The Writing is on the wall

Brothers and Sisters,
I greet you all with my warmest affection.  It has been far too long and I am glad to be back in the fight.

I believe that.

I believe that we, Christians, are in a fight.  I also believe that we are getting the chocolate knocked out of us daily because we are too ignorant to read the signs.  We are too busy to see the handwriting on the wall.  It says, "Hey dummies, they are coming for you, because you're a Christian!"

A War on Ideas

In one of my favorite movies, Gladiator, the African guy, tells Maximus, that they must kill his name before they can kill him.  It is one of the best lines in the whole movie because it is true.  I couldn't just come out and bash Beyonce and call her a trashy dressing, trashy dancing, temptress that should be ashamed of herself.  Not because it is not true, but because she has a great name, and millions of her fans would line up to stone me (some of them would be Christians).   Christians in this country still have a great name, Jesus.  The name of Jesus is our battleground today.  If we lose this battle, then we have lost the war.  The name Jesus, and the label Christian is slowly becoming a wordy dird, a dirty word.  And it is in this area that the enemy is gut punching us again and again.  Our image, our name.  His image, His name.

It's not what he said, but what they did.

Donald Sterling, the former owner of the LA Clippers, was fined, and his team taken away from him.  Why?  Because he revealed in a private conversation that he was prejudiced against Black people.  That's it.  It's not against the law to be prejudiced.  He didn't kill anyone.  But because of the taboo---you cannot dislike a whole group of people in the United States of America-----he was given the equivalent of a death sentence.
If I sound like I support him, it is because I must.

I must defend his right to say the things he said because I know what the Bible says about hearing the word of God.  If he gets penalized for voicing his beliefs privately, what is going to happen to Christians who proclaim the truth of scripture publicly?  You don't see the connection do you?  Maybe this will help,

"Gay is the new Black."

Have you heard that quote?  If gay is the new black, and Christians cannot condone the gay lifestyle, then when we speak out against homosexuality as a sin what will happen to us?   What about fornication?  Pornography?  Indecency (Beyonce again)?  Will a Christian be able to speak out against anything at all without being crucified for their beliefs?

As the name of Jesus is pushed further and further into marginalization, it becomes easier to ignore, ridicule, and eventually eliminate His followers.  You see, when Jesus entered Jerusalem they sang Hosana and praised Him.  5 days later those same people cheered and jeered as He was beaten and then crucified.  What made the difference?  The enemy was successful in killing His name.  They made the people believe that Jesus was not who He said He was.  Thus, it was easy to crucify Him.

They are doing the same to us.  They call us intolerant because we hold to the scriptures.  They call us ignorant because we have faith in a God we cannot see.  They say we impose our values on others, when the values of the world are constantly being placed upon us.  Christians have been sued for refusing to honor gay marriages.  The CEO of Amazon was fired because he donated money to fight against gay marriage.  They make movies that distort our truth, like Noah, and expect us be satisfied with the lie.  We are living in an increasingly hostile world toward Christians.  Every other religion is honored except Christianity.  They are trying to kill our name.  His name.

Brothers and sisters, there is a coming war.  I believe it may already be here.  We must gird up our loins because the writing is on the wall.  They are coming for us and we need to be prayed up and ready for the battles to come.

In subsequent posts, I will begin to explore this topic more deeply.

We do not guard our hearts

The topic of my entry today is going to upset some people.  But it must be said.  As bondservants of Jesus, which every Christian is, we are not to love this world.  In fact we are to be a peculiar people.

*[[1Jn 2:15]] KJV* Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

*[[1Jn 2:16]] KJV* For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

*[[1Pe 2:9]] KJV* But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

As a little girl stated today during the chu rch announcements, the children should bear a resemblance to the Father. 

We allow ourselves to do everything the world does.  We wear the same clothes, listen to the same music, read the same books, watch the TV shows and movies.  What, then is peculiar about us?  How do we reflect our Father.

We look, act, and sound the same as everyone else.  The only difference is that we attend church.  But going to church does not make you a believer any more than sitting in garage makes you a Buick. 

When my son was two we loaded up the Christmas tree with gifts.  We went wild spending money.  We truly wanted him to have the best of eveything.  I was so disappointed when my son proceeded to play with the boxes, leaving the gifts off to the side.

Our Father sent His holy spirit to influence and inspire Christians to make beautiful music, write incredible books, make wholesome movies and TV programs for His own to enjoy.  Yet many of us are stuck playing with the boxes that the world produces.  How disappointed He must be with our choices.

We dont grow as Christians because we have not yet fully separated from the world.  We have not matured in Him, because we choose not to be what He wants.  We choose to be just like the unsaved people, instead of shinning our light, we allow the darkness to entice us. 

So, brothers and sisters, when you are finished with your filthy Kevin Harts, Jay Z, Beyonce, CeeLo Green, Real Housewives, Kardashians, Preachers of LA, 50 Shades of Gray, Zane books, and whatever else the enemy has produced for your consumption; then put away your childish boxes and begin to enjoy the real gifts of God.

God does not grant dual citizenship.  You are either a citizen of earth or you are a citizen of heaven. 

State of the Black Church: Volume 1

Brothers and Sisters, every November our President gives a speech called the State of the Union.  In that speech he outlines how the US is doing in key areas, such as economics, military, social issues, jobs, education etc.  He uses that time to lay out a plan to address the issues that are important to him and his political party.  As some of you know, I have been concerned about the state of our beloved Black churches.  I grieve at the thought of some of the practices that occur in the church and the acceptance of said practices by church leaders.

This is not a condemnation of the Black church, nor the wonderful people who pastor such churches or hold offices in such churches.  I simply want to open up minds to the possibility that we may have to look at some of our practices in order to save souls.  

Volume 1: The Alter Call

Think about the alter call at your church.  It is a very important part of every church service.  After pastor preaches he gives an invitation for anyone who has been moved during the service to come up and 'give their life to Jesus.'  The musicians play soft and pretty.  The members of the church are praying or quietly humming along to the tune.  Many are slowly rocking back and forth to the music.  The table is set for a person, hungry for a change in their life to make that journey down the aisle and 'give their life to Jesus.'  The person comes down the aisle and either prays with the pastor, or is directed into a private room where a minister leads them in a prayer to accept Jesus.  The congregation applauds and stands and encourages the person.  And the person is told that once they say that prayer that they are changed forever and the Holy Spirit now lives in them.

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

But how many people are really saved by that particular experience?  How many people can honestly say that they became saved during an alter call and immediately began to walk in the narrow way?  I would guess very few, if any.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

But, Brother J, you ask me; what is the big deal here?  The church is saving souls, and once saved, always saved.  I agree.  But I believe that salvation comes through real repentance and real faith.  I do not believe it comes from having one very emotional experience and repeating a prayer that one may or may not fully understand.

The danger in the current practice of alter calls in Black churches is that we are communicating to people that they are saved when there is not one verifiable shred of evidence that supports the assumption.  I would further comment that we tell people they are saved before we are even sure they understand the gospel.

So these people leave the church that day and think they are Christians; but they don't think like Christians, and they don't behave like Christians.  But because they had that one experience, they tell people that they are saved, they are Christians and they become representatives of the body of Christ to their families, friends, and co-workers before they truly understand what it means to be members of the blessed body of the risen Lord.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

At the risk of being hated and scoffed at (trust me, I am getting plenty of practice) I think the alter call and all that it entails cheapens the name Christian, and allows people to say they are in the body when they are not.

I think back to my college days.  I attended a small HBCU and the biggest thing on campus was the Fraternities and Sororities.  Each organization had a section of land called a plot where they each had a small cement and brick painted structure that represented their organization.  One of the first things you learned was that if you were not an authorized member of that organization, then you would pay dearly if you stepped foot on one of those plots.  The Fraternities and Sororities protected the membership in their organizations fiercely and no person who had not earned membership was allowed to be called a brother or a sister, nor participate in the meetings or events held by each individual organization.  There was a process for joining and criteria that needed to be met before one could ever be considered a member.  There was even a challenge issued to unknown brothers or sisters to determine if they were really members of the organization.

In contrast, we in the Black church believe that the decision for Christ is the most important decision one can make; yet we think that one prayer is enough for someone to enter the kingdom.  Are we really that obtuse? When a pagan organization makes more effort to really bring people into the fold, and we, the church, give one invitation, have one prayer, and assume that person is now saved and member of the body of Christ, is a shame before our Lord.  

What, then, shall we do?  I'm glad you asked.  I would submit to the reader that alter calls are unbiblical and unnecessary   It is foolishness to sit around Sunday dinner and say, we had 3 people give their life to Christ today.  The truth, brothers and sisters, is that we have no idea how many people truly give their life to Christ.   What we should be doing is training a cadre of tried and tested church members to disciple those who express interest in the Christian life.  I mean one on one, open bible, getting real with God talks that could last years.  The goal is to plant and to water and let God give the increase.  

Does your gift satisfy you?

Brother's and sisters, first I want to wish you all very Merry Christmas.  I'd also like to encourage you to focus on your relationships this holiday season.  I've learned that gifts mean very little if the relationship is strained or even bad.  But that is not my topic today.

My topic today is about a choice we all will make.  It is rooted in eternity and it will determine our destiny.  We all know that Jesus is the reason for the season.  However, what is Christmas without the gifts.  Yes, the pretty wrapping paper, the excitement of opening the presents, the anticipation, and yes the disappointment.  Gifts are a critical part of Christmas.

Brothers and Sisters there is a war raging in places we cannot see and in ways we cannot understand.  But it is happening in us and around us.  The war is between the ruler of this world and the God of the universe.

Ephesians 6:12 - For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]

1 John 5:19 ESV / 11 helpful votes

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

The ruler of this world is not God.  Not yet.  This world belongs to our enemy and he is controlling it more completely everyday.  Brothers and sisters we have only to look in the newspaper, or TV news to see that the enemy in engaged in all out warfare on Christians.  He wants to discredit us, ridicule us, marginalize us, and make our beliefs so unattractive that no one would want to come to Christ.  

So, then, what does this have to with gifts----------everything.  Read on.

Our enemy has more gifts to give than the fat man himself.  Call him Satan Claus.  He is in the business of giving great gifts.  He is the ruler of this world and he will give you your hearts desire.  Because he knows the nature of the human heart----because it is his own nature.  

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV / 6 helpful votes

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Ephesians 2:3 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind

So the enemy of your soul knows exactly what your flesh wants.  And he will give it you to keep you satisfied and complacent.  He gives those gifts so they will become important in our lives.  He gives us things that become 'gods' to us, or 'idols.'  Ask yourself these questions:
Who gets more of your time, God or your Facebook friends?
Who gets more of your attention, God, or your iphone?
What is more important to you, spending time with your TV, or spending time with God?

I wont ask you what your answers are, but I can guess many of you want to punch me in the face right now.  

So, here is your choice.  Christ, who actually does own the place, came down to offer us an alternative gift.  He lived a perfect life and gave himself up as a sacrifice to give us a gift that we cannot redeem while we live.  His gift requires faith that if we believe and repent that we will have an eternal life in paradise with Him.  He offers it free, hence the term 'gift.'  We also know that the alternative to His gift is eternal damnation.  

Romans 6:23 ESV / 8 helpful votes

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The enemy's gifts are prettier, bigger, shinier, and more fun looking.  The problem with those gifts is that they have the illusion of satisfaction, but they cannot satisfy.  This is why Satan is always inventing new things (he must be exhausted).  The enemy understands that all of his gifts have a shelf life and sooner or later we will need a new idol.  So Satan Claus and his evil elves from hell are constantly at work on the creation of new idols.  

His gifts are like food.  You eat and are satisfied for a time, but you will get hungry again.  The gifts of the enemy always disappoint. Everything in this world is like that.  But Jesus says this:

John 4:13-15 ESV / 86 helpful votes

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

So here is the choice.  You can love this world and worship the things of this world and have a great time indulging your flesh, and go to hell.  Or, you can believe, repent, trust in Jesus and still enjoy your life and live in paradise for eternity.  

I've walked both roads.  I have followed after my flesh and I can testify that your flesh is never satisfied.  It always wants more and it will literally kill us to continue to feed it.  I walk with Jesus today.  And His words are true.  He satisfies fully and completely.  Nothing lacking, nothing missing.  He satisfies the soul.  

This year, consider opening the true gift of Christmas.  Consider doing the one thing you can do that will last forever and never cease to satisfy.  If you have already opened the gift of salvation, tell someone else about it.  Pray with them and guide them to receive the gift you already know is the best gift ever.