Rejoice Evermore

by Karen Finn

I have to confess something: I am not very good at memorizing Scripture passages. Sure, I can cram it into my brain, and recite it back almost immediately, when necessary, but that’s not the proper way to really have it sink in. Memorization should involve meditating on the profoundness and power of the verse I am attempting to claim.

            There is one Bible verse I have memorized; it’s full of wisdom and confirmation, plus it’s only two words! First Thessalonians 5:16 says, “Rejoice evermore.” That’s a very brief command, but it can be one which I commit to employ daily. An individual who lives contentedly is one whose walk with the Lord is vibrant and active.

            The word evermore carries with it the unique distinction of always increasing in substance or spirit. Our response to life’s trials and tests is like a seed placed in the ground. Until  warmth and moisture influence its condition, the germination process will not occur. Similarly, our spirits remain dry and dormant, until nurtured by the presence of faith and hope. Aware of God’s presence and promises in our lives, thankfulness naturally follows, resulting in true, lasting joy.

            Jeremiah’s words of prophesy in Jeremiah 32:41, “…I will rejoice over them to do them good…and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and my whole soul.” Where has God “planted” you? Have you expressed a response that shows maturity and acceptance? God is the Masterful Gardener who has firmly placed you where He knows you will be nourished and supplied with all that is needful. Verse 42 continues with reassurance: “…so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.”  Have you responded to His loving care for you with total trust, unfailing faith, and active appreciation?

             Contentment requires action--on our part! Let us remember His Word, rich with the assurance of rest and security. Let us praise the One Who has power to remove the fears and doubts that afflict us. And let us bloom where we are planted, declaring as the psalmist did in Psalm 136:1:“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.”

Getting the Gospel Right - The Big Story

The Big Story is a popular new way to present the "gospel", it was featured in Christianity Today and was nominated as the outreach idea of the year.

As Pastor is preaching through the series "Getting the Gospel Right" I think its important for us to see examples where the gospel is not being presented right. The Big Story is one of those examples. Here are a few reasons why the Big Story misses the Biblical Gospel...

1. No Emphasis on Sin. With statements like "Damaging the Planet" it seem clear right from the beginning that the theme of this presentation isn't on man's rebellion against God and his need to be reconciled to God. There is no mention of hell or the impact of sin on our lives only that we have damaged things and need to restore them. The sinner does not know why they are a sinner or really even what sin is from this presentation.

2. No Mention of Repentance. Turning from our sins and to God is the heart of the gospel and to have no mention of our need to repent causes the Big Story to miss the mark. Jesus repeaditly makes it clear that we are to repent of our sin but sin and repentance are two things that aren't part of the big story.

3. Jesus died to Heal the Planet? Instead of making it clear that Jesus died to save us from our sins, to reconcile us to God, to rescue us from eternity in Hell the Big Story basically says Jesus died so we could go recycle and plant trees.

4. Wrong Motives. When asked why we cant just go heal the planet without Jesus (which you can by the way) the response is "We need Jesus resources" so really this is primarily about doing good and healing the planet but we want people to get saved so we tell them they can really only help the planet if they do so as "Christians"?

The Big Story lacks any clear biblical teaching on the gospel. Instead of Jesus saying "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me" the message is "no man cometh unto the Father but through the recycling center" The Gospel isn't about healing the planet or even helping the poor and homeless, all those maybe good things but they are not why we need salvation. We need salvation because we have rebelled against God, we have chosen our own way over obedience to Him, our sin against Him has separated us from Him and will send us to Hell forever if we do not repent and turn to Him for mercy and grace. Getting the Gospel Right is key if we are going to see true conversions to Christ.

The Sleeping Church

Fox News recently published an article on how religion is becoming extinct in 9 different countries and is fading around the world including in the United States.

Read the Article Here

This is alarming information, especially when you consider that within "religion" only a small portion represents Biblical Christianity. Is it possible that our country and our world could become nearly completely atheistic, that only a small handful of Christians could be left? Obviously God is in control of this world but I can't help but look around the American Church, which has in its arsenal more manpower, financial resources, gifts and abilities to use for God and wonder why so little is being used.

We Are All About Self

There is no other way to put it, the goal of young people growing up today is to find the perfect mate, go to college and "experience" life, get a high paying job, buy a nice house in the suburbs with a brand new car and go to church on Sunday Mornings. Sounds good, if life's about you. However if life is about God and His kingdom then why are we spending so much time building ours.

Misunderstanding of Ministry

Somehow we have gotten the idea that serving God is only for those in ministry. Sure we may work in the church nursery or sing in the church choir but thats about our limitation. Don't misunderstand those are good things that we should be doing and that is serving but what about giving your whole life to God? What about getting a burden for one of those 9 countries where Christianity is on the verge of becoming something you only read about in history books? What about putting God before yourself?

There is no doubt that God has a plan for this world and He is undoubtedly preparing it for the return of His Son but we are still left with the choice of Building our Kingdom or being a part of Building His.

Getting the Gospel Right - Rob Bells False Gospel

Rob Bell is a popular "Christian" author and pastor, he has written multiple books on redefining the Christian Faith. As Pastor Ayers is speaking through his series on "Getting the Gospel Right" (you can listen to the messages here) I thought it would be good for us to take a weekly look at people who have the gospel wrong.

Martin Bashir begins this interview by asking Bell a fairly simple and direct question "Is God in control and just doesn't care or Does God care and isn't in control?" The question goes directly to the heart of the matter of how do we reconcile events like the disaster in Japan with a loving sovereign God. After asking the question twice Bell still can't come up with an answer. The answer is simple, God cares and He's in control. You say "But then why isn't the world perfect, with no death, suffering or sin". That's exactly how God created the world, He created it without death, suffering or sin. He created it where everything was perfect and we had perfect fellowship with Him, but God has no desire for robots who love Him without choice. So He gave the first man Adam a choice. He could believe God and have a perfect world with perfect fellowship with God or He could go against God, believing there was something better and eat of the forbidden tree and allow sin to enter into the world. He of course chose the fruit. So God didn't chose to allow suffering into this world, we did. Truthfully it would have been perfectly just for God to allow us to forever reap the benefits of our choice but instead He offers us redemption. A chance to be forgiven of our sins and eventually spend eternity back in perfect fellowship with Him. For whatever reason, maybe he hasn't read Genesis, Bell was unable to provide an answer for this question other than "It's a paradox"

Bell has obviously created his own gospel. Which as we know from Galatians 1:8 means he is to be separated from and identified as a false teacher (which he is, in case you weren't clear on that). Bell's gospel is all about love, which sounds great right? As Bashir points out Bell basically says that in the end love wins, so God's love is going to save everyone at some point even if it is in the after life, but then Bell attempt's to go back the other way and say that he doesn't believe everyone eventually gets saved and that it is "terribly" important how we respond to Jesus in this life even though if we don't respond to him love still wins. The truth is Rob Bell seems to have no idea what he is talking about. Love does not define God, God defines Love. God has made it clear that there is one way to Heaven and that is through faith in Christ. Love already won on the cross and now we are left with the choice of how we respond to that act of love in this life.

Saddest letter I have ever read.

This letter was sent to Cary Schmidt who works at West Coast Baptist College and has appeared already on numerous blogs and websites. I wanted to share it with you because it does a great job of capturing the challenges we face with many of our young people and even adults within the church, that is of course the heart issue.

SADDEST LETTER I'VE EVER READ by Cary Schmidt

I recieved this letter from a young lady last

week—a Bible college student who grew up in a Christian home and Christian school. I believe it’s the saddest letter I’ve ever read and right on the mark for so detailing the experiences of so many young Christians. I asked her permission to post it. Please read. Her words will greatly challenge you as a parent or pastor:

Dear Pastor Schmidt,

A few years ago, I read your books Hook, Line, and Sinker, Discover Your Destiny, and Life Quest. I found them to be extremely encouraging and instructive. These books showed me that not only do you have a real heart for young people, but you also understand us well. I am writing to ask you to consider writing a book to our parents and youth workers. Let me explain.

I am a junior at a well-known Christian college. I grew up in highly respected “fundamental independent Baptist” churches, and went to excellent Christian schools. My father has been a Christian worker since before I was born. One would think that my testimony would go something like this:

“I was saved when I was about 5 and I had dedicated my life to God and I have been growing a lot and serving Him and now I’m studying to serve Him full time.” But that isn’t my story. Actually, though I did make a profession of faith when I was very young, I didn’t get saved until I was 17. Since I was 12 and now on into college I have struggled with “serious” issues. And I found out when I went to college that I am not the only “good kid” who is or has struggled with or is still struggling with serious stuff. We struggle with issues like eating disorders, depression and suicide, cutting, pornography, gender identity, homosexuality, drugs, drinking, immorality, and the list could go on. We listen to “wild” music, we idolize pop culture’s heroes, we watch dirty sitcoms. We have no discrimination in our entertainment, dress, or any aspect of our lifestyle. Obviously, I’m generalizing our problems—you would not find that every Christian young person from a conservative background struggles with all of these issues, and praise God, some of us do not struggle with any of these issues.

My point is that the problems that are supposed to be bad kid’s problems belong to us too. Unfortunately, our parents and youth workers don’t know that we struggle with these things and they don’t know what to do with us when they find out. Quite frankly, I believe that if you grabbed the average Christian school teacher or youth worker and asked them, “What would you do if you found out that one of the kids you work with was a homosexual?” they wouldn’t know what to say.

My point is not simply that they don’t know what we struggle with or how to deal with it. I think there is a pretty simple reason why “good” kids struggle with such serious stuff. And that there is a solution. At the risk of being blunt, I’m going to be blunt.

Our parents did not spend time teaching us to love God. Our parents put us in Sunday Schools since K4. Our parents took us to church every time the doors opened, and sent us to every youth activity. They made sure we went to good Christian colleges. They had us sing in the choir, help in the nursery, be ushers, go soulwinning. We did teen devotionals, and prayed over every meal. We did everything right. And they made sure that we did.

But they forgot about our hearts. They forgot that the Bible never commanded the church to teach children about God and His ways. That responsibility was laid at the feet of our fathers. Unfortunately, our fathers don’t have time for us. They put us where we are surrounded by the Bible. But they didn’t take time to show us that God was important enough to them to tell us personally about Him. So to us, Christianity has become a religion of externals. Do all the right stuff, and you’re a good Christian. So, some of us walk away from church. Some of us stay in church and fill a pew. Many of us struggle with stuff that our parents have no idea about because they hardly know us.

I think these problems stem from first, our detachment from our parents, and second from our misunderstandings about the essence of Christianity—a relationship, not a list of rules. I worry that many young people like me are not even saved because of their misunderstandings about Christianity.

I know that this has not been a well articulated treatise, but it comes from my heart. If you are able to help us and our families, we would be so grateful. I realize that probably, there is no way to fix the fact that kids my age are detached from our parents or to straighten out the crazy stuff that we struggle with. The alienation is fixed, the scars are permanent. I know our situation is not hopeless. God is at work in my life and my generation, among those of us who have struggled and are struggling. But maybe our younger siblings can have some help that we never had. Maybe you can write a book for our parents that will grab their attention and help them see that this is serious—that their kids need them, desperately.

I guess I’ve run out of things to say. I must say I’m a little hesitant to share my name with you because that attaches me with my parents, who are, by the way, good people. Thanks for everything you have already done to help Christian teens and their families. I’m eager to see what else God will do through you.

Sincerely, (Name Removed to Protect Anonymity)

All I could say when I read this letter was, “WOW! She nailed it!” This is the battle I’ve been fighting for twenty one years. I’m planning to write a couple of follow up articles to this letter, but for now, let this insightful young lady’s words sink in, and let God help you evaluate your own parenting and influence.

Are we teaching kids to simply appear and act right? Or are we teaching them to LOVE God and KNOW Him personally?

What are your thoughts?

Why do most teenagers leave the church by age 22?

by: Dave Welsch

Recently I was sent an article that said roughly 70% of all teenagers leave the church by the time they turn 22. Answers in Genesis President Ken Ham recently wrote a book "Already Gone" on this topic, as the number of young people leaving the church has grown more and more people have addressed this issue. As a Youth Pastor I am not only concerned with young people while they are in my youth group but also the decisions they make when they leave my youth group. The real success of a youth ministry is that young people continue to live for the Lord after they have turned 18 and left the youth group.

So why exactly do so many teenagers that were brought up in church leave the church by the time they turn 22? Here are a few of the reasons that I have heard,

"The church is no longer teaching strong doctrine"

"The church is to judgmental"

"The church needs to be more acceptive of the sins of society"

"The youth group is to fun"

"The youth group is to boring"

"The church is to liberal"

"The church is to conservative"

"They just need time to explore"

The list goes on and on, and truthfully many of these are valid points. If a church isn't teaching the bible then why would we expect God to convict young people to stay faithful to that church? If church is all about fun and not God then why would we expect them to stay in church when they can have more fun outside of church? Although all of these and other reasons someone may mention may be correct I believe they miss the mark. Changing the surroundings and circumstances that a young person goes to church in isn't going to change their heart. Maybe you can trick them to staying in church a little longer then they would have otherwise but they really wont be there.

Simply enough no matter what kind of church, family or youth group a person grows up in if they do not have a close personal relationship with God then they will eventually leave the church. No matter what age they are and no matter how many games their youth group plays. The problem is simply that most 2nd generation Christians (kids whose parents are saved and have grown up in a Christian home) don't have a personal faith. They have their parents faith. They believe it because they have been told to, not because its been real in their life and heart. I see it constantly, good kids who do what their told, attend church every week but they don't know God. They believe in God, they don't do certain things because of God, they might even serve in the church because of God but they don't know Him. Not personally anyway.

Rather then being focused on the environment are teens are in and hoping that we can make the perfect church so that they will want to stay, we need to specifically address where they are at with God. If their heart is right, and they have a close relationship with God then you won't be able to keep them out of church.

Wedding Plans are in the Works!

by Karen Finn

Hosea 2:19 “And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.”

God views us as his betrothed. Betrothed is an obsolete vocabulary term, rarely used in the twenty-first century. A more contemporary expression would be engaged or bride-to-be, symbolic of future promise and unity. What beautiful imagery to describe our value to God and position in Christ!

In Biblical times, a woman who was betrothed was commonly viewed as already being wedded; although-- in the physical sense-- the marriage had not yet been consummated. Oftentimes, the man would need to travel afar, temporarily separated, seeking a home for his future family. There was no mistaking that this “planning” phase brought about a heightened sense of expectation, for both the man and the woman. The promise of the bridegroom’s return was certain and imminent!

Isaiah 61:10 uses the bride/bridegroom symbolism and likens it to the joy found through salvation: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

With great care and detail, God fashions us in His image.

It is a labor of love, a love which is limitless in its knowledge and mercy.

The free will we have been given casts a shadow upon the holy, intimate relationship we were intended to uphold and honor.

Jesus’ dying proclamation “It is finished” (John 19:30) has been perfected, weaving the attributes of righteousness, judgment, lovingkindness and mercies into the fabric of our souls! The filthy, dirty rags of sin are cast off, never to be seen again. Our countenance is one of radiance and spotlessness. The garments of salvation completely cover us, purifying our souls and presenting us worthy to be rejoined with our Creator and King.

Oh! The joy that awaits us, realizing we are betrothed to him forever! It is a marriage vow which will never be broken, a celebration that will never have to cease. Christ is coming again for us, to return for His bride and to fulfill His promise to us!