America's Next Top Pastor

Creation vs. Evolution

In today's world, it seems that Christianity will compromise with almost anything in order to just "fit in." This is even true concerning the debate of creation versus evolution. There are "so-called" Christians who "believe" the Bible, yet they do not accept the Genesis account of creation. They either believe evolution or theistic evolution, though neither can be accepted, according to biblical teachings! How can a "Christian" say that they believe in God and His Word and then not accept what it plainly states in the first parts of Genesis. God made this world, universe, man, etc. in six days and rested on the seventh day. The earth is young (approximately 6,000 years old). Science and the Bible back this up. So, stop worrying about what others think and stick with what the Bible says. Besides...I don't want to be a monkey's uncle!!!

Pass The Dr. Pepper...I Need The Caffeine!

I'm exhausted, and I'm not sure why. I think maybe it's because I got up much earlier than normal this morning and have worked extra hard today to get a lot of things accomplished. I'm not complaining...I just need a quick nap. Oh well, it's lunch time, so I'm sure the food sitting in my stomach will not help wake me up one bit (of course, if I was healthy like Sheff and eating at Panera Bread all the time, then I wouldn't have this problem!). Anyway, here's to tonight's sleep!

Get Out Of My Way!

Tonight I am teaching at the Guy's Night Out at The Journey (a teen camp we attend). I hope to keep the lesson light-hearted, but the subject is serious. I, along with some other men, are hoping to encourage these young guys to be courteous to their dates, respectful of their parents, and overall gentlemen. However, I know many of them will "roll their eyes" with this advice from some "old guys."

I'm afraid that this is not just a problem with young men but with our society as a whole. We are no longer worried about the Golden Rule. Instead of doing unto others what we would want them to do unto us, we are now doing unto others before they can do unto us. Why?!? Well, as the Bible accurately teaches, this is how it will be in the last days (personally, I think we are in the last days...but who knows?). The Bible teaches us that "men will be lovers of themselves." How true this is today!

Having said all of this, let's be careful to treat others how Christ would treat them. Let's treat them the way we would want to be treated. Through such actions, I pray they might see God's love for them.

God Is Good!

I love to hear the testimony of a child of God who has seen God work in their life. It encourages others and reassures them of God's provision and care for them. So, I would like for all of you to post a comment sharing one time that God truly blessed you (it can be sad, funny, hopeful, etc.). And no, I don't mean a blessing as the world takes it, I mean a blessing as the Bible defines it. So share your stories, and let's glorify God!

7/07/07

If you believe in luck, then today is your lucky day! More people are getting married today than on any other day in a long time. The Live Earth concerts are lamenting the "fact" that we are destroying our world (more or less, Live Earth is useless except for one or two bands - the rest were horrible). People are taking chances because today is their lucky day. But we must realize that luck has nothing to do with anything. It is not good luck when you get that new job. It is not good luck when you are not severely injured in a car wreck. It is not bad luck when you hear that you have some disease. Luck, per se, does not exist. God has His hand in your life and while He allows you certain freedoms, He orchestrates and uses things to help you grow in the Lord (assuming you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior). So thank God and not your good luck next time something good happens. After all, He is a loving God that loves to bless His children.

Quit Straddling The Fence!

We should want all people to be saved and to be a part of the family of God. We probably even hope that our encounters with unbelievers and heresy-believers are peaceful and pleasant, and when they hear the truth of the Gospel from us they will believe. However, such a hope is not very realistic.

In the first place, people do not often ask you to share the Gospel with them, for the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an offer of forgiveness. Such an offer presupposes that a person is guilty of something that they need forgiveness for. In this case, it is an offer which presupposes that all people are sinners against God and deserve His wrath.

When people are confronted with the claims of the Gospel, they may respond by saying that it is not true, or they say it is an interesting hypothesis which might be true. It is at this point that the child of God may be most tempted to compromise the claims of Christ and not offer a ready defense. One may do this by trying to prove that Christianity is true. People must "reason" in order to believe. However, if we are not careful, we may promote the false idea that the lost person is a neutral observer who has the "right" to evaluate and judge the claims of Christ and any decision he/she comes to is both understandable and acceptable. As sinners, they are anything but neutral regarding the truth of God's Word. They are lost! Despite the popularity of books such as Evidence That Demands A Verdict, it is not Jesus who stands awaiting the judgement of any man, it is man who must be cleared.

The fact is that all people everywhere already know of the existence of God. Furthermore, they understand the overall meaning of that testimony. Consider Romans 1:18-21: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
"hold" = katecho = hold down, retain.
"manifest" = phanerro = to render apparent, to make clear

There is no excuse for not believing because of the evidence which God has implanted within man. Still, people rebel against God. They do this by not only disbelieving the Bible, but by denying God's general revelation (in nature and history) and coming up with rationalizations to justify themselves. Such rationalizations we know as false prophecies and false religions.

Therefore, according to God's Word, can anyone who has reached a place of spiritual accountability in his life truly be classified as legitimately ignorant? No! When we argue as if an unbeliever is legitimately ignorant as to whether Christianity is true or by treating him as a "neutral" seeker of truth, we are denying the real situation. We are implicitly agreeing that reality (of God being God and man being a sinner) is not a personal revelation of God, but an impersonal environment or emotion, which is not true. Even the fact that some seemingly sincere people deny the truth makes sense because the Bible explains that people practice self-deception in spiritual matters (James 1:22).

What lost sinners need is not new evidence but a desire to stop suppressing the evidence they have already. They are working against God. We must be working for God and not "beat around the bush." We must be bold and unrelenting in our sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. This is one issue where we can not sit on the fence!

(Thanks to Bro. Mike Rice for putting together most of this material.)