Christian Politics On Earth Or Only In Heaven?

How should we, as Christians, then live?

As a Christian living in a primarily non-Christian world how should we react to politics? It’s, after all, around us, dictating our lifestyle and to a greater extent our beliefs. Take, what is commonly dubbed, the Obama health plan, for instance. Ever stop to think who’s paying for the abortions that amount to thousands each year in the USA? All our hard earned money. When we pay our premium, like it or not, we are paying for others to get abortions for free.

So how can we Christians still abide by the laws of this land—which is incidentally becoming more and more anti-Christian and anti-biblical—and still have the clear conscience of not having paid for some people’s abortions?

How about other forms of violations of our faiths. I don’t know your inclinations when it comes to the homosexual agenda but as a Believer I feel that the Bible is quite clear about gay marriages and homosexuality. So what happens if you have a business printing T-shirts and people from the Gay Pride Movement wants you to print T-shirts to promote their cause—something which is anti-Biblical and against the Christian view. Do you as a business have a right to refuse to print the T-shirts?

In the USA apparently not! Recently, a Christian business owner was sued by the Gay Pride movement. You can read about it here.

The defending attorney says:

“No one should be forced by the government or by another citizen to endorse or promote ideas with which they disagree,” said ADF attorney Jim Campbell. “Blaine declined to the request to print the shirts not because of any characteristic of the people who asked for them, but because of the message that the shirts would communicate.”

Do you agree the Christian company has the right to refuse? I certainly do.

And what about schools? There are enough plays in schools that promote the gay agenda, but what if a Christian student wants to promote Christmas, or a biblical story, or perhaps just have a Christian theme for their drama. Would freedom of speech allow the student putting up the play to have the liberty to voice his opinion through drama? Again, apparently, not, according to one North Carolina school. You can read the story here.

Are these just isolated incidences of bigotry against the Christian faith? And so we have nothing to worry about? This country still honors freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right? After all, look at the art world. So many, in my opinion, pornographic type artwork is promoted as art in the name of freedom of speech. But, sorry to burst you bubble. I wish I could say I was wrong. But truth be told, daily, the incidences where businesses or some government officials come down upon individuals or businesses that try to honor what God wants increase in  number.

Our politics is in heaven, you might say, as a Christian, quoting scripture.

But, the reality is as long as we live on this earth the politics about us will influence our lives, our beliefs, and the future of our children and their right to live as Christians. If we, as Christians, despite our denominations, do not band together and state our stand, our stand will crumble like the Berlin Wall. When government begins to force churches to hire and promote homosexuality in our Sunday sermons, (they are already doing this in schools, and this, despite the school’s position that they don’t have enough money for school projects, but yet, have been able to foster out millions for new text books to enhance the gay agenda), we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Why? Because we take the middle road, we don’t want to rock boats, we don’t want to “offend.”

Remember the Bible says, Satan is a thief and a liar. A thief come stealthily—slowly, surely and takes you in ways you didn’t realize... until it is too late. Already, the thief has stolen much of the biblical values in our country. How much more are we as Christian willing to stand by and allow the ungodly eat away at our belief system?

The Bible also says we are to be gentle as doves, which most Christian seem to be able to live out easily enough. But about the second part of that same scripture?

If we are to take God’s Words a whole, the second portion of the Bible verse says, we, Christians must be as wise as a serpent. The serpent is a symbol of Satan. Wise as a serpent? Think about it. Perhaps we are to not be so quick as to allow legalism to taint our thoughts and say, “Well, as Christians we must love everyone.” Don‘t get me wrong. But to love means to also speak the truth.

We must tell the world (unsaved) of the truth, the Biblical standards that our One true God wants us to uphold. (Don’t get me wrong—I know each of us will fall short often—at least I do…often. But this doesn’t mean we condone what is touted as the acceptable ways.) We cannot let the culture of our day—basically, anything goes and let’s all sing Kumbaya, and be politically correct—dictate how we live and our future. When it’s time to voting—vote. When God gives you a chance to voice your opinion that concerns biblical value, share stand firm and speak the truth. Be a light. A torch bearer for truth, and for Jesus.  Was Jesus politically correct? Follow His example. 

And when politics encroach on how we should live as Believers, we have not just a right, we have the duty to fight for what we believe in. I think it’s worth it. What about you?

Don't Judge Me

Don't Judge Me. It's a popular catch phrase. Usually, we say it when we're joking or admitting to a guilty pleasure. As in, "I watch The Bachelor. Don't judge." (For the record--that is an example. I don't. See--I don't want to be judged.)

Freeee! I'm free, I tell you.

But “Don't Judge Me” has also become our culture's latest universal demand. No matter what I might do, don't anyone dare judge me for it. I'm a free agent. No one has any right to take me to task for any choice I might make. It's the greatest sin of modern America—to judge someone. That is, if we still believed in sin.

To judge, according to the online dictionary, has several meanings. Basically, they come down to this: to form a careful opinion or make a critical decision based on evidence.

Notice what's not in this definition. There is no assessment of a person's character. It does not include a moral determination of whether the person being judged is a good person. It's a clear, evidence-based determination of one case. Did the person do right or wrong?

We've made it into a character assessment. That's why we feel “judged” as people whenever someone lets us know, tactfully or not, that something we did was questionable. We've even called it being judged when someone just disagrees with us. If we can't agree on a definition, how can we know whether or not we are judging someone? Or being judged?

Then, we have to take this all one more step and ask—but what about within the church?

We are confused, especially given current events. What do we do with leaders who have fallen? Forgive and forget? Fire and forget? The Bible says not to judge—is that the standard we need to keep here? That seems to be the opinion of those telling us we're “being judgmental” in taking people out of leadership positions. (Which is kind of funny, since those people then are judging the ones they say are judging the leaders. By their own definition. But . . . oh this is getting really confusing.)

Then wait—the Bible also says that teachers should be held accountable for their teaching. Paul tells us to judge one another (1 Corinthians 5). Which one is it? And how do we know which road to take in which circumstances? What is the difference between accountability and judgment?

I wish there was a clearly marked yellow brick road that could tell us exactly how to do this accountability thing. There, are however, some guidelines in Scripture that help.

How do Christians judge Biblically?

We don't make it personal.

We are honest with someone about a behavior we witnessed. We do not make that into an attack on their character. Jesus told Peter (quite forcefully!) that trying to stop him from going to the cross was a short-term selfish plan. Jesus did not imply that Peter was a selfish being. He turned around and trusted him again with his friendship and ministry. He did not allow mistakes to turn into personal identities.

We judge only on facts we know.

We “just say no” to gossip and slander about another person. We refuse to listen to it, let alone allow it to influence the way we see or treat the person it was about. Matthew says that if we have an issue with a brother or sister, we go to that person (Mathew 18.15-17). Not our best friend, or the youth pastor, or the group of people standing around the coffee pot. Judgment is not to be crowd sourced.

We prioritize love.

Jesus said we must exercise both truth and grace. Too heavy on the first, and we become a Pharisee, wanting to be judge and jury for any infraction we might imagine but with little understanding of our own fallibility. Err too far on the grace side, and it becomes all peace and love with no correction. It's not truly loving to let a person go down in flames when we could have warned them at least. Don't confront someone without genuine love in your heart for them. Also, don't love someone unless you're willing to tell them hard truth.

We recognize when choices are different, not wrong.

Often, when we're upset about someone's choices, it's not that those choices are sinful but that they are uncomfortable. They are different than what we would choose. That does not make them wrong.

I have a painful example of this. Several years back, my daughter wanted to buy a Tshirt in support of the Day of Silence at high school. I said no. I didn't want my child supporting homosexual behavior. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized—she didn't want to support the behavior. She wanted to support her friends, and their right to go through a school day without being harassed or hurt. It made me uncomfortable, but my daughter was closer to following her WWJD bracelet than I was. Our choices were different, but neither one was categorically wrong.

We cultivate humility.

“Brothers and sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6)

Restore how? By first remembering we could be just as guilty just as easily. By thinking of the last time were were tempted to fall just short of the mark. Or the last time we did. Jesus' main quarrel with the Pharisees judging was not that they did but the way in which they did. With pride and apparent enjoyment.

“For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7.1-2). In other words, do you really want to judge someone harshly? Do you secretly enjoy being the righteous one? Are you the one on my Facebook feed always posting stories about people's stupid choices and saying how much you'd like to see them punished? Then expect to have those tables turned. 

Rather, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” Recognize your own frailty—then things will be much clearer.

We are reluctant to cast the first stone.

If we are eager to be the first in line when we sense a wrong somewhere, we'd better check our attitude. Christians filled with God's grace and truth do not want to judge one another. We do so as Paul did, reluctantly when necessary. Beware of those who take every opportunity to showcase their ability to “cleanse the temple.” That's the work of pride, not Jesus.

We earn the right to speak.

We earn it by being a part of another person's life, not a fly-by critic. We've taken the time to develop a relationship. We care all the time, not just when we want to point out a fault. We don't tell someone we hardly know how to live a better life.

I used to be a “don't judge me” kind of person. I bridled at any attempt at even perceived criticism. I've learned. The disciples needed accountability. The early church leaders needed accountability. I need accountability to become what God wants me to become. It's not a dirty word. I'm grateful for the people in my life with the courage to confront issues that don't bring glory to God.

Being judgmental is a bad thing. Being a good judge, however, is not. We should all be fortunate enough to have those around.

What Is The Gospel, Really?

The depth of the Gospel

 

Gospel. We use that word quite often, at least in our Christian circles, but, have you ever wondered just exactly what the Gospel is? At first, that might sound like a silly question, but let’s look deeper.

Many of us know that Gospel means, “Good News.” Thanks to the great commission, we know that we are to spread the Gospel to all nations. (My women’s Bible study is studying Roman’s . . . for the next two years. You can expect to see a number of posts based on what I’m learning form Romans.)

Let’s look at Romans chapter one and see if we can get a grasp on what it is we are supposed to share.

Romans 1:1-4

“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, ^[a]called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born of a ^[b]descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared the Son of God with power ^[c]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the ^[d]Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

Here is a list of things that Romans 1:1-4 tells us about the Gospel:

·         Paul says that he is set apart for it

·         He refers to it as “the gospel of God”

·         It was promised through the prophets

·         It concerns God’s Son who is described as a descendant of David according to the flesh and was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead

Verse 9a   ^“For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son,”

·         Paul serves God in his spirit by preaching the gospel of God’s Son, so the gospel is both God the fathers and God the Sons.

Verses 15-16 “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

·         Paul is eager to preach the gospel to the Romans, and he is not ashamed of it because:

·         It is the power of God for salvation

How do we receive salvation? By believing.

 Who can receive salvation? First to the Jew and then to the Greek (or nations)

Now let’s look at 1 Cor. 15:1-8

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast ^[a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you ^[b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to ^[c]James, then to all the apostles; ⁸ and last of all, as ^[d]to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

·         Paul preached it

·         you received it

·          you also stand in it

·         By it you were saved

·         It is of first importance

Here it is: The Gospel v. 3-4 This is what we believe. (Rom. 1:16)

Christ died for our sins, He was buried and He was raised on the third day! Can I get an AMEN? 

How do we know he was raised from the dead?

·         He appeared to Cephas

·         He appeared to the twelve (Apostles)

·         He appeared to more than five hundred people, most of whom are still alive and will bear witness to it (Romans was written about 58 AD, about twenty years after Jesus’ resurrection.)

That’s it. That is the gospel. In a nut shell. Are we eager to preach it like Paul was? Perhaps we’re terrified. We might even fumble our words, wring our hands and break into a cold sweat. Hopefully this explanation will help us be more confident as we share the gospel that is so simple, yet so deep.

Hello, My Name is Fear



Overcoming the Spirit of Fear

 

             Ebola. The Bird Flu. Islamic Jihad. Terrorism. Radical Islamic Beheadings. Cancer. The Plague. AIDS. Earthquakes. Floods. Tsunamis. Famine. Wildfires. War. Pestilence. On and on and on. There is no shortage today, nor has there ever historically been a shortage, of words, phrases, and local or world events that all invoke the Spirit of Fear.

             So what are we to do when fear raises its ugly head?  

             It is a biblical maxim that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places . . .” (Eph. 6:12). This passage sets out what perhaps can best be termed as  the “military hierarchy” of Satan’s demonic army. Few of us will ever directly encounter principalities, or generals, during times of spiritual warfare, and that’s a good thing, because most of us are ill-prepared to wrestle against even his foot soldiers, those demonic spirits who comprise the category of spiritual wickedness in high places.  However, if we are to become over comers as we walk the narrow road of sanctification, or being set apart for His glory, we must learn how to put on the “full armor of God,” and take back territory that has been stolen from us.

 

            One of the devil’s most successful strategies for millennia has been to convince those who believe in God and have purposed to serve Him faithfully that demonic spirits don’t exist, or, alternatively, that they have no power over those who belong to Jesus.  These are two of his many lies whispered into the unguarded spiritual ears of Believers.

 

            My wife and I have a teaching and equipping ministry. Part of what we’ve been involved in for over a decade is the ministry of deliverance.  We have ministered to an eclectic group of people including pastors, their wives and staff, men and women in the secular business world, and the laity.  The strategy the Lord showed us is based upon Matthew 12:28-29: “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil the house.”  Holy Spirit gave us a dramatic dream involving a chessboard and instructed us to remove the pawns, rooks, knights, and bishops, in that order, exposing the King and Queen. The Queen is the demonic ‘strongman” and the King is her top general.  Once the King is taken, the Queen is forever vanquished and her house “spoiled.”

 

After more than one hundred deliverance sessions, a trend has become evident.  The individuals who meet with us have a number of things in common, one of which is that they all have similar ‘strongmen.” In almost every deliverance we’ve facilitated under the guiding hand of Holy Spirit, the Queen is either Fear or Rejection, and the King is whichever one the Queen is not.

 

Today, I’d like to offer insight into the Spirit of Fear.

 

2Timothy1:7 tells us: For God has not given us the spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind.”  Let’s break this down as if this scripture is a metaphor for how we recognize that we’ve “caught” a spirit of fear, much in the same we “catch” a cold.

 

The first “symptom” of a spirit of fear is we lose our ability to think clearly. The soundness of our mind is the first thing attacked by the enemy. Our mind becomes clouded as confusion shrouds our thoughts.  We feel anxious and uncertain. Concern escalates rapidly into worry.  Next, we lose our power to resist and fight. Anxiety overwhelms us as we feel backed into a corner with no place to run or hide, or no way out of the situation. Despair becomes a constant companion, perhaps even our master.  Finally, when we are fully in the grip of this demonic “cold” we lose our ability to walk in love.  We withdraw and become irritable, even angry.  The smallest transgression causes us to lash out at those around us.

 

We are now completely under the influence of a Spirit of Fear.

 

What’s the remedy?

 



 

Ideally, we need to discipline ourselves to recognize the onset of this demonic, spiritual “cold” just as we’ve learned to recognize the onset of a natural cold.  If we recognize the symptoms of this demonic attack immediately, prayer is very effective at preventing its escalation.  If we ignore the symptoms and find ourselves with a full-blown, debilitating, perhaps even chronic, case of “fear” then deliverance might be in order. 

 

Keep in mind that fear is a demonic spirit before it becomes an emotion.  In an earlier blog, entitled Can a Christian Have a Demon? http://7christians.blogspot.com/2014/07/can-christian-have-demon.html, I discussed at length how demonic infestation works.  Our soul is comprised of our mind, will, and emotions. Demonic spirits only have access to Believers in the realm of the soul, and fear attaches itself in the emotional realm.  Fear gains access in a variety of ways, including trauma, curses, vows, witchcraft, and even in the womb, prior to birth.  If fear is chronic, the deliverance strategy is the same as for all other demonic “parasites.” 

 

First, we ask Father for generational forgiveness for anyone in our bloodline who operated under the influence of fear, especially where it impacted us.  We also need to give those generational individuals our forgiveness.  Next, we ask Father to forgive us and we need to forgive ourselves wherever we’ve operated out of a “spirit of fear.”  Then we ask Father to put all of it ‘under His blood.”  Now, we’re positioned before Him with “clean hands and a pure heart.”  We can “come boldly unto His throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” and ask “whatever we will in His name” and it “shall be given unto us.” (Ps. 24:4; Heb. 4:16; Jn.14:13).  The final step is to break, or annul, our covenant with the Spirit of Fear, tell it that it’s no longer welcome in our “temple,” and command it to depart from us never to return by the authority of the Name of Jesus and the power of His Blood.

 

Fear might not be your “strongman.” It might not even be the King on your spiritual chessboard.  If it’s only an occasional irritant, recognize it early and refuse to give it any power over you.  On the other hand, if you suffer from a generational curse in your family, or if the Spirit of Fear is a stronghold in your life, stronger measures are called for.  In either case, we have an advocate Who sits at the right hand of Father ever interceding on our behalf.  He will never leave us or forsakes us, and He walks with us through every storm, every fire, every calamity that the enemy of our souls attempts to use to discourage us and convince us that our God is capable of saving us for eternity, but unwilling, or worse, incapable, of delivering us from the “snares of the fowler.”



DOES GOD EVER CHANGE HIS MIND?

REPENT AND LIVE!      

 

It is very natural for humans to change their minds about issues, and we all do change our minds, from time to time, about almost anything you can think of.  We change our minds about decisions we’ve previously made, our stand on issues, political or otherwise; our likes and dislikes, etc.  How about God?  Does He ever change His mind?  The answer to this question is not what you might think!  You are probably thinking, “God is all knowing, and so before He says anything, He already has His mind made up; hence there should be no reason for Him to change His mind.”  I have news for you; He does change His mind, and in fact quite often.

You are probably thinking, “No way!”  So why does He change His mind?  What could possible prompt the Almighty to change His mind?  The answer is very simple; He changes His mind to prove His love for you and me.  His ability to change His mind is part of His love-nature!  Based on his love for us He has given Himself permission to change His mind, and that permission is written all over His commandments.

Under what circumstances then does God change His mind?  He changes His mind in situations that call for punishment, but the sinner repents before the punishment is carried out.  God changes His mind because He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone (Ezek 18:32), rather He demands and encourages repentance; “Repent and live” He says!  For example, He tells us in Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake His way and the evil man his thoughts.  Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”  Also, in Romans 6:23, He says, “The wages of sin is death,” but if the sinner repents, and puts his trust in Jesus, that death penalty is withdrawn.  Hence the second half of that verse says, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Aren’t you thankful that God is capable of changing His mind?  I for one I am very thankful, because the alternative to not being forgiven is death (hell), but I’d rather live, and that is why I have put my faith in Jesus Christ.  how about you?  Please understand that God’s ability to change His mind concerning you will not benefit you in any way if you do not turn your life over to Him.  He loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die in your place.  There is only one way to God, and that way is Jesus Christ, His Son.  This is what Jesus claims, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn 14:6).

No matter what kind of “Past” you have, God is waiting for the opportunity to change His mind concerning you.  He wants to give you the opportunity for a “Make Over” in Christ, and to assure you of that He says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17)!  Put your faith in Jesus, today!