Thankless to Thankful

     Tradition tells us it’s the week to be thankful.  But how many will actually thank God?

     If you listen to the average American, they can be more thankless than thankful. Complaints, gripes and grumbling seem to be the order of the day.  

     Times are tough.  Many are still unemployed.  Gasoline prices are sky-high.  It’s hard to sell a house or get a mortgage refinanced. The cost of everything is going up.  Children are ungrateful and won’t listen to their elders. And the NBA strike is delaying the start of the basketball season. 

     Plus there’s a seemingly endless war going on.  Many families will spend the holiday worrying about their loved ones who are in harm’s way.  Some Americans will wake up on Thanksgiving Day feeling like there’s more to be worried about to be thankful for.

     Life can look pretty grim at times.  But it doesn’t mean God has given up on us.

     The Pilgrims knew that.  So did Abraham Lincoln.  Do you?

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you may say.  “Why should I thank God if I’m depressed?

     If that’s true, you’re not the first American to feel less than thankful in trying times.  Consider the story of the first Thanksgiving in America.  The winter of 1620 was devastating.  The harvest was almost non-existent.  The cold was numbing.  Parents saw children die in their sleep.

     But then came the bountiful harvest of 1621.  The Pilgrims gathered to thank God for blessing them.  Things could have been better but they also could have been much worse.

     Now fast-forward 242 years after that first Thanksgiving feast.  Listen to the words of a man who faced a different, but no less devastating trial.

     Abraham Lincoln was the president of half a country involved in a bloody battle with the other half.  Yet in the middle of the Civil War, he declared there was much that the no-longer-United-States could be thankful for.

     On Oct. 3, 1863–just two weeks after more than 34,000 Americans were killed or wounded in the battle of Chickamauga–Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing a national day of Thanksgiving.

     “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies," he wrote. "To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added….”

     Lincoln went on to observe that America was at peace with foreign nations.  Farming and industry continued, as did international trade.  He said, “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

     “It has seemed to me fit and proper,” he continued, “that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States…to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

     If Lincoln and the Pilgrims were able to thank God in the midst of the trials they faced, shouldn’t we be able to do the same?  Surely our difficulties are no worse than theirs.

     The Bible tells us to “Be Thankful.”  It reminds us to “Sing…with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do…do it…giving thanks to God.”

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Non-Prophet

     “I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet–but I work for a non-profit!”  That usually brings a smile or a laugh when I share it in conversation. 

     However, not only do I serve a non-profit organization (a church), we are also ‘Non-Prophet.’  In other words, we do not believe that some kind of modern prophet is necessary to correctly understand the Bible, God’s holy Word.

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you may say.  “Then who decides what the Bible means?”

     Good question!  And the Bible can help us.  It is the best commentary on itself.  We are not free to change the meaning of the Bible to suit our opinions.  That’s why many churches require leaders to be trained to interpret the Bible correctly.

     Bible interpretation and application require great care and accountability.  Many times I have reminded people I teach, “If you wonder how I came to my conclusion or where I got it from, you have every right to ask me.  And if it’s my opinion, I will say so.”

     Suppose someone claims to be a modern prophet.  That they alone have God’s truth.  The Bible warns us to test such a person: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.”

     In the Bible, the penalty for being a false prophet was death.  God is serious about his words.

     What if a ‘prophet’ claims to be called to ‘restore’ Christianity?  Then his claim requires a close examination in the light of the Bible.  It alone is the authority on Christianity.

     The New Testament declares that “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.”

     The Bible tells us that Jesus’ “divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him.”  So why would another prophet be necessary?

     Paul, the Apostle, adds, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

     I encourage you to pick up a Bible and read it for yourself.  Not to prove a point or demonstrate that you’re right.  Read it like a child and ask God to speak to you through it.  The Gospel of John in the New Testament is a good place to begin.  And then keep reading.

     The Bible warns, “Don’t let anyone deceive you.”  It says that in the last days people will “perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” It warns that many will “believe the lie” and be condemned by God. –Don’t let that be you or your family!

     If you allow a religious leader or church to determine your beliefs, here’s a question to ponder:  “Are you willing to stake the eternal future of your soul on your belief in that person or church?”  Have you done due diligence and made a careful investigation of what you’ve been taught to see whether it is true to the Bible?

    We must always be careful.  The Bible warns Christians, “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!”

     Why do people believe a lie instead of the truth?  Marilyn von Savant answers in her November 13, 2011 newspaper column.  She said it’s “because people get freaked out by the notion of being wrong about anything.  It makes them feel insecure.” 

     “After we leave school,” she writes, “we tend to head down one of two roads: (1) We close our minds to new or different information while becoming more and more sure of ourselves; or (2) we watch, listen and learn as we get older.  The second path, is also the path to wisdom.”

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Busy Bees

     In the bee world, there’s no rest for the worker bees.  First they search for nectar and pollen and then make wax and honey.  In addition the worker bees feed the queen and larvae, build and repair the hive, keep it cool with their wings, and protect the hive against enemies.

     Their job isn’t to think–it’s only to work.  And in that regard, they’re like members of a cult.

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you may say.  “What’s wrong with keeping folks busy?”

     Nothing.  Unless it’s designed to keep them from thinking or asking questions.  Or worse.

     What could be worse?  Good question.  And it brings us to another mark of a cult.

     Cults multiply law-keeping requirements.  They may SAY they believe in salvation by grace, but then talk about ‘merited grace’ – a contradiction.   Or they talk about good works that are necessary to remain in God’s good graces or to ‘inherit’ salvation.

     ‘Grace’ means that salvation is an UNmerited gift from God. That is the clear teaching of the Bible.  It says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

     If you believe doing something earns salvation, then your salvation is based on works. What’s so bad about that? Well, God is so holy and righteous that the Bible says our good works are like “filthy rags.”  They can never earn salvation.  And being too busy to realize that is tragic.

     The reason God can offer salvation as a free gift through faith in Christ is because Jesus paid the price for us.  He lived the perfect life we should have lived and died the death on the cross that we deserve for our sins.

     All God asks is for us to come to him on the basis of what Christ has done, not on the basis of what we have done.  That’s faith.  That’s trust.  And that’s the message of the Bible.

     A cult talks about having faith, but it’s always faith PLUS obedience to their group’s laws and ordinances.  And if good behavior is necessary to earn any part of one’s eternal salvation, then they cannot say, as the Bible does, that through faith in Christ, God “forgave us all our sins.”

     That a cult requires loyal obedience for salvation is not surprising.  Most religions do.  Probably because the default mode of human religious thinking is legalism.  But Jesus came to change all that.  His goal was to help us establish a personal, one-to-one relationship with God.

     Several people that once belonged to cults related to me that busyness was part of the plan to keep members from thinking.  Some people in a cult develop doubts but they just ‘put them on a shelf’ in the back of their minds.  For the fortunate ones, the shelf eventually ‘breaks’ causing a crisis of faith and driving them to seek for the truth.

     The Bible warns us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

     If you want a simple test to identify a cult, remember the four math operations: Add, Subtract, Divide and Multiply.  Do they insist on adding to the Bible?  Do they subtract from the Bible’s description of Jesus as the virgin born Son of God who is God in the flesh?  Do they divide loyalty to God by demanding unquestioning devotion to their ‘church’ for salvation?  And do they multiply law-keeping requirements that must be obeyed to be ‘saved’?

     If the answer is “Yes,” it’s a cult.  Stay away!

     Then look for a friendly, Bible teaching, life-giving church where you’re free to ask questions, where your faith will be encouraged and where you and your family can serve God.

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

True Believers

     Are you a ‘True Believer’?  A ‘True Believer’ believes that what they’re told is true, with no doubts.  Their source is usually a teacher or someone they see as an ultimate authority.

     Not only that, but to some ‘True Believers’ the facts may be secondary, if they matter at all.  Their belief, philosophy or religion makes them feel good–so it’s right, no matter what.

     Such an approach may be comforting and assuring but it is not Christian.  In fact it is another mark of a cult.  Christians have always compared what they believe with the Bible.

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you may say.  “What’s wrong with being sure of yourself?”

     Not a thing if your beliefs rest on solid evidence.  But how many people bother to check?

     I was raised in a God-fearing Christian home.  But, when I was in college, I remember my father challenging me with these words: “It’s time you lost your parents’ faith and got one of your own.”  And I knew exactly what he meant.  Up until then I was living on my parents’ faith.

     Fortunately I attended a college that encouraged people to honestly examine their beliefs.  I learned that convictions arise through our doubts, not in spite of them.  Our doubts drive us back to the evidence.  And after thoroughly examining the evidence, the result is convictions.

     A person that’s never done that believes what is convenient.  They may even become dogmatic when asked to defend their views because they have no evidence to back them up.

     In a previous column, “Cult or Christian,” I observed that two marks of a cult are that it adds to the Bible and subtracts from the person of Christ.  Cults also divide people’s loyalty between God and their group.  One must unquestioningly trust God AND the group’s teaching. 

     Usually this means that a follower is not permitted to doubt the group’s teachings or read books and watch anything contradictory to what they believe.  Just believe it because they say so.

     Christians have often been accused of that approach, but the opposite is true of genuine followers of Christ.  Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  Jesus’ followers are not afraid of the truth. 

     Even the physician, Luke, who wrote a record of Jesus’ life in the New Testament, did due diligence.  He wrote, “Many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us.  It seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you.”

     In the Old Testament book of Job, God never condemned Job for questioning him.  To the prophet, Isaiah, God said, “Come now, let us reason together.”

     Even the great Apostle Paul encouraged an examined life.  He said, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”

     So if you are part of a group that has added to the Bible or constantly ‘corrected’ their own ‘Testament’ in many places, ask yourself “Why?”  The Bible says, “Every word of God is flawless.  Do not add to his words or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” 

     Remember, no one has ever come up with something that Jesus should have said.

     Do you attend a ‘church’ that talks about Jesus but does not consider him ‘God the Son’ as well as the ‘Son of God’?  Do they elevate another ‘prophet’ up to his level?  If so, beware.

     And if your ‘church’ demands unquestioning loyalty, be careful.  That’s a mark of a cult.  Find a church where your questions are welcome and answered honestly from the Bible.

     If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to get a Bible and read the New Testament.  But read it as a child.  Without any pre-conceived notions.  Let the Bible speak for itself.

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Loner Christians

     One of my favorite Halloween costumes was to dress up as the Lone Ranger.  Popular on television in the 1950s, the Lone Ranger was a fictitious Texas Ranger.  The lone survivor of an outlaw ambush, he was nursed back to health by Tonto, an orphaned Indian he once rescued. 

     The Lone Ranger made a career of righting wrongs and capturing outlaws.   But the Lone Ranger worked alone--without the aid of organized law enforcement.  So his name made sense.

     One man can make a difference, but he can’t live a fully productive life by himself. The truth is, we all need other people.  “No man is an island,” said the English poet John Donne.

     The Lone Ranger’s adventures made good TV but he’s a poor example for Christ’s followers.

     “Now hold it just a minute,” you may say.  “What’s wrong with being a loner?”

     Loner Christians don’t think they need the church or anyone else.  They believe they can get along just fine by themselves.  One once told me, “I can worship God on the tree stump in my back yard just as well as on a church pew.”

     Often they became loners because, like the Lone Ranger, they were “ambushed” –usually by well-meaning church folks.  With their feelings hurt, they retreat to a hermit-like faith.

     “Why should I go to church?” they ask.  “Everyone there is a hypocrite!”

     Let’s be honest.  Church folk sometimes say and do hurtful things.  Unfortunately every Christian is not a perfect example of their faith.  But that’s no reason to give up on the church.

     Jesus took the religious leaders of his day to task for their poor application of Scripture and failure to obey God.  But he still attended worship regularly.  With the hypocrites. 

     New Testament churches were full of problems.  There were church bosses, false doctrine and people living in sin.  But did the apostles give up on the church?  No–they worked hard to help it become all God intended it to be.  When the church is working right it’s the hope of the world.

     Most of the New Testament is written proof that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were not willing to write off the church.  Time and again they wrote to correct problems in the churches and to encourage Christians to live out their faith. 

     The church is not a museum for perfect Christians.  It’s a repair station to fix problems.

     Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky and Rambo in the movies, once told a group of pastors, “Living without the church is like working out without a trainer. You need to have the expertise and guidance of someone else. You can’t train yourself. I feel the same way about Christianity.”

     “The church is the gym of the soul,” Stallone continued. “Pastors are like trainers that guide you through difficult times and take you to places you don’t believe you can go. A lot of people say, ‘I can do it on my own, I have a one-on-one relationship with God.’ Well, it’s not quite the same…The more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus, listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, the more I feel as though the pressure is off me now.”

     The Lone Ranger was the classic Western at its best.  But it was just fiction. 

     The reality of Christianity is not about loner Christians.  We were made for community.  So the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  Community is necessary for the church to be the church!

     God’s advice through the Apostles was pointed and direct: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day [of Christ’s return] approaching.”

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Cult or Christian?

     The conversation at the next table in the restaurant was quite lively.  Four young adults were discussing the fallout from a pastor’s introduction for a presidential candidate last week.

     News reports indicate the pastor referred to one of the candidate’s opponents as a member of a cult.  However that opponent refers to himself as a Christian.

     As I listened to the nearby discussion, it occurred to me that the question being raised was an important one.  And not just for presidential politics.  It’s important for you and me.

     Since his remarks, the pastor took some hits in the media for what they called “disparaging statements” about the other candidate’s religion.  Some even called him a ‘moron.’

     But are remarks ‘disparaging’ if they are true?  Shouldn’t the media do a fact check first?

     “Hold on just a minute,” you say.  “If a person says, ‘I’m a Christian,’ who are we to judge?”

     Who indeed?  But someone has to decide.  Otherwise, if the word ‘Christian’ means anything the speaker decides, then it means nothing.

     Just what makes a person (what the pastor called) “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ?”

     I propose that, to settle the debate, it is most appropriate to let Christianity’s founder decide.

     When Jesus Christ was first introduced publicly by his cousin, John the Baptist, John said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  And Jesus did not disagree.

     A “genuine follower” believes Jesus when he said, “I and the Father are one” [John 10:30].  His listener’s understood he was claiming to be God and not just a man.

     Then Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6] Another time he said, “I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved” [John 10:9].

     “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother,” said Jesus [Mark 3:35]. When asked what it meant to do God’s will he replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” [John 6:29].

     Speaking of himself Jesus said, “The Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” [John 3:14].  Later the Bible states, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12].

     If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to get a Bible and read the Gospel accounts again.  But read them as a child.  Without any pre-conceived notions.  Let the Bible speak for itself.

     Some religious groups claim they helped ‘restore’ the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  But it’s never been lost.  It’s right there for all to read in the Bible.  And you don’t need special glasses to understand it.  The language is plain and simple enough for a child to understand.

     The Bible says about Jesus, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” [John 1:12].  Notice that membership in God’s family is by grace alone.  It is a gift from Jesus Christ to you.  All you must do is believe and receive it.

     God wants you to find faith in Christ so he kept it simple.  He also warns us against “turning to a different gospel–which is really no gospel at all” because some people are “trying to pervert the gospel of Christ” [Galatians 1:6,7].

     The best test of whether someone is “a genuine follower of Jesus Christ” is to compare what they believe with what Jesus taught.  If they add to the Bible or take away from what it clearly teaches about Jesus Christ, you can be sure they belong to a cult.

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!

Three Apples

     Someone said last week that three apples changed the world:  Adam’s, Newton’s and Steve Jobs.’  That’s quite a tribute to the man behind Apple, Inc. who died last week.

     We still remember Adam for eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The Bible tells us in its first book, Genesis, that Adam’s act of disobedience to God changed the world. 

     Adam’s ‘apple’ changed our relationship with God and the world from friend to foe. If you’re skeptical about that, consider this:  Adam’s act is so ingrained in the human story that we still refer to the bump on the front of a man’s throat as his ‘Adam’s Apple.’ Apparently it got stuck!

     Isaac Newton’s apple changed our understanding of the world.  It fell on his head–remember?  Finally we learned that there are natural laws, like gravity, that govern the universe.

     Steve Jobs’ Apple changed the way we communicate and interact with our world.  His ideas and amazing innovations made our lives more interesting.  In fact the computer I’m typing on and the Internet hardware I use are products from Steve Jobs’ Apple.

     Whether you liked him or not, everyone agrees that Steve Jobs made a significant impact on his world.  So much so that many idolize him and even try to dress like him.  According to media reports there was a run on his signature black turtlenecks two days after he died!

     While many tried to imitate or copy him, there is a better option.  A way to make a significant impact on this world with eternal results.

     “Now hold on just a minute,” you say. “Everyone can’t be an Isaac Newton or a Steve Jobs.”

     True.  But everyone reading this can make a significant impact on this world with eternal results.  How?  By following Jesus Christ.

     First Jesus calls us to be his disciples.  And that’s harder than it seems.

     Jesus does not call us to become more religious, sincere or fanatical.  He calls us to become worshipers of the one true God.  The One who the Bible reveals as Creator of the universe.

     “True worshipers,” Jesus said, “will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

     To do that we must abandon the European model of the holy place, the holy man, and the holy ritual. We must understand that we can live in the reality of walking with God.  Every day.

     The Bible tells us that we must come to God through his son, Jesus Christ.  We must repent of our sin and trust in Christ’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for it.  And we must believe that through his resurrection we have eternal life.

     But more than just agreeing with a set of facts and attending religious services, faith in Christ is entering into a real, living relationship with God, himself.  It is a transformed life.

     Second Jesus calls us to make disciples.  We do that by telling others the good news about Christ and encouraging them to put their faith in him, also.

     Being a disciple or follower of Jesus is so much more than attending church and putting money in the offering.  It is a complete change of our life’s direction from loving and serving ourselves to loving and serving God and others.  Every day.  Not just one day a week.

     When you do that, your life will have a significant impact on this world with eternal results.  Eternal because all who believe in Christ change their eternal destination from hell to heaven!

     It sounds amazing but, according to the Bible, it’s true.  ‘How do you like them apples?’

     Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!