Always Be Prepared To Give and Answer . . .

1 Peter 3:14-15

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

I have been writing this Blog for over sixty weeks now and I want to do something a little different today.  Peter gave us a model here for helping people understand the Good News to which he clung to for hope.  We are to set apart Christ as Lord, be prepared to give an answer to those who ask, and do so with gentleness and respect.  With that in mind I'd like to open the door for you to drop us a question you have about God, about the Bible, or about life that you'd like us to address.

I have had many people ask questions privately in emails, most of which I've tried to answer without putting them forth to the general public.  I understand that many questions are deeply personal and sensitive but I also know that they are not uncommon and people need answers.  I'd like to ask you to send us questions and if you'd like to remain anonymous we will be sure to maintain your anonymity as we share the questions openly.  I promise that your questions and your particular circumstance are not limited to you.  As I look at people and I look back in the Word of God I see abuse, addiction, depression, fear, sin, death, sickness, doubt, love, betrayal, and every other emotion and situation ever known.  I believe that we often don't broach those things in church but we need to.  Jesus met the people in the midst of their brokenness and brought them the answer.  He said, "Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest."

So with that said, the door is open.

1)  If you are visiting this blog directly on the website you will see in the upper right hand corner of this post (and every post) a small box with a red circle and a number.  The number represents the number of comments for a particular post.  If you click on the number it will open a comment box.  You can comment as a member of Google, aim, Wordpress, etc or if you don't have an account you can enter a comment as "anonymous".

2)  If you've received this post in an email or through a subscription then there will be a link at the bottom that says, "email the author".  Click on the link then send us an email.

3) If you want to send us a question or comment you can also do so through the main "I-61 PROJECT.ORG" website.  Click on the envelope/billboard or the "contact" link at the top and a comment box will open for you to enter your comments or questions.

Please know that we will respect any question or comment you send and will respect your privacy if you wish to be anonymous.  No topic is off limits.  Depending on the response today we will do our best to address each one as a post but if we can not get to every one as a post we will always answer each one personally to you if you include contact information (we will never publish that info publicly).

We pray for you all today and ask that God draw you near to his grace and love.

David and the I-61 Project

Jesus says, "Come" and then he says, "Go"

Do you remember the movie Stripes with Bill Murray, John Candy, and Harold Ramis?  I know its not a Christian movie for sure but there is a scene and a concept that I'd like to use as a powerful visual to segue to what I feel God led me to today. The characters that these men played were initially longhaired, undisciplined, and unmotivated.  They were going nowhere fast in life and needed help. There was a poster that was famous at the time.  It was Uncle Sam pointing his finger at you saying "I want you." It was a message to young men who needed some direction, some skills, and some discipline to "Come!"

So here is the scene:  There is a long line of recruits in bell bottom jeans with long hair and unshaved faces smiling, laughing, and joking as they waited their turn to enter a building to be processed and get their uniforms.  They had listened to the recruiting mantra and followed the prompt to "Come" and they did just that but the Army wasn't going to leave them they way they came.  The scene unfolds with the men having their heads shaved and then they emerge from the building humbled and painted with sad puppy dog faces.  But the Army called them not to keep them in the barracks but to train them, grow them, discipline them and then send them "out".  In other words they first said "Come" and then said, "Go".

Here is the segue: God says, "Come" then he says "Go"

The Bible says that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, to seek and to save that which was lost.  When he did come, his message was clear but he also reminded us of our need for God's help as well.  Jesus said, "Come to me all you are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." He said, "Let the little children come to me.” and "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."  His offer to the people was for them to "Come".  He reminded us of our weakness and our innate tendency not to come and told us that we needed the Father to first draw us to him.  Jesus was saddened by those who were drawn to him, grabbed hold of religion but not to him and in the end had not come.  "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

We come to Jesus like Bill Murray and John Candy did (broken, weak, undisciplined, and unfit.)  We didn't get shaved up, cleaned up, and in tiptop shape first but we came as we were. It was the Holy Spirit who came in and started us in boot camp.  The message to the world is to "Come!"  Business men, athletes, tall people, skinny people, heavy people, black people, white people, Asians, Scandinavians, and Africans.  Prostitutes, tax collectors, porn addicts, crack addicts, straight, gay, millionaires, and the homeless. Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, and Communists.  Jesus knew that sinners came in all shapes and sizes and then ALL need to be reconciled (made in right standing) to God.  Did Jesus come to justify sin? NO! But he came to free us from it.  Isaiah said in chapter 61 (the impetus for this ministry) that he came to preach good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, free the captives, and to release prisoners from the darkness. AMAZING!  So if you are human and in need of freedom and life then COME!  

So what happens after we come and receive life through Jesus Christ?  God by the power of his Holy Spirit begins to clean us up and get us into shape (spiritually). We are made into the likeness of his Son.  This is a slow process that the Bible calls "sanctification" but just means to be made holy like God is holy.  The Bible really shows this both as something that has happened and is happening.  But here is where God has shown me that he brings us in the door and then sends us out again.  The Word tells us that Jesus "sent them (the Apostles) out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits."  It says he "sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."  In Matthew 28, Jesus said, "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."

So here is the thought for the day:  If you have been nudged by God to seek him or have felt emptiness in the meaningless pursuit of life without God then COME. Jesus tells us that those who come will in no way be cast out. Remember though, when you come God will not let you hold unto your sin no matter how much you cling to it, rationalize it, or justify it.  His desire is to see you whole. And, if you have already come and are born again into the family of God you should not just sit comfortably in your grace and life but need to GO OUT and lead others to Christ.  You can do it with the gifts you've been given.  For some it may mean caring for the homeless in the name if Christ.  For others it may mean raising your children with the love and knowledge of Christ.  For some it may mean flying to Cambodia to bring Bibles to those in dark and dangerous house churches.  The Army brought the men in one door and sent them out another. They came in as a ragtag group of hippies and walked out as a "mean lean fighting machine"

Grace and Peace,

David

They Examined the Scriptures to See if What Paul was Saying was True

Please, don't just believe me!  Yes, you heard me right.  Please, don't just believe me.  Here is what I'd like you to do instead:

Pray for God to reveal to you the truth, his truth.  Search the Scriptures to see if what I say is true.  When you ask God to reveal the truth you have to be honestly willing and desiring of truth.  God is a good Father and won't give you a stone if you ask for bread.  The Bible says to "test the spirits to see  whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

I started the post in this way because not every teacher of the Christian faith is telling you the truth.  Not every little white building with a cross on it is truly a church of Jesus Christ, even if they use his name.  You need to be earnestly seeking the truth and willing to look carefully at what you are being taught in order to be sure that you're not being mislead and I want you to start right here with me.  Don't just believe me, please.

Paul was sharing the Gospel in a Greek city called Berea and here is what Luke said of the Bereans in the second chapter of Acts:

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

How did the Bereans know if Paul was preaching the truth?  They examined the Scriptures.  Luke didn't tell us that they knew based on how it made them feel.  He didn't say that they gathered together afterward and took a vote for a majority rule.  He didn't say they weighed it against worldly opinion.  They examined the Scriptures.  Why?  Because they knew that God couldn't speak against himself or contrary to his Word.  They understood the prophetic word to be true.  Jesus said in John 10 "The Scripture cannot be broken."

Peter was very aware that, as the Gospel of Jesus spread throughout the Middle East, Asia, and to Rome and that many false teachers had arisen (and would arise), that were perverting the Gospel.  He knew that there was "no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."  He understood that Scripture was "God breathed" and the words of the prophets were not just stories they made up.  He knew that the Gospel that he and the Apostles preached was given to them by Jesus and now went forth in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Listen to Peter's words:

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:6)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  (2 Peter 2:1)

If there was true teaching it must have had some solid foundation and some points that these false teachers were veering from.  I want to put forth a word that many in the liberal church (not politically liberal but theologically liberal) avoid like the mumps - "Doctrine".

Doctrine can be defined as - a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief.

If anyone holds to sound doctrine they are called "fundamentalists". I have been called a fundamentalist and I am thankful that they recognize the same fundamentals in me as were in Paul, Peter, and in Jesus himself.  What does fundamental mean?

-serving as an original or generating source

-of or relating to essential structure, function, or facts

You see, the fundamentals that I have been given were first given to the Apostles both in the form of the Old Testament and later in the Word made flesh - Jesus Christ.  It was the original and essential part of their faith!  How important were the fundamental beliefs of the Apostles?  Listen to Paul's words:

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:9)

You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. (Titus 2:1)

Paul also reminded the Corinthian church of the Gospel he was given and said he passed it along as "first importance" then shared again the facts of Jesus' life, death, burial, and resurrection.

I'd like to remind you of some of the Biblical truths that are being called into question by some in the pulpits of the church, especially the comfortable western church.  

1) the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible 

2) the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the divinity of Jesus (i.e. Jesus being being God)

3) Jesus being the only way to God

I was told by a pastor that people from other nations and those with different belief systems had their way to God just as we have ours and that it was not the responsibility of Christian leaders to "foist" Jesus into their equations.  I have been told that I have put God in a box.  So here is the deal.  Please don't believe me.  Pray for God to reveal the truth to you and then listen.  Search the Word of God (if you indeed believe the Bible to be the Word of God) and see what is true.  Did Jesus place himself into groups of people from different nations and belief systems?  Did the Apostles travel to far away lands to share the Gospel of Jesus with those who were worshiping false gods?  Did they die violent deaths in order to do that?  Did Jesus tell us that he was one of many ways to the Father?  Did Jesus teach a social Gospel to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and heal the sick void of  himself and the kingdom of God?  

Paul said that there would be a time when people wouldn't put up with sound doctrine but would instead surround themselves with teachers who would tell them what their itching ears wanted to hear.  Today Jesus is being watered down and combined with and blended with other belief systems.  It has a form of Godliness but is void of its power.  It looks a little like Christianity but is not.  Jesus is a great moral teacher and many say "he is the way for me" but don't find him terribly necessary for others if they have found their own way.  If you want to know the truth you have to be open to it.  If you come into the Word and to the faith clinging to your agendas (no matter how apparently noble) you will come out with a religion that is partly Jesus and mostly you. As for me, I don't want more of me but less!

Peace and Grace,

David

Wow! God Really Showed Up Like He Said He Would!

I often wondered what it would be like to just show up with no agenda but to seek God; I mean with no plan, no notes, no songs selected, no set time to wrap it up, and no one in the driver's seat - except for the Holy Spirit that is.  Who would want to join me for a moment like that?  What if we all just sat there and nothing happened?  What if we all just looked at each other for a while, got bored, then packed up and left?  Worst yet, what if one person decided it was his time to take the stage and it became an out of control, prideful fiasco?  But what if God showed up and rocked our world, then what?

Over the past few months God has led me to a number of people who were hungry, I mean REALLY hungry for God.  They wanted to get past the routines and the man made protocols and go to into the inner sanctuary.  They were people who would call me at eleven PM sounding like they just won the lottery and when I ask what all the fuss was about they would share "an amazing scripture that God opened up" to them that night.  They were people who would talk to me about grace and not be able to finish because they couldn't stop crying.  They were people who would give up nights, lunches, and free time to talk about Jesus.  They were people who went to Cambodia, Haiti, and homeless shelters here in the states because they realized when they were saved that they were now not there own but were bought with a price.  They were people who wanted to worship God in Spirit and truth.  God wanted me to gather them together.  For what I wondered?  That's right.  That wasn't my issue.  So I sent out some emails:

“Dear _ _ _ _ _ ,

God has placed it on my heart to gather this group of people together on Sat. March 6th and seek his face.  I don't have any idea what this means or what this looks like.  I have no plan or agenda.  I hope you can make it.  

Peace, David”

That wasn't the exact Email but it was close.  I sent it to 16 people that God put on my heart.  They were from 21 to 80 years of age.  They were black and white.  They were Pentecostals, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, and Non-Denominational Christians but they were all believers.  There were eight men and seven women.  There were married people and single people.  There were 16 sinners and 16 saints.  Most people knew one or two others and no one knew everyone but we were all brothers and sisters with the same father.

As we gathered in an urban warehouse turned photography studio (Thank you so much Bob, Julie, and Rob) tears began to flow as one man began to pray then share how God turned his life from one of hostility and anger to one of love and gentleness.  God opened men up to share their previous lives of porn addiction, drug addiction, adultery, and abuse and then turned the power of their testimonies into songs of praise.  Papa Stokes (a wise and Spirit filled, eighty year old, pastor) shared some things God put on his heart but later said with tears in his eyes, "I learned something today...  I was humbled".  We laid hands on him, anointed him with oil and prayed over him as another was led to do.  We were in the Word and grew in the knowledge of God.  We started at 10 AM and when we looked up it was 1PM.  No one was tired, bored, or ready to leave.  Some wanted to stay.  God was glorified, people built up, and I was humbled.  As we were ready to leave it was said that while we were gathered to grow in our faith it was in preparation to "Go" out. The church was never meant to be "in" but to always be going "out".  

I have said this before and I'll say it again, "I love the Church!"  I mean the bride of Christ, the redeemed, the Body of Christ, the Born Again, the Children of God.  I also love those who don't know God yet, those still dead in their sins, those still weary and heavy ladened.  Jesus said, Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy ladened and I will give you rest."  Are you weary?  Come  

Please, Please, Please, if you need prayer, if you aren't sure about your salvation, if you have done some religious activities but have never known the power of God then drop us a note.  We'd love to listen to your story and help you along your journey.  

As always, Grace and Peace,

David