Category: Spiritual

more self-assertive, more deliberately determined to have my own way? It is a great thing to tell yourself the truth. oswald chambers “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Acts 26:19 Utmost For His Highest March 11

…perfecting holiness in the fear of God. II Corinthians 7:1 Utmost For His Highest March 18

Heavens Declare: Prophetic Decrees to Start Your Day Hakeem Collins 2016 Destiny Image Publishers, PO Box 310, Shippensburg, PA. 17257

“Heaven’s Declare is like kindling to start the fire God wants to ignite in your heart every day!” Jennifer LeClaire, Senior Editor of Charisma magazine

DAY 62

PSALMS 33: 18-19 “But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.”

GOD’S LOVE WILL RESCUE YOU

Stand at attention, My child. This morning, I am giving you new marching orders. Prepare yourself, lace up your boots, and get ready for a new day and great adventures. Instead of panicking or trying to figure things out on your own, trust Me. I will show you the way to take and what to do so that you will come out on top. I have instilled in you a spirit that will not settle for less and that possesses a willpower to conquer all your fears. The anxiety, cares, and stresses of life will not suffocate you or squeeze you into surrendering. The desert places in your life will soon spring up as well-watered gardens. You are not one to compromise or conform but to overcome and conquer. You are My special agent on the earth. I desire to unveil your innate gifts to bless many souls. Live every day as if it’s your first time. My child, you have what it takes to change your environment and others are looking to you as the model of destiny. I am not an absentee father who goes in and out of your life, but a loving Father who is fully committed to your development and success.

SCRIPTURES

2 Timothy 4: 2; Hebrews 4: 12; Deuteronomy 31: 6; 1 Chronicles 28: 20; Psalm 27: 1, 56: 3-4; Ephesians 4: 6; John 16: 27; Romans 8: 15-16

PRAYER

 “When I am drowning in decisions, problems, and circumstances, I know that You watch my every move and keep me from losing my footing. Jesus, You keep me afloat. When I go too far without Your direction, You call me back. If the sharks of life come, You run to my rescue. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

PROPHETIC DECREE AND DECLARATION TO START DAY 62

 I DECREE AND DECLARE that I will not abandon my original assignment.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that nothing stresses me out and causes me to be unproductive.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that I shall tread upon serpents and scorpions.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that my life is in the hands of the Lord.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that I will not be deceived but the truth will always prevail in my life.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that I will not sink but sail.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that when I am overwhelmed, the Spirit of God comes to soothe me.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that I will not drown or lose my footing but swim to the top.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that the Lord has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.

I DECREE AND DECLARE that there is no fear in love but perfect love shall cast out all fear in my life.

 I DECREE AND DECLARE that God is my Lifeguard and will keep me alive in His presence in Jesus’ name.”

“A worthy read and daily routine to annilate ruts!” merlin

April 9 post titled “Really Now?” introduced Eugene Peterson’s commemorative 25th anniversary edition of “Run With the Horses,” based on Jeremiah 12:5 “So Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when troubles break loose like Jordan in flood? Or planet earth disintegrates below us, and our scientists invent new words each week to describe the never seen prior activities about our sun? These selected paragraphs from Peterson’s Chapter One are appropriate to prepare us for the inevitable disintegrations some of us may witness. Take heart. Prepare your lamps.

QUEST FOR THE BEST

We live in a society that tries to diminish us to the level of the ant heap so that we scurry mindlessly, getting and consuming. It is essential to take counteraction. Jeremiah is counteraction: a well-developed human being, mature and robust, living by faith. My procedure here is to select the biographical parts of the book of Jeremiah and reflect on them personally and pastorally in the context of present, everyday life. More is known of the life of Jeremiah than of any other prophet, and his life is far more significant than his teaching. It is noteworthy, I think, that when people were trying to account for Jesus, Jeremiah was one of the names put forward (Matt. 16: 14). By enlisting the devout imagination in meditatively perusing these pages of Scripture, I hope to stir up a dissatisfaction with anything less than our best. I want to provide fresh documentation that the only way that any one of us can live at our best is in a life of radical faith in God. Every one of us needs to be stretched to live at our best, awakened out of dull moral habits, shaken out of petty and trivial busywork. Jeremiah does that for me. And not only for me. Millions upon millions of Christians and Jews have been goaded and guided toward excellence as they have attended to God’s Word spoken to and by Jeremiah.

COMPETING WITH HORSES

Vitezslav Gardavsky, the Czech philosopher and martyr who died in 1978, took Jeremiah as his “image of man” in his campaign against a society then, not unlike ours, that carefully planned every detail of material existence but eliminated mystery and miracle, and squeezed all freedom from life. The terrible threat against life, he said in his book God Is Not Yet Dead, is not death, nor pain, nor any variation on the disasters that we so obsessively try to protect ourselves against with our social systems and personal stratagems. The terrible threat is “that we might die earlier than we really do die, before death has become a natural necessity. The real horror lies in just such a premature death, a death after which we go on living for many years.”

There is a memorable passage concerning Jeremiah’s life when, worn down by the opposition and absorbed in self-pity, he was about to capitulate to just such a premature death. He was ready to abandon his unique calling in God and settle for being a Jerusalem statistic. At that critical moment he heard the reprimand: “So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm, what’s going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?” (Jer 12: 5).

Biochemist Erwin Chargaff updates the questions: “What do you want to achieve? Greater riches? Cheaper chicken? A happier life, a longer life? Is it power over your neighbors that you are after? Are you only running away from your death? Or are you seeking greater wisdom, deeper piety?”

Life is difficult, Jeremiah. Are you going to quit at the first wave of opposition? Are you going to retreat when you find that there is more to life than finding three meals a day and a dry place to sleep at night? Are you going to run home the minute you find that the mass of men and women are more interested in keeping their feet warm than in living at risk to the glory of God? Are you going to live cautiously or courageously? I called you to live at your best, to pursue righteousness, to sustain a drive toward excellence. It is easier, I know, to be neurotic. It is easier to be parasitic. It is easier to relax in the embracing arms of The Average. Easier, but not better. Easier, but not more significant. Easier, but not more fulfilling. I called you to a life of purpose far beyond what you think yourself capable of living and promised you adequate strength to fulfill your destiny. Now at the first sign of difficulty you are ready to quit. If you are fatigued by this run-of-the-mill crowd of apathetic mediocrities, what will you do when the real race starts, the race with the swift and determined horses of excellence? What is it you really want, Jeremiah? Do you want to shuffle along with this crowd, or run with the horses?

It is understandable that there are retreats from excellence, veerings away from risk, withdrawals from faith. It is easier to define oneself minimally and live securely within that definition than to be defined maximally (“little less than God”) and live adventurously in that reality. It is unlikely, I think, that Jeremiah was spontaneous or quick in his reply to God’s question. The ecstatic ideals for a new life had been splattered with the world’s cynicism. The euphoric impetus of youthful enthusiasm no longer carried him. He weighed the options. He counted the cost. He tossed and turned in hesitation. The response when it came was not verbal but biographical. His life became his answer, “I’ll run with the horses.”

Skipping to the final chapter, 16, titled “No One Will Escape the Doom,” we read “people go to religion the way I go to a baseball game – to escape the muddle, to have everything clear, to find a good seat from which they can see the whole scene at a glance, evaluate everyone’s performance easily and see people get what they deserve. Moral box scores are carefully penciled in. Statistics are obsessively kept. The world is reduced to what can be organized and regulated; every person is clearly labeled as being on your side or on the other side; there is never any doubt about what is good and what is bad. We must get retooled to thrive in today’s ambiguity and chaos, with its absurdity and untidiness. If we refuse to live with it, we exclude something, and what we exclude may very well be the essential and dear – the hazards of faith, the mysteries of God.

Accept His Love. Share His Love. Live His Joy. Grow His Fruit. Embrace His Peace. Share His Hope. Refute Satan’s Evil

Life Coaching Far Beyond Merely the Good Impressions

Read I Samuel 16:1-11

God knew David possessed the quality of integrity. Today we live in a woke culture that seemingly no longer thinks it is important to even make a good impression. A generation ago or two the maxim to make a good impression was all that really mattered. And the generation before that, your life history mattered; it was called reputation! Oh, how the never once mighty have fallen!

Such short-sighted philosophies will not grow you into becoming the man or woman of distinction excelling in your God given destiny. Never! We can not fake it with the Almighty. He is not impressed with the externals. God always focuses on our inward qualities, those things that take time and discipline to cultivate during our sanctification. It is evident that as with David, He trains us for our leadership role with four disciplines.

First, consider how God trained David in solitude. He needed to learn life’s major lessons all alone before he could be trusted with responsibilities and rewards in the public sector. Solitude has nurturing qualities all its own. Anyone who must have superficial sounds, relationships, chemicals and rampant addictions,etc. to merely survive, lacks depth. If you can’t stand to be alone with yourself, you have deep, unresolved issues in your inner life. God uses solitude as a unique way of bringing those issues to the surface so we can reconcile with Him and others.

Second, David grew up in obscurity. That’s another way God trains His best personnel – in obscurity. Men and women of God, servant-leaders in the making, are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and certainly not applauded. In the quiet context of obscurity, character is built. Strange as it may seem, those who first accept the silence of obscurity are best qualified to handle any applause of popularity later.

 Which leads us to the third training ground, monotony. That’s being faithful in the menial, insignificant, routine, unexciting, uneventful, daily tasks of life. Life without a break … without the wine and roses. Just dull, plain L-I-F-E, though joyously better, once we upgrade our Pilgrim status from “standby” to His “first class,” such as “living in faithful evangelism,” strictly a spiritual perspective of His love being shared with those about us devoid of any hope. Without hope, life is just a constant, unchanging, endless routine of tired monotony as you seek to become a man or woman of God … with nobody else around, when nobody else notices, when nobody else even cares. Monotony provides us the training we need to “wing it before we king it.”

That brings us to the fourth discipline: reality. Up until now, you might have the feeling that despite the solitude, obscurity, and monotony, David was just sitting out on some hilltop in a mystic haze, composing great pieces of music, or relaxing in the pastures of Judea having a great time training his sheep to sit on their hind legs. If so, it is definitely time for us to seek a quantum leap of faith from our inhibitions expressed in the works of our hearts and minds to the realms beyond, as we determine what is actually spiritual reality in our lives right now, especially with the proliferation of oppressive deceptive narrative noise bombarding our consciousness today.

When we in the pews seemingly prefer silence and to remain uninvolved, especially in light of the events on our world’s stage today, we as the older experienced congregants must mentor the younger to focus on what scripture teaches us about Holy Spirit empowered solitude, obscurity, and monotony …all while rooting down into His revealed reality so we all are prepared when persecution comes knocking on our doors!

FYI: The classic book on integrity was written by Christian author Dr. Henry Cloud, titled “Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality.” (tonight available for $3.95 used from ThriftBooks).

This post was inspired by and adapted from Chuck Swindoll’s devotional book “Great Days with the Great Lives,” Week 15 – Friday.

This the fifth and final consecutive post from Gary Miller’s book Reaching America: God’s message has not changed – but our culture has. I strongly suggest you absorb them in order to fully assimilate their value for understanding Gary’s heart for living and building the Kingdom Today. The prior post of Chapter Four concluded with my hope you’d be prompted to purchase your own copy, and then share it with friends who share your passion for reaching America.  

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It was not supposed to be this way. David had led King Saul’s men to victory in battle and enjoyed the thrill of returning home to the cheers of the admiring crowds. Besides, he knew God had specifically chosen him to be king. David had experienced God working through him in marvelous ways. Yet Saul had now turned against him, and he was in hiding. As David looked around that dim and dirty cave, he must have experienced major doubt. The Bible says he was captain of four hundred men, a puny match for Saul’s military might. But perhaps most discouraging of all, was the men David had attracted. “And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him…” This was hardly what David had visualized when Samuel had anointed him to be king.

            We can imagine some thoughts that might have gone through his mind, “Surely I am meant for better things than this! How does God expect me to usher in a new day in Israel with this motley crew? Where are all the stable, well-adjusted, and contented men – the ones who consistently pay their bills on time and are good managers?”

The answer was simple. They were still back home, faithfully farming their land and minding their stores. Men who are content do not typically risk losing what they have to go search for something better. Maybe there is a lesson here for us today.

            If you and your congregation have been actively attempting to reach out here in America, you already understand that seekers tend to come with difficulties, and they usually disrupt our normal, predictable way of life. They “intrude” into our well-scheduled, well-structured communities and ask awkward questions, bringing up topics we would rather not address. On a Sunday we talk as if we want seekers, but many times when they appear, we find their presence inconvenient. At times, dealing with the consequences of their past infringes upon precious family time (Gary does tell it the way it is! mle).

            Although the following categories are admittedly too simplistic, I am going to divide today’s seekers into three basic types.

Manny Ishues

Let’s call the first seeker type Manny Ishues. He typically comes with a host of problems from his past. It might be financial challenges, marriage issues, or difficulty with interpersonal relationships. In short, Manny has many similarities to the men who sought out David in the cave of Adullam. But as he observes your structured lives, your nice homes, and your cars that always start, he knows he has found just what he has been looking for. To Manny, your church community looks like a well-oiled machine, so unlike the chaos in his past. Although he wonders if could ever be totally accepted or actually belong , something within him craves what he sees.

            Many of the Manny Ishues out there feel like life has dealt them a rough hand. Like the men in David’s cave, Manny comes hoping you will listen to him, walk with him, and help him find a better life. Manny has been subconsciously taught from his youth that others are to blame for his circumstances. He has grown up listening to stories about selfish landlords, lousy bosses, and wealthy people who oppress the common person. While you may have been taught that hard work is how people get ahead, Manny Ishues has learned the only way to rise is to win the lottery, enroll in a good government program, or find a generous person (like you) to attach himself to. Remember, contented people do not usually go seeking, and depending on your zip code, you may find the majority of seekers are people like Manny Ishues. The time may come when you wonder you ever opened the door when Manny first knocked!

Seekun Trooth

The second individual I want to introduce is Seekun Trooth. Seekun comes from a church down the road and is looking for more. He has found Jesus and has a powerful testimony. He is looking doctrinal correctness and less hypocrisy, a church fellowship that is serious about following Jesus. Seekun loves his Bible and spends much time in prayer. He has tried multiple churches and found them wanting. He tends to be organized, serious, and intent on walking closer to God. Seekun Trooth is very different from Manny Ishues. He is on a spiritual quest, and when he found you he was certain he had found what he was looking for: a group practicing the doctrines the others have neglected, and likeminded people on a quest to be closer to God.

But before long Seekun Trooth begins to cause unrest. He spots inconsistencies in your congregation, and since he is serious honesty and assumes you are too, he starts asking difficult questions. “Why are your people so serious about nonresistance but seem to have little interest in Jesus’ teachings regarding the accumulation of wealth?” Or, “I like the fact that your sisters wear the head veiling, and that is partly why I am here, but why the disparaging remarks about churches like the one I came from? Even though they don’t wear a veiling they were the ones who cared enough to reach out to me.”

In quiet moments, Seekun will question why he left his original church. He came hoping for more, but sometimes he is not sure he achieved his goal. While he appreciates the doctrinal correctness, he wonders about the apathy. Seekun Trooth came assuming he was joining a group on a spiritual quest to get closer to God. But sometimes it feels like your fellowship isn’t actually on a journey. He gets the sense that you believe you have already arrived. And some of the questions he asks get really uncomfortable. Though you might not admit it, there are times you wonder why you ever picked up the phone when Seekum Trooth first called.

Indy Cided

The third individual you can’t avoid in our culture is Indy Cided. Indy comes from a growing group of people who loved to discuss all kinds of ideas, but are not quite ready to commit to any of them. Indy belongs to that group of people the sociologists call the Nones. She doesn’t come with a Biblical foundation and may not understand the need for a worldview grounded in anything more than her own inner feelings. Neither does she see a need to reach conclusions during your discussion. But there’s one thing Indy Cided will bring to your life – a host of questions!

Unhindered by a need to defend any one belief, Indy loves to throw out hard questions. She likes to speak of tolerance, of people’s right to their own conclusion, and of the importance of not judging others. There is a good chance she is carrying wounds from a bad experience with a Christ Follower. This person may have frustrated her by condescendingly providing simplistic answers to complex questions, hiding a lack g knowledge behind vague Christian cliches.

Debate will probably do little to persuade Indy, and an unwillingness to listen to her will simply hasten her down the path away from God. Gospel tracts once attempting to convert her into a committed believer in three pages will have little impact and likely will cause additional harm. If Indy Cided is going to take a fresh look at Christianity, she will need to be exposed to disquieting evidence. She will need people with a humble spirit and a genuine interest in her life. She will need a person who is an unapologetic follower of Jesus Christ, someone who will remain a friend even if she chooses to remain unconverted. Indy has probably never met a Christian quite like that, and it will take many hours of listening and caring before she shows much interest in your beliefs. In fact, if your idea of evangelism is telling, selling, and compelling the lost to an immediate commitment to Christ, you will likely only do more damage to Indy Cided! (OUCH indeed! mle)

Do We Really Want Them?

This overview of potential seekers in America today is over-generalized, and as you interact with people, many will not fit exactly into any of these three categories. But if you spent much time dialoguing with seekers, I suspect certain individuals came to mind as you read these summaries. And even though Manny Ishues, Seekun Trooth, and Indy Cided were different in many ways, all three had something in common: They came with baggage from their past (I suggest we all do, even if we visibly appear to fit the mold.. mle).

My goal isn’t to portray seekers in negative light or to discourage you from reaching out. But we must be realistic. Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him” (John 6:44). God is actively calling, convicting, and drawing men to Himself. Our role is to care about the lost, and to individually and collectively demonstrate the character of God. We are to be praying for these people and preparing for the Lord to work.

Everyone Is Needed in the Field

Sometimes we don’t see immediate results. After declaring that the fields are white and ready to harvest to harvest, Jesus said, “One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor: other men labored, ye are entered into their labors” (John 4:37-38). Jesus is saying that these who are planting might not see the harvest, and the harvesters may not have been involved in the planting. But the point is this: Every follower of Jesus Christ should be involved in planting, harvesting, or both. And because there isn’t an immediate harvest does not mean it is time to stop planting. We won’t always see results from our labor. But all of us are called to be working, and everyone is needed in the field.

It’s Never Been Easy

Think back to the people who came to Jesus. It seems a high percentage were the poor, the down and out, and even individuals known to be immoral. There were exceptions, but many seemed to be people like Manny Ishues. Yet they felt safe coming to Jesus for help. Move on to the time of the apostles, and we see a similar pattern. Corinth was a wealthy city, but notice Paul’s description of those who responded to the Gospel: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (I Cor 1:26,27). James seems to go further, insinuating that God is predisposed to the lower levels of society: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (James 2:5).

This is not to say that the rich and socially elite are excluded. But it does mean that we shouldn’t be surprised if seekers come with problems. While some, like Nicodemus, were in the upper echelons of power, many of Jesus’ most devoted followers were individuals living on the margins and came with deep issues. They came as military officers, greedy tax collectors, and immoral prostitutes. It was not usually the upstanding citizen, yet Jesus took time for them, and their lives were transformed by the Gospel. Today, there are stable, passionate and gifted members in our congregations who originally came too with major issues. Yet someone was willing to invest in their lives and help them find the ultimate source of healing. 

The work is rarely easy. Manny Ishues may threaten to divide your congregation when members have differing opinions on how to respond. Indy Cided will probably ask difficult questions that you never thought of and don’t feel qualified to answer. Others, like Seekun Trooth, will reveal inconsistencies we may never have considered prior. He will make us realize we have more baggage of our own than we had thought. It takes a lot of humility to honestly confront our own hypocrisies and realize we have more to learn. But I encourage you to labor on. It won’t be easy, but rest assured – when you reach out to the lost, you are laboring with God.

merlin now: I believe as it was in Jesus’ day, so it is today, for only the sick who realize their needy condition may actually ever search for the Great Physician. But always remember, we Christ Followers do possess and are to radiate His Hope and Light to attract even the most unsuspecting sinner in their paralyzing darkness, whether momentarily high in their giddy wickedness, or perhaps, so low they are contemplating how to commit suicide.

FYI, Now About Christian Aid Ministries (CAM)

merlin again: I tend to think CAM is the real deal! Yes, they are human. Yes, they too make mistakes. And if they do, they admit so and seek restoration while unswervingly focusing all their adoration, allegiance & assets in such as people, time, energy & money to the Trinity: God our Father, Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, and Holy Spirit whom resides in us empowering us as already resurrected in His kingdom here on planet earth until our mission here is completed.  

CAM was founded in 1981 as a nonprofit, tax exempt 501© (3) organization. Its primary purpose to provide a trustworthy and efficient channel for Amish, Mennonite, and other conservative Anabaptist groups and individuals to minister to physical and spiritual needs around the world. This in response to the command to “… do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

            Each year, CAM supporters provide 15-20 million pounds of food, clothing, medicines, seeds, Bibles, Bible story books, and other Christian literature for needy people. Most of the aid goes to orphans and Christian families. Supporters’ funds also help clean up and rebuild for natural disaster victims, put up Gospel billboards in the U.S., support several church-planting efforts, operate two medical clinics, and provide resources for needy families to make their own living. CAM’s main purposes for providing aid to help and encourage God’s people and bring the Gospel to a lost and dying world.

            CAM has staff, warehouses, and distribution networks in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Haiti, Nicaragua, Liberia, Israel, and Kenya. Aside from management, supervisory personnel, and bookkeeping operations, volunteers do most of the work at CAM locations. Each year, volunteers do most of the work at CAM locations. Each year, volunteers at our warehouses, field bases, Disaster Response Services projects, and other locations donate over 200,000 hours of work.

            CAM ultimate purpose is to glorify God and help enlarge His kingdom. “… whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. 10:31).

            If you wish to communicate with author Gary Miller, email kingdomfinance@camoh.org or write CAM, PO Box 360, Berlin, OH.44610. To order Reaching America ($14.99) and other literature, go to www.tgsinternational.org  

Accept His Love. Share His Love. Live His Joy. Grow His Fruit. Embrace His Peace. Share His Hope. Refute Satan’s Evil!!        merlin

This is the fourth chapter from Gary Miller’s Reaching America: God’s message has not changed but our culture has. The first three chapters titled Awake, Alive, and Multiplying, What Is Different & Does Anyone really Care were the three prior posts. Warning: this is a heavy chapter. First, we must Behold the depth of God’s love for us, and then, we must Beware of the deceitfulness of our own hearts. merlin

Jesus warned His followers that the Gospel message would not be an easy sell. Describing the path, He warned that “strait is the gate, and narrow the way is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.(Matt 7:14) This is restrictive language, describing a path pursued only by serious seekers. Peter, a few years later, reiterated the narrowness and exclusivity of the Jesus way. “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12) Peter says that Jesus (no exceptions) is the only path to God. Given that the mantra for our age is tolerance, this message does not make our job of reaching out any easier.

The Irony of Tolerance

Our current culture exalts tolerance and despises exclusivity. “What right do you have,” we are told, “to claim that your religious beliefs are superior to anyone else’s?” D. A. Carson, in his book The Intolerance of Tolerance, notes there was a time in America when people had the right to believe what they wanted and even state it openly. Everyone’s belief was truly tolerated. But today, the belief that all beliefs are of equal value is the only belief being tolerated. Carson says it like this: “Intolerance is no longer a refusal to allow contrary opinions to say their piece in public, but must be understood to be any questioning or contradicting the view that all opinions are equal in value, that all worldviews have worth, that all stances are equally valid.”(6) The prevailing push toward “tolerance” is actually more restrictive and intolerant than the worldview it replaces. No longer does anyone have the right to believe that one opinion is superior to another. The only acceptable perspective is that is that all beliefs hold equal value.

“I am the way, truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” There is no wiggle room in these words of Jesus. A “Christian worldview” does not attempt to force everyone to agree, but neither does it believe that all worldviews are of equal value. Therefore, this kind of “exclusive” position is deemed intolerant, and many turn away from the Gospel because it does not accept other religions. But intolerance isn’t the only reason today’s seeker might not be interested in what you have.

The High Cost

Jesus was very clear. Not only did He teach that He is the only way, (John 14:6) but He said the cost of being His disciple is extremely high (Lukem14:33). While that was obviously true in Jesus’ day, it could be argued that the cost is even higher today. In our low-commitment culture, one of the burning questions we are almost fearful to ask seeking families is whether they are divorced. This is not a question we ask in our first encounter, but when we see children of varying ages, we can’t help but wonder.

If it does turn out to be a second marriage, the cost of following becomes very high. Choosing to separate from a spouse you love, knowing the devastating impact on the lives of your children, and questioning if this is actually God’s will is an extremely difficult decision. For many, taking Jesus at His word comes at incredible cost! Most of us have seen individuals come up against this and back away.

Others struggle with the concept of defenseless living. Jim found the Lord early in life and became part of a local Protestant congregation. He married, had children, and came to believe that part of being a faithful Christ Follower was physically protecting his children from harm. In fact, by the time he met someone who believed Jesus expected His teachings on nonresistance to be taken seriously, Jim had storage closets of guns and ammunition. He was simply trying to be a good Christian father and protect his family. Today Jim has embraced defenseless living, but it was not easy.

Jim tells how difficult it was to believe that Jesus would want fathers to live in this violent world without lethal protection. It was unimaginable! Yet he kept going back to the actual words of Jesus, considering them, and eventually he embraced this basic teaching. Jim has been a faithful follower of Jesus now for many years, but he still remembers how difficult it was to accept this truth. “I was convinced God wanted me to protect my family, and choosing to sell my guns and ammo was a huge decision.” I can think of others who have come up against this “hard saying of Jesus” and walked away. This is one of the reasons seekers may not be interested in the Gospel you are presenting.

An Easier Path

Faced with the reality that Jesus’ self-denying Gospel is a hard sell to a self-centered culture, churches have attempted to give Christianity a face-lift. While the old Gospel focused on taking up the cross and dying to selfish desires, the new alternative looks at people’s desires and attempts to satisfy them. Whether it is popularity, wealth, acceptance, or just an entertaining Sunday morning experience, there is a church out there willing to help you achieve your goal. The Gospel of Jesus was designed to transform the seeker to please God, but this new approach seems more focused on adjusting the holiness of God to fit the seekers. If the churches are going to grow, it is argued, we must create an enjoyable experience that leaves the visitor wanting more.

Dr. Gary Gilley in his book This Little Church Went to Market, describes it like this:

“Growing churches are creating an atmosphere, an environment, of fun. So fun has replaced holiness as the church’s goal. Having a good time has become the criterion of an excellent, growing church, since fun and entertainment is what consumers want. Yet Bible references encouraging churches to become havens of fun are, as one may suspect, lacking.”

            Unquestionably, the message that God’s primary goal is for you to be happy makes sharing the authentic Gospel of Jesus difficult. After all, if two paths lead to the same point, why choose the one that is more difficult? Why pick an unpopular counter-culture route if it is not necessary? That defies logic. So we, as Christ Followers, have been given the task of sharing the uncomfortable truth that Jesus did really mean what He said. His message was clear. “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaking not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). 

So, It’s Just Them?

            We have no control over some of these obstacles to evangelism. We cannot tell people that Jesus is just one of many ways to God, or redo our theology to make it more attractive. We do not have the privilege of making the path easier or softening the cross that God calls us to bear. Neither can we force people to become more interested in the Gospel. So, the thinking goes, if they don’t want what I have, I might as well just focus on my business instead of my neighbor. If he ever gets serious about seeking God, he knows where I live (I Pet 3:15).

            Do you ever find something like this drifting through your mind? There is something a little comforting about this line of thought. If the problem is simply a combination of American affluence, a love of pleasure, fascination with electronic  entertainment, or a godless worldview, then I can’t really do anything about it anyway, and it isn’t my fault. Most of us have been tempted to subconsciously rest in this line of reasoning.

It’s Just Not That Simple!

But reality isn’t quite that simple. Americans are not finding solutions for their inner cravings, and behind all the smiles there is an emptiness and a strong sense that something is missing. In spite of being constantly connected electronically, many are experiencing a sense of alienation and a need for relationship that is not fulfilled. Consider the increase in the use of antidepressants. Between 1999 and 2014 there was a 64 percent increase in people using antidepressants, and in 2017 an estimated 16.5 percent, or one in six, non-Hispanic white Americans were using antidepressants. (8) Doctors prescribe antidepressants for more than one condition, but clearly the search is still on for a solution to anxiety and for lasting fulfillment and peace.

            As Christ Followers, we know where to find ultimate peace. We have experienced it. Not only inner spiritual peace for our hearts, but loving human relationships with others. Many of us have grown up in strong, loving church communities. When facing deep sorrow or disappointment, we have experienced an arm around our shoulders. We know what it is like to see a financial burden lifted, and we don’t worry about being left alone when a family member dies. In short, we have exactly what people around us are searching for. So, what is the problem? Why are we doing so poorly at conveying this reality to the lost?

            Some of our congregations have the same last names as fifty years ago. Yes, taking care of our own families is important, but is that all God has in mind? Remember, every surname in your congregation was new at one time. So why aren’t more people joining our fellowships now?

            The next post, Sunday nite, will be chapter five, “Do We Really Want Them?” My goal in sharing these five chapters is to have wet your appetite by now so that you’ll order your own copy for the 17 remaining chapters. I got my copy at Christian Aid Ministries (CAM) in Berlin. Gary Miller is a prolific writer for CAM. Two other of Gary’s books,  Going Til You’re Gone is a must read for everyone approaching 50 and I use his 79 page mini novel How Can Anyone Say God Is Good as a tract suitable for teens up thru retirement, the latter if you buy a box of 50 are only a dollar each. Spread some Light about the oppressing darkness. How else can you better invest less $ than a coffee to plant a seed that may sprout a seeker of kingdom truth? Blessings   merlin

EndNotes

(8) Lea Winerman, “By the Numbers: Antidepressant Use on the Rise.” American Psychological Association, Nov 2017, Vol. 48, No. 10.

This is the third chapter from Gary Miller’s Reaching America: God’s message has not changed but our culture has. The first two chapters titled Awake, Alive, and Multiplying, and What Is Different were the two prior posts.

In a 2018 study, 35 percent of Americans surveyed identified themselves as atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular, up from 30% five years earlier. When only youth are polled, this percentage grows even higher. In the past few years this group, known as the “Nones,” has caught the attention of many.

A poll released in March 2023 conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and funded by the Wall Street Journal, confirmed the importance of religion dropped during the past 25 years from 62 percent to 39 percent, now calling it important. Likewise, while 59 percent said having children was important 25 years ago, now just 30 percent do. For the first time in our nation’s history, over 65 percent of children from the ages of 7 to 17 have never been to a church, synagogue, or mosque.

What is causing this sudden surge of indifference toward religion? While many factors influence this, there is one piece of the puzzle we should not ignore: These were not individuals who were indoctrinated with a godless worldview as children and are now living out what they were taught. A majority, 78 percent, grew up in religious homes but later in life chose to abandon their parent’s beliefs. This is a shocking statistic. How did this occur?

Shifting Worldviews

For many of these, their worldview changed during college. Exposed to teachings that conflicted with their religious upbringing, they abandoned faith, finding answers in science and logic. Truth for them is in what is seen, not in the mystical realms of the invisible. These individuals, known as modernists, say they want facts and verifiable scientific proof. Since the existence of God can’t be proved in the laboratory, they remain skeptical of miracles, supernatural explanations, or any unverifiable religious claims. Of course, many evolutionary claims are unverifiable as well, but the modernist remains convinced that science itself will eventually provide answers for questions of origin that are not yet demonstrable.

In the late 1900s, in reaction to the failures of modernism to produce utopia, another viewpoint arose that has been termed “postmodernism.” For the postmodernist, truth itself is the in question. In the halls of higher education, scholars are encouraged to question everything. They are suspicious of absolutes and ponder whether anyone can be certain of anything. Consequently, statements like “That may be true for you but not for me” are increasingly common. According to the postmodernist, each of us has the privilege of developing and embracing our own truth. As illogical as this worldview may appear, its popularity is increasing, and we are seeing the results on many fronts. Of course, anyone who does not believe in absolutes will have little respect for the Word of God. Proclamations of judgement to come typically have little impact on an individual embracing a postmodern worldview.

Both modernism and postmodernism have had a huge effect on the receptiveness of the American public to the Gospel. Like a powerful vaccine, these worldviews have inoculated our culture, creating an inherent resistance to the Gospel. But this does not mean that people with a modern or a postmodern worldview have lost all interest in spiritual things. They might think that is the case, but God is still working with them. He has placed a desire to worship in every human heart – a longing that is deep and not easily discarded.

Throughout history, people have tried unsuccessfully to satisfy this inner longing for God with other things. Augustine, a fifth-century theologian who had tried pleasure and various other distractions, finally concluded, “Our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.” Blaise Pascal, centuries later, said there is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man that cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.(3) Americans today have an abundance of things to cram into this inner hole, but they sense thar something is still missing. They know their lives are not complete and are on a passionate pursuit for wholeness.

In 2019, David Zahl coined a new word in the title of his book Seculosity. Zahl argues that Americans, attempting to fill the void left by the abandonment of religion, are turning to all sorts of everyday activities to replace it. Careers, political involvement, technology, saving the environment, or even the perfect diet are pursued with passion and intensity, just as a devoted religious worshiper seeks after his god. “Our religion,” he says, “is that which we reply on not just for meaning or hope but enoughness,”(4) Today we see people who are extremely passionate about the purity and perfection of the food they eat or the national park they hike in, but ignore the One who created it all.

Filling the Hole

The enabler of this cultural wave is affluence. We have the wealth to procure just about anything one could wish for, and possessions are a way for men to seek fulfillment. In fact, America is famous for overindulgence. Though America represents only 4 percent of the world’s population, it consumes over 26 percent of its products!(5). With an educational system promoting skepticism, a society awash in material goods, and a worldview that says present pleasure is all that really matters, it’s no wonder we have a challenge.

Yes, I think there is an even more seductive obstacle facing seekers today: electronic entertainment.

Electronic Pacifiers

One of the primary purposes of entertainment is to distract us from reality. Constant amusement diverts people away from God’s call, even as it shapes their views and values. Pacifiers were never meant to provide nourishment. Rather, they just distract the child, sidetrack his concern, and offer a temporary placebo to divert him from his discomfort. Electronic devices do the same in our culture. When pain, loneliness, or any kind of anxiety rears its head, out comes the electronic pacifier. When serious thoughts about life or death threaten, the mind can be diverted by some funny video, movie, or online shopping, and reality is forgotten. Imagine how this can hinder the work of the Spirit in a person’s life. The Lord begins to convict him of sin, but a few swipes of the electronic pacifier puts the focus somewhere else, away from the uncomfortable call of the Spirit. Few things dull spiritual desire like constant access to mind-numbing entertainment.

Describing the last days, the Apostle Paul predicted that “men shall be lovers of their own selves,” (I Tim 3:2) describing this persistent pursuit after fun as “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” (I Tim 3:4) Written almost 2000 years before the electronic entertainment craze we are observing today, Paul could not have written a more accurate description of our time.

Are There Any Serious Seekers Left?

With a growing number of American checking out of religion and amusing themselves to death, why bother? How are Christ Followers to compete with all this? How are we to interest someone in a quiet two-hour church service that calls the listener to make difficult, self-sacrificing choices? Is evangelism in America today an act of futility?

In 2006, Christian Aid Ministries launched a program called Billboard Evangelism. The goal was to place Gospel billboards along major highways throughout the United States. It was a bold approach. A phone number was provided, and volunteers prepared to answer calls from potential seekers responding to these Gospel messages. But would anyone actually call?

The answer is yes. In spite of all our affluence and our many distractions from our shifted world views, be they from politics, economics, academics, lock-downs, earthquakes, tornadoes, wars, supply chain issues, you name it; spiritual interest is still alive in America. As of 2019, the billboard program has received over 700,000 calls. While many of these callers just wanted to argue or share their displeasure with the sign’s message, an estimated 30 percent are genuine seekers. There is obviously still a tremendous amount of spiritual interest. So, why then, do we see so little Kingdom fruit harvested?

Perhaps the next question begging to be asked is: Do They Really Want What We Have? Read the next post for that answer.

EndNotes

(3) Blaise, Pascal, Blaise Pascal’s Pensees, Penguin Books, NY,1966, Pg 75

(4) David Zahl, Seculosity, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2019, p. xiv.

This is the second chapter from Gary Miller’s Reaching America: God’s message has not changed but our culture has. The first chapter was titled Awake, Alive, and Multiplying, was the prior post. If you missed the last post, I suggest you read introductory chapter one before this chapter for clarity.

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Those first exciting days of the early church must have been marvelous to behold. The end of the fourth chapter of Acts summarizes those exhilarating days like this:

The whole congregation of believers was united as one— one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need. Acts 4:32-35 The Message Version

So far in Acts, we don’t read of any selfishness or covetousness. Instead, we read of selling, sharing, and serving. What a beautiful sight? We don’t read of problems or disagreements among that first group of believers. No wonder the early church multiplied and grew even in the midst of persecution. This wasn’t just something that happened at a yearly revival – the church increased in numbers daily. This was a movement you would want to join. It was a winning team.

Then, in the very first verse of the fifth chapter, we find these words: ”But a certain man named Ananias,” and from there on we read of believers involved in lying, murmuring against other believers, even disagreeing so sharply they couldn’t travel together. There was conflict over who could be accepted in the group, what was required to be a disciple of Jesus, and whether certain leaders were qualified. In fact, after the book of Acts, the majority of our New Testament is letters to churches dealing with problems and trying to hold things together. Regardless how beautiful its beginning, it seems the Christian church had a very short honeymoon. Looking back from out vantage point today, the history of Christianity is littered with disillusionment and conflict.

So how do we view that initial tantalizing picture we read about in the part of Acts? Was it just a brief experiment that failed? Or something that worked great at firs,t but is not replicable? These are the questions many of us have struggled with. Why doesn’t evangelism work like that where we live? Why don’t our neighbors come knocking on our doors asking what the secret is to our inner joy and happiness? Why are churches closing in America? Why is the fastest growing segment in our Western culture those who don’t profess any religious belief at all?

To answer these questions, it is essential to briefly back away from our American experience. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is intended for the entire world, yet so often we become Western-centric in our thinking and blinded to global reality. God is at work in other countries and cultures as well, and looking over the wall into other settings may help us answer these questions. It may also assist us in reaching out here in America.

My first direct exposure to church life in a restricted country was in 2007. I traveled with another man to encourage underground Chinese church leaders, and the experience was very eye-opening. I had read stories about the spiritual vibrancy of these “house churches.” I had heard of their faithfulness during intense persecution and listened to accounts of strong leaders willing to stand against a godless communist regime. I was prepared to meet spiritual giants. What I found was not what I expected.

Instead of experienced leaders, I found leaders who were overtaxed yet undertaught. Thes men and women were strong on conviction but weak in experience. They were humble people who were well aware of their deficiencies. Tears were always at the surface, and earnest prayer was their constant companion. I remember sitting on my bed early one morning looking over my notes I had prepared on the subject of prayer. I had an outline with bullet points, and thoughts I had gleaned from others in the past. But as I reviewed my note, I kept hearing a group of pastors in the adjoining room. They had been praying for hours, starting before I was awake, and it seemed as if they would never finish. Yet it was not the length of time but their passion that moved me. I couldn’t understand the language, but I could grasp the emotion. These people were praying in a way I never had. Putting my notes back in my briefcase, I realized there was no way I could speak to them about prayer. I was completely unqualified.

Some of them had been believers for only a few years, yet they had been asked to lead churches. One leader was only eighteen years old, yet was the primary overseer of several congregations. The church had grown so fast there simply was no one else in their city with more experience. Over and over, I heard stories of healings, of miracles, of new believers. The expansion was happening faster than their ability to provide Bibles, so some churches had share one Bible among the entire group. What I was seeing in China in 2007 was almost an exact replica of what we read about in the first chapter of Acts. In both scenarios, the church was expanding at an exponential rate, evidenced by miraculous events and purposeful, productive evangelism. How different from my experience in America!

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to see this in other countries as well. I have seen Muslims – even a fervent Imam – come to faith. They had observed the incredible change in new Christians’ lives and had come asking for the power of Jesus for themselves. Some of these were quiet citizens who became a powerful force in sharing the Gospel. Visions and miracles are not uncommon in these restricted countries, and reading their stories is every bit as exciting as the first chapters of Acts. There are so many similarities between the experiences of the early church and what is happening in places like China that there is no question in my mind – the book of Acts is not a record of a one-time event. It is a pattern of what real evangelism looks like. And it is still occurring around the world today. Then I look at America …

Why is our nation so different? Why don’t we commonly see tremendous church growth, dramatic miracles, or radical life transformation stories? It is not for the lack of programs. An incredible amount of money and energy has gone into advertisements, Gospel tracts, and all kinds of media intended to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet many of these efforts seem unfruitful. I know a sincere   man who had a deep burden for the lost in his city. It had a population of over 200,000 people, and he was not sure how he could reach them. After spending time in prayer and talking with a few others, he came up with a plan – they would canvass the whole city.

Enlisting a group of men, they prayerfully went house to house, covering the entire metropolitan area. At the conclusion they shared their results. Some people were friendly but uninterested; others slammed their doors in frustration. Only a few were interested in listening to their message. After all that well-intended effort, not one person committed his life to the Lord.

My goal in sharing this story is not to discourage this type of effort or to insinuate we should not pass out tracts. We should definitely have this kind of burden for the lost. But it does surely illustrate the dilemma we face in reaching out in America. Most of us have found our culture is a difficult place to evangelize. But why?