Atheism, What Is It?

         Not long ago I was talking with a man who said very candidly that he did not believe in God.  He seemed almost proud to proclaim he was an atheist.  In fact, he proclaimed his atheistic position as if it were some indication that he was somehow enlightened to ultimate reality.  The sad truth is, this particular gentleman labeled himself an atheist and there was not the slightest bit of evidence that he really understood what atheism is all about.  The following are some basic concepts and thoughts concerning atheism and how the position is completely untenable when examined in light of absolute truth.

Church Growth 101

When we talk about church growth in the 21^st century we are almost exclusively speaking of how many people attend the local church gathering on a weekly basis, predominately Sunday morning.  Mega churches seem to be the pinnacle of achievement in the ministry with the idea that larger is better and larger is the margin by which we measure success.  I think we would agree, there is nothing inherently wrong with a numerically large church.  A lot of ministry can be accomplished in the name of Jesus when a large number of believer’s pool God’s resources and spiritual gifts.  However, is numerical achievement really the biblical measure of success?  Is a church with 600 attendees on Sunday morning more successful than the church with 300, or 200, or 100?  Is the mega church paradigm what every pastor and church staff should be reaching for?  Let’s think about it.

Miley Cyrus, Bashar Assad, and Natural Law

            Sometimes I read things in the news that are almost unbelievable in either their ridiculousness or their heinousness.  On the ridiculous side we have a 20 year old Miley Cyrus performing (?) or dancing like she has lost her mind. Her father has to be real proud of the way she has been acting lately.  Then on the heinous side we have a Syrian regime under Bashar Assad who is using chemical weapons to kill their own people.  How sad to live in a country where the government will use weapons of mass destruction on its own people.  I could sit here all day listing news events that make us shake our heads in utter disbelief that someone would dare think these actions are acceptable choices to make.  Do these people know better?  Yes, they know better and yet choose to do what they know is wrong.  Let’s think about how they know better.

  

Are You A Good Example?

As Christians we spend a lot of time talking about being a witness to the lost world, and rightfully so.  One of the last things Jesus said before He ascended back to heaven was for His followers, His church, to make disciples throughout the whole world (Matthew 28.19-20).  However, I was thinking today about how we are witnesses to one another in the body of Christ.  The truth is, our witness in the body of Christ is just as important as our witness outside the body of Christ.  As a maturing and growing child of God you have the potential to be a tremendous example to other Christians of what it looks like to walk with Jesus in this life.  The apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11.1).  What an amazing idea.  The church meeting together for worship, believers interacting with one another throughout the week, all the while sharpening one another with the example of their walk and obedience to Jesus.  Could it be that this is one of the reasons the writer to the Hebrews commanded us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10.25)?  Beloved child of God, what kind of example are you setting for others in the church?  Is your life a light that others might follow as they too learn to follow Jesus?

Moving Away From God

   In the 8^th century B.C. God sent a prophet to preach in Israel.  That prophet’s name was Isaiah.  God’s charge against Israel was that they had forsaken Him, they had turned to evil and broken his holy laws.  We can almost hear Isaiah as he described the ugliness of their sin, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward. ⁵ Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ⁶ From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isaiah 1.4-6).  Isaiah’s description of the ugliness of sin is spot on.  The nation of Israel was full of wickedness, murders, bribery, injustice, immorality of every kind, and worst of all they had turned to idol worship, idolatry.  Because of the nation’s sin God was going to send judgment upon them.  Isaiah was there to warn the people and give them a way of deliverance.  This was God’s offer, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1.18).  If they would have repented of their sin, asked God for forgiveness, and turned to live for Him, God would have forgiven their sin and preserved their land.  Alas, the biblical and historical record tells us of Israel’s continued pursuit of sin and the devastating judgment of God upon their land and nation.  There is a frightening parallel to this story taking place in our own day, in our own land.

Dan Savage And His Double Standard

   A prominent news agency recently reported an incident involving Dan Savage and his speech at a National High School Journalism Conference called Journalism On The Edge.  This conference was held in Seattle and was attended by high school students and others interested in journalism.  Because Mr. Savage is a syndicated writer, he was invited to the conference as the key speaker.  For those who don’t know who Mr. Savage is, he is a militant homosexual and a self-proclaimed expert in sexuality.  I use the term “self-proclaimed expert” because he has a B.A. in theater, no formal training or education in the area of sexuality as far as I can tell.  Mr. Savage has a history of bashing Christians and anyone else who holds a conservative social view.  He is no stranger to attacking the Bible and belittling anyone who believes in God.  Though there is a lot I could say concerning Mr. Savage’s views, my focus in this writing has to do with the clear double standard at work in his agenda.  Here are a few thoughts concerning his conduct at this event.

Fasting, What Is It and Should We Do It?

   From time to time I hear Christians get into discussions concerning fasting.  They ask questions like, “What is biblical fasting?  Should we fast today?  Is there any spiritual benefit to fasting?”  The best way to answer all these questions is to look at what the Bible has to say about fasting.  Let’s go there now.