Sometimes I have a hard time accepting the fact that God is good. Sometimes I easily label him as good, because I have "good" things going on in my life. It is much harder to label him that way when things go bad. I want to ask you to pray for a person that I don't know personally, but their faith has touched my life.
Matt Chandler is the pastor of the Village Church in the Dallas, Texas area. He suffered from a seizure on Thanksgiving day and was found to have a tumor on his brain. The doctors went in to remove the tumor and it was found to be not encapsulated and cancerous. This is a serious issue. Please pray for Matt, his family and Village Church.
I just watched his latest update on YouTube. His main message is that no matter what God is good. I broke down and cried. It's very touching to watch someone going through this and still proclaim that God is good and his mercies endure forever. In situation after situation God is revealing himself to Matt. I am praying for you Matt.
I pray that Jesus will reveal himself to you and I pray that despite your circumstance you can give God the glory. God is good and deserves our praise...no matter what.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Clown Led Worship?!?
You can find "clown led worship" at my church every Sunday! Just kidding!
Reblogged from Christian Nightmares.
The Truth About Us...
When I was a kid, I thought I knew better than my parents (kind of like most other children). I can distinctly remember an argument with my mother in which she offered to 'slap the tar' out of me. I in return asked her, "what tar?" And, the rest you can say, is history.
While most of us hate to admit it when we are wrong, I think its time to stand up and do just that. The church in the U.S. has forgotten one of it's true and most important callings and that is to preach sin. I think we have forgotten the message. In a world where there is seeker-driven, purpose-driven, emerging, emergent, seeker sensitive and the like, we have forgotten our original command: Preach the gospel.
The gospel is this...Jesus took our sins upon himself on the cross. He died for us. Three days later, he rose from the grave, conquering death and sin. The righteousness of Christ was then given to us whom repent and believe. You see, we have all sinned. None of us are "good people." No one seeks after God (Read Romans Ch. 3). Jesus endured the wrath that was meant for us.
Unfortunately, we don't and probably can't fully realize what that means. If God treated his only begotten son that way, take a moment to think about what you actually deserve. This is what drives me crazy about this 'prosperity' gospel that people like Joel Osteen preaches. The only hope that you have of becoming a 'better you' is to recognize how utterly bad you really and believe that God is going to finish the work that he has started in you. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
The wonderful part in all of this is that God chooses us! He redeems us! Not based on our good works, but based on his grace. I like the story of Noah in the bible, I think it is a perfect example. God sees that all of humanity is evil and that every thought of man is constantly on evil. And then it says something marvelous..."But, Noah found grace in the eyes of God." Notice that this was before Noah built the ark. God wasn't looking forward at what Noah would do for him. Grace was given to Noah for no reason in particular other than the fact that it was God's will to extend grace to him. Noah was a righteous man, declares the Lord, but it was only after he had found grace in the eyes of God.
What a powerful account that is! If Noah can find favor in the eyes of God before Christ was born, then how wonderful it is to have the righteousness of Christ accredited to us!
I hope that preachers will see that unless you are preaching about Christ and him crucified for our sins, you are probably on a big adventure in missing the point. Jesus was a man on a mission. He accomplished his mission. Are we going to accomplish ours?
While most of us hate to admit it when we are wrong, I think its time to stand up and do just that. The church in the U.S. has forgotten one of it's true and most important callings and that is to preach sin. I think we have forgotten the message. In a world where there is seeker-driven, purpose-driven, emerging, emergent, seeker sensitive and the like, we have forgotten our original command: Preach the gospel.
The gospel is this...Jesus took our sins upon himself on the cross. He died for us. Three days later, he rose from the grave, conquering death and sin. The righteousness of Christ was then given to us whom repent and believe. You see, we have all sinned. None of us are "good people." No one seeks after God (Read Romans Ch. 3). Jesus endured the wrath that was meant for us.
Unfortunately, we don't and probably can't fully realize what that means. If God treated his only begotten son that way, take a moment to think about what you actually deserve. This is what drives me crazy about this 'prosperity' gospel that people like Joel Osteen preaches. The only hope that you have of becoming a 'better you' is to recognize how utterly bad you really and believe that God is going to finish the work that he has started in you. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
The wonderful part in all of this is that God chooses us! He redeems us! Not based on our good works, but based on his grace. I like the story of Noah in the bible, I think it is a perfect example. God sees that all of humanity is evil and that every thought of man is constantly on evil. And then it says something marvelous..."But, Noah found grace in the eyes of God." Notice that this was before Noah built the ark. God wasn't looking forward at what Noah would do for him. Grace was given to Noah for no reason in particular other than the fact that it was God's will to extend grace to him. Noah was a righteous man, declares the Lord, but it was only after he had found grace in the eyes of God.
What a powerful account that is! If Noah can find favor in the eyes of God before Christ was born, then how wonderful it is to have the righteousness of Christ accredited to us!
I hope that preachers will see that unless you are preaching about Christ and him crucified for our sins, you are probably on a big adventure in missing the point. Jesus was a man on a mission. He accomplished his mission. Are we going to accomplish ours?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Are you serious?
This is a clear example of what is wrong when corporate America gets its hands on Christianity. This is a true company and the shirts run roughly $37 a piece plus shipping for putting "tongues" on a t-shirt. The shirt in the picture says "Hi-Pa-Pa-A-Shun-Da".
You know people claim Pentecostals think they are better than other Christians because they speak in tongues...but I have to believe that even the "Holy Rollers" would stay away from wearing it on their shirt!
The really sad part is how they market this on their website..."Choose from 9 'ear catching' phrases in 11 'prophetic inspired' colors...You gotta sport your HolyGhostTees and let the world know you have caught the Spirit!"
Thanks to Chris at http://www.alittleleaven.com/ for pointing this one out. He has a great site already set up with plenty of artifacts in the museum of idolatry.
My Very First Post!
The initial post! Here goes...I started this blog for a couple of reasons. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write again. I love to write and consider myself a writer, but at times have just plain gotten lazy about it. Hopefully this will keep me more motivated.
I also wanted to draw some attention to a serious problem. The problem is that the Church has been hi-jacked and the label of Christianity is being placed on ridiculous stuff. My next few posts will give you an example of what I mean.
I also want to tackle some tougher issues as well, such as doctrines of sin, beliefs about the Bible and other important truths that are dear to the Christian faith. I want to discuss leaders such as Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler, Pat Robertson and what their respective ideas on Christianity are doing to the church.
All in all I want to keep it humorous though. I think we can get a little too serious sometimes and at other times we are not serious enough. So, I hope you enjoy the ride!
I also wanted to draw some attention to a serious problem. The problem is that the Church has been hi-jacked and the label of Christianity is being placed on ridiculous stuff. My next few posts will give you an example of what I mean.
I also want to tackle some tougher issues as well, such as doctrines of sin, beliefs about the Bible and other important truths that are dear to the Christian faith. I want to discuss leaders such as Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, Mark Driscoll, Al Mohler, Pat Robertson and what their respective ideas on Christianity are doing to the church.
All in all I want to keep it humorous though. I think we can get a little too serious sometimes and at other times we are not serious enough. So, I hope you enjoy the ride!
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