Mighty Men, Men of Valor, Men of Honor, Men of Renown

 
I have a dream, you see.  I have a dream of a different thing.  I have a dream of a new thing.  I'm a believer you see.  I'm a believer in the Spirit of men.  I'm a believer in the realm of men.  I'm a believer in the men of the west. 

Times and measures are backwards now.  Things don't look so well for the people of western civilization.  We've gone off in search of many schemes.  But this isn't the end.  A decline isn't a fall.  

If we're children of a benevolent creator, and I believe we are, then everything can change.  Everything will change.  We must believe it can.  We must change.  And we will.  

We know the problem, don't we?  Men used to be honorable.  Men used to be brave, strong, and courageous.  That is the natural state of men.  We are to fight for honor, fight against evil, and uphold the good.  We are to be the righteous heroes of the stories.  Instead we've become the villains, predators of a kind, with no honor, no dignity, stalking weak willed women, inventing new ways of doing wrong, lazy, hopeless, and faithless.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  

I know, personally.  I have a dual doctorate in despair and self destruction.  It was fun for a while, sure.  But eventually the raw heart begins to cry out for something more.  Something different is required.  

The Lord said in Isaiah 43:19 (ESV) Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.

What does it mean to be a man?  It seems to me, to be a man is to be honorable.  It means bravery and strength.  To be a man means protecting the weak, and helping the poor.  To be a man is to be a higher being, a jedi knight, a chivalrous knight, a defender, a rider of Rohan, a soldier of Gondor.  To be a Christian man, is to be something even greater.  To be a Christian man is to be the crew of a hovership, it is to be a revolutionary, a member of the Maquis, a Dutch resistance fighter, a loyalist, a patriot militia fighter, a hero on the battlefields of Europe.  

One man, even one man can change the world.  One man change everything.  One man who believes and stands for something he believes in can change everything.  God will bless that.  The Bible is full of examples of God using a single person, or a few good men, who truly believed and sought a return to holiness, to change everything.  He takes our small effort in faith and multiples it by a thousand.  I've seen it happen in my life already.  It's shocking and powerful.  I'm genuinely shocked by it at times.  Especially when I see it happen, months later, after a single prayer.  Something huge in the USA changes, and I'm like woah.  Was that God's answer to my prayer?  Incredible.  

I'll give you an example.  One thing I like to do is share Christian stuff on my social media accounts.  I have two Facebook accounts, ten Twitter accounts, and accounts on Pinterest, Goodreads, Academia.edu, Live Journal, Tumblr, Youtube, and Reddit.  I found channels on Youtube mainly from the Veritas Forum, Cross Examined, and Reasonable Faith.  I loved watching Ravi Zacharias and many others to study their methods.  Naturally I would share these videos a lot on social media.  When I first started sharing videos from the Veritas Forum, and RZIM, and others, most of the Christian videos had maybe 3,000 to 8,000 views.  These days when I watch those same videos, the views are up between 100,000 and 500,000.  All we have to do is step out in faith, pray, share, and watch God do incredible things.  

I digress, I digress.  In the history of planet Earth, perhaps one of the most incredible men to walk the Earth was a man named David.  He dropped goliath with a rock, remember that story?  David had a troop with him in the wilderness, when he was on the run from all kinds of trouble.  The scriptures record them as "David's mighty men."  The saying is true that those who are with us during the hard times are the ones who will be with us in the good times.  David had truly loyal friends.  He had Jonathan, the dearest friend one could hope for.  

Is that desire dead within the hearts of men?  To be brave?  To be honorable?  To be the righteous hero against the forces of darkness?  Must we become shadows?  Must we flee all along the nights?  Will there always be too many of them, and not enough of us?  When is day break?  When is the dawn?  

I'm tired of the sex obsession of the culture.  I'm tired of the lack of dignity.  I'm tired of the lies and deceit.  I'm tired of so many people always looking to get an edge, to cut a deal, to give up their honor for a dime, and I'm so so tired of people trying to sell me things.  I'm tired of men who care about nothing but money and sex.  I'm tired of it, and I won't stand for it anymore.  I will see men become men of honor again.  I will see it in the name of Jesus Christ, the savior of man kind.  

It ain't so bad.  Who said it was?  I know the media always paints good as "boring."  And it usually paints evil, depravity, and random sexual encounters as "awesome, fun, exciting."  They don't show the next week of paying child support.  They don't show the abortion operation.  They don't show the divorce court battles.  They don't show the guilt felt by the man, or the lostness in the eyes of the woman.  What is difficult and boring?  Being stuck in the same cycle of dissatisfaction in empty pursuits.  Day in and day out, always feeling guilty, empty, depraved, a hole in the chest.  Always on the run from reality.  

"But I don' believe in God" you say?  It's never as simple as that though, is it?  Maybe you've been frustrated by the actions of churches.  Maybe you've been hurt.  Then again, maybe you have honest questions.  If you've got honest questions, and you're seeking the truth, check out the section of this website "Resources for Seekers."  Lots of videos and book suggestions and links to take a look at.  But let's proceed forward with the assumption that we know there is a God.  Most of us do, but maybe we're afraid it'll be too hard.  Maybe we're afraid that we can't live up to the impossibly high expectations.   

I'm not saying we're gonna be perfect today.  Not saying that at all.  But if you're reading this, a man, confused, which direction do I go?  I'm telling you the truth, this is the way.  You don't have to be perfect today.  But you can start today.  

James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

It's all in the book, the Bible.  Now don't worry, I'm not saying you have to start wearing button up shirts, going to cheesy conferences, and sit in pews on Sunday.  That's not what I'm saying.  I'm not saying "join evangelical culture."  Because a lot of that is just luxury society BS.  I'm saying radically follow the Jesus of the Bible.  I'm saying fight for justice.  I'm saying fight for political liberty.  I'm saying battle the corruption of big business and big banking.  I'm saying fight for the gospel.  I'm saying fight for the orphans, the widowed, and the sick and dying.  I'm saying take up the lost cause of hope, dignity, truth, and morality in this crazy backwards society of depravity!

James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

He is doing a new thing.  The West will have one more great awakening before the fall of all things and the coming of Christ.  I'm praying for God to raise up a generation of mighty men of honor, might, and renown.  Men of the west.  Men of the United States.  Men who will fight for the cause.  Men who don't fold.  Men who don't harm.  Men who lead men.  Men of dignity.  Men of loyalty.  Men of respect.  Men of passion.  Men of honor.  Men of God.  

Be one of them.  Start today.  Be a hero.  Be a man of honor.  


2 Cor 6:6 (NLT) We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.


Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

2 Cor 6:1-10 (ESV) Working together with him (Christ), then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³ We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶ by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷ by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

Related Posts:
Be a Man
The Lifestyle Change: Following Jesus one day at a Time
10 Answers to Common Questions Raised by Skeptics 
Five Causes for the New Christian Activist to Champion
The American Dream and the Christian Dream

 

What is the Gospel?

What is the Gospel?  How are we to understand exactly what the Gospel is?  

We can know scriptures, we can memorize verses, and we can tell people about the Bible, but what in essence is the basic message of the full Bible, cover to cover? 

To me, we see a description of two basic issues.  First, we have a problem.  Second, we have a solution to that problem.

Let's dig into this.  How are we as humans to understand this? We are biological life forms dreamt up by the mind of God.  We gain certain pieces of knowledge, but as we grow into adulthood we are fundamentally apposed to God unless taught.

Let's start here: What does the word "Gospel" mean?  

The meaning of the word "Gospel" is "Good news."  So maybe some of the preachers had you thinking it was bad news.  But it's not.  It's very very good news.  

But to understand a solution to a problem, we have to first understand the problem.  What is the problem?  The problem is man's disconnection from God.  Theologians call this the problem of sin.

Man kind went away from God, thousands of years ago, our ancestors did.  They rejected the awesome presence of God, and decided to try to make it on their own.  Now today we live in the wake of that.  

Really it's not hard to see.  There is corruption in every level of business and government and especially banking.  We live in a time of war, disease, and death.  Sometimes we can forget that as Americans though.  We live in a sort of bubble, where we educate ourselves into sheer imbecility, in vain attempts to convince ourselves that "everything is fine and dandy."  But it's not.  Perhaps the most clear witness for the problem of sin and evil, is the fact that the people of the Earth have more than enough to go around as far as food, water, and shelter... Yet people by the hundreds of millions starve to death, live homeless, and have access to no clean water.  

So it's clear there is a problem.  I hope we can all see the problem.  I was debating with a sociology major at the University of Wisconsin, and she just couldn't seem to see the problem.  The UW is a high quality school.  So I surprised.  I confronted her with the facts.  She just kept talking about how we need to reduce the population.  Which isn't actually necessary at all.  There are vast amounts of resources, that are being hoarded by the few, to the death of the many in countries like India, Pakistan, Tanzania, China, and so many others.  It makes me think that Malcom Muggeridge may have been correct when he wrote, “So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct.”― Malcolm Muggeridge, Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society

The problem stems back to the very first humans, Adam and Eve.  The problem can be surmised as three separate issues that led to the fall of man.  Unbelief in God, as the first humans trusted instead the tempter, and themselves.  Satan had said, "Did God really say that?"  He called into doubt the truth.  Second, succumbing to pride and temptation to power, when Satan said to them, "You will be like God."  Third, blaming others, and blaming God.  When God asked Adam, "Did you eat from the tree which I told you not to?"  What did Adam say?  He replied, "The woman..."  Dang, the woman.  It's always somebody elses fault isn't it?  When I got in trouble, it was society, it was conditions, it was the corrupt government, it was the bad laws, it was my parents, it was divorce, it was my friends, it was this, it was that.  And by the time it's over, I was just a helpless victim, standing there, and they just did it to me.  But I knew deep down that wasn't true.  The problem starts with me, and my actions, on a daily basis.  Not society.  Not conditions.  Not labor laws.  Not drug laws.  Me, and what I did.  And who I think about before anyone else.. Me.  

What did Adam say after "The woman"?  He said, "who you gave me!"  So, not only is it the woman's fault, it is also God's fault, because God made the woman.  Wow.  Just wow.  How often have I done the exact same thing?  Like Cool Hand Luke in the chapel crying out to God "You're the one who made me this way!"  I have blamed God for my problems, for my sorrows, when it wasn't God.  It was me.  Or it was other people.  But it wasn't God.  

Genesis 3:12 (ESV) The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”    

That is the problem.  Man turned on God.  And that heart of turning from God, has been passed on down the ages to every person born on Earth.  All the way down to me and you.  

From Genesis to Malachi the problem of sin is described in great detail.  The Old Testament is our total guide to the problem of sin.  We see the history of the Earth, of God's interactions with man after the fall.  He helps man, he encourages man, he pursues man as they run off in chase of many schemes.  The laws passed down to Moses and the Israelites helps man understand the problem even more clearly.  The laws of the OT helped man understand that there are standards.  There are reasons why God should be obeyed.  Because if all of these laws were followed to the letter by all people, there would be no war, no starvation, and no sorrow.  But the law informed man of another problem: Even when someone wants to sincerely live a good life, they seem to trip up and not be able to follow it perfectly.

I can understand why.  There is a lot of mind pollution in the world.  I was watching television recently and on average about every 10 seconds as I clicked through channels I would see a female scantly clothed, whether on a commercial or fitness program or sitcom.  Or I would see food painted up to look very scrumptious indeed.  Or car advertisements.  Or reality shows where people buy extravagant houses or are told to do ridiculous things for large cash rewards.  In summary, a lot of depraved weirdness on that screen.  The point is theres a lot of temptation.  

So man falls, man receives the law, man cannot seem to follow the law.  That is the problem.

Now we come to the solution.  And my goodness, is it a beautiful solution.  It is a majestic solution.  It is a wondrous solution.  It is a deep and meaningful solution.  It is the solution of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.   

God comes in human form to deal with the problem himself.  He offers himself as the way in which humans can be made right.  God gives himself as the bridge to righteousness.  God comes as Jesus Christ, teaches the truth, but more so, he is the truth in human form.  He lives the truth, and Jesus does not just teach the way, he is the way.  His righteousness is the gift.  This completes our passage into right relationship with God.  Christianity could be called "the way."  In the book of Acts it's often called "the way."  Because it's not necessarily about reading the Bible, it's not necessarily about loving or helping others, it's about personally believing in and receiving Christ as a graft onto my soul, a transfusion of righteousness to defeat the nature of sin within me.  It is surgery, to change me from wickedness to righteousness.  

God recognizes the problem more than people or society or the "experts."  The problem is not around us, the problem is within us, and that is why the Christian message is the truth.  It's a painful message at times, because I must admit that I am part of the problem and that I must change.  But I don't have to drag myself up by my own bootstraps.  Jesus Christ lifts me up.  I don't come to Jesus perfect, I come to Jesus humbly admitting that I'm the problem, me, and that I need his help to be part of the solution.

Now today, I, we, you and I get to be part of the solution.  We get to help, instead of hurt the world.  We get to love instead of take.  We get to give instead of always receiving.  This is the way.  It ain't easy to hear, that's why so many people refuse it.  Why?  Because of the same three problems from Genesis chapter 3.  One, Unbelief, "There is no god."  "The Bible is full of errors."  "Christians are hypocrites."  "Well I've never met Jesus."  And on and on.  Two, pride.  "I don't need God."  "I'm just fine."  "I'm not perfect, but I'm certainly not as bad as.. *insert person or people group."  "I don't need God to be moral."  And three, blaming God and others.  "Look what my parents did to me."  "God made me this way."  "Society did this to me."  "If I wasn't raised in poverty, I would've been something special."   "It's all my ex-wife's fault." And on and on and on.  That's why everyone isn't Christian.  And God treasures us, and our individual rights and freedom to choose so much that he won't force eternal joy on us.  We can always choose sin, depravity, and death.  But we don't have to.  

Many can see the problem, and the solution.  They humble themselves.  They believe upon the evidence and the word of the Bible.  They meet Jesus.  They trust in him despite everything the world shouts.  They blame no one, and take responsibility for their situation and their actions, past, present, and future.  They don't try to do it alone though, they rely on Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide the way and change them internally.  

That person is the Christian who has received the Gospel, the good news, that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  The Gospel very simply, is the message that Jesus Christ can help someone like me, a sinner, to reconnect to God today, and expect an eternal life with God after death in the future, past the veil of the shadow of death. 

What is the Gospel?  Justification for a person, from all their misdeeds, and rebirth into the family of God by The Way, Jesus Christ, or in Hebrew he is called: Yeshua.  

God bless you, amen.

Real Christianity: Clothing, Buildings, Money, & Extravagance

There is a lot of stuff out there claiming to be Christian, when it's not really Christian.  It's a difficult situation for any real Christ follower.  On one side you have a culture and society growing progressively more hostile toward Christian values.  On the other side you've got a religious establishment entrenched in wealth and worldliness.  The real Christian must face down hostility from a depraved culture.  And within the church, the real Christian must face down the rejection and hostility from luke-warm Christians, self righteous false followers, and health and wealth types.  It's very difficult.  Especially once within the church.  One hopes to find respite, but instead finds hostility and many who feel threatened by the sincere Christian's real devotion to a real savior.  Have you ever encountered that?  I have.  80% of Americans claim to be Christian.  But are they really?  Of course not.  

Now before I go any further, I know that it is very easy to attack the church.  Everyone attacks the church, believers and non-believers a like.  She's an easy target given all the trouble.  So it's worth mentioning that the church, the body of Christ, was never said to be perfect.  In fact from the very outset, evidenced by the letters of the New Testament to the early churches, from the very start there were serious problems.  The NT letters tell of sexual immorality (1 Corinthians), men sleeping with their own mothers (1 Cor 5:1), false teachers (Galatians), Jews attempting to force Christians to be circumcised (Romans, Galatians), falling away, shipwrecked faith (1 Timothy), attacks from Gentiles (Acts), attacks from Jews (Acts), and many other problems.  The church is not perfect.  Yet it's also important to realize that when Paul and others wrote the developing churches, he didn't ignore the problems or sugar coat them.  He addressed those problems directly.  He then lovingly encouraged the believers to do better.  So if we do the same today, we are right and correct to do so.  

So what does it mean to be a real Christian?  To be a true follower of Jesus Christ?  

Does it mean that I never sin?  Of course not.  Does it mean that I never make a mistake?  Nope, true followers make plenty (ask Peter).  Does it mean we never fall away?  No, true followers have fallen away (but they always come back).  

Jesus Christ taught that the wheat and the weeds are being allowed to grow together (Matthew 13:24-30).  The church is full of non-believers, agnostics, hypocrites, liars, fakes, and abusive men looking for submissive wives.  And that's not even the half of it.  Some churches are dead, some churches are half death, other churches teach false doctrines, and still other churches are nothing more than CEO business style money making machines flamboyantly portraying a false belief system stamped with the word "Christian."  

I don't want to be a jerk or anything, but it's true.  I don't want to be a debbie-downer either, but we real Christians need to watch out for this kind of thing.  I've encountered people threatened by me in virtually every church I've ever visited.  Why?  There is no need for it, but it happens.  I've been deeply hurt by people in the church professing to be Christians.  It doesn't necessarily mean they aren't followers of Jesus.  But that could be a possibility.  

What I'm trying to say here is: Expect difficulties, especially if you're sincere about this Jesus following thing.  I'm not always as great as I want to be.  I fall short.  I screw up.  I don't always feel as sincere as I should.  But I cry out to God about it.  I beg God to change my heart.  As I write this, I yearn for God to receive these written words as yet another desperate prayer from a troubled young man like myself, to please, please, please Holy Father, change me into the man you want me to be!  I need it so badly.  That's all it takes.  Keep asking, keeping talking to the Father, if you don't think you're sincere enough, if you think your faith might be fraud, cry out to God the Father!  Beg the Spirit and Jesus to intercede for you.  It ain't hard, just ask.  

Given that we believe and love the Savior, how then shall we live?  That's the pertinent question.  How shall we live in response to a world in such desperate need?  We really can't live as Christians of the United States and Europe anymore.  We need to live as Christians of the world.  We're in that time in history, when we receive news and information from all over the world.  If I want to, I can send a package to the Philippines and it will arrive in a few weeks.  We are global Christians.  Via the internet I can speak to people anywhere.  I can access information on virtually any topic.  

Despite all our access to information then, why are we so foolish?  How could I not realize the desperate needs of the 2/3rds world?  

This blog has always been about a lifestyle change for peace.  Peace is only available through Christ.  The Psalmist wrote "Seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14).  Through Jesus I have peace with God (Romans 1:5).  Now today, I am the arms and legs of Jesus Christ in the world, the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-20).  Every true believer is within that body and functioning by and for Christ.  How then shall I live?  

It is best that I love God with all my heart, all my mind, everything I have.  It is best that I love those around me, and serve them humbly, washing their feet and giving of myself to them.  Or as it was put in Micah 6:8.. do what is right, humbly, love mercy, walk with your God.  

Seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34).  Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).  I best seek peace and pursue it by being the arms and legs of the reconciler, the peace-maker himself.  That's Jesus.  And it's all about Jesus.  All things were made by him, through him, for him! (Col 1:16, Rom 11:36). 

The scriptures say that to whom much is given, much will be expected (Luke 12:48).  Who has been given much?  I have been given much!  I am a Christian living in the wealthiest country in the world!  That fact has passed me by sometimes, as I dither in my own sorrow.  Never-the-less I don't want to diminish the real sufferings of American Christians.  We have great material wealth.  In reality, we have little of real value (Proverb 11:7).  The only thing of real value is faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:7).  And with the material wealth comes temptation of every kind, bells and whistles flashing in the face day and night always tempting, tempting, tempting.  Sex, drugs, alcohol, parties, cars, electronics, appliances, loans, cigarettes, fine foods, furniture, and it's so loud and overwhelming and all encompassing and brainwashing you could just scream out loud!  Shut up, be quiet, get out of my head!  The noise pollution, the forcefully memorized slogans and commercial ads, all being beaten into the head of the Christian believer who is trying so hard to escape all that nonsense to truly follower Christ, and all that noise is such a grave threat to that walk with Christ that it could snatch away years of progress in a second.  It isn't easy.  Whether you are going hungry in the 3rd world threatened by disease, poverty and war, or a sex addict media junkie 9 to 5 debt slaver in the 1st world, it's never easy.  Each environment comes with it's unique challenges.  

I was watching Cable recently while visiting my mother and step dad in Wisconsin Rapids.  I was disturbed as I flipped through the channels to find myself looking at a certain Benny Hinn, with a 1-800 number posted on the screen.  On the screen was flashing that if you called, Benny would pray for you, so God would get you out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.  I believe the exact number was $140,000 of debt.  God wants to get you out of debt, just send us your money!  Buy this book, order this DVD!  It was like I was watching an infomercial.  

I was genuinely disturbed.  I recalled then from years back, when I was watching a program where a gifted preacher drove me up into a religious frenzy with his speaking, and just at the cusp of the frenzy I found that he was trying to sell me a product.  Truly disturbing, once again.  These religious television programs are a lucrative market it seems.  That's not Christianity.  But that's what many assume it is.  A joke, a game, a lie.  But that isn't Christianity at all.  It's a business venture.

All the fancy clothes, the multi-million dollar buildings, the extravagant meals, the weekend conferences, the health and wealth, the gyms, the "Christian" dating tips, the "Christian" get out of debt DVDs, and the preaching tours of Israel.. I mean, it seems like mega-churches end up promoting their brand of "Christian" material more than the real message of the Bible.  

Humility ends up a dead concept.  If there is one way to get this all straightened out, it's through intense humility and utter devotion to the real Christ.  Maybe we need to take a hard look at how we live, and ask ourselves what we could give up.  How can we redirect all of this wealth to reach the lost?  Isn't that the primary purpose of the body of Christ?  To bring Christ?  Maybe we need to ask ourselves, what are we here to do?  Why is evangelism such a low priority?  Why are we staying behind the church walls instead of going out to serve?  Why all these fancy suits, massive building projects, and flamboyant worship music?  Do we even know what worship is anymore?  Are we going to be entertained instead of to praise and worship the Living God?  Why are the sheep starving in the fields?  Why is the message so watered down?  

There are many questions to ask.  But in the end, it starts with me.  It starts with the choices I make everyday.  How can I, me, Justin, serve Christ better?  How can I redirect some of my incredible American wealth to those who need it?  Keep in mind, I work at a homeless shelter making a tad above minimum wage.  I'm not a rock star or CEO pastor.  But I've got a bit extra.  I can sponsor a child for Compassion.com.  I can hand out some Bibles.  I can tell some people about Jesus.  I can pray for some people.  I can take a few people under my wing and encourage them.  I can write.  I can share on social media.  So I need to challenge myself to do those things.  It doesn't have to happen over night!  But it can happen slowly over time.  It's not hard.  In fact it's great!  We can definitely do this.

This is real Christianity.  This is really following Jesus.  And it's great!  It's the real thing.  It's powerful, shocking, and life changing.  It's exciting.  It means taking dangerous risks, and fighting for a noble cause in a lost world.  This isn't kneeling in the pew half asleep on Sunday morning praying for service to end already.  That isn't it.  This is going to the lost.  This is serving overseas.  This is going into dangerous countries.  This is putting it all on the line for our faith.  This is trusting something we can't tangibly see.  This is radical devotion, a world shaking spiritual experience in the lives of billions on the planet Earth.  This is everything, or it's nothing.  What it can't be is "six tips for a better blah blah blah."  Or can I take your order?  Or playing World of Warcraft for two months straight.  Or CCD doctrinal sessions.  Or ziplining at youth group.  This is the front lines of a spiritual war.  A real conflict.  

This Christ following journey is the truth of life itself.  It's the spark in the eyes of those once half asleep at the wheel.  Those bored to tears at mass, or bored to tears clicking through an endless Facebook news feed hoping to heaven and earth that something might change, that something might light up in the dead eyes of someone who is emotionally and physically wasting away from meaninglessness in the self entertainment lifestyle of this culture.  Someone who has masturbated so many times to pornography, got drunk so many times, smoked so many cigarettes, paged through so many magazines, taken so many orders, sat for so many hours in a cubicle, went on so many unfulfilling vacations, did so many drugs, had so many empty sexual encounters, faked so many smiles, driven so many bland miles, and sat staring at a television screen so many endless hours that they feel they might burst inside from the meaninglessness and droning emptiness, and deadness of it all. 

This is the message for you, this is the mission for you; the Christian mission, the radical Jesus Christ following mission of true, real Christianity, beyond all the mega-churches, book sales, conferences, and prosperity gospel.  This is true devotion to a Living God, through a Living Savior, in the current ministry of the Living Spirit.  All explained through the elegant message of the Bible, the book, written over thousands of years, there is nothing like it.  No one ever said it would be easy, but there is one thing I can guarantee you:  It will be worth it, and it will stir in you a light that none can extinguish.  Take the journey.  Open the Bible.  Study and learn.  Explore the resources.  Truly follow him, truly follow him!  In the name of my blessed savior Jesus Christ, amen.  

 

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The Stairway to Heaven

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1. 

Have you ever noticed that?  The Bible is not simple, and it's not man made.  It's all interconnected.  The first verse of the Old Testament says "in the beginning God created" it all.  Of course we know from Genesis chapters 2 and 3 that things went wrong.  

Then we look at the magnificent gospel of John, arguably the beginning of the New Testament, and it begins with the same words "In the beginning" but this time it says "was the Word" a term used to represent Jesus Christ.  In those first few paragraphs of John we have an incredible mystery.  It is stated that all things were created by Christ and for Christ.  But more so when examining John 1:1 we see that though there was a problem, there was already a solution to that problem in Jesus Christ.  From the very beginning there was an answer to the problem of sin.  

One of the oldest books in the Old Testament is the book of Job.  Job is a book very close to my heart.  I read it vigorously while I was in jail.  It helped me identify with the problem of suffering.  But in that book Job utters these prophetic words: 


"I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth." (Job 19:25)

It was said that Job was a righteous man in the sight of the Lord (Job 1:1).  Yet he suffered immensely.  Even though Job was so righteous and pure, he still knew that he needed a savior.  Job and God actually talk to one another.  And do you know what God says to Job?  He asks him somewhere between 50 and 60 questions regarding his worldview.  It helps Job understand himself.  God is not the problem.  Man's distorted worldview is the problem.

But Job knew deep down that God had provided a provision for his malady, Jesus Christ.  

Think of another Old Testament hero, not nearly as upright and true as Job.  We can think of Jacob.  He was a troublemaker.  If there is any one person in the history of man that I deeply identify with even more than Job, it's Jacob.  Jacob was trouble.  I used to be trouble.  Sometimes I still am trouble!  But God made a great nation of Jacob.  More so than Isaac or even Abraham, Jacob's name is forever connected to Israel.  The time in the book of Revelation when Israel's feet are placed to fire is called simply "The time of Jacob's trouble."  Not Abraham's trouble or Isaac's trouble, but Jacob.  Why is that astounding?

Because Jacob was such a screw up.  He ran from his problems.  But God pursued him as he fled.  Do you recall the night that Jacob had his dream?  It's one of the most majestic and haunting records in the Old Testament, as follows:

Genesis 28:10-22 (NIV)
¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it^[a] stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.^{[b] 15} I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” ¹⁷ He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel,^[c] though the city used to be called Luz.
²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord^[d] will be my God ²² and^[e] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

And God and man met, wrestling all night in Genesis chapter 32:

²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.

Do you know what "Jacob" means in Hebrew?  It means deceiver.  Jacob was willing to admit that he was a lying cheat who had stole the blessing from his brother Esau.  So once he had admitted his sin, and laid it bear, God made a great nation of him.

This story is very close to my heart.  I did not come to God on my shiny spotless record.  I came to God ahhnilated by sin and hanging off a cliff, below an eternal abode of outer darkness.  We each hang from that cliff, every single person.  Some know it, most don't.  And it won't matter who knew and who didn't know.  

Think again to the vision of the stairway to heaven.  The majestic stairway, with angels going up and down upon it.  What is the stairway?  

Perhaps a better question is.. who?  

In John 1:50-51 (NIV) Jesus said to Nathaniel, "⁵⁰“Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on^' the Son of Man.”
  
Jesus Christ is the stairway in the dream of Jacob.  Jesus told it to Nathaniel, referencing the dream of Jacob in Genesis 28.  Jesus was telling Nathaniel that he would see the path to heaven open up, finally, after thousands of years of waiting for the nation of Israel.  Finally the way would be made, by which man could be reconciled to God.  

Jesus Christ is the stairway to heaven.  And there is no other. 

As a gruff friend of mine says "Take the deal punk."  

Or as Brandon Summers (The Helio Sequence) accurately sung it: "I just wanna know,
Cuz it's time that we end the day,
And you can't even sleep at night
When will you realize?
You don't even know..
You're only falling to rise again.
You're only lost to be found again.
It only ends to begin again."
- (Let it Fall Apart)

Sometimes, things have to happen a certain way.  I used to feel singled out for suffering.  I feel so weak sometimes.  Not like those "strong people" out there.  But turns out I'm one of the lucky ones.  How can I rise if I've never fallen? How could I know that I need God if I feel I really don't?  There are a lot of unlucky people who haven't been through much.  I've been through it.  And I know.  I need God.  I just do.  There isn't anything wrong with that either.  It's the natural state.  It's right.

I've dropped my weapons, and ended my own personal rebellion.  Have you dropped yours?  Have you left behind the self serving rebellion/  Have you joined the resistance?  Have you stepped into the Spirit?  As Thom Yorke (Radiohead) might put it, maybe it's time to "give up the ghost?"

Falling to my knees in front of the fire place, I called upon Jesus Christ.  I called loudly, with all my might.  Now the painting at the top of this post hangs above that fireplace.  The ladder to heaven.  I've dreamt of forests since I was young.  I've dreamt of beautiful, majestic pathways through the wilderness.  For so many years I wondered what the right way was.  I asked the questions.  But I never had an answer.  Thankfully.. once enveloped by total darkness, Jesus Christ intersected me on my journey through that woods, along the yellow brick road.  Much like the way Eric Metaxas describes his dream of the golden fish he pulled from the meta-consciousness lake, Jesus Christ stepped into my demented delusion of the new agey meadow forest, and displayed himself as the passage, not to the left, but to the right, himself, as the way, the truth, and the life.  I need all three.  I need a passage out of this nightmarish false reality, this consumerist delusion.  And I need the truth so desperately, in a world full of lies.  Most importantly, I need life in a world where death is the norm.  

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”