The choir in my church sang a song today called, I believe, We Are Not Ashamed.  They have sung this song on many occasions and I am always moved by it.  It is about not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is something we should all take to heart.

But do we?  How often do we keep silent when we should speak up?  How often do we make sure we do not put ourselves in a place or a position where we might have to speak of the gospel?

Some of us, maybe even all of us at times, find ourselves embarrassingly inadequate at sharing our faith.  Are we really ashamed?   Probably not.  I truly doubt, except in certain situations, that most of us are really ashamed of our God and Savior.  That would be like being ashamed of our wives or girlfriends, husbands or boyfriends.  Most of us are really not ashamed of those we really love.

So what is really the problem?

I believe it is probably intimidation.  I do not, entirely, mean intimidation in the sense of being afraid, but instead being under the impression that it will do no good.  That it won’t really matter or make a difference.  Some of us are concerned with others attitudes toward us and opinions of us and some of us just really think we cannot make a difference.

Why bother talking to that guy at work who is bragging about his adulterous affair?  He won’t listen if he is that outspoken about it and I just might be ostracized from the group for my holier than thou attitude.

That Muslim you know is just so devout that you know you will never reach them, and you are a little intimidated by what you know of their religion; so why take the chance of being looked on as one of those hate spewing Christians?  We can all live together in love, if we keep silent.

And that goes for that very outspoken atheist also.  If we keep silent about our faith, we can all get along very well.  And maybe even love each other.  And if we can show enough love, then that will win out in the end.  Right?

Wrong.  What love is this that is willing to keep silent about something so important?  I started thinking about this post after listening to this video the other day.  In this video you will hear Penn Jillette, a very outspoken, oftentimes crude, but very logical and consistent thinker and atheist.  He is the talkative half of the comedian/ magician team known as Penn and Teller.

He is also what I call a true atheist.  I was one for many years myself.  I believe a true atheist is someone who says they do not believe that there is a God and they are not afraid of those who believe.  We seem to be surrounded today by people calling themselves atheist that are intent on silencing us.  They seem afraid of something, or maybe it is Someone.

In the video you will hear Penn say that if we, as believers, really love everyone and we really believe what we say about heaven and hell, then our love demands that we tell everyone about it; in effect, we should proselytize.  Evangelize, if you prefer.

I admire his stance on this and find that this was the way I felt also.  As a Christian we must tell everyone the gospel.  If we do not, do we really love?  I can’t see how.

We can never be ashamed, and as I stated, I doubt many of us really are.  But we must also never be intimidated.  We may be called intolerant, or a holy roller, or hateful, or many other things; but we must still tell the story because for the sake of love, it is necessary.  Those that can’t except this and call us all of these things are running scared and can probably be reached.

And those that are not running scared, like Penn and like I used to be, will be reached through the consistent witness of love and the telling of the good news.

Listen to the video.  And pray for Penn Jillette.  A transformation of someone like him would be a mighty witness for the Kingdom.

And the next time you feel a little timid about sharing, remember that if you really love them, you have to.

Love you all

I can imagine it now.

I have been in line for a while now and have heard many wonderful things said about those in front of me.  One by one they present themselves before the throne.  The King of Glory looks down on one of them with a smile on His face and declares, “Well done, good and faithful servant–you have faithfully served me by giving your time, your labor, and your financial aid to spread the gospel to what used to be third world countries.”  There are many cheers from those gathered to witness the proceedings.

Then another moves forward and Jesus says, , “Well done, good and faithful servant–you have faithfully attended many in the hospitals and nursing homes, giving them a lot of love, joy and happiness in their pain and suffering.” Again, a loud procession of cheers and applause occurs.

The person directly in front of me moves forward and the Savior of the world again declares, , “Well done, good and faithful servant–you have faithfully ministered to and fed the homeless, the addicted, and the abandoned in my Name for many years while you lived in that previous world.”  The cheers are as expected.

Then it is my turn.  I move forward, not really ready because I have heard a lot of things that I never did.  Feeding people, visiting people, loving people, these seem to be the things that have gotten the accolades so far.  I stand and look on the awesome visage of the Creator of all things and He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant–you have faithfully fought to keep the Ten Commandments in the courthouse.”

Suddenly the throne room erupts.  There is so much noise and cheering that it is deafening.  It is much louder than I had heard before and seems to go on and on.  Then, I simply cannot contain myself any longer and start jumping up and down, shouting and crying at the same time.

This goes on for a while and finally the Judge of all creation raises His hand, a huge smile still on His face, and the room starts to quiet down.  Finally He beams down at me once again and asks, ” How, exactly did you realize what was really the most important thing I left you to do, when so many did not see it?”

I’ll stop here.  If you are reading this, I guess it shows what a glutton for punishment I am.  It means I actually posted it, knowing that some will disagree and maybe take it as a belittling of their convictions.  This is not what this is about.

I was just reflecting on all the thoughts and commentaries out there that I have been reading about Christian political activism on many sites and the current hot topics on my own site about duty and I had this vision.  But I am pretty sure, no, I am certain; it did not come from God.

Again, this is not a slam on anyone’s personal convictions.  I just realize that I need to look deep inside myself and actually determine if my convictions, and where I put all my strengths and focus my efforts, really do honor our Lord.  And do they mean anything at all in the eternal scheme of things?

Merry Christmas and I

Love you all

Okay.  It is December.  It is probably the busiest month of the year.  The month when most people try to see family, shop for gifts, throw and attend party after party, decorate the yard, the house and the tree, and so on and so on.  It is an exhausting month of celebration but not often celebration of who it is supposed to be about.

Please don’t forget Christ as you go about the hustle and bustle of this season.

But it is Tuesday so I hope you can spend a few minutes here also.  I have held this topic for a few weeks because it has, I believe, the potential to get controversial.  But then again, I’ve thought that before and was wrong.

I was reading some comments on the internet a few weeks ago and someone made the following statement.

But I am an American. I am a Christian. I have a duty to God and Country.

They went on to expand on this to say what they had to about the topic at hand, which I can’t remember, but I could not forget it so I saved it.  I am referring just to the statement above that is in bold text.  It bothers me on some level.

• What do you think about the statement?

• Do you believe it is a truthful statement?

• What is this idea of duty and do I have a duty to these two entities?

• Do I have a duty to anything or anyone else?

What do you think?

Love you all.

Tomorrow is the first of four special days that the General Overseer of my denomination has called to be set aside as special days of concerted prayer.  Starting at midnight and going till midnight there should not be a minute of any hour when there are no prayers being poured out to God on behalf of ourselves, our families, our churches, and our nation and world.  It should be an awesome time of communion with our Father.  I intend to pray as much as I can.  I have actually determined in my heart and mind that I will pray more tomorrow than I ever have. 

What is prayer to you? 

I could go on quite a bit on this but that is not the focus for now.  So for now, I will keep this simple.  I believe prayer to be, at the simplest level, communication with God.  A discussion with our Lord.  A talk with our Father. 

I actually heard an evangelist say once that this is not what prayer is.  He said prayer was asking and receiving from God.  I have to disagree with this.  If this was all prayer is, then how in the world are we supposed to pray without ceasing?  I want and need a lot of things but, I can’t even begin to come up with enough to continuously, never cease, to ask from God.  And if prayer is also receiving and we look to James 5:16 to see that righteous men’s prayers accomplish much, then why aren’t some receiving a whole lot?

Tuesday, in my first attempt to stimulate discussion, I posted and posited a scenario and some questions in hope of provoking thought on prayer, its effectiveness, and to ask if it was truly enough, in a given situation. 

I thank the three, only three, that responded with their comments.  They were good, loving responses to the situation I put forth.  But they didn’t get to the place I wanted to get to. 

I am one of the first ones that will say we have to love, and love, and love some more.  But I also believe, no, I know, that that love will look different depending on the person, the situation, and the circumstances. 

In that post, I asked the following questions.  What do you do?  How do you pray?  What do you ask for?  And do you think it would be effective?

The answers I got were great answers, and loving answers in a way, but the whole post was really designed to let me ask this question.

When is it time to stop letting people off the hook, so to speak, and tell them in no uncertain terms, that your praying for them in their current state, is probably a waste of time? 

Whew!  I got it out.  You will never know how hard it was for me to write that question. 

When I asked; what do you do; I knew that the vast majority say to simply pray.  Don’t confront, that has been done.  Don’t instruct, they already know.  Don’t judge, they need compassion. 

When I asked; how do you pray; I knew the vast majority of the faithful would say to pray for his salvation, his healing or comfort, and for God to be glorified.  I didn’t think anyone would pray for strength and instruction on how to disassemble the lies and deception our adversary had woven in this man’s life.

When I asked; what do you ask for; I knew the requests would mainly be in how to show love to the man, how to show compassion and how to love him.  I somehow knew that no one would ask God how to tell the guy that he is on his own if He doesn’t do a little more himself, like joining in the battle for his soul, than just relying on other warriors. 

Finally, when I asked if the prayers sent up would be effective; I somehow knew that most thought they would be.  I would have been very surprised if James 5:16 had not been brought up.  It was, by two out of the three commentators.  I even used it above.  It is a powerful verse but, we all have to admit that sometimes, no matter how fervent, no matter how much faith we have, what we ask for does not come about.  Sometimes people are not saved, sometimes people are not healed, and sometimes God is not glorified in a given situation. 

Jas 5:13-16  Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Who is James talking to?  He is talking to the brethren; those who walk in service to our King.  The man in my scenario was not described to be one of the brethren.  Just going to church does not mean you are fighting on the side of the Kingdom.  But you say, I am the one that is righteous and asked to do the praying.  Look at the part I emboldened.  It is the first part of James 5:16.  It is the part that no one bothers to memorize.  In my scenario the man never said he wanted to confess, or get forgiveness.  I purposefully implied that he only wanted healed.  Most of the people in church who don’t have nothing to do with you, the true prayer warriors, will quickly turn to you when they really, selfishly, need something.  But does that mean God will do what we ask?  Because of our service, and our faith?

It is time that we did a little bit more.  Prayer is our most effective weapon in the spiritual warfare we are involved in.  But we have to get it out of our head that it is to simply ask and receive.  In my scenario it is actually more about discussing the battle plan with our King. How do we let this man know that He can be healed, and forgiven, if he will only turn from his iniquity? 

 Isa 59:2  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

The man in my scenario, and many of those out there that ask for prayer, have caused God to hide His face from them because of their iniquity.  Some of my own children are in this group.  Do I stop praying for them?  No.  But do I let them know that that is probably not enough?  That they have a part to play in their own salvation?  Every chance I get. 

What is wrong with letting those that are on the wide path to destruction know that they bear the responsibilty for their choice?  As the people in the culture we live in accelerate ever faster towards their doom, isn’t it time we joined in the fight, to ram into them if need be, to knock them off the path to destruction? 

Sometimes, love hurts.

Love you all