Functional Atheism

Just a quick thought for you.

How does your life differ from that of an atheists? Some might point to beliefs or perhaps (mistakenly) to some level of goodness. But really...how does your life truly differ?
I am convinced that many Christians are living lives that are in effect lives that are indistinguishable in any kind of meaningful way from an atheist. Is it simply our belief system that separates?
In our constant pursuit of safety and security, we stop living by faith. Have you been able to say any of these lately?

"I have followed God to this point, and if He doesn't come through, I'm dead."
"I believe God told me to do 'this,' and I have positioned myself to obey. If I'm wrong my family and I are in trouble."

Is your journey one of belief; or one of faith? Atheists have a belief system and they navigate life by it. Christians have a belief system, but many do not find the intersect point within their life. It is their "spiritual side." Really? What is that? You see faith takes what we believe and (hopefully) what the Living God is saying to us and steps out of the boat.

Live the distinction. Let people see Jesus in your life, they don't care about your beliefs.

Where is God When...?

We started a new series last week "Where is God when..." answering some of the tough questions that come up in people's faith journey.

Last week we looked at Where is God when I'm suffering? It is a horrible thing to feel alone when you are suffering through something in life. It can feel like God is distant at times when you need Him the most. listen, download or subscribe to our podcast through iTunes at our site www.westshorechurch.info/html/media.html

This weekend we are looking at "Where is God When...He's LATE!!??" Ever been looking to God for direction, only to feel like He is silent or that He is just saying "wait. trust Me." Meanwhile you have deadlines demanding your attention.

Come be a part of our service this weekend and get the full experience!

Blessings,

PE

Kingdom Leadership

You know what I am about to say may be the most important thing some leaders in the Kingdom will ever read, it also may be the most irrelevant and unwanted thing for them to read as well.

I have taught leadership in the Kingdom for over a decade. I have seen passionate young men and women raised up and equipped under my ministry. I have taught them all the principles I can about service, relevance, integrity, faithfulness, vision, etc. Like me most of them had the attitude of being willing to "Go anywhere and do anything for Jesus."

About four years ago now the Lord led me out of my place of full time pastoral ministry into an unexpected time of wilderness for a period of two years. I felt betrayed by God because He didn't meet my expectations of what should have been next for my life and that of my family. I was expecting "the next level", the Promised Land of ministry that I had fought and prayed for for so long. What I found was a barren wasteland where God seemed distant and His voice was silent. What do you do leader, when there is no one left to lead?

As I said I was willing to go anywhere and do anything for the Lord...except when He asked me to do nothing. Do nothing and just trust Him. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Seasons came and went and still He was silent.

Slowly I began to see in His Word how this is actually a common experience in the people that God graciously decides to call to His service. We read the story of Abraham and just read verse to verse, chapter to chapter and it's no big deal. But what about for him? 25 years of waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. What would you do?

A few years back I discovered something. There is a pattern of priority that I see in Scripture. This is not a formula, because God is God and there will be exceptions, but I believe it is a strong Biblical principle.

First God calls you to Himself, then to His people, then to a task.
These principles are not independent of each other. They build on one another. God always primarily calls you into relationship with Himself, from that comes His direction to serve the Christians around you with humility where His character is formed. After that (and perhaps through that) comes calling and burden for something specific.

Our culture is a task-oriented culture and we are driven by ambition. Therefore people tend to skip to the last task. They immediately want to experience a calling, receive responsibility, etc.

I say this with all affection, but Leader you must remember that you are not special. You exist today because of an unbroken chain of faithfulness through the centuries of Christians who have followed the path that God laid out before them. Your circumstance is not special. There is no loop hole to catapult you ahead regarding the formation of Christ within you. If the great heroes of the faith had to experience wilderness times, times of testing, times of great trail and disillusionment...then so will you. You must put that in your leadership formula.

God calls you to live in the now with Him. His name is "I AM" He is sufficient for you right now. The future is in the sovereignty of His hands, and that is where it will always stay. Trust Him in the now. Trust in His goodness towards you. Trust that His thoughts for you are for good and not for evil. Don't let your dreams and expectations of God eclipse your view of His face. Your life is in His hands in the valley, just as surely as it was on the mountaintop.

God bless you!

Apply To You?

Matthew 24:4-8 (AMP) Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place; All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish].

Matthew 24:10-14 (AMP) And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred. And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error. And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, But he who endures to the end will be saved.
And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.

Christian Intolerance

There is a growing tide that I see emerging in our land. As our nation rebels against God in the name of enlightenment, there is a growing sentiment against Christianity and Christians in general. This is ironic, because it is mostly being done by the same people that are maligning Christianity as being intolerant. What's worse is that we have people feeling they can put God on trial when they don't even know Him or His words.

As I write this we are nearing Christmas. It is now considered almost rude or bigoted to wish someone a "Merry Christmas." We hear things like "well what if they don't celebrate Christmas" or "We shouldn't just assume that a person celebrates Christmas," etc. Really?? Wishing someone a Merry Christmas is now seen as closed-minded and intolerant of other beliefs? This is compassion that has been twisted into something misleading. Must we be forced to say "Happy Holidays" like we are an advertiser trying to appeal to the broadest base without possibly offending someone? Are people that fragile that a simple good-natured wish for a Merry Christmas is going to shatter their well-being?


As a result of this and other things, spirituality has become situated within "self" as we reshape God according to our cultural values.

For example, I heard the President (W) say in an interview that he thought the Muslims were worshiping the same God as the Christians do (though they don't know it and apparently we don't either). Now I think our president is a sincere Christian, but that does not make him an authority on the faith. What he is doing is common of people today who are shaping their faith and their view of God based upon a limited knowledge of God's Word mixed with our cultural values. Imagine if someone was formulating negative opinions about you without getting to know you and only by second or third hand knowledge...

Just recently in the elections we saw the attacks upon President Bush and Gov. Palin for their faith. They have been ridiculed and mocked by the so-called "enlightened" crowd. Granted each have their obvious flaws, but to be denigrated like that in large part due to their beliefs is the climate of the day

But what about the critics assertions that Christianity is intolerant? Is it intolerance for God to define who He is or how people may connect with Him? If there are many roads to God then (with respect) what kind of fool would Jesus have to be to die for the sins of the world if we could go to heaven by simply having good intentions and being sincere?

Is Christianity intolerant? Absolutely. We believe that as Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 (TNIV)). It is His claim about himself, we merely are communicators of this truth to others. Does that mean that we disrespect other religions? No. Does it mean there are no good things in other beliefs? Of course not! Does it mean that we treat someone who believes differently with disrespect? Absolutely not.

Here's the application moment; will Christians alter God's truth because it is becoming inconvenient and unpopular to those around them? Is it "our" truth to mold and shape as we see fit, or is it God's truth and therefore we are simple purveyors of it? Will we be able to stand with compassionate boldness against cries of intolerance and bigotry to humbly say that God has given a precious gift and great sacrifice to all of humanity in allowing His Son to die in our place. If any want freedom from the chains of sin; if any want to embrace God's gift of salvation from a purposeless, broken life as well as an escape from an eternity in Hell, then all they have to do is to humble themselves and believe.

Our continuing challenge in this culture will be navigating the path of relevance in ministry. We will most certainly change our ways of doing things in church. We will change our methodology in order to build a bridge for the gospel to connect with people where they are. However, we must not out of fear or arrogance start changing God's word. We must not sacrifice the truth of the way to salvation because it has become unpopular or inconvenient. Did the martyrs lay down their lives through the centuries so that we, as recipients of the unbroken chain of faithfulness, could say to our coworkers and those around us, "Well Jesus is my Lord, but whatever you believe is fine."

Luke 18:8 (TNIV) "...when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

Something New Is Here

There's something new in the air...can you feel it?
I can.
I can't explain it except to say that it's a God thing.
I sense it every time in worship or when I have the privilege of talking to someone about Jesus.
God is giving the gift of His presence as this world is going down.
People are sensing peace in the midst of their pain.
I know that as I continue to move in obedience by His grace toward the Lord that I will get to experience this.
This is why I am here
This is why we as a church as a body are here...for such a time as this.
In the midst of despair, God's people will know joy.
In the midst of lack, God's people will enjoy bounty.
In the midst of arrogance and hatred, God's people will know humility and brokenness.
God is raising up a people of faith. A people who boldly defy the things and people around them that say they should despair; that they should turn inward; that they should hoard.
It is for this moment that we are alive; to show His light and His goodness.
Worship, Pray, Read, Serve, Give, Obey and see what you thought was impossible come to pass.

A God Unto Ourselves

Was at Wal~Mart today and they had the Christmas music playing already (of course!) The song that was on got me thinking though. It's the one that has "long lay the world in sin and error pining..."

It got me thinking about the incredible paradox that I see going on, and it makes me really sad. It seems that our culture is continuing to move away from God and continuing to move towards a secular humanistic philosophy. The paradox lies in that the farther we move away from God as we depend on ourselves, humanity and our own answers the worse things continue to get.

We are applauding our own enlightenment and cultural advancement even as things spiral into the toilet. As part of this picture there is an increasing anti-religion (mostly anti-Christian) sentiment going on. I have heard people talking about Christianity as the "last barrier to be removed" in this country.

It reminds me that one day, perhaps very soon, that "barrier" will be removed from this world for a short time. Humanity will celebrate itself even in the midst of chaos. There will arise a leader during that time that will coalesce the people and religions of the world into one body. It all sounds very noble, and yet it will be in rebellion against and denial of God Almighty and will lead to the final judgment.

As we continue to remake ourselves in this nation and around the world into our own image, we will march more and more towards decay. Proverbs 16:25 (ESV) "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Values and morals apart from God can sound really good, but are in fact sin. The best example of this that I know of is the debate centering around Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. Both sound noble. Both seem to have the best interests of certain parties in mind. And yet, what does God's Word teach us about the beginnings and sanctity of life? The answer for these types of situations? "what makes you think your religion can tell me what to do?" "That book was written thousands of years ago and not should be interpreted allegorically." In other words, I don't like what it says, so I reject its authority.

But above all our objections as a culture. Above all our seeming nobility is a God who created all things and will hold all things to account. Above all is a God whose heart was so broken without us, that He paid the ultimate price to make a way for us. Above it all is a God whose grace continues to overwhelm the most stubborn of hearts with His love. But there will be an account given. He gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud. For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is not too late. But I believe that this final chapter in the Age of the Church is drawing to a close. Get past ideals, arguments, philosophy and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you. If you are stuck in the parade that is marching to destruction, ask God to open your eyes to the fact that your heart lays in "sin and error pining" for the righteousness that only He can bring.