with another Christian and relationship with worldly friends.

"Thus, being permanently treacherous to at least two sets of people, he will feel, instead of shame, a continual undercurrent of self-satisfaction."

Doesn't that happen to us all?? We're tempted to leave the faith for the pleasures of the world. We're tempted to trample the Son of God, Jesus, under our foot:

"How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:29 (niv)

"Finally, if all else fails, you can persuade him, in defiance of conscience, to continue the new acquaintance on the ground that he is, in some unspecified way, doing these people 'good' by the mere fact of drinking their cocktails and laughing at their jokes, and that to cease to do would be 'priggish', 'intolerant', and (of course) 'Puritanical'."

In other words, once we behave like the world, Christ is known no more! Light is diffused! Salt is kept in the saltshaker.

Have you been rescued into His Kingdom? That, I pray!!

Undulation

In C.S. Lewis', "Screwtape Letters", Screwtape asked his nephew, a faithful servant of the evil, "Has no one ever told you about the law of Undulation?"

I had to stop. I'm a "no-brainer" with esoteric words. There, I said it! So what does "u-n-d-u-l-a-t-i-o-n" mean? Flipping through the dictionary pages, here's what I found:

Undulation, "A regular rising and falling or movement to alternating sides;.."

Sound familiar? Let's proceed...

Screwtape calls us, humans, "amphibians" which is half spirit and half animal. I think Satan pictures us as ugly patients like a "half man, half horse" that you see in the movie, "The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe". Here's an interesting quote from Lewis:

"The Enemy's (God) determination to produce such a revolting hybrid was one of the things that determined Our Father (Satan) to withdraw his support from Him."

Apparently, Satan, who used to be one of the most beautiful angel in Heaven before the creation, thinks it's "unethical" to clone the Spirit and Flesh together. Now, I am just playing with words here and I know God can do anything He pleases because He is God! If I play with my toys, I can decide whether to dissect two toys and switch its parts over creating a relatively rare object. But that's what I would want to do.

Anyways, let's proceed with C.S.'s reading here on chapter 8:

"This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation - the repeated return to a level from which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks. If you had watched your patient carefully you would have seen this undulation in every department of his life - his interest in his work, his affection for his friends, his physical appetites, all go up and down."

Satan knows we go through the "..valley of the shadow of death.." (Ps. 23) which is our trough. There are times when we're at our all-time lows (spiritually and physically)! And it is to be expected. Other times, we experience a high level of spiritual energy where everything seem to be so swell!! So be forewarned, everyone will always have a valley to pass through.

"The dryness and dullness through which your patient is now going are not, as you fondly suppose, your workmanship; they are merely a natural phenomenon which will do us no good unless you make a good use of it."

Powerful thought!!! It is not Satan's work, it's life itself. God allowed the undulation to happen for a reason. He knows we need the undulation experiences everyday! Consider Adam feeling lonely when seeing pairs of animals keeping one another company. Satan didn't enter the picture til after Eve was formed.

"To decide what the best use of it is, you must ask what use the Enemy (God) wants to make of it, and then do the opposite. Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else."

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (nas)

Amen! Do you have a struggle that you feel it's impossible to overcome? Then God wants to use that to show His awesome power. Do you have a difficult issue that you've become entangled with? God relies on them for a purpose.

"He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself - creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His."

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 (niv)

"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance." 1 Peter 1:14 (niv)

"We (evil ones) want cattle who can finally become food; He (God) wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empthy and would be filled; He is full and flows over. Our war aim is a world in which Our Father Below (Satan) has drawn all other beings into himself: the Enemy wants a world full of beings united to Him but still distinct."

Right! Satan devours, God overflows with blessings and love!!

And lastly,

"And that is where the troughs come in. You must have often wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment... ...He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs - to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best... ...Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

It's all about faith! Many people will think God is so far away that they have been forsaken. But God is always near and watching. He hears prayers. But He will respond when He wants to. He knows when is a good time and when is not. We must always praise God through every undulation of life!

Pretty Cageful (Screwtape)

I still have my eyes glued to C.S. Lewis' book, "Screwtape Letters". I am taking it slow digesting his writings and finding relations between his thoughts and the Scriptures. It's really amazing when you read something, the Word of God pops in your mind a resemblance, a parallel.

"'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Matthew 15:8 (niv) This is called "lip-service". We say what we "have to" say. It's not from the heart. When we worship God, all the "heartless" do is simply babble. I can see people with the heart of God who loves Him, serves Him, diligently works hard bringing Him the glory in the church and out in the world.

"Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:13 (niv) When we follow traditions, most of the time it's about religion, not relationships. God is interested in a relationship with us through our obedience to His commands in the Word.

In the "Screwtape", Screwtape wrote to Wormwood,

"Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades, matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours - and the more "religious" (on those terms) the more securely ours. I could show you a pretty cageful down here."

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Matthew 7:13 (niv)

You know, Satan is out to win your soul. He works extremely hard pressuring you and me into "religion" instead of "relationships". When Jesus quoted that "..many enter through it..", that explains why C.S. Lewis wrote thinking of Satan's mind, "..a pretty cageful down here.." Surely, he has multitudes of lost and rebellious souls in his den while only a faithful few in Heaven.

States With Deaf Minister (churches of Christ)

Here is a map consisting the churches of Christ in each State employs at least one deaf minister (in red).

California:
Bakersfield: currently a deaf elder is acting as a deaf minister.

Colorado:
Denver: Mike Atteberry works with the Dahlia Church of Christ.

Texas:
Lubbock: Sunset International Bible Institute (SIBI) with Bob Anderson and Hollis Maynard
Fort Worth: Terry Heidecker
Dallas: Tom Ramey

Louisiana:
Goodman Oaks (south of Memphis): currently looking for one.

Tennessee:
Memphis: Billy Leavell works with White Station Church of Christ
Nashville: Mike Helms works with Hermitage Church of Christ
Nashville: Frank Rushing
Chattanooga: Richard Smith
Knoxville: Chris Nipper

Mississippi:
Jackson: George Myers

Kentucky:
Louisville: Jack Williamson

Alabama:
Birmingham: Birmingham Bible Institute for the Deaf (BBID)
Birmingham: Hal Suddreth works with Roebuck Parkway Church of Christ

Florida:
Jacksonville: Jose Abenchuchan works with San Jose Church of Christ

North Carolina:
Greensboro: Joe Kaplan works with Friendly Ave. Church of Christ

Virginia (Maryland/D.C./Virginia):
Fairfax: Mark Lowenstein works with Fairfax Church of Christ

Alaska:
Anchorage: Andy Deuschle works with Anchorage Church of Christ

I am sure there are other deaf ministers being supported by their local congregations. I would love to hear from you and get your information (email me). Imagine that only 27% of the whole United States employs a full-time deaf minister and almost an average of 1 deaf minister per state.

"Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Matthew 9:37 (nas)

States I Have Set My Soul On

Here are the States I have been (in the red) to in the last 37 years of my life. Check out this site for the States you have been to:

http://douweosinga.com/projects/visitedstates

More Screwtape

Bloggers,

I am still reading this fantastic, yet deep book, "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis..

This is in reference to Christian prayer. Remember, Screwtape is probably one of the stronger leader of Satan or Satan himself. His nephew, Wormwood, is a servant of Screwtape. Here's a couple of quotes C.S. Lewis wrote:

"One of their poets, Coleridge, has recorded that he did not pray "with moving lips and bended knees" but merely "composed his spirit to love" and indulged "a sense of supplication". That is exactly the sort of prayer we want; and it bears a superficial resemblance to the prayer of silence as practised by those who are very far advanced in the Enemy's service, clever and lazy patients can be taken in by it for quite a long time."

Enemy refers to God; Satan's adversary. Remember, this is a conversation between evil forces against Christianity. This book helps us see the all the possibilities of Satan and his legions' work against our faith.

Patients refers to us Christians. We're Satan's patients and he wants to destroy us and make us ill. That's Satan's job!

This is particularly true today. Rarely, do we witness others in prayer in restaurants before they eat their lunch/dinner. When there's a sense of urgency to pray for the sick and broken-hearted, they simply say to themselves, "I'll say a prayer when I get home tonight" but do not take the time to pray about a certain situation on the spot. Do we see a "bended-knee" prayer wherever we go? Do you do a "bended-knee" prayer yourself?

"The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him toward themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing. When they mean to pray for courage, let them really be trying to feel brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment."

Of course! When we ask, we struggle to receive what we ask for with human efforts. God is the Provider of the things we ask for.

Another interesting comment from C.S. Lewis regarding our prayer to an "object":

"I have known cases where what the patient called his "God" was actually located - up and to the left at the corner of the bedroom ceiling, or inside his own head, or in a crucifix on the wall. But whatever the nature of the composite object, you must keep him praying to it - to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him."

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 (niv)

"Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;" Psalms 95:6 (niv)

Top Ten

I visited Mike Cope's blog and found this top ten ways to improve church attendance. Not only is this funny but it does show that there are Christians all over the world with commitment problems. Some rings true to our eyes while others are something that applies to the hearing. :)

10. Watch Aslan the Lion take down a gazelle, live on the platform. (Disgustingly cool, huh?)

9. More "open mic" opportunities during worship service.

8. One of those fake shark fins in baptismal.

7. Floating sermon points dance in front of your eyes via cool 3-D PowerPoint slides. (I know a couple of deaf preachers doing this.)

6. Spiritual tech support guys will tell you not to just "re-boot your soul" every time you call.

5. Sermon series: "Thomas Kincaid; the soft lighting Disciple".

4. Wi-Fi access for wireless hearing aides. (Then all the deaf would be wearing one!)

3. Tazer the Sleeping Sound Booth Guy Day. (I've always wanted to taze someone. ;) )

2. Will start accepting coupons from non-tithing churches.

1. Ability to TiVO the sermon.

Made For Heaven!!

I love C.S. Lewis' writings, especially the "Screwtape Letters"!! He leads us further into the deep abyss of the Bible - supposedly where no man has ever gone before. ;)

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Almost Heaven!

Wow! What a beautiful morning!! The fog was so thick that we're almost walking on the clouds in the sky or almost in heaven!! It was absolutely beautiful!! And how I wish it was like this every morning!!

Heaven is closer than you think! If you don't think heaven is near, you're saying that God is far away. Really, heaven is waiting for us!! Exciting, huh? I'm really anxious to go there and meet all the Bible heros, poets, historians and faithfuls!! Meanwhile, we're on our way! And I can say it is just right around the corner!!

I'm looking at David's Psalm 23 to help increase our excitement has Heaven is near...

"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6

Yes! God is watching over you! "Surely goodness will follow…" Isn't David is saying, "Surely only good things are going to happen to me!" No! Bad things happen to good people. Rather he is saying only goodness will follow. Good things will always come out of whatever happens - even the bad, the evil, and the difficult. God will insure that good will come!

It’s a great promise that God has given to believers: We know that all that happens to us is working for our good - if we love God and are fitting into his plans (Romans 8:28). If you're a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good - not that all things are good - but working together for good. There is no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, disaster in the life of a Christian that God can’t ultimately get some good out of.

GRACE IS WORKING IN YOU!

When you understand God's grace and mercy, then you have no need to fear the future. God isn't trying to get even with you. Jesus has taken the penalty for everything you've ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. Amen!? So when a bad thing happens, you don't have to think, God's getting even with me. That's grace and mercy.

Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them. How often do I do that to my own children? So God is constantly picking up our messes.

Christians go to the future - not with a question mark - but with an exclamation point. God will be with you no matter what happens, of course, we don't have a "license-to-sin". He will help you out. He wants to. He loves to. He knows we need it the most because we're absolutely powerless and he's powerful!

God's goodness will provide and protect.
God's mercy will forgive.
God's goodness will supply.
God's mercy will comfort.
God's goodness will assist those in need.
God's mercy will heal the hurting..

Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don't deserve. Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.

Heaven is waiting for you"... and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." That's one of the most important connections we see in the Bible. It connects yesterday and today with tomorrow. God says, "I've got this great life planned for you and surely goodness and mercy will follow you through it, BUT that's not the end! I've got something else at the end!" He has everything prepared for the faithfuls.

David ends this Psalm by saying "We're going to heaven!" Jesus saves the best until last. When I get a cake with thick frosting on the top, I go for the cake and crumbs first saving the icing for the last. After eating the cake and crumb, then eating and licking the icing to the plate brings satisfaction to my soul! Heaven is our icing on the cake (life in the world). With God it just keeps getting better and better. The best is yet to come.

"We know that our body will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a house for us. It will not be a house made by human hands; instead, it will be a home in heaven that will last forever." 2 Cor. 5:1

How long is forever going to last? Forever! Someday your body is going to die, but you aren't! Your body is going to end but that's not going to be the end of you. You're going to live forever in one of two places - heaven or hell. They’re both real places. You will spend eternity in heaven or hell. Your body is going to die, but you're not going to die. Rick Warren quoted in the Purpose Driven Life book, "We were made to last forever!"

Anger and conflict

It's been a rough two days for me! I am borderline of exhaustion. My wife and I rented some movies through Netflix and I slept through them all!! I wake up for my breakfast meeting with God but felt extremely tired that I wanted to go back to bed and sleep another 15 minutes. Yesterday and today, I have been wrestling with the Sprint customer service trying to get my Treo 650 working. Today, I waited another hour so that they could update the Sprint software on my pager. But, guess what!! The problem remains and it was never fixed!! Then they told me to call the 800 number for a replacement in which I did two days ago.

And today, I had a surprise visit by one of our members of the church who rambled on and on about the problem this person was facing everyday. I reminded this person over and over that we shouldn't allow other people to control our emotions but only that God controls it and that we move on with our life taking responsibilities of ourselves. Well, this person still rambled on talking about the second person and how he/she really affected this person. I apologized if I am not making sense here but does all this look familiar? Have you or are you going through this type of worldly harrassments. I feel like I need to go to the Human Resources in Heaven and file a complaint.

Well! I did in a real selfish way. Being borderline with exhaustion, one thing piles on another, waiting and patiently waiting for an, oh please, good customer service, a guy cut in front of me when, all along, I have been waiting for 25 minutes. I asked the customer service lady that the guy cut in front of me and I have been standing here for 25 minutes. Her answer: "Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that.." Wow! And how does that make you feel! Steam brewing out of my ears. Lava coming up to my throat and ready to spew out of my mouth. I maintained composure but raised my voice a little bit. "Well, excuse me, I have been here for 25 and this guy who just got in a minute ago is there!" Her answer with a smile, "Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that." Ouch! I just looked away because I know I'll cause a big commotion that a SWAT team would need to be called!! (Kidding...) Actually, it's a diversion from the worse-case scenario!!

Ephesians 4:26-27 (GN) says, "If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin and do not stay angry all day. Don't give the devil a chance."

Did Jesus ever sin when He was angry about people trashing God's temple? No! He knew that they were violating the Lord's command and that a clean up was necessary. How do we know it's alright for a Christian to become angry? Oh, how I would love to toss all the phones on display around and on the floor. :) But that wouldn't solve anything.

Don't let anger hang on. Anger that is not dealt with turns into resentment and then into bitterness. Bitterness is always sin. Resentment is always sin. Those emotions are always wrong. Anger is OK. It's an appropriate response. If you love, you ought to get angry sometimes. I get angry when I see people blowing their lives on things that don’t matter. I get angry when I see people walking right in the middle of something they know is wrong and they know it is going to destroy them. When you care about people, sometimes anger is the correct response.

But the Bible says you need to deal with it quickly. If I swallow my anger, my stomach keeps score. Have you found that to be true? All tied in a knot. Ulcer-ridden. You have a pain in the back, or a pain in the neck, or pain in other places. The Bible says, Deal with it quickly. Don't let it hang on. Resolve conflict as fast as possible.

A lot of stress is just conflict that's never been dealt with. Instead of dealing with the problem right off the bat, you just let it irritate you day after day after day ...

...until you’re totally stressed.

I thank God for the opportunity of a reprieve. I think it's ridiculously silly to dwell on such a small problem (Satan loves to make it look like a big problem).. But, ha! I know Satan is a pure-bred liar!! I am not going to let this weight bear down on my heart. Yes, I was angry, for a short time. Then I simply lift that anger up to God. He's the problem solver of my everyday encounters, whether good or bad.

At least, I will be happy once the new TREO 650 arrives in the mail for a trade. Let the old be gone and the new come! As always, whatever we are angry about drifts away into age and we're given a new life to move on! Are you still angry about something? Stressed? Then you know why? Give it to God...

Avoiding The Pits Using Proverbs

Good eve, bloggers!!

I got my braces on the upper teeth today and it looks great. Hard to tell whether if I have braces or not. It looks like I have a retainer which is good!! The "catch" that fits on the tooth to hold the wires are clear, not metalic. So I don't look like JAWS after all!! :) Now that it's day one with braces, I'm looking forward to the transition it makes..

I would like to blog about how we avoid the pits of life. Some of us may run into a quagmire and fall into a trap. We may end up being ambushed by Satan's arsenals! I don't mean that we work toward "never" falling into the pits of life the rest of our lives. Some pits should not be avoided but embraced as evidence of God at work. However, there are pits that are the result of sin we refuse to relinquish or a wrong habit we cherish and love more than we love God. We should and can avoid these pits by making the right choices using the book of Proverbs..

First choice: guard your thoughts. "Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." (Proverbs 4:23, NCV)

Second choice: guard your mouth. "Don't use your mouth to tell lies; don't ever say things that are not true." (Proverbs 4:24, NCV)

Third choice: guard your eyes."Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good." (Proverbs 4:25, NCV)

Fourth choice: guard your steps"Be careful what you do, and always do what is right." (Proverbs 4:26, NCV)

"Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success. Don't depend on your own wisdom. Respect the Lord and refuse to do wrong." (Proverbs 3:6-7, NCV)

It is impossible to know Christ and respond to the world in the same way. Meeting God changes everything, including our lifestyle and behavior. Our perspective and standards will change. Everything is new, as if we were born again.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

True obedience means that we learn, accept and choose to live out his truth every single day. We are living sacrifices, trophies of his grace.

"So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect."(Romans 12:1-2, NCV)

God does not want a season of obedience. He wants a lifestyle of obedience. I know it sounds like an impossible and overwhelming command! That's only because it is! Obedience to God is impossible outside the power of God. Your Father has already been where he is asking you to go, my friend. He has prepared the way for you and will empower you to walk it. Guard your steps.

If you missed last week's class on Proverbs, why not start this Wednesday through April to study God's wisdom counterattacking life's problems? This class is too precious to pass up!

Bracing For Braces

Once again, I'll be a "metal mouth".. Dare ye call me that!! : ) Alright, go ahead and give me a new one. Hey, braces are, after all, beautiful!!

I am looking forward, after 4 to 5 months of using braces, to an ultimate transformation of my upper teeth. It has been crooked and is moving out lil' by lil', thanks to my irresponsibilities of not using my retainer during my teen years. Well, I actually lost it. So be thinking of me as I take a time travel back to my teen years sitting on the dentist chair and getting my braces this Friday!!

Don't be surprised to see my hair standing up! I must have gotten my mouth too close to a electric current! : )

I am really excited about tonight's class studying the book of Proverbs. Also, this Sunday, I'll be talking about "The Heart Of Worship"..

CHANGE YOUR WORLD

Bloggers! Just thought I'd share with you the message I preached last Sunday and pray that you will carefully take heed God's Word as we began the new year a couple days ago... Alot of you (members of Fairfax) were either AWOL ;) or OOT (Out Of Town). I hope you didn't have a "headache" after the New Year's Eve Day but you'll have migraines showing up before God unprepared! ;) So this is an important lesson that many of you have missed. It's time, again, to change our lives: remember, change doesn't happen once, it's continuous!!!

Change Your World

Each New Year's Day, millions of us make made-to-be-broken New Year's resolutions. We say, this year I'm going to lose weight; I'm going to work out more. Or, I'm not going to fall for that same old you-spilled-something-on-your-shirt joke. Ha!

As important as it is to eat right, exercise more and not be naive, we can make commitments that are even bigger. Here are five commitments that will change your world this New Year.

1. Meet God for an extended "State of Your Life" breakfast.
"And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God." (Luke 6:12, NASB)

Every year the president goes before congress to report on the State of the Union. Many CEO's go in front of their company's stockholders to report the State of the Company. At the very minimum, we should get away with God for an extended time of prayer each year. The beginning of the year is a good time for your own "State of My Life" encounter with God.
In reality, this is a time to hear God's report on what's going on in your life and what he thinks about it.

We find Jesus doing this in the gospel of Luke; it was an incredibly crucial point in his ministry. He'd just had one of the earliest and most intense conflicts with the Pharisees – our favorite New Testament bad guys – and in the next verses we see him calling the disciples, those who would eventually spread his message around the known world. The moment was critical, and Jesus – even though he was God – needed to get his Heavenly Father's perspective on the matter.

And so do you! God has great plans for you this year. He wants to tell you about them.
So invite God to breakfast. Find a quiet park, go to Starbucks at 5:30 a.m., bring two place settings; grab your Bible, a notebook and a pen; and take stock of your life. Chat with God about where you've been over the past year. Talk with him about where you are going in this next year.

In fact, don't just do breakfast. You might want to clear most of a day on your schedule. There's something about spending quality time with the Lord. You can start with a little, but I guarantee you'll come back for more and more and more.

2. Do something helpful for someone else that you don't want to do.
"Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." John 13:5

We live in a gratification-orientated culture. If it feels good, do it. Jesus – by his very example – calls us to a different kind of life. Being an other-centered person means choosing to help, whether we would like to or not.

Few spiritual disciplines will help turn your attention off of yourself and onto others like choosing to do things for others that you do not want to do. We live in a gratification-oriented society, culture, “If it feels good, do it.” But Jesus, by His very example, calls us to a different kind of life: “The Other-centered People”.

Jesus' example of washing his disciples' feet is still a remarkable picture of how to serve. Not only was Jesus doing something that was certainly not pleasant (have you ever washed someone's feet after they'd walked all day in sandals?), but he was doing something useful and helping the disciples in a practical way.

Look for someone in your life who has a need that most people – including you – don't want to do. Then do it!

3. Share your story of faith with someone.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

I'll come clean with something here; this will be at the top of my commitment list this year. When I moved to Virginia a few years ago and joined the staff at Fairfax, I knew no one here. Two years later, I still know very few people who aren't already Christians. This makes sharing Christ very difficult. Still, today, I know many who haven’t committed their lives to God. I will continue to be contagious among them until the day of either my departure (Lord knows), Christ’s coming or my death!

So let's make this commitment together. Let's commit to sharing our faith with more people this coming year. Remember our theme, “One Soul For Jesus”. Write the person's name down (even if you have to write down "the guy behind the counter at the gas station"), and keep the name somewhere so you'll see it often as reminder. And just do it!

Before we move on to #4, I want to say a prayer asking God for His help with this. This is something that is out of yours and my control. Let’s pray then go on to #4.

4. Seek reconciliation for a broken relationship.
Is there someone from your past that you no longer talk to because you are upset with them? Or do you have a relationship that has lost its vibrancy because of a wrong either you or the other person committed?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, don't hesitate to repair the relationship in this New Year. When God inspired Paul to warn the church at Ephesus about not going to sleep angry, I have to believe that he knew something about human nature that we often miss.
"BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger." (Ephesians 4:26, NASB)

Anger stews; it's never stagnant. When we hold bitterness in our hearts, it takes root and grows.

Take a few moments to write down a name (or several if you have). Make a commitment to call or email that person today! Or, better yet, visit them. You have nothing to apologize for? Break the ice by coming clean with any possible part you could have played in the disagreement. You can't control their reaction, but you can control your response to this biblical command.
And remember, this is a command from God – not some self-help guru! Going to bed tonight without seeking reconciliation is disobeying God.

5. Give God the part of your life that you've never given before.
"If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21, NASB)

If you wonder if you have an area of your life that you need to give to God, then ponder the first area of your life that came to mind when you read the subhead above. Usually, the area of our life that we need to give to God is the one we least want to give up.

In the book of Matthew, a rich man asked Jesus what it took to have eternal life. Jesus didn't tell him to go do a bunch of good things. He didn't say "drop to your knees and worship me." He simply told the rich man to do what God had told him to do. When the rich man pressed him for particulars, he told him to give up all of his riches. Why? Because that's what he held on to the most.

God wants whatever you treasure the most because He wants to BE what you treasure the most.

Find a tangible way this year to show God you are giving up what you treasure. If food is what you treasure the most, then as an act of worship, take all the junk food in your closet and take them to a nearby food bank. If your car or house is what you treasure the most, begin to use them as tools to serve God.

Lord, Have Mercy On Us!!!

Top Ten Consecration (2006)

Good morning, Bloggers!! Today is our last day in Kansas and we're heading home. It's been a great two weeks here visiting families and friends. And we're ready to return to our humble abode and begin working for the Lord in the DC Metro area!!

I am not a fan of "New Year's Resolution" because they will definitely be broken. If you have come up with a New Year's Resolution to lose weight, good luck!! But luck doesn't cut anything out. You might use your "Will Power". Well, where does that come from? How about asking God for His blessings on your consecrations for the new year of 2006. Now, you got a better chance than those "resolution or will power" phrases.

Here's the TOP TEN CONSECRATION I recommend every Christian in the world to consider:

10. Abomination - understanding what sin is and what it does - sin is terrible. Sin separates you from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). It's not the fault of your friends who may have lured you into it, it's not the fault of illegitimate parents who may have given a bad example, it's not the fault of false teachers who led you into the wrong path, it's your problem. Ezekiel 18 explains that "the soul that sins is the soul that will die." One sin we do is an automatic abomination to God!

9. Procrastination - beware of the dangers of putting off obedience - millions and millions of people are still putting off their decision to surrender their life to God by believing, repenting, confessing their sins, be baptized burying their old life (Ro. 6:1-4) and raised anew in Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:36-38) and daily living for Jesus! One strong reason for such procrastination is the cost of surrendering to Jesus. Yes! It does cost. Though God's grace is free to all, He gave His Son and expects us to give up our idols and life. The Holy Spirit wants a surrendered body to live in and guide.

8. Realization - know where you stand each day - what idol are you holding on to now. Idolatry comes in many forms. It actually tears you away from our Living God. It causes distractions. It pressures you away from the truth. It pursuades you to do more evil than good. It does give you temporary pleasure until you have come to realize you have, once again, "fallen short of God's glory!"

7. Revelation - seek the truth- every morning, do nothing but be still and know that the Lord is God. Be still and quiet in your soul. Ask God to reveal to you truth against any roadblocks/stumbling blocks about any relationships, situation, possession, interpretation, feeling or activity that may be blocking you from fulfilling God's purpose in your life. Saturate this time in prayer and Bible reading. Listen intently to the Holy Spirit's admonishment and guidance.

6. Investigation - everyday, take the opportunity to identify and clearly understand your thoughts about surrendering to God. If you haven't given your life to Christ, talk with a minister, or a Christian friend. Read the Bible and ask questions. Get some answers in why we are all alive today, what's our purpose in life, and what does God expect from each of us. You're accountable for your own life and someday when we all get to Heaven, God will ask what we did with His Son, Jesus.

5. Calculation - counting the cost - this is often misunderstood. You cannot live a "surrendered life" and still hold on to the world and its ways. You will need to do some evaluation and calculation. Evaluate what might change if God decides to take what you have surrendered. See Luke 14:33. God owns everything already! If you claim to have surrendered your life to Christ yet still do the same sin (intentionally), you have taken back what you have surrendered. This means you haven't fully surrendered to Him. There are only two choices:

a) Surrender it all!
b) or don't surrender at all!

4. Transformation - think with the mind of Christ - this is one of the most important "spirattitudes (spiritual attitudes)" Christians lack!! Each of us need, with the Holy Spirit's help, Count The Cost! It costs to change. It costs to make sacrifice. Whatever you pleasure yourselves with will be hard to let go. Whatever you're holding on as the most important is called idolatry! If you have problems with candies or other food, give it to the food pantry. If you're addicted to smoking, sacrifice it all in the toilet! If you're greedy, give!

Set your sights on Christ. Ask Him to transform the way you think, talk and act!!

3. Declaration - give up control of your will - whatever habits, hang-ups you may have, tell God that you're willing to throw away your ugly idols (smoking, cussing, gossip, laziness, excuses, busybodies and the list is endless!!)
2. Dedication - surround yourselves with one or more prayer warriors to help you surrender the things that entangles your life.


And the NUMBER ONE COMMITMENT is:

1. Know Christ Through Constant Surrender - it is not merely knowing Christ but knowing Christ in a deeper way (intimately, relationally and as a servant) 1 Corinthians 2:2 Surrender is not a one-time event. It's constant! If you're still living a wavering faith, see your minister or a close Christian friend. Talk to him about your struggles. Confess your sins. If you haven't given your life to Christ by burying it in baptism, don't procrastinate any longer. Your life is precious to God and He wants to bring each of His children home. But the choice is yours today, surrender your all or don't.

It is my prayer that, as you enter the New Year tonight, it will ring true with these ten steps toward a total consecration to God. Don't forget, we're still surrendering everyday!! May God bless 2006!!!

Know Fear or No Fear

Next month, we're going to be studying Proverbs. I am going to give you a couple of blogs giving you some insights on "wisdom".

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25 (niv)

Fear is such a paralyzing emotion. It robs us of a couple of important life aspects:

• Our vitality...
• Our decision making ability...
• And our strength.

Courage helps us step out of fear's paralysis and turn its' nervous edge into power.

I read an article in the Kansas City Star newspaper about a mother whose daughter is paralized from waist down. Her ordeal happened not long ago. Her daughter, a straight A student in high school happened to be with a couple of her friends. One of her friends was a beginner driver of her own car. The driver ran into a tree and severely injured all the passengers. This daughter, along with other riders, were taken to the hospital. She was in a much worse condition than the others. Her lungs collasped. She slipped into coma. She had major surgery on her vertebrae. Hospital bills kept increasing. Rent hasn't been paid for months. A dire need for medicine and medicinal equipment.

But that wasn't the only thing that kept paralizing the family. A year ago, the 36 year old mother had a heart attack and went through bypass heart surgery. After waking up, she realized that she had a severely degenerative heart disease. It seems one thing led to another and I read the mother's quote:

"I ran out of prayer. I stopped praying to God."

Fear took over. She became paralized by life's crisis: herself and her daughter's. Our life's crisis can take a heavy toll against our faith with God. It will keep pounding and pounding on us until we call it quits. We stop going to church. Fellowship with other Christians is useless. We're experiencing severe spiritual dementia. And it wears us down to the point of paralysis. We begin to feel less and less from God.

We need the courage to overcome our life's crisis. But this kind of courage comes to us fully only when we know that all Satan and his allies can really have of us is our bodies. He cannot take our mind, our attitude, our faith, and most of all, he cannot take our relationship with God given to us through Jesus.

Hang Him On It!

"Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, And turn His anger away from him. Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked; For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?" Proverbs 24:15-22 (nas)

Today we look at another reason why God allows the ungodly to have success - to illustrate by contrast the horror of an eternity without God. I was reading how Spurgeon, one of the commentators, commented:

"Eternal punishment will be all the more terrible in contrast with the former prosperity of those who are ripening for it."

The seeming joy and splendor of the successful and prosperous ungodly will be cast aside by God more awful. You will no doubt remember the story of Haman, who prepared a gallows (for hanging criminals) for Mordecai but finished up by being hanged upon it himself. The ascent to the gallows was an essential ingredient in the terror of the sentence: "Hang him on it!" (Esth. 7:9).

Those who are wicked are being raised up so that all might see how great their fall is. A preacher tells how he read the story of the rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16, to a group of young people who were hearing it for the first time. He stopped at the part where Lazarus lay at the gate, the dogs licking his sores, while the rich man ate in splendour in his house, and said: "Which would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus?" With one voice the young people shouted: "The rich man." He then read on, and after telling the story of how both died and the rich man was in torment while Lazarus was carried to Abraham's side, he asked: "Now which would you rather be?" This time they responded more quietly and soberly "Lazarus."

That is the truth the psalmist saw as he sat quietly in the sanctuary of God.

"— for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out." (v. 20)

Lord, those who have believed and were baptized ought to thank You for

the SALVATION they have and pray for those who do not possess the

same gift we all have. Personally, I ache for those who are being

risen high in their sins where we will all see their wicked

deeds. I pray that they will come to realize their own

ruin and change giving adoration and worship

to You for You have given us all Your Son,

Jesus!

In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Dawn And Sunset Shouts For Joy

"They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. "

Psalm 65:8 (nas)

This was actually taken this beautiful cold morning!! The temperature was a record December temp of 13 degrees in Leesburg, Virginia!!! As I gazed out of my front door, I simply forgot how cold it was and just took this awesome display of God!! This brought warmth to my soul and I, as always, know God is powerfully alive!!!

Nothing But Doctrine!

(warning! long read so take your time...)

"We ought to see the world through the lens of the Bible..."

As ministers, we know that "worldview" is important!! But let's not jump into any conclusions here. I'm not done. Worldview is:

1. At the center of how we live.
2. It determines the decisions we make.
3. It determines how we treat the people we love.
4. The emotions we experience throughout the day and the eternal impact we make.

Our worldview forms the “glasses” through which we see the world.

Unfortunately, many people in His church carelessly put together their worldview. The things they were taught as they grew up, the opinions they heard, truths they’ve read in the Bible - all get thrown together into a "worldview soup". Sadly, there are millions of them in the world today. It's brewing on a hot stove. And often, the result is a view of the world that is more theirs than God’s (and yes, we have a little guilt in that, too!).

Therefore, we need the good news. I love good news! The good news is God doesn’t want it to stay that way; he doesn’t want to leave us in the dark. God wants to give us his brain, his optical lenses. Why? So we can see this clearly in the fact that he sent his Son and gave us his Word. God wants us to know him. I believe we will need a stronger foundation. A foundation with the best news. A foundation that's more solid than our opinions or worldview. Not that opinions or worldview are alone worthless, they aren't stable. Yes, they are important helping us weigh the difference between a truth and a lie.

Jude 1:20 says, “But you, dear friends, must continue to build your lives on the foundation of your holy faith.” (nlt)

I have had hundreds of people come up to me asking what my doctrine is. Remember, doctrine means "teachings" or according to Websters, "..a principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief as by a religious group." One of the most common question is, "What does the church of Christ teach (doctrine) about _______?" Or perhaps...

"What does the church of Christ teach about baptism?" "What does the Baptist teach about baptism?" "What does the Catholics teach about baptism?"
"Does the church of Christ have a creed?"
"What does the church of Christ require a soul to be saved?"

These are great questions but I don't have an answer to any of them because there's really no answers. I have answers to the right questions. If I give the right answer to a wrong question, it's like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. We'll be beating each other up!! If I give the right answer to the wrong question, I am making whatever the right answer as "the church's; the affiliation's" doctrine (teaching). Hence, my doctrine is different from theirs. And we're divided because we believe and teach differently.

DOCTRINE is what God says. DOCTRINE is what the Bible says. If you're asking me questions, I am going to use the Bible as my only doctrine. Of course, many of you will say, "So are we." Then we move on pushing another "red button" shooting another missile called, "Interpretation". In defense, people bring up a phrase, "Well, that's your interpretation." I am sure there are thousands of interpretations in the world today: how we see the weather, understanding the war, politics...

I'm convinced that we need to continually remind ourselves and all the members of the Lord's church that their view of this world is determined by the foundation that they choose to build their lives on. If they build their lives around making money, they probably have one view of the world. If they build their lives around being popular, then they'll have an entirely different view of what’s happening around them.

Finally, let's step outside of our lives now. You're not "you" anymore. Your body is rid of worldview and interpretations. Let's begin to feed that body with God's Word, the Bible and see what God wants from us (please consider this a very important admonishment):

1. IF YOU KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD, IT HELPS ME KNOW GOD BETTER.
"Listen carefully to wisdom; set your mind on understanding. Cry out for wisdom, and beg for understanding. Search for it like silver, and hunt for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand respect for the Lord, and you will find that you know God." Prov. 2:2-5 (ncv)

If you're living in the world without knowing God, is like driving a car, blindfolded. It doesn’t matter how hard you step on the accelerator or what direction you steer, you keep running into things and you never get anywhere. We need to know God, keep knowing God, and know the truth about God. We cannot grow with God based on our guesses, wishes, assumptions, and wild interpretations. Relationships grow with the truth; not a lie.

2. GROWING IN KNOWING GOD IS AN ESSENTIAL FOUNDATION.
"Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction [doctrine] about washings [baptism] and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” Hebrew 6:1-2 (nas)

Don't you want a foundation that provides the right decisions and the appropriate directions; a foundation that leads us to eternal life? How did you come to learn how to read and write? Knowing your A-B-C's! How did you come to know the truth about G-O-D? By knowing the basic fundamental foundation found in the Bible: Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Baptize, Salvation, and Living.

Well. Without the fundamentals, our lives are at risk. Our joy is at stake. Our families are on the brink of eternal damnation. Our place in eternity may be lost. So why opt for ignorance?

3. THE LIFE-SAVING DOCTRINE OF GOD FEEDS MY SOUL.
"In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following." 1 Tim. 4:6 (nas)

When we hunger for solid food, that's a sign of maturity. We need soild food to sustain us. So doctrine (teachings of the Bible, the brain of God, the voice of God) is solid food for our soul!
This nourishment of our soul doesn't happen in an instance! We have to choose to eat this solid food. We have to chew for a while on some of the truths in the Bible in order to understand them. In Hebrews (5:12-14) we are warned very clearly that if we don’t decide to dig into God’s Word, we’ll remain baby Christians. Baby Christians are believers who always seem to have so many needs that they can never meet the needs of others.

I rather grow than remain a baby. It's embarrassing if I am a 37 year old man wearing diapers. If you stop feeding on God's Word, you're walking on thin ice that's about to break. Without God's Word, your spiritual life will weaken! And that's a fact!

4. KNOWING THE TRUTH IS AN "ANTI-VIRUS" AGAINST ERROR.
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:6–8 (niv)

When you're rooted in the Word of God, the Bible, it will be difficult for anyone to throw you off with a false doctrine.

Let me give you an example, namely cars. I am not good with cars when they go wrong. In order to drive a car, you don’t have to know anything about the engine. The car dealer pops up the hood and say, "Look at that engine!" Nice, but that doesn't tell me whether the car will ride into the horizon for eternity. I know it won't! You just push the gas pedal and the car goes. Likewise, you don’t have to know all of the truths in the Bible to become a Christian. All you have to know and believe is that Jesus loves you, that he died for your sins and that he was buried and that he was resurrected to give you new life.

But let’s get back in your car. Let’s say you’re driving down the street and the car starts to make a horrible sound. You think the sound is coming from the engine but you’re not sure. Spotting an auto repair shop, you pull in and ask a repairman what might be wrong. The repairman tells you, “You need to fill your gas tank with water. That will fix everything.” At that point, even a little bit of understanding about cars would be of great help to you.

The best way to protect yourself against errors of any kind is to know the truth. You can spot a deceiver once you know what the truth is.

5. WE'RE COMMANDED TO HANDLE THE TRUTH.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (nas)

How you use the truth depends on how well you know the truth. The Scripture above isn't just for ministers, it's for everyone whom are learning how to, accurately, handle God's Word. God has entrusted us with them.

This is an amazing verse! Paul wrote to the church in Rome urging them not to continue on in sin that God's grace may increase (Ro. 6:1) and that the church remember they surrendered their lives to the Lord: 1. Died to self 2. Buried in baptism 3. Raised in Christ (Ro. 6:2-4). "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted." Romans 6:17 (niv)

We're not to rely on what others are telling us. We're to take the responsibility to study the truth.

6. WE'RE COMMANDED TO LIVE THE TRUTH!
"I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives." (Titus 1:1, NLT)

First of all, before you live the truth, you have to know the truth. And secondly, to know the truth, you must first learn the truth. Depending on your spiritual instincts is not enough (Proverbs 14:12), not if you’ve never taken the time to learn the truth.

7. WE'RE DEFENDERS OF THE TRUTH (AND IT'S A COMMAND)!
"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." 1 Peter 3:15 (nas)

We must always be ready! We must be able to defend the truth of God's Word. We're not going to give in to those who wants to compromise the truth with us. We're not Christians who merely water-down the truth.

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Cor. 7:1 (niv)

Keeping those seven reasons for learning doctrine, it's time for us to take a new look at the part doctrine plays in our lives and make a commitment to be a student of God and His truth. Learning God's truth requires alot of work. It won’t be easy. Remember, it's nothing but doctrine: the teachings of God! The work will be worth it. You’ll never regret it.

My wishlist to God...

Man! I don't know about you but as time goes by, the number of years working for God increments, the church grows makes planning more and more difficult! You should know me by now! I hate to do the same thing year by year. Like God, I love variety! So you're telling me that I'm asking for it! Thanks and I am glad I am the type of person who loves variety! It's more exciting that way.

Jesus gave tons of varieties! Through his conversation with the multitudes. Through his miracles - lame, blind, leperous, "exorcisizing", distant healing, raised Lazarus, changed water to wine, walked on water! Man! Do I need to tell you all those varieties He's done! Not to mention this, an eye-opener, heart-crasher: God raised Him from the dead! Praise God and Amen!

And God, made the world and everything that's in it! Can you count how many of the varieties He's made! There's billions of them that can be found in Google!

And the Holy Spirit! He's my buddy! I love Him! He touches people in billion different ways! From the depth of the sea to the vastness of universe, He touched those who stood in awe of God! He touched them through various ways!

"Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. "What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?" Job 38:18-19 (niv)

Here's my wish list to God....
1. That each and every true believer will reach one precious soul and bring him/her to Christ within one year! Then work with that soul through weekly correspondence and monthly outings.
2. That we will devote our lives to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God through corporate bible studies, personal bible studies, daily time of prayers, fasting, constant worship, and small group meetings.
3. Re-examine our daily priorities to make sure we're spending more time with God (among ourselves, our families, our co-workers and the community).
4. Commit to Sunday's corporate gatherings in worship and class (90+% of the time).

Year after year, some of us are prone to giving excuses - forgot to turn on alarm, something else came up, my child didn't want to go to church, it's too far to drive (Jesus didn't have an SUV!), I just don't feel like it, I have this itty-bitty cold and whatever runs through your head. ;) Think about how God feels about this when He really knows it's only a lame excuse. Think about if Jesus said, "I forgot my appointment to suffer for the world cuz I got a bit distracted with..." I don't think so. Jesus went through all this for you and He hears your _____________. So my prayer is that God will bring you up out of the pool of excuses you're wading in and begin your full devotion to Him!

5. Devote more of our finances to God (go through your budget and see where you need to sacrifice in order to give more to God).
6. Grow strong and deep in fellowship through small group meetings (in homes).
7. Determine what my God-given gift(s) are and how I can give God glory with the gift(s).
8. Devote to completing the Purpose Driven Fairfax classes (PDFX 101, 201, 301, 401) during the 2006 year.
9. Be more encouraging, less critical. Be the light of the world, salt of the earth!
10. Memorize at least 12 verses (one verse per month during the 2006 year).
11. Invite member(s) to your home for lunch/dinner.
12. Adore and praise God more during worship through singing, meditation during communion, growing to please God in our worship to Him, attentive to His messages, and remember those in need and praises through prayer.
13. Confess our sins and repent from it!
14. Pray for our leaders, our country and the world (President, Congress, Supreme Court) that they will seek God in their everyday decisions.
15. That the Lord will send someone to bible school to prepare himself and his family for service among the deaf in the world. (Isaiah 6)

Lastly, I know this may be unrealistic but with God, anything is possible for those who ask:

16. Bring in 7 (or more) souls to Jesus next year!

"What is impossible with men is possible with God." Luke 18:27 (niv)

Harmonious Living

"The group of believers were united in their hearts and spirit... In fact, they shared everything. "Acts 4:32 (ncv)

"Live in harmony with one another." Rom.12:16a (niv)

The New Testament talks a whole lot about the unity of the church than about who goes to heaven and hell. It is God's desire that each and every one of us experience oneness and harmony with one another. Like the beating heart and feeling the pulse, "U-N-I-T-Y" is the heart of fellowship; the pulse that keeps life going. DESTROY IT, you rip the heart and stop the pulse out of Christ's body, the church!

If you are not "united" with one another within His body, the church, you're disfellowshiped from Christ! Without the "fellowship of the body", there's no church. A couple of strong points in the Bible:

God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are ONE (united)!
Jesus prayed for UNITY!
The Holy Spirit is the ONE who unites us in LOVE!
God values His church (believers) and sent His Son to pay a heavy price for her!
The church's (believers) responsibility is the PROTECT the UNITY where you FELLOWSHIP!

When a believer distant him/herself from the body, the church, they're hurting Christ! I remember watching a military movie and was impressed with their motto, "Leave No Man Behind; if one goes forward, all go".

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Each believer are called, commissioned by Jesus Christ to preserve the unity and the fellowship among believers. Here are a couple of suggestions that I strongly encourage all believers within His body:

1. Focus on the commonality, not the differences..
God created each of us as unique beings. Each of us are wired differently but we have one thing in common: loving God together! However, the Bible does warn us that there will be people who seeks to destroy the unity of the church through disputes, divisions, differences and distance. God desires interdependence, not independence. There's no "lone-ranger-Christian" but an "army of Christians".

2. Avoid being disillusioned...
People become disillusioned with the church for a couple of "understandable reasons": conflict, hurts, hypocrisy, legalism, neglect, confusion and the list goes on.. However, when we live under tension, manage to go through any conflicts, our maturity grows. Immaturity is when we're always criticizing others. When we're not getting along with others: unloving, unresponsive, lack of communication, lack of mutuality, lack of understanding, and wall-building, it's a sign of divorcing from the body, the church.

But I want to give you a positive response to this to help us avoid disillusionment. Like many businesses asking for workers, "Help wanted! Apply within!", I say this,

"NO PERFECT PEOPLE NEED APPLY"

Church is a place only for those who admit they are sinners; they are open to share their burdens, their hurts, their struggles; a deep need for God's grace in their lives; and hungry to grow in Christ, in relationship, in love, in compassion, and in humility!

CHURCH IS A PLACE WHERE BELIEVERS:
1. Encourage rather than criticize (Rom. 14:4)
2. Avoid troublemakers (Prov. 20:19)
3. Resolve conflicts (Matthew 18:15ff)
4. Support your leaders (ministers and elders) who work hard over you; ensample (Heb. 13:7)

We protect the fellowship; the unity of the church when we honor those who serve us by leading. Ministers and elders need encouragement, support, love and prayers.

5. Consider others better than your own selves (Phil. 2:3)

How warm is the church where you worship and fellowship with? Is she warm with love and understanding for one another? Everyone needs love, genuine love, the love so contagious that you may have to lock the church doors to keep people away!

A Call To Commitment

Good morning, Bloggers!!! What a day it is that the Lord has made! Aren't you glad you're still alive and breathing?? It's God's "forever-fresh" air we're breathing!! He's a Great God! I love Him to death!! :)

I would like to forward one of Rick Warren's message on COMMITMENT. I receive his weekly article and found this article that cannot be overlooked.

"If you don't ask people for commitment, you won't get it.

You have not because you ask not."

Rick Warren

One of the ways I believe you can assess whether or not your church is maturing spiritually is this - the standards for leadership keep getting tougher as time passes. You keep turning up the heat every year, requiring a deeper level of commitment to Christ and spiritual growth. For instance, when Saddleback first began, our only requirement for serving in children’s Sunday school was that you had to be a warm body. Over the years, we’ve tightened the requirements considerably! We have done the same thing with our lay pastors, our musicians, and other ministry positions.

Every time you raise the standards for leadership, you bring everyone else in the church along a little bit. A rising tide raises all the boats in the harbor.

Focus on raising the commitment of your leadership, not those who are the least committed in the crowd, nor even the semi-committed in your congregation. Whenever you raise the standard of commitment for those who are in the most visible positions of leadership, it raises the expectations among everyone else.

YOU MUST ASK PEOPLE FOR COMMITMENT

If you don't ask people for commitment, you won't get it. You have not because you ask not. It’s amazing to me that many community organizations require more from participants than the local churches do. If you’ve ever been a Little League parent you know that when your child signed up to play, you were required to make a major commitment in terms of providing refreshments, transportation, trophies, and victory parties in addition to attendance. There was nothing voluntary about it! It was required if you wanted to participate.

One of the most helpful things a church can do for people is:

1. ..to help them clarify what commitments they ought to make.

2. ..and what commitments they ought to decline.

The reason we have so many weak Christians today is because they are half-committed to two dozen causes rather than being totally committed to the things that really matter.

For many people the barrier to spiritual growth is not lack of commitment, but over-commitment to the wrong things. Jesus pointed this out in the Parable of the Sower: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” (Luke 8:14) People must be taught to make wise commitments.

ASK CONFIDENTLY FOR A BIG COMMITMENT

Study how Jesus asked for commitment. He was always clear and confident when he asked for it. He was not at all reluctant to ask grown men and women to drop everything and follow him. This is an interesting phenomena: The greater the commitment you request, the greater response you will get.

People want to be committed to something that gives significance to their lives. They respond to responsibilities that gives life meaning. They are attracted by a challenging vision. They want to be a part of something worthwhile.

On the other hand, people are unmoved by weak appeals and pitiful requests for help. Jesus knew this when he said in Luke 14:33, "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." His challenge was total commitment.

Some pastors are afraid to ask for a big commitment, fearing that they will drive people away. But people do not resent being asked for a big commitment if there is a great purpose behind it. People respond to passionate vision, not need.

That’s why most stewardship campaigns don’t work: they focus on the needs of the church rather than the vision of the church. If people were really motivated by organizational needs, then every time a need was presented it would immediately be met.

BE SPECIFIC IN ASKING FOR A COMMITMENT

Another key of developing commitment is being specific. Tell people exactly what is expected of them. At Saddleback we ask people to commit to Christ, be baptized, become a member, develop the habits for maturity, minister, and fulfill their life mission.

We have developed four covenants that spell out exactly what each of these commitments include: (Mark's note: this is what Saddleback church do to help a new believer understand God's expectation of them. This is especially a very good way to help our new members know where they stand and where they should go from the burial (baptism) toward eternity!)

A Membership Covenant;
A Maturity Covenant;
A Ministry Covenant; and
A Missions Covenant.

Each one is very specific about what is expected and required at that level of commitment. Instead of saying, "Be committed to Christ," explain specifically what that involves.

EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF COMMITMENT

Another key to developing commitment in people is to identify the benefits of it. God does this. So many of the commands in Scripture have promises attached to them. I once did a study of the promises attached to God’s commands to be generous. We always end up being blessed whenever we’re obedient.

Explain the personal benefits, the family benefits, the benefits to the Body of Christ and society in general, and the eternal benefits of committing to spiritual growth. People really do have an innate desire to learn, to grow, and to improve.

BUILD ON COMMITMENT RATHER THAN TOWARD COMMITMENT

Even though you tell people where you are taking them (by challenging them with a big commitment) you start with whatever commitment they are able to give. Begin with an initial commitment regardless of how weak it may seem.

We challenge people to make a commitment and then grow into it. It’s like choosing to become a parent. Very few couples feel competent to parent before they have their first child. But somehow - after the decision is made and a baby is born - the couple grows into their parenting role.

It is also OK to break big commitments into smaller steps and lead people gradually along. That’s the idea behind our Life Development Process (the baseball diamond).

Let people take baby steps!

Thanks, Rick!!

In Christ Alone!!