The World

As the title might imply, this post is about evangelism.  I want to diverge from my normal way of writing and delve into a deeper topic which is the second most important thing in life to me (next to God); and that is people.

I will discuss the reasons why, as Christians, we must evangelize, and then I will thoroughly explain why you can’t save a single soul on this earth. Not only will I use stories from my own life to back up my claims, but I will give you practical advice on how to reach your lost friends.  This may take a while…

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The world keeps moving and things keep changing.  Just last week America voted in a historic election.  For the first time in history the United States of America has a black president-elect.  He has been called, through all the ad campaigns, smear tactics, propaganda and fear mongering, things like “Barack Obama is a terrorist, the Anti-Christ, Santa Claus, the cause of Global Warming, the end of the world as we know it, the savior and messiah of the human race and the man who shot Liberty Valance.”  I do not believe Barack Obama is any of those things.  I do not care for the man as a politician because I disagree with his viewpoints and stances on a lot of things.  But what I believe about Barack Obama is beside the point. 

In this time of uncertainty for the future and after this historic election I have heard many Christians say things along the lines of “God is in control” or “It’s in God’s hands”.  These are in fact true statements.  I agree with those statements, but in effect what these Christians are saying is “I wash may hands of any and all personal responsibility and this is just a cop-out I use to get myself out of actually taking a stance, standing firm and possibly getting mud on my face if I am wrong.”  My question is: when did Christianity become an excuse or cop out for a person’s personal responsibility? Read the rest of this entry »

Part of the bridge from Chris Tomlin’s song “Made to Worship” has been ringing in my head for the past few days. The bridge goes: “Even the rocks cry out/ Even the heavens shout/ At the sound of His Holy name.” This verse was probably in part based on Luke 19:40. The disciples were shouting praise to the Lord and the Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke his disciples. Yet Jesus says: “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

I live in a scientific world. Biology is my major and biology is almost all I learn. Theories and lab procedures and exciting new advances in research, etc. get filtered through my brain everyday. I’m definitely not your average science student who is über passionate about science, but more than ever I am amazed at God’s creation through science. You just read that Jesus said that even if there was no one to praise God’s holy name the stones will cry out. That’s how I feel lately; creation is yelling, screaming, hollering to those who are silent, especially to my peers who don’t believe and are sitting there studying their advanced cell biology books.

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A news article has recently sparked my memory.  CBS reported two days ago,

A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said. 

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo,Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. 

The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.

My freshman year at high school was the year I really started loving God and the Bible.  I read it before, during and after classes while attending church, youth group and a men’s bible study. It was an intense year of growth for me.   

I became enthralled with the romance of Christianity, things like dying to live and uncanny sacrifice made me passionate about my religion.  They also made me aware of what my religion had been, was currently, and could become.  

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In his oft-quoted six-minute gospel message, John Piper wisely told his congregation that you never outgrow your need for the gospel.  Indeed, no one gets stronger spiritually by seeing the gospel as just the way you get saved.  I am pretty sure that most people who were in Piper’s church or who were listening to him nodded their heads in agreement.

However, as statistics often reveal, church attendance is dropping.  More and more people are not only revising the gospel, but the life of Jesus Himself.  In an interview for last year’s VFC videos, one woman said that the person of Jesus Christ is not relevant.

“(It’s) not even so much Jesus as much as Jesus’ message of love and caring for people,” she said.

Is she right? Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I enjoy waking up every morning to a nice cup of hot tea, Earl Grey, hot, and sitting on the couch while cracking open the New England Journal of Medicine.  However, if you are like most normal people in this world and you’re not like me you probably have no idea that earlier this week the New England Journal of Medicine has redefined death.  The Journal and its staff, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that you shall be claimed legally or at least medically dead after 75 seconds without a heartbeat.  Now most of you are probably saying that seems like a long time, and it is but when you consider that there have been numerous documented cases of people who have had their hearts stopped for 75 seconds or more (the longest I’ve heard of is 5 minutes). 

Now that is significant.  What this means is that doctors will now have the power to choose not to revive you in order to declare you dead so they can harvest your organs for transplant.  That doesn’t seem like a bad idea to give organs to people in need. But at the cost of a life that could be saved, that is a stretch.

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Is your confidence based on what you see in the mirror?  Well the author of Proverbs would urge you that, “Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain,” (Proverbs 31:30a).  This is not a struggle limited to girls.  This is, however, where you need a gospel-led perspective.  In the usual scenario goes, you look into the mirror and are you displeased with what you see.  You sadly wish your reflection was like a camera where it “adds 10 pounds.”  You feel this lack of joy and begin to think of the changes you would make.  Stop! That is sowing into the flesh and placing your confidence in your image.  Here is how to preach the gospel to yourself in those moments:

First: you must know the gospel (and make it specific!) You = sinner = must be punished = Christ lived a perfect life and died upon the cross for sins and rose from the dead = believe in that = God accredits Christ’s perfect obedience to you as if you lived perfectly as Christ did.  Second: ask for forgiveness for the sin of placing joy in your image and not in the Lord.  Third: battle your thoughts with scripture (Gen 1:27, Psalm 139:14, 1 Peter 3:3-4), and know that because Christ overcame sin, we have power over sin through Him alone.  It is important to note for this specific case that God did not send Christ to earth to die so people could have a high self-esteem.  He sent Christ to die for the sin of craving the approval of others and placing our joy in having a good image.  Christ was crucified to free us from the bondage of our sin and to free us from striving after the wind of vanity, showing us the joy and satisfaction that comes from knowing God. You fight this battle and God sends is free grace and mercy available for the fight.

You have probably heard the saying, “to be a child at heart” or some sort of variation of it. It encourages adults to be more childlike. This seems like a decent idea on the surface. As I was walking across campus and pondering, as is my custom, I started to think hard about this statement. I realized the idea is one we as growing Christians should not take to heart. We should model our lives around this attitude. The common understanding or thought behind this saying is that children are innocent, naïve and care- free, and that we as adults should value these childlike qualities in our own life. However, these are states that a mature and growing Christian should not abide by.
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On Friday, The New York Times ran a feature about a disturbing sexual revolution going on in Chile. The South American country, once known as a “conservative” culture, is experiencing change in the wrong direction. As the Times notes, when the Chilean youth is released from the rules, they explore their sexuality promiscuously.

We too can become caught up in this sort of nonsense. While grace from God alone saves us, we sinners abuse that grace when we give ourselves a license to sin. Galatians 6:7 says, “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap…” As the apostle clearly informs us, our sins have consequences. The children of this sexual revolution will face consequences for their sins.

What can people of God do in culture where sexual immorality, abusing God’s grace and carelessness are promoted? Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” A Biblical view on an active rebellion against God contradicts and offends our worldly culture, as it does Chile’s culture. But God is not mocked–we are accountable for what we do with our lives. How can we glorify God if we are not satisfied in Him enough that we turn to sex for our joy and contentment?

Read the full article here

Today, I was listening to a Christian house mix, yes there are Christian DJs that spin house and some of it is really cool.  I love techno and house mixes, and when I found a website that promoted Christian house mixes, I jumped on it.  However, the second song that I listened to really disturbed me, so much so I felt it was necessary to discuss its theological inaccuracies and its impact on our generation in this blog.

In our generation, our culture has several misunderstandings of proper biblical doctrine and many things we promote are not theologically informed.  We have some serious problems, even as Christians, with our biblical understanding.  We say and promote things that are not biblical and thus they become very dangerous to our generation.  We can easily find this in the health, wealth and prosperity gospel that is being preached in many of our churches, in music, in media, and books.

Truly, I believe many believers don’t know that they are promoting biblical and theological inaccuracies.  I would even extend this to some pastors who unknowingly preach this dangerous gospel (But as the bible points out, even if they don’t mean to damage the Gospel, they will be held accountable to what they preach).  These inaccuracies stem directly from a nation full of people who fail to seriously read scripture and meaningfully reflect on its implications to life.

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A good friend of mine sent me this article so as to give an idea into what is happening in the world, mainly Zimbabwe.  This article really opened my eyes into what is going on over in Africa.  In response to this article another friend of mine pointed out that there is a stark contrast between our daily lives and the daily lives of those living in Zimbabwe right now.

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There is currently a very large revival taking place in Lakeland, Florida being “pastored” by Todd Bentley. These two videos are of Todd Friel of Way of the Master Radio commenting on it.  Although I don’t agree with Friel’s cessationist leaning, one has to agree with him that the charismatic gifts ≠ mma fighting techniques on elderly people.

After you’ve watched these two videos, I would suggest getting on your knees and giving God thanks for biblical, charismatic pastors. I know I just did. Read the rest of this entry »