I knew the guy as a neighbor in the area, but Keith had no idea what was going on.  “Friend of yours?” Keith asked nervously looking at me.  I smiled and said, “I’ll handle this.”  I just looked at the guy and said nothing.  I’d heard this before, and I’d hear it again, but this was a first for Keith, so I wanted him to hear it all.  You see, my neighbor is a devout atheist, and as much as I enjoy speaking about my faith in God, he enjoys mocking it whenever he gets the chance.  As he gets no-where with me personally, he often inserts himself into conversations when I am in public and talking with others.  Kinda rude and annoying, but I figure its a free country, and Keith needs to hear this.

My atheist neighbor, let’s call him Joe-Bob, proceeded to quote the Bible where it says, “Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.” – Luke 6:30.  Joe-Bob began to make all kinds of outrageous demands as well as asking for our wallets, keys to our cars, and everything we own.  “If you’re really a Christian, Jesus commands you to do these things in the Bible.”  I stopped him right there.  I’ve tried talking with Joe-Bob before, but he’s of the mind that no explanation is ever good enough, so I didn’t even bother.

I called him by name and said, “If you want to take my wallet and money and everything I own, you are welcome to try, but know that I am going to be dialing 9-1-1 in the next 10 seconds telling them that someone is trying to rob me.”  That’s when Joe-Bob went on a rant, saying how he knew it, we weren’t really Christians, and that we were all (all two of us?) a bunch of hypocrites and on and on until I finally said, “5″ and then “4″ as I pulled out my cell phone and was actually going to dial 9-1-1 so he could yell into the microphone.  He just started walking away after that waving his hands and muttering things I could not really understand.

Keith looks at me, “What was all that about?”  I went straight to the point.  “What do you think of what he said?”  Keith doubted such words were even in the Bible, but I took him inside, opened a Bible, and there they were.  Keith was rather speechless, as I imagine most Christians are when confronted by such lunacy.  Let me pose the question to you now.  How would you have explained what happened to Keith and the verse in the Bible?

Too often, we are tempted to simply dismiss the charges made by atheists without ever seeking the truth from God’s Word because we are afraid the truth might be something we don’t like.  However, if we understand a few things about God up front, we need not fear.  God is not the God of confusion or lunacy.  If we are God’s children, then we assume first of all that God’s heart toward us is good.  Second, from that perspective, when we hear or see something about God that doesn’t sit quite right, then either our perceptions on the situation are incorrect, or our interpretations of events are incorrect.  In the end, a righteous God does not sin, so we must try to align ourselves with God first.

I talked with Keith about the circumstances surrounding the passage when Christ uttered those words.  Jesus was speaking to many groups and factions (Pharisees, Zealots to name two) of the Jews in the open air, in their land, during a time of Roman occupation.  Rome was the law, and the Jews of that period were an occupied people under invasive Roman government control.  Whatever the Romans wanted, they took, and for their part, the Jews saw the Romans as the enemy.  Take a look at the middle-east today to see how well that culture tolerates any kind of occupying force!

To keep things simple, in Christ’s directives in Luke 6: 27-36, Jesus starts out with “Love your enemies.”  Jesus was wise and would never have said anything publicly against the Roman government, but here the Jews would have translated “enemies” as “Romans”.  As Jesus goes on, you can imagine how well the Jews would have received the message (not so well and somewhat begrudgingly if you ask me) but the principle Jesus was preaching was this – do not escalate a bad situation.  In those verses, Jesus gave some very precise examples as a guide to do just that.

Jesus does not specify Romans as enemies, but the context of the situation provides clarity of purpose and intent to His words.  When you understand “Romans” as “enemies” and the situation of the Jews, the passage makes perfect sense.  Still, there is a principle here that we can also learn from regarding our own enemies – do not escalate a bad situation!  Does that mean that we should roll over and allow someone like Joe-Bob to rob us?  Just think about it, and simple logic will tell us “Of course not!”  However, if Joe-Bob was a Roman and I a Jew in Israel during that time period, I could not call 9-1-1 for help, and in fact, any response at all would just make an already bad situation even worse.

The principle of non-escalation of a bad situation does not mean Christians should not defend themselves within the scope of the law.  As we live in a completely different society and world today, Joe-Bob is going to have to keep his hands off my property if he wants to stay out of jail, and you, my fellow warrior-poet in Christ, are free to respond to any assault within the limits of the law.

But.

If it was possible, what would  a “Christian” Nation look like?  How would it be ruled?  Would it be Theocracy?  Would there be room for other religions?  What sect of Christianity would make the rules?  Would it be a Theocratic Democracy (is that even a real type of government?) Would the government be weak or strong?  Would Christianity be legislated from the top down or would new societal norms dictate the actions of folks?

How would we view and treat the poor?  In a Christian nation, who would be the oppressed and how would we deal with them?

Would we have a military?

How would corporate entities be viewed?  What would their rights and responsibilities to society be?  Would the business of America be business?

What do you think?  How would society have to be changed to make our nation a Christian one (or is it already?)  How would our government change or stay the same?   Do Christians even have enough interest in this world to worry about such things?  Let me know what you think in the comments.

Oh, and here is the article I talked about: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/current-events/op-ed-blog/28097-the-rise-of-christian-libertarianism

After watching the video myself, all I could think of is how many people I personally know won’t have a clue what to do with this video.  I read a website where the writer respectfully picked it apart without understanding the perspective I believe Mr. Bethke comes from, which is one of “be” not “do” when it comes to our faith in Christ, and our relationship with God.

To really understand why people do not like the video “for reasons they cannot fully articulate” you need to understand their perspective.  They are probably coming from a place in their life where all they have known as church has been a building they go to three times a week, including Sunday school, to learn about God.  They are comfortable in the walls of the place they call church, and comfortable with the people they associate with and know as Christians.

For many of these people (not all), a person is only “right with God” when they conform to the standards of the Bible as they interpret them.  Anyone who does not conform is “probably not really saved” otherwise they would have been “transformed by God” into someone who will fit in with their group.  As well, they believe that you must “do” things to have a right relationship with God.  It is a “works first” perspective, whereby we can continue to have a relationship with God after salvation because of what we do.

What I don’t understand about their perspective is that many I know personally would admit that we are not saved by our works.  That only by God’s grace and through faith we are saved, but yet once saved they seem to believe that they can only continue to have a relationship with God based on what they do.

For those people who do not understand why people like the video, here is their perspective.  Church is not a building, it is the saved people of God, and they do not understand why vast resources are spent on structures when there is greater need for those resources.  The greatest message ever recorded in the Bible was not preached in the synagogue, but on a mount.

A person does not gain a stronger relationship with Christ because of what they do, they simply have a relationship with Christ because of who they are – children of God.  As a child of God, they accept that they have a responsibility to be a witness in their actions, but those actions are not what gives them value in Christ.  They already have value in Christ.  They do not have to “do” anything to have value, however, because they have value and want to “be” a Christian, their actions will flow outward from there.

In the end, for what it is worth, I simply ask you to evaluate both perspectives on their results.  Recently I have been witness to churches who are meeting in high school gymnasiums and in small groups in homes, growing enthusiastically, seeing people saved weekly, believers discipled, and reaching their community around them regardless of appearance, age, social class, or color.  These churches are the ones coming from the perspective espoused in the video, the one of “be” a Christian.

I have also seen churches who are stagnant in growth.  The people who come to church are pretty much the same people every week.  They get curious visitors once in a while, but growth is limited to the people who “fit in” with their group.  Their people work tirelessly within the walls of the church in great programs for the people who go to that church, but even they sense “something is missing” without understanding why their own church does not grow.  These churches are the ones coming from the perspective of “do” in order to attain a “higher standard” of Christianity.

As for the video, I get it.  I agree with it.  I am a Christian not because of what I do, what I do flows out of who I am.

What we want to teach our children about life is not something they learn, what we actually practice in life is what teaches our children whether we want to or not.  This was my first learning experience: If what you do teaches your children, what are you teaching them about God, about the Bible, about a relationship with God?

I really enjoy the tablet PC I received for my birthday last month.  The functionality it has for work, reading books, surfing the web, sending and receiving emails, and even the games can really occupy a good bit of time.  However, I recently heard a message about how what we do teaches our children, and my mind went to the times when I was playing a game on my tablet PC and how quickly my daughters came to me, peering over my shoulder, watching me . . . and learning.

“This is what I love, this is what is important to me” is the message I was communicating.  Whether I like it or not, that message was coming in loud and clear to them.  The good thing is, I don’t have to communicate that message.  I can change that message, simply by changing what they see.

Earlier this week I sat down and brought up a Bible verse on the tablet, and without me calling for them my daughters had quickly settled next to me, watching me, and began asking me what I was doing.  I had picked  Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”  I wanted to teach them something about how they talk to each other as sisters, and in an effort to teach them through example, they taught me.

“Right now I would like for you to think of something nice to say.”  My oldest thought for a moment and said, “I like you because you’re cute.”  To which my youngest replied, “I don’t like to be cute,” with a small frown.  I looked at my oldest, “You just said something kind and nice, but she didn’t hear it that way.  Like the verse, we need to know to answer every person we meet, which means we need to know how to talk to people so they will understand what we mean.  Can you think of another way to say what you mean so she will understand and like what you said?”

After a few moments of back and forth communications between my two daughters, both having found ways to speak kindly to each other, I turned to my youngest and asked, “So, what did she say to you that was kind?”  The response came, “Uh, I don’t remember.”  I told the oldest to repeat what she had said, and began to think about the two lessons I had just learned.

Sometimes we speak to our wives, our children, and other people in ways we believe are good and kind, but they don’t always hear it that way.  When they take offense, the tendency is to get defensive instead of modifying our speech.  As well, even when a good message does get across to someone, it is usually quickly forgotten.  So, we should all learn to speak more effectively at speaking kind words, and then learn to repeat that message as often as possible.

This was my second learning experience: How would you respond to someone who had learned to speak kindly to you in an effective way, and repeatedly did so over and over again affirming and reaffirming good things about you?

I cannot emphasize this point enough, so get ready.  I REALLY like it when everything goes my way.  I have to admit it feels good just to see those words in print, think about what they mean, and envision instances in the past where it has happened.  Living a favored life . . . seems like it would be the be-all end-all of what would end up being a truly wonderful life.

Ever wonder what it would be like to live in the White House?

Now there is a favored lifestyle I think any one of us could get used to.  I have read of Presidents past and First Ladies too, who have noted that lifestyle as one of the greatest perks of being in that office.  Everything kept spotless, great food prepared by world-class chefs, beautiful art and artifacts, wonderfully appointed rooms and furniture, and on and on and on the list goes.  For the guys need I say anything more than “bullet-proof limo” “Air Force One” and “Secret Service Body-Guard detail”?  How cool is all that!?!

Everywhere you go the roads and/or the sky is cleared, and people make way.  While we may not get to have that life, we do try in our own ways.  We get the best house we can, the best car we can afford, and whatever else we think will make us happy in this life.  We accumulate these things around us, and consider ourselves blessed with what we have.  Granted, some people are of meager means and do the best they can with what they have, while others can afford quite a bit more, but in the end, we all eventually become used to whatever life we have.  We content ourselves and call ourselves blessed and highly favored, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Except . . . we are not here to live a favored life.

A whole lot of Christian men will have gone to church this past Sunday.  Some wear really nice clothes while others simply wear the best clothes they have.  They carry their Bible under their arm, a smile on their face, shake hands and make small-talk with everyone they meet, keep the kids in line, and sit with their wife.  They stand up and sit down at all the right times, sing when it is time, listen attentively to the preacher, and when it is all said and done, they go home.  They love their church, their pastor, and consider themselves blessed and highly favored, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Except . . . we are not here to live a favored life.

Again, let me repeat and be very clear.  There is NOTHING WRONG with having things in this life.  There is not a single “thou shalt not” when it comes to having a nice home, a nice car, nice clothes, and whatever else there is in this life.  There is no commandment against having and living a favored life, however, when that becomes the focus and reason for living, that is when things get off-line.

Luke 12:16  “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”

There is a time for the favored life.  Where would a baby be without the favored life?  However, every child must grow up.  The favored life is not something we should seek to keep permanent.  Understanding that all belongs to God and that everything God has given us should be used in His service, then we begin to see a greater purpose for the things we have in this life.

Clinging to the Favored Christian life is not God’s plan or purpose for your life.  When things get just a little “out of favor” how do you respond?  Do you find yourself asking, “What’s wrong, Lord?!”  “Why me!?!”  Do you try to hold on to the favored life you are living?  When things go “wrong” do you try to make them “right” again according to the life you want?  Is God trying to teach you or show you something?  What if there is something greater than the Favored Christian life to be had?

- Reposted from MenRising.com

I remember being a young man truly afraid of getting my report card.  I was six years old and in first grade, and I had no idea how grades came to appear on the report card or what they were based on other than someone else’s idea of whether or not I had “done well in school” for some time period.  The report card came in small yellow envelopes of the kind you’d find in most offices when something official needs to be transported from here to there.  I remember carrying mine home with a heavy hand.

I suddenly recounted all the things I had been in trouble for up to that point . . . throwing rocks in the playground . . . spitting water when it was my turn for a drink at the water fountain . . . not staying in line when walking between the classroom and the playground . . . and on and on it went.  When I handed my report card to my mother, she began to read down the list of topics I had only heard in the classroom, and was not sure exactly what they meant.  Reading – A, Math – A, Penmanship – A (there was a ship?!) and when she came to the bottom of the list I had gotten all A’s.

Glad that was over with, I simply went on my way.  The next report card, however, did not come back so good.  I had a B and a C, and although I was not sure what that meant, I knew from my dad’s reaction that it was not good.  The third report card came back with an F on it, and that is when my dad took me into the back room for a talk.

Is the letter “F” for “Failure”, stamped anywhere on your life?  Unfortunately, many Christians have this letter stamped on their life, and not by God, but either by themselves or even more unfortunately, by other Christians.  The failed Christian life happens when we do what we know is wrong, but it’s not merely getting out of line at the water fountain.  It can be much worse.

Infidelity in a marriage is the biggest one that springs to my mind because it seems to be the most abhorrent and prevalent in churches.  However, there are other ways to get the big “F” stamped onto your life.  For some, it is simply failing to meet expectations.  Whether you set them or had them placed on your life, a broken expectation can feel so much like a broken promise that disappoints those around us.  However you get it, chances are high that you may be walking around with an “F” stamped on your Christian life.  The worst thing about it is it feels permanently engraved there.

How do you know a man has accepted that mark?  He stops going to church.  He stops reading his Bible.  He may even stop trying to talk with God.  “God cannot use me” is the message in his heart, and that message can be reinforced in cruel ways by others.

Back to my questions:  When does a man truly fail?  What makes a failure complete?

Through the year of first grade, I was able to bring my grades back up.  The lower grades turned back into B’s and A’s.  In the end, I was no failure.  I still had the marks of the past to show for the lack of performance, but it was in the past.  The only mark that mattered was the one at the end of the year.  The only way that mark of an “F” would have been my undoing is if I a ceased to try.  If I had accepted the “F” as permanent the moment it appeared, that would have been my moment of real failure.

Too many Christians today live the Failed Christian life, not because of the mark of Failure, but because they have accepted that mark as permanent, and have stopped trying.  What is more, there are too many other Christians out there all too ready to remind them of the mark.  Though life has moved on, they continue to point their finger into the past – “Failure” is on their lips every time they say hello, and the engraving grows a little deeper.

We do not have to live the Failed Christian life though.  All we have to do is keep trying.  Peter fell beneath the waves, cut off a man’s ear, denied Christ three times, and still lived a very successful Christian life . . . because he understood . . . a man only truly fails when he fails to keep trying.  Then, his failure is complete.

Are you worried?

The truth is, no one knows what will happen next.  The economy seems to be on a daily roller coaster that is being built daily, and the future is impossible to predict.  I’ve had conversations with people about how to prepare for such an uncertain future, and suggestions of what to do have run from doing nothing differently, to some comical “end-of-the-world” preparations, and all points in between with some ideas I found pretty level headed.

We have all given it some thought, and when I search for something in the Bible to compare it to, my mind went immediately to the storm at sea the disciples experienced with Jesus asleep in the back of the ship.  The story is found in Matthew chapter 8 and Mark 4, but some points about their situation jump out at me as being similar.

First, they had a very huge problem come upon them suddenly.  This was not a theoretical, political, or personal problem.  This problem was tangible, it was immediate, and it threatened their very lives.  For their part, there was nothing they could do.  The ship was full of water, and their future was in great doubt.  Second, they went to Jesus, but finding him asleep bemoan that He does not care for them, and that they may die.

Ever been in a situation where life is turned all upside down and it seems God is asleep at the wheel and/or does not not care about what is going on in your life?

As this economy plays out, there are some people out there in ships that are sinking.  Their problems are not theoretical, political, or personal.  They have very real problems that require very real answers.  They have gone to God, and from their point of view, it seems God is asleep.  They have cried out in their hearts, in their prayers at night, in frustrations and anxiety of an uncertain future “Carest thou not that we perish?”

Their concerns and fears are no less real than the concerns and fears the disciples had while on that ship in the middle of a raging sea that threatened to destroy them, and I think Jesus’ response to the disciples would be no different for us today.  Mark 4:40 “And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”  The difference being that Jesus calmed a very real storm in their lives before uttering those words.  His actions showed what the intent of His words were.  He was always in perfect control of the situation.

Sometimes we simply want the storm to stop, and then we will be thankful.  I know that is where I would be in my mind.  We want to see the storm abate to know God is still in control.  Strange.  Why do we believe God is control when things are good, but when things go bad we doubt His sovereignty?  When things are good, faith is easy because we perceive the good blessings of God’s provision, but it is when things are not so good when our faith is tested.

The God in control of our lives in good times, is still in control when things go haywire.  When things are good, it is easy to give God control of our lives.  We should be equally prepared to surrender control in our lives when things are not so good, or downright terrible.  The way I see it, with all the uncertainty I have about the future, I think I’d rather have faith in God who really does control everything than trust myself.  It’s not easy.

Like being the passenger in a car heading into trouble, the impulse is to wrest control of the steering wheel away from the driver, but if the driver is an expert, and we really do trust him, faith dictates we be prepared to surrender control.  Now, you can start by taking your hands off the wheel.

I love this quote, because it begs the question:  “If you cannot really have a church without evangelism as it is a contradiction in terms, then exactly what is a church without evangelism?”

Well?

Here are some themes I see as extreme:

1.  Liberty in Christ without responsibility.  The thinking goes along the lines of “I’m saved so I can do whatever I want.  You cannot judge me.  Only God can judge me.”  There is no accountability there, and no responsibility.

2.  Saved and Separated and out of touch.  This is the more conservative side of Christianity where the saved take defensive positions within church walls and have no contact with the lost.  They see the world as it truly is, a desperate and sinful place, but fail to see their place in it as equally sinful creatures.  The result is a very conservative outlook on life that borders on, if not falls directly into, legalism.

3.  Then there are those searching for the balance, but even here I have seen a lopsided effort by many.  There are some who try to retain their liberty in Christ by living how they want to live, yet also genuinely seek to minister and witness to others.  Where I see they fail is in the example of a separated and holy life Christ lived.

4.  Conversely, more where I probably tend to fall, I also genuinely seek to minister and witness to others, but still hold to some admittedly preferential issues that to those outside conservative circles would see as restrictive, and thus I get the “legalist” label slapped on me.  For some reason, either the label or my life does not exactly attract the people who were attracted to Christ, and so I continue to search for the balance.

Where is the balance?  I want my kids to grow up with a firm understanding of God’s Word.  I want my kids to understand that to be like Christ is not just about going to church on Sunday, but how we interact with people every day, how we are to be servants and ministers like Christ, and how we have a responsibility to witness to them.  I also struggle with the idea of how one can be a witness to a world if we blend in so well they cannot see a difference in us.

Even a small light in a completely dark room makes a big difference.  If we are to be the light of the world, we have to be different.  Even Paul talks about taking liberty too far, that we can cause others to stumble because of the decisions we make.  More than anything I just want to be effective in ministry, my life an example Christ would approve of, one that God would be able to look down on and say “well pleased.”  Where is the balance?

Jesus ran with the worst of them. Sure he had his 12 close christian friends but he hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes. While this isn’t my normal crowd, I can’t help but wonder if we as Christians are doing it all wrong. We seems to be building up walls between us and the outside world wherever we can instead of running into it and loving people. Christian bookstores, Christian music, Christian Movies, Christian cartoons, Christian schools, Christian colleges, Christian companies…. I really think we just need a Christian Walmart and we would be all set. We would never have to interact with those non-believers who could question our faiths or challenge our thinking again.

Where do you see Christians putting up walls and trying to overly protect themselves (instead of relying on Christ) in your neck of the woods? Or am I just being crazy.