5 September 2008 by Brian.

I was reading Psalm 50 and was struck by the statement God makes at the end of this selection:

17     For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.

18     You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.

19        “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.

20     You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.

21     These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.

The passage describes a community made up of people who have no regard for the righteousness of God.  They live according to their own rules, satisfying their appetites, and obeying their whims.  They disregard God’s corrective action in their lives, they disregard the moral law and freely accept injustice among them.  They speak evil, even of those to whom they should be most loyal - their own family.  So, they speak up in matters they shouldn’t and keep silent when they should speak up in opposition to evil.

God states definitively that He is completely different from this society of His supposed people.  God does not keep silent in the face of evil, but opposes it.  He does not speak evil, but doesn’t back down from the truth, even when it is uncomfortable to the hearer.  As His people (I refer to believers here), we are expected to glorify Him by living His character by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

So, if this is true, then why do I so often hear those who speak up against evil, injustice, or sin referred to as “mean” and those who keep silent and go with the flow as “nice”?  People tend to feel guilty for trying to do the right thing or requiring others to hold to a standard, whether it is simply a business policy that is the standard or its an issue of right and wrong.

We must be careful, always realizing that our judgment isn’t perfect and that humility and grace should always be present in the believer’s life.  But, there are many issues in our society about which God would have us speak up on behalf of Right and righteousness.  If God is who He says He is, then we should be faithful to do so.  The weak and vulnerable in our society need our voices.  People need to see us living the life of Christ at work, in our families, in politics, and, yes, even in church!

Do we dare to ask God to show us just how far short we fall and then trust Him to re-mold us in His image whether it’s comfortable or not?

Posted in Naturalism, Humanism, Abortion, Homosexuality, Eurabia, Social Injustice, Bible study, Inductive study method, Inductive Bible study, Social Justice, Community, Politics, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Leadership, Evil, Environmentalism, Social Medicine, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Israel, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Radicals, Morals, New Age Spirituality, Spirituality, New Age, False Doctrine, Secularism | No Comments »

20 August 2008 by Brian.

Ravi Zacharias has edited a very helpful book entitled, “Beyond Opinion.”  I found one chapter in particular especially intriguing.  It was the chapter on, “The Role of Doubt and Persecution in Spiritual Transformation.”  You see, I’ve read a lot, studied a lot, and even done a little teaching on the topic of evil and how its existence can best be understood within the Christian worldview.  However, the author of this particular chapter (Stuart McAllister) does a great job of addressing the existential reality that we would often prefer to avoid.  In fact, I would argue that God attributes great value to the growth and the glory produced in the “desert experiences” of our lives, while those experiencing them (at certain stages, at least) are under the impression that nothing has any value whatsoever.  In order to understand the context, you need to know that earlier in the chapter, he shared his experience of having been imprisoned in a Czechoslovakian prison after being caught trying to smuggle Bibles behind the Iron Curtain.  Here are two brief paragraphs, which I hope will motivate you to read the entire chapter:

“The Trinitarian vision of God has served to sustain me in many different ways.  What do I mean?  As I journeyed into my life of faith I came to grasp (not very well) the historic teachings regarding the nature of God.  To see that God is a community of love, that he existed in self-giving relationships before the creation, and that he took on himself flesh in order to redeem us, was an awesome discovery.  The gift and life of the Holy Spirit was the final link in tying together what was for me, a vague notion.  This universe is a relational order, and I was now tuned in by virtues of God’s grace, mercy, and enabling love.  This understanding of God allowed me to dwell on God the Father, the Sovereign, the ruler, the God who humbled Egypt and led his people in the wilderness.  It also allowed me to consider Jesus as the incarnate one, the suffering servant, who although God in the flesh, restrained himself, sought out sinners, and gave his life in such an unselfish way.  The Father ruling, governing, guiding; the Son in his example, service, and sacrifice, followed by the Spirit in his comfort, keeping, power, and presence (John 14:26).  All these have been vital in my reflections.

How has this helped me practically?  It has meant that many times I could rest in the assurance of God’s ultimate and good control over life and circumstances.  Even though I had to face questions, I recognized my limitations and found comfort in the sense of God’s sovereign rule.  The example of Jesus continues to inspire and fuel a longing to be more like him: to follow his way, to respond as he responded, to treat people as he treated them, to love as he loved.  The assurance of the Spirit’s presence and help has met me in many ways, as I travel, preach, face questions, and seek to wrestle through issues.”

Posted in Humanism, Homosexuality, Community, Politics, Naturalism, Eurabia, Bible study, Social Justice, Social Injustice, Social Medicine, Taxes, Missionaries, Europe, Leadership, Missions, Evil, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Religious fanaticism, Radicals, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Postmodernity, North Korea, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Morals, New Age Spirituality, Spirituality, New Age, False Doctrine, Secularism | No Comments »

31 July 2008 by Brian.

Dr. Henry Cloud says that great leaders learn to hate the right things well.

What is the role of ‘hate’ in your life?  When should we hate?  Care to comment?

Posted in Homosexuality, Community, Politics, Social Medicine, Abortion, Humanism, Social Injustice, Quotes, Eurabia, Naturalism, Taxes, Trinity, Europe, Christmas, Larry Norman, Leadership, Missionaries, Missions, Trinitarianism, Environmentalism, Evil, Social Justice, Israel, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Postmodernity, Sex, Contemporary Christianity, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Marriage, Relativism, North Korea, Spirituality, Religion, Radicalism, Radicals, Religious fanaticism, Morality, Morals, New Age, False Doctrine, New Age Spirituality, Secularism | No Comments »

19 July 2008 by Brian.

Malcolm Muggeridge (I believe it was in his book, “Christ and the Media“) predicted the abyss into which much of our mainstream media has sunk.  Ratings over truth.  If it bleeds, it leads.  Deliver an agenda rather than deliver an account.

This story pretty much reflects the depravity Muggeridge described.  The unsuspecting reporter thought he was just going to view a couple burglars being relieved of their limbs…nothing too shocking.  However, he soon realized he was about to see the execution of two women and he nobly attempted to stand between them and their grisly fate.  When that didn’t work, I guess he thought, “What the heck?  Might as well film it.”

Posted in Eurabia, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Religious fanaticism, Humanism, Politics, Europe, Missionaries, Missions, Evil, Radicals, Radicalism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Islam, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Religion, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Secularism | No Comments »

5 July 2008 by Brian.

Ron Smith posts on some interesting revelations from unChristian.

If only we could ban the ‘f word’! 

Posted in Naturalism, Humanism, Abortion, Social Justice, Bible study, Religion, Religious fanaticism, Homosexuality, Community, Missionaries, Leadership, Missions, Evil, Politics, Environmentalism, Morality, Morals, Contemporary Christianity, Sex, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Biblical Worldview, Postmodernism, False Doctrine, New Age Spirituality, New Age, Spirituality, Postmodern Philosophy, Postmodernity, Secularism | 1 Comment »

18 June 2008 by Brian.

It’s late, so here’s a couple of quick thoughts.  I was recently challenged by a former church-goer as to the behavior of the vocal “Christians” and how even their fellow believers fear to do business with them because they are so untrustworthy and can actually be expected to operate in direct opposition to their stated beliefs.  I couldn’t argue…it certainly happens…often.  Is it in keeping with the person of Christ?  Absolutely not.  Is the validity of faith in him and a transforming relationship with him called into question?  Absolutely.  This is a tragedy in the church and one which, as believers, we should be challenging.  I pray for more churches that will call people to lives worthy of the high calling we’ve received in Jesus Christ.

Another sad application of the same issue can be seen in our failure to answer this dangerous school in Virginia.  Islamic students are being taught that it’s acceptable to kill ‘infidels’, yet the American church is so impotent that most Muslims in this land see nothing to attract them to Jesus and the God of the Bible.

If we fail to repent and remedy the current situation, then whether our downfall is ultimately brought about by secular humanism or Islam, the answer for our ineffectiveness in reaching our neighbor will be found in the same place: the mirror.

Posted in Naturalism, Humanism, Abortion, Eurabia, Social Injustice, Bible study, Social Justice, Community, Politics, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Evil, Environmentalism, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Religious fanaticism, Radicals, Contemporary Christianity, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Relativism, Marriage, Sanctity of Life, Islam, Postmodernism, Postmodern Philosophy, Morality, Religion, Radicalism, Morals, False Doctrine, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Secularism | 2 Comments »

15 May 2008 by Brian.

I remain convinced that the only hope for Europe is a revived Church, living lives of radical, loving obedience to the Lordship of Jesus.

The danger from Islam is real, but so is the answer.  Pray, give, or go and make a difference.

Posted in Trinity, Politics, Community, Eurabia, Trinitarianism, Evil, Europe, Missionaries, Missions, Social Injustice, Religious fanaticism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Islam, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Radicals, Radicalism, Religion, Secularism | No Comments »

12 May 2008 by Brian.

No, supporting European missions will not make God bring down fuel prices, nor would a European revival result in a long-term impact to the cost of a tank of gas.  Of course, the spiritual health of Europe is far more important than the balance of my checking account, anyway, so why even mention fuel prices?

Well, as a former missionary in Sweden, I was curious to see just how tough it’s gotten for those brave souls living on support and trusting God to use them to reach Europe for Christ.  So, I went to a website I used to use to find the cheapest gas in the area.  This link will take you to today’s prices in kronor, per liter, in the area in which we used to live.  We usually purchased gas in Uddevalla, so I based my comparison on the CHEAPEST price for that city.  You’ll see that it costs 12.44 kr/liter.  At 6.02 kr/dollar and 3.8 liters/gallon, that’s $7.85/gallon!!!  That’s more than double what I’m paying here in North Carolina these days.  To fill up my old car in Sweden at today’s prices (assuming the tank was empty, which it often was), would cost me over $165…painful, to say the least, especially when you consider that we had friends who, many months, often received only $300 or $400 in support.

So, I say all of that in order to encourage you to financially and prayerfully support missionaries in one of the spiritually neediest, yet most expensive parts of the world today.  I can tell you from experience that it isn’t easy to face such high costs each month.  You could be someone’s answer to prayer this month.  Just pray about partnering with a missionary in Europe and join their team.

Posted in Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Community, Eurabia, Contemporary Christianity, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Islam | 1 Comment »

22 April 2008 by Brian.

George Bernard Shaw is widely considered a brilliant author, but if someone had offered him a penny for this thought, they would’ve overpaid.

“Lack of money is the root of all evil.”

Are we to believe that evil does not lurk within the hearts of the rich?  Why, then, do we find greed and corruption at all economic levels?  Perhaps poverty is not the cause of evil, but only one more symptom of man’s fallen condition.

Thoughts?

Posted in Humanism, Naturalism, Eurabia, Quotes, Abortion, Community, Christmas, Evil, Environmentalism, Politics, Social Injustice, Israel, Biblical Worldview, Sex, Contemporary Christianity, Islam, North Korea, Spirituality, Religion, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »

14 April 2008 by Brian.

I’ve been reading a very good book, edited by Ravi Zacharias, called “Beyond Opinion”.  I highly recommend it, as it offers insight into the challenges and opportunities offered by a variety of world views competing with Christianity today.

In the course of reading the chapter on Islam, I learned an interesting fact which explains a lot of the information I’ve heard regarding the religion of Mohammed.  There is a doctrine in Islam known as ‘abrogation’, which allows scholars to explain away one passage which stands in direct opposition to another by saying that the second passage abrogated (repealed) the former.  This explains how Islamic scholars can say that the Quran advocates tolerance of Christians while another passage exhorts Muslims to make war against Christians and to kill them.   It gets really tricky when you consider that there is no clear logic (at least to the casual reader) that indicates which passages supercede the others.

Next time you hear someone defend Islam as a religion of peace while quoting the Quran to “prove” it,  consider the fact that the speaker may be reading a passage that isn’t even considered the final word on the topic.  I’ll share another doctrine in the near future which makes this even trickier.  Bottom line: don’t believe everything you hear…Islam is decidedly different from Christianity or Judaism.  We need to know how so we don’t allow it to simply enforce its will in the world while we look the other way and tell ourselves there’s nothing to be concerned about.

Keep in mind that this has NOTHING to do with the call to love and reach out to Muslim friends and neighbors.  Just because a particular religion is hostile to our own, doesn’t mean we’re not called to love its adherents.  This is just as true of Secular Humanism as it is of Islam and it’s a calling we can never ignore or diminish in any way…we must take up our crosses daily wherever God has called us.

Posted in Community, Politics, Social Medicine, Abortion, Humanism, Social Injustice, Eurabia, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Europe, Christmas, Missionaries, Missions, Environmentalism, Evil, Social Justice, Bible study, Postmodernity, Spirituality, Postmodernism, Biblical Worldview, Islam, Contemporary Christianity, False Doctrine, Morals, Religious fanaticism, Israel, Radicals, Radicalism, Morality, Religion, Sanctity of Life | No Comments »