2012 U.S. Election Results

This morning, as I pondered the results of yesterday's elections in the United States, I realized (again) a number of important truths for those who believe in Jesus Christ:

* God is in control. The LORD spoke these words, as recorded in Isaiah 46:9-11: "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'…I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."

* We are called to pray for our national leaders. In the words of 1 Timothy 2:1-4, "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." We should note that these words were written during the reign of an evil and oppressive world power.

* Our national leaders cannot be our spiritual leaders. After these words just quoted from 1 Timothy 2, we read words of instruction for spiritual leaders in 1 Timothy 3. Although God establishes government leaders (see Romans 13:1-7), their God-given task is different from the task given to church leaders. If you're looking for examples of morality and righteousness, and you long for good Bible teaching, look not to the government - look to the church. Yes, even the most God-honoring church leaders are imperfect, but they certainly seek to honor the Lord in all things, and to encourage others to do the same. Let your church leaders help you learn Bible truth and how it applies to daily living.

* While people seek a savior, we know THE Savior. Only Jesus is the true Savior. In Acts 4:12 we read these words about Jesus Christ: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." People around the world are looking for hope. They long for peace and justice. Only Jesus can truly bring these things we need so desperately.

* Jesus has commissioned YOU AND ME to present Him to the world. That task is not given to government leaders, but to common people like you and me. We read these words in Acts 1:8: "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."

My fellow Christians, let's stand boldly and winsomely for Jesus Christ. Let's show the world that Jesus is the only true Source of hope and peace. In all we do, let's point men and women, children and youth, to the joy and freedom they can have through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Truth and Lies - Lance Armstrong and the Bible

With the Lance Armstrong debate raging in the headlines, I shake my head in amazement at the web of lies. Frankly, I don't know who's lying or who's telling the truth. Either way, there is a huge series of lies on one side or there other: either Lance has lied consistently for years, or others have bound themselves together in a conspiracy of deceit to discredit him. We may never know for certain which is the lie and which is the truth.

In the midst of this, I take comfort in the fact that God never lies. He always speaks the Truth. His Word is Truth. We read this in many places in the Bible, including these verses:

* "God is not a man, that he should lie" (Numbers 23:19).
* "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
* "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In this world that is filled with deceit (this Armstrong case is only one of countless examples), I rest in the fundamental Truths of God's Word.

God-Honoring Discontentment

I have to admit that I am often very discontent. And this isn't really a problem.

You might ask, Why? After all, don't the Scriptures tell us to be content (see 1 Timothy 6:6 and Philippians 4:11)? Yes, they do. Indeed, we are to be content with what God has given us. And I am.

But I still live with major discontentment. In fact, it's a God-honoring discontentment. I am not content with a lot in this world.

• I am discontent when I see the faults of political systems in countries around the world.
  

• I am discontent when I see injustice everywhere.

• I am discontent when I learn more about evil practices like abortion and human trafficking.
  

• I am discontent at the filth that is so easy to access on the internet.
  

• I am discontent with the sinfulness in my own heart, and the countless times per day when I dishonor my Lord or hurt people that I love.
  

With these things I should be discontent! It is a God-honoring discontentment. These painful aspects of our world serve as constant reminders that I was made for heaven, and this world is certainly NOT heaven. My discontentment with this world helps me long even more for heaven.

• God has wired me to long for His perfect justice, so it is right that I should not be satisfied with anything less than that.
  

• God has wired me to care about all the people who are created in His image, so I should be upset when people are treated like animals (as in human trafficking) or are killed without any defense (as in abortion).
  

• God has wired me to hate sin, even though it still entices me. I should be upset by the rampant sin that is all around me, as well as the sin that is in my own heart.

Dear Christians, while we remain in this world, we should be discontent with the things that dishonor our Lord. But instead of criticizing these things or the people who do them, let us work to show God's light to a world that is full of darkness. And let us remember that one day all the pain of this sin-sick world will melt away when we see Jesus face to face.

Neil Armstrong and Faith in Jesus

Neil Armstrong died today at the age of 82. On earth, he will be remembered for many remarkable achievements, including walking on the moon.

Neil Armstrong was a great man in many ways. When my son did a project about him a couple of years ago, I was thrilled to review many of the details of Armstrong's life and career. He was not perfect, but he was a man we rightly look up to.

Still, when his earthly life ended, only one accomplishment really mattered at that very moment. During his 82 years on this earth, did he place his faith in Jesus Christ?

That matter alone affects every person's entrance (or non-entrance) into heaven. We are not saved by our accomplishments, no matter how wonderful they may be. We are not saved by our wealth or our fame. We are only saved through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are only saved when we admit we are a sinner (Romans 3:23) and that our sin deserves death (Romans 6:23). We need to confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10). We need to stop trying to earn God's favor and simply accept the free gift He has offered us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? If not, would you do so now?

Speak More About God

Here's my current self-reminder: "I should speak more about God and less about other things."


I am tempted to leave this statement "as is" without comment, but I will say a little more to clarify what I mean.  

I am a thinker, an analyzer.  Along with that, I am also a talker (aren't most pastors and bloggers?): I find I actually do some of my best thinking out loud.  (I am very thankful my wife is a patient listener!)

"I should speak more about God and less about other things."  Recently I've realized (again) how out of balance my thinking and talking can sometimes be.  I can spend 15 minutes or more prattling on about things, from the weather to politics to news events--just about anything.  I can mentally or verbally analyze things to death.  At the end of a long soliloquy, I realize I have accomplished nothing redemptive.  

It's awful to realize how long I can talk without bringing the Lord into the situation.  I sometimes speak in faithless terms, expressing my discouragement at things that don't go well in the world.  In doing this, I not only fail to acknowledge that God is sovereignly in control of these things, but I also fail to use that moment to encourage my hearer(s) to turn their attention to the Lord.  "I should speak more about God and less about other things."

I want to use my thoughts and my words to focus on the greatness of God.  I want to point people to Him every way I possibly can.  Through the things I say, I want to encourage my family and friends to follow the Lord more deeply today than they did yesterday.  Isn't it better to use my words to point to the greatness of our Lord?  He's the one most worthy to be the focus of my words!

To do this, I need to ensure I'm constantly filling my brain with thoughts about God, because my mouth is simply speaking what my brain is thinking.  If I spend more of my thoughts on our Lord, then more of my words will follow.

"I should speak more about God and less about other things."  Will you do this with me?  

      

Free Speech

Today we witnessed a historic ruling by the Supreme Court.  It has a very negative side, and a very positive side.  


The Court ruled 8-1 that the Westboro Baptist Church is able to say hateful things, put hateful words on signs, and set up demonstrations wherever they want.  These actions, the court said, are within their protected rights under our Constitution.


Let me be clear here: I utterly despise what this Westboro group is doing.  They should not be using the name "Baptist" or "Church," for by their actions they show that they have no idea about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They live by hatred, and they say and do things that are--frankly--abominable.  


But, as we learned today, they have the right to do this, and nobody can stop them.


While this is bad news--I really wish they'd stop their horrible campaigns--there is a very good side to this Court ruling.  Please allow me to explain.


For the last fifteen years or more, our society has moved in a direction that has worried me as a pastor and as a believer in Jesus Christ.  Our country has drifted toward a viewpoint that it is "wrong" or "intolerant" to tell anyone they're wrong, or that their choices are wrong (or sinful).  Segments of our workforce mandate "sensitivity training" so their employees learn not to say anything that might offend a coworker or client.  


Frankly, this trend has scared me, as I have envisioned a day when pastors might be pulled out of their pulpits--or even imprisoned--for declaring, loving and biblically, the truths of God.  I imagined a time when maybe even the Bible would be banned in this country as "hateful," because it clearly enunciates right and wrong behaviors.


With today's definitive Supreme Court ruling, the pendulum has now swung the other way.  We can boldly--though not offensively!--proclaim truth with the same clarity that God's Word declares truth.


While I cringe over the fact that one group of hateful people has been exonerated, and I deeply wish Westboro would cease all of their awful picketing activities, I find that I rest under the same freedoms they enjoy.  For these freedoms, I am grateful. 

Right in Our Own Eyes

In my annual read through the Bible (October-September), I am now reading through Judges.  A frightening theme throughout the book is how the entire nation of God's people frequently turned away from worshiping and serving the Lord.  The book covers many generations, and throughout that time the people were very fickle in their commitment to the Lord.


There's a descriptive phrase that sticks in my mind, "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6, 21:25).


This is a dangerous way to live.  And, if I may be frank, this same phrase describes our American society today.  So many people around us live by what they individually believe to be right, saying truth is relative, and that everyone is right if they just live according to their personal beliefs.  This is the mistake made by the people of Israel.


May I be even more frank?  Sometimes God's own people, purchased by the blood of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, adopt the same "do whatever is right in my own eyes" mentality.

Dear Christian, our personal standards of right and wrong must be established by God's standards, as outlined in His Word.  If we go by the desires of our own hearts, we will be led astray.  Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."  In James 1:14-15 we read about where our personal desires can lead us: "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

What does the Lord specifically say in His Word about a philosophy of doing what is right in our own eyes?  Deuteronomy 12:8 warns: "You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes."  Instead, this passage goes on to say, we are to live differently as God's own chosen people.


Further, the book of Proverbs offers us some clear words.  Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."  Proverbs 21:2 says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart."


Just look back through the book of Judges (and many other parts of the Bible) and see the practical outworkings of living by "what's right in my own eyes."  We see just about every sin known to man, with horrendous consequences.  Living by this philosophy is never good. 


God's standards of right and wrong are what really matter.  When we stand before Him one day, as every person must do, He will not compare us to our own standards or the standards of others; He will compare us to the holy guidelines He gave us so clearly in His Word.


Dear Christian, let's spend time studying the Word of God and letting THAT determine our sense of right and wrong.  Then let us follow with unwavering obedience in doing what is right.  Nothing less will do.

Thoughts at the New Year

For the last several years I have not watched the television festivities on New Year's Eve.  This year my older two children begged to stay up and watch the Times Square events, and my wife and I relented.  


I remembered why I lost interest in watching the New Year celebrations.  As I watched thousands of people get so excited about the fresh start of the new year, forgetting the troubles of 2010 and looking toward the promises of 2011, I hurt for them.  They looked so eager for a fresh start.  But I know the wonderful truth that I can have a fresh start any day, any time.  I don't need to wait for the turn of the year; I can have a fresh start right now.


First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  In Lamentations 3:22-23 we read, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."  


If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you can have a fresh start any time you want it!  God's forgiveness is freely offered to us (1 John 1:9).  No matter what we've done in the past, we can have a fresh start right now and move forward with new grace from God.  

The Apostle Paul wrote, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13b-14).  Let us do this not only at the turn of the year, but every single day!

On the Burning of Books

Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center are leading the news this week because of their announced plan to burn copies of the Koran (Quran) for the 9/11 anniversary.  Public leaders and media institutions have spoken strongly against this plan.  But the leaders and institutions have it wrong.  I believe Jones's plan is foolhardy, but for a completely different (and biblical) reason.

Muslims are some of the very people we're trying to reach with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Yet Jones's actions will most certainly alienate some of the very people to whom we are to bring the gospel.  There is no redemptive value in this demonstration he's planning.  Much better would be to reach out to the Muslims in his neighborhood and share the love of Jesus Christ.

Protesters like this promote hate, not love.  I widen this comment to include people who protest military funerals, and even some who protest outside abortion clinics (I'm thinking of the ones who speak caustically and hatefully).  Yes, we as Christians must stand AGAINST the wrong, but since I only have a limited number of redemptive hours in my life, I would rather spend them standing FOR what is right.  I will speak the truth, but not in debate or protest: I want to speak it to someone who is listening and who might turn his or her heart to Christ.  Jesus spoke the truth about the Pharisees and the hypocrites, but He spent much more of His time lingering with those who had open hearts for His message.  I should do likewise.