Obedience to God is Optional. Right?

“Today, millions of church goers feel what they believe is more important than how they live.”

According to a study from Lifeway Research on the wide impact of pornography in America, “43 percent of people who use the Internet visit pornographic websites. Some 40 million Americans are regular visitors to porn sites, with pornographic downloads representing 35 percent of all Internet downloads. Of the 40 million regular visitors, 33 percent are women. A full 70 percent of men age 18-24 visit porn sites monthly.” And Lifeway asked pastors about the impact of pornography on their congregations, and concluded that, “Large numbers of church attendees are included in the nearly half of all Internet users who visit porn sites.”

Wow! It appears that millions of professing Sunday morning Christians, after they attend church and hear the Word of God preached, go back home and stare at sexual images and videos on their phones or computers. How is that possible?

This highlights a massive problem in the American church. First, we have an urgent situation with porn in the pew. Second, the even bigger issue, is the disconnect between what someone professes and how they live. This means millions of people feel what they believe, is more important than how they live. It means they see obedience to God as merely optional.

Somehow large numbers of professing Christians have been exposed to a teaching that conveys how obedience to God does not matter. They have been taught to believe certain things, make certain religious professions and do certain religious duties, then God’s mercy will cover whatever they do not get right, and their home in heaven will be certain.

Since Jesus is the foundation of Christianity, is this what He taught?

Days before Jesus went to the cross, He spent much time alone with His disciples, preparing them for what was to come. He stressed the importance of two truths - love and obedience. He taught, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15) Then again, He said, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” (Jn. 14:21) And another time, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…” (Jn. 14:23) And finally, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” (Jn 14:24)

Jesus, the Master Teacher, was not emphasizing mere rule keeping to His disciples, but obedience to Him that springs from a heart of love. Not a romantic love that is mere feeling. No. Instead, a love that is rational, deliberate and willing to lay down one’s life for Him if necessary.

Obedience is non-negotiable. It is a must! It is an expression of true saving faith and authentic love toward Christ, who loved and obeyed His own Father by giving all for Him through the cross. Let us follow Jesus’ example.

This is so important. Everyone is heading toward an appointment with God their Creator. On Judgement Day He will examine each of us. When He does and says, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What will you say? Jesus once predicted exactly how conversations will end up playing out. He stated that people will come to Him and say, “Lord, Lord” and He will reply, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) And that will be it. Our mouths will be shut, unable to offer any response and our eternal fate sealed.

While we still have time, let us get it right. Today, let us obey His command to stop sinning, and bring to an end, the sinful things we are doing. Let us obey His command to trust in Him with all our heart for our acceptance and forgiveness, and stop trusting in our own goodness and the religious things we do. Let us obey His command to walk in holiness and faithful obedience to Him until our final breath.

A prayer for you - Lord God, help us to recognize the importance of belief, but also of obedience. Help us to see the connection between a genuine love for Christ and genuine obedience. Help us O, Lord to live a life of faithfulness unto you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Church’s Finest Hour!

“Only one entity has the message for our

 times. THE CHURCH. It was built for

 moments just like these.”

America is rotting from within. Lethal illegal drugs are being trafficked into our nation. Criminals are running our cities. Teaching children unthinkable immoral acts is championed. Justice is dependent on your political party and personal views. The family has been redefined. Gender is a personal choice. Killing babies before birth is a convenience. Lies are declared as truth to sway the masses, and truth is based on feelings. Why is all this happening? Because of America’s insatiable desire to satisfy her own lusts, and the consequences of that perilous pursuit. (Photo by Felix Mittermeier from Pixabay)

As result, our nation is becoming weaker and more vulnerable to our enemies with the passing of each new day. And the nature of this rot is a moral one, where the hearts of millions are controlled by a darkness that seeks their own personal ambitions above the needs of their neighbor.

Who can save us from this systemic evil that lives in the hearts of the masses? Who has the answer for this generational evil that has a hold on vital American institutions and on crucial areas of our culture?

Can the American military, with all its power, save us? Can Congress, the courts, or the President of the United States? What about our education system? I argue that there is only one institution that has the answers? Only one entity has the message for our times.

THE CHURCH. It was built for moments just like these.

It was created to flourish in periods of war, chaos, moral upheaval, widespread injustice, and in seasons of division and danger. These times have always become the church’s hardest, yet finest hours.

The church was born in the mind of God, established through the death and resurrection of Christ and is the embodiment of Christ Himself. For He is the church working through all His followers by His message, His works, His Spirit and His power. This all communicates a divine charge for the church - to be the presence of Christ to the world around us, and fulfill Jesus’ mission to them. And the central part of Jesus’ mission, was His unique message. It was nothing like what any other religious leader taught.

At the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus laid down what the theme of all His teaching and preaching would be when He declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

What does repent mean? It refers to a change of mind, leading to a change of life. It is where one turns from their destructive sinful self, and to God by faith through Christ. And when they do, they are instantaneously transformed. About others who have experienced this, the Bible says, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:3-6)

This was the message the Apostles taught and preached in the first century, and what the church was founded upon in its early years.

Sin was destroying people’s lives and the civilization they lived in, and it was only this message that could deliver them. It is the original message of the true church, and the message our nation so desperately needs today. To the enemies of the true Jesus, they frame it as words of hate, racism and bigotry. However, in the eyes of our Lord and Savior it is a message of truth, and one that is filled with love and compassion for a world on fire.

Rise up, O church. We need a remnant men and women who are filled with the boldness and courage of the Holy Spirit, to go forth and declare this timely message. The time is now!

A prayer for you – Lord God, stir the hearts of pastors and all believers. Remind them of your original message. Raise them up to call their neighborhoods and cities to turn from their evil ways and to faith in Christ. Bless their words as they speak forth your truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What is Real Love?

“Is love more than just a feeling?”

What is love? An Internet search engine indicated over 12 billion results for that question. Billboard’s top love song of all time is Endless Love, which held the number one position on the charts for nine weeks. Lionel Richie and Diana Ross closed their hit song with the words, “You'll be the only one, 'cause no one can deny, this love I have inside, and I'll give it all to you, my love…my endless love.” No matter if we are single, married, young or old - we want to know love. We want to find that special someone we can experience an endless love with.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines love as “a feeling of a strong or constant affection for a person.” I know this is a respected dictionary’s definition, but is this definition accurate? What if the feeling slips away over time? What if the feeling is for more than one person, especially after we are married? Is love really just a feeling?

 Love has a feeling nature to it. The Scriptures use beautiful imagery to describe this, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.” (Song of Solomon 8:7) This God-given romantic love between a man and woman has a mystical attraction that draws them toward one another. It is an attraction that cannot be quenched, drowned or purchased with all the riches in the world.

Love has a moral nature to it. The Scriptures speak eloquently about this, saying “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

When words like patience, kindness, not envying, boasting, nor being arrogant or rude are used, it reflects the moral nature of love.  

When a woman uses sharp words to tear down her husband, children or boyfriend, that is immoral and no demonstration of real love. But when she shows restraint by being patient and not rude, that is love. 

Love has a deliberate nature to it. When a man is focused and determined in his work, he has a choice in how he will respond to that internal drive. Will he yield himself fully to his career and neglect his family, reflecting nothing of real love? Or will he not insist on his own way by deliberately loving his family, through focusing on them as well?   

How can we find this God-given romantic love, with high moral standards that puts others above ourselves? Is it beyond our reach? Is it possible for us to obtain it?

It starts with the author of love Himself - God. For the Bible says, “God is love,” (1 John 4:8) and true love can only be found in Him. Nowhere else.

To obtain this divine love, you must turn from your selfish ways and believe, or commit yourself fully to His Only Son – Jesus. The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In Jesus, God demonstrated real love when Christ suffered, died and rose again for you. He did that so the greatest barrier to real love can be removed from your heart – your self-centeredness. And it can be replaced with a new nature, one that is God and others centered. A nature that is filled with His supernatural love and divine power, to enable you to live out that love, even in the most difficult situations.  

A prayer for you – Lord God, we confess how we have hurt those whom we have loved, because it has been all about ourselves. We desperately want real love, but we need your help. Change our hearts, O God. Remove our hearts of stone and fill them with your divine love. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Facing America’s Painful Past

“There is a way for the dividing walls of racial hostility and injustices from the past to be broken down.”

When my wife and I took a personal trip to New Mexico, at one point we found ourselves standing in front of an old building that was half in ruins. It was surrounded by a cemetery with rickety crosses, some leaning to the left and others to the right. As we asked about the building, we were told it used to be a church, and as we learned what happened there, we were left speechless. (Photo by Clint Decker)

We were standing in front of the San Geronimo Church, and in February 1847 it became the eternal monument of the Taos Revolt.

The cause for the horrific tragedy began in 1846, when the American government was expanding westward, and American General Stephen Kearny marched into Mexican territory and claimed it for the United States. Soon tensions rose between the Americans, and the native Mexicans and Pueblo Indians. In retaliation for the Americans unjust oppression, the two groups joined together and carried out a bloody massacre on U.S. officials and their families. In response, weeks later the American military pursued the Mexicans and Indians, which ended at the San Geronimo Church near present day Taos, New Mexico. There American soldiers sought revenge by carrying out their own bloody massacre of over 150 men, women and children seeking refuge in the church.

The United States government should not have seized the lands they did, and neither should have either massacre taken place in retaliation against the other. All of it was preventable, and a dark part of Mexican, Pueblo Indian and American history. And what are the natural consequences of such evil? Divisive hate, anger and unforgiveness for generations.

When we look at the Taos Revolt, and the many others like it that took place between the expanding American government and Native Americans, what is the root of the problem? Is it about racial division - the white man versus the person of color? Is it about government corruption? Is it about a lust for power and control?

Those are all symptoms of the deeper problem, which is spiritual at its core. God describes the central issue, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Only a heart that is sick could hate another person because of their race, steal from others, or justify revengeful bloodshed.

God says, “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15) Whether someone has their car stolen or their homeland, all forms of stealing are unjust and condemned by God. He also gives no justification for retaliatory bloodshed when He states “…never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” (Romans 12:19) Furthermore God declares, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom. 12:21) What happens when one is overcome by the darkness within themselves, and returns evil for evil? Then evil never leaves them, and they live in a perpetual cycle of hate and revenge for generations.

How can hearts like this have peace, and bring an end to this deadly cycle? Only one way. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. He came from heaven to earth, died and rose again to change the hearts of men and women. His death provided a way for dark and sinful hearts to be transformed. The Bible says, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…” (Ephesians 1:14)

The dividing wall of racial hostility and injustices from the past can be broken down. When people come to the cross of Christ in a spirit of humility, repentance and faith; lives will be transformed. And flowing from those changed hearts will be joy, love and forgiveness for one’s enemies.

A prayer for you – Lord God, you know about the injustices that have happened in our nation’s past. I pray that wherever there is division because of these evils, you would break down those walls through the healing power of forgiveness in the cross of Christ. Through Him, tear down the walls that divide us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.