Making Atheists

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” – Brennan Manning

It seems like everywhere I turn, I am confronted with anger, hatred, and lies.  Some days the torrent seems endless. It comes by mail, it’s every other commercial on TV and the radio.  It’s billboards and yard signs and bumper stickers.  People who say they are Christians, but are screaming louder than everyone else, not about God, but about hating the politician they don’t like.

“The greatest single cause of atheism…”

What depresses me most of all though is the constant onslaught of social media posts that scream louder and are most often meaner than anything in the outside world.  I’ve seen such vitriol posted from ordained elders and pastors it makes me physically ill.  People who lead worship, lead prayer, and preach about God’s love, posting things so awful it makes me sick even to think about it.

“…is Christians…”

I’ve stopped going on Facebook these days, I just can’t take any more of the hatred and filth being posted there by both church leaders and officials and folks who are in the pews every week, singing praises about God.  The Apostle James got it right when he exclaimed, “So blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (Jas. 3:10).  But every day, almost without fail, hateful things are spewed out and posted for all the world to see.

“…who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him…”

I’ve stopped going to church, too.  I just can’t do it any more.  How can I find God when the people leading prayer and worship walk out of church and post hateful, vile things on the internet.  Maybe even FROM church, with smart phones and iPads and what have you.  If they can say such horrible things about our elected leaders, whom they’ve never met, what must they be saying about me?  And what does it say about the church? 

“That is what an unbelieving world simply finds…unbelievable.”

Jesus wasn’t like that.  Jesus loved people.  One of the final instructions He gave us before He died was “Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (Jn. 13:34).  That means, as Peter reminds us, “You must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” (I Pt. 1:15).  So why aren’t we?  Shouldn’t we be showing people the love of Jesus by how we treat each other?  Instead, we seem to be doing a lot better job of making atheists. 

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matt: 25:40)

Encounter: In your speech, your online posts, and your lifestyle, are you making disciples for Jesus, or are you making atheists? 

-Todd G

When Did Jesus Give Us Permission to Hate?

I’ve begun to notice a disturbing trend in our society today.  We are being conditioned to hate one another.  It seems like every time I turn on the TV, log on Facebook or Google+, or listen to the radio, something hateful is being said.  And the sad part is, everyone knows its hateful but just dismisses it by saying “it’s just politics.”

Just down the road this week, the Republican Party is holding their big convention in Tampa.  On the surface it’s about getting a candidate for President, but the reality is it’s a gathering to encourage people to hate.  Hate President Obama, hate welfare, hate the tree huggers, and hate anyone who disagrees with you.  Anything else is un-American

Next week, the Democratic Party will gather in Charlotte for their big convention.  They already have a candidate for President, but the message will be similar to the Republican one.  Hate Governor Romney, hate the rich, hate Rep. Ryan’s budget plan, hate Fox News, and hate anyone who disagrees with you.  Anything else is un-American.

The funny part is, both sides claim to be upstanding Christians who attend church every week.  Even more surprising, most of the people speaking and posting hateful things all over the place are also in church every week because they are good followers of Jesus.

But what I can’t seem to figure out is when Jesus told us we should hate each other.  I’ve looked all over the Bible and I just can’t seem to find the verse where Jesus tells us we should hate our brother because he disagrees with us, or we should hate our leaders because we disagree with them.

Here’s what I do find Jesus saying a lot of, though.  “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (Jn. 13:34-25)

That’s all well and good, I suppose, but what is Jesus saying?  He is telling us to think clearly and exercise self-control. To look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when he is revealed to the world. So we must live as God’s obedient children. We can’t slip back into our old ways of living to satisfy our own desires. We didn’t know any better before we became Christians.  But now we must be holy in everything we do, just as God who chose us is holy. For the Bible says, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.” For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (I Peter 1:13-19)

Paul explains how we should live when he tells us to love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. We should never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. We should rejoice in our confident hope and be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!  Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. (Rom. 12:10-18)

It seems like Jesus is telling us to get along with each other, care about each other, and LIFT EACH OTHER UP.  What it does not seem to say is that we should hate those with a different view point.  And it’s not just our “church buddies” that we’re supposed to be kind too.  If we are REALLY followers of Christ and understand God’s way, we must prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.  But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere (Jas. 3:13-17).

So if you say “I know God,” but don’t obey God’s commandments, you are a liar and are not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
The old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness. (I Jn. 2:4-11)
Get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech! (I Pt. 2:1)  Just because you’re bombarded by the rhetoric on TV, Facebook, and everywhere you turn doesn’t mean you should join in.  Take a moment and remember who’s child you are.  You are God’s child, and you are part of His family!  Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.(I Jn. 3:9)

Encounter: Who do you represent by your Facebook posts, your speech, and your actions?

Respect for Authority

You've probably seen a lot of....we'll say "spirited" talk about the President lately...it is election season, after all.  Every time I open a newspaper, turn on the TV, even log in to Facebook, I seem to be bombarded with hateful statements about the President and the government. I think what startles me the most about all this is that the most hateful things are coming from people who lead prayer and worship in church!

Believe it or not, the same thing was happening in ancient Rome. The Apostle Paul noticed the detrimental effect it had on the people he was teaching, so we addressed it in his letter to the Romans:

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do.

In Romans 13, Paul gives some great advice for us today, too. It's easy to get wrapped up in it all and foster rebellious and disrespectful sentiment towards the government. God calls us to be better than that, and even goes so far as to saying that being rebellious and disrespectful to the government is the EXACT SAME as being rebellious and disrespectful to Him!

Paul points out that the authorities are only there because God Himself put them there for a purpose, His purpose. God asks us to trust that HE IS IN CONTROL and work with the authorities, just as we would with Him.

Does that mean we always have to agree with them? No! We should be engaged, and God doesn't say we should be unplugged from everything. On the contrary, God calls us to work with them, because like us, they are His servants too.

In today's seemingly out of control world, with all the hateful speech going on, isn't it great to know we have an all powerful God who's in control?

Encounter: As Christians, will we enter into the fray and speak/post hateful things about our leaders, or "For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority—whether the [President] as head of state,or the officials he has appointed" as Peter says followers of Jesus should?

Endurance

It seems that everywhere you look these days, it’s politics, politics, politics.  The more you listen, the more negative it gets; often downright nasty!  And you might be thinking to yourself that it’s never been this bad before…has it?  Where we’ve moved beyond simple disagreement to outright hatred of those with ideas differing from ours…often even in the name of religion!
Jesus warns us about the toxic atmosphere we find ourselves in now.  He said:

“Many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”  Matt. 24:10-13

Does that sound like the nightly news to you?  But Jesus doesn’t leave it at the doom and gloom.  He gives us hope!  “The one who endures…will be saved.”  But with such overwhelming negativity everywhere, how can we do that?  Peter, nearing the end of his life and having endured quite a lot of persecution has this advice for his fellow believers on how to endure:

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

“In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 

“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 

“So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.”  II Peter 1:3-10

So if you are feeling bogged down by the 24/7 onslaught of negativity, or if you’re struggling with something else all together, hang on to Jesus.  Don’t be overwhelmed, but overcome with His help!  After all, His promise to every one of us is “I will never leave you, and I will never abandon you.” (Heb. 13:5, Deut. 31:6, 8). 
How great a Master we serve!

Encounter: How has Jesus been there for you this week?