REBELLION!

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Rom 1:21 ESV)

Recently, I reestablished contact with a younger person that I watched grow up. (I am deliberately leaving their name and many of the details out for sensitivity reasons.) They attended a strong church as a child and youth. Even though this person was exposed to the gospel many times they have now, as a late teenager, chosen a totally different path. They now claim to be an atheist among other things.

While it would be easy second guess and ask, "what went wrong," it is more important to consider how this person might be reached again with the message of Christ. Here are some of my thoughts...

PRAYER.
I am not trying to be overly simplistic here. I truly believe that prayer is absolutely essential to reaching the heart of a person that has rejected everything that they have heard about Christ. We must pray that their spiritual eyes and ears might be opened and that whatever is hindering them from believing would be removed.

KNOWLEDGE
What events have transpired in this person's life that may have caused them to reject God? Has there been a major tragedy in their life? Has this person been hurt by a professing Christian or group of Christians? What do you know about their family life? What do you know about their lifestyle? Did this person ever make a genuine profession of faith in Christ?

Many of these factors may give you an idea why the person has chosen the path they have chosen. I believe that a majority of atheists/agnostics have either a moral reason or emotional reason for rejecting belief in God. In other words, they are either living in open sin and refuse to acknowledge their condition or they have been hurt by people or life in general. (I am reminded of the young lady that my wife had the opportunity to lead to Christ in Wichita, KS earlier this year.)

This knowledge is not to be used as ammunition to condemn them, but as background information to help you understand and reach them.


COMPASSION
Compassion should be the hallmark of the Christian life. Unfortunately, we as Christians can be some of the least compassionate people around. To be compassionate toward a lost person is to love them while they are yet sinners. It was said of our Lord that, "a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench..." (Mat 12:20) By no stretch of the imagination did Jesus ever condone sin. But He compassionately reached out to the lost with the truth. we must do as Jesus did.

PATIENCE
I know of no one who rejects God overnight. It is going to take time and lots of relation building to reach them with the gospel. The Holy Spirit must be allowed to work in their hearts and break down the walls they have built-up.

I am interested in your thoughts. What do you think it would take to reach someone has been exposed to the gospel message, but for whatever reason, they have rejected it's truth?

Cowardly Lion Syndrome

Are you suffering from Cowardly Lion Syndrome (CLS)?

In the classic movie, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, there is a character called the Cowardly Lion. Those who are familiar with the movie will agree that He is quite a contradiction. The Lion is called the "King of the Jungle." He is a most powerful and majestic predator; no other animal dare challenge him in his natural environment. He is at the top of the food chain and has even been known to go after humans. His powerful jaws and strong swift legs enable him to take down much larger prey as he works in conjunction with his fellow lions.

Yet in the movie, this character is anything but a powerful beast. In fact, the Cowardly Lion says he even scares himself. He is fearful of his own shadow. He longs to be what he was created to be, but lacks the courage to stand up for himself. He makes this speech about courage in the movie which goes like this:

“What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got?...COURAGE!”

God wants us to be courageous lions who boldly proclaim his message of salvation to the lost. Too often we cower behind our church pews and pray that no one swats us on our nose. We forget that God "gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2Ti 1:7 ESV)

Do you find it hard to talk about Jesus with your friends? Do you avoid the subject all together because you don't know what to say? Deep within your heart you want to speak up but can't because of fear. You might have CLS.

If you're a Cowardly Lion, you're in good company. The disciples were Cowardly Lions at one point too. Peter denied knowing the Lord three times while Jesus was enduring the unlawful interrogation leading to the crucifixion. Right after the crucifixion, the disciples were fearful of being identified with Jesus. The Bible says, "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews..." (John 20:19 ESV)

The only thing that made a difference with the disciples was the infilling of the Holy Spirit. After Pentecost, these men laid aside their fears and began to boldly proclaim the message of Jesus. In fact, in Acts 4, we see where Peter and John - who had been arrested - stood before the very council - the Sanhedrin - that had instigated the death of Jesus and said:

"let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Act 4:10-12 ESV)

Just as the Cowardly Lion had to go to the Wizard to receive his courage, we must go to the Holy Spirit for courage. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Act 1:8 ESV)

In my moments of witnessing on the streets of the inner city, I have to rely completely upon the Spirit of God to help me witness. I never know how someone is going to react when I approach them on the street with a gospel tract. I try to stay in constant communication with God through prayer while I am sharing the gospel. I ask, "What scripture should I use Lord? How do I respond to that objection? How is this person hurting on the inside? How can I give them comfort while pointing them toward You?" If I just use some canned gospel script, I know that I will miss what God is doing to draw this person to Himself.

Every born again believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We don't get any more of the Spirit when we ask. Being filled means to allow Him to have complete control over our actions. We can be filled with the Spirit if we meet His conditions of: 1) Confession of all known sin, 2) Emptying ourselves completely of self, 3) Yielding complete control of our life to Him and 4) Allowing with word of God to dwell in our hearts. When we do this we will find complete freedom to witness and proclaim the message of Christ.

If you are suffering from Cowardly Lion Syndrome, ask God to give you a fresh infilling of His Spirit today. He longs for you to become the courageous lion that He meant for you to be.

Reflections on the Death of a "King"

For many who lived through the 1980’s, the death of the “King of Pop” today came as quite a shock. I remember listening to his music in my early tweenage years; I was not a huge fan, but I liked his most popular songs. I also remember the popularity of Michael Jackson paraphernalia such as the single glove and imitation red leather zipper covered jackets.

In the eyes of the world, he had a stellar career as an entertainer. He made millions and millions of dollars on his popular music and related products and still carried an impressive following. In later years, he was a figure surrounded by controversy and nearly went broke paying legal expenses.

When Michael woke up this morning, he was preparing to launch a major comeback in his career. By the afternoon, the man know as the "King of Pop" was struggling to hold on to life as his heart failed him. At 2:26 PM, Pacific Time, June 25, 2009, he was pronounced dead.

All of his fame, fortune, talent and popularity could not hinder his appointment with death.

His passing away is a reminder that no one is immune to death. 10 out of 10 people die. If I were to put a calendar in your hands today and asked you to put the date and time of your death on the calendar, could you do that? I doubt it.

The Bible says, “…it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…”(Heb 9:27 ESV) So when you die, you will stand before a holy God and give an account of the things you have done in this life. According to Jesus, every idle word that you have spoken will be accounted for in the day of judgment. Every lie, every time you disobeyed your parents, every time you stole something - be it a car or a pencil or time from your employer, every lustful thought - everything will be brought to light.

What will you say when you face the KING of the universe?

You might say that you were a good person or you did many good deeds. You might say that you were a church member, that you had been baptized or that you tried to keep the 10 commandments. You may not know what you would say.

God will want to know how you responded to his offer of salvation through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. You see, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 ESV)

Jesus died on the cross for your sins and my sins. The Bible teaches that “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:21 NLT)

The only way to have right standing before God on judgment day is to put your faith and trust completely in Jesus Christ. God will accept no other excuse, no other way other than His way. “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Act 3:19-20 ESV)

Invite Christ to forgive you today. Allow him to take control of your life. You can begin that important step by calling upon him in prayer. Pray like this or in your own words…“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and have broken your laws. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and came back to life on the third day. I am sorry for my sins and with your help, I turn away from them. I ask you for forgiveness. Take control of my life and help me live for you from this day forward. Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life. In Jesus name, AMEN.”

If you invited Christ into your life today, please let me know by e-mailing Darrel at onlyfoundation dot org. I want to send you a follow up Bible study to help you grow in your faith.

“How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” (Heb 2:3 ESV)