Everyone has a cause they support. Whether its, animal rights, gay rights, woman's rights or religious views (as long as it's not Christianity) we all sit back and give that person the platform. We respectfully listen. In the end we may not agree but we respected the person and listened.
Its so funny, because the minute the word Jesus appears in a conversation everyone vocalizes there negative views. They do not want to hear one more word. They become almost hostile. For some reason the whole idea just flat out pisses them off. Do you want to turn a room full of people into your enemies? All you have to do is stand up and yell "Jesus saves!" or "I love Jesus!"
I think that there are 2 reasons for this. Modern day Christians like to quote the Bible (John 15:18-27) saying that Jesus told us that the world would hate us. I agree with this 100% percent. However, as Christians I think we are partially to blame. Our churches have done nothing to help the world's view of Christianity. We have been corrupted. We have distorted the truth. We have led people astray with self-help, easy-to-hear, bless-me messages that have watered down the truth and made a mockery of Jesus. We have become like the Pharisees:
Matthew 15:8-9
8 'These people honor me with their lips, but there hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'
We either place too much burden on those who come to know the Lord and they burn out, leave, never to return to Jesus again or we end up cloning them to be worse then us. More self-righteous, more burdensome, more evil.
It is tempting as leaders to offer a positive message to remain popular. In the short term this works to obtain large audiences in church membership. But I'm certain that we are seeing the result. That in the long term there is no maturity. When these 'led astray sheep' are met with any kind of crisis, their idea of Christianity is about as stable as any other spiritual view. So they walk away with a distorted understanding of Christ and they have blurry lenses making it harder for them to get to know God in the future. This is why so many people tell me I'm religious, because I'm a Christian. I hate that! I'm do not believe in religion. My Jesus did not come to start a religion, but He came to start a revolution. It is a life style of love, grace and truth, even when the truth is unpopular.
I speak with so many Christians about the times we live in, about Jesus coming back very soon. The response I get 9 times out of 10 is, "I don't want to think about it, I won't be here when it all goes down." Really? When I read Matthew 24, I don't get that from what Jesus is telling me. I think it is ignorance and it scares me to think that there is a possibility that they don't really have faith in God. It's one thing to believe, even the demons believe, its another to have faith. Noah had faith. Abraham had faith. Joseph had faith, Moses had faith, David had faith. Read Hebrews 11. Faith requires action. We may be called to build arks, kill our sons, slay giants, etc...
What is God asking you to do in faith? Are you doing it? Regardless of what others think...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Who taught you that you need to be saved?!
Today I was hanging in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) NYC and I was sporting my Sleeping Giant "PRAY" hoodie.
This tall gentleman, he must have been in his 60's rocking big crazy gray hair, yelled toward me, "It's a waste of time!" I did not realize that he was talking to me until after he had passed because I forgot what I was wearing. A few seconds later he yelled, "Who taught you that you need to be saved?" The guy was nuts and I wasn't going to entertain his foolish tyrade in the middle of Bedford Avenue so I ignored him as others turned and watched expectantly.
It got me thinking about how I would answer that question. Better yet it made me think the question in reverse.
"Who taught you that you did not need to be saved?"
Throughout my life different people have pointed me in the right direction and have guided me in my journey, but ultimately God told me that I need to be saved. He showed me the direness of my current situation. He revealed to me how evil I am at my core and I think we would all admit that we are grotesquely ugly at our cores.
This tall gentleman, he must have been in his 60's rocking big crazy gray hair, yelled toward me, "It's a waste of time!" I did not realize that he was talking to me until after he had passed because I forgot what I was wearing. A few seconds later he yelled, "Who taught you that you need to be saved?" The guy was nuts and I wasn't going to entertain his foolish tyrade in the middle of Bedford Avenue so I ignored him as others turned and watched expectantly.
It got me thinking about how I would answer that question. Better yet it made me think the question in reverse.
"Who taught you that you did not need to be saved?"
Throughout my life different people have pointed me in the right direction and have guided me in my journey, but ultimately God told me that I need to be saved. He showed me the direness of my current situation. He revealed to me how evil I am at my core and I think we would all admit that we are grotesquely ugly at our cores.
Moving Underground II
The Coming Evangelical Collapse
Pretty intense stuff...I beleive this to be a very acurrate depiction of the future state of the church. But I view it as God's way of pruning his fig tree. Check it out.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
Pretty intense stuff...I beleive this to be a very acurrate depiction of the future state of the church. But I view it as God's way of pruning his fig tree. Check it out.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
Monday, March 9, 2009
Moving Underground
The beginning of the end : the church is moving to the underground...dare to journey with me there?
March 9 2009
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
The complete article can be viewed at:http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-uscath0912529562mar09,0,3322875.story
March 9 2009
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
The complete article can be viewed at:http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ny-uscath0912529562mar09,0,3322875.story
Monday, March 2, 2009
Hebrews 11
By Faith
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because hea]">[a]considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspringb]">[b] will be reckoned."c]">[c] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sead]">[d] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.e]">[e]
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stonedf]">[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Dreams Are A Gift...Part II
2 Peter 1:3-11
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world cause by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Excerpt from Blog entry on December 15 2007 - Dreams Are A Gift...
Do you ever stop to think about what you originally set out to do in life? Is there a single point in your life where there was a burning desire to start something or what about the day you realize your purpose?Are you doing that? Has life gotten in the way? Have you forgot what that felt like?
It's a humbling feeling...
If you are doing anything but your dream, purpose or if life has beat you up, please remember how you felt and pursue it with all your heart and know that you aren't the only one.
Brothers and sisters, you know who you really are, deep down inside you know. You know if you are being true to yourself or not. I plead with you, be you...follow your dreams!
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world cause by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Excerpt from Blog entry on December 15 2007 - Dreams Are A Gift...
Do you ever stop to think about what you originally set out to do in life? Is there a single point in your life where there was a burning desire to start something or what about the day you realize your purpose?Are you doing that? Has life gotten in the way? Have you forgot what that felt like?
It's a humbling feeling...
If you are doing anything but your dream, purpose or if life has beat you up, please remember how you felt and pursue it with all your heart and know that you aren't the only one.
Brothers and sisters, you know who you really are, deep down inside you know. You know if you are being true to yourself or not. I plead with you, be you...follow your dreams!
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