"Why young people (and others of all ages) are dying for something to live for!"

Honesty is a rare commodity today.  Perhaps it has always been that way.  Most people pretend that life in this world is worth living.  People give all sorts of reasons, as they attempt to persuade themselves.  The proverbial, "I live for the weekend!" is more than a slogan on a tee-shirt … it is reality for much of our society.  As a pastor, it would be wonderful if people meant by that the joy of gathering with God's people in worship was what they looked forward to, but for many, if not most, it is the freedom from work that enables them to indulge the human nature's desire to engage in self-centered activity that in itself has no productive consequence.  I'm not talking about the thousands of hard-working people who use the weekend to catch up on household chores, personal relationships and necessary relaxation.  These are necessary parts of everyday life that require a day or two away from the regular routine of employment.  It is the desire to find your meaning and purpose and joy and hope in the things of THIS life that leads to people pretending that their lives are worth living when in reality they are empty shells of a mere earthly existence.

Jesus offers something so much better, so much more satisfying, meaningful and rewarding, yet most people reject REAL LIFE in order to continue their make-believe fairy tale that maybe tomorrow will be better.  The "Millennials" are not the first generation to do so.  In the early 1950's our society was already facing the unrest of post-World War II living.  The Korean War and the Cold War with the Soviet Union added to the sense that all was not well with the world.  Large urban cities were faced with racial turmoil and delinquency that threatened inner city neighborhoods.  Government and civic leaders attempted to address the issues of education, poverty and the disappearing family unity with little success.  Meanwhile, there was another, similar plague infecting our society at a different level.

The spreading disease of unrest caused by the meaningless nature of life was uncovered in, of all things, a movie.  "Rebel Without a Cause" was released in 1955.  The movie starred an up-and-coming handsome young star named, James Dean.  Designed to show the unrest of the middle-class, suburban teenager, it exposed more than most imagined and opened the floodgate of a shift in American society that would ultimately lead to the chaos of drugs and "free love" of the '60's and early '70's.  I would argue that we as a society have never recovered from those tumultuous years.  We do a relatively good job of pretending that we have because we are more "sophisticated" in entertaining ourselves, but the title of the movie is the theme of what the Bible describes as mankind living in rebellion against our Creator.  James Dean died at the age of 24 in a car crash less than one month before the movie was released.  His death made the movie an instant box office hit.

Fast forward sixty short years to the year 2015.  Alcohol and other drugs flood our college campuses and have flowed into our high schools and even middle schools.  The family unit is disappearing and marriage is being re-defined as millions try to grasp onto something that will give a momentary escape from the reality of their meaningless lives.  The eastern religions, with their "transcendental meditation" and strange gurus briefly attracted the attention of some, but they soon faded away, failing to deliver on their promise to bring inner peace and tranquility.  In their place an insidious disease began to spread from the Middle East.  It was a "religion with a cause" … Islam.  "Conquer the world for Allah!" 

We can debate whether or not Islam is a religion of war, and whether Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hezbollah, the Taliban and a host of other terrorist groups (all Islamic) are extremists, but this much is clear:  the goal of Islam is to have everyone live under Sharia Law!  And the reason this is appealing to so many is because of the failed attempt by mankind to come up with a solution for the sinful rebellion of the human race that leads to the cultural chaos that exists all around us.  Islam teaches that the only way to control the sinful nature of mankind (though they don't call it that) is through force - by enforcing the LAW!  Thus, strict Islamic countries have no true freedom … none!!  The religious leaders dictate to the political leaders how society will be ordered.  Punishment for crimes is swift and certain.  Steal and you lose your hand.  Commit adultery and you die.  There is no opportunity to repent, to turn, to seek forgiveness, reconciliation, or salvation.  Only by living under strict LAW is there order in society.

Another alternative is the godless society of atheistic nations like Russia (the former Soviet Union) and China.  Their solution to the same problem is government.  The state becomes the overseer of society and enforces the rules determined to be in the best interest of that society.  The preservation of the STATE, the nation, becomes the goal and thus the purpose of the citizens living under their authority.  Only a totalitarian government can maintain a semblance of control over human nature and so the reins of control must be held tightly, once again eliminating a great deal of freedom for its "subjects."  Without religion, the highest goal is the nation-state and its growth in power and prosperity.  Individuals are dispensable in order to preserve the state, leaving the common people once again without a cause, without a purpose.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this desperate existence as he wrote to the Romans nearly two thousand years ago.  He declared that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Romans 1:18).  He then goes on to explain how mankind has rebelled against their Creator and how God has given us over to the sinful lusts of a spiritual nature now DEAD and unable to live with and for God.  Listen to Paul's haunting words:

"Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.  They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (Romans 1:28-32).

By God's grace, He determined to offer hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world headed for "the day of the Lord," the time when God will unleash His wrath upon our planet and upon mankind.  The Gospel spread through Europe, but the church became corrupted through its entanglement with the political realm and it was not until the Reformation in the 1500's, the exploration of the early explorers and finally the establishment of our own nation that God's plan for the world became clear.  A people focused on God, our Creator, and a government based on and influenced by the principles of godly living, justice and freedom revealed in His Word emerged that would be God's instrument to spread the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to defend the cause of the oppressed … not a perfect government or a perfect people … but the best possible in this world so infected by sinful rebellion.

For the past 240 years, and especially in the past 60 years, this nation in which I have the privilege of living has carried the Gospel throughout the world, has fed the hungry and brought hope to nations, has defended the world against oppression and has offered refuge to millions from virtually every nation on earth.  We have shed more blood and volunteered more "treasure" to the cause of freedom from the tyranny offered by Islam and Atheism than any other people on earth.  God has used the United States of America for His purposes and there are, even now, a higher percentage of people in our nation living for the cause of Christ, upholding His truth and seeking His righteousness, than in any other nation on earth.  By His grace the true Church of Jesus Christ, the remnant of those who seek to live for Jesus Christ, stands firm in the face of attacks from within the church and from outside.  It is we alone who have a cause worth living for and, if necessary, worth dying for.  We who follow Christ offer a life worth living - a life lived in relationship with God where there is forgiveness and eternal life because of the sacrifice of the One who suffered God's wrath in our place on the cross … JESUS!

When President Obama equated the Crusades and what was done "in the name of Christ" to the barbaric acts of ISIS, he revealed not only his ignorance of history, but his lack of knowledge and understanding of what the Bible teaches, and his utter lack of faith in Jesus Christ.  There have been those who twisted what the Bible teaches to support their sinful actions of hate.  But that is NOT what Jesus or the Bible teaches.  Christians are willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, to be persecuted by those who promote their manmade religions of LAW.  Jesus calls His disciples to display love and grace, and to confront the lies of Satan that enslave millions around the earth with their cries to obey LAW!!  Obedience for those who know Christ is produced by the work of the very Spirit of God within us that calls us to show love and compassion to all and to offer grace and forgiveness to the worst of sinners, confessing our own sin as we seek to live by the power of the Spirit within us.  Our goal is not to conquer the world, but to call a remnant out of the world, knowing that Jesus will return and God will create a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Many in the "Christian community" have stopped proclaiming the message of salvation through faith in Jesus.  They have given in to the temptation to attempt to control the sinful nature by proclaiming "the law of love" that Jesus taught … but without the call to repentance and faith in Jesus!  While it sounds appealing to many, it is powerless to change people.  It doesn't work!!  The move towards mingling Christianity with other religions (the "Interfaith" movement) is the result of failing to see the difference between Christianity and all the other religions of the world.  If Christianity is, after all, just a bunch of rules, then it is no different than Islam or Buddhism or even Atheism.  Set the right laws and enforce them well and we can create our own world … with or without "God" … whoever you want Him (or "it") to be.  You choose!

So Paul wrote to Timothy so long ago:  "Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.  For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power" (II Timothy 3:1-5).

Here we are, stuck in a world with a whole race of human beings who are "rebels without a cause."  Yet we who know Jesus Christ have a cause, THE cause, that has the power to transform your life from a worthless existence to an extravagant offering of joy to the God of salvation, who "so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  Peter wrote to the early believers whom he called "elect exiles" (I Peter 1:1):

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'  And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (I Peter 1:13-19).

As followers of Jesus Christ we can be honest … and still live with hope and live for a cause so grand that it gives purpose and meaning to life!  Yes, we are sinners, born in sin and in rebellion against God. By nature we are "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3).  But God has redeemed us through the blood of Christ Jesus, shed on the cross once for all.  We who believe are chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed and sealed by the work of His Spirit within us and we find our joy in serving Jesus Christ freely and willingly, telling others about the way of forgiveness and life, and showing His love in countless ways to a world bound in the spiritual darkness of sin and death.

Whether you are a young person or any other age, you need a purpose, a reason to live beyond yourself.  There are really only two choices:  living under the laws of men and trying to be a "good" person (all the while living in rebellion against God), or confessing your sin and your need for a Savior and finding in Jesus Christ your "hero," your Savior and your Lord … the one who can and will lead you through this life with a sure and certain hope of what is to come, with a full and satisfying joy in knowing that you are pleasing Him, and with a peace that passes understanding, knowing that He reigns over all things and that when your "time of exile" on this earth is complete and you have run the race He has marked out for you, there is eternal joy in His presence.

May the Lord use even these words to call you either to a greater conviction that the Gospel is true and a deeper commitment to proclaim it, in word and deed, to those who are lost and without hope around you … OR, may God use even these words to call you out of the darkness into His marvelous, wonderful, amazing LIGHT!!!

"The bigger picture … "

As the brightness of the sun reflects off the newly-fallen snow this morning here in western Michigan, the beauty of God's creation is missed by many who are digging out from nearly a foot of snow … or more in some places.  Schools are closed and schedules are re-arranged for many households.  Each of us has additional things to think about because of the weather and the roads.  Meanwhile, "life" goes on in your life and mine.  My wife, Kathy, and my daughter, Michelle, and my granddaughter, Faith, along with others from our congregation, are serving the Lord in Guatemala this week.  Others are serving in Haiti, and one young woman is spending two months in India.  God is doing His work all over the world … LITERALLY!!

So what's going on in your life?  I am finding each day filled with so many things that writing my blog has taken a back seat to other pressing matters.  I suspect that happens to you, too.  There are so many things that demand our attention that some things that are equally or even more important get shoved aside.  The bad thing about that is that it is often PEOPLE who get pushed aside.  Your spouse, your family, your friends, your brothers and sisters in Christ … all of these are important and are part of your life each day.  Be sure to make them a priority!

And as you do so, ask God for wisdom to understand what is REALLY important in each day.  Yes, there are things we HAVE to do, but if you and I are to be faithful to Jesus Christ we need to look at the bigger picture … we need to understand that we are part of God's plan to make Himself known and to prepare the world for Jesus' return.  Many parts of the Bible help us to do that, but this morning I'm thinking of Psalm 90.  I would encourage you to read the whole Psalm, but I'll share a few verses here.

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.  … from everlasting to everlasting, YOU are God! … Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. …  Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:1-2, 12, 14).

I often have a hard time reading any passage of Scripture without thinking about other parts of God's Word that talk about the same or similar things.  These verses make me think about James 4, where James writes:

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15).

Reading verses like this from God's Word could make you think that your life doesn't have much value.  You come and you go and that's it.  But the reality is, the opposite is true!  It is because you and I are only here for a time that each day has infinite value.  Our times are in God's hands.  You are not here by chance.  No matter what the circumstances of your birth or what your life has been up to today, you are here because God put you here and He knows you.  "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16).

How amazing is that?!!  Do you believe that?  Do you believe that the God who created the universe, including planet earth, and everything in this world, also created YOU and that He is calling you to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him?  Do you believe that?  If you do it is because God's Spirit lives within you and He has opened your heart and mind to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord.  Knowing HIM, you begin to understand that your life has meaning only as you live it with Him and for Him.  You are a part of His plan, a part of a much bigger picture that includes today, tomorrow, the rest of your life … AND eternity.

This bigger picture includes what is going on in your life today and what is going on in the nations of the world.  All of it … ALL of it, is in His hands, under His view and authority and power.  Nothing happens outside His control and so the promise He makes to those who believe in Jesus is within His power to perform:  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  And God reveals what His purpose is in the next two verses:  "For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified" (Romans 8:29-30).

God is, this very day, calling some out of darkness into His wonderful light through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He is encouraging those of us who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus to persevere through life's struggles and to run the race marked out for us.  God is actively involved in the governments of the world around us and everything is leading up to the events that precede the return of Jesus to earth.  As you look at the big picture your mind becomes clear and you begin to understand that following Jesus by obeying His Word and by proclaiming it to others is the reason you are here.  At home, at work, at school, God has placed YOU here to be an ambassador of His kingdom, offering eternal life to those around you.

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ's behalf:  Be reconciled to God.  God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.  For He says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, NOW is the time of God's favor, NOW is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 5:20-21, 6:1-2).

How long will the door to heaven remain open?  As God closed the door of the ark before He destroyed the earth with the flood, so the time will come when it is too late to enter into the safety of God's presence through faith in Jesus.  The call to follow Jesus is an urgent call.  There is much more going on in your life today than you may think.  You need to see the bigger picture.  You need to know Jesus yourself and then to speak to your family, friends, neighbors, strangers … whomever God puts in your path, about the One who alone offers forgiveness and eternal life.

THIS is not all there is!  Ask God to help you see the bigger picture every day.  It's important to see the signs of what God is doing in the world at large … but don't miss the opportunities God places before you today.  Each one has significance; each one is an important part of the bigger picture … of GOD's bigger picture.  It may seem small, unimportant, even insignificant, but what you do for God is known to Him and He will use it to glorify Himself as you give your life to Him as an offering.

"THIS is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!"

"The ONE true God!"

Is there one true religion?  How do you know who the REAL God is … or if there is one?  Can anyone know for sure?  The Muslims worship their "god," Christians worship ours, other religions have their own ideas of "god" and some say there is no god.  There is only one place to begin … at the beginning.  Satan wants people to believe there was no beginning … thus, evolution.  Those who have given up on any meaning in life or in death go to this default setting because they cannot imagine anything else.  Their minds are darkened and they are spiritually dead.

But for the rest of us, there is really only one place to start:  the beginning.  As the Apostle Paul addressed the men of Athens he said, "I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:  'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.'  Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you"  (Acts 17:22-23).  He claimed to know the one true God … to have knowledge that the men of Athens did not have.  The same is true for those of us who know God today.  God Himself has given us knowledge that other people do not yet have, and it is our calling to share it.

Paul went on to begin with creation:  "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man (Adam) He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live" (Acts 17:24-26).  That there is only ONE Creator, ONE God, should be clear to all except that they are spiritually dead and blind and make up all manner of "gods" in their own image to suit their own desires … gods that those who do not know the one true God think they can manipulate for their own purposes.

It is said that there are only three "mono-theistic" religions in the world:  Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  "Religious" Jews repeat the "shema" (the Hebrew word for "hear" or "listen") of Deuteronomy 6:4:  "Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God, the LORD is one."  Christianity is the fulfillment of true biblical Judaism.  This one God, the Creator, reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and sends His Spirit into the world to work in those whom He has chosen (before He created the world - Ephesians 1:4).  This ONE God reveals that He exists in "three-in-oneness" - what we have called the "Trinity."   It would perhaps be better to say "Tri-unity" or "three-in-one," because the Father, Son and Spirit are ONE.

Jesus was aware of this when He prayed for the disciples and for those who would believe in Him through their message:  "I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.  May they also be in us …" (John 17:21-22).  John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life …" (John 1:1-4).  And, "the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father" (John 1:14).  And more:  "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known" (John 1:18).

Jesus came to make the one true God known, and so He prayed to the Father, "Now this is eternal life:  that they may know YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (John 17:3).  Jesus said, "I have revealed You to those whom You gave me out of the world" (John 17:6).  Knowing the true God requires revelation.  You cannot know Him apart from God revealing Himself to you by His Spirit.  God revealed Himself in Jesus and following Jesus' ascension into heaven God sent His Spirit to inspire the writers of the New Testament, as He had the prophets of the Old Testament, to give us knowledge of HIM.  Apart from God's revelation of Himself by His Word and Spirit no one would know Him.

While Jews know of the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, most of them have not believed in Jesus as the Messiah, the One who came as true God in human form to make the perfect sacrifice for sin on the cross and to conquer death for all who would believe by His resurrection.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONLY true God!  There is no other.  Islam claims to believe in this one God and people claim that Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their religion back to Abraham, but it is not true.  Mohammed's "god" is NOT the God of Abraham.  Do not be deceived.  There is ONE true God and ONE true religion.  Christianity is the fulfillment of biblical Judaism.

As Paul continued to speak to the men of Athens in Acts 17, he says, "He (the Creator, this one true God) has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).  The one true God became a man in order to reconcile sinful people like you and me to Himself and so reveal His mercy, love, compassion and grace.  This message is unique to Christianity and is found only in the Bible, God's Word, His revelation of Himself.

With one voice the writers of Scripture, from Genesis through Malachi, from Matthew through Revelation, reveal the truth of the God of creation who plans our salvation, who accomplishes our salvation and who will finally deliver our salvation when He creates a new heaven and a new earth and comes to live with us forever in a perfect new world - the home of righteousness (II Peter 3:11-13).  Will you be there?  In the chaos of this world, are you living with the sure and certain hope that comes by faith in Jesus Christ, the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life?

There will be a day of judgment and the only escape is found in claiming the blood of Jesus as your payment for sin.  God … the one and only true God … has made a way for sinful people like you and me to be reconciled to Him.  You can know Him today by reading His Word and believing in Jesus Christ.  I pray that His Spirit confirms that message in your mind and on your heart today.  I pray that you find rest in the assurance that our God reigns over all things and over all people.  Evil men, deceived by Satan himself, do their worst, but God will deliver His people and we will one day see Him face to face.

Until then, may His truth lift you up and encourage you today, no matter what may be going on in your life.  May you know HIM and draw near to Him through faith in Jesus, offering Him your praise and thanks for His gift of salvation and living to proclaim His name to those around you.  There IS only ONE true God, and knowing HIM is life!!

"The truth about Islam ... "

Islam is a false religion, if it is a religion at all.  Mohammed was not a prophet of the one true God, the God of Abraham, because he denied Jesus, the Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that in his "Seed" all nations on the earth would be blessed.  Mohammed was a false prophet who made false claims about visions and the "religion" he founded was and is a masquerade for his political campaign to conquer the world, supposedly for "Allah."  "Jihad" is not a principle adopted by extremists within the Muslim community, but a command found in their "holy book."  That some Muslims currently live peaceful lives does not change the clear teaching of the Koran that they should not consider Jews or Christians as their friends.  Rather, they are commanded to claim the ground they walk on for Allah and to do what is necessary to promote the laws of Islam, if necessary, by force.  Islam is not a "religion" of peace, but has been, from its beginning, an excuse for war and oppression.

History proves these things for any who want to take an honest look at the past.  For those who foolishly and ignorantly compare the Crusades to what Muslims are doing today in the name of their "god," the Crusades, first of all, were led by the Popes to recapture the Holy Lands from the Muslims who had killed and massacred thousands to capture them in the first place.  But that didn't make them right.  While God commanded Israel in the Old Testament to destroy the nations that were living in the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when they came out of Egypt, it was because of their sinful rebellion and idolatry.  God would later judge Israel and the Jews as well, pointing to the truth that ALL mankind needs a Savior ... one who would bear God's wrath in our place ... the Messiah, the Christ ... Jesus, the eternal Son of God.

According to God's plan, Jesus fulfilled God's promises to send a Savior.  There is nothing in the Gospels or the New Testament that tells the followers of Jesus to kill anyone.  The Crusades were a response to the Muslim's desire to rule the world.  The Muslims, even then, wanted to kill everyone who wasn't Muslim.  Even though the Crusades could never be condoned as honoring to Christ and were certainly misguided, the intention was to remove the Muslims from Jerusalem.  Some sixty years after the death of Mohammed the Dome of the Rock mosque was built on the Temple Mount in order to desecrate what was a sacred place to the Jews and to prevent the temple from being rebuilt.  Islam is not, nor ever has been, a religion that wanted or desired or promoted peace, love, tolerance, compassion or order.  Today Shiites and Sunnis disagree on what will bring about the "end of the world" and the coming of the final leader of Islam ... so they fight against each other.

Look at Muslim nations ... is there peace and tranquility?  Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. ... Muslim nations in Africa???  They abuse women, kill their enemies and thrive on war and mayhem.  People need to be aware of the truth.  Christians need to study history and stop acting as though we have to be ashamed of the Crusades and not speak out against Islam because Christians did the same thing.  Some in the Crusades undoubtedly did horrible, despicable things in the name of Christ.  They were wrong.  They were NOT doing what Christ taught.  The Crusades were used by popes to gain territory.  The popes were corrupt and were themselves not true Christians.  Again, Christians need to be students of history to see what took place before the Reformation.  Then we need to know what Jesus said and what the Bible teaches.  Ignorance leads to a false sense of a common unity among mankind that simply does not exist.  EVIL exists in the world and Islam is evil!!

Anything and anyone that denies the one true God who sent His Son Jesus Christ is of Satan, being born of deception and rebellion and idolatry.  As followers of Jesus we are called to offer salvation to all people by calling them to confess their sin, to repent (to turn) and to believe in Jesus.  Only those who are born again by His Spirit will do so.  Meanwhile, we are called to expose evil.  Those who are called Muslim "extremists" are actually doing what the Koran tells them to do.  It IS their "religion" and it gives them their marching orders.  Yesterday Duke University stated that they were going to allow the Muslim call to prayer to be sounded from their bell-tower in order to promote religious pluralism.  After some protested, they thought better of their decision and reversed it ... for now.  The fact that they were going to do it reveals that they have swallowed the deception that Islam is a religion and that it is a religion of peace.  They are not alone.  Our President and other leaders seem to believe the same thing.  Even many in the church are being taught that we need to respect the teaching of all religions and engage in what is being called "principled pluralism," for the common good and the welfare of mankind.  All of this will lead, of course, to the rise of a world leader who will be the Antichrist foretold in the Bible.  He will offer peace, but will be bent on conquest.  Only the return of Jesus will destroy him and the armies of the nations who march against Israel and Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  Christians, it is time to educate yourselves by studying God's Word and studying history.  We are called to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).  God has given to the state the right to bear the sword (Romans 13).  As followers of Jesus we are called to be citizens of His kingdom.  As citizens of the United States or another nation that defends freedom for all people, we may be called to engage in battle and may at times need to defend ourselves and others from evil.  This we know:  there will not be true peace on earth until Jesus returns and defeats His enemies and ours.  Islam's desire is to rule the world.  Terrorism today is the result of the teachings of Islam and of those who worship no god but themselves.

Much, much more could be said and I will gladly entertain questions.  Send your comments and/or questions to pastorsteve@lighthouse-ministries.org.  To those Muslims who may read these words, I share with you the words of Jesus:  "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.   This is the verdict:  Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:16-21).

There is a better way than living under the law and trying to earn your salvation.  Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.  The Father sent His Son to become man that He might suffer God's wrath for sin and so save all who believe in Him.  Through faith in Jesus you can know that Jesus took your sin upon Himself and that His perfect righteousness is now credited to your account.  That's GRACE - undeserved favor.  This is what makes Christianity different than any other religion in the world.  The Bible reveals God's plan of salvation ... pointing out man's sin and revealing the ONLY way to be reconciled to God (II Corinthians 5:16-21, 6:2).  You, too, can turn from sin and idolatry and worship the one true God, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord.  He alone is God.

Now you have heard the truth and Jesus said the truth will set you free!!

"Does GOD satisfy your soul?"

An old song declared, "I can't get no … satisfaction!"  Such appears to be the constant state of people all over the world.  Why?  Because we look for it in the wrong place.  David writes in Psalm 63:1 ...

"O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." 

But he then goes on to say, "I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.  Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You.  I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your Name I will lift up my hands.  My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You" (Psalm 63:2-5).

David had the Spirit of God within him and enjoyed a sweet fellowship with his Creator that was extremely rare in his day, before Jesus came and before the Spirit was poured out.  Yet, through the eyes of faith he had "seen God," believing that He was with him and that He loved him … and David loved God back.   He had found grace and forgiveness in God's mercy and he wrote songs of the joy he found in God, his Rock, his Fortress, his Deliver, his Redeemer … and more.  And David was not alone in finding satisfaction in God.  Isaiah wrote,

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare" (Isaiah 55:1-2).

He goes on to explain that it is in seeking God and finding His mercy, in confessing sin and finding forgiveness, in hearing God's Word and responding in faith that satisfaction is found.  Isaiah could only point to the "living water," but God used him to point to the One who Himself would satisfy the souls of all who would come to Him … Jesus, the Christ, who would take our sins upon Himself on the cross and rise from the dead, offering forgiveness and life to all who believed in Him!

Only Jesus could say, "Come to ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).  The "yoke" of Jesus is faith in the God who sent His Son to redeem you from sin and all its consequences.  Faith believes God's promises and finds satisfaction in GOD Himself.

Do not be like so many who continually want more from God and who question Him as soon as their every desire is not granted.  God Himself is enough.  Faith reveals itself as you go through the "valleys" of life and you continue to testify, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul.  He guides me in the paths of righteousness for HIS name's sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, (EVEN THOUGH!) … I will fear no evil, for YOU are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:1-6).

Those are not just words to be read at a funeral … they are words to live by every day.  The Apostle Paul would write centuries later, "I have learned the secret of being content (satisfied) in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).  You can see how people take that last verse out of context.  Paul was talking about finding satisfaction in God and therefore being content in this world until he entered into the glory promised to all who believe in Jesus Christ and who find satisfaction in God alone.

That satisfaction allows you to say with Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73:  "I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but You?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" (Psalm 73:23-26).

My prayer for YOU today as you read God's Word is that you will stop searching for satisfaction in the things of this world and find that only GOD, your Creator, who revealed Himself in His Son Jesus Christ, … only HE can satisfy your soul.  May you at this moment find rest in Him through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior and Lord!

"Are you too busy?? ... "

Someone asked me that question recently ... "Are you too busy?"  I've been thinking about that as I missed my first day writing a blog in more than a year, and then missed another!  Am I too busy?  Am I trying to do too many things?  What about you?  It made me ask another question:  "What does it mean to be too busy?"  How would you determine if you were too busy?  Some people think they're too busy if they have to go to work and then add anything else to their schedule.  Other people are constantly trying to find more time to do more things for more people but would never say they are "too busy."  What makes the difference?

Jesus was certainly busy as the crowds gathered around Him wherever He went and He taught His disciples and the crowds, debated with the Pharisees and healed the sick, cast out demons and a host of other things.  But He wasn't TOO busy because He still had time to go to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35).  And He often went to such places to pray:  "The news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.  But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:15-16).

One of the ways you know you are too busy is if you don't have time (or take time) to pray.  There are just so many hours in the day and so many days in the week.  If you don't have time to spend in prayer with your Father in heaven, you are too busy.  God would not ever intend for any of His children to be so busy that they do not have time for the most important relationship in their lives ... our relationship with HIM!  And speaking of relationships, you know you are too busy if you don't have time for your family.  Jesus said that God's greatest commandment is to love the LORD our God with all our heart soul, mind and strength, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves (Deuteronomy 6:1-5; Matthew 22:37-40).  Those in your family are your closest "neighbors."  Loving God and loving others takes TIME!  Relationships take time ... it's what life is all about!!

I've learned to say, "No," to some good things in recent years in order to say, "Yes" to God and to those closest to me.  I'm still learning to do that more frequently.  God, family and Church need to be at the top of your priority list.  Prayer is a lifeline for those who know our Father in heaven, and along with prayer, reading and studying God's Word and meditating on His truth is essential to a life that pleases Him and that brings glory to His Name.  Through prayer and the reading and studying of His Word the Spirit strengthens your faith and equips you to become mature.  Remember, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (II Timothy 3:16-17).

Knowing what God's Word says and having the time to put in into practice requires TIME!  The biblical illiteracy of so many in the visible church and the pressure of life that squeezes out time for prayer is leaving people vulnerable to stress and anxiety and depression because they don't have the ammunition to fight the enemy!!  This is not a new problem.  The writer of Hebrews laments, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food! ... Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" (Hebrews 5:11-12,14).

As much as we like to eat, it requires some effort.  And eating well, requires more effort.  Fast foods have proven unhealthy for millions.  Trying to feed your spirit in the same way leads to disaster.  Spiritual growth takes TIME!!  Are you too busy?  Examine your life as you begin this new year and see where you need to eliminate the things that are preventing you from experiencing the life Jesus came to give those who are His disciples.  Life is too precious and goes by too fast to miss the joy God offers to those who seek Him!

After writing a blog every day for a year as we read through the Bible together, I said I would be writing something MOST days.  If you miss me for a day or two ... or perhaps even for a week!  Know that I'll be spending time praying, reading, studying, writing, talking with people and loving people ... and go and do likewise.

"To know that you are loved … this much!!"

Over and over the Psalmist writes, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the LORD say this - those He redeemed from the hand of the foe …" (Psalm 107:1-2).  He goes on to repeat throughout the psalm, "Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men …" (107:8,15,21,31).  And he concludes, "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (107:43).

There is in these words a truth that explains why many reject God, turn away from religion and live without a sure and certain hope … they are not redeemed and therefore are not wise!  It is only those who have been "redeemed" who can even begin to comprehend God's love and to respond by loving Him back.  And it is to these that the Holy Spirit gives wisdom to grasp, though partially so, the depth of God's love for us in Jesus Christ … a love so amazing that apart from His Spirit we cannot possibly come to grips with its power to transform us.

To begin, those who glibly claim that "God loves everybody," miss the meaning of those familiar words from John 3:16:  "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son …"  The meaning of the word, "world," there refers to people from all nations.  From the time of Abraham, God had shown His love and declared His love to one people group:  Israel.  They were and are His "chosen people."  Out of a human race in utter and total rebellion against Him, God chose to reveal Himself to these people.  The rest of the world lay in spiritual darkness and even most of the people of Israel were not given the wisdom required to truly know God and love Him and serve Him.

Jesus declared that God was now fulfilling His promise to Abraham by sending HIM to be a blessing to the "world," to ALL nations.  God was now choosing some from every people, tribe, nation and tongue to be adopted into His family through faith in His Son, the promised Messiah, the Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is these that God sent Jesus to "redeem," to "purchase" with His blood, shed on the cross.  John's vision of the Lamb seated on His throne in Revelation 5 reveals the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders singing a new song:  "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9).

Though God would have been perfectly just to judge the entire human race because of our sin and rebellion, He determined to set His love on those whom He chose to be His and sent Jesus Christ to "redeem" us by His blood shed on the cross.  "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ …" (I Peter 1:18-19).  This is why Jesus said to His disciples, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. … You did not choose Me, but I chose you …" (John 15:13, 16).

That was true of the disciples and that is true of every person who is redeemed by His blood and born again by His Spirit.  God's amazing grace is tied to His amazing love.  "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (Psalm 107:43).  If you have come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord you need to understand that it was not the choice of your own "free will" … the decision of a heart and mind dead in sin.  John says it so clearly in I John 4:19:  "WE love because He FIRST loved us" (I John 4:19).

Many today are caught in the trap of religious duty because they do not truly know the love of God.  Believing that God loves everybody the same, they think it no big deal that they are "saved" because it was their decision.  These seem to believe that God should be happy they chose Him and so they go on about life living to please themselves and offering God their leftovers.  Preachers and teachers then try to prod them to do good, to obey God's commands, to worship, to pray, to give, to serve … but their words seem to fall on deaf ears.  It is because those who are "listening" are not HEARING!!  Their ears are still deaf and their minds are still closed because their hearts are still hard.

God's Spirit is the only one who can break through the darkness and create a new heart and the evidence of the new birth is LOVE!!  This love for Christ arises from a deep awareness of God's holiness and of my sin … an awareness that drops me to my knees in thanksgiving for a Savior.  If you do not understand the depths of your sin and of your need for forgiveness, you will never understand the depth of God's love in sending Jesus to pay the penalty for sin.  So many in the church (and all those outside of it) fail to understand these things because they do not have the wisdom that comes only from the Spirit.  "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Corinthians 2:14).

We who by God's sovereign choice and amazing grace have been born again have been given the wisdom to understand that there is nothing we have done, can do, are doing or ever will do to earn God's love and grace … nothing!!  We stand as guilty as the vilest sinner before a holy God, and yet, my Father in heaven has set His love on me and has opened my heart and mind to receive Jesus as my Savior, to acknowledge Him as my Lord.  My life is His and I love Him … I love Him!!!  And I am so very thankful for His redemption that I willingly and joyfully serve Him, even to the point of death.  So great is His love that I owe Him my very life … forever!!

To know that you are loved this much will transform your life!  No person can ever accuse God of being unfair.  If He judged everyone, He would be fair.  And because He is God, His choosing of some reveals His wisdom, grace, patience, mercy, compassion, love and so much more.  When you know you are one of His chosen ones, then and only then will you begin to grasp how much you are loved. "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (107:43).  I pray that you will join me in making this a lifelong pursuit.