LOOKING FOR A BIBLICALLY MINDED LIFESTYLE - READ CRAZY LOVE by FRANCIS CHAN

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan is an Oasis Audio book distributed by Christianaudio (http://christianaudio.com).

I have listened to this twice. It has been well worth the listening. The Church needs to hear this message, especially the American Church.

The author, himself, reads with a calm even voice. It is not the dynamic voice which I usually like to listen to (it took some getting used to). But, I will say it again; I have listened to this twice. It has been well worth the listening.

In the first part of the book the awesome glories of God are extolled. Chan then contrasts man with God. Yes we are the pinnacle of God’s creations but we are marred by sin. This is where the title of the book especially comes in. In light of our sin, how crazy is it that God would even be mindful of us. Then, on top of that, He sends His Son to die for our sins?

In light of this wonderful knowledge we are encouraged to follow God’s lead. By living what seems to be a radical life of crazy love. But what seems to be radical and crazy is actually biblical. Chan basically says that such a life is not only reasonable but the only rational choice in light of God’s overwhelming relentless love of us.

By the way, he is not just another writer telling others what to do; he and his church are living this Crazy Love life.

As a part of the christianaudio Reviewers Program it is my pleasure to highly recommend this book.

  

DO YOU WANT TO BE BLESSED? FIND OUT HOW!

This morning I was watching and listening to Marquis Laughlin (http://www.actsoftheword.com/index.html) recite from memory the beginning chapters of Revelation. It starts out like this:

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants [1] the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant [2] John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Several things stood out to me. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, not John. It is Jesus Christ who is being revealed. Unlike the title in the King James version which says, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, the English Standard gets it right by writing, in one edition, The Revelation to John. The Reformation Study Bible simply repeats the first phrase of verse one, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
                   

It was God who gave Jesus Christ the revelation. At first that may seem strange. You may be asking yourself, I thought Jesus was God? To which I would say you are quite right in your thinking, He most definitely is God, God the Son! That would mean that the God who gave him the revelation is God the Father.

God the Father wants this revelation of his Son, concerning things soon to take place, to be given to his servants. His method of relaying this message to them is quite amazing. He uses his servant John to get the word out, after getting the word from an angel! John a human being is the means by which this important revelation is given out to His servants. If your faith and trust are in Jesus alone for salvation then you are his servant and this message is for you. How awesome is that!

John, of course, was faithful to get this revelation out. He "bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw". We are the beneficiaries of John's faithfulness.


At this point I have to ask, how many of you like to be blessed? Do I really need to hear the answer? So, since we all like to be blessed, try this: "...read aloud the words of this prophecy, and ... hear, and ... keep what is written in it..."

Do not just read the revelation, but READ IT ALOUD. Do not just hear (with your ears) the revelation, but KEEP WHAT IS WRITTEN IN IT (hear with your heart and obey). Remember there is a reason for this, "the time is near".

If you ask what time is near? I will answer by saying now is the time to start obeying and READ IT ALOUD (the answer is found in the revelation). Then KEEP WHAT IS WRITTEN IN IT (the true understanding of the revelation is in the obeying of it). 

THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S - but he is pleased to use us as His hands and feet!

Psalm 144:1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.

As it says in another place "the battle is the Lord's". It is indeed! This verse shares the means he uses to "subdue peoples under me."

While this passage is rooted in physical battles, I cannot help but think in terms of the spiritual battle we are in every time we engage with those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul puts the battle in spiritual terms (read Ephesians 6),

With this knowledge let us arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God! Let us take up the shield of faith, faith in our Lord, the rock who trains us for war!

Our victory is in the Lord! Our protection is in the Lord! Our strength is in the Lord! Blessed be the Name of the Lord! And what is that name - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

March on brothers and sisters it is the Lord our Rock who will subdue peoples under us. Remember this battle is for the souls of men, women, and children. Keep up the good fight!

WHAT DOES PRAYER, THE WORD OF THE LORD, SPEED, AND HONOR ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you,...

We would do well to have this kind of prayer for ourselves as well as for others. It would be especially beneficial for those who, like Paul, go to places that we will never go. Pray for the evangelists, apostles, teachers, prophets. Lets also pray for one another that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored. After all I may never go where you go and you may never go where I go. You have your job, neighbors, family,

and friends that I may never see and I have mine. 

The idea that the word of the Lord may speed ahead calls to mind that the time is short. In another place Paul said, Today is the day of salvation. In chapter one Paul had just warned about the judgment to come. In the second chapter he speaks of the man of lawlessness and the deception to come, which will have eternal consequences. TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION! TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE!

He also asks them to pray that the word of the Lord may be honored. Other ways this might be said would be: pray that the word of the Lord may be held in high esteem, pray that the word of the Lord may be reverenced, pray that the word of the Lord may be trusted and obeyed.

Paul says, to the Thessalonians, this is what happened among you. As if he is saying, don't you want to see this same thing happen everywhere? Then start praying!

Won't you start praying?

Book Review: "In the Presence of My Enemies" by Gracia Burnham with Dean Merrill

This is the story of Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries in the Philippines, who were taken captive by extreme Islamic Jihadists. It takes you on a year long journey through the jungles without proper shelter, clothing, and sanitation. Food was not always in abundance. They were separated from their loved ones (children and parents).


Gracia says this, “My goal in writing this was to tell Martin’s story. I hope we’ve done it well.”

It was done very well. Martin lives and breathes in this story. Martin was a man whose deep godly wisdom and love for God is seen throughout their captivity. Part of that love was, amazingly, for his captors.

Gracia’s story comes out too. She shares her husband’s love and forgiveness for her captives. In light of the fact that Martin did not survive the rescue attempt this is extraordinary! One example will suffice, shown graphic pictures of her dead captors on the day of her rescue. She began crying. The agent showing the pictures was surprised that she was not glad they were killed. She responded if I believe what I do then these men are in hell with no other chances for God’s forgiveness. Those who are still alive she has forgiven and prays for their salvation.

Pam Ward, the reader of this Christian Audio (http://christianaudio.com/) book, did such a fine job; I found it very easy to think that I was listening to Gracia herself.

This book will cause you to examine your heart before God who sees and knows all. As one who is a part of the volunteer christianaudio reviewers program I highly recommend this book.

LOVE MY ENEMIES?

Psalm 35:13 But I, when they were sick -- I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. 14 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.

The heart felt emotions above are actually quite unusual, and even unnatural to our inclinations, considering their context. Consider that the psalmist uttered these words on behalf of "those who fight against me", "my pursuers", those "who seek after my life", those who "hid their net for me", those who "dug a pit for my life", those "malicious witnesses" who "rise up", those who "repay me evil for good", those who "rejoiced and gathered" "at my stumbling", those who "gathered together against me", those "wretches" who "tore at me without ceasing, those who "gnash at me with their teeth", those who "hate me without a cause" those who "devise words of deceit".

In light of such affliction and hatred, from obvious enemies, would you respond the way the psalmist did? Would you be praying for them, afflicting your own self with fasting, grieving as if for a friend or brother, lamenting and mourning as if for your mother.

Seems quite unnatural indeed!

His cries and prayers were not all for their well being. He did ask God for judgment upon them. He asked God to contend for him. He even had plans on glorifying God once his enemies were judged. "Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation". But even despite these prayers he still cared for his enemies when they were sick.

We are living in times much like the psalmist. It is becoming increasingly obvious the hatred and affliction that Christians are receiving in our own country. Legislation promoted in this country continues to cut at biblical principles. Would you pray for the designers of such legislation, if they fell sick, as if they were your friend, brother, or even your mother?

Praying for God's Justice concerning our enemies is easy, but it seems to go against the grain of our human nature to pray for their well being.

Let us pray for God's Justice, but let us also heed the words of our Lord Jesus who said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Why? "So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."

HOW WELL IS YOUR PERCEPTION?

Acts 23:6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial." 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Paul perceived! What do you perceive about your antagonists? How did Paul perceive? How can we perceive? Answering this question is the theme of this post.

So how can we "perceive"?

1. Perception can come through reading Scripture. This should be our main source. Your antagonists/enemies, are shown very clearly there. David talks a lot about his enemies in the Psalms. That's a good place to start.

2. Read books that expose the heresies of the enemies of God. There are many good books exposing the many heresies we face today. Kingdom of the Cults is one of the classics. It is one that has in recent years been updated to reflect the current heresies being faced by the church. Ask your pastor or godly men you respect in the faith to suggest other books or even Web sites that offer the same information.

3. Talk with Christian brothers and sisters who have, first hand, experience dealing with such heresies. Much can be learned from those who have been and still are on the front lines. One suggestion for where such first hand info could be found is James White's Web site, http://aomin.org.

4. This last idea is very important. Do not assume you know the enemy you are dealing with without first listening to them (face to face or through media sources), before talking with them. Remember the enemies of God are everywhere - they are your neighbors, your co-workers, your family. A good listening ear will win more people than jumping to conclusions and bible thumping a stereotype of your own imagination.

The bottom line: we must be prepared. We are soldiers. Paul told Timothy,

"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him."