Friday, August 26, 2011

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished


Ever heard this line? "No good deed goes unpunished." Ever felt this way? I have. Does that mean we stop doing the right thing? I hope not. Or else why would God gives us all these verses about suffering?
 
2Ti_3:12  ...all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

1Pe_2:20 what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But when you do good and suffer, and you endure, this is a gracious thing... 

1Pe_3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
1Pe_3:17 For it is better ... that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
 
1Pe_4:16 if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

Suffering is bad, I hate it. But I wish I didn't hate it so, I should learn to embrace it and identify with Christ even more. I don't mean I should go nail myself to a cross or crawl on my hands and knees to Nashville or anything like that. I just mean, in the course of doing the right thing and suffering for it, I ought to rejoice and  "glorify God on this behalf." 

I know and accept that not everybody likes me, or thinks I'm great, or funny, or even bright. That's OK. Disappointing but OK. I understand it. I'm an "Acquired taste." I'd like to say I'm an exquisite taste but "Acquired" is already stretching it.

But to be villified, wow! Who knew? What did I do to alienate and anger some people? I certainly didn't mean to, and it pains me to think I'm at fault here. But let's face it, if several people are mad at you whats the common denominator? You. Or in this case; me!

But until I know that I'm suffering for UN-righteousness, I'm going to force myself to rejoice and truly thank the Lord Jesus for suffering for me, and giving me even the smallest, tiniest, infinitesimal glimpse into suffering for righteousness sake.


Daniel did it, Mordecai did it, Paul and Silas did it and by the grace of God so can I.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Important Questions From Ministers and Churches

Thom Raller of Lifeway fame, has shared a few of his favorite Questions that he has received. I think they deserve a hearing... or viewing.

· Who is the worst pastor in the United States?

· Is it illegal to kill a bad deacon?

· Should I be concerned if most of the members are complaining about the length of my sermons?

· Should we report our church split as a new church start?

· Can you give me a list of all the churches in America that are either growing or not growing?

· Would you please recommend me to serve as pastor of one of the largest 100 churches that don’t currently have a pastor?

· Our church had 210 in average worship attendance a year ago. Today the attendance is 640. Is that good?

· Would you serve as a reference on my resume? I’m sorry about what I said about you on that blog.

· My wife does not like my sermons. Can you help me?

· Our church has run off seven pastors in the past eight years. Do you think we have a problem?

To that I would add some that have come my way:

  • What if my church doesn't notice when I say something heretical?
  • Our church had 110 a year ago, now its at 55, should I be concerned?
  • Is giving people a free breakfast on Sundays and a $5 gas card at the end of the service a good way to build the Kingdom?
  • What other kind of job can a pastor get if he gets fired?
  • Is it true some people pray for More funerals?

To this I would also add, love your church, love your pastor, talk to him not about him, and accept him as a frail creature of dust, desperately in need of God's wisdom.



Monday, July 18, 2011

Mr. Cain, What About Equal Rights For Muslims?

Amendment #1 To the Constitution of the United States: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


Herman Cain said cities and peoples should be able to stop a mosque from being built in their neighborhoods and city limits. I like Herman Cain. He's bringing a breath of fresh air to the Party not unlike Rev. Jackson did to the Democrats a couple decades ago. But he missed this one.



What part of "make no law" and "Free exercise" is unclear to him? If an Imam or teacher in a mosque starts making political statements they'll lose their tax exempt status. If they begin to incite violence, they'll be arrested, if they try to get Sharia law voted in, it tii will be in violation of the constitution and be overturned. There are laws for these things. But when government stops the Muslims, Buhddists, Bahai's, Hindus, Sikhs, Mormons, or even satanists from building a place of worship or meeting or what ever, then the constitution is being violated and the question MUST arise, "Who's Next? Christians and Jews?"


Here's an excellent exerpt from Ed Stetzer's recent blog that says it well:*

The Qur'an, sura 2 ayat 256, says plainly, "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out 
clear from Error: whoever rejects Taghut (evil) and believes in Allah hath grasped the most 
trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things."

In his book All about Hinduism, Sri Swami Sivananda, a well-known proponent of yoga and Vedanta, 
writes, "Hinduism is a religion of freedom. It allows the widest freedom in matters of faith and 
worship. It allows absolute freedom to the human reason and heart with regard to questions such 
as the nature of God, soul, creation, form of worship, and goal of life. It does not force anybody
to accept particular dogmas or forms of worship."

No matter where we live or what religion we follow, we should not demand for ourselves that which we are unwilling to grant others--freedom from compulsion and from discrimination on the basis of creed.

...Emperor Ashoka was a great force in the early Buddhist missionary movement. He built large 
pillars inscribed with the core values of his faith. Among the inscriptions, we find the following: 
"One must not exalt one's creed discrediting all others, nor must one degrade these others 
without legitimate reasons. One must, on the contrary, render to other creeds the honor befitting them."

Jesus' closest followers had trouble understanding that force was forbidden in religion. One day 
he was walking toward Jerusalem and entered a Samaritan village. The people of Samaria 
did not respect the faith of the Jews. Jesus sent two of his closest followers, James and John, 
to go ahead of him and prepare for them to stay.
When the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus, James and John responded angrily, asking 
Jesus to call down fire from heaven to punish them. But Jesus said that the use of force was 
out of place for his message, and he rebuked them for making such a suggestion (Luke 9:54-55). 
Whenever Christians have tried to use force to advance the gospel, they have acted against the 
wishes of Jesus.
Not long ago, in Bangladesh, eight Christians were kidnapped by Buddhist extremists, who 
brought the group into their temple. The Christians had their heads shaved, were 
forced to wear Buddhist robes, were made to clean out the temple, and were forced to bow down 
to an idol. During their captivity, they were threatened with severe punishment. 
Their wives were forced to bow before an idol each day before being allowed to give the captives food.

Muslims in the United States have received threats by so-called followers of Christ. In central Nigeria, 
rivalry between Muslim and Christian villagers has frequently resulted in deadly attacks--
Muslim against Christian, Christian against Muslim--over the past decade.

In the spirit of mutual respect and tolerance, Muslims should be free to build a masjid 
where they live, and Christians should defend their religious freedom to do so. 
At the same time, Christians should be free to plant churches in places like 
Bhutan, the Maldives, Brunei, and Saudi Arabia. No matter where we live or 
what religion we follow, we should not demand for ourselves that which we are 
unwilling to grant others--freedom from compulsion, freedom from discrimination on 
the basis of creed, and freedom of conscience.*
_____________ 


 Come on Christians. Are we afraid the truth will be defeated? Are we afraid of Sharia? REALLY? News of the death of the US Constitution are greatly over-rated. It's not dead. God's not dead. And if the US falls and the constitution goes with it, GOD is STILL not dead.

 Now get ready to throw something at me but I have a news flash. When Jesus returns He won't need the Constitution, the Bill of Rights or the flag. They will all cease to be. We can say so long, it's been a great ride. We can say thanks to the founding Fathers if we want. But Frankly the governments of this world are not worthy to be compared to the Kingdom of God. And God will build His church (and Kingdom) and the gates of Hell, USA, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, and Lithuania shall not prevail against it.


To quote Mohammed: Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error.
Hey even a broken clock is right twice a day. 
To Quote the US Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion or prohibiting the Free Exercise thereof;...
To Quote the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ in Holy Scripture: They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto death."


*http://www.edstetzer.com/2011/07/freedom-of-religion-has-to-be.html