Just as Christ Loved the Church: Easy Believism leads to Easy Divorcism

Since January of this year, I have counseled with numerous individuals who are already separated, thinking about separation, or filing for divorce and not a day goes by that I don't hear of another person who has been divorced for a number of years. I certainly understand why non-believers get divorced, they have no understanding of what marriage is. In fact, without knowing what God's Word says about marriage, they are blind and ignorant. Since marriage was created by God to be a living portrait on earth of the loving relationship of Jesus Christ with His bride, the church, marriage between a man and woman is to be the same. Everything about a marriage is to glorify God and everything about marriage is to be holy, since God is holy. Thus there really is no such thing as a non-Christian marriage, despite what the world says, especially same sex marriage. Paul wrote to the Ephesian church that "husbands were to love their wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25-27). There is a lot being said in these verses and to be honest I didn't understand all of what Paul was saying when I got married, but I do now because I have matured as a Christian and have continued to die daily to myself. First, when Christ died He sanctified and cleansed the church of all its sin with His blood. He cleanses every Christian from their old ways of sin and sets them apart for special service to Him. Marriage is about love and the kind of love Paul refers to here in the Greek is agape love. The kind of love that seeks the highest good of the other, even if it means to the detriment of one's own comfort, safety, or benefit. Husbands are called to unconditional, self-sacrificing love, that is what the marriage relationship is about. The reason Paul points to Christ is because He is the perfect example of the kind of love expected of godly husbands. Authentic Christlike love means surrendering, sanctifying, forgiving, and honoring. Christ surrendered Himself to death on the cross for our eternal good. If a husband is submitted to God, they exercise humility and are to be willing to give up whatever is needed for the sake of his wife. If a husband's love isn't sacrificial, his wife knows it. If a husband is selfish, the marriage is suffering. If a husband isn't doing for his wife what God expects, then it makes it difficult for his wife to submit to his leadership and to ultimately to lordship in Christ. Finally, husbands must honor their wives, recognizing them as precious gifts from God, this will have a sanctifying influence on his wife. The husband will encourage her spiritual growth and emotionally care for his wife as Christ cares for the church.
In conclusion our world is full of easy believism, a casual view of sin, and a low view of scripture. As a result, easy divorcism is what occurs in churches as Christian couples divorce at the same rate as non-believers who have zero understanding of marriage. A tragedy that is destroying the church and our nation.

The Heart

Have you ever wondered why there is so much crime, so much immorality, murder, sexual abuse, child neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, terrorism, etc... The answer is simple, human sin and the wickedness of the human heart. It's in Genesis 6:5 that we first learn how wicked the human heart is. "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart were evil continually" This speaks to the depravity of humanity. It's doesn't matter what the medical community says, the human heart is more than a blood pumping organ, all of life and our thoughts flow from it. In the Hebrew Bible there is no word for mind, so heart represents a person's thinking as well as their emotions. I hope you're getting the picture, the human heart is wicked and evil and when fed with the sinful desires of this world it becomes corrupted beyond cure. In Jeremiah 17:9, the prophet writes that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" This verse reiterates the desperate (or incurable) wickedness of the human heart. God makes it clear why we sin and why we have such depravity in our world, it's a matter of the heart. Our hearts are inclined towards sin from the time of birth because of the fall of humanity in Genesis 3. Even as a born again believer, we can still yield to a specific temptation, or we can ask God to help us resist temptation when it comes. Throughout the New Testament we see Jesus reading the hearts of people on many occasions, another indication of his divinity and in Matthew 15:18-20 Jesus spoke these words, "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Jesus is telling us that the human heart is innately corrupt and everything we do and say is first conceived inside of the heart.

In conclusion, the word "heart" occurs 78 times in the Old Testament  and 64 times in the New Testament and in every instance the heart refers to the thoughts or feelings of the mind. There is only one hope for the heart to be transformed, which goes back to Deuteronomy 30:6 "The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your dependents, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live." Paul would later compare the circumcision of the heart to a new life and relationship with God found only in Christ. In Ezekiel 36:26, God promises to give a new heart and a new spirit to anyone who comes to Christ to be cleansed. It's only by the regeneration of the human heart that God imparts new spiritual life to dead and darkened hearts. This is what being born-again is all about. The sinfulness of the human heart can only be overcome by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Trust in the blood of Christ to cleanse you of your sin and repent of those wicked sins with complete faith. Never believe your heart is good apart from Christ, but understand that wickedness reigns which is why sin has ravaged our planet causing unspeakable crimes and destruction. 

ACTS-ion - The Series (The spirit of Simon)

The book of Acts offers much more than just Christian history, it offers good theology for Christians living in today's modern culture. The story of Simon the magician in Acts 8:9-25 is a story every evangelist needs to study. Simon was a man who practiced sorcery and magic in Samaria and he boasted that he was someone great. However, one day Philip came to town "preaching the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ." This passage states that the men and women of Samaria were baptized en masse, and it also says that "Simon himself believed and was baptized," Following his baptism Simon was following Philip everywhere and was astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw Philip perform. But, did Simon really believe or was he simply fascinated with the works performed by Philip, since they were like his own trade of magic?
Philip had done his job, he shared the gospel message of Christ and Simon stated he believed, so Philip most likely baptized him. After hearing about the good news that "Samaria had accepted the word of God," Peter and John came to town. When Peter and John arrived they prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit since it had not yet came upon the Gentiles, so Peter and John placed their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. What's important to understand here is that the book of Acts presents no set pattern for the receipt of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit is connected with the laying on of hands, sometimes not. Sometimes coming of the Spirit precedes baptism, sometimes it follows.
But back to Simon. When he saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on the apostles hands he offered them money so he could be given this power. Peter rebukes Simon harshly by stating that "he would have no part in this ministry, because his heart was not right before God." Peter goes on to tell Simon to repent and that "he saw that Simon was full of bitterness and captive to sin" (Acts 8:23).
But how could this be? Scripture said that Simon "believed and was baptized."

So here is what we need to know.....just because a person professes belief with their mouth, doesn't always mean they believe in their hearts. Simon professed belief to Philip, but their was never an inward change that occurred. Simon professed his belief and even followed through with baptism, but he still manifested the signs of his old unregenerate nature. Simon never truly believed, he was "still captive to sin." Peter didn't possess the power to see into Simon's heart as Jesus did, he observed his visible fruit by his actions and determined that Simon was not a genuine believer. Something every evangelist must do as we share the gospel. In fact its often been said that Simon responded to greed, not to the gospel, in other words, Simon was attracted to how he might be blessed by "this Jesus" he had just learned about and professed to believe in. Similar to those who buy into the prosperity gospel preachers in our modern culture.

The evangelist sows the seeds of the gospel, but must be careful to discern which people are genuinely broken over their sins and understand their need for forgiveness. Churches are already full of false converts so we must discern and proceed with caution before asking for decisions.It's always been the Holy Spirit's job to grant salvation, not the sower. Pressure doesn't benefit the soul, it leads to false assurance. How a person comes to the point of salvation is a mysterious thing that only the Spirit knows.

What became of Simon? Many early church fathers believe he became the father of all Christian heresy known as Gnosticism.

The Wonder of the Cross

The Cross. Can you turn any direction without seeing one? Perched atop a chapel. Carved into a graveyard headstone. Engraved in a ring or suspended on a chain. Tattooed on a person's arm. Printed on a Christian t-shirt. The cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. An odd choice, don't you think?

Strange that a tool of torture would come to embody a movement of hope. The symbols of other faiths are more upbeat; the six-pointed star of David, the crescent moon of Islam, a lotus blossom for Buddhism. Yet a cross for Christianity? An instrument of execution?

Why is the cross the symbol of the Christian faith? To find the answer, look no further than the cross itself. . It's design couldn't be simpler. One beam horizontal, the other vertical. One reaches out, like God's love. The other reaches up, as does God's holiness. One represents the width of His love; the other reflects the height of His holiness. The cross is the intersection. The cross is where God forgave His children without lowering His standards.

How could He do this? In a sentence: God put our sin on His Son and punished it there. This describes the width of Christ' love for you. He stretched one hand to the right and the other to the left and had them nailed in that position so you would know He died loving YOU.

Excerpts taken from the Max Lucado book On Calvary's Hill




 

Corporate Chaplains of America Retreat - Spring 2014

Today through Wednesday all of the CCA chaplains from across America are in Raleigh for our Spring 2014 Retreat. Tonight we were led in worship by Matt and Sherry McPherson, the founder and CEO of Matthews Bows and McPherson Guitars. Through the leading of the Lord, Matt & Sherry wrote The Salvation Poem and put it to song, which has branched out into many facets for ministry. To date, the poem has been translated into 35 languages, sung in 7 languages, and has been published in millions of evangelistic literature. Matt & Sherry were given a tremendous opportunity to produce the first Spanish speaking Christian movie in Latin America titled Poema de Salvacion, based on a true life story and The Salvation Poem. The movie has been seen in 21 Latin American countries and in several US cities. It is soon to be released on DVD with English subtitles. The Poema de Salvacion movie won “movie of the year” award at the ARPA awards of Latin America. Matt & Sherry also won “songwriter of the year” award for The Salvation Poem song in Spanish, also at the ARPA awards.

The Salvation Poem cards and resources can be purchased through thesalvationpoem.com. 100% of the proceeds go back into ministry outreach.

 

Useful in His Hands

For those of us serving in ministry and other professions were there is constant engagement with people, this excerpt by Oswald Chambers provides tremendous insight into the importance of interactions with people and our relationships.

“If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way."


Every conversation, no matter how short, has a purpose for me and for the other person, but only God knows that purpose. Understanding this allows me to have mental and spiritual rest following a hard day of chaplaincy work. I walk knowing that God is making me useful in His hands.

Let 's Vote America

Tell your pastor and church about this organization.

Let’s Vote America is an campaign of United in Purpose.United in Purpose is a 501c4 whose mission is to unite and equip like-minded conservative organizations to increase their reach, impact, and influence through the latest technology, research and marketing strategies for the purpose of bringing about a culture change in America based on Judeo-Christian principles.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FIND OUT THE PERCENTAGE OF VOTERS AND NON-VOTERS IN YOUR CONGREGATION?

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Let’s Vote America’s technology partner can match your church database with public record databases (with complete confidentiality) and compare it to voter registration records for your state, then send you a report that tells you what percentage of your congregation is registered to vote and what percentage voted in the last election. After each election, we provide a follow-up report that shows the updated percentages.

Check it out here: www.letsvoteamerica.com