Peace In The Midst of The Storm

My wife is a true worshipper, she worships in spirit and with her whole heart.  Amongst the various worships hymns that she sings there is one in Spanish which speaks depths of truth with but few words, 

"Hay paz en medio de la tormenta."

THERE IS PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM:

As I write this blog from the 'safety' of Lima, Peru I am in prayer for my friends and family in the North Eastern portion of the United States.  I think of my family, friends and acquaintances who are going to be facing what may end up being the largest storm in the recorded history of the United States.

It is not my desire to speak on the question of whether this is divine judgment or happenstance.  I don't care whether it's mostly hype or a governmental ploy.  I am not concerning myself as to whether this is the wrath of God or simply an undirected natural occurrence.  

What I would like to speak on are the storms of life in general- be it a "Sandy" or a sin spree.  Our problems could be a hurricane or a hurting heart, devastating winds or demolished dreams, property damage or the loss of a loved one.  

Jesus promised in John 16 that there would be suffering in this life- it's one of the few promises that I don't hear people 'taking hold' of during their faith declarations...  

Yet in the midst of the sufferings of this life we can have the 'peace of God, which surpasses all understanding'. 

(Philippians 4:7)

Not after the storm passes, not prior to the storm touching down- there is peace in the midst of the storms of this life.  In the very center of the madness and chaos, in the moment when you should feel NOTHING but despair; in that very moment Jesus doesn't promise a guaranteed deliverance or a certain freedom, Jesus promises peace!

Be it hurricane Sandy or hurricane cancer, be it the frankenstorm or the failures of sin.  Storms are small compared to our giant God.  His peace can comfort us even in the presence of stormy moments.

Consider God in the midst of your next storm; be it Hurricane Sandy or a major life change- next time you face a storm don't bother telling God how big your storm is.  STAND FIRM AND REMEMBER THE ONE WHO GAVE ALL FOR YOU.

STAND FIRM AND TELL YOUR STORM HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS!!

When you set aside the fears of the moment and focus on the face of God 

He will give peace in the midst of your sufferings.

The Watchman's Hut In The Cucumber Field

“The Watchman’s Hut In The Cucumber Field”

Isaiah 1:8  “The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.”

Cucumber in this context would typically refer to anything from the melon family. Anyone even remotely familiar with farming is aware that cucumbers, melons, and the like are products that grow at ground level.  They do not typically need guarding because their biggest threat is bugs and little scavengers.  Why then would a cucumber field need a watchman’s hut??

I was led to wonder what this verse meant a while back and began to study it.  Interestingly enough I found a very revealing answer.

In the days of old in ancient Jerusalem there were two major threats to melon crops.  The primary threat were jackals which would come and tear up the crops.  If there was no one to watch out for the terrorizing jackals then the crops would be ruined in an incredibly quick amount of time.  The secondary threat was theft.  The sailors would come out from the sea, anchor alongside a farm, and literally just steal the crops which someone had spent their time, money and effort in developing. 

In order to combat those two threats what a land-owner would do was rather simple. They would construct a make-shift and extremely temporary shelter and would appoint someone to stay there during the crop’s gestation period.  The watchman, typically an elderly gentleman, would stay in the little hut in the midst of the cucumber field and would guard the growing crops.  As soon as they were ripened and ready to fulfill their purpose he would leave and the shelter would literally just crumble on it’s own.

When the Bible references the huts and the watchmen God is being clear about two things:

1-The watchman have left the hut and the crops are up for grabs.

2-The huts are in decay and will fall just as any abandoned shelter in those days.

I believe that the description found in Isaiah 1:8 is an absolute indicator of modern-day Christianity across much of the globe.  The crops represent the Christians in each step of the gestation of their newfound faith.  The watchmen who are supposed to guard from jackals such as false teachers, infectious doctrine, ear-scratching phonies, and the likes- 

THOSE WATCHMEN ARE GONE AND THE HARVEST IS UNDER THREAT FROM THE JACKALS. 

In like manner, the enemy now has free reign to dock his ship alongside the farms and begin to pluck up the fruit before it ever reaches it’s potential.  Just as a sailor would pull alongside the coast and begin to steal the fruit, so does Satan come alongside so many churches and begin to pluck up the fruit before it ever reaches it’s maturity and becomes useful.

The watchmen have abandoned their post and the temples are in ruins.  We cannot expect our fruit to grow like this.  They are under open siege by the enemy without while simultaneously under attack by the animals within and we (the so-called watchmen) are on vacation!

If you are a pastor, a layperson, a leader, or anyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ consider taking the stand today.  Be the watchman who will protect the 'crops' from the attacks of the enemy and the attacks from within!  Stand up against false teachings, against the scavengers without and against the watered down version of the gospel that is being preached across the globe!

Of Men & Devils

"Cowards never won heaven. Say not that thou hast royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God,

except thou canst prove thy pedigree by this heroic spirit,

to dare to be holy despite men and devils."

-William Gurnall

In the American church we have various anti-biblical dares:

We have the prosperity dare- Just give some money and declare with your mouth and you've dared to challenge God, now He must give you riches regardless of His sovereign will.

We have the purpose dare- If you just live for a specific purpose with all that you have (regardless of whether or not it glorifies God or fulfills His will for your life) then you will be happy and blessed.

We have the theology dares- If you believe these 5 points, these 16 statements, these 19 convictions then you will be saved. Oh yeah, you may want to repeat the magical prayer as well just to be sure.

YET, the lofty thinkers of old had a different ideology of what it meant to take a bold dare. That dare was something that only a true follower of Christ could take- a dare to be holy despite men and devils.

Men represent society as a whole. Our perverse cultures throughout the generations and the most perverse of all in this day and age. To be bold enough to stand against the flow of the stream and stand out as an outcast, to push forward against the ebb and flow and to be hated because of your bull-headed determination.

Devils represent the internal and external forces of hell which cause us to fall. This can be the flesh which battles daily against the Spirit of God within true believers, or it can be the actual demonic forces which tempt, attack and devour us on a regular basis.

The call here by Gurnall is simple- dare to be a light in the darkness, a contrast to all that surrounds you. He says that "it requires another spirit than the world can give or receive to follow Christ fully." In other words, without the help of our God we CANNOT fulfill this dare to be holy. Even with His help we must wake up each day determined to do battle and lay our head down on our pillow only after violently grabbing hold of the kingdom of God (SEE: Matthew 11:12)

I would be a fool to say that a man or woman of God will never fall, even the best warriors will lose a battle or two- but they will stay resolute in their fighting until the greater war has been won! Anyone can fall into the mud, the question is how we react to our fall. Do we stay and wallow in the mud or jump back to our feet so that the Lord may cleanse us once again? Anyone can fall into the mud, but ONLY A PIG WILL STAY THERE TO PLAY.

William Gurnall also said "How uncomely a sight is it to see, a bold sinner and a fearful saint, one resolved to be wicked and a Christian wavering in his holy course." We are to have a BOLD HOLINESS about us in our actions, our beliefs, and our lifestyle. I've said this on various occasions and I'll say it again now...As Christians we should be the best neighbors, the best family, the best tippers, the best employees and it needs to be done for GOD'S GLORY not our own!

The call from Jesus is simple- be ye holy, for I am holy! Without holiness no man shall see the kingdom of God. In the midst of our sin-filled world, the sinful forces of hell, and our sinful inner-man we can still take a stand and boldly and PUBLICLY decree that though we stumble or fall we will keep our eyes fixed on the prize. Yesterday no longer matters and a fall ceases to be a fall once you've stood back up. It doesn't mean that the cuts, bruises and scars cease to exist- it simply means that EACH NEW DAY is filled with NEW MERCIES and NEW OPPORTUNITIES to live for Jesus Christ!

We will battle both men and devils and march on each day as we strive towards the finish line of this life and the beginning of eternity!

Darkness Often Yields The Brightest Light

In the midst of the darkness we can fit in with the shadows
or stand as a point of stark contrast by shining as a bright light.

The Good News Isn't Good News Until You've Heard The Bad News:

Imagine a man who is rotting from within. Yet, the man is fully unaware of his condition. He may see some signs on the exterior. Perhaps he notices a skin blemish or a low grade fever. He imagines that something small may be wrong, but assumes that he can fix it himself or take a tylenol in order to eradicate his condition. The man needs a trained eye who has studied the medical texts in order to point out the acute interior condition for him.

Without that assistance he will continue on with life as usual, fully unaware of what is truly wrong with him.

One day the man sees a small blotch on his skin and decides to go to a doctor. Once he arrives at the office, the doctor tells him all about this amazing medicine and the wonderful benefits that it will provide to the man. This medicine is incredible. The doctor even goes on to tell the man that the medicine is FREE of charge! He then asks the man if he would like the medicine and the man thinks to himself, "Well who wouldn't?" "It gives me a million benefits and costs nothing, why wouldn't I want it?"

The man takes the medicine home and sets it on the shelf in case he should some day feel the need for medicine. Perhaps the man even tries to apply the medicine, but his life stays the same. The blotches don't go away. In fact, though it may have been covered for a period, his condition is now even worse than before.

WHY?

THREE REASONS:

1- The man stood in front of a trained eye which saw that he was sick, but the doctor never told the man about his interior condition. The doctor only spoke to the man about the exterior signs which the man already knew about. He did not inform the man of the interior rotting which was taking place. Therefore, the man left knowing that a medicine existed, but he never knew his deep and urgent need for that medicine.

2- The man wasn't ever told how the medicine works. He heard about it and it's wonderful benefits, but he never heard what it actually did or how it worked. He was told about the miracle drug but never found out why he needed it or how to apply it in his life. He may have tried applying it as a cream, but never really knew that his issue wasn't a skin condition- it was an interior condition; and if he wasn't changed from the inside out then he would have remained sick forever.

3- The man wasn't told about the side-effects that the medicine would give him. He assumed he'd go home and live happily ever after- he didn't hear the FDA disclaimer which is so prevalent in today's pharmaceutical commercials. He only knew the benefits, but never heard about the cost. He couldn't make an educated decision because he was never actually educated about the medicine. He heard about the benefits but left fully unaware of the personal risks.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA TODAY!!

We have heard about the cross, but no one told us about the immense personal cost. We heard about the joy, but no one mentioned the tribulations. We've been told about grace, bit no one mentioned God's wrath. We've been told that we're saved, but no one had told us what we've been saved from or saved into. We have heard that Jesus will free us but no one told us He wants to change us. We've been told that God wants to hear our prayers, but we haven't been told that God demands to see our holiness.

Someone once said that half of the gospel only produces half of a Christian. And the Lord said that if we're lukewarm He will vomit us from His mouth. Therefore half of the gospel only produces luke warm vomit.

How can the Good News ever be considered as good news

if we don't start out with the bad news?

We live in a lost society surrounded by darkness. The darkness is both external and internal. In the midst of this dark world a light appeared just over 2,000 years ago. That light yielded immense brightness and to this day it is emitting infinite lumination to all whom would be willing to see it. BUT, if we don't draw attention to the darkness within and without, we cannot properly appreciate the light that comes from above. How can I know that I live in darkness unless I see that light exists, and how can I understand what light is unless the darkness has been properly explained to me?

How can I know the mercies of God if I have never experienced difficulty, sorrow, pain and suffering? In the midst of our highest conviction, in the midst of our deepest sorrow, in the midst of our greatest suffering, in the midst of our most trying hardships- that is when the light of Christ shines the brightest.

Rev. Stephen Hill (of the Brownsville revival) is just coming out of a long battle with cancer that nearly cost him his life. In the midst of he and his family's hardest hour is when God shined the brightest. In the center of darkness is when God showed Himself to be most faithful. So it is with the gospel- if we do not know the bad news, we cannot understand the Good News!

"Before I preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law and judgment."

- John Wesley

"Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel; to overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts."

- Charles Finney

"They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law." "

-Charles Spurgeon

Feed The Good Wolf

There's an old native story that goes something like this:

One day an elderly grandfather was sharing a story with his grandson. He began to tell the young man about the two wolves that are within every person. He said that there is a good wolf and a bad wolf within each of us and they are constantly fighting with each other. The good wolf wants us to do things that would glorify God, to have patience, to show love to one another, and to follow the commandments God has given to us. The bad wolf wants us to follow another path, to be disrespectful, to follow the lusts of our flesh, to have no self-control, etc...
These two wolves are constantly in a battle with one another and the wolf that wins will eventually control the person that it inhabits. That person will either become a good person or a bad person.

As the grandfather went on his grandson asked the obvious question,

"Grandpa, which wolf will win the fight within me?"

The grandfather replied, "Whichever one you feed."

The moral of the story is that we should feed the good wolf so that it may win the battle.

The Bible doesn't quite put it the same exact way, but that story does point us toward very Biblical premises. We know that our flesh nature is corrupt and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9) If we feed the sin nature we can expect to reap a sinful lifestyle and eventually an eternity in Hell. (Romans 6:21) If we feed the righteous nature that has been planted in us by Jesus Christ's shed blood, then we will ultimately reap holiness and an eternity with Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:22)

We are called to submit ourselves to God and to 'resist the devil and he will flee' (James 4:7). Satan is like a bully with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). If you do not keep him entertained his attention will start to wander off elsewhere and he will move on to another target. He is like 'a roaring lion.. seeking whom he may devour', (1 Peter 5:8) but even a hungry lion will give up on it's target and find food elsewhere if the target proves difficult to obtain.

We are faced with a decision every time that we wake up, every time temptation comes our way, every time difficulty raises it's head, every time our flesh wants us to become lethargic and slack off in our spiritual endeavors or live for materialistic goals. Every day we have to wake up ready to go to battle. Every moment we must remember that we are in a war. The more we feed the sin nature, the materialistic nature, the self-serving nature, we are setting ourselves up for a lifestyle of rebellion and selfishness that bears no eternal fruit. The more we feed the righteous nature, the sacrificial nature, the life-giving nature, we are setting ourselves up to become more like Jesus Christ and to bear an abundance of eternal fruit.

John Piper once said that he hears "so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings", and he sees "so little war. Murmur, murmur, murmur. Why am I this way? MAKE WAR!!" We are in the midst of a cosmic struggle. This is not a game, THIS IS A WAR! If you lose a battle you get up and fight on to ensure that you win the war overall. Don't stay down when you fall, get up and get cleaned off before you lose the war! No matter what yesterday brought us, WE MUST MAKE WAR DAILY!!!

Sin nature vs. the Imparted Righteous Nature of Jesus Christ.

The good wolf vs. the bad wolf.

WHICH WOLF DO YOU CHOOSE TO FEED?

The True Amen

"The only real test of conviction is the desire and willingness to sacrifice."
-E. Gideon

I've shared before on various occasions from the pulpit that if the audience were to see me during the weakest points of my life they would drive me out of the church and never listen to me again.
Yet, if I were allowed the ability to share every thought they'd ever had (in traffic, at work, during those difficult moments or times of temptation) on a big screen with the entire congregation- then they'd be so ashamed that they'd run all the way to Mexico and never look back once.

I say that to state that I am far from a perfect individual and am in no way qualified to lead SGM, Inc. or to plant Teen Challenge in Peru- yet I am willing.
I will do whatever it takes to ensure that the Lord's name is glorified amongst the forgotten people of our world.

This, in my estimation, is the reason that the Lord is willing and able to use my wife and I- because we are willing to be used.

It is easy in a charismatic and many evangelical churches to get a hearty "AMEN" during a sermon. We're so used to saying "Amen" with our mouths in the church,

but as soon as Monday rolls around we say "No Man" with our actions.

The best AMEN we can give is to live out the message in it's fullness!

The truth is that our convictions don't mean ANYTHING if we aren't willing to change our lifestyle, our spending habits, our behaviors, etc... We can tell the world what we believe till we're blue in the face and NOT ONE HEART WILL BE MOVED. Yet, if we live out even a small fraction of what we believe we will see hearts all over our world melt in the light of our lived out convictions.

After speaking with a close friend tonight I was surprised at how someone he knew worked like a dog at two very high paying jobs putting in 90+ hours per week in order to purchase the house he desired. I was reminded of the times I worked 2 or 3 jobs at the same time in order to purchase something I wanted or to pay for a trip I desired to take. I pictured the average American worker who sweats, toils, suffers hardship and often insult and does it all so that they can have a better lifestyle.

We do it so that we can have a nicer car or a bigger home,

newer toys or better standards of living.

THEN I HAD TO ASK MYSELF- WOULD WE TOIL IN SUCH A MANNER

IF OUR ONLY REWARD WERE THE SOULS OF THE LOST?

I don't have to search long for an answer. The simple answer is NO.

The vast majority of Western Christians DO NOT toil and labor in order to advance God's will or His kingdom, we toil to advance OUR LIVES. We don't work hard to ensure that the lost hear the message of the Savior. We work so that our houses and attics can be filled with goods.

We are so focused on this temporal life that we are missing out on the ONLY REASON we are here on this Earth...TO DO GOD'S BIDDING.

The church is here on Earth for one reason only, and that is to glorify the name of Jesus Christ amongst mankind. Any other reason or motive for our labors, our lifestyle, our expenditures, etc.. is WORTHLESS in the light of eternity. Yet we've settled for smoke when we could have had the fire. We've settled for a message of prosperity when we could have had life change.

Lord help us to be eternally profound and temporally shallow. Help us God to live out the true amen and be willing to sacrifice everything if it means it will bring honor to Your name.

I INVITE EACH READER TO WATCH THIS 50 SECOND VIDEO

AND LET IT SPEAK TO YOUR HEART:

http://youtu.be/dZdMHZ5IZUI

What Are Your Reasons??

There is an ancient prayer that goes like this:

"Teach us, good Lord,

To serve Thee more faithfully;

To give and not to count the cost;

To fight and not to heed the wounds;

To toil and not to seek for rest;

To labour and not to ask for any reward

Save that of knowing that we do Thy will,

O Lord, our God. Amen."

After once again reading this prayer recently I was immediately thrown into a state of self-questioning. I began to ask myself what my reasons are. I know that such vague wording can lead to much confusion, so let me explain...

What are my reasons for serving the children in La Carbonera, Peru? Why do we provide food, education, clothing, medical care, etc... for them? Why have we sacrificed so much to help children that we hardly know personally? Why do so many other families give on a regular basis? Why do some sacrifice $100-$200 of their personal income each month to support these efforts? What are the reasons behind the giving, the toil, the laboring, and the hardship??

What are our reasons for planting Teen Challenge in Villa El Salvador? Do the churches that invite us to come share have an ulterior motive? Do the people who give towards these efforts have hidden agendas? Do we have some personal motive or selfish ambition in doing this work?

An amazing man of God, Paris Reihead, once said:

"If you'll ask me why I went to Africa, I'll tell you I went primarily to improve on the justice of God. I didn't think it was right for anybody to go to Hell without a chance to be saved. So I went to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven."

Were his reasons noble from a humanistic perspective? ABSOLUTELY.

Were his reasons proper from a moral perspective? ABSOLUTELY.

Were his reasons selfless in nature and empathetic? ABSOLUTELY.

BUT, his motives were not right in the sight of God. Why?

Paris Reidhead explains his motives in his own words,

"I went out there motivated by humanism. I'd seen pictures of lepers, I'd seen pictures of ulcers, I'd seen pictures of native funerals, and I didn't want my fellow human beings to suffer in Hell eternally after such a miserable existence on earth."

Pastor Reidhead goes on to tell us that the Lord showed him that he didn't go to Africa for the sake of the people there or for the sake of the preacher, but for God's sake. Our only motivation should be that God would receive glory. Any humanitarian efforts MUST be done in Christ, for the glory of Christ, and in a manner that makes Christ known- otherwise we're simply putting a band-aid on a severed limb. Any preaching must be done in a manner that glorifies Jesus and honors Him alone; it must focus on His sacrifice and His righteousness- it cannot offer up humanitarian answers or temporal solutions or we've missed the point. If we offer temporal solutions to eternal problems then the results will have eternal implications for those we reach out to.

What are the reasons we are traveling around NY and working here in the US? What are our reasons for reaching out to 10 different nations across the globe? What are our reasons for continuing the work we've begun in Peru?

SIMPLY THIS-

THAT JESUS CHRIST MAY BE GLORIFIED AMONGST ALL MANKIND!!!

When our reasons are in alignment with God and His word we can easily fulfill the calling of the individual who wrote the prayer above. If we toil and labor and serve and give and suffer and fight for anyone or anything other than the glory of God then we do so in vain. But if our strivings are done to the glory of God then our hearts will not faint when hardship arises, rather our souls will strive onward to assure that we answer the call of our Lord in Matthew 28:19.

What are your reasons?

What drives you to do what you do on a daily basis?

Are your motives self-serving, humanitarian, or personal in nature?

OR are you living your life in such a manner that Jesus Christ, and Him alone, may receive the glory in all of your dealings??