Esther, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ed Tuttle & You

You have something mysterious, critical and wonderful in common with these people. Before I tell you what it is, let’s talk about what they’ve done.

Esther was a young Jewish girl who through a series of undesirable events, was living in the king’s palace at a time her people were faced with certain annihilation.  She found herself with a decision to make: save herself or possibly lose her life in the defense of others. 

 

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a time of rampant racial inequality, hatred, and violence.  He understood Scripture’s message of man being made in the image of God and the high value placed by God on “every tongue, tribe and nation”.   He found himself with a decision to make:  simply preach the Gospel on Sundays or step out from behind the safety of the pulpit and proclaim Christ’s truth in the public square. 

 

Ed Tuttle, a graphic artist in Danbury, Connecticut, made a friend at work.  He found himself with a decision to make:  he could keep it simple and talk about things of not much consequence, or he could bring up God, Christ, and the Bible. This particular friend he made was Eric Metaxas, who after  accepting Christ, has gone on to write best-selling biographies on William Wilberforce and Dietrich Bonhoeffer that are awakening Christians everywhere to what it really means to be a disciple of Christ.

God is reclaiming, redeeming, and restoring his Creation right now.  All of it.  He will accomplish it.  He promised us. God’s plan and character are unchangeable. 

Now for the part that is mind-blowing.  Just like Esther, Reverend King and Ed Tuttle,

GOD HAS CREATED YOU FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.

I don’t know what your part is.  However, I know you have one, or you wouldn’t be here!  It is a mystery that will not be known fully until God’s plan is complete.

The question to ponder is, when you find yourself with a decision to make will it be one made in faith and with your hope grounded in the One whose plan and character are trustworthy?

Although it was obvious that the decisions made by Esther and Rev. King were critical to others at the time, it may not have seemed so critical to Ed that he share his faith with Eric. 

 But it was.

Let’s keep in mind that any choice made can have a ripple effect of which we may not be aware.  Continue to pursue an intimate relationship with Christ through his Word and prayer.  This is our firm foundation from which we derive the guidance needed to make decisions with kingdom impact.

To God be the glory!

A Wake Up Call, Niemoller Style

If he were alive today, perhaps Niemoller would have penned it like this...

First they came for the Mormons, and I did not speak out because I am not a Mormon.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak out because I am not a Catholic.
Then they came for me as I said Grace over my lunch, and there was no one left to speak for me.
                                                                      
Oh, wait... I've been speaking out for years now.  

At what point will you say, "No more"?  Pastor Niemoller lived (and died) with great regret at having not done something sooner to stand against the evil.

How about you? 

It's not too late to push against those who would take our God given freedom. 

Yet.

Watch the short video below and decide today.

Parents Praise Five Year Old Girl For Praying Even Though She Was Told Not To. 

Which Jesus Do You Know? Reasoning Through the Cake and Cross Controversy

I can understand differing opinions about things such as the authorship of Hebrews, or David’s age when he wrote Psalm 62. However, I’m having a hard time understanding self-professing Christians who are so at odds with each other about whether Jesus would bake a cake to celebrate a gay wedding. Even worse, it frightens me that so many people don’t see the danger in getting the answer to this question wrong.  On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal but consider this:  How you answer this question speaks volumes about who you think Jesus is and who you think you are in relationship to him. Which Jesus you worship matters for eternity.  Is it the one of the Bible or the one who has been fashioned in your image?  The Jesus of the Bible bled holy blood, died on a cross as the atonement for your sins, and offers you entrance into Glory.  The Jesus you fashion in your image did NOT.

Who was Jesus referring to in Matthew 7:21-23 when he tells us that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’…Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.  Away from me, you evildoers!’” ?  From the text, Jesus makes it clear that it is possible to use Jesus’ name, thinking you “know” him and you can be terribly wrong.  Those who know Jesus, do his will.  The one Jesus knows is the one who obeys him.

Jesus always did the will of his father, so how can we discover what the real Jesus would do in this situation? There isn’t one verse that speaks directly to this question, however God has absolutely revealed throughout Scripture enough of himself in order for us to rightly judge things that are not plainly revealed.  

Here’s what I’ve considered on the subject of whether Jesus would bake a cake and join in the festivities of a gay wedding:

1.   God created marriage to be between a man and a woman in Gen 2:24 “a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh”.  They were not identical, they complimented each other and it was through this union they were to be “fruitful and multiply”. 

2.  God, unchanging in his character, has graciously given us his list of “do not’s” in Exodus 20 and Leviticus 19. While the sacrificial practices changed in the New Testament due to the Perfect Lamb’s sacrifice, the call to holiness has not.  The call to keep his commands is woven throughout Scripture, Old and New Testament.  In these “do-not’s” ALL sexual immorality, including homosexuality is considered despicable, detestable and an abomination to the LORD. This does not change in the N.T.

3.  1 Corinthians 5 describes how not only committing sexual immorality but boasting in it should not be tolerated within the church.  While Paul refrains from passing judgment on the non-Christian who is proud of such sin, he still calls it sin and does judge the Christian who “should have been filled with grief”.

4.  1 Corinthians 10:6-11 warns us not to celebrate in what God considers sinful.  Do not “[sit] down to eat and drink and …indulge in pagan revelry”… We should not test the Lord, as some did and were killed… These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us…”

5.  I find many places in Scripture where God punished sin (i.e., The Flood, Sodom & Gomorrah, Pharaoh & the Egyptians, his own children in the Wilderness, etc…).  I have yet to discover a place where he celebrated with people in the codification of their sin (i.e. wedding ceremony for any other than a man or woman).

6.  Marriage is God’s earthly picture of the love and intimacy between Christ, the bridegroom and the Church, his bride. It is a mysterious and holy union, not to be mocked.  (Eph 5:25-32)

7.  Jesus left the glory of the heavenly realm to be spat upon, beaten, mocked and tortured to death to save us from our sins.  For thousands of years the saints have marveled at such a love that our Lord must have for us to suffer so.  How much more unthinkable is it that he would do such a thing only to join us in a celebration of sin?!

8.  Even when he rescues us, just as the woman caught in adultery, he does so with the command, “now go and sin no more”.  (John 8:1-11)

9.  Hebrews 6:6 describes those who, at one time, shared in the Holy Spirit, but turned away from the “goodness of the word of God” as “crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace”.  If we humans would be subjecting Christ to public disgrace by turning from the goodness of the word of God, how much more ludicrous is it suggest he would do the same to himself?!  Why leave glory to be flogged beyond recognition and die on a cross if he’s just going to kick up his heels with the sinners in the midst of what he defines as their wickedness?

10.  In the book of Revelation, Jesus has praise for the Church in Ephesus in that they “cannot tolerate wicked men” and delivers harsh words for the Church at Pergamum for “committing sexual immorality”. I translate this to mean that grace is not a “get out of jail free” card.  Up through the last book of the Bible, I’m still held accountable by a holy God. 

 

This is just a short list for why I would not be able to bake a cake or be the photographer of a gay wedding. I am confident that to claim that Jesus would not participate in celebrating a homosexual wedding is in line with who God reveals himself to be in Scripture.  I am convinced that if I were to celebrate a gay wedding, it would be tantamount to crucifying my sweet Jesus all over again.

  

Are we so disconnected with the cost of our sin that we could believe Jesus would find joy in celebrating it with us?

Is it possible that we are actually worshiping a Jesus made in our own image?

Christian, my plea to you is this- don’t take my word for it.  Spend time searching the Scriptures and see what you find.  Not because it’s a hot topic in our culture but because which Jesus you worship is the difference between death and life everlasting.