Honest Faith Comes From Open Doubt

Posted on Apr 14, 2015 in BLOG |

There is more faith in HONEST DOUBT, than in BLIND FAITH!

Sometimes we get so bogged down on Faith, we think that its the ABSENCE of doubt. When really it is built on the foundation of struggling with, accepting, and overcoming doubt. It’s so easy to look at Thomas the Apostle and call him Doubting Thomas. In fact, whenever someone doesn’t believe us we call that person a . . . you’ve got it, a Doubting Thomas.

But did you know that Thomas was actually a man of great FAITH. When Jesus told the disciples that they were going to Jerusalem, the other disciple tries to talk Jesus out of it. The told Jesus that the Pharisees aimed to kill him; but Thomas said, “Let’s go too – and die with Jesus.” (John 11:16).

In his later life Thomas became a missionary to India. Starting several churches, leading thousands of people to Christ. On one occasion he came across 100 Brahman priest throwing water in the air as an offering to their god. When Thomas saw what they were doing, he asked them, “If I throw the water into the air and it doesn’t fall down, will you worship my God.” That day 100 Brahman priest became followers of Jesus Christ.

As Thomas said in John 11:16, he did later died for Jesus. As he was returning to Jerusalem from his mission in India, he was run through with a spear and died.

His Faith came from dealing with his doubt and overcoming it.

Mar '15

Doing Good and Not Giving Up

Posted on Mar 25, 2015 in BLOG |

Mar '15

Sunday, I shared a story from Philip Yancey, about a group of teens that went to Afganistan. In that story, we discovered that God had been working in Afganistan for a long time, even before these student were born. Here is that story,

In his book, What Good Is God?, Philip Yancey writes:

“This is a true story from Afghanistan that took place in the early 1970s, before the Russian occupation or the Taliban regime. At the time, the government allowed a small Christian church to service internationals who worked there, though no Afghans could attend. A friend of mine named Len organized a musical team of young people to tour countries in the Middle East. With some trepidation, he also accepted an invitation to extend the trip to Afghanistan for a concert in downtown Kabul. Len made the teenagers write out exactly what they would say, subject to his approval.

“This is a strict Muslim government,” he warned them. “If you say the wrong thing, you could end up in prison and at the same time jeopardize every Christian who lives in this country. Memorize these words and don’t dare stray from them when you perform.” The teenagers listened wide-eyed as he described the ominous consequence of a slight misstep…

The night of the official concert in Kabul, almost a thousand Afghans filled the hall and spilled outside the open doors to listen. All went well until one teenager on the team put down his guitar and started improvising: “I’d like to tell you about my best friend, a man named Jesus, and the difference he has made in my life.” From the side of the stage, Len motioned wildly for him to stop, drawing his finger across his neck. Ignoring him, the teenager proceeded to give a detailed account of how God had transformed his life.

“I was practically beside myself,” Len told me. “I knew the consequences, and I sat with my head in my hands waiting for the sword to drop. Instead, the most amazing thing happened. The Minister of Cultural Affairs for Afghanistan stood and walked to the stage to respond.

“‘We have seen many American young people come through this country,’ he said. ‘Most of them come for drugs, and most look like hippies. We have not seen nor heard from young people like you. God’s love is a message my country needs. How thrilled I am to hear you! You are a prototype for the youth of Afghanistan to follow in the future. I would like to invite you to expand your tour so that you visit every college and faculty and also give this same message on Kabul Radio. I will make it happen.'”

Len was dumbfounded. That night he gathered the musical group together. “Did you hear what the man said? We’re changing our tickets, of course, to lengthen our visit. And he wants you to give this same message–you’d better not change a word!”

Over the next few days, the musical team held other performances. After each event Afghan young people crowded around with questions. Tell me more about this Jesus–we know of him through the Qur’an. You speak of a personal relationship with God. Can you describe it? How does your faith change you? Some asked to pray with the teenagers. Nothing like it had ever happened in Afghanistan.

On the last day, after a triumphant tour, the teenagers met J. Christy Wilson, a revered figure in Afghanistan. Born of missionary parents in Iran, he … [had] spent 22 years in Afghanistan, serving as principal of a government high school and teaching English to the Crown Prince and Afghan diplomats. He also led the Community Christian Church and founded the School for the Blind in Kabul.

Wilson drove the teenagers to an unusual tourist site, the only cemetery in Afghanistan where “infidels” could be buried. He walked to the first, ancient gravestone, pitted with age. “This man worked here 30 years and translated the Bible into the Afghan language,” he said. “Not a single convert. And in this grave next to him lies the man who replaced him, along with his children who died here. He toiled for 25 years and baptized the first Afghan Christian.” As they strolled among the gravestones, he recounted the stories of early missionaries and their fates. At the end of the row he stopped, turned, and looked the teenagers straight in the eye. “For 30 years, one man moved rocks. That’s all he did, move rocks. Then came his replacement, who did nothing but dig furrows. There came another who planted seeds, and another who watered. And now you kids–you kids–are bringing in the harvest.”

“It was one of the great moments of my life,” Len recalls. “I watched their faces as it suddenly dawned on these exuberant American teenagers that the amazing spiritual awakening they had witnessed was but the last step in a long line of faithful service stretching back over many decades.”

What Godly investments are you making? Don’t give Up!

Mar '15

Breaking Free

Posted on Mar 24, 2015 in BLOG |

Mar '15

William Seymore was an African American preacher who became filled with the Holy Spirit in 1905. He got kicked out of his Church and found an old run down grain store to meet in, in a Los Angeles street called Azusa. He had a lot standing against him. His race, His lack of education, He only had one eye and lots more, but God gave him a harvest! That harvest is still rolling!

So what are you planting? Paul writes in Galatians 6:8, “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”

Are you living your life to simply satisfy your sinful nature, or are you striving for something more? I want you to know that Jesus loves you. He wants you to live a life that is free, free from sin, free from bondage, so escape from your chains and allow Jesus to break your chains.

Here is the video that we concluded our series, Unshackled.

Mar '15

Loving Others

Posted on Mar 16, 2015 in BLOG |

Mar '15

Sometimes we get so bogged down with doing the right things, that we forget to Love People. God doesn’t just want us to “do good”, He wants us to show people that we love them. Watch out for any bitterness that finds a home in our heart, that bitterness will take root and destroy us along with the people around us.

The Apostle Paul gives us a challenge to love others, and to stop trying to hurt others around us. Read what he says in Galatians.

Galatians 5:14-15 – For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced hurt in life. The secret to overcoming hurt is to forgive, not letting it fester inside of us. Byon Deel has a story about overcoming deep seated pain.

Byron, grew up with an alcoholic and abusive father. Byron had two brothers and three sisters, a large family, but his dad spent the family income on alcohol, and he drank and ranted and raved and hit them. When Byron was twelve, his father walked away from the family, and did absolutely nothing to support them. There were no child care payments. No alimony. No cards at birthdays. No gifts at Christmas. Nothing but hardship and abandonment.

Six years later, he showed up again, two weeks after Byron had graduated from high school. It was an awkward meeting. He stayed about half an hour. And then he left again, and this time there was no contact for sixteen years. Byron confided to a friend, “My attitude toward my dad was everything that it shouldn’t have been for a Christian. He had robbed mi of a happy childhood. He had failed me at every point. He had abused me. I hesitate to say I hated him, but perhaps hatred isn’t too strong a word.

There was a bitterness there that was almost a loathing. Whenever anyone asked me about my dad, I’d shut them off pretty fast. As I grew older, I put it all out of my mind, and there was just a blank spot there. I didn’t think about it. I could go for years without once thinking about my father.”

Then out of the blue Byron’s aunt called him and said, “Your father is in Bristol, VA, very sick and close to death. It would mean something to him if he could see one of his children. He has cirrhosis of the liver.” None of the other children wanted to see him, and Byron lived the closest to Bristol. So he got in his car and drove up there. He said, “I had a ton of thoughts. Not a lot of strong feelings, just a sense that someone should do this. I didn’t want to, but it seemed like I should.”

He walked into the ICU and there was a seventy one year old man, connected to monitors, tubes inserted into his body, surrounded by medical equipment. Byron hadn’t seen him for sixteen years, but he recognized the man. And something strange happened. As Byron saw his dad lying there helplessly, dying, strung about with wires and tubes and monitors and machines, all the years of hatred and anger melted away. He walked over and stood by the bedside. The man opened his eyes, saw Byron, and began to cry. Byron said. “I wept, too. It was almost as though I could see going through his mind waves of regret for the wasted years.” Byron spent that day and the next with his dad, and he was surprised th find that he had a lot of feeling for the man. “The burden that I had been carrying around for years, without realizing it, was gone. We were able to talk, and I was able to share the gospel with him.”

Byron’s father survived that stay in the hospital, and was able to return home briefly. During that time, Byron had a second visit , taking his wife and daughters with him. And during that visit, he grew convinced that his dad had trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Later the call came that his father had died. But Byron was no longer bitter or estranged. The compassion of Jesus Christ had taken hold, and instead of seeing himself as an abused victim full of hatred and cold of heart, he saw something else. He saw his dad through the Lord’s eyes, as a needy man who just needed Jesus Christ.

Shouldn’t we try to see people through Jesus eyes?

Mar '15

Born Free

Posted on Mar 13, 2015 in BLOG |

Mar '15

People always ask me this question. “What’s up with the Old Testament?” I’m sure you’re curious, about why God gave us so many laws and regulations. I know that you’re wondering about all the bloodshed in the Old Testament. It’s simple … God is Holy, and sin is detestable.

So what changed? Jesus. We can never be made Holy by obeying the Law, but through the blood of Jesus, we can be made Holy and Acceptable to God. Obedience without relationship is frustrating. And Relationship with Obedience is useless. Therefore, our Relationship should lead us into obedience.

Galatians 3:19a – Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins.

In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and thronged around him. He had liberated them by the Emancipation Proclamation, and now Lincoln’s army had set them free. According to Admiral David Porter, an eyewitness, Lincoln spoke to the throng around him: “My poor friends, you are free—free as air. You can cast off the name of slave and trample upon it … . Liberty is your birthright.”

But Lincoln also warned them not to abuse their freedom. “Let the world see that you merit [your freedom],” Lincoln said, “Don’t let your joy carry you into excesses. Learn the laws and obey them.”

That is very much like the message Jesus gives to those whom he has liberated by his death and resurrection. Jesus gives us our true birthright—spiritual freedom. But that freedom isn’t an excuse for disobedience; it forms the basis for learning and obeying God’s laws. It gives us direction in action.