The Void Left by Atheism

Atheism is losing ground! It has proven itself bankrupt spiritually, philosophically, culturally, psychologically and historically. It was tried extensively and intensively in Russia. The world watched and said, "We don't want a society like that!" Even the Russian citizens cried out, "We don't want this anymore!" Today's China is largely atheistic. Its citizens are crying out (to the extent they are able to) "Give us something else!" The human heart, made in God's image, gravitates toward God - or the spiritual, the transcendent, as the roots of a tree spread out in search of water. Nothing less than God will satisfy the human heart. Eventually atheistic society becomes dull, uninteresting, uncreative, unimaginative. It soon develops a sense of lethargy and despair as an inevitable result of life cut off from God. And as the world becomes aware of the empty shell of atheism, we Christians are obliged to  make sure they see in the community of believers the very alternative they have been missing.

Mosh Pits in the Bible?

Ever notice how many "mosh pits" there are in the Gospels? Well, maybe not exactly mosh pits, but certainly crowds of people pushing and shoving to get closer to this One called Jesus. Sick people ran, if they were able, to receive His touch. If they couldn't get themselves there, they got friends to carry them to Him. If nothing else, they yelled and screamed above the noise and clamor of the crowd to get His attention. "Hey!" they screamed, "Heal me! Heal me! Help me!" And those who weren't sick scooted off in all directions to find friends and ailing Aunt Bertha and Uncle Harold so they could be healed. One thing could be counted on - Jesus could not go anywhere that people were, without stirring up pretty intense reactions. Whatever they were doing, people dropped it to rush to Jesus. And this same Jesus lives in you, if you know Him as Lord and Savior. Not just super-saints of some sort, but you! Does your life call attention, not to yourself, but to Jesus living in you? Do people sense in you a love, a compassion, a caring - and power of some unearthly kind to help them heal them, make them whole again? It's a beautiful, broken, wounded, hurting, fascinating, scary world out there. And Jesus in you is just the One to fix it!

Excellence in Christ

God calls us to excellence as His people. Sometimes our actions for God are inferior to our performance in the world of business, education, etc.  Excellence in all areas of life is the true Christian standard. "Bless this mess" is not acceptable! (Pastor's desk may be the exception!) Excellence is a certain style of life, manner of living, largeness of spirit, set of priorities, zest for quality. Every person has the God-given potential to attain excellence. It is the fulfillment of your potential, not a frenzied attempt to keep up with someone else. The drive for success by others' standards or expectations may give you ulcers or nightmares, but the standard in God's sight is to be doing His will in His way with what He has given you. Relax in Christ. But this does not mean sloppiness or carelessness in fulfilling the talents and gifts that are your by nature, or that have been given you as a special gift of God. "The early Christian church conquered because the Christians of those days out-thought, out-lived, and out-died the pagans." T. R. Glover

Changed From the Inside

Jesus is the eternal Word of God, the Logos, as the Greeks put it. A giant step forward in our spiritual growth occurs when we come to realize that Christianity is not just a set of propositions to be examined - not just a set of truth claims to consider - but the means by which the eternal transcendent God has chosen to reach out to humanity and establish a relationship with us. As we seriously study the Bible, the written Word of God, the depth and richness of life opens to us. We begin to see the possibilities that before were hidden, and purpose for living takes the place of emptiness, joy replaces despair, hope moves in where before dread and anxiety ruled. We find a richness of meaning never experienced before, and worship and praise become a joy. Our sense of self-importance gives way to the awesome majesty and glory of God. Though we can't produce these qualities by any amount of trying or thought on our own, we find them being produced by the Holy Spirit when we give Him the material to work on - the Word of God taking deep root within.

Values, Fact or Fiction?

The secularist (one who lives his or her life without God and advocates the same for all society) insists that the world of facts is the scientific world and the world of values is the world of religion. Facts are "brute" facts, i.e., they are simply there, the stuff of reality, whereas religion is a result of preference, more or less arbitrary. But no such dichotomy exists, except in the mind of the secularist. Values, in fact, are based on facts. Christians, for example, hold to certain specific values because of particular facts.  Facts such as the existence and self-disclosure of a holy God who loves us and wants us in His forever family. Facts such as the coming of this God to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to die in our place, pay the price for our sins, and rise from the dead. Then the further fact of the coming of the Holy Spirit into our lives to transform us from the self-centered, self-guided persons into persons who live for God and others. These are history-changing, life-transforming, history-substantiated facts, facts that have been experienced throughout history by many millions of people, and are no less powerful than today.

He never Promised Me A Rose Garden

Much harm has been done by the ill-advised belief that to be an effective Christian, certain principles must be mastered. Get a good grasp on these principles, these formulas, and the rest of the story is success, and sunshiny days. But the story - of your life, of reality - is too uncertain for that. The road is full of swift, unmarked turns and curves. And many ambushes await you - ambushes of doubt, depression, temptation, establishing your own security instead of trusting God. It just can't be pushed down into principles or forced into formulas. The effective, useful, fruitful, enjoyable Christian life comes by a dynamic, intimate, fellowship with God. Knowing about Him is not enough. Mastering His principles is  not the way, though outwardly it may appear to be. Good P.R. - expert marketing - may give the appearance of health and growth, but lasting, living, spiritual growth comes from within. Develop and nurture an intimate fellowship with God by committing your life to Him. Let Him walk you to the secret sins of lust or pride or doubt or greed or gluttony or laziness - and give them all to Him. Then ask Him to fill you to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

Defining a Clean Heart

"Create in me a clean heart", cried the Psalmist, "and renew a right spirit within me!" A clean heart is one that is being cleansed by Jesus' blood. It is a heart that does not have an easy toleration for sin, but is distressed by it, and confesses sins to God as soon as there is awareness of their presence. And God promises, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins". A right spirit is one that is fixed upon God. It is optimistic and positive, not dwelling on the negative and hurtful. A right spirit is free from slander, gossip, criticism, and all the negative aspects of our human life. The Christian can be lifted above all the negative, and live in the glory of a life in God. Negative emotions are always losers. We lose when we permit them to gain control of us, and others lose because instead of our encouragement and example, they get from us the discouragement that negative emotions always produce. So make David's prayer yours today---tomorrow---always- "Create in me a clean heart" and live in the victory and cheerfulness of a spirit made right.

How To Become A Christian

It only takes a moment to become a Christian. To recognize that one has sinned, indeed is a sinner, and has no way to absolve those sins, then repents and relies on Christ and His work on the cross for the removal of sin and the bestowal of Christ's righteousness. A change takes place in that person's life. We cannot offer our own moral solution to our sinfulness but we can accept God's solution, His atoning sacrifice for us, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to enable us to live a holy life. The reservoir of evil within us is deeper than we know, but the Holy Spirit is able to give us  daily victory over it. Thus the moment it takes to become a Christian is followed by a lifetime of becoming a mature Christian. It takes a moment to become a Christian. But surrendering our will - our agenda - our desires - to the Lordship of Jesus so He can mold us into maturity - is a lifetime process.

Made in God's Image

Because you are a person made in the image of the infinite, eternal God, you are a creature of more potential than you can possible realize. This is not a matter of pride, but of reality that honors God for the creative and all-powerful God that He is. It does nothing for your ego to realize the great potential that is within you. You had nothing to do with it! But you are responsible to this Creator God to develop to the fullest all that God has put in your spirit, soul, and body. Just as you could never imagine the tremendous tree that lies latent and resident in the acorn - or the array of colors and beauty within the dried up bulb- so it is beyond your imagination the skill, talent, powers, possibilities, that reside in you. Much of it will only be revealed in eternity. But don't miss the thrill of the discovery!

Help and Compassion for the Stranger

Scripture everywhere shows concerns for the stranger among us. The Old Testament lays down laws regarding care and hospitality , the New Testament speaks of compassion, and Jesus' parables teach concern for the stranger. Recently I read of a stranger looking for a church in a new community. She tells of looking for nonexistent directional signs, of having to interrupt greeters busy talking to one another, and of other indications that the church was simply not "tuned in" to the seeking stranger. Do we show God's concern for the stranger in our churches and in other areas of our lives as well? Someone who moves in next door or someone just coming onto the job beside us...Can you feel their loneliness, isolation, and confusion? Let's really enter into God's concerns for the stranger among us - at church; in our neighborhood; at work. You never know the depths of loneliness and separation they may be feeling. You can help them feel Christ's compassion and concern through you and your actions.