Keep saying that I need to list all the things that I have never done before that I am doing. Definitely keeps me learning and growing. The most recent list.
Had the ninth baby. (for those who are playing at home, that is the fourth home birth, the sixth girl)
Preached 3 Sundays in a row.
Preached about economic crisis.
Preached about Revelation.
Built a zipline.
Bought a chevy.
Disassembled a carport
Instructed the boys to completely clean out the van (meaning, I didn't have to do any of it!)
Installed Carpet Squares at the Retreat Center Basement
Installed Drop Ceiling at the Retreat Center basement
and (Will do this next week)...Will ski on snowblades.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Just a glimpse in to what we have been up to....
Camp Ministry life has it's seasons of busyness - and the last few weeks have been one of the busier seasons. Many Church ministry people are really busy leading up to Easter. We are looking forward to Easter weekend so we can have a little breather! Here are some of the many things that we have been doing in the last 5 -6 weeks. (Not just me, but Penny as well)
- Finished up the process of remodeling the Multi-Purpose building Kitchen.
- Continued work on completing the Retreat Center basement!
- Hosted YOURLIFE 2.0 – Led and taught by six area campus ministries – challenging High School students to continue their walk with Christ as they head to college.
- Hosted THE
- Set up displays and handed out information at the Preaching Teaching Convention at OCC and the SMCEF meeting at Son Rise Christian in
- Hosted three marriage retreats at the
- Hosted over 100 people staying at the
- Worked with SIX different volunteer work groups – from Countryside Christian (Nixa),
- Planning and preparing for our next great event: JR. BASH for Grade School kids! Check out the website for info!
- In addition, we have mailed out summer camp information to all of our mailing list and distributed Church packets to nearly every Church in our database!
I'm tired now!
jc
Sunday, March 07, 2010
The Nasty Message of Revelation 11
I heard perhaps one of the best sermons I have ever heard at the Preaching Teaching Convention at Ozark Christian College. The sermon, by Jeff Walling, is available for purchase as a download at http://catapes.com/viewresults.cfm?cid=143 for $5. He is a very visual preacher, so the audio won't be quite as impacting as watching it. I bought the DVD at the convention and brought it home to share with my kids.
The reason I thought this message was so well done is that it accomplishes the important but difficult elements of outstanding preaching. First of all, it taught the text really well. So much preaching these days is about the text or around the text, but not in and of the text. Second, it was convicting, and filled with application. And third, it was completely engaging. Jeff Walling has a way of keeping your attention like few guys can. And he did it within a reasonable time frame. Preaching is difficult. Preaching and being Biblical is very difficult. Preaching, being Biblical, and pounding home conviction and application is extremely difficult. To do all that and to be interesting and funny is near impossible. If you can accomplish all that and be done in your allotted time, its nothing short of a miracle.
He started in Revelation 10 with the idea that once the truth is unveiled to you, you can't unknow it. The idea of eating the little scroll in Revelation 10 is the ingestion of the Word - God's truth being such a part of us, that we can't separate ourselves from it. But it turns sour - there is bad news with the good news. Some people won't believe God's truth. Those people choose to not follow Him, and their judgment is brought upon them - another theme of Revelation. That's the sour, sick feeling in your stomach. That is the message that the modern emergent church doesn't want to follow or teach. Some people will burn forever in hell. That may be the most politically incorrect thing you could possibly say these days.
Heard any sermons about the truth and the doctrine of hell? Why not? Because it is a hard, hard message to stomach.
In Revelation 11 the two witnesses appear. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth (vs 4). Because Revelation already called the Church the lampstands earlier, (See Rev. 1:20), we know that John is talking about the Church. There are two because of the Old Testament imagery of the necessity of at least two witnesses. Jesus sent his disciples two by two. The Church is you, and the Church is me. There are two of them, but they act as one.
There are images there of Moses and Elijah - witnesses for God who brought the unwavering message of God -"I am God and there is no other."
They had a message of judgment for those who did not honor God and a message of blessing for those who did. That did not change between Old Testament witnesses and New Testament witnesses. Those who wanted to listen and hear did hear and those who didn't want to hear didn't hear it. Fire coming from their mouths represents this message - (and forget the wacky Left Behind books that picture these guys as human fire breathing dragons - that's totally bizarre!) The Church throughout the centuries is the two witnesses.
The nasty part, and the part that makes me ask lots of questions starts in verse 7:
The reason I thought this message was so well done is that it accomplishes the important but difficult elements of outstanding preaching. First of all, it taught the text really well. So much preaching these days is about the text or around the text, but not in and of the text. Second, it was convicting, and filled with application. And third, it was completely engaging. Jeff Walling has a way of keeping your attention like few guys can. And he did it within a reasonable time frame. Preaching is difficult. Preaching and being Biblical is very difficult. Preaching, being Biblical, and pounding home conviction and application is extremely difficult. To do all that and to be interesting and funny is near impossible. If you can accomplish all that and be done in your allotted time, its nothing short of a miracle.
He started in Revelation 10 with the idea that once the truth is unveiled to you, you can't unknow it. The idea of eating the little scroll in Revelation 10 is the ingestion of the Word - God's truth being such a part of us, that we can't separate ourselves from it. But it turns sour - there is bad news with the good news. Some people won't believe God's truth. Those people choose to not follow Him, and their judgment is brought upon them - another theme of Revelation. That's the sour, sick feeling in your stomach. That is the message that the modern emergent church doesn't want to follow or teach. Some people will burn forever in hell. That may be the most politically incorrect thing you could possibly say these days.
Heard any sermons about the truth and the doctrine of hell? Why not? Because it is a hard, hard message to stomach.
In Revelation 11 the two witnesses appear. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth (vs 4). Because Revelation already called the Church the lampstands earlier, (See Rev. 1:20), we know that John is talking about the Church. There are two because of the Old Testament imagery of the necessity of at least two witnesses. Jesus sent his disciples two by two. The Church is you, and the Church is me. There are two of them, but they act as one.
There are images there of Moses and Elijah - witnesses for God who brought the unwavering message of God -"I am God and there is no other."
They had a message of judgment for those who did not honor God and a message of blessing for those who did. That did not change between Old Testament witnesses and New Testament witnesses. Those who wanted to listen and hear did hear and those who didn't want to hear didn't hear it. Fire coming from their mouths represents this message - (and forget the wacky Left Behind books that picture these guys as human fire breathing dragons - that's totally bizarre!) The Church throughout the centuries is the two witnesses.
The nasty part, and the part that makes me ask lots of questions starts in verse 7:
7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
There is enough in this section to blog about for a month, so let's start at verse 7. "When they had finished their testimony..." So, exactly when would that be? When is the Church done testifying about Christ? When is she done preaching the gospel? Or carrying the good news to the ends of the earth? I think it is pretty clear here that it is the end! Verse 12 sounds very much like 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Someone might say here, "hey, wait a second...uh, where is the Lord?" How about verse 12 - the voice from heaven.
Side note - in case you are wondering why the end is here in the middle of Revelation - that's because the end is all through Revelation - imagine the same story being told multiple times in different ways with a focus on different things. If you try to force Revelation to be a linear, chronological thing, then it will be horribly confusing and totally misrepresented, in my humble opinion. There are many parallel passages within Revelation. I need to do a blog post just on that concept.
So, the implication here is that at the time of the end, the Church will experience an unprecedented persecution. We really don't have much connection to that in the American Church, but believers all over the world have been dealing with this for many, many years. So, I believe, that we need to be ready for severe, overwhelming persecution. We need to teach our children to be ready and willing to sacrifice everything for Christ. To give up what we can't keep in order to gain what we can't lose, to paraphrase Jim Eliot.
The reason for this timing is also in verse 7, which is a parallel verse with Revelation 20:1-3. At the end, immediately before Christ comes again, Satan is allowed almost completely free reign for a very short time - "he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." (Rev. 12:12). Satan will overpower, attack, and seemingly destroy the Church - why then? Because the Church has finished its testimony.
Another side note here - Christian, have you reached that place? Have you finished your time of testimony about the Lord? (You haven't, because if you had, you would be dead, and dead people don't read blogs.) If we aren't dead yet, then God still has a purpose for us here to bring Him glory and to testify to his greatness. Why do we waste so much time with completely worthless pursuits? (Speaking to myself here.) Maybe we don't believe these verses? Maybe we don't believe what we are supposed to be testifying about? Maybe the world has distracted us so much that we have forgotten that we are here to give glory to God and testimony about Him?
Now, back to our program: Verse 9 says for three and half days, people will gloat, send each other gifts, refuse the dead bodies burial, and generally have a party because the Church is dead and gone. It seems that Satan has won, but God always has the final word and the victory, and you see that clearly in verse 11.
Revelation is a book of victory for the Christ follower. Even death can't be defeated! People often think of these great battles between God and Satan - Armageddon and all that. There's no great final battle - Jesus comes, flicks Satan and the worldly system into the fires of hell and it's all over. The final victory is assured. I'm not worried about that.
What I am dwelling on is this: am I prepared for the nastiness that will happen before that final victory? Do I have the courage and conviction to testify to the awesomeness of Christ until the time that the testimony is finished? And then, will I be ready to face the trials that will surely come? How many of my children will be prepared for that day? How many people who are in my areas of influence know how important it is to be ready for trials and persecution?
We have done the Church a great disservice by calling them to be ready ONLY for the second coming of Christ. I used to think of that day as being this "great, gettin' up morning" when we would see the sky crack open and the hear the trumpet blast as we were ending our leisurely breakfast. Revelation 11 is a little more "nasty" than that. We need to encourage each other to be ready not only for Christ's second coming, but for the suffering and persecution that, I believe, will surely come before the second coming.
I wonder why we can't just end our testimony and go to heaven? Why the little nasty interlude with Satan running amuck?
I guess it is because God won't get as much glory that way. And that is what it is all about. There is a billboard in Springfield advertising a car dealership that says, "It's all about you!" That might sound good in advertising, but that won't play well at the time of the end.
Comments are definitely welcome. Let's encourage each other to be the witness for Christ that we need to be.
Side note - in case you are wondering why the end is here in the middle of Revelation - that's because the end is all through Revelation - imagine the same story being told multiple times in different ways with a focus on different things. If you try to force Revelation to be a linear, chronological thing, then it will be horribly confusing and totally misrepresented, in my humble opinion. There are many parallel passages within Revelation. I need to do a blog post just on that concept.
So, the implication here is that at the time of the end, the Church will experience an unprecedented persecution. We really don't have much connection to that in the American Church, but believers all over the world have been dealing with this for many, many years. So, I believe, that we need to be ready for severe, overwhelming persecution. We need to teach our children to be ready and willing to sacrifice everything for Christ. To give up what we can't keep in order to gain what we can't lose, to paraphrase Jim Eliot.
The reason for this timing is also in verse 7, which is a parallel verse with Revelation 20:1-3. At the end, immediately before Christ comes again, Satan is allowed almost completely free reign for a very short time - "he is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short." (Rev. 12:12). Satan will overpower, attack, and seemingly destroy the Church - why then? Because the Church has finished its testimony.
Another side note here - Christian, have you reached that place? Have you finished your time of testimony about the Lord? (You haven't, because if you had, you would be dead, and dead people don't read blogs.) If we aren't dead yet, then God still has a purpose for us here to bring Him glory and to testify to his greatness. Why do we waste so much time with completely worthless pursuits? (Speaking to myself here.) Maybe we don't believe these verses? Maybe we don't believe what we are supposed to be testifying about? Maybe the world has distracted us so much that we have forgotten that we are here to give glory to God and testimony about Him?
Now, back to our program: Verse 9 says for three and half days, people will gloat, send each other gifts, refuse the dead bodies burial, and generally have a party because the Church is dead and gone. It seems that Satan has won, but God always has the final word and the victory, and you see that clearly in verse 11.
Revelation is a book of victory for the Christ follower. Even death can't be defeated! People often think of these great battles between God and Satan - Armageddon and all that. There's no great final battle - Jesus comes, flicks Satan and the worldly system into the fires of hell and it's all over. The final victory is assured. I'm not worried about that.
What I am dwelling on is this: am I prepared for the nastiness that will happen before that final victory? Do I have the courage and conviction to testify to the awesomeness of Christ until the time that the testimony is finished? And then, will I be ready to face the trials that will surely come? How many of my children will be prepared for that day? How many people who are in my areas of influence know how important it is to be ready for trials and persecution?
We have done the Church a great disservice by calling them to be ready ONLY for the second coming of Christ. I used to think of that day as being this "great, gettin' up morning" when we would see the sky crack open and the hear the trumpet blast as we were ending our leisurely breakfast. Revelation 11 is a little more "nasty" than that. We need to encourage each other to be ready not only for Christ's second coming, but for the suffering and persecution that, I believe, will surely come before the second coming.
I wonder why we can't just end our testimony and go to heaven? Why the little nasty interlude with Satan running amuck?
I guess it is because God won't get as much glory that way. And that is what it is all about. There is a billboard in Springfield advertising a car dealership that says, "It's all about you!" That might sound good in advertising, but that won't play well at the time of the end.
Comments are definitely welcome. Let's encourage each other to be the witness for Christ that we need to be.
Friday, March 05, 2010
The Shredder's Thoughts About Life and The Universe
The Shredder's Thoughts About Life and The Universe
Thoughts about Christian music from my wise and discerning son.
jc
Thoughts about Christian music from my wise and discerning son.
jc
Fuel Taxes Must Rise, Harvard Researchers Say - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Fuel Taxes Must Rise, Harvard Researchers Say - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com
Here's what we will get with progressive Energy policies: $7 a gallon gas! Lookin' forward to that!
Here's what we will get with progressive Energy policies: $7 a gallon gas! Lookin' forward to that!
Trouble ahead for the Church?
It's hard not to be a little skeptical and a little jaded about things that are happening in our country and in the Church right now. As I become older and see more and listen to more voices, I am becoming more convinced that there are a series of issues that will face our future as the Church. You can chalk me up to just being a wacky conspiracy theorist, and that's fine, but I have always tried to be a student of the culture and have always tried to humbly share my ideas with anyone who is willing to listen. So, if you are willing, fasten your seatbelts and see what you think about my prophetic voice. I'm not attempting to be prophetic in the sense that I have had a special revelation from God that has shown me what will take place. I am however, trying to be prophetic in the sense of looking around and remembering history and trying to share my opinions about what is coming, especially as it relates to the church.
1. The coming economic catastrophe.
As much as I hate to even talk about this, I think that the future has a collapse of the economy coming. First of all, the government (both Republicans and Democrats) is working toward an economic collapse, whether because of sheer incompetence & stupidity or because of intentional design of something they think might be better. I tend to think the latter, but that doesn't really matter. The point is that they are spending our childrens' futures like a bunch of drunk sailors at port. This plan is an old strategy that has been in place since the 60's with progressives. So, if very conservative thinking people don't retake the control of the government, (which is possible but unlikely) our economy is toast. I could go on and on here, but there are others who are much smarter than me that are raising the alarms on this. Click here for one article about the "Clowerd-Piven Strategy."
See my next post to read an article suggesting that $7 per gallon gas is a real possibility if the progressive energy policies are enacted.
In concert with this for the Church, the baby boomers are starting to retire (another part of the strain on the government because of Social Security - more benefits are being paid out than revenue is being taken in). Already some Christian financial planners have begun to notice that more boomers will be living on fixed incomes, and they will not be supporting Churches and Christian organizations like they have in the past, because most charitable giving is given out of disposable income. Will the younger generations support the work of Churches and missionaries (and humble church camps!)? I hope so, but I am afraid that many churches will not survive the next 20 - 40 years. Especially when you consider that in order to sustain the government's progressive programs, the tax burden will increase and the cost of goods and services will necessarily rise (like gas being potentially $7 a gallon - how's that going to affect the Sunday offering?)
Click here to see Barna Research about church giving.
2. The dearth of Godly leaders
We are losing young people to the world at a rate of approximately 66%, based on research done by George Barna, among others. Combine that with that fact that less children are being born into Christian families than in previous years. (You need to see the very interesting video about this called Demographic Winter - and it's follow up, Demographic Bomb - http://www.demographicwinter.com/index.html). Even though the US population is growing significantly, the growth is only being propped up by immigration. The fact is, there will be few Christian leaders for the Church in 40 years. What are we doing right now to raise up a generation of solid, Biblically minded leaders and teachers?
3. The Worldview war is being lost.
While I see many people trying to win the hearts and minds of their own children for Christ, I see many more who are not. Again, check out the Barna Research on this subject. If you care at all about the future of the Church, consider this chilling quote from the Barna article linked to above:
What do we need to do about it?
jc
1. The coming economic catastrophe.
As much as I hate to even talk about this, I think that the future has a collapse of the economy coming. First of all, the government (both Republicans and Democrats) is working toward an economic collapse, whether because of sheer incompetence & stupidity or because of intentional design of something they think might be better. I tend to think the latter, but that doesn't really matter. The point is that they are spending our childrens' futures like a bunch of drunk sailors at port. This plan is an old strategy that has been in place since the 60's with progressives. So, if very conservative thinking people don't retake the control of the government, (which is possible but unlikely) our economy is toast. I could go on and on here, but there are others who are much smarter than me that are raising the alarms on this. Click here for one article about the "Clowerd-Piven Strategy."
See my next post to read an article suggesting that $7 per gallon gas is a real possibility if the progressive energy policies are enacted.
In concert with this for the Church, the baby boomers are starting to retire (another part of the strain on the government because of Social Security - more benefits are being paid out than revenue is being taken in). Already some Christian financial planners have begun to notice that more boomers will be living on fixed incomes, and they will not be supporting Churches and Christian organizations like they have in the past, because most charitable giving is given out of disposable income. Will the younger generations support the work of Churches and missionaries (and humble church camps!)? I hope so, but I am afraid that many churches will not survive the next 20 - 40 years. Especially when you consider that in order to sustain the government's progressive programs, the tax burden will increase and the cost of goods and services will necessarily rise (like gas being potentially $7 a gallon - how's that going to affect the Sunday offering?)
Click here to see Barna Research about church giving.
2. The dearth of Godly leaders
We are losing young people to the world at a rate of approximately 66%, based on research done by George Barna, among others. Combine that with that fact that less children are being born into Christian families than in previous years. (You need to see the very interesting video about this called Demographic Winter - and it's follow up, Demographic Bomb - http://www.demographicwinter.com/index.html). Even though the US population is growing significantly, the growth is only being propped up by immigration. The fact is, there will be few Christian leaders for the Church in 40 years. What are we doing right now to raise up a generation of solid, Biblically minded leaders and teachers?
3. The Worldview war is being lost.
While I see many people trying to win the hearts and minds of their own children for Christ, I see many more who are not. Again, check out the Barna Research on this subject. If you care at all about the future of the Church, consider this chilling quote from the Barna article linked to above:
The research data showed that one pattern emerged loud and clear: young adults rarely possess a biblical worldview. The current study found that less than one-half of one percent of adults in the Mosaic generation – i.e., those aged 18 to 23 – have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults.Wow - all I can say is wow. Read it again. Let it sink in. That is one in 200. 5 of 1000. We are not reaching the next generation like we should be. We are one generation from literally being post-Christian America. One in nine adults is not a lot, but one half of one percent? That is simply not sustainable.
What do we need to do about it?
- We need to pray and trust God for his supply and his support. We need to pray that Godly leaders will be leading our country. Maybe God will use these things to shake us into fully trusting Him instead of trusting the government or anything else. Ultimately, God is sovereign, and these things may be even the beginning of end times persecutions and troubles for the believers that the Bible teaches is surely to come.
- We need to work toward raising a new Generation of Godly leaders. We need to fully support Bible colleges, campus ministries, and church related youth work (and outstanding Church camps!) that lead toward the goal of well trained, next generation Biblically minded leaders who can preach, teach, admonish, and be willing to suffer for Christ in the coming years. We need to especially grasp the young adults and college age people and hold on to them! If you are not supporting these organizations financially and with your prayers, would you be willing to change that today?
- We need to challenge parents to lead their own families to the strong, unshakable belief in the truth of God's Word. We have forgotten how to disciple our own children. We have forgotten how to love children. We have forgotten what a blessing children are. We have forgotten that nothing in this world is more important that passing on a Biblical worldview to our children. I want to challenge anyone reading this (including myself), that if any earthly pursuit is more important to you than leading your family to Christ, then repentance is needed. God is so faithful, and he will help to lead us and guide us and we fully submit our lives and our families to Him.
jc
Saturday, February 27, 2010
My Latest Read - Already Gone
We really need to be paying attention to the message of this book. This book caught my eye while I was browsing in the bookstore at the AIG Creation Museum. It caught my eye, because the girl on the book cover has that same look in her eyes that I have seen in the faces of too many kids that I have tried to teach and challenge with the gospel.
Her eyes are shouting, "get away from me. I don't need you, I don't need the church, and I don't need God."
This is an interesting book to me because it is based on research done that suggests that the 66% of teens who leave the church in their college years are not leaving once they get to college, but they are "already gone" in their middle school and high school years. Once they get to college, they are just finalizing their decision by walking out the door.
I have been concerned for a long time about the problem of poorly developed Biblical worldview thinking in our youth, and how the church is not able to keep up in the battle for their hearts and minds. You need to read this.
Her eyes are shouting, "get away from me. I don't need you, I don't need the church, and I don't need God."
This is an interesting book to me because it is based on research done that suggests that the 66% of teens who leave the church in their college years are not leaving once they get to college, but they are "already gone" in their middle school and high school years. Once they get to college, they are just finalizing their decision by walking out the door.
I have been concerned for a long time about the problem of poorly developed Biblical worldview thinking in our youth, and how the church is not able to keep up in the battle for their hearts and minds. You need to read this.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Eco-Terrorist Paul Watson of Sea Shepherds Responds to ‘The Mysterious Islands’ Press Release’ - Vision Forum Ministries
Eco-Terrorist Paul Watson of Sea Shepherds Responds to ‘The Mysterious Islands’ Press Release’ - Vision Forum Ministries
This is an interesting article - a combination of blog by Douglas Phillips, producer of the Mysterious Islands DVD, (a DVD which I bought, but have still not seen yet!) a press release about the DVD, and commentary by Paul Watson - the Sea Shepherd guy. Kind of brings out my point about the point being harder to get in my last post. This guy will never get the point as long as his hatred for God and anything remotely Godly is so deep. We need to pray for this guy.
This is an interesting article - a combination of blog by Douglas Phillips, producer of the Mysterious Islands DVD, (a DVD which I bought, but have still not seen yet!) a press release about the DVD, and commentary by Paul Watson - the Sea Shepherd guy. Kind of brings out my point about the point being harder to get in my last post. This guy will never get the point as long as his hatred for God and anything remotely Godly is so deep. We need to pray for this guy.
The Point is getting Harder to Get
Life is all about getting the point. The point is that God made you to honor him and make his glory more known in your own life, in the life of your family, and in the lives of others around you. The Point is that God loves you so much that He sent His son Jesus to die on the Cross for your rebellion. The Point is that you can have a restored relationship with God through Jesus!
Sometimes I have thought that the point was getting harder to make because of our culture. People don't want to hear the truth of the gospel. I refocused on memorizing 2 Timothy today. It says that the time will come when people will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. I think that time has come and even gone perhaps. People don't even need the teachers anymore - they can go and find what their itching ears want to hear on the internet for themselves.
But today I guess I am rethinking all this. Maybe the problem now is not that the Point is getting harder to make, but that the Point is getting harder to get. Proverbs says "therefore get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding (KJV)." The problem is that people don't want to get the Point. They have believed the lies so much that they think that the Point is pointless, and therefore pointless to get.
Going through the Creation Museum was a great experience, and the point was made repeatedly there that unless people start at the point of accepting the truth of God's Word, they won't catch on to the rest of the important message that God has for them.
I certainly agree with that, but perhaps there is another question to ask: why? Why are kids growing up in Church but missing the Point? Why are Church attendance numbers growing but Christ follower numbers are declining? Why is the Media winning the culture war?
Maybe it's because the Point is getting harder to get. It's not because it's not available - it is certainly available. It's getting harder to get because we have not learned the ability to get it. Surely I am not the only one who has noticed the glazed look in people's eyes as we try to teach them basic truths of God's Word.
Let's face it. The Pants on the Ground video (American Idol thing) is more influential than God's truth in our culture! (I'm not saying anything negative about the video itself - I'm just asserting comparatively, that it is more influential!) Does that bother us? Are we so deep in the cultural sea that we don't even notice - Like asking a fish what water is like?
The point is getting harder to get because very few people are like Timothy, of whom Paul said, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." - 2 Tim 3:14-15
How it grieves me that people who grow up in the church and in Christian families are not wise for Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus because they have not known the Scriptures from infancy.
I guess I am asking more questions here than giving answers. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3: 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Is it a stretch to say that this passage means that the Point is getting harder to get? I think we have more than arrived at this terrible prophetic picture.
Whatever you are doing, it is not more important than teaching your children to love God and to get His Wisdom. Talking to myself here.
Sometimes I have thought that the point was getting harder to make because of our culture. People don't want to hear the truth of the gospel. I refocused on memorizing 2 Timothy today. It says that the time will come when people will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. I think that time has come and even gone perhaps. People don't even need the teachers anymore - they can go and find what their itching ears want to hear on the internet for themselves.
But today I guess I am rethinking all this. Maybe the problem now is not that the Point is getting harder to make, but that the Point is getting harder to get. Proverbs says "therefore get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding (KJV)." The problem is that people don't want to get the Point. They have believed the lies so much that they think that the Point is pointless, and therefore pointless to get.
Going through the Creation Museum was a great experience, and the point was made repeatedly there that unless people start at the point of accepting the truth of God's Word, they won't catch on to the rest of the important message that God has for them.
I certainly agree with that, but perhaps there is another question to ask: why? Why are kids growing up in Church but missing the Point? Why are Church attendance numbers growing but Christ follower numbers are declining? Why is the Media winning the culture war?
Maybe it's because the Point is getting harder to get. It's not because it's not available - it is certainly available. It's getting harder to get because we have not learned the ability to get it. Surely I am not the only one who has noticed the glazed look in people's eyes as we try to teach them basic truths of God's Word.
Let's face it. The Pants on the Ground video (American Idol thing) is more influential than God's truth in our culture! (I'm not saying anything negative about the video itself - I'm just asserting comparatively, that it is more influential!) Does that bother us? Are we so deep in the cultural sea that we don't even notice - Like asking a fish what water is like?
The point is getting harder to get because very few people are like Timothy, of whom Paul said, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." - 2 Tim 3:14-15
How it grieves me that people who grow up in the church and in Christian families are not wise for Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus because they have not known the Scriptures from infancy.
I guess I am asking more questions here than giving answers. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3: 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Is it a stretch to say that this passage means that the Point is getting harder to get? I think we have more than arrived at this terrible prophetic picture.
Whatever you are doing, it is not more important than teaching your children to love God and to get His Wisdom. Talking to myself here.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse - January 8th, 2010
Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse - January 8th, 2010
I want to encourage everyone to listen to this broadcast. (Click on the link above.) Truly excellent, and a reminder of the curses to come on our nation as we turn more away from God and our foundation.
Listen well.
jc
I want to encourage everyone to listen to this broadcast. (Click on the link above.) Truly excellent, and a reminder of the curses to come on our nation as we turn more away from God and our foundation.
Listen well.
jc
Friday, January 08, 2010
Two Dancing Blessings
Not manly, I know, to use the word "cute" a lot, but hey, it is what it is.
Two of my little blessings dancing.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)