I was wrong

My wife is my mirror, so when she says I screw up I have really screwed up.

God gave her to me as a help meet- not mate- meet to reveal to me where I fall short. She is also the reflection of who I am in truth. So when I blow it, and it happens way too much, she will let me know without a doubt.

Recently, I received comments on this blog that were published that were making accusations. I do not know if they were false or not, and they were published. I was informed by one of the parties involved that they were false, or at least, not fully true. It was the responsible thing, the right thing, the graceful thing to remove them.

Worse than that, I found a letter trolling the internet that was written by the person who was that wronged party. Now these notes were not signed, but this one was. Same IP address. A passionate and obvious cry for help. Still, one sided only.

I let my emotion get the best of me (kids involved), but I did not think through what I did. Publishing that letter and allowing those comments was gossiping. I guess I didn’t realize it, but I had crossed the line, the fine line, of spreading a tale that I did not know to be true. Although I didn’t write the letter, by copying it and sending it on and allowing others to read it, I was just as guilty as those who have that special prayer request about someone that has the special headline that makes it more juicy.

Not only that, it had the opposite effect that I truly desired it to have. It hurt people, and it shut down the possibility of communication. I truly desire all marital relationships, especially with those in the church, to be reflections of Christ and the church as they are supposed to be. When there is a broken relationship within the church, no matter the circumstances, it is a tragedy. I have seen that tragedy all around me. I have seen ripple effects on my own marriage. It breaks my heart.

I am not making excuses, I was wrong, and I am sorry. I am sorry to the parties who were hurt, but I am also sorry to those whose eyes were exposed and how it has affected their opinions of the person who was written about. I am sorry, because it is a bad reflection on Christ, not that He did not call out sin (he did) but it was always for a redemptive purpose. I get the feeling from those involved and those who have read what I have now deleted that it didn’t seem like it was written in love and for the purpose of redemption. In fact, I know some involved got real angry.

It seems it was they’re right to be angry.

I was wrong, and I hope, truly, that this marriage is redeemed for the glory of Christ.

I know that in Christ I have forgiveness, but I hope I can reconcile with those who I have hurt. It starts with the 7 words my wife loves to hear “I was wrong and I am sorry”

Followed by “will you forgive me?”

Peace.

#C?21:They will know if you are Christian by your Tweets….

2 Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

As Peter says here, we desire to be found by the Lord at his appearing without spot or blemish, and at peace. What this means simply is this: We are to be found in Christ Jesus. How do we find peace with God? Through Justification (Romans 5:1) How do we become spotless and blameless? Through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the encouragement is found here to be in Christ when He comes again. We are encouraged to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The way that we do this is by study of His Word, and by the power of His Holy Spirit, not by vain philosophies such as those taught at Christianity apostasy 21.

dtatusko: everything continues to ripple after #c21. kudos to @jonestony and @pagitt for creating a space where the spirit of god truly thrived.

Certainly not the God I serve. The God I serve, the God of the Bible, tells us to be holy, for He is holy. This means we are to strive to live, by the power of the Holy Spirit, according to His standard. This is not legalism, indeed, his commands are not burdensome to those who love Him. Rather, it is the natural response of those who truly love the Lord to seek Him and find out how He desires for his followers to live. And that instruction is found in the bible.

1 Peter 1:15-16 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear
I wonderif the following was what Paul was talking about when he said corrupting talk.

MoJoJules: #c21 f@#ked my s&it up. I feel almost torn a part. Needing for when I come terms w/ it to look someone in the eye and tell them the gift.
about 2 hours ago from Tweetie

PhilShepherd: i have gotten the s&it kicked out of me today, but n a good way emotionally & physically. loving it. #c21

curatinghope: Lisa Domke said: “and I’ll quote The McLaren…” // sry Brian but that’s just f@cking funny.

( I had to edit the above posts for little eyes. The words were REALLY there…)

Then of course, there are those who say it, and those who repeat it, and those who think it is funny- See Romans 2 and ‘hearty approval’.

moffou42: @makeesha just told the audience “don’t f*ck with me” AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!! #c21

There is an affirmation of the Homosexual lifestyle there; although God through His word and through natural revelation has declared it both sinful and unnatural:

Romans 1:24-27 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

swancommarachel: I am #c21, #queermergent, woman, daughter, sister, friend, beloved, Christian, broken, loved, out and #bisexual, happy coming out day. #fb

With all the emergent desire to become part of the kingdom of God, why do they fall into and support the homosexual lifestyle?

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

What is worse is the church approving of this garbage by having a lesbian, as well as a lesbian supporter in their pulpit on Sunday Sinday

Seth Donovan, doin her thang at Edina Lutheran Community as a part of #c21. Goooooooood. http://twitpic.com/l4bif

Up, but hardly at em. Church at Edina Community Lutheran Church w Seth and @sarcasticluther. #c21

Then of course, there is the ‘Christian Pluralism’ meaning we can accept and embrace other religions as having equal value- after John 14:6 was deconstructed Friday, it makes sense that these emergents believe all religions are equally valid:

Lisa Domke-”Holiness is marked by profound, uncontainable joy and love.” Singing inside as she’s talking about being a Xian pluralist

moffou42: “I often sense the Spirit of God working in people of other faiths” AWESOME!!

My friends, when you see this stuff appearing in your church (and it will) BE CAREFUL! Watch for it, it comes through the youth pastor, and sometimes through the musicians. Pastors, keep a wary eye out for this. You must protect your flock. The best way is to preach the whole counsel of the WORD OF GOD.

1 Peter 3: 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

What a difference an hour makes

This morning I was faced with warnings and threats from a supposed brother in Christ about preaching the Gospel outside of the church. He bore false witness, telling the police that I was going to come to his JOPA production to protest, when all we desired to do is to preach the Gospel outside. Not only did he lie to the police that we were going to protest, but he also lied to the people there telling them the same thing. One tweet reflected that ‘I didn’t see any protestors’ That is because there were none there. Your ‘pastor’ lied to you.

Despite Doug’s great efforts, still I was moved to show up and preach, though my friends were discouraged. I simply delivered 5 21 minute messages in the open air. I delivered a message on the Bible, God, Man’s condition when they deny the Bible, Natural revelation, and God’s justice. I also shared the good news of Justification to give a little hope. I read in the open air 6 chapters of scripture. This was a live broadcast, so this can testify to the fact that Jesus was uplifted and honored. I also got to get some insight from Chris Rosebourough, from Pirate Christian Radio. That was sweet fellowship with a guy I had never met face to face.

After the show, many of my friends called and encouraged me. One good brother invited me to a conference that just so happens to be addressing the emergent church, and the need for discernment in these times. Understanding the Times with Jan Markell. I was tired, and a little discouraged, but I decided to go.

Malachi 3:18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Here are the differences that I have seen here already:

Sweet fellowship
Instant bonding/fellowship that is sweet
The Bible is the only thing being preached.
Jesus Christ is being honored
It is free, does not cost $195
There is no yoga
No sexual counseling
No spiritual directors
No sampling of Minneapolis Nightlife

I am certain also that they would welcome anybody to come in here with open arms.

I am so blessed to be a believer. It is so good to be able to have a shared faith in the real Jesus Christ. It is so good to study His word together. Even when it is convicting, it is filled with real hope.
It would be wonderful if these good brothers and sisters here were to spend some time about five miles (but worlds apart) from here on Saturday. They could see what is being preached from the Word face to face at Christianityapostasy 21.:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7

always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth

. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.

C?21, JOPA, and the Love of God

I awoke this morning to three new direct messages from Doug Pagitt of JOPA productions concerning the open air meeting I am going to hold in Edina today that will uplift Jesus and His cross and real faith in Him.

I asked him to talk, or to have an interview on my OneOne radio program This was his first response:

You have a new direct message:
pagitt: Sure. I am pretty busy though. I want to let you know that you are not invited to be on the church property this weekend.

Later on this morning, three more direct messages from Doug demonstrating the love of God, as well as confidence that the opinions given by the presenters at C?21 are not rock solid in light of God’s Word, because thats what I will be preaching outside.

You have a new direct message:
pagitt: If you are on the property we have already alerted the Edina police and they will remove you.

You have a new direct message:
pagitt: Your planned protest must not enter the church property nor harrass any attendees or we will have the police remove you.

You have a new direct message:
pagitt: I suggest you call me today so we can talk on the phone and be perfectly clear about this. 612 730 ****.

This is not a protest, nor has it ever been. I plan to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. I plan to present the Christian faith with 21 topics which include salvation, reconciliation, sanctification, glorification, worship, holiness, repentance, sin, etc. I plan to preach/teach on the doctrine of man, the doctrine of God. I plan to teach on God’s wrath, his justice, and his love. This has never been a protest, it has always been an effort to present a real Christianity at a place where a false christianity is being sold.

And I am not charging $195.

It is truly amazing that these preachers of ‘tolerance’ that are at a church that is part of the ‘reconciliation’ movement cannot have a dissenting view. The only thing they don’t want to reconcile with or tolerate is the gospel presented in truth.

Doug, if you don’t want me outside preaching these messages, why not allow me to come inside and simply interview attendees and/or authors for the radio show? I will be professional, I promise. It is not like they can keep me out of the hotel I am staying in (I have a beautiful show chihuahua) so I will run into a few people in the lobby for sure, anyhow. And they will surely not keep me from sampling the twin cities’ nightlife with you. Of course, I will be the guy outside the bars preaching the glorious gospel.

C?21 and Alternative Christianity

When C?21 was in its formative stages, it was going to be held in an entirely different church in Edina, MN. This church, which will remain nameless, was written to by myself and several others exhorting the elders and the pastors to examine the conference that was to be held there. I was shocked and somewhat pleased to notice the change of venue. When I saw where it is to be held now, I understood the potential full impact of this conference on the culture: This conference is being held in a building and hosted by a church which is no church at all. Look for a moment at the Good Samaritan United Methodist Churchchurch mission statement:

Our Mission:
We are a Christian community of acctptance, nurturing faith and reaching out.”

Our Vision:
“Opening Hearts and Minds in a Divided World”

Our Statement of Reconciliation:
“Good Samaritan United Methodist Church believes that we are all children of God and that God loves us all equally. We welcome and affirm people of all sexual orientations. We pledge our love and acceptance to all people, especially those who have felt abandoned by the institutional church. We proclaim ourselves to be a church of reconciliation to all people.”

In other words, they are a churchliberal social club which says they worship Jesus, yet do not believe the Word of God.

Believe it or not, this is the evidence of the apostasy that Jesus Himself spoke of prior to His second coming:

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and h false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, l marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man

There is a strong apostasy that is coming, and, in many ways, has come. It will not be able to sway the elect, the ones that God has chosen to save from the beginning of time. His sheep know His voice and they will not follow a stranger. However, there will be many that are swayed over. One of the ways to tell is those who refuse to listen to the clear warnings of God. Noah was a preacher of righteousness for 120 years as he built the ark, yet people went on with their lives as though nothing was happening. This is the way that the end will come, when no one (but the true believers) are looking for it.

But, an interesting tidbit of history as well that relates directly to this story. The last time in history before today that homosexual marriage was allowed was in ancient Babylon, during the days of Noah. This was discovered through the oral, (and later written down) traditions and laws of these people.

It is no church that rejects the scripture, that leads its people in the suppression of truth by they’re unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) In affirming homosexuality, Good Samaritan United Methodist church is not being a good Samaritan- they are not binding up the wounds of the broken. Instead, they are feeding the patient poison instead of good medicine. JOPA is doing the same thing; in presenting this conference of authors, some of whom in writing reject the authority of the Bible, others of whom are homosexual themselves, and still others practice and promote inter-spirituality, they are leading people astray instead of helping people find the one true God.

Stop hiding, and giving false advertising. Call this conference apostate christianity 21.

Rob Bell Tickets

Rob Bell says this:

Q: But what is the purpose of your tours?
A: One is that, when you work really hard to create something, a book or a film or a sermon, it’s just pure joy to share it with people. Tonight I’m in Ottawa, and I’ll go up and for two hours take people on a journey through the content of the book. It’s the joy of the communal gathering, taking these ideas and turning them loose. At the most basic level, it’s just great fun.

Q: What is this tour about?
A: Give me the right music and lighting and setting, and you can do almost anything. What’s far more interesting is when people are presented with ideas and begin to reshape the way you see the world. This tour, I’m walking people through suffering and creativity. How many people, if you ask them to talk about defining moments in their lives, mention really hard things? People rarely say, ‘Well, I went on vacation…’ These moments in our lives that are the most traumatic, that we would do anything to avoid, end up in retrospect being the moments that shape us. My goal is to create an experience that opens people up. There is no altar call. No one comes down and checks a box.

It looks as though someone removed a brick...does it matter?

Apparently, it is also about making money, for someone….

Rob Bell Tickets

Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 8 p.m.

Section Row Price (ea) # Provider

TERR HH $180.00 7 TicketNetwork

ORCH Q $272.00 4 TicketNetwork

ORCH P $282.00 2 TicketNetwork

1/1

Yeah, I know…its a ticket broker. But somebody bought up tickets to see mega-superstar preacher, then sell them for $282. Do you know how many compassion kids could be fed for that?! No, we would rather worship a personality like Rob Bell.

I think I will go with the Apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you p as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking,  I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

7 Or a did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because  I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was  in need,  I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do

12 And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not with the Lord’s authority but as a fool. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews?  So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and f often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Rob Bell talks about helping people who suffer, and he has never suffered a day in his life for the Gospel. No, he travels like a rock star from venue to venue putting on a show that is devoid of the Gospel. He charges money for people to hear his false teaching. He publishes books and the publishing company sells them for $30 a pop. Somebody is making a profit off of the teaching he does, and even if it is not him, it is indicative of a wicked spirit in today’s evangelicalism. The Gospel is to be given free of charge.

Of course, there is much more money in the false Gospel that Rob Bell preaches anyway.

Rob Bell and Evangelism

If you take the brick of the gospel out of the wall of christianity what do you have left?

Michael Paulson interviews Rob Bell on Boston.com: One of the questions was about Rob’s language, and Rob Bell takes a shot at what he perceives to be right and wrong about evangelism:

Q: I’m struck by the fact that I don’t hear a lot of explicitly religious language, or mentions of Jesus, from you.
A: I think we have enough religious people who are going around trying to convert people. My guard is up when somebody is trying to convert me to their thing. Are you talking to me because you actually are interested in this subject, because you care about me as a human, or am I one more possible conversion that will make you feel good about your religiosity? I don’t have any embarrassment about my religion, and it’s not that I’m too cool, but I would hope that the Jesus message would come through, hopefully through a full humanity. If you have something to say, whether you’re religious or not, if it is truly Christian and Jesus-centered, then it will help and be interesting and compelling to people, regardless of their world view. But I’m not just interested in talking to Christians. I’m interested in what does it mean to be fully human.

Here is what the Bible says about Evangelism:

First: Jesus speaking in the red letters:
Mark 16:15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

The Greek for proclaim is kerusso, and is never translated “make it come through a full humanity” it means preach, proclaim verbally, with gravity and authority, like a herald or a ambassador. You are to speak the words the Master has given you under his authority.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus gave us the command, he has the authority to do so, and passes the authority to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, and teaching of all He has commanded us. It is not about being ‘fully human’; its about proclaiming Christ. Its not about ‘hoping the message gets through’ but about proclaiming the message that Christ has commanded us.

Where are we supposed to proclaim it? Jesus instructs us again:

Acts1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The Greek translated Witness is Martus, which is literally a spectator, or one who describes or gives testimony of what he has seen. When I listen to Rob Bell, I truly wonder if he has ever taken part in Jesus Christ, for if you cannot speak about Jesus, if you reduce it to ‘going around trying to convert you’ I truly wonder if Bell has ever been converted. I do not know any Born Again followers of Jesus Christ who speak of their conversion in such terms. They love the people who shared with them. They love the Jesus that saved them, and they cannot stop speaking about Jesus to others. This reminds me of Tony Jones who made a mockery of being ‘born again’ during my interview of him. That made me wonder if he understands what being a Christian truly is.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

When one will not proclaim the name of Jesus, or bear witness about what Jesus has done for him, or refuses to be obedient to His master who purchased Him, I truly wonder if he is a Christian! The Gospel is not the display of being fully human, it is the proclamation of the name and actions of Jesus on our behalf. There is no shame in proclaiming it if you believe it!

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

And it is a precious name! And the News is Good News! And it is not about being fully human, it is about being forgiven of your sins and being recreated to look like Jesus

Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For Rob Bell, it is about performance, making a cool show, it is not about the Gospel as he says himself in the same interview:

Q: But what is the purpose of your tours?
A: One is that, when you work really hard to create something, a book or a film or a sermon, it’s just pure joy to share it with people. Tonight I’m in Ottawa, and I’ll go up and for two hours take people on a journey through the content of the book. It’s the joy of the communal gathering, taking these ideas and turning them loose. At the most basic level, it’s just great fun.

The content of the book- he is not talking about the Bible. It is a tour of self promotion, like JoPa productions Christianity 21 is a bunch of women hawking their philosophy and books and has nothing to do with Christianity.

Q: What is this tour about?
A: Give me the right music and lighting and setting, and you can do almost anything. What’s far more interesting is when people are presented with ideas and begin to reshape the way you see the world. This tour, I’m walking people through suffering and creativity. How many people, if you ask them to talk about defining moments in their lives, mention really hard things? People rarely say, ‘Well, I went on vacation…’ These moments in our lives that are the most traumatic, that we would do anything to avoid, end up in retrospect being the moments that shape us. My goal is to create an experience that opens people up. There is no altar call. No one comes down and checks a box.

Its not about the Gospel, its about opening people up. Its not about the Gospel, it is about reshaping the way you see the world. None of these things will save you. These are not good news. I truly fear for the people at Mars Hill. The only hope is intellectual ascent to a philosophical dogma presented week to week. The only good news for them is it seems these self-promoting tours happen fairly frequently so they can have other speakers that might actually preach the Gospel.

Hey a guy can dream, can’t he?

Peter Rollins and his rapture heresy

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that l we who are alive, who are left until m the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them u in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Over on his site, Peter Rollins writes a new Parable, which replaces the blessed hope we have as believers with how he sees God responding to the end times:

Just as it was written by those prophets of old, the last days of the Earth overflowed with suffering and pain. In those dark days a huge pale horse rode through the Earth with Death upon its back and Hell in its wake. During this great tribulation the Earth was scorched with the fires of war, rivers ran red with blood, the soil withheld its fruit and disease descended like a mist. One by one all the nations of the Earth were brought to their knees.

Far from all the suffering, high up in the heavenly realm, God watched the events unfold with a heavy heart. An ominous silence had descended upon heaven as the angels witnessed the Earth being plunged into darkness and despair. But this could only continue for so long for, at the designated time, God stood upright, breathed deeply and addressed the angels,

“The time has now come for me to separate the sheep from the goats, the healthy wheat from the inedible chaff”

Having spoken these words God slowly turned to face the world and called forth to the church with a booming voice,

“Rise up and ascend to heaven all of you who have who have sought to escape the horrors of this world by sheltering beneath my wing. Come to me all who have turned from this suffering world by calling out ‘Lord, Lord’”.

In an instant millions where caught up in the clouds and ascended into the heavenly realm. Leaving the suffering world behind them.

Once this great rapture had taken place God paused for a moment and then addressed the angels, saying,

“It is done, I have separated the people born of my spirit from those who have turned from me. It is time now for us leave this place and take up residence in the Earth, for it is there that we shall find our people. The ones who would forsake heaven in order to embrace the earth. The few who would turn away from eternity itself to serve at the feet of a fragile, broken life that passes from existence in but an instant”.

And so it was that God and the heavenly host left that place to dwell among those who had rooted themselves upon the earth. Quietly supporting the ones who had forsaken God for the world and thus who bore the mark God. The few who had discovered heaven in the very act of forsaking it.

This parable is quite a bit different from scriptural reality.

The blessed hope of our Lord’s return to take his bride home to be with him, the promise that we were not made new in Christ to suffer the tribulation of those who are dead in their trespasses and sins is a far cry from this version of truth. Indeed, it is to the glory of God to save his fallen creatures through repentance and faith, and it is also to his glory to bring tribulation to this earth that a few more, by his grace of discipline, might turn to Him. Finally, it is to his glory that those who will continue in their rebellion will see the longsuffering of God come to a final end and they will be cast into the lake of fire following the final judgment.

Read a little further in Matthew 24, and see the ‘red letters’ speak about those Rollins says are those who have forsaken God for the world, and thus are ‘God’s people’:

48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with a drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mr. Rollins is wrong if he thinks this is heaven, and if the job of the Christian is to make this earth heaven, or to build the kingdom of God. Yes, God will destroy this earth with fire, and a new heaven and a new earth will take its place, where those who have been saved by grace will dwell. Our job on this earth is to proclaim the Gospel to every creature, for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Our job is not to bring heaven to this earth through social justice, unlike what Rob Bell and his friends Peter Rollins, Dan Golden, Doug Pagitt et.al think. The Bible is very clear on this, a new heaven and new earth will come, but, like salvation, it is the work of God.

In Matthew 24, as well as other passages, the imminent and sure coming of the Lord is the motivation for His followers to get busy at the tasks He has given them, including living holy lives (which Rollins mocks here), for we know not the hour of his coming. We are to busy ourselves in evangelism, leading holy lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, performing the good works that God has created us for in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-10) What we should not be doing is building our ideal of the kingdom of God on this earth for whatever we build, whether we perceive it to be good or bad, will surely be destroyed when God destroys the heavens and the earth.

Repent, trust in Christ, and busy yourself doing His work until He calls you home via the rapture or death.

The end of Ramadan

I am not like Brian McLaren or his friends who believe that there is some benefit to fasting alongside a Muslim to find some blessing from God, or better understanding of a my Muslim neighbors, who are unfortunately in darkness because they follow a false God called Allah. I am not like Rick Warren, who will compromise the preaching of the Gospel to pragmatically unite with Muslims because I think God is not able to work through Christians alone in poor nations to feed, clothe, and heal the poor and needy. I am not like Samir Salmanovic who believes that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism can co-exist. However, I find myself in the midst of this celebration of Eid, the end of Ramadan, with many of my Muslim neighbors and friends because I work at the Y where they hold this celebration and I also hold a church service which will be held directly across from where they are holding their celebration. Do not get me wrong, I love my Muslim neighbors and friends. But this does not mean that I will not tell them the truth. In fact, it is because I love them that I must tell them the truth. So, when I found this out last night, I felt the need to slightly alter the service of worship this morning and the message I preach, as it will be heard my these neighbors and friends. It worked out that the passage of scripture matches well with the opportunity. Here is the transcript:

To catch us up to date, Jesus is speaking to the Jews in the Temple, specifically Solomon’s portico due to the time of year being winter, likely it was a little chilly in Jerusalem and the Portico was out of the wind. Jesus was a master teacher, taking advantage of great locations where many people could hear his teachings. This is an aside for those who enjoy preaching in the open air, finding a good location where sound travels enables you to speak to more people at once using the lay of the land. But also, Jesus did not just go where it was safe and comfortable. When he was preaching, he went to where the people were. In this case, the words he was speaking were not words of love and unity; they were words that caused division. In verse 19, we see that there is a division among the people because of the words that He was speaking in regards to His relationship to the Father, his position being the door and the Good Shepherd, and calling God His Father. If the Jews thought that Jesus caused division with his metaphors, when He began speaking very clearly, there was even more division to the point where they desire to arrest him and kill him.

Lets review for a moment who Jesus has already proclaimed he is and what He has said about salvation:
1. He is the door, the only way to enter into the flock
2. He is the way to enter life
3. He is the only way to salvation
4. He is the Good Shepherd
5. He has the power to lay down His life and take it up again
6. There is only one true flock
7. God sent Him to lay down his life
8. God gives the ability to believe and to hear the Words of Jesus
9. Jesus’ sheep know his voice and follow His words.
10. God has given the sheep to Jesus
11. Jesus is mighty to complete salvation
12. Everyone the Father draws will be saved.

There is nothing that has to do with us or our abilities or our goodness that saves us. Jesus makes it clear he does the choosing of us, He makes us His sheep, and we know this when we become able to hear his words and have the desire and ability to respond by following Him. This is why the response to the following words of Jesus caused such anger then, and still does today:

John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”

The Shema, which is the creed that all Jews learn from birth is “Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. This was as clear a statement that Jesus could make to the very religious Jews that were in the Temple at the time. These six words still cause division today, and it is your response to them that truly determines whether or not you have been given the ability to believe in the one true God.

1 John 2:22
22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

1 John 4:2-3
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

If you do not believe in Christ, if you do not believe He is who He says He is, then you cannot be saved. In fact, you are called the antichrist. If you do not confess that Jesus is the Christ, you do not know God. There are many who think that they know God, yet they deny Christ, and the Bible teaches that outside of a confession of Christ, you cannot truly know God, and you cannot be from God. This is a clear thermometer for us as Christians to test to see who we need to share with. It is also a clear dividing line as to who is from God and who is not. Take a look at the cults and other religions and see how they deal with the divinity of Jesus:

• Jehovah’s Witnesses- Do not believe that Jesus is God, rather a god. Believed he was created as the Archangel Michael
• Mormons- Believe that Jesus was a Son of God, the first of many spirit-babies. He is the brother of Lucifer. We are all children of god, little gods if you will.
• Islam- Believes Jesus was a Prophet, not God, and that He did not die on the cross.
• Hinduism- Believes Jesus was a god, or a man who achieved divinity.
• New Age- Believes that Jesus, like Buddha, Confucius, and others was one who achieved a Christ-consciousness that we also can attain through means like meditation, etc.

Within the statement of Christ recorded in John 10:30, we as believers can see the doctrine of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, that is, God the Son condescending to us and take on flesh (“The Word became Flesh and made his dwelling among us” John 1:14) Many false religions sprung up over this statement, and for the Jews listening, the division was between true Israel and false Israel. True Israel recognized the Messiah and believed, but false Israel did not, believing instead in their own righteous works to save them. This remains true today, as they continue to deny that Messiah has come.

The belief of who Jesus is, as you can see, is all-important. Truly, it is a God given ability to believe in Jesus as he is presented in the Bible, because in this believing, this trusting in Him and in who He claims to be we can have life through His name:

John 20:31 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

I have reviewed many times in your hearing that believing is a total package- the free grace of God is transformative in nature. Because Jesus and the Father are One, when we become born again, we become Children of God. As children look like their parents, we ought to look like our Father. The evidence of the wind which cannot be seen is the trees or the flags or the windmills moving. The proof of belief is a change of nature, which gives us both an unnatural desire and a Spirit led ability to follow the Shepherd day by day. You simply do not come into a relationship with the God of the universe without being changed day by day into His likeness and in that, choosing to follow Him:

1 John 5:1-5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is not legalism. When we love God, we love his commandments, because we trust the one who has given them as the one who has the very words of life and the words that help us to lead a life that is first pleasing to Him and second best for us and our spiritual development. By loving God and His commands, and by abiding by those commands, we have the power to overcome the world, and the system of the world. But this love requires a death to self, and the self-will and a complete submission to God. If we are truly born again, this comes naturally with our new nature by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Contrast this with the Muslims, who today celebrate the end of Ramadan, called Eid. They live, like many other religions, in a works-righteousness system. They believe, like many people, with a belief that man can somehow please God through works. The Jews who were listening to Jesus believed the very same thing, adding only that they were the exclusive chosen people of God, people of the book who had the law and by keeping it they could please their maker. But in Islam, there is no hope, for even if they practice their works, keeping the five pillars of Islam, still there is no guarantee that Allah will allow them to enter paradise.

The Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam are core beliefs that shape Muslim thought, deed, and society. A Muslim who fulfills the Five Pillars of Islam, remains in the faith of Islam, and sincerely repents of his sins, will make it to Jannah (paradise). If he performs the Five Pillars but does not remain in the faith, he will not be saved.

Shahada
The Shahada is the Islamic proclamation that “There is no true God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
This is the confession that Allah is the one and only true God, that Allah alone is worthy of worship, that Allah alone is the sovereign lord who does what he wills with whoever he wills. It means that all his rules and laws found in the Koran are to be followed. It means that the Christian doctrine of God as a Trinity is false as are all other belief systems including pantheism.
Muhammad is the true and greatest prophet of Allah and recognition of Muhammad as the Prophet of God is required. It was through Muhammad that Allah conveyed the last and final revelation.
Prayer (Salat)
Prayer involves confession of sins which begins with the purification of the body and ends with the purification of the soul. Prayer is performed five times a day. The first prayer is at dawn and the last at sunset.
The names of the prayers are Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha. The Maghrib prayer is the sunset prayer. Isha is the prayer that is said after sunset. There is also a prayer that is said right after Fajr known as Shurooq.
Fasting (Saum)
The month of Ramadan is the month of fasting in Islam. It is an act of worship where the faithful follower denies his own needs and seeks Allah. Usually, this fasting entails no drinking, eating, or sexual relations during the daylight hours for the entire month of Ramadan.
Alms-giving or charity (Zakat)
Charity given to the poor. It benefits the poor and it helps the giver by moving him towards more holiness and submission to Allah. Alms-giving is considered a form of worship to God.
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
This is the pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims, if they are able, are to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. It involves financial sacrifice and is an act of worship. Muslims must make the pilgrimage the first half of the last month of the lunar year

HT CARM

Ultimately, it comes back to the statement of Jesus, “ I and the Father are One” and if you take Him at His word.

1 John 5:11-12 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life

Islam believes that God is One, as do the Jews. They would say amen to that same statement. But what do they do with Jesus? The Quran speaks of Jesus being a prophet, inferior to Mohammad, but a prophet nonetheless. Jesus is only a man, not divine, and did not die on the cross. There is no salvation by faith; rather, man and the benevolence of Allah accomplish salvation. When Jesus says I and the Father are one, for both the Jew and the Muslim, there is division and a call of blasphemy. When Moses was up at the Mount speaking to God, Moses asked God what his name was. God said, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,’ ‘I AM has sent me to you,’ (Exodus 3:14). In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” Right after this the Jews picked up stones to throw at him. Today, as we read in John 10:30-33 Jesus claimed to be one with the Father and the Jews wanted to stone him again because they said to Jesus, “You, being a man, make yourself out to be God.” Jesus had claimed the divine name for his own and the Jews wanted to kill him for it. Therefore, from Jesus’ own mouth we see that he was claiming to be God. This is why it is impossible to have syncretism between true Christianity and Islam and Judaism: They serve a different God, they have no Savior, and they have no assurance of salvation, only a hope that their great efforts will please God. There is no life in religion, or religious acts. There is only life in Jesus Christ.

The response to Jesus by the Jews immediately was to stone Him for committing blasphemy. They could not do that, but even after that, they attempted again to arrest him. Jesus left and went across the Jordan, and many believed in Him there. Jesus’ statements about Himself caused division then, and still do today. For those who are called of God and given the gift of faith in Christ, the words of Christ give life, hope, and guidance for living. For those who do not believe, the words of Christ may be wise words, but they do not contain life, for the carnal man cannot accept them or receive them. For your unsaved neighbors and friends, the gospel is the power of Christ unto salvation. Will you share them with them?

Julie Clawson, Feminist Pastrix on Gender, Homsexuality, and the Gospel.

Julie Clawson is another emergent/emerging Pastrix ( I don’t want to insult her, as she has blogged)

I am tired of reading on various blogs that it is impossible to be a Christian feminist or that women can’t be pastors. I’m tired of being referred to as “Pastor” Clawson (with pastor always in quotes) or having pastor substituted with “Priestess.”

HT Christian Feminism

Recently, Pastrix Julie has been responding to the Moltman Conversation on her blog, and there are some fascinating insights into the minds of emergent/emerging people

Moltmann was asked about the difficulty in “coming up with pronouns that are appropriately intimate and personal for God and yet don’t anthropomorphize God with a gender.” His response was that God is neither he nor she nor it – God is God.

Well, Moltmann got that right..God is Spirit and those that worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth! Unfortunately, she goes on:

We should not use God’s divinity to justify the domination of men over women. The image we have of the trinity is not one of hierarchy or domination, but of unity. This unity can be reflected in our church communities – being in community the image of the communal identity of love. I found his view of allowing God to be God to be refreshing. Too often God is used for that very purpose of domination that subverts and destroys community.

No, Julie, what subverts and destroys community is mankind (sorry to use the word man here) humankind rebelling against God’s order and design. The design which includes love and submission to the design. I know, Julie, that emergents not only love the gender neutral bible, but also love the idea that there is no hierarchy within God, a heresy that has been brought out in the shack. They also want to throw out sola scriptura, because we are smarter than the author(s) of the Bible (God) Look at the passage in Ephesians 5 which describes hierarchy in marriage as well as the church:

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

The amazing thing is that we have created an egalitarian submission when this is not what the Greek is saying. The submission is out of love and honor with one another (in the church) and within other human relationships (church/Christ, husband/wife, parents/children, masters/workers). The husband is called to do far more, he must live his wife like Christ loved the church. He must literally lay down his life for his wife for her benefit. This headship has been taken all too often by a sinful, domineering husband to be a slave driver or a dictator. The Bible calls us to love, not Lord over our wives. The response of the wives to the husband’s loving headship is submission. This does not mean to be a doormat, it means to submit out of love and honor and respect that is due one who is laying down their lives for you. I submit to you, Julie, that if man did his part that the response of women would be much easier. But we must all understand that we are fallen creatures, and we must, in Christ, do the best we can to emulate His standards.

To see the hierarchy of God, one only needs look in the Bible. It seems clear that while all members of the Trinity have equal power, they also submit in that they perform specific roles. In John 10, for example, we see Jesus having the initiative and the authority to lay down his life, as well as the power to take it up again. But the charge or command came from the Father. In John 17 and Acts 1:8, we see Jesus sending the Holy Spirit to empower the believers after He will go to His death. There is so much more to show, but suffice it to say there is hierarchy within the Godhead, and an established hierarchy, therefore, within the Church and within human relationships because of our Creator.

Sometime we get so wrapped up in the complexities of our own opinions that we paint elaborate portraits of God in our own personal images. Moltmann proposes instead a simplicity that doesn’t fall into idolatry by reducing God to gender, and yet remains intimately connected to God through the use of multi-gendered pronouns for God.

How about just allowing God to be God instead of fighting over stupid things like the way that we address Him? It would be better, as the Jews did, to simply be in awe of the Name above all names. John 4:24 God is Spirit and those who worship must worship in Spirit and in Truth. It seems that the emergents are the ones struggling mightily with that one.

Now observe the next jump in logic: we have an issue that begins with God and gender, and as a result, humans treat each other badly because we abuse the hierarchy that we have made up within God. Therefore, since we are wrong about gender roles and hierarchies, and the resultant divisions, for the same reason we are wrong about homosexuality.

Same thing with homosexuality. When the schismatic nature of sexuality in the American church was brought up, Moltmann replied that the whole discussion isn’t a problem in Germany. He said they have never had a struggle about this in the churches and in between the churches, because the church is about the gospel and not about sex.

Maybe they should speak to Granger church. I digress.

Christians believe in the justification of human beings by faith alone, not by faith and homosexuality.

That is the most ridiculous statement I have ever read. I say amen to the first, and I wonder what the end of the sentence really means.

That, according to Moltmann, is adding heresy.

What is adding heresy? Well, Pastrix Julie elucidates:

I find this tendency, especially in the American church, to add things to the gospel to be disturbing. I’ve recently been told that I obviously am not a true Christian if I, say, read gender neutral Bible translations, do yoga, refuse to spank my kids, or become a vegetarian. As farcical as it sounds to turn the gospel into “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and continue to eat meat and you will be saved,”

it is unfortunately representative of a growing trend in the church these days

.

Where is the evidence for that last statement?

Seriously, Julie, Have you ever read the New Testament?

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

We are all sinners. We cannot save ourselves. There is no way that we can add anything to our salvation to make us more saved. That is ridiculous. But, Though we were unrighteous, sexually immoral, idolateros, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, and drunkards, we were washed, justified, redeemed as we were born again. Despite what Tony Jones believed, when we are born again, we have a change in our very nature.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

It is not idolatry to obey the commands of God because you love him, or to hear the voice of our shepherd Jesus and follow Him. It is idolatry, however to worship pagan deities by practicing yoga. We can disagree on the raising of your children, and what translation you read, what food you eat or even in the poses you choose to exercise with. None of those things make you a Christian or a non-Christian. What makes you a Christian is God’s work in you, changing you and continuing to change you into the image of His Son (I hope you are okay with that gender role). When you are changed, it is evidenced by the production of fruit in your life which is the evidence of the gift of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is at that point that there is no male or female, no Jew or Greek, just the grace of God overflowing in your life and making you more like Jesus.