AS I SEE IT... by Laurie Erdman laurelerdman@aol.com
On Perspective, Mondays at 5:15pm
Last Chance
August 18 , 2008
Earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes! This summer we have seen them all. Is it a sign from God? The world says, "No, it is just mother nature wreaking havoc on the earth." Really, is that all it is? All of this does raise our awareness of how quickly things can change and that there is always that lurking potential that an end to the age as predicted is coming sooner rather then later.
A more potent question is this: what if the world did change or end tonight for anyone of us? Daily, we know that there are people whose world has literally ended through death. Sometimes this is long and drawn out, but many times it is sudden, unexpected and stunning. There was no prediction nor preparation. It came with a shaking that leaves families shattered, wondering how it could happen so suddenly. Their loved one was too young, or had so much to live for, or was headed for something new and exciting. There was no time to say 'good-bye' or 'I love you.' But there it is, it is over.
How many times in the last weeks have you read about the unexpected occurring? From the famous to not so famous, lives are interrupted. Tim Russert, an icon of TV, collapsed early this summer. Just last week a youngish comedian Bernie Mack left this world. Everyday we hear in the news of young people being killed in car accidents. Each day the data shows us that many are leaving us this earthly existence. Seconds change lives.
The stunners remind us that we are mere mortals. We are not meant for this earthly existence as our home. But that is not how we live. We sometimes act like we are kids sent to camp. We get comfortable and figure out how it all works here at "Camp Earth" and then we are brought back home again, realizing that the camp was only temporary. This metaphor illustrates that we actually have a home elsewhere, which we tend to ignore. We become so wrapped up in this place, that we lose the focus that God asks of us - to tend to the things of heaven.
Yet, how dismissive we remain of our inert sense that we do not have to think of such things as our body dying or where our soul will go after that. We have a whole culture that just brushes that all aside with the idea that we will all go to heaven. It concludes that whatever belief system you have, (as it is often termed), will take you where you hope to end up. The question is, who said so? Where is it written or engraved in stone that every human being no matter how they have lived or believed is entitled to a pleasurable after-life? It is especially puzzling to me when I think of the people who have no time for God now. There are no thoughts about their creator except that they don't want his judgment and they do not want him meddling in their lives. Much of the time they look around at their apparent successes and happiness and decide, "what do I need God for, I am doing just fine." They are confident that they can take care of themselves.
Maybe they can, up to a certain point. That point would be when anyone of us is confronted with our end. Will karma help us out then? Will the crystals and rocks prayed to, answer our cry? Will we all become nothing, as the 'new age' religions contend? Will our non-belief allow God to pardon us for your lack of attention to him?
Lets get real. God calls himself 'a jealous God,' one who demands our attention. And like all fathers he has tried just about everything, including the most incredible, as He brought His son to earth to die for our redemption, to seek that attention. The Bible gives us the evidence that is insurmountable.
I often wonder why anyone would pass by the love that was offered from the cross, the gift of eternity - the ability to go home - where our eternal and loving father waits for us! Ironically, so many seek fathers and fathering in their lives here on earth, yet, we deny the very thing we yearn for when we ignore our Father-God. Even those who claim belief in Christ, appear unaware that it was Jesus and no one else who came for us. Jesus stretched out his hand to our earthly existence and said "I am the door, the path, the gate, the road to the Father. I lay down my life for you. There is no other way out of here that will work because I alone have been sent to do the Father's work and it is through me that you will be redeemed. Believe in me, follow me, and worship me because with out me, you have nothing. You will be in darkness forever."
In the end we are promised one thing. We are promised that the creator, the almighty God will look upon us and no matter how good we think we have conducted our lives, He will see the ever present sin. More importantly, He will see that we thought we could hide from God our unbelief, or that we had no time for him. Indeed, He will see that we pushed aside the gift offered to us of eternal life through his Son for whatever reason: we had no time; it was not important; we were such good people why would God reject us; we always meant to get to that; we thought that it did not matter that other religions became our focus, we took on the new age beliefs that Oprah, our nations female guru, was promoting; we just never gave it much thought etc.
And in the end will any of these reasons matter to God when He has already given us the life of His Son to cover our sins? Many, it says in the Bible, will be at the gate saying 'Lord, Lord,' and the Lord will say, "I never knew you and there will be great cries and gnashing of teeth." I pray that everyone understands that the end of each of our lives is but a breath away. Life and death walk side by side. The suddenness of life's end can be thrust upon us at any moment. Thus, for each of us today, it is about decision - a decision for Jesus. This will be our choosing to walk with him or to walk away from him. And in so doing, we will be determining our life everlasting.
This article is based on Luke 13:22-29
"Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, 'Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?' He said to them, 'Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.'
But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Assaulted by Evil
July 28, 2008
There has been a lot of debate about the Batman movie that just came out. It is not the Batman we remember from the 1960's TV series which was at times a bit silly. It is not even like the series of Batman movies that have come out over the past few decades. This one is absolutely not for kids because it is a very dark and maybe even a disturbing movie for some. Like so many themes in our hero-literature and adventures, this is one about the ongoing conflict between good and evil. While we are very accepting of the idea of evil as portrayed in Batman by the Joker, or Darth Vader in Star Wars or in the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, Superman etc., mostly in our culture we tend to dismiss this as an adjective rather then a noun. We seem disconnected to the idea that a battle for good and evil is raging every day in this world, in our lives and even within our own beings. We think our enemy is the opposing football team or the guy in the next cubicle, not the great liar who rules so much of this world.
Some of our most memorable movies and books are based on this theme of good versus evil. And so it is with the Bible. At first glance, we probably do not often think of the Bible as a book that shows us this struggle. We see it as Gods' story or his message to us. Indeed, it is. But think again, it begins with Eve eating the apple that throws all humanity out of Eden so that we are meant to struggle with difficulties, death, sin, sadness, wrong doers, and yes, evil.
A number of years ago when I was a member one of America's most liberal protestant churches, my husband was in a discussion with another member. This man proclaimed that he "preferred not to believe in Satan." How odd this struck my husband. At the time we could reason that we would all prefer to not believe in Satan, however, that is like saying, "I prefer to not acknowledge the existence of the moon." It is what it is.
Satan was there from the beginning. If we are to believe in the Bible, then how can we divorce ourselves from the reality of the enemy who has existed since the beginning and who was created by God, becoming a fallen angel who's goal is to collect all the souls he is able to, keeping them away from the father. If we call ourselves Christians, then we know that Jesus talked with Satan and acknowledged him, and not just when he went out on his 40 day dessert trek, but through out his ministry. We would be foolish to think that Jesus, who cast out demons, (and the demons, incidentally, knew who he was immediately) was unaware of the evil force that was stalking him all along the path to the cross. Please recall the powerful portrayal in another movie, The Passion of the Christ , where Satan is shown as this strange persona lurking and moving through the crowds in Christ's last days, observing Jesus and the plot as it played out. Here Satan is actualized and defined for us. He is not an imaginary character in a movie, but he is the incarnate presence. Although the evil one, is our most true enemy above all others and other things, it would appear that we are more willing to accept fantasy characters then recognizing the struggle that we have in this world with a real presence.
Here is the deal. None of us can literally see Jesus or God, yet in our hearts we know he is alive and with us. If we have committed to believing in Christ, then we must also commit to understanding how God has made this world. I am not speaking of the trees and animals, I am talking about the reality of evil that is so very much a part of the world.
Today, we have the lies of Satan in the form of new age religions, and authors such as Eckhart Tolle and his promoter Oprah, who claim there is no sin and no evil. Instead, they believe wholeheartedly that 'God is us and we are God.' I beg to ask them how they account for the obvious evil in the world. In this nation, just in this summer alone, several pregnant women have been murdered by their husbands or boyfriends. How is it that we frequently read of parents abusing or killing their own children in this nation, even in our own area? How can someone find the enemy in a two month old baby and what brings a father to that point? If you could read every local newspaper in this nation, you would be appalled and sickened by the evil that has engulfed our world. Violent and senseless acts by children, teens and adults is epidemic. Moreover, we seem to thrive on violence in almost every mode of entertainment, from video games, to TV shows that are just plain mean, to movies that enjoy pushing the envelop a little further. I cannot think of a time when I could open our own local newspaper and read almost on a daily basis about children who have been sexually assaulted. But that is what we hear and see. Yet, we still ask for proof of evil and of the enemy as a real being that stalks us.
Bible teacher and author, Beth Moore, says that "in these last days Satan has two primary motivations (1) to exact revenge on God by wreaking havoc on His children and (2) to try to incapacitate the believers God-given ability to overcome him." Remember that in 1Peter 5:8 it states;
"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." Indeed, in 2nd Corinthians 11, Paul writes But "I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent." And in John 8:44, Satan is described as "a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies." Make no mistake, there is power in evil, yet, God remains more powerful then the devil. Our protection, as with many dangers in this world, is awareness. Our protection is in our worshipping of the almighty God and praising his name, because every time that we do so, we defeat the grip the enemy has on our lives and on our community.
But there is one more far more powerful protection then this and it is in our belief in Jesus the Christ who defeated death, and squelched all that Satan hoped to gain when Jesus walked the earth. Indeed, again we can recall a scene from The Passion of the Christ , where after Jesus dies and has risen, there is a flash of the Satan figure writhing in agony because he has been defeated. Jesus is our real and honest hero. He is not a fantasy character on the big screen. He is the truth which the enemy cannot stand up against.
In the recent Batman movie, at the end, it becomes apparent that Batman is fallible and cannot rescue everyone from the evil Satan figure, the Joker. We are left with "what is the world going to do?" Incredibly what this should point out to us is Jesus. He is the only one who can save us and we are desperately in need of a savior. He is the only rescue rope we have, the only net that will scoop us out of the fires, the only doorway to safety. Batman can be defeated but Jesus can never be ceased, terminated obstructed or halted from rescuing us with his merciful love.
Psalm 3: 2-3
So many are saying, "God will never rescue him!" But you, O L ord , are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
The Keeping Our Options Open
July 21, 2008
It is discouraging at times, to recognize that we are a culture about wanting what we want, and wanting it now. We desire to have options open to us with a continuous variety of possibilities. This attitude floats through all aspects of our lives. Our malls are testaments to enormous options of items to purchase. But there are more important options that affect us far more then just what we buy. For example, children are being born into relationships with no marriage in sight because the parents wanted what they wanted, without any commitment to a life together, leaving their options open. Divorce often occurs because in many instances couples have discovered what they considered to be their options.
A few weeks ago the Pew Research Council reported that Americans in general, were prone to believe that there were many options to heaven. If we were to take a poll at this moment of all the people who declare themselves Christians in this nation, I am fairly certain that the percentage of people who would endorse the idea that Jesus may possibly NOT be the single and most likely route to heaven, would be surprisingly high. This, of course, is a huge reflection of what our world and culture has embedded into our brains with every cultural twist: "keep your options open, variety is the spice of life, don't settle for the first thing that comes along, you can always change your mind, surely there must be many paths to heaven because there are so many different cultures, peoples and nations" and finally, "why would one belief be better then the others?"
Lets' get to the bottom line. In reality, why should a person be considered a Christian if they are assuming that there My indeed be other paths to God or heaven? How can God's Son ever be enough for them? When people indulge in 'new age' philosophy which is based on human thinking, proclaiming that you are the god in yourself, they are missing the grace we have been given, as well as the forgiveness, mercy and a life eternal through the cross of God's Son. If we begin to assimilate other beliefs with our own Christianity, is it simply considered "broadening our horizons?" Possibly it is more about our unbelief that has become more powerful then our belief. Our own accountability to God and what is in our heart should be foremost in our minds. Remember how in Romans 10:8-10, Paul says "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Wow, it is not simply our understanding of an idea or philosophy, but rather the reality check that is in our hearts that Jesus is real. And if we open our hearts to beliefs that are in direct contradiction to everything we know about Jesus, who are we opening our minds and hearts to? We need only recall what gives Satan the most pleasure. Undoubtedly, he seeks to remove us, little by little, moment by moment from God and from his Son. With each doubt, or with each acceptance of another faiths thinking, Satan has wormed his way further into our hearts. In so doing Satan knows that our likelihood to eternally be with the Father is being chipped away. Ironically, Satan knows that Jesus is the only answer!
So how critical is it that we not make the unalterable mistake to believe that there are many paths to heaven? In 1 John 5:5 it states, "This is the victory that has overcome the world,...Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." I have heard skeptics say that Jesus never actually declared himself the messiah who came to save, or that he was the only path. It will come as a great surprise to those who think this way, when they become aware of how many times Jesus makes this claim in the four Gospels. Indeed, in the book of John 6:32-68 there are a series of events in which Jesus is asked by the 5000 people whom he has just fed with a few fish and a couple of loaves of bread, "give us that bread every day." And Jesus replies, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven't believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day."
Just in this passage alone, we hear Jesus declaring that He is it. He is the one. He is the answer. He is the singular road, path, journey, philosophy, proclamation, announcement, destination, door, gate, highway, track, and consummate result as to how we get to God. There are no mistakes here and no questions left to ponder. He is it.
This past weekend I attended a Beth Moore event in Minneapolis at the Target Center. Over 7000 Christian women took over this huge arena for a giant Bible study. As the worship team led us in a powerful, overwhelming worship of sights and song, a question occurred to me. Do we really comprehend who this is - this Jesus - that the public seems unimpressed by, that many poke fun at, and even more curse with, or that liberal churches are skeptical of and rarely talk about and that new age believers dismiss? Who is it that we are dismissing? As the music reached a crescendo with hymns that reminded us that Jesus died and then rose up to unchain our lives from the bondage of sin, overcoming all things of this earth, I wondered, how it is that as a culture we don't understand what we have been given. Christ's disciples were at times doubters and grumblers too. You will recall that after Jesus states that he is the bread of life , as referenced previously, the disciples say "This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?"So Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks, "Are you ... going to leave?"Simon Peter replied, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life."
There it is, the answer we keep saying we are looking for as skeptics and doubters and all the people who may claim parts of other faiths, or the cultural idea that all people go to heaven and all faiths can help you do that. Here is the defined pronouncement directly from God. Jesus is our one, and only hope.
The Rescued
July 7, 2008
There was a short article in this Saturdays USA Weekend magazine about dogs and cats being turned into humane shelters across the country. I was struck by the comment by the author, Peter Howe, when he said, "rescued dogs never forget they were abandoned or that you saved them." Hmm, I thought, I wonder about rescued people. Do they remember that they were rescued? Do they consider that they needed saving in the first place? Do they forget about who rescued them?
Of course, I am not thinking about someone being rescued from a drowning or a fire. I am talking about the deep need we have to be saved, each one of us, from the life we lead in this world and where our lives are headed in the next. It is about the recognition of the need for God, his great mercy and grace because no matter how hard we try, none of us are perfected nor can we ever hope to be.
A few weeks ago, many of the network news media joyfully reported that America was religiously tolerant. The Pew Research Council, which is an opinion finder, had issued a long report with a lot of information about Americans views on faith. The media seemed to find this tolerance as a big plus because it fits into their secular humanist view of the word. It would not have been surprising if ABC, NBC or CNN would have followed up with their reports with a comment like, "enough of you Christians who believe that Jesus is the real deal and the only deal." The one thing that the news media touted as the most interesting from the report was this: "Most Americans agree with the statement that many religions - not just their own - can lead to eternal life. Among those who are affiliated with a religious tradition, seven-in-ten say many religions can lead to eternal life." Although, I was disappointed to think that Christians would consider that Jesus was just as good as the Hindu god with many arms, I was not totally shocked or surprised at this survey result.
First, I am not sure how the questions on this topic were phrased. If, for instance, someone were to ask me, as an evangelical Christian, if my catholic friends were able to go to heaven, I would most likely respond yes. Catholics are part of our Christian world, even though as Protestants and Catholics, we have some diverging views. But at the heart of everything, remains Jesus and his ability to save us. That is the important point. As an evangelical I also contend that it is our personal relationship with Christ that makes all the difference. Our path to heaven is in our hands and in the hands of Jesus. The critical point is whether, He knows our heart is with him or instead, has ignored him.
The Pew Research Council, I suspect, because of the way in which they have reported the results, may have categorized Protestants and Catholics as too separate religions. Thus if I say "yes" to the question concerning whether all religions can lead to eternal life, in terms of Catholic vs. Protestant, then it would be possible for them to interpret that I am saying yes to all religions! It sort of dismisses my understanding of another religion being one which is completely devoid of Christ, such as, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism etc.
The second thing that comes to mind, is that no one should be really surprised at what the Pew Research Council reported. The culture we live in has spent the last fifty years hammering the public with the idea that God is whatever you make him out to be, not anything based on the Bible, but on whatever helps you decide, even if it is just your own personal thoughts while sitting on a hill. The Bible, which is supposed to be Gods word with us, is left on the shelf like an old instruction manual for a covered wagon i.e. something that has no use in our times. Furthermore, we hear the message that God-stuff needs to be kept out of our social life, employment life, our schools, our government, our reference to anything involving human beings in the public eye and off the radar as anything we give reverence too, unless of course it involves Christmas.
The third point however, is the most frightening point. The culture alone cannot be the only party responsible for the notion that all religions are the same and can offer the same outcome i.e. heaven, unless the message in the houses of worship have either taught this very notion, or have not countered the contention that we all go to heaven no matter what we worship or who. Over the past thirty years, many mainline church denominations have become worried about dwindling numbers. They have also been startled by the large mega-churches who have exhibited enormous growth. Their answer has been to foster new programming and to step up some more contemporary worship styles. They often have been the leaders in the "free thinking" Christian movement that says, the Bible is OK but all these other thinkers are even better. Which can easily be seen in the fact that the Bible is often a highly unused and unexplained reference book in some churches, while 'non-Christian' 'new age' thinkers are given credibility. Ironically, while these churches have acquiesced to the culture, this has not helped to increase their numbers in their pews. What they have failed to understand is that the magic potion to bring people to their doors is not cool music, or lattes in the lobby. The answer is the truth being preached. The truth is in the mind of the one true living God and the son of this living God, Jesus Christ. When you encounter the Truth it not only 'sets you free' as is stated in John 8:32 stated, but it makes everything come together. All the unanswered questions, all the missing links to your understanding and all the power that Christ has in his name provides a richness and depth so profound, once you get there, there would be no way that you would leave it. Which is primarily why many mega-churches and many other evangelical churches appear to be drawing in people. They have spent time teaching the Bible - Gods word - and the truth of Christ.
This report by the Pew Research Council may have seemed like something that was wonderful to a world that wants desperately to embrace all people in everyway and tell them that it is all good no matter what they believe. Yet, how can Jesus who walked with us and brought the kingdom of heaven right to our door be in any way comparable or compatible with a faith that reveres the cow as a god as seen in Hinduism, and everything that the cow offers up, from milk to dung, as sacred? Explain how these two fit together? How can a faith that says we all die and become part of the greater flow of life's energy, and are no longer an individual, as is proposed by Buddhism, be the same as the God who says he has created each one of us “fearfully and wonderfully” and has “numbered the very hairs on our head?”
This report, which touts faith tolerance in America, simply says to me that there are too many people out there that really are not well acquainted with the word of God or have given little time to examine what God has to say. While we are pushed continuously on all fronts to be more accepting of just about everything, we are also told that all ideas have validation and are righteous when it comes to religion. That is an impossibility simply because ideas, concepts, philosophies, theories etc. as well as religions, cannot all hold the cup of validity. You need some proof. Whether or not we are followers of Christ, we need to recognize that we got the proof a few thousand years ago. We have the accounts of a man named Jesus who turned the world upside down for all time. We have the eye witness accounts of his words, his death, his resurrection and even his personal appearance long after his resurrection, to the Apostle Paul, a man who hated Christians.
More importantly, we know what he did for us, which is dramatically different from any of the promises or beliefs of other religions. He has promised us a place in heaven with him. We were never left behind, like an abandoned pet, but instead we have been offered the saving grace out of our sin so that we might have an eternal life with our Father. It would be well with us if we could say that “rescued people never forget they once could have been abandoned or lost but that they were profoundly and lovingly saved by the Lamb of God, Jesus, whom God gave to us.
Without Sin
June 30, 2008
There is a trend amongst celebrities in which they re-invent themselves if they have gotten into some sort of trouble or have bad press. A few have gone so far as to change their name repeatedly as Sean "puffy" Combs has done. This all seems to be a part of something in our culture that says that there is very little accountability for our actions no matter who we are. We can be a famous and do some awful or immoral things and by just changing our name or by coming out in favor of world peace, we suddenly are back on top, even if we continue with a lifestyle that is questionable. Of course, it is not just celebrities or stars in Hollywood that we see doing this. Our culture has come up with the acceptable notion that we simply must 'move on' as we shove issues 'under rugs' or bypass the seriousness of a situation. This thinking has pushed its way into every level of our culture. It is disheartening to see schools struggle to promote strong values amongst our children about responsibility, ethics, decency, honesty etc. while people who are supposed to be exemplary individuals in government, companies and in our community disregard these very mandates. Who do we hold up as a good example? We can enumerate many fallen individuals who should have been the prime illustration of how to behave, instead of, how to be disgraceful.
Thus, sin and shame in our culture have become sort of a joke. In reviewing what new age religions believe, such as the one that Oprah and others promote, sin is said to be non-existent. An easy example, are the Las Vegas ads that tell us that what goes on in Las Vegas stays there. This implies that men and women can have secret lives while they vacation there, which is supposed to not impact their family life because it is all OK, as long 'stays' in Las Vegas. Remorse, guilt, and shame are words that seem lost in our world of trendy tolerance of all that is immoral while being skeptical of all judgment about traditional morality. Labeling something as sin is unnecessary in our hedonist society. We can even find churches who rarely talk about sin
I am not sure how anyone can come to the conclusion that sin does not exist. Ironically the very people who would claim that it does not, such as Oprah, are the ones who would be quick to identify outrageous crimes that are committed, as evil and sinful. But they draw a peculiar line. It becomes the old standard that others commit sins while the "good folks" with professional degrees, educations, or who appear to live just lives (which includes Oprah) and are successful to boot, are sinless. How have we come to this point where we really think that we are without sin?
Last week a letter appeared in the local newspaper in which the writer was angry at Hope Gospel Mission here in Eau Claire because Hope Gospel considers that clients who enter their program, who are alcoholics, are in a sinful lifestyle. The writer was offended because she saw alcoholism as a disease and something that had nothing to do with sin. Her interpretation is not entirely correct. Alcoholism may indeed be a disease because we know that there are people more prone to it then others. However, we tend to forget that alcoholism, unlike other diseases from the common cold to cancer, is one that is brought on by the person themselves. No one wants cancer and no one seeks it out. No one wants to be considered a drug abuser or an alcoholic, but without first seeking the drug or the drink, the disease cannot occur.
The sin probably is best evidenced in what this disease does to the lives of these people who carry this with them. Jobs, careers, opportunities, relationships, families, children, loved ones, friends all crumble and fall away or are enormously affected. What could have been, cannot be, without getting rid of the disease maker in the bottle or the drug. This is the sin. When we can watch someone with great potential, become a homeless and dysfunctional person in the world, having lost everything, are we going to tell them that it is not any of their fault that the abuse of their body with alcohol and drugs has caused them to lose the dignity of being a human being? Sin comes in many forms.
But like all sins, this is not what we want to hear. We want to hear that there are few if any consequences to our actions and that we have the freedom to do just about everything we wish in our culture. Yet, we know in our heart of hearts God would not condone much of our tactics and behavior. We know that if we were made to stand before God at this moment that we would have a lot of explaining to do. If Jesus were to come to us on the streets of Eau Claire this very day, what would he say about all the things we as a culture have come to accept, tolerate and embrace? Jesus is so often portrayed by the Biblically uneducated public, as a gentle undemanding prophet of love who has little anger or frustration with the world. However, if we read the scriptures, we become surprised at the times that Jesus had some tough talk for people from the Pharisees, to the rich young man, to even his own disciples. He even condemned a town for its lack of belief and receptiveness to his word.
And so it is with us in our times that blindness prevails over truth and reality. In Romans 7:14 Paul says, "So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin." In Romans 7, Paul addresses our constant struggle with sin. If sin were not a reality, then there would be no struggle. If all things are good then there would be no need for any laws. This naïve perception tossed out by the culture in 2008, that sin is overrated or part of a bi-gone era, is a critical mistake. Paul points to sin as identified by God in the ten commandments. Most importantly, sin is a real entity not an imaginary problem only given to those who we incarcerate or whom we clearly see as evil, such as Hitler. Paul says in Romans 8:5, "Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God."
So often we hear people speak about their rights. Legally there are many rights that we can have that are important and good, many of which the forefathers of this country set out for us. We can be grateful for this nation's freedoms each day. But freedom always has a price attached. Even if we are free to do much of what we please we always know there are limits. However, it does not seem as if there are any personal limits that we cannot excuse away. Whether we call it privacy or privilege, sin has become embraceable. Shame has become quirky. Honor has become invisible, integrity is missing, honesty is an object of spin. Does all of this go unnoticed by God? Is he the God who just pats us on the head and says, "whatever." We would be foolish to think so.
What we do know is that God gave us commandments that were to be lived by and not ignored. Moreover, He gave us his Son for the astonishing purpose of bringing each one of us out of condemnation for the very thing that we claim is no longer relevant in 2008 - sin. Jesus was the one, who in his death on a cross, asked that all be forgiven for what had been done to him. He is the one that will wash away the sin we know we have in our heart of hearts. If sin has truly become a non-player in this world, I fail to see the clean places it has left behind. If we are without sin then please show me the sinless person able to stand in God's judgment without Christ interceding. Jesus was the only man ever to be termed "without sin." He was the impossibility. Yet, we know that all things are possible with God. And it was with God that Christ's purpose was to be put to death for our sins. 1 Corinthians 6: 12 reminds us that we are "washed,....sanctified,....justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God," because of our belief in him as the true messiah. Never has sin been eliminated by the death of one man except this man -- this Son of the living God -- who consumed sin for us, washing our lives and hearts clean for all eternity.
Psalm 32
Oh, what joy for thosewhose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt....
The Greatest Goal
June 23, 2008
There is an old Yiddish proverb that goes "Man plans, God laughs." As we get older, it is interesting to look back on our lives and see how things have played out. The plans that we made and the goals we set when we were younger, were not always what we reached or accomplished. Along the way often there were things we never counted on happening. We may recall the foolishness of our youthful thinking. We might consider the times we met someone or something that changed our lives. We may wonder about how our lives might have turned out "if" certain things had not occurred.
I am a great believer in God's hand on our lives. I can see in my own life many of the steps along the way that shot me in one direction or took me out of going another. Age brings wisdom and the sensibility to see in hindsight what has moved your life along.
While considering this, we can all look back to a time when we had clearly defined goals. There were times when these were not even well articulated but in our consciousness or sub-consciousness we always seemed to know what we wanted. Although, there are those that are on a destructive or dysfunctional life-style course, most of us seek the same things. When we are young our goals are fairly simple, such as, to turn sixteen and learn to drive. Soon we look forward to graduating from High School, and possibly going on to college or at least seeking a career. We also tend to seek marriage and a family. Alongside this comes the desire to buy a home, and then it seems all material things just explode in our lives. Everyone has had, at one time or another, experienced the proverbial "keeping up with the Jones." Suddenly it is the boat, the car, the big screen TV, the vacation etc. Often without our knowing it, we get caught up in the goals of pleasure and acquisition that can take our focus off the reality that God has laid out. We stop seeing the beauty that God has created and we forget about "rejoicing in the day the Lord has made." Instead, we may become completely bummed out over the fact that our neighbor is able to afford an in-ground, fully equipped, Hollywood style, swimming pool with all the trimmings, while we still have the plastic kiddie pool from Wal-Mart.
In all the goal setting that we do, especially when we are young and seemingly infallible, deciding to get closer to God is probably not a goal that we deem as urgent. As young adults we often have trouble recognizing the shortness of our time on earth. We tend to see death as something happening to others and those who are far away from our immediate life. Thus our goals are wrapped around what makes us happy in this world. Yet, instinctively we all know that there is an end to all things that live, including us.
A few years ago when I turned fifty, I suddenly began seeing my life on the other side of fifty. Prior to that I could see all the decades ahead of me laid out in a long consecutive line, like a train. The future was stretched out looking pretty infinite. Thirty was not so bad and forty gave me only some contemplation. However, fifty was a whole different situation. I found myself looking backwards more then I was looking forwards. All of the years spent in raising a family were pretty much over. The children, having grown up, were now in there own twenty-something's. Ironically, time catches you off guard and it seemed as if I had just been there, myself. Within another six years my husband decided to take early retirement. This meant another huge change in our lives, which gave us even more pause to contemplate life as it was and where it was going. After thirty-five years of a career, suddenly you are left a bit goal-less and a little disoriented. Many who retire take on a new career, self-improvement or hobbies to fill their time. Others go off on adventures that they always meant to do. But these are not goals. These are fulfilling dreams, or time.
What happens to our goals in later life that are different than the goals we had when we were twenty? If we look at 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 we hear the words of the Apostle Paul talk to us about this very thing we have been in all of our lives. We often see our lives as a race: a race to get the right job, the best salary, the right house, raise the best kids- who accomplish the best they can do. We are also in a race in this culture to pile up the best stuff including the best retirement plan. But the real race is the one that is running parallel to our earthly lives that is less visible but far more valuable then all things we store up here on earth. It is the race that Paul talks about when he says: " Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize." Paul was, of course, not talking about being a fit specimen for life but a fit specimen for the spiritual life with God which should be the desire that we all have. He clearly points out that we all have the opportunity to be with our Father in Heaven, but not all of us will achieve this prize.
As we get older the recognition that time is of the essence becomes more acute. Recently, Dr. Phil mentioned that he could probably estimate how many months he has left in his life if he were to live another 20 years. What a thought! With each month checked off the calendar you get a sense that you are closer each day to coming before God, then you were the month before. Yet, so many live with the notion that heaven is a right for all rather then the gift to the believer who has found Christ and been saved through Him.
Here is the bottom line which Paul is showing us: it is about understanding that without the surrender to Jesus and the realization of who He is to each of us, heaven is only a dream. Even today, in a nationally syndicated advice column, the columnist assured a young woman who had written to her about her horrendous relationship with her mother who was now deceased, that her mother was now in a ‘better place'- the politically correct term for heaven. Really? This is the assumption that the culture contends. According to common thinking, it seems, we all can expect a trip to heaven as our final destination, no matter what we have believed or have not believed.
However, it is clear that this is not the message of the cross. Jesus, the Son of God, the one who laid his life down for us, clearly marked the entry to heaven with a qualification that belief in Him is what assures you an eternity. He says in Matthew 7:20-21 " Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. " And in 1 John 5:12 we are reminded that : "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
So that is the goal we must focus on during all of our years. For those in retirement, the goal is no longer to climb the corporate ladder which gave us some satisfaction or to buy the best stuff which gave us some fleeting pleasure. The goal is to climb on the ladder that takes us directly to the place we all desire to be when our Father calls us home. We are so much like the prodigal son during our earthly lives. We run from thing to thing, falling into sin and not listening to God, while making excuses for our behavior or for the lack of time we give to our Father in heaven. But in the end, we desire to go home and see our Fathers arms opened to us, knowing that we can expect love, mercy and forgiveness. In order to get to that prize, we will need to set some goals with God, valuing the race that most do not see, but a race that will yield eternity.
Our Father in Heaven
Fathers Day Tribute
June 16, 2008
Over this past weekend, there has been an outpouring of grief from an unlikely source. That source has been the news media which seldom shows emotion and rarely any reference to God. However, when one of their own, Tim Russert, unexpectedly passed away on Friday, it was a stunning blow. Russert was the consummate host of the NBC program Meet the Press for the past seventeen years. It was not just that Russert was a great journalist or an avid follower of politics. Russert was known for the great joy he found in his work. Almost everyone admired him whether they were a Republican or Democrat or whether they worked for NBC or any other news icon. They all seemed to admire his work, and more importantly, they admired the man. It was about who the man was more then what he did he each Sunday morning.
Coming from the media, it was interesting that co-workers continually noted his deep faith, how he had even had an audience with the Pope and how he would often console people and tell them that he was praying for them, when troubles came. As one of his colleagues stated, "He really meant that he would pray for you. It was not just a convenient phrase." The archetypes of the news media, who live largely on the east coast, often appear aloof and condescending to what is called "small town values." Many might share the perception which Presidential candidate Obama uttered a few weeks ago, that middle America "clings to its faith." This, of course, did not appear to be a compliment.
"Faith" or "Christianity" does not come to mind when we picture those in the high powered towers of New York City's network news. We must remember that it was just four years ago when much of the media was absolutely dumbfounded at the idea that faith, and faith issues were important to the American people when President Bush won a second term. I distinctly recall one commentator, who was confused and aghast at the fact that the media had misread the American peoples view point. He seemed to say, "How is it that the country does not think the same as the sophisticated media or our eastern liberal culture?" "Why does this country have a problem with pro-choice, gay marriage, etc?" It was as if someone had hit him in the face with a pie.
Thus when Tim Russert passed away, the media might have felt a little uncomfortable talking about the convictions of this man of faith. They recognized that this was at the heart of this man, because of his actions, and the love he frequently expressed for both his elderly father and his own son. It was equally unusual to hear commentators express their conviction that he was in heaven. Instead of the usual politically correct, new agey "Universal creator in another dimension" sort of humanist thinking, the Christian notion of heaven was unabashedly rolled out. It was refreshing to see that they grasped that there was something in this man's life that was bigger then whatever he had accomplished. He knew he had been blessed over and over. He talked about his faith upbringing and about prayer openly to colleagues and friends and even on the air. So should it come as any surprise that the descriptions of Russert were about a man who was decent, honest and who played fair? Isn't this a part of being a man who has Christ in his life?
A few years ago, Russert had written a heartfelt book about his Dad and his relationship with him, called Big Russ and Me . It seemed ironic that Russert would pass away on Father's Day weekend. The book talked about his love for his father, a World War II veteran who came home to raise his four children, working two jobs and never complaining. Yet, it was how his father had impacted his sons' life that was so important. His father, a hard-working and modest man, taught by good example . Too often we forget that all of us are teaching lessons to our children through our behavior. What we exemplify, how we handle life, what we treasure, what we honor, what we value and whether we value the children we bring into the world, does not go unnoticed. One of the words that kept popping up about his father was the word 'sacrifice.' His father was part of the "greatest generation" that seemed ready to give almost anything to their country and to their families with little complaint. They did not seem to want for more unlike the generations that have followed. Sacrifice was a principle understood, which meant that raising your children, making a marriage work and forming a strong family, often involved sacrifice.
Today, 'sacrifice' is a vague concept for many parents. Children do not always come first. Material things matter too much to all of us. In the last thirty years, we have had fewer families being formed as it has become a common practice for couples to skip marriage even when they are having children. Often the fathers eventually skip out of the relationship all together.
There are even those who question whether two parents, or a father are all that important in a child's development. For anyone who wants to actively pursue this notion, one can easily examine our prisons where the data tells us that there is a direct correlation to those incarcerated and the abandonment by their fathers.
Indeed, even in the Christian faith there have been many who have sought to change all references to God as being our "father in heaven" by making him non-gender specific. The feminist movement often prompted claims by a vocal few that they just could not relate to a "father" figure god. Thus, 'God the Father' was dubbed a whole host of ambiguous, de-personalized names to suit their ideas. But was it suitable to God?
Which brings us to the real point in all of this and that would be, is God the Father in your life? How we perceive God and understand who he is, is the crux of the matter. Simply Google the word Father in the New Testament, and you will find hundreds of references by Jesus addressing God as "Father." Indeed he never called him anything else. Jesus did not refer to God as "a stream of consciousness" or "an energy force in the universe" or "my mother-father supreme being." He was always "my Father in Heaven." In teaching prayer, Jesus began with the words: "Our Father who is in Heaven." Over and over we hear the word "Father,"- a distinct term without ambiguity, uttered by the one who said, "No one knows the Father except the Son...."
Can we can truly understand fatherhood without knowing our Father in heaven? Jesus laid out countless examples of God as the personal and approachable father who gives us mercy, grace and unending love. Whether Jesus depicted God as the shepherd or the father of the prodigal son who returned to him, there was never a suggestion that God is anything but a loving and forgiving father who knows every hair on our head, every thing that we need and every desire of our heart. Jesus said, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
Yesterday, fatherhood was celebrated in our nation, where often fathers are not mindful of what an impact a father can make on their children. Dismissing fatherhood as just another form of parenting is like dismissing God as just another form of spirituality. Tim Russert had a good father who did his best. He was far from perfect. Yet, Russert had the perception to recognize how important his father's role was in shaping his own role as a father. He also understood that no father on earth can ever be perfect. However, perfection in fatherhood is only found in our Almighty Father in Heaven, the ultimate father for all of us. It is left to us to understand, that no matter how successful our human Father's have been, our Father-God in heaven is the best father we will ever know.
Bible references:
Matthew 11:26-28
Matthew 7:8-12
Free Thinking Christianity VS., Listening to the Reality of God
June 9 , 2008
A few years ago there was an ad for a cell phone company that you will all remember. The man in the ad would go to various locations and ask, "Can you hear me now?" At that time I wrote an article talking about the God we have, the Judeo-Christian God, the one truth, who unlike all other religions searches us out rather then the other way around. At that time, "can you hear me now?" seemed to fit God whom we know is asking humanity this question, but because of our human failings, and our entrenchment in our lives, we end up rarely giving thoughts to God and eternity. The question, however today, is not only "can you hear me now?" but also, "is anyone listening?"
During this spring, I have concentrated on many articles concerning the Oprah phenomena of faith on the web and her new age beliefs. I am sure she is heartened to hear that so many conservative Christian organizations, churches, pastors, and individuals such as myself, have reacted to what she has to say in her foray onto the web with new age religion. It may seem to her that her point has been proven that conservative Christians live with doctrine and cannot "take God out of the box" as she suggests that we should do.
In the June Coral Ridge Church newsletter, called IMPACT, from Coral Ridge Ministries started by the late Rev. D. James Kennedy, they quote Oprah saying, "I am a Christian who thinks there are many more paths to God then Christianity...I am a free thinking Christian." This statement may not seem all that bad to many Christians. In fact, I would guess, without hesitation, that many Christians, and that surprisingly, many Christian church denominations would agree with her, having no problem with her statement.
We must remember that part of our cultural indoctrination, is that we are supposed to embrace diversity. What that means is ambiguous because no one fully explains what that actually looks like or defines what it truly means. Thus, we all end up forming assumptions. It can be anything from hiring people from many cultural backgrounds, or having restaurants with ethnic food, all the way to believing wholeheartedly that all religions are the same and going in the same direction. The last part of this comment is the one that is most troubling because it is not true, moreover, it cannot be true. This has the greatest impact on our lives because it involves our eternity.
Looking at the idea that all religions are the same or headed in the same direction is important. Many years ago before I truly came to Christ, I might have agreed with Oprah. Although raised in a supposed Christian church, this liberal church prided itself on the very thing that Oprah claims about being "free thinking." I came to some sort of conclusion there, as I puzzled over why there were so many religions in the world, that it must have been God's design and that all these religions and enlightened prophets were a way of God connecting to a diverse humanity. I reasoned that this was because not every culture would be able to embrace the "Jesus thing." Therefore, an Oriental person, would feel more comfortable with Buddha and those in India with Hinduism, and those in Japan with the Shinto faith etc. I never questioned that God's love would not extend to all humankind even if they were not believers in Jesus, or rejected God altogether. Thus, the door to all of humanity, no matter how they lived or believed was open to heaven.
How had I come to this conclusion? Had I read it somewhere or listened to a fact based lecture? Not at all. But living in this culture, I was fed this message. A key component is that nothing in the church I attended led me to believe otherwise. Within the culture, part of the message also seemed to say that one must not only respect other religions but embrace some part of them. But there was a catch. You would not ask a Muslim or Hindu to consider some part of Christianity as an adjunct to those religions, but, it constantly questioned why Christianity would not discontinue its evangelism and its claim that Jesus was the only route to heaven. Indeed, there are churches all around us and some church denominations who have bought this cultural message, preaching it as if it was ordered by Christ, himself.
The message Jesus spoke was clear, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There does not seem to be an exception for alternative belief systems or "free-thinking Christianity" here. Jesus pointed the way to heaven over and over, whether he said, "Come follow me," or "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." "I and the Father are one."
How is it that we so easily dismiss that important and powerful statement? Where are the loopholes that we seem to be looking for that would allow us to hedge our bets on what other faiths think, or what we have conjured up in our new age, "diversity" minds as the ultimate authority. Is God all powerful, or are we? Pastor Rick Warrens defines sin as "when we decide we are the true god in our lives." This is precisely the thinking that new age religion, our culture and Oprah are promoting.
What we have lost in this malaise, is reality. Let us begin with the Bible. No where in the word of God, has God said through any prophet or through his son that all religions are the same, equal or are just one more path to heaven. Christianity is exclusive because God did not need other ambassadors of faith to proclaim his glory. Jesus, His Son, was the ultimate messenger, the quintessential witness from God, the awe empowering gift of love. But who are we listening to? Is it the new age religion gurus, or churches that have caved into the culture or to ourselves as we form our own set of beliefs based on our thinking we consider inspired? There is a constant thread in all of this. While many will listen to Oprah or pay attention to a new age book, the Bible will remain closed as if God's word is ineffectual. The question remains, how can we possibly know God, if we only skim the surface of his word or take the parts that suit our conclusions? God is not a pie to be divided. He is the whole dish to be savored and all the parts are important.
Logic should tell us that when a son is offered up for us to atone for the sin in our lives on a bloody cross, that this is a big deal and we ought to listen. Logic should tell us that when a man crucified and declared dead, is resurrected to life, to walk the earth, becoming the living God, that we ought to listen. Logic should tell us that there is no other message out there in any other religion quite like the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. Logic should indicate to us that we are small-minded, forgetting and falling away as we become confused, which is the pleasure of the evil one. Logic should tell us that by all indications, the Messiah who was hoped for and prophesized, came for us as promised. Logic should tell us that we can do whatever we want with our thinking, but in the end it will not hold when we come before God if we have denied the exclusivity of His Son. Logic should tell us that being diverse does not mean and cannot mean that all square pegs must fit round holes. They are not meant to. God did not mean for his son to be one of many paths. He meant him always and emphatically to be the only path. Logic tells us that we need to listen.
Louie, Louie and Lemmings: the quest for enlightment!
May 12, 2008
You may remember a song from 1963 called "Louie, Louie," which has been played by countless high school pep bands. The beat and tune are unmistakable. However, there is one unique problem with this catchy icon of the '60's rock and roll era--the words in the song are almost indistinguishable. There have been many interpretations as to what the performers are saying but no one has accurately deciphered the actual words of this one-hit-wonder. So it is a song open to interpretation. Like this song, with words that are muddled and incomprehensible and yet catchy and entertaining, modern day religious beliefs in the world of 'new age religions' and secular humanism seem to have a similar problem.
A few weeks ago I began a quest to discover the religion of Oprah as she follows a host of 'new age' philosophers while seemingly abandoning her Christian beginnings. Previously, I mentioned some of the precepts to which she adheres. One of them - that who you are, requires no belief- appears especially confusing, but it seems to be at the heart of the matter . This is an interesting statement, and like the "Louie, Louie" song, is one that is open to interpretation. The idea that who we are , means we do not need any beliefs, seems antithetical if not impossible. How can we not be what we believe? I am not talking about if we believe the presidential winner will be Obama or McCain, or whether it will rain today and I do not think that is what new ageism is talking about either. But what they are saying is that we should drop all belief systems in regards to religion. The promoters of this thinking often talk about being open to a "new way of looking at things."
Being open implies that if you come with any standards, you will need to throw them out, which means that you must also open yourself up to accepting a new set of beliefs. For new agers, this means that God is flowing through all of us, all the time; that he is not a 'Father' presence anywhere specific other then in us. Hence, there is no need to worship God or call upon him because, as Oprah states, "he is a state, he just is." This is what is called the pantheist view of the world. For example, new agers proclaim that heaven is no longer a place but a state of consciousness and so too is God simply a state of consciousness.
When her latest guru of new age religion, Eckhart Tolle, was interviewed about the existence of an after life, he remarked that he never gives it a thought. That might be because much of new age religion promotes the idea that we all will be reincarnated as we build lives to a higher self. Yet, here is the dilemma in this concept, especially if we are to accept the idea that God is simply a state of consciousness: what happens once we are perfected? More importantly, who decides we have made it to that next rung on the improvement ladder or need to be sent back? And even more practically, who or what sends us back into another stage of transformation? Let me suggest that this theory of life and life beyond seems to have little assurance.
Furthermore, if we consider carefully what new age believers are contending, it should lead us to conclude that if, indeed, we are all gods ourselves, or that God is running through all of us all the time, then wouldn't it make sense that we ought to be able to live better on this earth then the human record indicates? How is it that we have not achieved peace on earth or peace in our lives by making good choices? How do we explain murders, child molesters, rapists etc. if "God" is present in each of us?
I suspect that the new age believer would be anxious to tell me that it is because we have succumbed to believing in the wrong stuff since we have held on to God in the traditional sense - this 'bigger then everything God' who we are to worship - when all along we could have been worshipping the inner god in all of us, while searching and realizing our potential.
In the mind of Oprah she has found what she considers 'truth.' But there is a catch to all of this. By what authority did these theories divest themselves? Please consider the source. Out of human minds with human ideas and expectations comes "new age truth." Although new age religion may acknowledge some sort of greater power, that power is conversely diminished to the size of every human being with all our failings, frailties, temptations, and issues that we carry with us each day. We must remember that the objective of new age religion is the empowerment of the individual and not life with an eternal God. Of course, it sounds good to tell yourself that you are in control, and that what you think is the power of God himself. Yet, unlike the promise in Christ, there is no contract with anything that will give us a guarantee.
New age thinking basically disregards the Bible as a potent communication from God. So critical to what they contend, is this question: how do you know that your theories are the truth? This is the essential difference between a new age concept and what God has actually proclaimed. The God of the Bible, was a real presence, choosing the nation of Israel, revealing himself over and over again throughout the ages through the prophets and most importantly, through his son, Jesus. Throughout the whole Bible, truth was the objective to be shared. It reached its pinnacle in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. We know for a fact, from eyewitness accounts that Jesus died and was raised up from the dead. It is much more then theory. And it was Jesus who spoke repeatedly that he was not just a light but the light in the world. He consistently talked of bringing the truth but more importantly of being the truth to be known. His cross opened a real doorway not to foolish thinking but to the real eternal God. We need only to read Apostle Paul's profound words in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”
Where is the harm? Why can't people, including Oprah, believe what they want? On the web site provided by The Truth Be Told organization, which discusses what Oprah and her philosophical guru's are expounding, there is an image used of people walking towards a cliff in a line like lemmings ready to fall. The harm is that this flagrant untruth which has been packaged in a lot of ‘good times' feelings with the aid of a powerful TV persona, is leading people by the millions to take a fall they will never recover from. Like the “Louie” song that we have difficulty deciphering, this new age thinking sounds good, it is catchy and it is entertaining but the real question is “is it the truth?” We can all be lemmings lined up on a path that we think is harmless. We can listen to a belief system that raises our consciousness but we must always wonder why our Father in heaven who has given us his Son, and promised us eternal life in his dying breath on the cross, is still not enough for us that we should look elsewhere.
To Be Called Daughter
May 12, 2008
Mother's Day prompted me to think about how important the role of women are in Gods world. Women fulfill a complex and important role in our society and have from the beginning of time. Besides giving birth to the world's population, women are the nurturers, homemakers, peace makers, caretakers, organizers, calendar aficionados, controllers of much of family life, value setters, patience boosters, problem solvers, chefs, craft and decorator personnel, cleaners, washers, teachers and now in the last 40 years, they have also become the bread winners often as working mom's or single parents. Can we all give one large exhale? It is no wonder that women are stressed, have an increase in heart disease and other stress related health problems. No matter who we are, our jobs seem to never end, even when we walk in the door of our home after a long day at work. At this point, it begins the routine of home tasks whether it is cooking a meal, cleaning a closet or making sure the homework gets done. Is there any rest?
For many women, who looked for liberation in the 1960's so they would be able to climb the corporate ladder, or to simply have a job, in reality it appears we have just made our lives more demanding. Can we do it all, we ask ourselves? Probably, the answer in the last ten years has become more realistic then it was in the 1970's when the song came out about “I am woman, hear me roar.” It is not that easy. Having it all is next to impossible. Energy and stamina last just so long. Children are unpredictable. Family situations can be wonderful one day and horrendous the next. Life isn't neat and tidy and goes according to plan. Homes and families need consistent and continual attention. Relationships need to be fed and given time. Flexibility and compromise become lessons in life and our motto as we mature.
Which brings us back to: how does God see us as women? We can instantly think of the many roles that women play in the Bible from Ruth to, Mary, the mother of Jesus. These are not small roles, but like all roles, not everyone is meant to be a star. For instance, the woman at the well in John 4, is an ordinary Samaritan woman, who has little going for her. The Jews and Samaritans detested one another. Apparently, this woman had led an immoral life, which Jesus reveals his knowledge of this to her, to which she is surprised that he would know this information. Her past has evidently meant that she is somewhat ostracized from other women because she is at the well alone and not with the usual social groups of women. However, the important part is what Jesus reveals to this outcast Samaritan woman. They begin a dialogue about spiritual longings and soon he tells her that both Jews and Samaritans will abandon their ancient rituals and worship God “in spirit and in truth.” When she inquires about the messiah to come, it is here that Jesus tells this woman “I A m the Messiah!” Who could have predicted that her story would find its way into the Bible? Who could have known that a lowly Samaritan woman would be the messenger to her village about Jesus? From this moment on, the woman has been transformed, her eyes and heart are opened. She leaves for her village and tells everyone about what she has heard and who she has encountered and soon they come to find Jesus and listen to him. This unlikely woman plays a role in Christ's ministry. But the message is much greater then just to the Samaritans and Jews. This part of Christ's ministry reminds us that Jesus came for all humanity.
Another important, yet anonymous woman, is the one we find who is caught in adultery and brought to Jesus. We never learn her name, but it is what happens in the sequence of events in the scene painted in John 8:3-12 that is so breathtaking. The scribes and the Pharisees in the Jewish ‘establishment' who despised Jesus often tried to test him with moral questions. And so they bring a woman to him who has been caught in adultery. This meant that her accusers could stone her to death. An amazing scenario takes place. Jesus does not jump up and condemn her, nor does he free her. Instead he writes something in the sand “as though he did not hear,” John tells us. Soon he replies “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” The angry mob disperses, leaving only the woman. Although, Jesus condemns the crowds self-righteousness, he also makes the point of telling the woman this: “Go and sin no more.” Once again a woman is used to proclaim the mercy of God. Moreover, this scene proclaims what the expectations are from Jesus and the Father: that with mercy comes a lesson to be learned, a life changed, a new direction, and to not fall back on sinful ways. This woman symbolizes all of us. As we are aware that there are many sins that we commit, we also can be assured that our Father waits for our understanding and decision to move away from that sin which is harmful to our emotional, mental, and spiritual well being. In essence, stop listening to raunchy music, watching programs on the media that you would find embarrassing before the Lord, stop doing the things that you know without hesitation are not worthy of God's glory etc. The list is long for each of us and even longer for this fallen and desperately lost world. But the statement “go and sin no more” is one that we must listen to, and most importantly, remember who said it.
Finally, another woman comes to mind in Matthew 9:15. Jesus is busily preaching and making his way when Matthew tells us that “the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him.” This leader's daughter has just died and he asks Jesus to come and raise her from the dead. As he and the disciples are going off with him, “a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.”
This appears to be a tiny moment in the ministry of Jesus, but it speaks volumes to us, especially as women. Here is the example of the faith that God recognizes immediately—the seeker of redemption and healing, that Jesus encountered so often. Yet, it is also about what happens here. The woman is healed. Her prayers are answered as swiftly as she could have thought of them. His presence was all that was needed. His word changed her life. Her faith held her up as the exception ,rather than her affliction which had nearly ruined her life.
Most touching is what Jesus calls this woman. Here he distinguishes her with a very personal name. He calls her ‘daughter.' It is tender and endearing and familiar. For one moment, in all the words that Jesus speaks, he speaks directly to a woman's heart, giving her a place as a daughter, as a beloved child of God.
There are times when all women feel alone even in the midst of family. So much seems to depend on us. We are the go to person in the family. We are the ones who always have a shoulder for others, time to listen, and the instincts with our children that tell us when something is right or something is wrong. It is, therefore, such a blessing to know that we are never alone even when we may feel alone, downtrodden or overwhelmed. It is important always to remember how loved we are as God's creation and that we know we can be called ‘daughter' by our Father in Heaven. Happy Mother's Day to all women.
Oprah's Search for the Spirituality of the Self
May 5, 2008
A few weeks ago, I began probably an unpopular quest-- to question the almighty—no not God the almighty, but the almighty on television. Who can be considered more popular and acceptable then Oprah Winfrey? If she likes your book, and promotes it you are a millionaire. If she chooses your product line or designer label, your sales will escalate enormously. If she discusses any particular lifestyle with compassion and understanding, it becomes something we might consider, find sympathy towards or retrain our thinking.
As I have examined what she is professing as her belief system, I have considered whether this is really important. Does it matter? The more I have dug into this topic the more I have concluded that it does matter. Oprah reaches millions and her influence is not something to toss aside. I have come to the conclusion that if anyone deludes themselves into thinking that this woman is a Christian, they have made a mistake. Although, she may seem to reflect some Christian values—loving one another and forgiveness—that is about as far as the similarity extends itself.
Oprah is a bit of an enigma. I call her an enigma because like many very successful people, who are liberal in their thinking and appear to pass judgment on others for not doing enough for this world, she lives extremely well. I recently looked at one of her “O” magazines while waiting for an appointment. One of her many homes was featured. Lavish is just one word you might use to describe it. And it is just one of her homes! There was a quote that appeared across the picture of a fabulously, beautiful gazebo on her property and it said in effect, “people ask me why I need all of this and I tell them that I need a sanctuary in my life and this is it.”
The enigma also occurs because, although she appears to have shared her wealth in some situations, such as the school she built in South Africa, at the same time she is also quite pleased to display her enormous wealth, through her magazine and elsewhere. Are all the giveaways on her show out of her pocket? Actually no, they are out of the show budget. So are the perceptions of her a bit skewed when we automatically assume that all the good works attached to Oprah's name, are funded by Oprah herself?
Much of what we admire about Oprah stems from her new age thinking that she has embraced. In essence it says, “here I am, a self made woman, coming up from poverty and a troubled childhood and teenage life, and look at me, I have done it all. This is what I have accomplished: see how wonderfully I have made myself, how beautifully I have chosen all the right things, and how outstanding my decision making has been as I have achieved so much. I am someone to be reckoned with.”
Which beckons the question; “is this all about ego?” People may think that she is very confident, rather then egotistical, because she does do good works. Yet, it is her success that provides a confidence, bordering on arrogance that allows her to make pronouncements on spirituality and lift up those she approves. Ego is described in the dictionary as “conceit or self-importance.” In examining the new-age religion that she is promoting, not just through occasional shows, but through a weekly course on the web, it becomes clear that the religious new-age philosophy that she touts is linked directly to the humanist egocentric idea that “man” is at the center of all things. It works for her. God takes not only a back seat role; he actually does not exist as an entity because according to Oprah and her guru's, he is simply a consciousness. That is a far cry from the Judeo-Christian personal God-Father.
Let us look at what the new-agers claim. In the video clip, sited here in the past, we see Oprah talking about her beliefs. She uses some key words that are troubling. She says, “I was able to take God out of the box … and search for more then doctrine.” What is troubling about this comment is that I am not sure what ‘doctrine' she is referring to. Is it the Bible? If it is, then we can assume that the Bible is not seen as God's word or as Truth, it is simply some sort of doctrine. The reason that I can suggest this, is that Oprah goes on to tell us how she has spent years in a quest for other answers. She does not say, “I have spent years reading the Bible or talking with Christian religious persons.” Indeed, let us look at the large list of ‘new age' thinkers that she has had on her show and many of whom became fixtures on her programs. Named as those who have frequented her program are Marianne Williamson, Iyanla Vanzant, Betty Eadie, Gary Zukav and Deepak Chopra. All of these people are self-styled spiritual leaders and they contribute to a thinking that says that it is not about God who commands you but about finding a religion that empowers you. Oprah credits Eric Butterworth, a Unity minister and the author of ‘Discover the Power within You' , as one of her most influential in her new-found spirituality. She promotes his book on her web site and says, “This book changed my perspective on life and religion. Eric Butterworth teaches that God isn't “up there”. He exists inside each one of us, and it's up to us to seek the divine within.”
So who is Eric Butterworth and what does he teach? Briefly, his basic premise is that the power within each individual is God as the force or energy that permeates all of creation.
Butterworth misuses Scripture and twists it to suit his own understanding. For example he states that, “The message of the Gospels has been misunderstood. They have been made to appear to say that Jesus was really God taking the form of man . . . It fails to catch the real theme of His teaching: the Truth of the Divinity of Man.” Butterworth goes on to say: “We must see Jesus as the great discoverer of the . . . great world within. We must study and emphatically reject our historical tendency to worship Jesus. When He becomes the object of our worship, He ceases to be the way-shower for our own self-realization and self-unfoldment.”
As a Christian, can we all say the word ‘travesty,' because this is a mockery and an obliteration of the truth. But he is not the only one who obliterates the truth. Her author of the moment, Eckhart Tolle who is the teacher on the web cast seen by millions declares this in his book, “Man made God in his own image, the eternal, the infinite and un-namable was reduced to a mental idol that you had to worship.” Incidentally, Oprah claims to just love this quote! We must conclude from what Tolle is indicating that man made up God. God never sought us out, never gave us his name so that we could call upon him, never, declared in any way that he existed as a real being—a Father in heaven. Even Jesus called upon Him as His Father. And what about Jesus? I must have missed the part where Jesus says, “I am just a mental image you have created and must worship because I am not connected to anything bigger then myself.”
In addition, Tolle acknowledges that Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” However, Tolle immediately translates this to mean: you and I are the consciousness in which the world appears. God is the essence of all consciousness. Of course, he has completely missed what Jesus meant by this statement. He takes the phrase out of context to support his thinking. Jesus is actually speaking to his disciples when he says these words as he talks to them about being the salt and light in the world. In Matthew 5:11 he states, “ God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers .” He then proceeds to tell them that they are the light of the world. More importantly, it is Jesus who says of himself, “ I have come into the world as a light , so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 12:46) This declaration is made many times by Jesus throughout scripture. He does not say that we are the light unto ourselves.
When the pope was here a few weeks ago, he spoke to a large group of youth and I could not help but focus on his words when he said in essence that truth today has become controversial and that we seem to have concluded in this cultural that there are many truths. He spoke eloquently that this cannot be so. Jesus, he stated, was the Truth of God, the only Truth, the everlasting Truth. There can be no other.
In the search that Oprah leads, we can only find deceit. We must remember that this is not something new or unusual. Apostle Paul addressed this when he asked in 1 Corinthians 1:20- 25, “ Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.”
Generations after Paul wrote these words, we continue to live amongst those who have not bothered to explore what God has to say. In fact, they do not seem to really care what God has to say. They have dismissed everything that is Holy and everything that was paid for by the blood of the lamb. They find intrigue and answers in their own mind. I wonder what it will be like for Oprah when she stands before God, if indeed she continues down this path. It will be amazing for her to see that there really was only one path to heaven and one truth. Possibly in one fleeting moment the shock will set in that alas, the Bible was all truth and that every word she spoke was foolishness and caustic to the Father who gave her his Son.
Nurturing the Word: Energize Your Faith
April 28, 2008
Most of us are familiar with the parable that Jesus preaches in Luke 8 where he is before a large crowd and begins to teach about a farmer who went out to sow some seed. In the parable some seed is scattered along a path and is trampled on, and "the birds of the air eat it." Other seed falls on rock, and the plants "wither because they had no moisture." Still other seed falls among thorns, whose plants are choked. But there is other seed that falls into good soil. And this we are told comes up and yields "a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
Jesus's disciples asked him what this parable meant. He tells them that the meaning of this parable is this: that the seed is the word of God. He explains what happens to the word of God when people hear it. It is not automatic that this word gets through to all of us so that we immediately are able to comprehend or assimilate it. People are not immediately transformed because some people may be far more influenced by other worldly things, some will just not care and some will seem to understand but their faith is frail and dissolves. He tells us that those seeds in the parable scattered "along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved." "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Luke 8:4-14 This brings up the question, which seed are represented by each of us?
During the past few weeks, I have been examining some of what the "new age" religious philosophy is that is being touted especially by one very famous person. Of course, that would be Oprah Winfrey and the author Eckhart Tolle who have a web broadcast in which millions are viewing the philosophy of a new age religion. Much of what I have been addressing in the last two weeks has been about how our culture and people such as Tolle, Oprah and a host of others have turned their back on the real living God who has given us his precious and profound "word" and his equally precious Son and just walked away. It seems quite clear that they are the "ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved." Today I am going to diverge a bit because I want to share with this audience about something that is coming up that I believe is rather important.
In the first sentence of the book of John, we hear this: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." It is really critical that we pay close attention to this verse. This is a concept statement that needs a discerning eye, mind and heart to fully comprehend what John is saying here. The "word" becomes the spark of life and the essence of God and who he is and how powerful his word is. This 'word' denotes God's enormous presence and infinite, unmistakable power. The second sentence places Jesus right there - at the beginning and with the word. It is a complicated concept but it is meant to direct our attention as to how vastly important the "word" is. This is not just people talking. This is not simply blathering or pontificating on the part of God. This is the initiation of the universe. This is the engine of all creation, of all materials, organisms, compositions and of every single particle of life from the smallest nano substance in the universe to the entire solar system. So is the word important? How can it not be? Furthermore, how is it that so many, including Oprah, can shrug off the "word" of God, as if our own minds have been given the tools to come up with better formulas and more fragrant insights.
Although this is puzzling, it is repeatedly happening right before our eyes. The really frightening part is that this is not just occurring amongst the public with no real insight into Christianity or any faith, but it is actually occurring in certain Christian churches where the "word" is seen almost as secondary to philosophers, theologians and thinkers such as Tolle who have a diverging and non-biblical view and who take the authority of God lightly while leaning on their own understanding. Increasingly, it has become so important that we know the word of God. Can a public fall victim to the untruths being promoted by 'new age' belief systems? Of course it can, especially if the public is picking human thinking over and over, and above God's truth.
This brings us back to the "word." What are you spending your time with these days? When it comes to our faith enrichment, how many of us tell ourselves, "I really should do this or that" or "someday I will get to it?" How is this working for you?
Deepening faith and a relationship to God that is powerful and meaningful is not something that we can just lay on a table and hope it will get bigger and better because we would like it to happen. Like most things, it takes some effort and commitment on our part. That is why I am going to tell you about an event coming up next week that will be available to all interested women in the area. It is called Energize Your Faith and it is an idea born out of getting right with your body through "eating right and moving more." However, here we are going to strive for "getting right with God" in a 40 day time period where each woman will have the opportunity to make a plan and watch their relationship to Jesus grow. The event is hosted by the women's ministries at Bethesda Lutheran Brethren Church at 123 W. Hamilton Ave. in Eau Claire on Tuesday, May 6 th at 6:30 in the evening. It is a free program that will feature a speaker who will encourage us in getting started in developing a 40 day plan of action to energize each persons faith. No plan will be the same from person to person. But each woman will need to consider carefully how they can do the spiritual things that they have always meant to do, and then go beyond the routine they have now.
In Energize Your Faith, your plan can include a multitude of methods to energize your faith from attending a Bible study, listening to Christian music to journaling about what you are reading. Prayer, quiet time, theme studies, Christian books, devotionals etc. all will count. It is the time and commitment that will be the key factor in this challenge to all busy, multi-tasking women. In addition, we will have many resources to assist you further.
Therefore, I am inviting all women to please, come for dessert, find out about what this can mean for you, and bring a friend, call a neighbor, help others to get in touch with their Father in Heaven and Christ's saving grace. Please let us know that you are coming by calling Lisa Phillips at 878-9620 by May 4.
Let us help each other to be the ones where the seed lands on good soil and "who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
We Will All Bow Down
April 21, 2008
"Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God." Psalm 95:6-7
Last week, I began examining Oprah Winfrey's new age beliefs - a woman who has been blessed with enormous success and wealth. She has now also become not just someone who has an interest in new-age thinking and religion, but is its chief promoter of this belief. Oprah probably considers herself Christian in some remote aspect, mostly because she was raised Baptist. But that has long passed and since her early 20's she has been on a quest to discover anything but Christ.
Recently, a video clip has been out that introduces us to Oprah's promotion of The New Earth, a book by Eckhart Tolle, a new-age philosopher, and what it is expounding. In this clip, we are informed as to exactly what Tolle and his promoter Oprah are teaching. Some might say, "so what, let her promote this book, what is the harm?" It is important to note that Oprah has offered up a ten week instructional web cast about this "The New Earth" belief system. That might not seem concerning, but only if we have a strong reading, thinking and discerning public with great Biblical understanding. However, we are not afforded this important bastion against ignorance about God and Christ. And here are the scary numbers. Oprah is reaching upwards of two million people with this web broadcast. Can we all say "impact."
If you are thinking that this does not affect us here in the Chippewa Valley, let me assure you that it does. We already have a new-age church here in Eau Claire. In a recent article in the religion page of the Eau Claire Leader Telegram, the minister of this church wrote about "being in the now" which is the concept that is floated out not by the Bible, or by Christian theologians but by Eckhart Tolle in his first book, The Power of Now. Indeed, I can predict, almost without hesitation, many who I am sure would find this book and thinking, interesting if not OK. These are individuals who have little time for God's word nor seek a real relationship with the Father or His Son and view church as more of an obligation, then a place to worship a real living God.
Tolle says, "I only write and speak about one thing. Spiritual awakening. One must have an openness, a receptivity to spiritual truth and the text must have a transformative power. This means the words must have come out of an awakened consciousness and not out of accumulated knowledge of the mind. The terminology must be neutral so that it transcends any one culture, religion or spiritual tradition."
OK - I think I got it. According to Tolle, those of us who believe in God and in Christ are spiritually unawake. We need to forget everything we know about all this God stuff and Jesus in particular and anything else that we have come to know as the truth and then we must drop even the resemblance of the language we have used. Hence, truth is what you make it and what your inner most consciousness creates. Furthermore, God is not a word to be used, let alone Christ. So is there a harm in this, you may be asking yourself?
The answer can be seen as we examine what is actually being preached as the thinking by Tolle and other new age religious guru's. First and foremost, we all need to understand that this is about the power of 'Self.' In fact in new-age writings, the word 'self' is most often capitalized much like we capitalize "God" in Christian writings. That has to be our first clue, that there is no higher authority then what we individually think and believe to be true even though it is based in a human existence that does not acknowledge God as the personal-relationship-seeking Father that he is.
Here are the teachings taken directly from the leaders website, which I will be examining in future broadcasts:
- Who you are requires no belief
- Heaven is not a location but refers to the inter-realm of consciousness
- The man on the cross is an archetypal image. He is everyman and every woman.
- My mind is part of God. I am very Holy.
- My holiness is my salvation
- My salvation comes from me
- Let me remember that there is no sin
- Do not make the pathetic error of 'clinging to the old rugged cross.'
- The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross
As I read these precepts of Tolle's new-age thinking, I am attempted to scream blasphemy, which indeed it is. This thinking is all mirrors and smoke - a lot of ambiguous language that is about nothing and comes from nothing. How is it that we can dismiss the creator of all things and his message to us, so easily?
In the short video clip I have referenced before, Oprah tells us that she began to question her faith when she was in her twenties. She was listening to the preachers talk about this all loving, omnipresent God who also said he was a jealous God. For her this raised the question, "how can he be jealous and of what, me?" As she stated this, it becomes very clear that this intelligent woman of the world, is rather pathetic in what she comprehends about our Lord God in the Bible. Evidently, she never pursued finding out what God meant by the Old Testament declaration that he is a "jealous God." While she claims the importance of an open mind, she has closed her mind to the truth as God has presented it.
No Oprah, God is not jealous of you. He is jealous that we do not worship him and chose our own path rather then the path he has clearly laid out for all humanity from the beginning. He is jealous when He has delivered His Son into our hands and we have placed him on a cross through rejection of Him. He is jealous, that even though he allowed His Son to die for us so that we might be relieved of our sins, washed clean and raised up from the dead, we continue to think, as you do, that we can come up with something better. He is jealous that we would think that we are as powerful as He is and that we can come to our own truth and our own salvation through sheer will of thought and not with the creator of the universe being present in anything we can conceive. He is jealous that we would consider that he 'just is' as you, Oprah, have stated, and that belief in him is not something to do, it is foolishness. Oprah, you have said that God "is just a feeling and an experience" and "if God for you is about a belief, it is not truly God."
Oprah, you have taken God, the creator of all life, and made God a particle of dust that permeates the air we breathe - yes, he is everywhere, but he has little significance in our life now or what it will become upon our death.
In 2 Peter 1:1-3 , Peter states ... 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. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping . I cannot help but wonder, if this was written exactly about persons such as Oprah and Eckhart Tolle.
In the praise song called "We All Bow Down," we are reminded that at the end of our lives, there will be many who will be surprised that their belief system did not point the way down the path to the light they thought they had discovered. The words tell us: "Princes and paupers, sons and daughters kneel at the throne of grace. Losers and winners, saints and sinners one day will see his face. And we'll all bow down. Kings will surrender their crowns and worship Jesus. Worship Jesus, for He is the love, unfailing Love. He is the Love of God."
Wolves, Sheep and Oprah
April 14, 2008
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." " At [the end of the age] many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."
Matthew 7:14 and 24:11
Warning signs come in many shapes and colors and we rely on them to remain safe. Jesus gave us this warning about the signs for our spiritual integrity and safety, so that our path to a relationship with the one true God the Father and His son would not be broken or diverged from, nor would we leave the understanding of the truth that Jesus brought to us. As he clearly states, there will be false teachers, prophets and false faiths throughout history. When he says to "watch out … They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves," I often wonder, that as Christians, if many of us have become complacent, assuming that this is all ancient history and we no longer need to be concerned with new religious movements because Christianity has withstood the test of time.
Of course, this would be a naïve viewpoint, because many religions, continuously lead people to an absolute non-truth, and also continue to flourish. Hinduism, Islam, Shinto, Taosim, Buddhism, etc. have been around for quite some time, and do not appear to be going away. Mankind remains steadfast in remaining in the darkness, while calling it light. "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light." John 3:19
Whether a faith has been originated by a prophet claiming enlightenment (Buddhism), or has developed as an inspired idea by some rogue personality (L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology) most have one thing in common. They are seeking a god, or some kind of god within themselves. Their god never is seeking them.
Which brings us back to Christianity. In a book called But Don't All Religions Lead to God? , by Michael Green, he states, "There have been only two religions in world history that teach that God can be personally known by the believer. Only Judaism and ….Christianity maintain that God has given a reliable and personal disclosure of Himself to humankind. Judaism tells of God's revelation of Himself through his mighty deeds of deliverance for Israel and through the words of the prophets." "The other faith that developed this strain of divine revelation … is Christianity – or rather Jesus Christ. He claimed to be the fulfillment of all God's promises to Israel and to be the final revelation to mankind." "In him, claimed the apostle Paul, "the whole fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." "Intimacy with God is what the Christian faith is all about. That cannot be claimed for any of the others."
Since the early 1970's we have been hearing about "new age" religions. I can recall how fascinating this all seemed back in the days of Shirley MacLaine, an actress, who claimed out of body experiences and introduced us to her thinking about where we came from and where we will go. Her fame as a religious thinker flamed out fairly quickly But "New Age" did not die out. In fact it has just kept evolving and taking on new forms.
Today, we are increasing seeing the re-emergence of new age thinking in a variety of ways. As Christians, we need to heed the warnings of our savior because the sheep in wolfs clothing are growing larger and more influential each day. If you think this is not the case, then stop and ask your friends how they grew up and what people used to think were strong values, or how they viewed other religions and what was considered taboo or unacceptable. Now ask them if any of these values still stand or if what was once considered a sin, or unimaginable is now tolerated, accepted and brushed off as inconsequential. Have their views on faith changed? Have they emerged as part of the 'cultural think' that maintains that all paths to all religions lead to the same thing—as in "whatever gets you there?" Before someone says, "but times have changed," let us remember that times can change many things but values are symptoms of the rock we build any social community, nation or world upon.
In the next weeks, I will be examining some of the things that we are facing in our culture that are clearly the warning signs that Jesus talked about. We will begin with one of the most prominent figures in American entertainment. She has been described as The "Queen of Talk" and has risen to the pinnacle of the programs that are deemed to help their listeners deal with the "everydayness" of life. Her name is Oprah Winfrey and she has literally built an empire.
According to Christian Information Ministries, Oprah is viewed by upwards of 22 million viewers each week from around the world. She is syndicated in the United States, but she is likewise seen throughout the world on 112 outlets that seek her down-to-earthiness. She also has as many as two million readers of her magazine and another 115 million visitors to her Web site.
Oprah has become the most influential woman, individual, in "talk show" history with her ability to connect to so many people, primarily women. Her influence is unquestioned! But of real concern is that Oprah has also become an "effective evangelist for Postmodernism," a world view that allows the individual to accept truth on his own terms as it relates to his experience and his comfort quotient. As a result, she has become an international spiritual leader in her own right."
Currently, there is something on the web from the organization called TheTruth Be Told about Oprah and her recent promotion of the book, The New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, a new age philosopher. I will have this web site at the end of this article so that you can access this. Now, why would I say that this wonderful woman who has given cars away to an entire audience, started a school in south Africa and developed an Angel Network could possibly be a 'wolf in sheep's clothing ?' One commentator on Fox News pointed out that she has lots of topics on her show, not just new age gurus. True, however, this is about the core of the person we are talking about and the beliefs that she extols. Oprah is an extremely self-confident person who believes everything she says. Let us not forget that she was adamant, just a couple of years ago, that the book, A Million Little Pieces, was indeed the true work of author James Frey. When it was discovered that there was no truth in it, Oprah stood by him until it became blatantly uncomfortable for her to remain his promoter. But how does this fit with Oprah being a danger to our culture, when she appears that she is full of good works? The answer lies with her claim to be a Christian but her repeated denial that there can be only one path to heaven and now, that God just 'is'- the thinking exposed by her latest guru Eckhart Tolle. God, according to Tolle and Oprah is not a separate entity who created all things or that we are to seek his mercy, grace or be saved by his son. He is in no way a "Father in heaven" who seeks us out. Instead, she preaches that we are to dwell in our own divinity, our own godliness. In essence, we are the divine. And the idea of a savior - ridiculous! We are clearly able to save ourselves according to Ms. Winfrey.
As far back as 1997, NEWSWEEK stated:Oprah said that gurus are here ‘not to teach us about their divinity but to teach us about our own. ' The message that Oprah wants us to hear is "that we are "one," we are divine beings having a physical experience, and we are gods. God is not a personal being with whom we can be in relationship. Jesus is just one of many whose goal is to show mankind his way to self-discovery or his innate deity. Salvation comes by accepting this new-found "truth" and becoming fully conscious of our true self. Reincarnation is man's opportunity to eventually get it right, and to escape ignorance and judgment."
In the next couple of sessions, I hope you will join me in discovering the side of Oprah, that too many Christians have suppressed, ignored or not understood. As we turn on the TV to view her show, we need to be aware that she is offering a ten week web cast course on the book The New Earth . False teachers like Eckhart combined with a powerful promoter named Oprah, may rule peoples minds with their thinking but while doing so they are also blocking the narrow gate Jesus spoke of -- the gate to eternity.
Website: http://truthtold.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/the-church-of-oprah-exposed/
Shock and Awe
April 7, 2008
When the war in Iraq began, you may recall that the American military forces called the campaign "Shock and Awe." During this past week, as I have been dealing with the death of a loved one, I thought of this title in a different context. I began to consider that if any one of us were to die today, what would we experience upon our death? Would we be in shock or would we be in awe?
In our culture we rarely talk about death and we are not encouraged to do so. Yet, day by day, we are reminded of the presence of death as much as we are reminded of life. So much of our daily news includes the passing of individuals. Life coexists with death as a steady partner. In every facet, in which the world has been created by our Heavenly Father, death is always fiercely present, whether it is found in the changing of the seasons, the passage of time, in the growth and aging we all experience, or the loss of family and friends around us throughout our lives.
Our culture, however, tends not to acknowledge much of this. Moreover, the culture rarely deals little with the afterlife except in mere sound bites and usually considers it a part of a belief system that partially frames its thinking as if there is no end for any of us. Hence, there is botox and cosmetic surgery to keep the body looking young and in some cases, tightly strung. Yet, instinctively we all know that this is all a myth. We cannot stop the process that we are in.
It is imperative that we recognize the fact that our culture is not about God or about God's plan for all mankind. The culture is about perpetuating false hopes that diseases will disappear, and that death and what happens to us afterwards is of little concern because it has become an accepted cultural idea that we will all go to heaven. That is the message delivered over and over, however lacking in real authority that it has.
Which brings me back to 'shock and awe.' So often, while driving to church each Sunday, I see people out running, jogging, walking, biking etc. On any given Sunday morning, if one heads towards the mall area, there will be hundreds of cars parked as shoppers shop. I often cannot help but wonder how it is that so many people are not worshipping or connecting with the Father who created them. Of course, there is no way to know if every person I see walking their dog on a Sunday morning attends a church somewhere, at some other time, or is believer in God or Christ, or not. Yet, If one were to conclude that if all of these people were indeed non-worshipers or non-believers, when might they consider where they will be when their lives end? If they do not meet God in their lives presently , how will it be when they meet God when their lives have finished?
George Stephanopoulos, on his show, This Week , on ABC each Sunday morning, ends the show with the faces of the those who have passed away during the week. They, are of course, people of some renown, through politics, entertainment, as authors, artists, etc. As appropriate music plays, pictures of the departed are shown and a small paragraph appears to tell you who they were and what they did that made them famous. This gives anyone a somber jolt of reality on a Sunday morning. That somber jolt reminds us how quickly time passes, how soon we all grow old, how suddenly and unexpectedly the end can come to both young and old and, in effect, how all of our lives will end quite the same. Here is the reality: we were never meant to live an eternity on earth - not one of us. No matter how famous we might be or how infamous we may have become, no matter how much wealth or comfort we have achieved, no matter how many accomplishments we can list, none of it can hold back the passing of each life.
With a culture that deliberately treats all religions as equals and wrongly gives all religions the same purpose, the same vision, and the same ending for our lives, it is no wonder that so many people pay more attention to Oprah then they do the word of God. For some, when their lives come to an end, there will be great shock in discovering that the god they created in their own mind, the one they have banked their lives on, does not exist. Those who have spent their lives avoiding God's word, never taking the time to acknowledge His Truth, or to know that redemption was offered to each of us through His Son Jesus, will be devastated that the promise of heaven has eluded them completely.
But for those who have opened the word of God and recognized that God the Father has been looking for them all along, seeking each one of us, there will be a different story. They will be in awe of the promise that God made throughout scripture and fulfilled through His Son. Each will be reminded of the words of our savior Jesus, when he said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Recently, while observing a baptism of an infant, as the Pastor held the child in his arms and was speaking about the love, renewal, forgiveness, grace and mercy of the cross, that Christ gives us, I became aware that this is how it will be for God's children when it is our time to meet Jesus. We will be held in his arms much as the infant is held at baptism. Cradled at our life's end, by the one whose promise is everlasting Truth. And we will be in awe , beyond all words, at the mightiness of God, at the infinite, overwhelming, unmistakable, perfect love that never ends. There will be no shock. There will be no disappointment. Fear and sadness will recede. There will be just the awe of joy and the exclamation of ecstasy, as we are wrapped in the love we knew would be waiting for us.
References: John 14: 1-3, 6
Kept From Blindness
February 18, 2008
In the book of John there is a remarkable episode as Jesus is teaching and being followed by authorities who are hoping to find fault with him. Jesus comes upon a man who had been born blind and was a beggar on the streets. His disciples ask Jesus why the man is blind and if it is because of the sin of his parents or his own sin. Jesus replies, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Jesus then immediately takes mud and spit and puts it on the mans eyes and tells the man to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. Suddenly the man is able to see. Everyone gathers around and a heated discussion ensues as witnesses and those who hope to prove Jesus a charlatan hear the words of the formerly bli