Showdown at B-A-M

Okay, during my lunch break I headed to Books A Million to grab a book I was wanting. Before I even opened the front door to the store, I could see through the door to the main display. You know what they had on the front main 4-foot tall display? The 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue with the title in bold font: "Barely Bikinis". If you have not seen it yet (as I had not at the time), I WILL NOT post a link that shows it. It has a model with a bikini bottom on, but NECKLACES for her top. Necklaces. But, that is not the point.

As soon as I walked passed it, the Spirit prompted me and reminded me of what Ray Comfort had done in a similar situation. So, I walked down the aisle, collected my composure and thought about what I would say after I picked out my book. Believe me, I'm not the kind to stir things up.

So, I walked passed a person that had an ID tag that said "Manager". My Christian obligation was more than obvious to me at this point. So, I said with a shaking voice and a cherry red face, "Excuse me, are you the manager?" Without even looking up from her work, she said, "Yeah, one of them." I said, "Can I talk to you", moving down the aisle away from all the people (the last thing I wanted was a scene, and it seemed like she agreed with me as she followed me). I said:

"Look, I'm not a whistle-blower by any means, and in fact, if something's ever wrong with my food at a restaurant, I usually eat it anyway, not to cause a big stink. But, as I was walking in, I saw the new display of the swimsuit issue with the half-naked woman displayed for all the world to see, and frankly, I just think it's totally inappropriate to be displayed there. I don't have kids or anything, but if I did, I wouldn't want them seeing this, and I know you are a family bookstore, and you've got kids coming in and out at all times. Now, I know that you've got a section for that kind of stuff, and you could put it over there, but not as you walk in the store!!" She was a good sport and said, "Okay, I'll have to call corporate about it, because they made us do this, but I'll call and see what they say." I said, "Okay, I appreciate it. I know it's like a best seller and all that, but putting it in front of the store for little kids to see is a little too much for me."

I went to talk to the other manager about it in order to make sure they both knew, and she was understanding, too, saying that it probably wouldn't last long up there anyway. As I walked out, I was glad to see the first manager taking the display down. Score one for the Kingdom.

Why Can't I Pray Like I'm Supposed To?

In Matthew 26 it says that Jesus took His disciples and went to the garden of Gethsemane. As we all know, many things happened, but lately I've been focusing on the length of Jesus' prayer. It says that He came back after praying and found them sleeping. Then He said, "Could you not keep watch with Me for one hour?" So, Jesus prayed for an hour. I don't know about you, but that is a long time for me. The text says that He went back and prayed two more times. Maybe those were an hour each, also. It is very plausible that He prayed for three hours or more here, seeing how He was under tremendous stress, knowing His immediate future (the cross). In other passages, Jesus is recorded as staying up all night in prayer, specifically before the selecting of the 12.

Why can't I pray like that? "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I want to, but I can't make myself do it. In fact, I could be praying right now, but I'm writing a blog instead. Why????????????

I can't find the quote, but a godly man once said, "The extent of the power of prayer has never been fully realized." I agree. I've experienced some of it, but I can't stay with it.

I remember one Saturday I had made my mind up that I would go to my next door neighbor's house and witness to the family. I was terrified, seriously scared to death. So, I prayed. And I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed some more. I quoted Scripture, especially Isaiah 41:10, and prayed some more. After praying for what seemed like the longest I had ever prayed, an amazing peace came over me. It was a powerful peace that definitely transcended my own understanding. I was truly strengthened by the Spirit, and I marched out the door towards my neighbor's driveway, with not one ounce of fear or hesitation, and knocked fearlessly on the door. She answered and I witnessed to her without turning red or stuttering at all, which is unusual for me :)

So, why can't I take that experience and trust in God to do the same now and in the future? I don't know, "the flesh is weak". I lack discipline. I'm going to go try now.

Lay people are the evangelists

I just read something that was very profound. Guess what, it was in the Bible. I was reading a statement by Henry Blackaby that guided me to Acts chapter 8. Verse 1 says that after Stephen was killed, persecution arose and forced all Christians to scatter... "all except the apostles". In verse 4, it says that "Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word." Now, who went about preaching the word? "Those who had been scattered", which was everyone "except the apostles". What does this mean? It means that we "lay people" are the ones that should be going everywhere preaching the word, just like the early church did. It wasn't the church leaders that were doing that - no, they were devoting themselves to praying and teaching of the word (6:4). It was the normal, everyday people who were scattered about, preaching the word.

In chapter 11 verse 19 it says, "So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone." Again, these same people are referred to again as being evangelists, not the leaders of the church. It says "those who were scattered". Let's review - who were they that were scattered? Not Peter, not Paul, not James, not any of the apostles. It was lay people.

Think about Stephen himself, the one who got all this started in the first place. Who was he? At first glance, you might assume he was a preacher, or a leader in the church, because of his prominence and the fact that the religious leaders wanted to kill him. Who was he? He was a waiter (6:1-5). A waiter!! He served food! Why was this waiter stoned to death? What sort of fuss was he making? "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people" (6:8). Verse 10 says he was "speaking" with "wisdom and the Spirit", so much so that the religious folk could not stump him (a la Jesus with the Pharisees).

Point: We, as lay people, have as much a sacred job as our spiritual shepherds do. We have just as much a privilege to share the gospel as any one does. We can't sit back and heave the job of preaching the gospel to our preachers. We must go out and do it ourselves, and then come back and be taught by our pastors. Let this be a Biblical precedent that we follow:

According to Acts chapter 6 (Stephen), chapter 8 and 11 (Christians who were scattered), lay people are the evangelists.

Does God So Love the World?

I love Johnny Mac. Read his writing below.

Does God So Love the World?
John MacArthur

Love is the best known but least understood of all God's attributes. Almost everyone who believes in God these days sees Him as a God of love. I have even met agnostics who are quite certain that if God exists, He must be benevolent, compassionate, and loving.
All those things are infinitely true about God, of course, but not in the way most people think. Because of the influence of modern liberal theology, many suppose that God's love and goodness ultimately nullify His righteousness, justice, and holy wrath. They envision God as a benign heavenly grandfather-tolerant, affable, lenient, permissive, devoid of any real displeasure over sin, who without consideration of His holiness will benignly pass over sin and accept people as they are.
Liberal thinking about God's love also permeates much of evangelicalism today. We have lost the reality of God's wrath. We have disregarded His hatred for sin. The God most evangelicals now describe is all-loving and not at all angry. We have forgotten that "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). We do not believe in that kind of God anymore.
We must recapture some of the holy terror that comes with a right understanding of God's righteous anger. We need to remember that God's wrath does burn against impenitent sinners (Psalm 38:1-3). That reality is the very thing that makes His love so amazing. Only those who see themselves as sinners in the hands of an angry God can fully appreciate the magnitude and wonder of His love.
In that regard, our generation is surely at a greater disadvantage than any previous age. We have been force-fed the doctrines of self-esteem for so long that most people don't really view themselves as sinners worthy of divine wrath. On top of that, religious liberalism, humanism, evangelical compromise, and ignorance of the Scriptures have all worked against a right understanding of who God is. Ironically, in an age that conceives of God as wholly loving, altogether devoid of wrath, few people really understand what God's love is all about.
God's love cannot be isolated from His wrath and vice versa. Nor are His love and wrath in opposition to each other like some mystical yin-yang principle. Both attributes are constant, perfect, without ebb or flow. His wrath coexists with His love; therefore, the two never contradict. Such are the perfections of God that we can never begin to comprehend these things. Above all, we must not set them against one another, as if there were somehow a discrepancy in God.
Both God's wrath and His love work to the same ultimate end-His glory. God is glorified in the condemnation of the wicked; He is glorified in every expression of love for all people without exception; and He is glorified in the particular love He manifests in saving His people.
Expressions of wrath and expressions of love-all are necessary to display God's full glory. We must never ignore any aspect of His character, nor magnify one to the exclusion of another. When we commit those errors, we throw off the biblical balance, distort the true nature of God, and diminish His real glory.
Does God so love the world? Emphatically-yes! Proclaim that truth far and wide, and do so against the backdrop of God's perfect wrath that awaits everyone who does not repent and turn to Christ.
Does the love of God differ in the breadth and depth and manner of its expression? Yes it does. Praise Him for the many manifestations of His love, especially toward the non-elect, and rejoice in the particular manifestation of His saving love for you who believe. God has chosen to display in you the glory of His redeeming grace.

The JW's don't like me anymore

So, I backed out of my driveway today to see some Jehovah's Witnesses down the street making their way down our block. My heart raced and I accelerated the car in order to make my errand and get back in time to talk to them when they knocked on my door.

When I got back, I made a pass to see which door they were at, and... YES! They had not made it to mine yet! So, I ran inside and opened the window and waited. I watched the married couple and their son make their way toward our neighbors' houses, one at a time. Finally they left my next-door neighbor's house and started walking toward our house. I even grabbed Emmie and was prepared to put her up (because she barks and freaks out when someone rings the door bell), but to my consternation, there was no ring. No knock. 10 seconds went past, then 30, then 2 minutes. No Jehovah's Witnesses. I opened the door and walked to the mailbox to check the mail. They had straight passed my house!

The JW's don't like me anymore. We have a history. I have invited them into my home, and we have sat down at the table before and duked it out with our "swords" (my Bible and their "Watchtower improved" bible look-a-likes). Anyway, that incident ended well in my opinion, with me agreeing to study with them further. They never called back.

The next group came by and the lady gave me a pamphlet and I graciously took it. I said with a smile, "Oh great, here is something I would like to give you", and I offered her a gospel tract. Her expression changed and she said, "We don't accept anything people give us", to which I replied, "Okay then, I won't accept what you give me either", giving her pamphlet back. I thought it was only fair that we exchanged literature. She didn't agree. As I closed the door wishing them a good day, I said, "Make sure you've got the right Jesus!" I don't think she appreciated that.

Then there was the letter that I sent out to all my neighbors about the recent visits by the JW's. I quoted a lot of scripture that clearly portrays Jesus as God, a minor detail that the JW's don't happen to believe. Maybe that letter got around to them. I don't know. But I do know that I am "on their list" now. They don't visit anymore.

27 by 6

I drove down Atlanta Highway the other day and was amazed and disgusted at the same time at the number of PayDay loan places, so I decided to count on the way back how many there were. On Atlanta Highway from Ann St. intersection to Taylor Rd. intersection there are 27 - yes 27 - payday advance places. That's only a 6 mile stretch of road.

I'm so proud to know that these places are servicing our hometown and helping people get the money they need for a fair, low rate of 300% interest on their own money.

So flippin proud.

Are you a Christian, or are you a good person?

Because you can't be both! This is something we could say to reach those around us, especially in the bible belt. Everyone claims to be Christian, but I wonder how many would also claim to be a good person. The Bible says we can't be both. Jesus said He "came not to call the righteous, but sinners." I am a Christian because I realize that I am not a good person, that's why I need Jesus. I need Him to forgive me. I needed Someone to pay my fine so that I could go free and be justified. If the only way to heaven is through Jesus (John 14:6), and He only calls sinners and not good people, then that is a very narrow way to Heaven. Therefore, we must come up with a way to convince people that everyone is a sinner. God has already prepared a way, a "schoolmaster" or "tutor" to drive men to Christ (Galatians 3:24). It is God's Law (Romans 7:7, Romans 3:20).

So, next time I find myself in the conversation of spiritual things with a person that claims to be Christian, but doesn't back it up with their lifestyle, maybe I'll say, "Are you a Christian, or a good person, because, you know, you can't be both."

Your Own Backyard

I'll never forget it. In fact, I had been asking God to give me something like this so I could write about it and tell others about it. We were in Florence visiting Ashley's family, and we were on our way to a restaurant after church on Sunday to eat lunch. As we rounded a corner, there it was, the perfect example of symbolism I had been asking for.

I saw what was left of a carpet store off to my right. It had been burned to ashes. The whole building looked like it had been bombed. Blackened siding and charred carpet remains were all that could be seen. Do you know what was next door? A fire station. Yep. I never researched the incident in the local papers or anything, but I've always wondered where the firemen were while the carpet store next door burned down into oblivion. I don't know the whole story, so I can't sit here and blame them for something they might not have done, but I can relate this to our life as Christians in America.

Any Biblical, Christ-driven church is going to have a heart for missions. In America, our churches are all about training up missionaries and sending them on their way into the deepest, darkest jungles of Africa, the desolate deserts of the Middle East, or any other foreign land. You know what I say? BRAVO. Seriously, bravo for taking the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world. In fact, Jesus both commanded it (Matthew 28) and prophesied it's commencement (Matthew 24:14). I am for foreign missions. But, did Jesus assume that we would forget about our own backyard, just like what happened with that carpet store right next store to the fire station?

We should be concerned for the lost in foreign countries, but not at the expense of the lost person next door. Folks, no matter how you twist it, America is post-Christianity. There is no denying it. Just turn on the TV. Read the newspaper. Talk to a co-worker. Yes, there is a "form of godliness" in America, but the majority is "denying its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). America needs full-time missionaries that will step up and preach God's righteousness and holiness just as much as Africa needs it. And I'm talking full-time. Yes, we should commission people and send them off, but why not send them off to Las Vegas or anywhere else? Commission them to go and preach repentance and Judgment Day on the steps of some of the mega-churches, whose preachers preach "peace, peace" when there is no peace.

We can not sit here and put out fires in foreign lands and watch our next door neighbor's place burn into ashes.