Category: evangelism

Seed-bearing Fruit

In seeking to please and appeal to consumers, man conceived of and “improved” upon that which God created (Gen 1:11-12) and, behold… seedless fruit! … easier to enjoy but serving no other purpose.

Contrastingly, the fruit of the True Vine will always be fruit bearing the Seed of the Vine… the Spirit Himself whereby more fruit can and will be produced as the branch bearing the fruit continues to abide in the True Vine. (John 15:1-5; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 3:9)

May we never be content with seedless fruit! Come, Holy Spirit!

Word & Light & Life

This morning my thoughts turned to Scripture — the Word — the Sacred Text. The more I’ve invested time and energy into reading and studying and even simply listening to the Word being read over and over again, the more I find that various passages are illuminated in new ways — further revealing God the Father, Son, and Spirit.

It brings to mind movie scenes of text, often ancient or cryptic, etched in stone or on brittle, aged pages — text that is obscured in some way from the understanding of many or all of the characters in the plot. Then something happens to bring meaning from what had formerly been hidden or confounding — perhaps there are even special effects to emphasize the event … and Bilbo or Harry or whomever receives new and special knowledge that comes with great privilege and responsibility. But there is something more ancient than any magic ever contrived by human minds or hands.

As we diligently search the Scriptures — as we emulate the faithfulness of the Bereans of old and so many more like them down through history — we are drawn ever deeper into relationship with the God Who is Love. We desire to know the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, eternal One Who is beyond our human comprehension — and He reveals Himself through the illumination of His Word each day in new ways that sometimes leave us stunned to discover a Truth that was always there. And there’s always more — as abundant and boundless and infinite as Him Who is the Living Word!

Lord God, may I never cease to be amazed and filled with joyful desire to be led by You — deeper into Light and Truth. You are the source of all that is good and wonderful and pure. You are the special effects and the special knowledge — You alone are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. May the privilege and responsibility of being the loyal subject of You, my King, make me sincere and earnest in proclaiming the Good News that all may come and drink from this fountain — all may come and be made free and new in Christ — all are welcome to come and receive Jesus Who is the Word & Light & Life!

Innately Desiring Sin

Such a cacophony of voices crowds the world theater — all vying for the mind and heart and soul of mankind — espousing innumerable versions of every possible rationale for redefining sin as anything but sin — excusing, practicing, normalizing, and even celebrating it (Rom. 1:26-32) — often in the name of diversity and inclusion. This is not new (Isa. 5:20-21); yet the selfish demands of scoffers (2 Pet. 3:2-3; Jude 17-18) are increasingly brazen and amplified by manifold media.

Innate attraction or desire is germane to a discussion of Holy living only from the perspective of that which may need to be overcome by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. So a man or woman is born with innate desires that God has declared to be sinful — innateness in no way alters or diminishes sinfulness; if anything, it’s to be expected (Jer. 17:9-10). Unequivocally, sin is to be repented of and its desires put to death, not entertained and practiced (John 8:11; Rom. 6; 8:13; Gal. 6:7-8).

Whether an LGBTQ individual appears to be living a happy, peaceful life or perhaps even what appears to be a Christian lifestyle, as some claim, by whatever standard may be chosen, is entirely irrelevant. Any individual choosing to willfully continue in sinful behavior is tragically deceived, woefully ignorant, and/or arrogantly rebellious. Quite literally, this is pandemonium — the oppression of many demons seeking the utter destruction of all that God created good and all that Jesus came to redeem. Sickeningly, far too many who bear the name of Christ are among the deceived and some willingly so. Yes, this is spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:12).

If you do not know Jesus, the Son of God, as your Lord and Almighty God as your Father, repent — confess your sins — receive forgiveness — be made clean and whole by the Spirit and the Word.

Christian brothers and sisters — pray without ceasing! Stand courageously and contend for the faith! Love not the world, but do the will of God!

Father God, have mercy!
Lord Jesus, have mercy!
Holy Spirit, convict with power!
Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come! 

A Brief Testimony

So, how would you put into words a concise, yet comprehensive statement of who you were in sin, who you are in Christ, who you are becoming by His grace, and the glorious hope of who you will be? I’ve been rather verbose about it on numerous occasions 🙂 although I’ve never taken the time to compose a synopsis. The pastoral residency I’m in calls us to respond to every facet of the Gospel and evangelism is perhaps the most essential call of every Christian. And that makes this effort rich for me in both substance and purpose.

Here’s what I would say if I had just a couple minutes of your time…

From the earliest age, I recall always being in church, seeing as I was raised as a pastor’s kid. I don’t remember not being a Christian — my faith as a child was strong and my heart was tender; but I do remember becoming increasingly and intolerably rebellious as I entered and began through my teenage years. A crisis of faith developed toward the end of high school when I knew I could no longer allow self-will to harden my heart and destroy the faith God had given me. I knew Jesus died in my place for my sin. I knew I could only live in Him. This was the beginning of a long journey back to God.

The personal, spiritual battles that continued into adulthood were often lost due to my preoccupation with self — achievement, satisfaction, fulfillment — all things that were sometimes merely secular, but for entirely the wrong motives, or even more often, blatantly sinful. I could never quite satisfy my desires — I was always left incomplete. Although guilt repeatedly led to what was often private confession, the secret shame and lack of true repentance left me a slave to the insatiable.

God allowed me much success in my career — perhaps in part to prove to me just how hollow it could be. Yet as I found myself being crushed by guilt and emptiness, the evidence of God’s love and mercy began to overwhelm me. I found that He was ever so patiently drawing me to Himself. I was filled with deep longing for true repentance and freedom — God wonderfully granted me that repentance and I found such freedom in the love of Jesus like I had never known! My guilt and emptiness were replaced with such joy and contentment.

The gracious gift of Jesus’ righteousness has begun a work in me that continues as I grow and am transformed by the Spirit and the Word of God. The Spirit of God living in me guides and directs me, convicts me of sin and righteousness, and makes me Holy, reminding me I am His own. As I confess my sin, He faithfully and justly forgives me as His child. God continues to strengthen me when temptations to lust and covet confront me — giving me perfect peace in His complete fulfillment of my every need.

As I continue to obediently seek and honor God and His kingdom, and to faithfully respond to God’s call on my life to minister the Gospel, no matter the sacrifice, He proves that His providential grace is perfectly sufficient. All my hope is in Jesus, my Lord—because He arose from the dead in the power of His Holiness, whether today or tomorrow I live or die, in Jesus I have life eternal.

How about you?

Saltiness vs. Worldliness

In Deuteronomy 7 as God is reminding Israel of their covenant relationship – that He has chosen them of His own divine will and made them His own – that He redeemed them, rescued them, and has blessed them – that He is a faithful and just God … He warns them to cleanse the land of the pagans who are an abomination to Him and have rejected Him and serve false gods.  One statement in particular stands out to me: “Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.” (v16)

In having compassion on those mired in the depths of sin, we need to be wary of being ensnared directly in their sin or even, through the best of human intentions, being more concerned about their feelings than the state of their soul.  In directly evangelizing with the Word of the Gospel for the salvation of the soul, so long as that is preeminent, there can be much less likelihood of this trap.  However, when a social gospel takes precedence … when social justice and caring for the physical or emotional aspects of the individual gain priority over the salvation of the soul, we begin to lower our defenses.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns of maintaining this spiritual effectiveness.

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5:13-16)

Sadly, in Revelation we see an example of a church that has lost its saltiness … whose light is fading into the darkness around it.

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’  (Rev 3:1–6)

We must live out the salvation placed within us and do so in the midst of a lost and broken world.  We must let the Light of Divine Love shine through us.  Indeed, we must love the whole person as God does.  But we must be ever diligent, in humble obedience to the Spirit, to never let our saltiness be overcome with worldliness.  May our reputation – we who bear the name of Christ – be that we are alive in Him … and may His knowledge of our souls bear witness to the same.

Coming Out

On this Father’s Day, 2013 … the day when men of God should be honored for their humility before and obedience to their Lord Jesus … yet the sad day when our land beholds a blight upon it as cities all across the nation pridefully celebrate sexual lust and perversion of that which God created to be good and holy … I was moved by the Spirit to place this in proper context for myself and any who may listen.  Although I’ve never been tempted to homosexual sin, I know others who have and heterosexual sin has certainly not escaped me.  Please, read on …

Today … is not the first day for me.  I came out a long time ago.  On that day I acknowledged, admitted, and fully accepted the way I was born.  There was nothing I could do to change myself.  My nature was what it was and no one else was going to change me either.  Homosexual lust was not in me; but heterosexual lust and pride and greed were all so natural.  That must have been how I was intended to be.  It’s not like I was faking those desires.  When I acted out, sometimes I felt guilty.  But that was everyone else’s problem, not mine.  They just had to get used to the fact that I was right.  They’d get over it.  Maybe they just hadn’t found the guts to come out themselves.  They just needed to take some pride in themselves. After all, the more I acted out in my true self, the less guilt I felt.  My conscience didn’t feel so bad after a while … it seemed to get a bit dull to these things … most of the time.

Any of that sound familiar?  Of course I couldn’t change myself.  But that was nothing to be proud of.  Acknowledging, admitting, and fully accepting the way I was born was only the beginning … I had to allow the True Word to reveal to me that my nature was corrupt and everything flowing so naturally from it was sin. (Rom 3:23)  My pride had to give way to shame and sorrow and repentance.  In the blazing light of God’s holiness, I was awakened to my unworthiness.  My natural self desperately needed something, Someone supernatural.  Thanks be to Jesus Christ my risen Lord, coming out was not the end! (Rom 7:24-25)

Jesus shed His precious blood, voluntarily, freely laying down His life (Eph 1:7, 2:13, Rom 6:23) so that coming out is only the beginning … so that sin confessed can be forgiven and the corrupted, fallen nature of every man, woman, boy, and girl can be washed clean, restored, made whole, transformed by the indwelling, purifying Holy Spirit. (1 John 1:9-10; Rom 12:1-2)  It’s not just the LGBT community that needs to hear this.  There is a whole world out there full of lost souls crying out … coming out in various ways and not understanding what the turmoil is within them … knowing they desperately need something, Someone supernatural … to set them free. (John 8:36)