Audio version here
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote to you about Pastor Daniel, an evangelist from Indonesia. He, along with 40 other Christian leaders, has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment, just because he prayed for the Muslim community to be open to Christ’s Gospel. I informed you that I was handwriting a letter to him in phonetic Indonesian, so that his family and friends could hold on to their hope in Christ.
Two weeks have passed and Daniel has received over 1400 letters from pastors and people around the world. The authorities are beginning to sit up and take notice. Daniel’s family are heartily encouraged by the amount of international support that he is being given. It truly is a wonderful way of sharing and expressing the Gospel to people in other lands. I hope and pray that Daniel and the others are released soon.
Daniel is a God-fearing Christian, who takes Christ’s message to heart and is unwilling to compromise its integrity. A week on Tuesday, I am going to our local Presbytery meeting and already I am feeling torn by it. Two new pastors will be presented at the meeting for approval. I’ve read their statements of faith online and once again, I am bewildered. I’ll have to ask one of them what is meant by salvation and is Christ the Only Savior of the World. The other one does not mention God as Father, nor of Christ as being His true Son.
It may just be a slip of the pen or keyboard, and to other people this will not seem important, but when I think of Pastor Daniel languishing and suffering in an Indonesian prison for not compromising his faith, I feel really ill at ease with those pastors amongst who all too readily set aside traditional beliefs and replace them with what they’ve learned from seminary professors, instead of holding fast to the words and teachings of Christ and His apostles.
I’ll probably endure some criticism again for asking these questions and voicing my concerns, but it will be nothing compared to what Daniel is experiencing. I hope and pray that my passion will not overload my reason; and that my heart will not overwhelm my head.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Son of God and He is Your Almighty Father. We are adopted as daughters and sons of God through our allegiance to You and by Your sacrificial death. Help us to value our salvation and keep us revering Who You really are. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
Verse for the Day:
Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Short daily devotions for busy Christians and Church meetings
Showing posts with label predestination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label predestination. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Friday, August 31, 2007
Re-emerging
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (NIV)
It’s a hard time to be a Presbyterian right now, because our mainline denominations are failing. It’s as if we've reached the end of the line and that after 400 years of Reformed Faith, people no longer want to hear the doctrines of predestination, total depravity, or the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Instead, people want to make up their own brand of faith, something that will suit their life-style choices, which will not interfere with their decisions or make any judgments about the way they live their lives. What people want out of religion is something that will guarantee immortality at the end of their earthly lives, without any catches, conditions, or commandments to disbar them. It’s a bit like being in someone’s garden and wanting to steal apples from their tree without there being any consequences. It’s the same old sin of Adam and Eve – wanting to be immortal like God and trying to steal it from Him.
I'm not perfect, even although I'm a pastor. I've sinned many times against God and let Christ down time and time again. Each day I always say or do something that I'll regret later on, or I forget to do something and break a promise. Time just seems to consume me and I'm left wondering if I'm making any difference in the world that I know.
My role is to counter the culture that is choking the Christian faith. My call as a pastor is to help the people I know get past the sickness that is killing our society. My place is to be a prophet who preaches against the ways of the world that are leading people astray from Christ. At times, I feel like I'm chosen to be the Shepherd’s collie dog, snapping at the feet of the sheep in order to keep them in the fold and out of danger.
And then I read Paul’s letter to Timothy and I realize that the church has seen times like these before. When Timothy became a bishop to his people, he had to deal with the world; he had to preach against secularism; he had to keep people on the right track in order to get them home to Jesus. The people in Timothy’s time were itching to hear what they wanted to hear…and people are still the same today. Things may look different, but people are still the same – they want short cuts to salvation; they want the express lane to immortality; they want to cut in ahead of everybody else to get Christ’s blessings.
It’s hard being a Presbyterian these days, but it’s not harder than what Timothy’s people had to endure. It’s not harder than what pastors in China are suffering; it’s not harder than what Christian families in Nigeria are enduring; it’s not harder than what millions of Christians around the world have to overcome for the faith each day. And because of that, I've got to start drawing a line in the sand and say this day, we retreat no further. We will not quietly acquiesce to the world’s demands. We will not fade away into faithlessness. We will not continue to compromise our Reformed beliefs, our Calvinistic codes, our Presbyterian traditions.
It’s time to re-emerge. It’s time to revive. It’s time to reform. The itching has gone on long enough. It’s time to stop scratching and start fighting the good fight.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Presbyterian church is in a mess and people like me have caused it to be so. Instead of waiting and watching for Your return, I've been wallowing in sin and at ease in Zion. Forgive me, Lord, for all of those wasted years and sinful moments. Restore me, Lord, to the love and zeal that I once had for You alone. Help me, Lord, to climb out of this religious rut and back on to the highway to Heaven. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.
It’s a hard time to be a Presbyterian right now, because our mainline denominations are failing. It’s as if we've reached the end of the line and that after 400 years of Reformed Faith, people no longer want to hear the doctrines of predestination, total depravity, or the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Instead, people want to make up their own brand of faith, something that will suit their life-style choices, which will not interfere with their decisions or make any judgments about the way they live their lives. What people want out of religion is something that will guarantee immortality at the end of their earthly lives, without any catches, conditions, or commandments to disbar them. It’s a bit like being in someone’s garden and wanting to steal apples from their tree without there being any consequences. It’s the same old sin of Adam and Eve – wanting to be immortal like God and trying to steal it from Him.
I'm not perfect, even although I'm a pastor. I've sinned many times against God and let Christ down time and time again. Each day I always say or do something that I'll regret later on, or I forget to do something and break a promise. Time just seems to consume me and I'm left wondering if I'm making any difference in the world that I know.
My role is to counter the culture that is choking the Christian faith. My call as a pastor is to help the people I know get past the sickness that is killing our society. My place is to be a prophet who preaches against the ways of the world that are leading people astray from Christ. At times, I feel like I'm chosen to be the Shepherd’s collie dog, snapping at the feet of the sheep in order to keep them in the fold and out of danger.
And then I read Paul’s letter to Timothy and I realize that the church has seen times like these before. When Timothy became a bishop to his people, he had to deal with the world; he had to preach against secularism; he had to keep people on the right track in order to get them home to Jesus. The people in Timothy’s time were itching to hear what they wanted to hear…and people are still the same today. Things may look different, but people are still the same – they want short cuts to salvation; they want the express lane to immortality; they want to cut in ahead of everybody else to get Christ’s blessings.
It’s hard being a Presbyterian these days, but it’s not harder than what Timothy’s people had to endure. It’s not harder than what pastors in China are suffering; it’s not harder than what Christian families in Nigeria are enduring; it’s not harder than what millions of Christians around the world have to overcome for the faith each day. And because of that, I've got to start drawing a line in the sand and say this day, we retreat no further. We will not quietly acquiesce to the world’s demands. We will not fade away into faithlessness. We will not continue to compromise our Reformed beliefs, our Calvinistic codes, our Presbyterian traditions.
It’s time to re-emerge. It’s time to revive. It’s time to reform. The itching has gone on long enough. It’s time to stop scratching and start fighting the good fight.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, our Presbyterian church is in a mess and people like me have caused it to be so. Instead of waiting and watching for Your return, I've been wallowing in sin and at ease in Zion. Forgive me, Lord, for all of those wasted years and sinful moments. Restore me, Lord, to the love and zeal that I once had for You alone. Help me, Lord, to climb out of this religious rut and back on to the highway to Heaven. In Your Holy Name, I pray. Amen.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Unworthy
Scottish audio version here
Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. (NIV)
Some of the congregations in the highlands and islands of Scotland are amongst the best attended churches in Britain. They are isolated from a lot of the cultural pressures that hamper faith on the mainland, so the people tend to turn out to church on Sundays. Except for Communion, which is very strange.
The reason that they don’t come to Communion services is because it requires full membership status. Many of the people who regularly attend church are adherents to the congregation, not members. They don’t believe that they are worthy enough to become members, which is a throwback to the times when the first Calvinist ministers came to the islands. Because they preached an uncompromising message of double predestination, the highlanders and islanders feared that they were damned and cast off from God forever.
Joining the church was deemed to be presumptive and taking salvation for granted, so the people didn’t become members. This understanding has passed down generation after generation until the present day. So, the churches are well attended throughout the year, except when it comes to Communion, which only occurs about two or three times annually.
When Paul and Barnabas took the gospel message to the Jews across the cities and towns of the Mediterranean, their preaching was rejected. It was too radical for many conservative Jews, so the two missionaries took their message to the Gentiles, where it was gladly accepted. Paul complains that the Jews did not consider themselves worthy of the promises of eternal life, but what he really meant was that they did not want to place themselves under the grace of Jesus Christ. The Gentiles on the other hand, knew that they were unworthy and they rejoiced in Christ’s grace.
Sometimes, especially when we need forgiveness for our sins, we may not feel worthy of God’s mercy. We may even not want to go to Him and ask for grace because it involves admitting our mistakes and submitting ourselves to Christ’s will. But if we don’t seek forgiveness, we shall never know of the joy, peace, and delight that Christ’s grace can bring into our lives. It’s a humbling experience, but it’s also a beautiful one.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all have regrets in our lives and have made many mistakes. We carry the burden of guilt and shame in our hearts, minds, and souls. Grant us the strength to humbly come to You and help us to truly ask for forgiveness. Let the beauty of Your grace release us from the sadness of the past, bringing us to the joy of everlasting love and life. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.
Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. (NIV)
Some of the congregations in the highlands and islands of Scotland are amongst the best attended churches in Britain. They are isolated from a lot of the cultural pressures that hamper faith on the mainland, so the people tend to turn out to church on Sundays. Except for Communion, which is very strange.
The reason that they don’t come to Communion services is because it requires full membership status. Many of the people who regularly attend church are adherents to the congregation, not members. They don’t believe that they are worthy enough to become members, which is a throwback to the times when the first Calvinist ministers came to the islands. Because they preached an uncompromising message of double predestination, the highlanders and islanders feared that they were damned and cast off from God forever.
Joining the church was deemed to be presumptive and taking salvation for granted, so the people didn’t become members. This understanding has passed down generation after generation until the present day. So, the churches are well attended throughout the year, except when it comes to Communion, which only occurs about two or three times annually.
When Paul and Barnabas took the gospel message to the Jews across the cities and towns of the Mediterranean, their preaching was rejected. It was too radical for many conservative Jews, so the two missionaries took their message to the Gentiles, where it was gladly accepted. Paul complains that the Jews did not consider themselves worthy of the promises of eternal life, but what he really meant was that they did not want to place themselves under the grace of Jesus Christ. The Gentiles on the other hand, knew that they were unworthy and they rejoiced in Christ’s grace.
Sometimes, especially when we need forgiveness for our sins, we may not feel worthy of God’s mercy. We may even not want to go to Him and ask for grace because it involves admitting our mistakes and submitting ourselves to Christ’s will. But if we don’t seek forgiveness, we shall never know of the joy, peace, and delight that Christ’s grace can bring into our lives. It’s a humbling experience, but it’s also a beautiful one.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all have regrets in our lives and have made many mistakes. We carry the burden of guilt and shame in our hearts, minds, and souls. Grant us the strength to humbly come to You and help us to truly ask for forgiveness. Let the beauty of Your grace release us from the sadness of the past, bringing us to the joy of everlasting love and life. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.
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