This May Hurt

Hey friends. On monday I gave you guys a break. But today it is back to work! I have to warn you, this may hurt.

Observe:

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." ~1 John 3:10

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ²Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season...keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist" ~2 Timothy 4:1-2,5

It should not be new for you to hear that anybody who doesn't love their brother doesn't love God. This truth is everwhere in the Bible. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. So again, this shouldn't be anything new that I am saying. Love your neighbor, we all already know this.

But here is the great inconsistancy I see between our words and our actions. We say we love our neighbor, but way too many Christians very rarely, if ever, share their faith. Can we really say that we love our neighbor if we are unwilling to share with them the key to eternal life and the only way to escape eternal judgement? Some may read these words and say to themselves that "evangelism is not my gift." I am sorry to say that I find that excuse unacceptable. This would be similar to myself saying that I refuse to do the dishes because "acts of service is not my gift." If we truely believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life than we can no longer justify not sharing this message on a regular basis. I included the above scripture from Timothy to show us that evangelism is everyone's responsibility.

I understand, it is scary. I do believe evangelism is my gift and yet I still get butterflies in my stomach every single time I am about to share the gospel with someone. It is scary because, if we do it correctly, it requires great humility. Perhaps even the kind of humility that Jesus felt when he washed the disciples feet.

I will go one step further. I am hearing about movements for Christ that are happening all over the world. Yet I am also aware that such movements are rare in America. In many parts of the world people break laws and risk their lives to share the gospel, and in many of those places the gospel is flourishing! But here in America we are freely allowed to share the gospel, yet so many remain silent. Could this be why God is not pouring out revivial on us in the same way that others are receiving it? This may be nothing more than disobedience on our part. Will God bless the disobediant church?

The hardest part is often finding a way to bring it up. This is what works best for me: Simply saying "Can I share something personal with you?" This is respectful because you are asking permission. That is just my approach. As you do this more you will find ways that work best for you.

I believe there can be a 3rd great awakening. I really do.

With His love,

Charlie

Take a Break

Hey friends.
As you know, I often write words to inspire all of us to seek God with more passion and zeal. But not today. Today, I want to give you guys a rest. Here is the truth that I hope will cause you all to take a deep breath of relaxation:

All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be. ~Psalm 139:16

So take a break friends. God's plan for your life will happen. You have no need to worry about a single thing. The plans of Jesus can never be thwarted- even by our sin. Nothing will stop what God has prepared for us. Nothing.
Take a moment and thank God for his absolute control and guidance over every single detail of of both history and future.
With Christ's Love,
Charlie

A Brief Note on Evolution

Hello friends,
Some of you may have heard of Paleontologist (fossil expert) and Biologist Stephen Jay Gould. He spent his life as an instructor at both Harvard and the American Museum of Natural History. He is among the best known and widely read scientists of the late 20th century.
Here are some of his quotes:

The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches … in any local area, a species does not arise gradually by the gradual transformation of its ancestors; it appears all at once and fully formed.
~Stephen Jay Gould 'Evolution's erratic pace'. Natural History, vol. LXXXVI95), May 1977

"All paleontologists know that the fossil record contains precious little in the way of intermediate forms; transitions between the major groups are characteristically abrupt."
~Stephen Jay Gould'The return of hopeful monsters'. Natural History, vol. LXXXVI(6), June-July 1977, p. 24.

Why do so many highly educated people cling to evolutionary theory in spite of such a lack of fossil evidence?
I am not going to spend my time answering that question. Instead, I want to discuss something else. We Christians, I fear, tend to believe that evolution creates a unique challenge for ministry and evangelism. We think that, because of the widespread belief of evolution, people are more prone than ever before to reject the gospel truth.
Let me say, as a former evolutionist zealot, that this is not at all true. There is nothing unique about this generation. Satan has always been hard at work and people have always had sinful and unbelieving hearts. As Ecclesiastes tells us "there is nothing new under the sun."
Nevertheless, the widespread lies about evolution make me angry. Sadly, many Christians have not known how to approach these lies, and for this reason I have thought it helpful to share with you the above quotes. They may be worth memorizing.
I hope this has been helpful.
In Him,
Charlie

My Failure and my Discovery

Hello Friends!
Today, in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, I came across what may be the best summery of what God desires from mankind:

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" ~Deuteronomy 10:12

Here God himself is saying that this is all he really wants from us is love, devotion, and obedience. Simple enough right?
Wrong. This is actually the whole problem. We don't love God "with all our heart." Instead, we have chosen other things to give our hearts to. If you have read some of my last messages you have seen that I have lately been dedicating myself to "seeking the Lord with all of my heart." And what have I found? I have found that even my most sincere and earnest attempts at seeking God are still not that impressive. The more I try to seek God the more I see that I do not have the ability to please Him with my futile efforts.
And here, my friends, lies the secret to the Christian faith. We are incapable of meeting God's standards. Do not be deceived into thinking this only applies to nonbelievers. Again, we are all incapable of meeting His standards. And it is only when we fully realize this that we are able to truly please God. And how do we then please God?

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" ~Galations 2:20,21

Look again at the verse from Deuteronomy that says what God wants from mankind. Jesus was the only one who was able to actually do those things. Everyone else failed. Yet God took the righteousness that Christ earned and gave it to us. And God took the punishment we earned and gave it to Christ. This is the Gospel message: We can be justified by faith in Christ, apart from what we do.
Why is it that we who have been enlightened to the truth so easily forget our foundation? Yes, I shall continue to seek God with all of my heart. Yet I must seek Him only as one who has already obtained the glory and righteousness that Christ earned for me. Again:
"The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

With His Live,
Charlie

Why were the they terrified?

Hello friends!

"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus." ~Matthew 17:5-8

When the disciples heard the voice of God they were terrified. You may say that this was simply because it is not every day that you hear a voice from the sky. Yet I think there was a bit more to it than that...
The first chapter of Romans states that everyone is aware of God, everyone knows His divine nature, and everyone knows the penalty for dishonoring Him. This seems strange to us, as we all know many people who show no signs of any such beliefs. The explanation given in Romans is that people have suppressed the truth and, in doing so, their minds have become darkened. Yet, according to the Apostle Paul, on some level everyone knows the truth. We lie to ourselves because the truth of who God is is terrifying. God is majestic, holy, and perfect in righteousness. It is indeed terrifying.
I believe what Paul was saying about this "suppressed truth," and I think that this helps us understand what was going on in the minds of the disciples when they heard the voice of God. You see the disciples, like many of us, had spent their entire lives suppressing and denying this obvious truth about who God is. Yet on that day they were forced to recognize what they already knew. They were forced to experience God's awesome and perfect presence. When they heard that voice they were forced to recognize that they themselves deserved judgment. They fell facedown in fear because they could no longer hide. And it was at this time, when they were trembling with the fear of God's wrath, that something amazing happened: Jesus touched them.
He touched them and he spoke to them. He told them not to be afraid, and when they looked at Him, they saw that the terrifying presence of God was gone. In the face of Jesus God was still there, but not in the same way. Jesus had taken away the need to be afraid.
Jesus. How we, sinful men, can know a perfect and righteous God.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." ~1 Peter 3:18

With His Love,
Charlie

The Crucial Test

Hello friends,
We looked at this verse recently:

"you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul." ~Deuteronomy 4:29

I am sad to say that yesterday I failed here. I did pray yesterday, and I also read my Bible. Yet when the day was over I felt in my heart that something was lacking.

You see, I understand that when I have a personal encounter with God I am filled with a sense of fulfillment, and that sense of fulfillment often lasts until I wake up the next day. Yesterday however, I did not have a personal encounter with God, and therefore I did not have this overwhelming sense of fulfillment. What went wrong?

The answer is simple. Yes, I prayed and studied the Bible. But when the day was over I knew the truth: I did not seek Him "with all of my heart." And therefore, I did not find Him. I hope not to make that mistake again.

Do you truly believe that you will find God if you seek him with all your heart? For that is the crucial test. If we believe it, we will surely do it. If we don't believe it, we won't waste our time.

So...Do you believe it?

With His love,

Charlie

Does Anybody Actually Do This?

Hello friends,

This is probably a familiar verse:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ~James 1:2-4

What I am wondering today is if there is anyone who actually does this. Do we really consider the bad things that happen to us to be "pure joy?" I am not going to say here that I have in any way mastered this principal, but I think that God has recently given me some insight into it.
If you notice, the scripture uses the phrase "trials of many kinds" to refer to the hardships we go through. My point is this: No matter what your going through, it is a trial from God with an intended outcome that will be beneficial to you. It is not some accidental misfortune that resulted from any number of circumstances. No, God has intentionally brought this hardship upon you. I believe that recognizing this may be a crucial first step in achieving "pure joy." Here is a verse that illustrates this point:

"Be joyful always...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
~1Thes 5:16,18

Again, I will not say that I am perfect at being "joyful always," yet I have found that great comfort is found in knowing that "this is God's will for you."
I hope this message has blessed you,
With His love,
Charlie

A Simple Way to EXPERIENCE God

Here it is friends, a a simple way to experience God:

"you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul." ~Deut 4:29

It is indeed simple, but it is not at all easy. This will require work. Too often we only experience God after tragedy and hardship, and the reason for this is probably due to the fact that at those difficult times we are desperate, so we are then more likely to seek him with all of our heart. Yet the challenge for us is to seek Him like this during times of of both hardship and blessing.
Based on this verse we can also deduct the fact that if we are only applying minimal or moderate effort in our seeking of Him, we should not expect to find anything.
Let us all be people who seek Him with our whole heart!
With His Love,
Charlie

Something We Should Fear

Hello friends!
There is something we should fear. I will explain:

Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain. ~Psalm 127:1

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD. ~Isaiah 31:1

We all have various things we are working on. Projects, relationships, child raising, school assignments, jobs, ministry activities, the list goes on. So what is my fear? My fear is that I would put much effort into something and then realize that I never spent the time and effort to seek the Lord's counsel and blessing in my endeavor. That is my fear- that I would forget to seek the Lord and run into disaster. Like the Psalmist wrote, how terrible would it be to spend much time and effort building a house and then realize that it was all a waste of time.
There is a lot of theology behind this. One of the biggest themes in scripture is the idea that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" When we are desperate and humble we seek God, but when we are prideful we are deceived into thinking we are self sufficient enough to get by without Him, so we fail to earnestly seek Him.
So what is important to you right now? Your job? your marriage? your kids? your ministry? Whatever it is, let us have a healthy fear of what may happen if we "trust in chariots" and fail to seek His counsel.
With His love,
Charlie

Don't Waste the Day!

Hello Friends!

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun. ~Ecc 2:11

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ~ 1 COR 15:58

I believe we are always "giving ourselves fully" to something. We can "give ourselves fully" to our jobs, our families, our anxieties, our desires, and the list goes on. This is human nature. We are always "giving ourselves fully" to something. Take a moment and ask yourself what you are currently giving yourself to.
My desire here is that none of us would waste our lives. Or to put it another way, my desire is that none of us would waste today, for today is the day we must put these teachings into practice. The first scripture mentioned states that everything we do, everything we strive for, everything we worry about, it is all done in vain. There is no lasting reward. IT IS ALL A WASTE OF TIME!
Yet in the verse from 1st Corinthians we are given an exception to the rule: "your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Make no mistake about it friends, if you are not laboring for the Lord you are wasting your time.
So what does this mean? Are we all to quit our jobs and become missionaries and pastors? For some of us the answer to that question is yes. But for others it may mean something else.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men
~Col 3:23
At the core, this is a heart issue. If our hearts are in the right place, then our labor will not be in vain. Let us examine our hearts today and make sure that we are "giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord"
With His Love,
Charlie