Have you ever looked at modern day Christianity in comparison to the Bible and thought to yourself, “I must be missing something.” Such was the case with A.W Tozer. A relatively unknown preacher early in his ministry, Tozer became increasingly aware of the radical joy he saw in great men of God such as the Apostle Paul and the disciples. But when he looked upon professing Christians in his own congregation, he saw a religious faithfulness with a lack of passion. He saw a legalistic approach to worship, as if they came to church just because it was the thing to do.

The result was religiously obedient people who were lacking in joy.

In the late 1940’s, Tozer was under an incredible burden due to this realization. Tozer wrote, “The sight of the languishing church around me, and the operation of a new spiritual power within me, have set up a pressure impossible to resist.”

Tozer received an invitation to preach in McAllen Texas and had to take a long train ride in order to get there. Alone on the train, he had ample time to put his thoughts and concerns down on paper. Tozer wrote all day long, ate a single piece of toast for dinner, and then continued writing throughout the night. He said that the words sprung forth in his mind almost quicker than he could write them down because of this burden of his heart. When Tozer arrived in Texas the next morning, the rough draft of what would become his infamous book, “The Pursuit of God” was complete.

This burden over the lack of passion within the church became the heart cry of Tozer’s ministry. He wrote, “The gravest question before the church is God Himself, and the most critical fact of man is not what he, at a given time, may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. Always the most revealing thing about the church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him, or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech.”

From a very young age, Tozer saw the riches that would lie in fellowshipping with God. He described himself as being “a thirst for God.” When Pastor Tozer would enter his office at the church each morning, the first thing he would do is lie face down on the floor in prayer. Prayer was so precious to Tozer. In fact, one time he was scheduled to speak at a conference and he forgot to show up, missing the conference all together. A.W Tozer had gotten so caught up in his prayer time with God that he completely lost track of time. When asked why he missed, Tozer replied, “I had a more important appointment.”

What made A.W Tozer’s heart aflame with such a burning passion for God? What birthed this insatable hunger for God that is all but foreign to many professing believers in our world today? Tozer wrote, “I am convinced that the lack of great saints in this day is due, at least in part, to our unwillingness to give sufficient time to the cultivation of the knowledge of God.” Tozer once wrote in a prayer, “Oh God, I have tasted thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. Show me thy glory, I pray thee, that I may know Thee indeed.”

A.W Tozer possessed a different kind of faith. It was faith that is alien to the great majority of people that attend churches today. Today’s Christians have a religious obedience, much like a person would show up to a job they find no joy in. The employee shows up to work because in his mind, it is what must be done. But internally, there is no joy, no satisfaction, and no hunger for more knowledge within his toil.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What is it that we are missing?”

In the book of Exodus, Moses had gone up upon the mountain to receive the law of God, and when he descended, he found that the people were worshipping a golden calf. Ultimately, God was merciful to His idolatrous people. And Moses goes on to make a startling request of God.

“Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” Exodus 33:18

Now Moses had already seen the glory of God aplenty. He was witness to God speaking through the burning bush, he was privy to seeing the Red Sea parted for the people, and Moses was there when God afflicted Pharaoh and his kingdom with the plagues. Yet Moses wanted more of God.

Years later, it was King David who wrote in Psalm 27,

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord”

David’s one desire was not more wealth, or more power. His one passion was that he would hunger to seek more of God and in that begin to behold the beauty of God. In Psalm 27:8, David went on to say, “When you said, “Seek my face”, my heart said to you “Your face Lord, I will seek.”

Notice seeking the face of God was not a burden or a duty for King David. It was something his heart cried for. It was a passion. King David also described his yearning for God as a deer panting for water. In the same way, he thirsted for God. Paul had this same passion for God even decades after God had shown Himself on the road to Damascus.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”  Philippians 3:7-8.

Notice Paul echo’s the words written by A.W Tozer, King David, and Moses in regards to knowing God. There was, within their faith, a thirst that could not be quenched. A fire that would not be smite to know more of God.

We can look back to the Puritans and see this same thirst for God. John Bunyan was persecuted and imprisoned for preaching Christ. Bunyan stated, “God is the only desirable good. Nothing without Him is worthy of our hearts. The life, the glory, the blessedness, the soul satisfying goodness that is in God is beyond expression.”

This was a man who had lost his freedom for preaching Christ. He was not rewarded for his faithfulness, at least on this side of Heaven, as many believe God owes us today. Yet in his prison cell, John Bunyan was completely satisfied, feeling entitled to nothing, and instead feeling as if he had everything in the surpassing joys of simply knowing Christ.

Saint Augustine battled his lust of the flesh for years. But after he had come to know the Lord, he called the sins he once desired “fruitless joy” in comparison to knowing God. Much in the same way, German reformer Martin Luther literally agonized over the book of Galatians and the epistles of Paul because he so desperately wanted to know the true God of scripture.

So in looking at the desire for the knowledge of God in these men, why is it that this is such a far cry from what we see in the typical church in our society today? What is it that these men of God possessed that we are missing in contemporary Christian circles? We live in a culture where our prayers to God are centered more around giving us something, be it healing or prosperity, rather than praying as our top request that God would give us more of Himself.

Why is it no one today prays, “Lord, show me your glory?” Why did men in scripture and lovers of God throughout history have such a passion to know God, yet we are so indifferent? Was it because they just knew God better than we do today? Or is it because that this idea of God that we hold in our minds today is so far beneath the true God of scripture? Are we following a God of our own imaginations? Are many of todays professing believers worshipping a God that they have merely inherited from past generations?

If it has been proven that the end result of truly knowing God is a radical, passionate, hunger for more of Him, then we are forced to look at the stagnant state of many churches today and ask…..

Do we really know the God of the Bible?

Because if we truly knew Him, according to the men of scripture and the theologians who walked before us in history, we should have a hunger to know Him and constantly desire more of Him.

Could it be that we really don’t know the God of the Bible?

To answer this question, we must individually ask ourselves, “What do you believe about God?” Not what your church, or parents, or Sunday School teacher say you should believe. But personally, ask yourself what you believe about God. Ask yourself what is the greatest prize in Christianity. Many Christians would say that it is eternal life. Others would quip that the joys of Heaven would be the treasure. But according to scripture, the greatest treasure of the Christian life is to possess the knowledge of God.

The typical picture of knowing God today looks something like this. A person walks an aisle under conviction, says a prayer, and commits being a part of the body life of the church when possible. But there is no further hunger, no desire within to wrestle with and pursue the knowledge of God through prayer and personal study. Its merely a spoon fed faith. The scary part of this picture it is void of the one thing that Jesus desires as proof of salvation, a personal relationship.

This would be much like a husband and wife desiring to commit to one another in marriage, and after the ceremony, seeing each other only a few times a week. Only getting to know each other through what others said about them, and never personally engaging with each other in private. We would say that a marriage such as this would be void of relationship and that although they may say they loved one another, their actions proved otherwise. So how is it that we can justify this same behavior as relationship worthy when it comes to God? So many take no pleasure in a relationship with God. We actually joke about sermons on Sunday morning and their length. We are at times more concerned about getting out on time than desiring more of God.

Going back to the marriage example, try telling your spouse that your time with them is bound to a clock. And when that time is up, you don’t want to hear anymore from them. So again, my question is, with an attitude like this, can we honestly claim that we love and even desire to know Him? We have formed having a relationship with God into an image that makes us comfortable, and in so doing, many have deceived themselves into believing that they know God when instead, they may be strangers that know some things about Him.

Are we so casual with God in our world today because we just know Him so well? Or is it because contrary to what we may believe, we hardly know Him at all?

John 17: says, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Notice the last sentence of that verse. Eternal life is not the joys of Heaven or even eternal life itself. Eternal life is knowing God. That is our joy, and if we are truly followers of Christ, knowing God is our passion. According to Jesus, this is a mark of those that have been given to Jesus. Where on earth did we fall into this once a week customer mentality that our world has come to embrace? This is a false salvation if anyone would think this certifies a true relationship with God.

Much of modern evangelical culture has become flippant about worship, bored by God, and distorted what it Biblically means to KNOW God. In a collection of hymns and prayers, the book “The Valley of Vision” says this; “If your mercy to me Oh God is poverty and strife, blessed be your name.”

To properly understand this, we must think about what is being said. Mercy is a punishment that we as sinners deserve, but God has saved us from. What do we deserve? Eternal Hell. So if to save me from this eternal punishment, God’s mercy towards me is to simply make me a pauper and have a tough life, according to the Puritans, we should praise His name. Why? Because anything this side of Hell given to us is grace. And grace is a gift we receive but do not deserve. But again, our world doesnt view God like this. We become enraged and even begin to doubt God when things are not going well in our lives.

In short, God saving us from Hell is just not good enough. Modern day church culture feels God owes them for merely being on His team. But if we have a right understanding of the Hell that we were saved from, then we view life differently. Be it cancer, the loss of a loved one, or financial strife, if I truly know God and who He is in light of who I am, then I can say through the hardest of times, echoing Paul, “To live is Christ, to die is gain!” Anything better than eternal torment Hell is viewed as mercy.

“Lord I have cancer, but blessed be your name for your mercy in saving my soul.”

“Lord, my loved one has died, but in my mourning, I blessed be your name, you are too good to me for saving my soul.”

“God I have lost everything, but oh, the riches I have found in just knowing you. Tis more than is more than I deserve.”

The grace and mercy of God towards sinners should never be overshadowed by the hardships of our lives. This is not to say that we don’t mourn in loss or grieve in trials. But rather, though it all instead of raging against God for what we don’t have, we remember how good He has already been towards us in giving us the gift of His son Jesus. Through trials, if we truly know Christ, we can say as Job;

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him;” Job 13:15.

We have a mentality, even in the church, that says ‘I serve God, and in return He owes it to me to give certain things.” This only proves that in this thinking, we really don’t know God. In truth, nothing is more satisfying than knowing our God. There are many counter fit ways of knowing God. For starters there is knowing God by hear say. For example, this is someone who would say, “My preacher says….” Or “Well my father says this about God….” or “I read in a book about God…” This is second hand knowledge of knowing God, but not first hand knowledge. If we only have second hand knowledge or spoon fed knowledge and no knowledge reaming from our own intimate time in the word, then we truly don’t know God. And sadly, this is a false type of knowledge that many professing Christians stake their faith on today.

Textual knowledge is also a false knowledge of God. This is someone who would say, “I believe everything in the Bible….I just don’t know much about it.”  Or saying, “I love the Lord and believe in the Bible, I just don’t seek him for myself. “This is mistaking an allegiance to the Bible for an actual relationship with God. People will make excuses by saying things like, “Im just not good at reading my Bible”, but in actuality they are just exposing that there is a lack of passion in their lives because they’ve yet to realize the beauty of our savior.

Consider the passion of Paul, David, Moses, and men who walked with God all throughout history. There is a constant pattern in their lives that is marked by an obsession with God. They have come to know Him…truly know Him. And due to this, they desire to know more about Him.

This was the result of true knowledge of God.

“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24.

This is what delights the Lord. Not our church attendance, and not our attempts at good deeds. The one things that God delights in and says we can actually boast in is knowing Him. Do you know God, or just know some things about Him? Do you have a personal intimate time of building a relationship with Him, or do you rely on second hand knowledge only from a Pastor or teacher? Can you, as Jeremiah said, boast in the fact that you truly know Him and have found His deep mercies towards you more precious than the air you breath, or do you feel God owes you?

God’s great mercy and grace towards His children is more than we deserve. And if His mercy towards me be poverty and strife, blessed be His Holy name. Though He slay me, my hope is in Him. I pray sovereign God, show us your glory. As the Apostle Paul said, let us count all things, good and bad, as loss…garbage…when compared to the innumerable riches and joys of knowing you. You are more than enough to satisfy my soul. Amen.

Mark Driscoll, who is the mega-church Lead Pastor of Mar Hill Church in Seattle Washington was removed from The Acts 29 Church Planting Network of which he helped start due to “un-Christian like” behavior. Some of these allegations have been brought to light, and some are shrouded in secrecy. Some of these allegations stem from an edgy past of which at times Driscoll has pushed the envelope too far at times in his sermons. Pastor Mark did not deny any allegations and agreed to step down from Acts 29. He has admitted that there are things in his life that he is currently seeking repentance.

I personally have always enjoyed listening via podcast to Mark Driscoll’s sermons. Although I do not agree with everything he says or does at times, I have found that when you get down to examining what he is preaching, it matches the teaching of scripture. However in light of these events, I totally agree with the Acts 29’s decision to cut ties with Driscoll. And I will add that I believe that Mark Driscoll is a man who loves God with a passion, he just fell into sin.

Although I agree with the decision of Acts 29, I am saddened and heartbroken at the reaction that many professing believers in the main stream have shown in light of these events. Countless articles and blog post are flooding the internet, demonizing Mark Driscoll as if he were Satan himself. I want us to consider a couple of things.

We All Have Fallen.

In John chapter 8, a woman who has committed adultery is dragged out of her home by a mob of angry people. Adultery was a crime back then that was punishable by death. As the crowd stood accusing and condemning the woman, Jesus addressed them. And this is what He said to them;

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7.

In the 22 Chapter of Luke, Jesus said this to Simon Peter;

“Simon Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you so he may sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32.

Notice a few things from this verse. Jesus didn’t imply that Peter “might” fail. Jesus said, “WHEN you turn again”, meaning when you finally come to your senses, use what you learned from the fall that is coming to strengthen your brothers. In the same way, its not a matter of if we will fail at times, the question is when. Paul says in Romans that we all fall short, every one of us.

The only difference between us and Mark Driscoll is that he has the world watching his every move. He is a mega-church pastor and best selling author. Where as when we fall, our sins reverberate like a pin dropping. But when someone in the spotlight sins, it is heard like a nuclear bomb. In Matthew, Jesus was quite clear that we are not to be plank eyed Christian, looking to rejoice in a brother when he falls. Rather, we are to be prayer warriors in hopes that reconciliation may take place after the fall, much like most of the men in the Bible.

Imagine the shock if social media had gotten a hold of the fact that the Lord called King David a man after Gods own heart. I can just imagine the tweets now. “Thats impossible!!! He committed adultery and murder!!” “No way!! He cant even control his own family! His son raped his daughter and his other son tried to overthrow him!”  

But thankfully, God sees past our failures and  uses them to strengthen us if we would only repent. Can you imagine how viral things would get if  Paul had a Facebook account and posted that he was now an Apostle? Paul killed and persecuted Christians but now God was willing to call Paul His chosen tool in Acts chapter 9? God told Ananias to go and heal Paul’s blindness. Ananias was a Christian but only knew Paul as a killer of Christians. Naturally, he had concerns. But God eased Ananias mind by saying this;

“But God said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument.” Acts 9:15.

This is beautiful to me, because this tells us that even in our failures, God still is in control. And He can make good out of what Satan meant for evil.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20.

Mark Driscoll has sinned because he is a sinner by nature. He fell, because he is fallen by nature.

And he needs to repent of his actions daily and turn back to Christ…… just like every one of us. I do not claim to know all of what has caused this downfall, because at this time not everything is being released. But one thing I know for sure is that my God has a track record of breathing new life into individuals who have done far worse than Mark Driscoll. God saved murders like the Apostle Paul, men who worshipped false Gods like Abram, adulterers like David, liars like Peter, and countless others from their sins and called them righteous. If God can redeem men like these in the scriptures, I have no doubt God can do the same with Mark Driscoll if He so chooses.

Instead of attempting to tally up all of Mark Driscoll’s sins in order to point a judgmental finger, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to simply pray for him? It is not our place to judge. Rather it is the Christians place to point out the error in love, and pray that by the grace of God Mark would repent and turn from his sins. Mark is a pastor that fell into sin  and has at times said some things that he shouldn’t have. But so have other Godly leaders of men. Even those who are seemingly closest to God are not immune to the attacks of the enemy.

So how are we to react to this situation with the fall of Mark Driscoll? It would be very easy and human of us to act as ravenous vultures, and attack Driscoll with pointing fingers and accusing words. But lets step back off of our soap boxes for just a moment and examine how the scriptures advise us to handle a situation when a brother or sister falls into sin.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourselves, lest you be tempted too.” Galatians 6:1.

The original Greek speaks of a brother that would be entrapped or tangled up in a sin. I see no where in this verse that we are to take joy in a fall or to chastisingly say, “I told you so!”  Rather, Paul writes that we should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. And look how Paul follows this up, “Watch yourselves, because you are just as suseptible to fall as anyone else.”

I write this blog not to defend Mark Driscoll in anyway. There is no doubt he has many areas of his life in which he has fallen short and needs to repent. But again, such is the case with everyone of us. Matthew 15:18 says that if a brother sins, that those sins should be pointed out to them in love. And if he repents, then we rejoice as we have won them back from straying. Acts 29 and the Elders of Mars Hill are pointing out the areas where Driscoll has strayed. They are exemplify Matthew 15:18. With that being said, it is not our job as outsiders to this situation to look on from afar and cast stones.

The fall of a brother or sister should break our hearts. And we should pray that Mark would indeed see the error of his ways and turn back in repentance.  Once again, if God can change the heart of a murderous hater of God like Saul, I have no doubt God can do the same with Mark Driscoll. Put your stones down, and pray for Mark Driscoll’s restoration through repentance. Pray for the grace of God that He may keep us from sin, lest we fall into the same sinful entanglements that we once chastised others for.

Today is the first day of school for many parents, students, and teachers. Boys and girls are filled with a nervous excitement to see old friends and as well as new ones. Teachers wait with anticipation to meet their new students. And parents will experience a wide range of emotions. But a new school year comes with a heavy responsibility, especially for parents and teachers. It is my prayer that we all choose to go above and beyond the norm for the sake of the Gospel.

“Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like their teacher.” Luke 6:40.

I pray that our teachers would point everything back to Jesus.

“No matter if you eat, or drink, or do whatever; do all things to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31.

In this society we live in where many of our schools teach more of a secular humanism or moralistic deism concept of the world, teachers who would set themselves apart from the rest for the sake of the Gospel are greatly needed. I pray that our teachers would choose to be that city on a hill, separate from what is the norm, as to point our kids to the light of the world.

“You are the light of the world, a city on a hill top that cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14.

I thank God for the many teachers who are molding our children for a brighter future. Teachers I pray that as you teach, you yourself are constantly being taught, fed, and nourished by God’s precious Word in your own lives. Because what you feed yourself will be an overflow into those whom you teach. And the impact you will have upon our children is eternal, because again,  no student is greater than his teacher, but the student who is fully trained will become like their teacher.

Now the  folly in our culture can be for the parents to place this heavy responsibility fully and totally upon the school systems. However, for a parent to depend more on the school system to train up their children rather than to place most of this mantle upon themselves is not only foolish, but it is un-biblical. Speaking of parents duties in training their children in the ways of the world, Deuteronomy says;

“You shall teach them to your children, talking with them as you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 11:19.

Deuteronomy points out that we are to constantly use every opportunity to point all things back to Christ. It is important that we engage our children daily as to what they are learning in school, so that we may use these conversations as opportunities to show them that everything points back to God.

Fathers, we have the largest portion of responsibilities. It is not primarily our wives job nor is it the school systems job to see that our children are being trained for the future, it is ours as men. This is especially true pertaining to parents who have boys. We have four boys. And it is my job as their father to teach them all things. It is my privilege to mold my boys, and to teach them how to become men. Again, this is not my wife’s job to shepherd our sons into manhood, it is mine. In the same way, mothers have the great privilege of teaching their girls how to become women of God, while fathers teach their daughters how ladies are to be discipled and led, beginning with their mother. Because again, a student will become like their teacher.

Men, as leaders of our house, I cannot stress how very important it is to have a time of family worship daily. If we are not making an effort to make God priority in our families, then we should not be surprise when our children do not see God as priority in their lives. Its very easy to deceive ourselves into thinking there is no time, yet we make time for other things. After school and work, we make time for team sports for our kids, television, and lounging around after a long day. It is a matter of making a decision and following through with it. If you are new to family worship or have never done something like this, here are some tips in how to implement this into your family routines:

1. Family Worship Must Be Born Out of Conviction

As parents, you must be convicted this is something you need. Without this conviction, you will be unable to follow through with the following steps. Pray that God would burden your heart for your family to know Jesus not just on Sundays, but in a real daily relationship. Lead them.

2. Family Worship Begins With the Head of the House

Wives, do not demand that your husband start doing family worship. It needs to come from him. Instead, begin by asking, not demanding, if he would pray with you at night for your family. Then begin to pray that God would open his eyes to the beauty of Christ and for him to see his great need for the Gospel.

3. Family Worship Must Be Simple

There is no need to stress or over complicate family worship. Begin by singing a praise song that everyone knows. It can be as simple as Jesus loves me. Choose something that the children will enjoy. One of the songs we love in our house is “My God is So BIg.” You can find hand motions online as well. Then simply begin to read from Gods word. With our kids being young, we use “The Jesus Storybook” to read from. The stories are short with pictures and easy for younger ones to understand. Not only does this book present stories of the Bible, but it teaches basic Biblical doctrines to our kids and points everything in each story back to Jesus. After the story we usually talk and ask the boys questions pertaining to what we read. Then we will go around and let everyone pray in closing. Another great book for teaching is The Shorter Catechism. Our family worship usually ranges from 5-15 minutes depending on how interactive the boys are on any given night. Again, keep it simple.

4. Family Worship is Mandatory

There will be days when toys and TV are going to fight for your child’s affections when its time for family worship. You must make this as mandatory as doing their homework. Eventually, family worship will become an expected, even cherished part of their day. But as it is with anything, in order to create a lasting routine, you must stick with it, especially in the beginning. Put it on your schedule just as you would baskeball practice, TV time, or anything else.

5. Family Worship Must Be Participatory

Family worship is not meant to be a preaching session. Invite your family to participate. Allow your family to sing, discuss, ask questions, pray, and read scripture. This will not only draw your family closer to God, but closer to one another as well.

Again I thank God for the many great teachers in our world. Kings and Presidents do not have as an important job as you do. For the weight of eternity hangs upon your every word. I pray that we as parents would partner along side school teachers in grooming our kids for the future, that mothers would be models of pray and Gospel proclamation in their homes, and that fathers would emulate THE GREAT teacher Christ Jesus, as they are compelled to shepard their families after our Lord. Because every student will become like his teacher.

Social media, movies, even books can be strong tools of the devil.  Most recently, I was in utter shock at the great number of professing Christians that were excited to jump aboard the “Heaven is For Real” movie bandwagon. My disdain for the movie (and the book) centered around a straying from Biblical truth, and inconsistencies  in the movie that drift towards our cultures craving for a man made authority over what has been given through scripture. If you missed it, you can view my blog on the movie at this link, “Heaven is For Real May Not Be For Real”.

This morning, my heart became troubled once again for fear of my brothers and sisters in Christ falling prey to yet another heretical news story that flies in the face of the teachings of scripture. It seems that an article regarding a young boy and reincarnation has surfaced. In the article, this young boy of three years had claimed to remember being killed in his “former life” and was able to lead police to the site where his bones were buried. The boys therapist, a Dr. Eli Lasch, was reportedly present when the boy told his story to police and led them to the buried corpse. The Dr. is said to have conveniently written a book entitled, “Children Who Have Lived Before: Reincarnation Today”, about other children he has spoke with who’ve had similar stories of their past lives.

This article has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter and so many Christians are once again falling for this rouse, sharing the article with friends and commenting on how amazing it is. This has burdened my heart, and concerned me for those who would claim the name of Christ, yet seemingly begin to buy into, as the Apostle Paul said in Galatians, “A Different Gospel.” So very briefly, I want to take a moment to present some scripture in hopes of strengthening my brothers in sisters in Christ pertaining to false Gospels in hopes of protecting you from the lies of Satan that seek to draw us away from our Lord.

1. Our World (and the people in it) Is Not Reliable….God is.

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.” 1 Timothy 4:7.

Paul writing to his protégé Timothy here warns him of the dangers of believing “Godless myths.” Rather, Paul tells him to train himself up in Godliness. Why? So that Timothy would know better. I am convinced one of the main reasons modern day Christians so easily fall into believing things contrary to scripture is because they don’t know the scriptures themselves. In our modern day Christian society, what it means to be a believer in Christ has been so watered down the many believe that Christianity is merely adhering to a set of moralistic rules and coming to church on Sunday’s. Yet there is no seeking, no wrestling with the scriptures in private, and no intimate personal relationship with the Father. Christianity today has been turned into more of a feel good club that invites sinners to come as they are  (which is true) yet requires no internal change from them. We fall prey to these absurd stories because we really don’t know, nor do we care to understand, the doctrine and theology of our faith. We have grown content in simply knowing basic Sunday School stories with no hunger to know the deeper things of our Savior. Yet Paul pleads with young Timothy to be trained in Godliness to avoid these pitfalls.

“O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21.

2. Don’t Be So Quick To Believe Everything You Hear (Or read).

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1.

Paul warned Timothy to be trained in Godliness for the very reason that John points out in the verse above. We as believers are to filter everything in this world through the scriptures. I am horrified and saddened at how easily professing Christians will buy into these sensationalistic stories and actually grow angered when the Bible speaks against them! Test everything through the scriptures.

3. False Prophets Exist Everywhere In Our World Today.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” 2 Peter 2:1-3.

Notice the verse above mentions, “…in their greed they will exploit you with false words.” Greed and the desire for attention is at the heart of our human condition. In our sin nature, even the best of us at times wants the spotlight. If a Christian falls into this sin of wanting attention on him or herself more than God without ever turning in repentance, apostasy takes place. Apostasy happens when a professing believer begins to turn from the true Gospel and preach or teach a distorted version of it. Judas Iscariot was apostate. He walked with God daily for three years and was as close to him physically as one can get. Yet Judas never understood the true Gospel. And so he fell away. Now let me clarify one thing as a side note. A true believer in Christ CANNOT fall away! You cannot lose your salvation if you are a true believer.

“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me” John 6:39.

The question with an apostate is not, “Did they lose their salvation?” The question is, “Were they ever saved to begin with?” Let Judas example be a warning to us. That merely being near Jesus related things, like going to church, listening to Christian music, or attending Bible studies is no different than how Judas was near Christ. Again, Christianity is not a checklist of things you’ve done, its all about your acknowledgement of what HE has done. Its about a personal relationship with Christ. For if a person begins to follow or believe in a different Gospel than the one preached in the scriptures, Paul says in Galatians 1:8, “Let him be accursed.”

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” 1 John 2:19.

4. Is The Bible or Man Your Authority?

I have actually seen professing Christians grow angry in defense of a false teaching such as reincarnation, saying things like, “Who are you to say God couldn’t work this way?” And in response to this question, I would gently say, “Who are you to say that God does work this way?” You see, both of these statements are centered around the same question. That question being, “Who is your authority?” I would never tell someone how God works based on my own opinion of who God is. We as believers are commanded to let the Word of God be our light in this world. So to anyone who would ponder this question of reincarnation, lets allow the Lord to settle this matter once and for all.

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” Hebrews 9:27.

Dissect this anyway you would like, but it is impossible to get around what the writer of Hebrews is saying here. We will die ONCE. If reincarnation were true, then we would be appointed to die more than once, because we would have more than one life. We have one life given by God the Father, and the we will stand in judgement according to who we served in this life. Job says it like this;

“But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he? As waters fail from a lake and a river wastes away and dries up, so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.” Job 14:10-12.

Job states that once man has been laid to rest in death, he will not rise again until the day of the Lord comes.

“He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.” Psalm 78:39.

Psalm reminds us that our lives are like a wind that passes, and do not come again.

And in one of my favorite accounts of scripture, the thief on the cross is hanging beside Jesus and puts his faith in Christ. Jesus doesn’t tell him that he will be given another earthly life to try and do better. Rather Jesus says this;

“And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43.

We are appointed one life, and then judgement. In a world driven by mans desire for attention, many false teachers will arise telling tales that are alluring and tickling to our itching ears. But let us not fall into deception. There is one Gospel and one truth. Do not fall into the myths of this world. Do not let the enemy lead you astray. Train yourself up in Godliness, because Satan prowls around you as a lion, waiting to devour you at any given time. Be clothed in the armor of God that Ephesians 6 points us towards. When it comes to books, blogs, movies or Facebook posts, filter everything through the lens of scripture. As a child would run to his earthly father in search of truth, let the Word of God be your authority so that you may always be dependent on Christ.

“Little children, make sure no one deceives you”  1 John 3:7-11.

Before any people who were excited to see the movie get offended by the title of this blog, ask yourself one question; “What is a more credible source of truth to me? The Word of God, or the testimony of man?” Heaven is for Real is the account of a four year old boy named Colton Burpo who claims to had a near death experience and claims to have actually been to Heaven. Now I am just as curious about Heaven as the next Christian. However, we must not be so willing to believe every account of the afterlife that comes our way without carefully filtering it through the scriptures. I find it very odd that we are skeptical by human nature, and if we are told something regarding the weather, the news, or the personal background of an individual, we check things out to make sure we know the truth. But when it comes to someone saying that they have experienced the afterlife, we rarely compare their account to scripture and at times, even hold what the person says regarding their experience in higher authority than the Bible.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9.

Peter is speaking of the children of God. If you are a true Christian, then you are one of His chosen children. And look at the way God describes His children in the verse above. Peter says that God’s children are a “royal priesthood.” It goes on to say that we may proclaim Him, that is Christ, who saved us for His glory. If you are a Christian, you are one of His priest. Everyone person who has been bought by His blood is considered and called a priest by God. Because we are to herald His name to others that they may be brought from darkness into the light.

Now consider how easily many professing Christians are mislead by books and movies about the things of God. There are people who profess Christ that will angrily defend movies and books like “Heaven is For Real” because it makes them feel good. But they never seek to see what God says about the matter.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me.” Hosea 4:6.

Read that verse again. It may frighten some reading it. Or it might anger some. But consider what the Lord is saying. He says that His people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge. Not speaking of cultural knowledge, but knowledge of God throughout the scriptures. Meaning that when we have little knowledge of the scriptures, then we will be easily deceived into believing lies about God. And when we begin to attribute truths to God that go against scripture, then its not the God of the Bible we are believing in, but one conjured up by an author, or in the case of “Heaven is For Real”, Hollywood.

The most sobering portion of Hosea 4:6 comes at the end of the verse. God says because His people have rejected Godly knowledge in exchange for man centered knowledge, God rejects them from being a priest. What terrifies me is that in 1 Peter, God describes His children as being priest. Yet the Lord says for our Lack of knowledge, we are destroyed and rejected from being His priest!

Does this mean if you have read a book and even fallen into the deception of believing falsities about God that you are not saved? No. But it does mean that if a person lives their whole life believing more Godly knowledge from man centered ideas rather than from His word, then they are lost. I can say this because the scriptures does, and again, it makes sense. Because when we worship or begin to believe in any other God than the one of the Bible, it is not Jesus. And it is our own fault, because we would have neglected to truly seek Him in scriptures and instead, merely rely on what culture says about God.

We destroy ourselves for a lack of Biblical knowledge.

All throughout scripture, numerous passages warn us sternly not to believe whatever we hear.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1.

The people of Galatia were falling prey to believing the words of men over the true Gospel that Paul had preached. For those that would believe anything other than what has been revealed in God’s word, the apostle Paul said this;

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-8.

I believe that God in the same way is truly astonished at some professing believers who are so easily swayed to believe other accounts separate from his Word. Paul said if any person believes anything else other than the true Gospel of Christ, let him be accursed. The Hebrew is much more harsh, basically saying, “Let him be damned.” Again, this does not mean if you have seen or plan on seeing the movie you are not saved. But it does mean if you are quick to believe lies about God over the truth found in scripture, then the God you are believing in is one defined by culture, not scripture.

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” 2 John 1:10-12.

This teaching John is speaking of is the Gospel found in scripture. And John says if anyone says anything that contradicts scripture, don’t even let him into your house. Yet we do this regularly in our culture by buying books and movies with skewed takes on the afterlife into our homes. Again, the words of John are stern in the latter part of the verse, saying that whomever takes a false Gospel into their house is participating in wicked works. These are not my opinions, this is the Word of God.

Lets consider the Word of God for a moment when we line it up against people who profess that they have been to the afterlife and lived to tell about it.

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” 2 Corinthians 12:2-4.

Paul speaks of knowing a man who was actually taken up into Heaven. Some theologians believe that Paul may have been speaking of himself. And this man saw the wonders of paradise. And God showed him and told him things. But look at the last part of the verse….“things that cannot be told and that man MAY NOT UTTER.”

If God would not let Paul speak of the things he had seen in Heaven and told Him that man is not even able to talk about such things, what makes us think God is going to change all of the sudden? We love the old saying, “God is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” We love to quote the verses in scripture regarding Gods unchanging nature. But we are so easily willing to go against the word of God for the sake of satisfying our own curiosities.

In reading the verse above if you go back to the start of the chapter, Paul makes it clear he is referring to a vision. So the man Paul refers to who experienced Heaven didnt actually go there, but rather he had a vision given by God. And again, he was told that he was not allowed to tell of anything he saw.

“No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” John 3:13.

Individuals in scripture were given visions of Heaven. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul and John were the only four people in scripture that were allow to see Heaven through a vision. But no one has actually died, gone to Heaven or Hell for that matter, and then come back to tell about it. If you dont agree with this statement, don’t argue with me, take it up with John 3:13. Jesus is the only one who has died and gone to Heaven and the only one who will return.

Two other individuals in scripture, Micaiah and Stephen got glimpses of Heaven, but what they saw is only briefly mentioned, not described. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John were allowed by God to give small descriptions, but everything they mentioned was solely centered around the Glory of God, not themselves. In fact, all of them mentioned their own fear and shame in the presence of such glory. Accounts given today from movies and present day authors center their so called experiences around seeing loved ones, images of the Heavenly landscape, and themselves. A far cry from how the prophets, Paul and John described their visions. They felt a great sense of unworthiness and were terrified by the weight of their own sinful nature in the presence of such Glory!

Jesus Himself spoke of a great divide between the afterlife and our earthly existence;

“And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’” Luke 16:23.

Christ Himself just said that NO ONE can pass back and forth between the afterlife and our present life. The New Testament adds much to our understanding of Heaven and Hell. But we are still not permitted to add our own ideas or experience based conclusions to what God has specifically revealed through His Word. We are forbidden in ALL spiritual matters that go beyond what is written in His Word.

“I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” 1 Corinthians 4:6.

Those who profess to know more about Heaven than God tells us are sinning.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29.

It is not wrong to go see the Movie “Heaven is For Real.” But I don’t see how it can be beneficial to believers.

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”–but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”–but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10:23.

And it can be dangerous if you view it as anything other than a Hollywood movie. It can be dangerous if you begin to attempt to ream truth from it. God has revealed everything He had intended us to know about Himself and through His word. Yet so many of us prefer to get our dose of Gospel second hand rather than taking the time to dig into scripture and develop a true personal relationship. Again there are many falsities and things that are very contradictory to scripture within the book and the film. Neither are safe sources of Biblical truth. If you really want to know what God is like, get your information first hand from what He says about Himself in His Word.

“It’s a little heaven below, to imagine sweet things. But never think that imagination can picture heaven. When it is most sublime, when it is freest from the dust of earth, when it is carried up by the greatest knowledge, and kept steady by the most extreme caution, imagination cannot picture heaven. “It hath not entered the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Imagination is good, but not to picture to us heaven. Your imaginary heaven you will find by-and-by to be all a mistake; though you may have piled up fine castles, you will find them to be castles in the air, and they will vanish like thin clouds before the gale. For imagination cannot make a heaven. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered the heart of man to conceive” it.” Charles Spurgeon.

Bill was a big kid, especially to be only in seventh grade. My friends and I would ride the bus home every day after school and we would all sit in the very back. We sat in the back for a very good reason. We sat in the back because Bill sat in the front. No one so much as looked in Bill’s direction for fear of possibly making eye contact. You see because of how big of a boy Bill was, He had a reputation. Depending on who you would ask, stories about the countless kids Bill had beat to a pulp would vary. Some said he lived all alone in an apartment in the bad part of town. Others said he was a street fighter who beat up kids for money. Regardless of what the story was regarding Bill, it was never good. And the legend of Bill the bully grew in our school. Everyone had their opinions on who Bill was. The only problem was that no one ever asked Bill. All that anyone knew about Bill was based on what someone else had said that had been based on their opinion. No one ever let Bill set the record straight.

I began to watch Bill (when I knew he wouldn’t make eye contact with me) on our bus rides home. As I sat in the back of the bus with my friends laughing and joking around, I occasionally looked at Bill. But I began to realize that it wasn’t rage I saw in his eyes, but sadness. Bill sat alone in class, at lunch, and on our bus rides home. And it dawned on me that of all these horror stories I had heard of him beating someone up, I had never seen this for myself. In fact, Id never seen Bill interact with anyone.

I never will forget the day I first spoke to Bill. I was getting on the bus and walking to my usual spot in the back. As I was about to pass by Bill sitting in his usual seat, he accidentally dropped his notebook and papers spilled out all over the aisle. I had a choice to make. I could step over his paper and continue on to my safe place. Or I could take comfort in the fact that Id lived a good life up to now, take a risk, and actually touch Bill’s papers in an attempt to help him. I chose to help. And as I bent down to pick up his papers, our eyes met for the first time….and he smiled a sad, pitiful smile at me.

I ended up sitting beside Bill that day on our ride home. And it was the beginning of a great friendship. It turned out Bill was no bully. In fact he didnt have a mean bone in his oversized body. He had never beaten anyone up much less been in a fight of any kind. We ended up being great friends. He would come over to my house and play sometimes, and I would go to his house. To my utter shock, he actually lived in a normal house with normal parents! I told my friends to stop fabricating who they thought Bill was based on their opinions and to actually talk to him. I told them to get to know him. By the end of that school year, Bill was sitting in the back of the bus with the rest of us.

We stopped letting our opinions speak for who Bill was.

And we began letting Bill speak for himself.

Our thought process was so twisted regarding Bill. We thought because Bill was big, that must mean that he was mean. And this is no different than what many professing Christians do with Jesus. They think because God is love that he must be tolerant of our sin. And so the world has many different opinions of who Jesus is. I love talking about Jesus. I love talking about the character of God. But the most dangerous conversation a person can have about Jesus is one that involves little to no scripture. Its those conversations that sound something like this;

“Well I THINK God is Love and He would NEVER judge.”

“I dont BELIEVE God would operate like that.”

“I KNOW God would never ask someone to change who they are.”

Do you see the problem here? All of these statements are based on opinion. There is no scripture reference listed! In essence, much as was the case with Bill, we are more interested in a God that is built on personal opinion and speculation rather than seeking to know what God actually says about Himself.

Bill was big, but that didnt mean he was a bully.

God is love, but that doesn’t mean that He cannot be wrathful.

Think of it this way. I love babies. And since I love babies, I hate abortion. If God is righteous He must oppose that which is unrighteous.

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” Psalm 5:4-6.

The wicked shall not stand before the Lord. Read the verse again. God can have nothing to do with evil. Our righteous and Holy God cannot have fellowship with anything wicked! One of the most terrifying characteristics of God is that He is righteous and good. Some would say, “Why is a good God terrifying to you?” My answer to them is;

It is a terrifying thing that God is good, because we are not.

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips.Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Romans 3:10-18.

This is just one of many verses depicting our depraved human state. Paul writes no one is good. He describes us perfectly. He says, “The venom of asps is under their lips.” Speaking of our gossip and slander towards one another. And “…their feet are quick to shed blood”, regarding how quick tempered we are to lash out against someone. This is the given state of humanity. The Psalm says it like this;

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.” Psalm 58:3.

Because of the fall and sin entering the world, all are born into sin. Sin is not something that is learned. It is a condition we are born with. It is a condition we need saving from.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” Romans 5:12.

I once heard a pastor put it like this describing how we are wicked from birth. He said to imagine that you had a little baby in your arms. The baby reaches for your watch, and you gently move his hand away from the watch. Agitated , the baby reaches again for the watch and you move his hand again. The baby, then frustrated and enraged that you will not let him have the watch, begins to kick and swing his arms at you in a fit of rage. Consider this; if that enraged little baby swinging at you had the strength and size of a twenty year old man he would beat you to a pulp, rip the watch off of your wrist, and step over your body with his new toy as if you were not even there.

Every time someone wants to argue that we were not born evil, I ask them to explain who taught my babies that biting was the solution to getting what they wanted.

Sin is not learn, it is ingrained from birth as a result of the fall. If you begin to compare this aspect of our wickedness to God, you begin to see how very unworthy we are. Again look at this verse.

“For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” Psalm 5:4.

“The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” Psalm 11:5-7.

If we believe the Bible to be true, and given we do not attempt to “twist” the scriptures, let the implications of this sink in.

We are the wicked. God doesn’t delight nor can He have fellowship with evil. If this is true, the reality that God is perfect and righteous so much so that He can have no part of the wicked is bad news for humanity.

We cannot save ourselves. We are a hopeless people. We need a savior.

Once you begin to understand our hopeless state and God’s hatred towards sin….its only then can you truly understand the love of God. Its only then that you can merely begin to comprehend the Gospel.

God owed us nothing. But in love, God chose to sacrifice His one and only son. God sent Christ to earth to live the perfect life that we couldnt live. In the old testament people would sacrifice animals to God in order to be the payment for their sins. In living this perfect life, Jesus then died on the cross, becoming the final sacrifice for sin.

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:11-13.

On the cross, the full cup of God’s wrath towards sinners was poured out onto Jesus.

“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3-4.

This verse always strikes me. That God sent His son “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” Meaning when God looked down on Christ upon the cross, He saw not His perfect son, but the likeness of our sins upon Christ. Christ had to die. Why? As Romans says, “..in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled.” You see God’s standards are higher than ours. To have fellowship with God, the scriptures say God demands perfection.

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

Dont twist the scriptures or mold God into a God you are comfortable with. The text above states that God demands perfection. Something we could never do on our own. So Jesus came to die for us. Why? Again look back to the verse above in Romans 3; “…so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled.” Where was this to be fulfilled?  IN US!

Who is the “us” in that verse. Is it everyone including those who chose sin over God? Look back at Romans 3 again; “…in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

The atonement is not for those who continue to seek after their fleshly desires, but those who begin to walk in accordance with His spirit. Jesus chose to save His children! And those that are the children of God are distinguished like this;

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.  You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.  No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.  Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” 1 John 3:4-10.

Notice John writes that no one born of God makes a practice of sinning as a regular part of their life. Why? Because they cannot. For God’s seed now abides in them. How can we distinguish the children of God from those who are not? The verse says whomever doesn’t practice a life of righteousness is not of God.

God is love. And God does love the world. But not as many people portray it.

Jesus said, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” John 17:9.

Whom is Jesus talking about when He says, “God so loved the world”? (John 3:16). Read the verse above again. Jesus is speaking of those the Father has given him who are in the world, not the unrighteous and wicked of the world.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:11.

Much of the world paints God in their image so that they might continue living in sin. They say that it would be hateful for God to be wrathful against sinners. Therefore to them, for God to be loving He must be accepting of everyone, even those who chose to not walk according to His commands.

The opposite of love is not hate.

The opposite of love is indifference.

I am wrathful against anyone who would try to hurt my children. God has told us through scripture that sin, any kind of sin that we continue to practice without repentance, leads to death (Proverbs 14:12.). God’s wrath against sin displays His amazing grace. In order for God to be love then He must have wrath against sin. Because it was sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. And now those who are covered in the blood of Christ no longer walk in the ways of sin but in righteousness. And God no longer sees the sins of a believer in His son, but instead sees the perfection of Christ imputed to them.

Again, we are not perfect. No one is. But here is the picture of what it means to seek righteousness in Christ. When a baby begins to walk, it stumbles alot. And eventually when it falls it gets upset. Because it so desperately wants to walk. As the child gets older, it stumbles less and less. And when it becomes an adult it stumbles less and less. Adults will occasionally fall down. But when they do, they are embarrassed. And an adult who stumbles will look at the object he stumbled over and remove it from their path so not to fall again.

Thats the picture of sanctification. The more we grow in Christ, the less we want to stumble. Will we sin. Absolutely. But we cannot continue on in it as  1 John said. Christians will begin to take on the nature of their savior and be repulsed by the sins the one loved and begin to love the righteousness they once hated!

Why should we not draw our own conclusions of who God is without seeking scriptures? Because anything that is not ground in scripture regarding the character of God is a lie from man.

“Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written; “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:4.

We as Christians are not to judge. But we are to stand on the word of God. The most unloving thing we as believers could do is to not share the good news of Christ with a person whom is living outside of His grace. Grace is not indifference to sin. Grace is an undeserved gift. And again, due to our depravity none of us are deserving. Thats what makes God’s grace so unbelievable and so wonderful! And mercy is to not receive a punishment that was deserved. We like to talk about mercy, but not really think about what it means. We don’t want to even think of our God as one who holds back much less harbors wrath. But that mere fact that God would extend such an extraordinary gift, which is the undeserved righteousness of His son, and remove the death sentence that we earned due to our rebellion is beyond words.

When we understand the meaning of grace and mercy, the love of God takes on a whole new meaning.

Do you see the gospel? We deserve eternal separation from God. We deserve death. Because of sin, the wrath of God abides on fallen mankind. But God, in His great love, executed the great exchange. In order that we might be saved from ourselves, God took the wrath that was due us, and placed it all on His perfect son. And then God took the righteousness of His one and only son Jesus, and placed it upon those whom He has called for Himself. God gave undeserved grace and mercy. God saved those who could not have saved themselves.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

It was truly the greatest exchange! Praise Christ! And those whom He calls His children will begin to walk in His ways. They will begin to repent of the sins in their lives and seek to be more like their Heavenly Father. And this will not be a burden to them. Why? Because they’ve experienced a supernatural love. His commands become to them as King David said in the Psalms, “…honey on my lips” (Psalm 119:103.). His children don’t run towards sin. The run from it towards their savior. God’s children are marked by their lifestyle of obedience to His commands.

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:2-3.

Our opinions about who we think Jesus is are not important. Because we cannot mold a God into our own image. Never attempt to define God by what you think He would do according to what the world says. If we attempt to describe God by our own opinion with no scripture basis, then we speak not of Jesus, but rather a God made in an image that we are comfortable with. Always look to the scriptures. Who does God say that He is? We exist for the glory of His great name. We exist to make HIS name great, not so that our name might be great! And this is not a burden to the children of God, because we have truly been saved by His grace.  Bill turned out to be much different than I thought when I finally let him tell me who he was. In the same way, you may find that God is a much bigger God than you ever imagined when you begin to let the creator of the universe speak for Himself! Don’t tell God who He is. Let God tell you who He is.

I recently heard a song by a Christian artist named Jordan Elias called ‘Tickle My Ears Gospel.’ And in the song he made reference to a world that only has the stomach to tolerate a lukewarm gospel. A world that wants a politically correct Jesus. A world where if God is love, then God must be tolerant of our sins or else he would be unfair, harsh, and judgmental. Elias sung about a world that defines a loving God as being one who calls sinners to come, but would never require them to change. This is the world we currently live in. And in this world of over contextualization, we seek to worship a God that is all loving and not wrathful. We seek a God who is accepting of sin and not judgmental towards it. We seek a God who is a buddy and not one who is Lord and King of all creation. There is only one problem with this God our generation has sought out.

It is not the God of the Bible.

Having lived in a third world country on the mission field for a time, I can honestly say that the hardest place to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ is right here in America. Because we don’t want to hear a message of truth, we want a message of prosperity. We want a Heavenly Father who would never discipline His children or be angry at them, but instead, beg them not to sin. And if by chance His children do sin, then we’ve told them that its ok….as long as they come to church and say that they love Jesus, then God will still love them. Because again, he’s not a judgmental God, but loving. America wants a modern, hipster Jesus. We want to bring Him kicking and screaming into our twenty first century. We have this attitude of entitlement. That Jesus owes us a good life because we consider ourselves good and moral. Our generation beats its chest boldly and proclaims that we should not have to change. Rather, Jesus should get with the times and be the one to change. This is the Jesus the majority of our world worships. This Jesus is so easy to follow. He literally requires nothing but morality and a profession of the lips. But there is still one tiny problem with this God.

It is not the God of the Bible.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Timothy 4:3.

Give me some of that “Tickle my ears” Gospel. Its so easy to drink down. So comfortable to digest. Yeah, that’s what we want. But that is not message of Jesus. I had a conversation with a family member a few years back. This family member was living a homosexual lifestyle. I was able to share the gospel with him. And in a loving way, I pointed out that the lifestyle he was choosing to live was sinning against God. This family member claimed to love God, but saw nothing wrong with his sexual orientation. I love this family member with all of my heart, and I wanted him to know Jesus. But the more I talked to him, the more I realized that he had done just what 2 Timothy 4:3 was describing. He had morphed the Jesus of the Bible into a God that would suit the sinful passions of his flesh.

My family member’s first retort was, “Well we all sin. And God knows Im not perfect.”

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

Very true. We all sin. We all fall short. But I began to point out that there is a difference in stumbling into sin, as we all do, and willfully choosing to sin as a way of life.  1 John says it like this;

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9.

Think of when you were in high school and you had ball practice. You knew that you would participate in this. You prepared for it. You set your mind to do it daily. A practice is anything you set your mind to do on a regular basis. A practice is a way of life. And the scriptures speak in the most elementary terms, saying that if a person is claiming to be born of God, they may sin, but they cannot make a practice of sin. Why not? Read the verse. Because a true Christian has been born of God and now has God’s spirit living within them. They cannot practice sin because their new nature in Christ will not allow it.

Can a Christian fall into sin? Absolutely.

Can they walk in sin as a way of life? By no means.

I then went to Hebrews 10:26, one of the most clear cut and startling passages of scripture I have personally ever read.

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,” Hebrews 10:26.

The key word here is deliberately. Again, a Christian can and will sin. But one who has been truly regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit cannot walk in sin as a way of life. And if a person does indeed continue on in deliberate sin, the verse says something that would be considered scandalous in our world today. The writer of Hebrews says of that a person that would deliberately continue sinning that the sacrifice no longer remains for his sins. What sacrifice? The only sacrifice that can cover our sins, Christ crucified.

This is not a politically correct God. But it is the one of the Bible.

This family member then went on to try to justify that he was born gay. That he couldn’t help  how God made him. And he actually referred to the Bible to attempt to prove his point. Here is the passage he quoted;

“For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” Matthew 19:12.

Again, he was using this verse to attempt to argue that people can indeed be born gay. The only problem is that he ripped this verse out without reading the whole chapter. If we read all of Matthew 19, it becomes apparent that Jesus is speaking about marriage, not homosexuality.

Consider also that the word “eunuch” is used three times in the verse, which suggests three kinds of men who are given to not marry. The first two usages were already familiar to the disciples. Jesus mentions those who are eunuchs from birth; that is, they were either incapable of marriage (i.e., physical deformity which prohibited having children) or have no desire to marry. The second is speaking of physical castration. Such eunuchs were often used in guarding harems. The third is the new category: those who choose to be single “for the kingdom of God.” In both cases there is not even a suggestion that people are born with homosexual orientation. If anything, the implication is to not be involved in marriage and sexual activity – which would negate homosexuality as an option.

Some view the Bible’s stance on homosexuality as judgmental, saying that Christians should be accepting of the homosexual community and their lifestyle. I believe that we as believers should be loving towards them. I believe that we should invite them to church so that they can hear the gospel message. But we are not called to be accepting of sin. Homosexuality is not a birth defect or a natural born gift from God. It is a sin. It was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 where God was so angered by their perversion of sex that he destroyed the whole city with fire. Paul warned the Corinthians about many damnable sins given one chose to pursue them as a way of life in which homosexuality was mentioned;

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,” 1 Corinthians 6:9.

Also consider Romans 1;

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Romans 1:26-27.

Paul is writing of same sex relationships. Men and women consumed with passion for one another. Paul speaks of this in the harshest terms. “Shameless acts” and “error.” So what are natural relations defined by God?

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24.

For society to justify homosexuality or any sin that God has named is folly. To say Christians are judgmental for warning others of the dangers in practicing sin as a lifestyle goes against the very reason Jesus came; that being to call us to repentance. Consider this; If a man were arrested for being a serial killer and in the court room, he said, “I cannot help that I kill people, I was born with an anger problem.” Wouldn’t it be unfair of the judge to jail him? Of course not! We would never say that. So why does our world say that homosexuality is something to be accepted as a character trait and murder is not? God clearly states that both murder and fornication are both sins. So how can we justify one and not the other? Because we don’t see homosexuality as hurting anyone, therefore it must be ok! But again, in doing this and denying the fact that God calls it a sin we are ripping the Bible out of context so that it fits, as 1 Timothy said, with our lifestyles. In essence, we place ourselves on the throne of God and tell him to move over, because we know better.

Here is the thing that our society has not realized as a whole. The only reason a person seeks after sin and passions of the flesh is at the end of the day, for pleasure. Homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, gluttony, materialism, whatever vice it may be, at the very core we want gratification of some sort. And temptations are merely urges for us to chase after that longing to which we want gratified. One of my favorite passages in the Bible as well as book is Ecclesiastes. And in it there is a verse that sums up the problem of the human condition. God tells us how he wired us and what it is that will satisfy every longing within us.

“Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

God did not put murder into a mans heart. He did not put greed into a mans heart. And God did not put homosexuality into a mans heart. The text says that God wired all of us with an eternal void inside of us. And throughout life we so desperately try to fill the emptiness so that we can be full. And so temptation and Satan would tell us that alcohol will fill that void if we only take a sip. Yet at the bottom of the bottle and after the buzz has passed, there is nothing left but sickness and despair. The world would tell us to fill this void with the material things of the world. But as one celeb once said, “The more I have, the more I want.” Material things cant fill that void. And even our flesh cries out to look to sexual relationship to fill this eternal void. But this cannot fill an eternal void either.

The eternal void within a man’s heart can only be filled by something else that is eternal.

God has placed eternity within our hearts. And in the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, the wisest most wealthy man who ever lived tried to fill that void with everything under the sun. He had hundreds of women at his beck and call, and in the end he said it was meaningless. He had mansions upon mansions and more material possessions than anyone who has ever lived and he called it a foolish pursuit. Solomon had everything a man could want and he called all of his pursuits vanity. Because he could never find lasting satisfaction in anything he chased after. The book of Ecclesiastes is basically a journal of Solomon chasing all of his fleshly desires in an attempt to find satisfaction. And at the end of the book, he concludes his experiment of chasing to gratify his flesh like this;

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13.

Solomon concluded that he was never the center of the universe. And in thinking that life was all about the gratification of his desires only ended up constantly disappointing him. In chasing fleeting happiness, he missed out on eternal joy. The void with us cannot be filled by the things of this world. We were created… wired, to find our deepest joys in a living, breathing, vibrant relationship with the creator of the universe Christ Jesus. And when we justify the sins of other people and call it being loving, we are depriving them of knowing real joy and letting them run after a happiness that is but a mirage in the desert.

The great author and theologian CS Lewis said it like this;

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

In Christ, there is infinite joy abounding! Yet we continue to keep our eyes focused on ourselves and not on Him. We are the biggest enemy to our own joy.

There are those that would say I am being judgmental by labeling homosexuality as a sin. To begin with, I would lovingly point out that I have not labeled anything. The Bible has already done that. Secondly, if my child was running towards a busy intersection and in danger of being hit by a car, yet he said that it was fun to him and what he wanted, would it make me unloving to point out the danger that lie ahead in the path he was choosing to run? In the same way, I am not the judge of human race. But I do know what the judge says.

Some would say its unloving to call homosexuals to repentance. When in all actuality, what would be more unloving is to allow them to pursue sin instead of Christ because we dont want to offend anyone. And I love people….ALL people….regardless of their sexual orientation to much to stand by and watch them running towards their destruction. More than that, I want them to know REAL JOY!! I want them to know that this emptiness they feel within their souls that some blame on birth….I want them to know that the void can be filled! But not with the things God calls sin or worldly pursuits!

That is why Jesus came! To save us from the bondage of slavery to these fleeting, fleshly pursuits called sin that in the end lead to death!

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ” Romans 6:16-18.

Please read that verse again!! We are slaves to whatever we choose to obey be it sinful actions or trying to be good enough without Christ! But Praise God that Jesus came to set the captives free!!

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,” Luke 4:18.

All sin, including homosexuality oppresses those to whom it enslaves! Jesus came to bring set us free and bring and abundant life that no sexual orientation or sin choice of any kind will bring.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10.

Satan has come to steal the joy Christ desires to bring. And he will do this by tempting us to justify the sins that we struggle with. But no one who is ever chained to a wall struggles to stay in the shackles. They  struggle to get free! In the same way the Bible says were are captives chained to sin. Yet so many dont struggle against their chains, but instead justify as to why they should stay in them. They’ve grown fond of the dark cellar in which they are prisoner. But they’ve been in the prison so long that they have forgotten the beauty and freedom that comes from breaking those chains of sin in their lives.

What are you filling that void with today in your life? I pray that all would see that I do not write this blog in judgment of anyone. But as a former prisoner who has tasted the abundant life Jesus offers I can honestly say Jesus is better than any sin I have ever tasted in my life. And I want you to be set free to experience the infinite joy that is in Christ! Ill close with a quote by Saint Augustine. Augustine struggled with the sin of lust throughout most of his young adult life. He lived with a prostitute for many years because of his addiction to sex. But Augustine met Jesus, and on that day tasted freedom that was better than anything he’d ever tasted. He called his addiction to lust upon meeting Christ, “fruitless joys”. He had once feared to lose those chains he had clung to for so long, but upon encountering Christ, here is what he said;

“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose..! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place…. O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.”

Jesus is the true, sovereign joy that came to set you free from the chains of sin in your life. The question is, will you struggle to stay in the chains, or struggle to experience abundant life? I dont want to pursue my own happiness, because nothing in this temporary would can satisfy the eternal chasm within my soul.  I want Jesus.

My all time favorite television show is The Andy Griffith Show. In the show, mild mannered sheriff Andy Taylor is unlike most typical law men. He is even different than his deputy. You see, while most police officers, and in particular the head sheriff would carry a gun, sheriff Taylor didn’t follow the norm. He was playfully know as the sheriff without a gun. There were episodes that Andy was chastised for his decision to not carry a firearm. It was tradition for the sheriff to have a gun. But Andy Taylor was smart enough to see that sometimes traditions can at times become more important to people than the big picture. Sheriff Taylor didn’t want people to respect him out of fear or because of the gun he carried. Rather, Andy wanted the town of Mayberry to respect him because of the message of law and order that he lived though his actions.

I can relate to sheriff Andy Taylor. Growing up, I was always dressed up on Sunday mornings with a coat and tie. I was adhering to what had always been done. But all of this changed one day when I invited a local man to come and worship with us. I met this man on the side of the road. You could tell that he wasn’t wealthy and didn’t have much. In fact, I believe he was homeless. We began talking and in the conversation I had mentioned that I was a member of the local First Baptist Church. I then invited this man to come and worship with us. With a look of shame and embarrassment, this man looked down and said, “I wouldn’t fit in at your church, because I don’t own a coat or a tie.”

This was a wake up call for me. Since when did entering the house of the Lord hinge upon what a person wore? And it dawned on me that many churches in America are so very uninviting to the unchurched world. I began to see in the scriptures that this was something the pharisees did repeatedly. They would turn their noses down at those who were not as socially elite as themselves yet pat themselves on the back as they praised their self professed righteousness. Here are some examples;

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18-10-14.

Here is another instance;

“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,  and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”  And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”  Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”  Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”  And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”  And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50.

In each account, the pharisees were judging their right standing as a moral person upon their own preferences. They had set up a system of legalistic rules that over time, began to be held in higher esteem than the word of God. And the crazy thing is, that they set up these traditions all under the guise of spirituality. Jesus came to save all races and social classes of people, not just the elite. And the sad thing is that many churches today, much like the pharisees of old, hold much tighter to tradition than the word of God.

Our tradition becomes an idol. And an idol is anything that we hold more precious and esteem more highly than God.

“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” 2 Thessalonians 2:15.

The only traditions we  are to hold to are the ones outlined in scripture. Ive yet to find a dress code in scripture or many other petty things that some churches consume themselves with. There is nothing wrong with a person wearing a tie if they want to or organizing church committees. But these are not the gospel! The mission and business of Christ is not for us to be the fashion police or micro manage committees within the church to run committees. The mission of Christ and business of our Lord is the glorification of Himself through the preaching of the word through God’s people.

 “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.” Matthew 15:6.

This verse pretty much says it crystal clear. We void the word of God in exchange for upholding man made traditions. It can be so easy to lose sight of the call to go and make disciples when we begin to create legalistic standards for worship. After my chance meeting with the man on the street, I stopped wearing a tie. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but being a pastor, I want to give the impression that it is ok to come as you are. The only tradition we are to hold to are those set forth in scripture. I believe many churches have lost sight of the true mission of Christ because their vision has become clouded with church politics and stuffy traditions. How can we reach a lost world if we continue to set trivial rules on those who  come thirsty for living water?

Sheriff Taylor was dubbed ‘The sheriff without a gun.’ And if I had a subtitle, it might be ‘The Preacher without a tie.” Sure at times Ill catch a little flack for my lack of tradition. But sometimes forsaking tradition can be the best tool in pointing towards the gospel. When it comes to dressing up in church, there is nothing wrong with that. As long as how you dress is only your personal preference and not your tradition. It is the internal fruits that we need be concerned with, not the external threads.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

It’s a very surreal thing at times to be a pastor. When the Lord first placed this high calling upon my life I thought He had called me to the ministry so that I could convict others with the mighty power of the Gospel message. I pictured myself as being a mega phone that God would use to pour forth his truths to those where God had placed me. And I guess that is true to a point. But in my studies in preparation to preach the word each week, I tend to find that the words I read in scripture are most convicting in my own life. The passages of scripture that I read seem to be speaking volumes to my soul. Ive realized this more within the past few weeks than any other point in my life.

Im realizing that the opportunities that God presents to us in life are more for us than for those we seek to help. The example I shared with our congregation this past week was opportunities with our money. There have been plenty of times when I lived in the city that I would see homeless people on the street. But many times I would justify not giving them money by saying to myself, “I don’t know for sure that they would put my money to good use or use it to indulge in some vice or addictive substance.” But God spoke to my heart a very surprising message.

Its as if God said to me, “Don’t worry about what they do with your money. Thats on them. The opportunity to give to other’s less fortunate is more about YOUR obedience and willingness to part with your possessions for the sake of the Gospel than it is how they will spend it.”

I began to understand that the opportunities placed before us in our lives to help others about exposing our hearts. So many times we think that God has given to us so that we can help others. But maybe God has given to us money, knowledge, and possessions to teach us how to live sacrificially for the Kingdom. We have a saying at our church, “Its all about Jesus”. But within the past few weeks, Im realizing more and more through my time in His word how true that saying is. There is no opportunity or gift given to us from God that is not about shaping us to glorify Him.

As Christians, if we are truly followers of Jesus, then we must begin to see the world through Kingdom focused lenses. We must begin to question the purpose for everything in our lives and why certain opportunities have been afforded us. So many Christians live their lives never seeing the Kingdom of God.  In Luke 17 Jesus describes where we can truly find the Kingdom of God.

Luke 17:20, “Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

The King James translation reads, “…because the kingdom of God is in your HEART.”

Your heart.

The reason so many of us cannot see the kingdom is the same reason you cannot see out of your car window on snowy days. In order to see out of the window, you must first remove the snow. You cannot see though the window because the snow that has accumulated is blocking your view. In much the same way, we will never see the kingdom of God for what it is as long as we have idols and a “me” centered theology of God. Contrary to what many think, God doesn’t give us gifts for our happiness, but instead to be used for His glorification. And its in His glorification that we will find our greatest joys in life. It goes back to all humanity having an eternal shaped void inside of all of us (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

One of the most revealing examples of this is the gift of children. We all want our children to have the greatest joys in life. And because of this, we buy them the best toys, clothes, and try to give them the best opportunities. And there is nothing wrong with any of these. But our children will not find joy in pursuing worldly things. Its simply not what they were made for. This is why a child will be infatuated with a new toy for a time and shortly after, grow bored with it and want something else. The eternal void inside of our children was made to be filled only through glorifying Christ.

I read a quote from the late Jim Elliot. Jim Elliot was an American missionary who left the states to live in South America and preach the gospel. Before leaving, his family was distraught that Jim had chosen to leave the states and live in such a desolate part of the world. Here is an excerpt from a letter Elliot wrote to his parents;

“I do not wonder that you were saddened at the word of my going to South America. This is nothing else than what the Lord Jesus warned us of when He told the disciples that they must become so infatuated with the kingdom and following Him that all other allegiances must become as though they were not. And he never excluded the family tie. In fact, those loves which we regard as closest, He told us must become as hate in comparison with our desires to uphold His cause. Grieve not, then, if your sons seem to desert you, but rejoice, rather, seeing the will of God done gladly. Remember how the Psalmist described children? He said that they were as an heritage from the Lord, and that every man should be happy who had his quiver full of them. And what is a quiver full of but arrows? And what are arrows for but to shoot? So, with the strong arms of prayer, draw the bowstring back and let the arrows fly–all of them, straight at the Enemy’s hosts.” -Jim Elliot

These words have really opened my eyes to this radical calling of Christianity. We are so infatuated with the things of this world that we cannot imagine putting worldly comforts aside to live as Christ. We shout “amens” in church to the stories of Jesus telling us to deny ourselves and leave behind everything to live as Christ, yet we don’t want this call of self denial to apply to us.

And as it pertains to children I was awestruck at what Elliot had to say about them. He mentioned a verse in Psalm I listed below.

Psalm 127:3-5 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.”

The Psalmist says blessed are parents who have many children. To put it as scripture reads, “a quiver full of them”. A quiver is a satchel that one would use to hold arrows for a bow or crossbow.

Elliot says, “And what are arrows for but to shoot? So, with the strong arms of prayer, draw the bowstring back and let the arrows fly–all of them, straight at the Enemy’s hosts.”

Scripture compares children to arrows. And as Elliot says, “What are arrows for?” They are for shooting the enemy. In other words, our children are to be raised up to be on mission for Christ. To be sent out as warrior and proclaimers of the Gospel…even if it means going to the dark parts of the world. This gives a whole new meaning to the call “to be fruitful and multiply” in Genesis. Why does God want us to be fruitful and have children? So that our world would be saturated with people glorifying the Lord and being sent out to proclaim His great name….regardless of the sacrifice.

Children Are Not Merely For Our Joy, But They are Vessels…arrows to be sent out to Glorify HIM. God said for humanity to be fruitful and multiply. So that they would grow up to be on mission for Christ.

In embracing this truth, I could find no greater joy in the lives of my children than to see them live for Christ on mission, no matter if that is in the states close to me…..or if God sends them to serve HIM in a far off land.

They are but arrows given by the Lord to fill my blessed quiver.

The ultimate purpose of a child is not to bring joy to the parent, but to bring glory to God. And in raising their child in the ways of the Lord, it is there that a parent will find true joy. Our children are gifts from God. But they were never meant to be a means for our ultimate joy. Because again, true joy cannot be found in things that are not eternal. Once again, let this sink in….

Our greatest joy is eternally linked to God’s glory.

And if we want our kids to have their greatest joy, we need to teach them to show the glory of God in all things. And to view the world through the eyes of Christ.

Luke 14:26-29 “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

What if we read scriptures like this and applied it to our lives? What if it wasn’t just a good little story that we all hear in church? What if we loved Jesus so passionately that everything else in our lives; money, possessions and even family, paled in comparison? What if we truly realized what it meant to “count the costs” of following Christ? I truly believe if all Christians honestly counted the costs of denying themselves in exchange for Gods glory, sadly many would cease to follow Christ.

Living for Christ is self denial in every aspect of our lives. Its seeing that all opportunities and relationships are not about you, but about HIM. And in following Christ, you will no doubt lose earthly things. But in the exchange you will gain new sight. In the quest of self denial, you will live life with an open hand, and not tightly clinging to the things and relationships of this world as if they were yours to begin with. Im beginning to see what it is like to see the kingdom of God. But there are still many worldly things that must be removed from my window. The hymn Amazing Grace is not just about sinners, but also a great many professing Christians. In the words of the hymn, I once was blind, and in my case, Im beginning to see.” This life was never about me. My money, my possessions, even my family is not given by God for my joy. These things were given to me as a means to glorify God. And its in that glorification that I am finding my greatest satisfaction in life and greatest joy!

“God is most glorified IN US when we are most SATISFIED in Him.”  – John Piper

Imagine that you and a friend decided to go to a movie. It was 1976, and the first Rocky with Sylvester Stallone had just hit the theaters! Neither one of you had ever seen this movie and had no idea what it was about! You get ready as fast as you can, grab your popcorn money, and rush off to get to the theater. The traffic is horrible as you make your way to the movie. As a result, you and your friend arrive late and totally miss the first part of the movie. So you grab a bag of popcorn in a rush and head towards the theater. As you both enter, you walk into the part of the movie where Rocky is walking in the slums, bouncing a rubble ball and chewing on a tooth pic. And after a few minutes of watching him bounce a rubber ball and mumble to himself, you decide to leave the movie for lack of excitement.

Now keep in mind that you had only seen this one small part of the movie. Now imagine someone were to ask you these questions about the movie Rocky;

They ask, “So what was the movie about?”

Your response, “Its about a bum.”

They ask, “Did it have any boxing in it?”

You respond, “Well no, it just had some bum bouncing a ball.”

Again, they inquire, “Did Rocky fight for the Heavyweight Championship of the world?”

Your response would be, “Of course not! The movie was about a bum with a speech impediment!” 

You were not lying to this person, you were simply misinformed! You were drawing your own conclusions based on the part of the movie you saw! In reality, you didnt see the whole picture, so there was no way you could accurately describe what the movie was about unless someone who had seen it told you about it or you saw the whole thing for yourself! No person in their right mind would draw conclusions about a movie if they had only seen a snippet of it! If you only saw a part of it and were asked what it was about, more than likely you would tell the truth and say you hadn’t seen enough of it to tell. You cannot just walk into the middle of a movie, see a small part, and expect to draw a correct conclusion about the plot line.

Yet we do this daily when it comes to our study of God’s word. With good intentions, we go to the Bible at times and pull out certain Bible verses in hopes of applying them to our lives. We run to God’s word for comfort. And that is perfectly fine to do that. God is our comforter in times of need. But the problems arise when, just like entering a movie halfway through, we pick and choose scripture from books of the Bible without knowing what the complete book is about. The danger in this is that we end up misinterpreting verses, assigning our own meanings to them instead of understanding what they were meant to say, and in essence, totally taking them out of context. Let me give you some common examples.

One of the most misused verses in scripture is the ever popular Jeremiah 29:11.

This verse is about as plain as it can get. That men didn’t frustrate God and kill Jesus. God anointed certain men to rise up against His son. It was God who killed Jesus, and it pleased Him to do so….because He knew that Christ’s death would serve to save the world. Not convinced yet?

“for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,” Acts 4:27.

Read that verse carefully. Better yet, go and read the book of Acts up to this verse. It is clear what is being said….that men were gathered together among who were Herod and Pontius Pilate, and it was God who had anointed their actions.

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” Isaiah 53:10.

The death of Christ was in the plans long before God hung the first star in the sky. It was the Lord’s plan to redeem the world to himself all along.

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Acts 2:23.

God ordained the murder of Christ, not man. But this predestined death of God’s son brought about good for all who would believe. But think about it….this good was not seen by Christ while he was in human form. The good…the salvation…the fulfillment of God’s promise and the defeat of sin and death, came after death.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.

All things do work together for the good of those who love God. But that doesnt always mean that we will see that good on this side of Heaven. And if that is the case, we should rest in the promise of eternal life we have been given. Again, to claim Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise that our faithfulness equals God making all our problems vanish is simply not biblical. If it pleased the Lord to crush His perfect, spotless, son so that we may have eternal life, who do we think we are to shake our fists at the Heavens and claim that we deserve any better!

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of those verses that is ripped right out of the middle of a book and used by Christians worldwide without ever glancing at the rest of the book of Jeremiah! If one were to examine Jeremiah more closely, looking at the verses that come before 29:11, it would be clear that the verse was never intended to be made about us! Jeremiah 29:11 was a promise made to the nation of Israel. It was never a singular promise, but rather a plural one! It was historic in its context. Yet somehow, over the years we have selfishly twisted this verse out of its context in order to make it about us.  Its no different that watching three minutes of the middle of a movie and then claiming to know what it is about.

The “you” in Jeremiah 29:11 is not referring to you and I. God is speaking to Israel.

Here is another example of a commonly misused verse of scripture.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

This is a very common verse that we at times quote to people if they are dealing with a death. People attempting to find comfort in mourning will cling to this verse, saying that the cloud of witnesses is a group of people that their loved one is among, looking down from Heaven and watching over them. But once again, in order to correctly interpret the verse, we have to go back to the previous chapter in Hebrews 11.

Chapter 11 of Hebrews speaks of men such as Abel, Moses, Abraham, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. Hebrews 11:39 says of these men….

“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,  since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

These men listed throughout scripture were witness to the promise given in the messiah to come, but didnt live on earth long enough to see it fulfilled. They were witnesses to the promise given that was fulfilled in Christ! The cloud of witnesses was never meant to be about our loved ones, but rather pointing out the culmination of the promise to reconcile all things that began in Genesis.

I have personally lost loved ones. It would be saddening to me to think that they had nothing better to do in Heaven than to look down on this broken earth and miss their earthly relatives. It is much more comforting to me to know that they are so enamoured with Jesus that they have yet to be able to take their attention off of praising Him! There are no tears in Heaven, and that is because they are no longer looking upon the pain of this world, they are forever awestruck by the beauty and majesty of King Jesus.

One last instance Ill share comes from a true story. There was a youth camp with close to 500 kids arriving for the summer. The camp councilors came up with a Bible verse slogan for their camp.  This was the camp verse that was plastered on all the t shirts for the kids and was their memory verse for the week.

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” Habakkuk 1:5.

They councilors were constantly quoting it to all the kids and saying, “God is going to astound us with the great work He is going to do in our day and in your life!” They made it a happy, fuzzy bunny, verse that was all about them. They spent tons of money marketing and branding their camp with this verse. But they only saw a portion of the movie, so to speak. The neglected to read the book of Habakkuk and instead, just ripped a verse out and assigned their own meaning to it.

If you go back and read the historical context of Habakkuk and read the beginning of the book, we see that Habakkuk was a prophet in the land of Judah. The people of the land were turning on God and rebelling into a sinful lifestyle. Debauchery was rampant, and God’s people were eaten up with living sinful lifestyles. Habakkuk asked God in 1:1 why He would allow His people to act in this sinful manner so passively.  Then God answers Habakkuk in verse 5. But look at verse 5 and then lets read on to verse 6.

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.”

God was doing something that would astound and leave them in unbelief alright. But it wasn’t something they would like. God basically said to Habakkuk, “Oh no, Im not passive. Im going to do something amazing that you won’t believe! Im going to raise up the Chaldeans, that evil army of ruthless people and Im going to allow them to destroy Judah as a judgement for their rebellion!” If only those poor youth councilors would have known what the verse actually was saying before ripping it out of context and slapping it on the back of hundreds of t shirts. Instead of wearing a happy verse on their backs, hundreds of kids were walking around sporting a shirt that was not about them, but about God’s wrathful judgement of sin.

Its alright to read the Bible in parts. You dont have to start at the beginning to read the Bible. But it is important that we understand the full context of the book of the Bible in which we find a passage of scripture we are drawn to. You cant interpret a movie if you only see part of the middle. And in the same way, we cannot properly expect to interpret the scriptures unless we understand the context in which they were written. Thats why its important for us to be students of God’s word, not merely use it to improperly fit the mold of our life circumstances. God is a God of love. And God is a God of comfort in our time of need. But we will find greater comfort and greater intimacy with Christ in knowing Him in truth. May this realization not serve to scare us, but to push us deeper into a desire to truly know our Heavenly Father who gave up His only son in Christ so that we may glorify His great name eternally.