May I Never...

"Then the Lord said, 'Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.'

Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord, and whose deeds are done in a dark place, and they say, 'Who sees us?' or 'Who knows us?' You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made would say to its maker, 'He did not make me'; or what is formed say to him who formed it, 'He has no understanding'?"

Isaiah 29:13-16

God's words cut deep.

Your Christianity Is Dark -- It Divides

Taken directly from Tom Short's page:

I began this school year by making the long trek from Columbus up to Eau Claire, WI to preach at UWEC. UWEC is a small to mid-sized university in a quaint college town. I’ve included it on my fall tour over the past several years at the invitations of the good folks in a ministry called, The Edge.

A number of students remember me from previous years. One of them, Jeffrey, said he has listened to me for years was was disturbed because I preach “a dark form of Christianity.” His basis for claiming is "You divide people. Jesus wants to bring everyone together, but your message divides people.”

To such an accusation, I must plead “guilty.” My message does divide. But is there anything wrong with that? I think not.

A key difference between Jeffrey and me is that I believe the entire Bible and he simply believes the parts that make him feel good. So, what does the Bible say about “dividing?" You might be surprised. Liberal Christians who attend liberal, mainline churches and who have been indoctrinated with a politically correct Jesus will definitely be surprised. Let’s take a look.

One of the very first things GOD did was to “separate (read “divide”) the light from the darkness.” (Gen 1:4) Why did he do this? Because He saw that “the light was good.”

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and the people had worshipped the golden calf, he separated the people. “whoever is for the Lord, come to me,” he cried out (Ex 32:25-29). Those who didn’t join him were to be slain.

The entire Old Testament contains prophet after prophet calling the people to forsake the idols and customs of the surrounding people in order to to fully devoted to the Lord. God hates sycretism — the mixing of worship of God with the worship of others. Elijah typified this call to separate from the idols of the land when he called upon the people of Israel. “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21).

Joshua challenged the people: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15).

But is this type of “dividing the people” only for the Old Testament? NO! Let’s see what Jesus taught.

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Matt 12:30

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; 36 and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. Matt 10:34-36

On Judgment Day, Jesus will separate / divide the sheep from the goats (Matt 25:32) and the wheat from the chaff (Matt 3:12). The goats and chaff will go into eternal fire; the sheep and wheat into eternal glory with our loving heavenly Father.

The apostle Paul taught the same thing. “Do not be conformed to this world” he exhorts (Romans 12:2). We, as Christians, are called upon to stand out at lights — like stars — in an increasingly dark world ((Phil 2:14-15).

“Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. (2 Cor 6:17). “Do not be bound together with unbelievers,” he commands. “For what partnership have righteousness with and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial? Of what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? (2 Cor 6:14-18)

I fear “Christians” like Jeffrey have a lot in common with unbelievers, darkness and lawlessness. They don’t like division. They just all want to get along. They have allowed the idea of political pluralism in our country to bleed over and become religious pluralism. And, as these verses and the who tenor of both Old and New Testaments reveal — God hates idolatry and the mixing of true religion with the false idols of the surrounding culture.

In one of His last messages to the church, Jesus says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:15-16). Modern day, “postmodern,” politically correct Christianity that presents a Jesus who is ambivalent about truth, apathetic towards sin and just wants to “bring everyone together” in a lukewarm unity of new age feeling good is not something God approves of. He will vomit such lukewarm people out of His mouth. As for me, I hope I join with God in helping people repent, forsake their sins and truly come to Jesus. I will shake the fence of those who have one foot in the world and one foot with the Lord. I hope they come down on the side of Jesus, but if not, I at least hope they will understand where they really stand with God.

And as for me and my house, we will be “hot” and we will serve the Lord.

The Will of the Lord

Surely He has bourne our griefs and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions;

He was crushed for our iniquities;

Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

And with His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned--every one--to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

And like a sheep that before its shearers is silent

So He opened not His mouth.

By oppression and judgement He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off out of the land of the living, 

Stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made His grave with the wicked

And with a rich man in His death,

Although He had done no violence,

And there was no deceit in His mouth.

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.

Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied;

By His knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

Make many to be accounted righteous,

And He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because he poured out His soul to death

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He bore the sin of many,

And makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:4-12

All My Days I Am Yours

If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice
I'll hold on to what is true though I cannot see
If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe

When my heart is filled with hope and every promise comes my way
When I feel Your hands of grace rest upon me
Staying desperate for you God, staying humbled at Your feet
I will lift these hands and praise
I will believe

I remind myself of all that You've done
And the life I have because of Your Son

The Social Network

As much as I enjoy Tumblr and its benefits, at times it gets a bit too social. Especially because it's linked to my Facebook page, the whole world can see what I post on Tumblr, and this isn't much of an exaggeration. The whole WORLD. Some lonely 50-year old man in Russia may be reading what I'm writing right now. Thus, I don't know how I feel about writing anything too personal here, and I applaud all those who can display the intricacies of their lives on their Tumblr pages. I don't think I will ever have the guts to do that.


But if we look at the true value of Facebook, Tumblr, and other massive social networks, we see that the very thing I am afraid of is its jewel. It is so available for people to see; technology has taken us very far indeed. We can reach people on opposite ends of the world. We are all connected somehow, as corny as it sounds.


But then this makes me think. Anyone (well I guess it really depends on your privacy settings, but in most cases this includes the strangers you're FB friends with but barely even know) can see who you are and what you stand for. Anyone can see who you hang out with, what you look like, what you believe in, and how you interact with other people. Without even meeting you, someone can decide what kind of person you are, and often times they may guess correctly.


So with all this in mind, let's think. If someone looked at my profile, my comments, my pictures, will he be able to immediately tell that I am Christian? Will they see someone lives as one redeemed?


More and more, I realize how much of an amazing tool for evangelism Facebook and Tumblr are. What awesome ways to preach the message of the Gospel. Sure, it may not be the most effective tool, but it is a tool nonetheless, is it not? I realize this about myself but at times I forget that even on Facebook I am to be held accountable for my words. It's easy to use, easily accessible, and more than anything, it is global. We use it while we study, we look at it while we eat, and it's effortless. Then why is it that the Gospel is so evident in our lives but stops short on Facebook where everyone can see us and hold us accountable for our words?


And as I write all this, I am ashamed that I myself cannot use it to do more than glorify myself. I am always falling short.

Lord, may I never compromise my commitments to you, even when my circumstances attempt to win me over.
May I never lose sight of your glorious kingdom that will come on that day when the gospel has been proclaimed to all the corners of the earth.
If I am not living this life for You, I am not living at all.

Needham

Apparently love for the Father's glory runs red.