Lakeshore, Mississippi

It's going on three years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the shores of Mississippi and Louisiana.

On Saturday, a group of five men left from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to join forces with 140 other people in Lakeshore, Mississippi--"Ground Zero" of Hurrican Katrina--to continue with the rebuilding project in that community for 7 days.
My brother Paul is one of those men.

Paul shared a website with me today that is an ongoing blog chronicling the work being done throughout the week: http://www.arbcainlakeshore.com/. It shows pictures of some of the devasted structures and landscape. It shows men and women hard at work to rebuild Lakeshore. And most of all, it shows the love of Christ being put into action. These 140 men and women from churches across the country and Canada have a common purpose: to shine the light of Jesus Christ to the people of Lakeshore through their words and ministry for the glory of God alone.

From what I understand, this mission was organized by Grace Baptist Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with Lakeshore Baptist Church there in Mississippi and the Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America (ARBCA).

Take a moment to visit this website, which is being updated daily this week, and pray for the workers as well as the surrounding community.

Below outlines how we can pray specifically for this ministry.

Please pray for us and our work in the following areas:
The salvation of men through the outward proclamation of the gospel and the good works of our hands.
The spiritual edification of the volunteers as we worship, serve, fellowship, witness, and study the Word of God.
The physical safety of our crews as they conduct difficult and often very dangerous tasks.
The health and growth of Lakeshore Baptist Church and God’s granting wisdom to pastor Don Elbourne.
The humility of each volunteer as we serve –may God keep us from being prideful and boasting in anything other than the cross.
Patience and flexibility: Hallmarks of disaster relief mission work.

If We Are the Body...

I recently heard a song by the band Casting Crowns which really hit home to me. The words speak about Christ’s church. "If We Are the Body" alludes to I Corinthians 12 where Paul writes in verse 12, "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” Here’s the song:

If We Are The Body

It's crowded in worship today

As she slips in trying to fade into the faces

The girl's teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know

Farther than they know

But if we are the body

Why aren't His arms reaching?

Why aren't His hands healing?

Why aren't His words teaching?

And if we are the body

Why aren't His feet going?

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

There is a way

A traveler is far away from home

He sheds his coat and quietly sinks into the back row

The weight of their judgmental glances

Tells him that his chances are better out on the road

Jesus paid much too high a price

For us to pick and choose who should come

And we are the body of Christ

Jesus is the way

Therefore, if we are the body…
“…Why aren't His arms reaching?”
Are we using our arms to reach out and pull people into our churches on Sunday mornings? Are we embracing them in love when they come, especially when they probably feel out of place and uncomfortable? Are we doing our part to welcome them? Are we being like Christ and truly loving the sinner?

Too often I observe even in my own congregation on Sunday mornings at least a few people who continually keep to themselves and their own small group of confidants. These professing believers fail to get out of their circles of familiarity and extend hospitality to newcomers. Thus, these individuals are hindered in the greater fellowship of believers and hamper the outward demonstration of love that Christ desires within His body, the church.

Lord, let my arms reach far, faithfully, and lovingly.

“Why aren’t His words teaching?”
What sort of words are being preached from pulpits? What kind of words are being taught in small groups? Are they words of truth? Are they Biblical words? Are they words like “sin” and “conviction” and “repentance” and “justification through faith alone”?

Too many pastors fail to teach their congregations using the right words, the Bible’s words. Sin has become “mistakes;” conviction is just a strong feeling about something; repentance, if referred to at all, is no more than “saying sorry;” and justification through faith alone is almost an unused expression outside of reformed circles. Because of these watered-down vocabulary and definitions, churchgoers have a false view of biblical reality. It is time that each of us do our part in teaching ourselves and each other with the words of God:

“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rm. 3:22-23)

“…Unless you repent, you too will all perish."(Lk. 13:5)

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” (Acts 3:19)

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb.10:23-25)

Lord, let my words boldly teach your Truth always.

“Why aren’t his feet going?”
Are we a missions-minded people? Do we heed the Great Commission and actively participate in evangelism? What are we doing to advance the Kingdom of Christ? Are we even praying about the global reach of Christ’s Church? Are we asking God to use us as instruments of evangelism for His glory and the expansion of His kingdom? And then are we using the opportunities He is daily giving us to talk to others about Him?

I don’t think that there is any Christian in the world who could say that he or she is doing the best they can do to tell others about Jesus. This is an area that everyone can do better in. I know that I am lacking in my zeal for missions. I may often talk highly about the subject, but when it comes to converting my thoughts and words into physical actions, I fall very short. I think the same goes for most Christians in the church. Thus, the church’s feet are standing motionless. May this be not so.

Lord, let my feet carry me to share the Gospel with those who don’t know You.

"Hardcore Christian"

A co-worker of mine was recently talking to one of his friends about me and in his story referred to me as "a really hardcore Christian." When he related the discussion to me using the same terminology, it got me thinking.

What is a "hardcore Christian"?

I think that in the way my friend used the expression, he was meaning to say, "this guy actually practices what he professes." I can be fairly sure of this translation due to the context in which he was talking about me. We had discussed movies and how there are certain films that I will not see because they fall short of meeting the definition of true art which glorifies God. He also mentioned how I go to church every Sunday, and more than that, he knows how very involved I am in the local body of believers. He knows that I can go to Happy Hour after work with him and the gang for a little while, throw back a few beers, but not get drunk out of loving obedience to the Lord. Moreso, I make a conscious effort not to be rude, proud, or overly judgmental; I'm not legalistic.

Yet he knows where I stand on religion and politics. By the strength of Christ within me, I do not fear talking about Him and His Word. I do not back down or concede in the midst of argument, but defend what I hold to be true with as much gentleness, respect, and knowledge that God's grace has granted me. Nor am I a "Bible-thumping, religious wierdo." I try to stay as down-to-earth as possible while continually remaining heavenly minded.

This is part of what it means to bear fruit. Those who come in contact with the true Christian should say, "Aren't you one of Jesus' disciples?"...or, "Hey, you're one of those hardcore Christians, aren't you?" Let us not be like the ashamed Peter who denied his Lord three times, but let us seek to be like the enboldened Peter on the Day of Pentecost who spoke mightily of the Lord before all the people:

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Acts 2:36

And whether the name-calling is said with disdain or not, bear it with honor, dear fellow pilgrim. Wear the name of Christ as it were the beautiful robe of a King. After all, our filthy rags have been stripped away, and we have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

So I guess that I don't mind being called a hardcore Christian after all. If a nonbeliever sees the evidence of true regeneration in my life, then may the Lord be praised and doors be opened for the enlargement of His Kingdom!

Post Scriptum:
Although I used myself as an example in this one instance, I am no way setting myself above anyone else; neither am I intending to exhibit pride for my life or deeds. Instead, let my life be a testament of God's grace alone and the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Without Christ I am nothing. SDG!

Mesa Temple Pageant Woes

Over the last nine years during the week before Easter, I have stood with the Alpha and Omega Ministry guys on the sidewalks around the Mormon Temple here in Mesa sharing the Gospel with our Mormon friends and neighbors. This year, however, I have consciously decided to refrain from heading out to Main Street and Hobson due to my recently acquired relationships with some LDS friends.

Every year was slightly different. Over the nine years I attended, I remember many different moments: the Roman Soldier "Brute Squad;" the black tar put on the grate; the Samoan mammoths who physically surrounded me; the man who threw 4 large Arby's sodas on us; the teenagers who I was able to share with on youth night; Dizzy ("Yo tengo gozo!"); and the thousands and thousands of lost souls who will no longer even have the opportunity to hear the gospel presented to them by the caring hearts of true Christians at the pageant.

According to a post that James White put up on his blog this evening, last night was the last time Alpha and Omega Ministries will attend the Mormon Temple Easter Pageant in Mesa, Arizona. For James' reasoning on this, please visit Alpha and Omega's website HERE.

Thanks for your 23.5 year ministry to the Mesa Mormons, James, Rich, and the rest of the crew at A&O!

One final note:
James White remarks that he had witnessed at the Mesa Easter Pageant since his first time in 1983. I like to remind James that I was born in 1983. I think it really makes him feel good and young!

Fearing God

My wife Paige has an uncle and aunt--Bill and Naomi Hayes--who are traveling ministers/evangelists. We were blessed last year to have been able to spend some time with them while they were here ministering to churches in the Valley of the Sun. While Bill preaches mostly within Assembly of God and Pentecostal circles, he is the first to admit that his message is not typical among many Pentecostal preachers. He preaches themes like "Sin," "Repentance," and "Fearing God." He cuts away the fat to get to the meat and preaches the raw truths of Scripture to people, many of whom are used to having their ears tickled with positive, self-esteem-building words.

The following is an email I received last week from Bill on the topic of Fearing God.

Here we are in the Bahamas, more precisely Nassau, where all the hoopla of the Anna Nicole Smith saga is being acted out. I can hardly get any other news on TV than endless reporting of the body and the baby. Who has the jurisdiction of the body and who is the father? It was reported on one of the cable networks that this is what the people want to see and hear in the news; in fact it has doubled some of the stations’ ratings. One network said 80% of Americans are deeply interested in this story. Does that tell us something about our culture today in America?

A repeated statement by news outlets, “Let her be buried next to her son in the Bahamas, so she will find that rest and peace in death that alluded her in life.” What a pagan way of looking at life and death. Jesus gives no such comfort! In Luke 12:18-21 Christ gives us a glimpse of the result of a wrong connotation placed on prosperity,

“And he told them this parable…a certain rich man said, this is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (NIV)

Here is another example from Luke 16:19ff-- "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day… 22 the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away.” Rest in peace! How is it possible? Too late! As the writer of Hebrews states in Heb 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (KJV)

Is it surprising how easy we have made it for men to enter the kingdom of God in modern times? No need for a radical new birth, “Except a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” No need for “REPENTANCE.” Jesus said, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” The first word of the Gospel! What we have today is a new version of “Cheap grace,” a phrase used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in describing the German evangelical posture during the rise of Hitler. Here is a quote from Bonhoeffer:

“The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ. Such a man knows that the call to discipleship is a gift of grace, and that the call is inseparable from the grace. But those who try to use this grace as a dispensation from following Christ are simply deceiving themselves.”

Here in the Bahamas the church, the nation, and even the schools are very religious, “evangelical religious.” They can even pray and read the Bible in the public schools and do! But what do they have to show for it? A nation where crime is even higher then America, the murder rate nearly four times higher then the U.S. Sunday morning a pastor of a Baptist church, four robbers kicked open his door, took everything he had, shot him through the heart while his wife and twin daughters watched. Here is a country where STD’s are rampant and HIV is one of the highest in the west. Where single parented families are the norm, the fathers are not deadbeat dads but “Millstone men,” and yes “Millstone women” too. (Read what Jesus said a millstone man is in Matt. 18:5 & 10.) We in America are embracing a similar “cheap grace” Christianity. The most popular preaching centers in, “Your Best Life Now.” Barbara Walters, in a recent interview with a pastor who proclaims this narcissist Christianity stated, “Your gospel has no sin, suffering or sacrifice in it.” And I might add “And we Christians now love to have it so!” Self-help Christianity centers in, “It’s all about me.”

This book and minister are not the only offenders (he merely sits at the top). Leading Pentecostal magazines have almost nothing about a God who is to be greatly feared by his people and the inhabitants of planet earth, – nothing!! Am I being too hard? I tell the congregations where I minister, “I’m not the hard one; it is you that have no fear of God in your message and life; that is hard!” Then I quote Proverbs 28:14, “Happy is the man who fears the Lord always but he who hardens his heart shall fall into trouble.” Isn’t that where we in the evangelical church find ourselves these days: “IN TROUBLE.” Our families disintegrating, divorce higher among people of faith than those with no faith at all, drugs and alcoholic addictions, STD’s spreading like wild fire and every dilemma of a postmodern era has found itself in the heart of the church. Why? Where is the “Keeping power of His Grace?" Where is the power of the cross?

THE CAUSE FOR THIS TRAGEDY IS...
“The way of peace they have not known, (why?) there is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3) Paul the Apostle says this of the world. Today it is characteristic of the church. I am not the only one who is saying this! Henry Blackaby states “The distinguishing characteristic of the church today in America is no fear of God.”

THE CURE...
A revival of the fear of the Lord; God showing up in our churches. A cry from our hearts, “Restore unto us a holy fear of the Lord,” but for that to happen we must have a change of thinking, a realization that indeed God is to be greatly feared.

[bold & italics mine]

Featured Hymn #1

For the last few years our church has been faithful in introducing a "new" or relatively unfamiliar hymn to the congregation each month. After the first of the year, we take one Sunday evening service to sing all twelve hymns that were featured the previous year. Beginning with this post, I plan on featuring various hymn lyrics that may or may not be known to my readers. But I pray that the words of each featured hymn-writer--whomever he or she might be--will encourage, convict, and/or teach your heart. Enjoy!

Send Thou, O Lord, To Ev'ry Place

Words: Ma­ry Cor­ne­lia Bi­shop Gates, 1890.
Courtesy of The Cyber Hymnal

Send Thou, O Lord, to every place
Swift messengers before Thy face,
The heralds of Thy wondrous grace,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Send men whose eyes have seen the King,
Men in whose ears His sweet words ring;
Send such Thy lost ones home to bring;
Send them where Thou wilt come.

To bring good news to souls in sin;
The bruised and broken hearts to win;
In every place to bring them in
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Thou Who hast died, Thy vict’ry claim;
Assert, O Christ, Thy glory’s name
In every place to bring them in
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Gird each one with the Spirit’s sword,
The sword of Thine own deathless Word;
And make them conquerors, conquering, Lord,
Where Thou Thyself wilt come.

Raise up, O Lord the Holy Ghost,
From this broad land a mighty host,
Their war cry, “We will seek the lost
Where Thou, O Christ, wilt come.”