I have a confession to make. I can be very critical and judgmental sometimes. I try to convince myself that it’s wisdom or discernment or something like that, but it’s really just good ole’ fashioned judgment.
I saw a former teacher of mine post this on social media: Evangelist D.L. Moody was once criticized by a pastor who didn’t approve of his soul-winning “methods.” Mr. Moody asked the pastor, “What method do you use to bring others to Christ?” The man replied proudly, “I haven’t any at all,” to which Moody responded, “I like mine better.” The Great Commission passage is familiar to all of us: “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” That’s convicting isn’t it? Are we actually making disciples? Or, like the critic of D.L. Moody, are we content to speculate and pontificate about this method or that, all the while living a life that looks nothing like the model we so love to argue is of course, “the RIGHT way to do things.” Let’s strive to be able to say as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Blessings, Chad Bozarth Angela and I recently had the pleasure of attending a stage production based on C.S. Lewis’ classic, “The Screwtape Letters.” If you ever have the opportunity to see this play I would highly recommend it. This work, first published in the early 1940s, is still so relevant and fresh; the issues it seeks to expose are timeless. It frankly could have been written yesterday. The story is conveyed through a series of letters written by a demon named, “Screwtape,” to his nephew “Wormwood,” who is assigned to tempt a new Christian. The world of Screwtape that Lewis creates is inverted; evil is good and good is evil. “The Enemy,” for Screwtape and his pupil, is God. In these series of letters we see a fictional glimpse into the mind of our enemy and how he seeks to tempt people away from Christ.
We are reminded in 1 Peter 5:8 to, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” We are living in dark times, we need to be keenly aware of the schemes of the enemy. But we also have every reason to hope for we serve a God Who has already won the victory. Screwtape writes to his nephew: The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather. You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere. The routine of adversity, the gradual decay of youthful loves and youthful hopes, the quiet despair (hardly felt as pain) of ever overcoming the chronic temptations with which we have again and again defeated them, the drabness which we create in their lives, and the inarticulate resentment with which we teach them to respond to it— all this provides admirable opportunities of wearing out a soul by attrition. If, on the other hand, the middle years prove prosperous, our position is even stronger. Prosperity knits a man to the World. He feels that he is “finding his place in it,” while really it is finding its place in him. His increasing reputation, his widening circle of acquaintances, his sense of importance, the growing pressure of absorbing and agreeable work, build up in him a sense of being really at home on Earth, which is just what we want. Don’t be lulled to sleep by the wiles of the enemy. Trust in the Lord. Be encouraged today. -Chad In the fall, I have the privilege of, once again, teaching a missions class in the 3rd Year Program at Christ for the Nations. I love teaching this class filled with so many students from all over the world. I’ve been reading their required book for the class. It’s a wonderful little book by David Shibley called Great for God: Missionaries Who Changed the World. The book highlights great missionaries of the past like Hudson Taylor, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, and others. What strikes me most when I read the stories of these great men and women of faith is not their great victories, of which they all have many, but their many trials, tribulations, and discouragements. These people were “sold out for Jesus” and yet suffered personal tragedy after personal tragedy. Just take the example of William Carey. Shibley writes, “Through the years, Carey would face many personal and family hardships. One of his greatest trials occurred in 1812 when his priceless manuscripts were destroyed in a fire. A massive dictionary of several languages, two grammar books, and whole versions of the Bible went up in smoke.” Or take the example of Hudson Taylor, great missionary to China. Shibley writes, “Tragedies multiplied for the Taylors. A young son died. The family went through the pain of the surviving children’s departure for England and school. Another baby was born but lived less than two weeks. A few days after his death, Maria [Taylor’s wife] died at the age of 33.” I can hear the preacher giving the altar call now, “Come to Jesus…a life of tragedy and sacrifice awaits you.”
I was reading 2 Timothy this morning. Paul concludes his letter to Timothy by, among other things, informing him that “[he] left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20).” What? How can this be? Why didn’t Paul just lay hands on Trophimus and command him to be healed? I don’t know, and the older I get, the more comfortable I am saying, “I don’t know.” Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe Jesus is the Healer. I believe Jesus is the Provider. I believe He is good, gracious, giving, and all the rest. But bad things do happen to good people. We don’t know why. But be encouraged. We serve a God who knows the end from the beginning. He is working all things together for good (Rom. 8:28). To quote David Shibley again, “You were born on purpose. You were born again on purpose. You were born at this time on purpose.” God has called us to greatness. We walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Whatever you may be going through today, good or bad, know that you are in the company of great men and women of faith. May the peace of the Lord be with you. -Chad In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson declares, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yes, I know Thomas Jefferson wasn’t a Christian, he had his own highly edited version of the Bible. The point is, that even an unbeliever such as he can recognize that there is a fundamental longing in man for freedom and liberty. This freedom and liberty was lost in the Garden when our ancestors sinned and rebelled against God.
T. Desmond Alexander, in his book, From Eden to the New Jerusalem writes, “While the opening chapters of Genesis allude briefly to God’s blueprint for the earth, his plans are almost immediately overturned – for Adam and Eve betray their Creator and give their allegiance to his enemy. Expelled from God’s presence, they forfeit their unique status as viceroys of the divine king…Against this tragic background, the rest of thebiblical meta story describes how God acts to reclaim the earth, and especially its people, from Satan’s control.” The story of Scripture is the Story of the Creator entering His creation to restore what was lost by our rebellion. This is what we long for, the restoration of our free and innocent state. And this restoration of freedom can only be found, not through governments of men, Declarations of Independence, or anything else other than a relationship with the King. "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved —and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:1-7) Happy Independence Day! And may God bless America from sea to shining sea! -Chad We have just had a weekend of remembrance for all of our fallen soldiers who have given
their lives for this nation. I am aware that the same attitude of patriotism does not exists as it did at one time; sad. I grew up with it, we talked about it, we were excited about it and we felt honored to participate in any celebration. I am concerned that we have lost a lot of ground over the last few decades and what was once honored is now ridiculed or even worse, dismissed as irrelevant. While I am specifically referencing America, the flag, and apple pie, I fear the church has lost a lot of ground and is also experiencing ridicule and accusations of being irrelevant. It’s not that new things are always wrong things, but if the new replaces foundations the building crumbles. To pursue the new, the latest, the trend, without vetting the benefits, leads to a form of entertainment in the church rather than life transformation. I am aware that each generation wrestles with change and we sometimes need to be dragged into what new thing God may be doing. However, I would urge us all to evaluate and assess the direction we are going. As I have said to my students many times, “The Gospel does not need to be tweaked.” It is now urgent that courageous men and women repeat the ancient refrain, “ask for the old paths ... and walk therein ....” (Jer. 6:16). I ’m not suggesting that everything ‘old’ is better. Try hauling around the old cordless phone in your purse. I am simply recommending a sober evaluation of the status of the church, our ministries, and personal relationship with the Lord. Psalm 51:12 says, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation...” Let’s find that place of honor once again and reinstate the ‘awe’ in awesome when referring to our God! The other day, I started watching a show about a successful guy who sits down with people and helps them with their finances. As I watched the first episode, I was struck by how uncomfortable the first two couples he helped were about talking about their finances with each other. They didn’t seem terribly uncomfortable talking to the host of the show, but they seemed pretty uncomfortable talking with each other. These two couples had been married for years. How can that be? Why are people so uncomfortable talking about finances?
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus makes the following famous statement, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Perhaps that is why we find it so difficult or uncomfortable to talk about finances; it exposes what is in our hearts. Nothing so clearly or quickly cuts to the chase of where our hearts are than our bank accounts. What could expose our desires more than our credit cards, consumer debt, overdraft fees, or Amazon Prime purchase history? The purpose of this letter is to remind us to take inventory of our lives. Right before the bit about your treasure and your heart, Jesus says in verse 20, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Sometimes I think about stuff way too much. I have a family after all. I want them to have the best. What father and husband doesn’t? I think that’s OK to want good stuff. But may it never be that I become so focused on treasures in this life that I forget the best investment of all. May our prayers be like that of the Psalmist: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24) I was walking through the mall the other day and a couple of young men approached me. They asked me if I wanted to join them for a Bible study. I told them I was a Christian, to which they responded by asking me if I had heard of mother god. I proceeded to invite them to come sit down with me and talk for awhile. For the next thirty minutes or so, we talked together about their views of Scripture, mother god, the Trinity, and the Sabbath. I eventually had to leave, but I exchanged phone numbers with one of the guys. He and I continued texting for another day or two until he didn’t respond to my text anymore. These two young men are in a cult called The World Mission Society Church of God. I began to research this organization. They believe, amongst other things, that Christ has already come back in the form of a Korean man named Ahn Sahng-hong. You won’t have to do too much research to learn that Ahn Sahng-hong died in 1985. But their movement is alive and well, and has, according to Wikipedia, 3.3 million registered members.
Perhaps you read the above anecdote and thought to yourself, “how could someone possibly believe such things?” My heart breaks for him. He couldn’t have been much older than 20 years old, if that. And he was not Korean. In our texting back and forth, I kept encouraging him to read the New Testament for himself. He kept pushing back on that. He seemed to think he couldn’t properly interpret it for himself. Pray for him. The Old Testament is replete with Messianic prophecies that were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. The writers of the New Testament go to great lengths to show how the Hebrew Scriptures point to Jesus as the Messiah. We are told that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus. Peter explains that there is no other name by which men can be saved. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And this Jesus, THE JESUS, is not dead, lying in a grave in South Korea. The Jesus we serve is alive and well and seated at the right hand of the Father. We serve a Resurrected Lord Who is coming again for us one day. Look to the sky. Our Redeemer lives. This is why we celebrate. He is Risen. He is Risen indeed. It was 1968. Family tragedy had caused my mom to move us to another little town and from the only school and friends I’d known since 2nd grade; I was now in 11th grade. I came to the new school with a chip on my shoulder and an attitude that could cut glass. In time, I gathered a few friends and pursued a path of drinking, drag racing, and partying. I was an angry teenager to say the least…my poor mom.
In the spring of 1970, right before my high school graduation, my little brother, Dean, brought a tall, lanky young man to the house to get a soda. They had been playing basketball. My life was about to change dramatically. Little did I know that a movement that started in California, called the “Jesus Movement” or the “Jesus Revolution” that was sweeping across the nation was now influencing this little town in central Illinois. I heard the Gospel and the message of salvation for the first time and I made a radical commitment to Jesus. I was so excited to find out that I could know I was going to heaven! The tall, lanky young man…well, he became my husband 6 months later. Randy and I were swept up into ministry, which I knew absolutely nothing about. Fifty-three years later, the influence from that movement is still bearing fruit in my life and countless others. It’s my story. The impact of these kinds of movements or revivals are monumental, historical events that transcend generations. We should continue to look for and expect continued moves of God as a means to impact people all over the world for Jesus! Reports are everywhere that this is happening right now across the nation and other nations as well. Don’t stand back with a we’ll see attitude. Jump in and participate. The world is hungry to hear the truth. The message of the Gospel must continue to go forth and each generation needs to feel the responsibility to influence their generation. My theme song or mantra back then and continues to be, is the chorus we all sang exuberantly, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back…no turning back!” Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). If you haven’t already, I encourage you to go see the newly released movie, The Jesus Revolution; it will stir your heart and light a fire of evangelism and missions fresh and new. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) It’s the oldest lie in the Book, “Did God really say?” While it may be the oldest lie, it’s a lie that is quite contemporary. Attacks on the Word of God seem to be coming from everywhere these days. The Postmodern minds of our age don’t like absolute truth. Whether coming from the mouths of liberal bible scholars like those of the Jesus Seminar or the likes of learned men in seminaries and universities across the United States and the world, it is quite popular to cast doubt upon the authenticity and inerrancy of Scripture. We often hear of this popular “Christian” musician or that one, “deconstructing his or her faith.” While I can’t pretend to know the personal struggles, battles, or anything else of anyone else, I would be willing to wager that the vast majority of these situations that end in a loss of faith, begin with a loss of faith in the foundation of the Word of God. This is the battlefield of our day. If the Enemy of Our Souls can get us to doubt that the Word of God is the Word of God then trouble is sure to follow.
But God’s Word is Truth. All Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). We can trust God’s Word. Do not be deceived by the wiles of those who would bear false witness against God and His Word. Do not be deceived by the slithering serpents who tickle ears with their lies. We can trust God. We can trust His Word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8). Did God really say? Yes, yes He did. Let us “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). |
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