Sunday, August 19, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Blasphemy Challenge
So, I'm not what you would call a "cutting edge" internet person. In fact, by the time I discover something, its usually old news for most everyone else. As such, I was poking around on YouTube the other day. There were some interesting videos; some funny, some shocking, the filthy ones I passed over... Basically your typical assortment of stuff you would expect to see on a site where anything goes.
But then I came across several videos with the topic of "The Blasphemy Challenge" in their title. Out of pure morbid curiosity, I clicked on several of these videos and was completely stunned at what I saw. There is a young man who, according to his video, has recently abandoned his faith in Jesus. He lists reasons for him coming to the conclusion that there is no God. (I will leave the content of his logic to your own morbid curiosity.)
The point of this video is to issue a challenge to all atheists to ban together to commit the Ultimate Sin; blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He actually calls people to make a video of them publicly denying the existence of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. He even promises all who complete the challenge a movie entitled "The God that wasn't there."
As I sat and watched as person after person proclaimed their denial of God, I found it impossible to process the vast array of emotions I felt for these people. Most of them were very uncertain about what they were doing. You could see the hesitation in their bodies. You could hear the fear in their voice. But the one thing that come through louder than the fear was the depth of their pain.
Now, just for the record. The biblical foundation for this challenge can be found in Mark 3:22-30. Specifically, verse 28-29 states " truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes the holy spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."
It is vital to understand the context that Jesus states these words. Jesus' reputation has grown to the point that the pharisees are watching him very closely. He has appointed the apostles and, at this point has performed many public miracles, some in the presence of scribes and pharisees. At the time that Jesus has said this, the pharisees are very fearful of Jesus. They understand that he is here to turn tradition on its ear and set a new standard of righteousness; the position of the heart. Under Jesus' teaching, no more can they be outwardly "religious" and continue to live self-serving lives. Jesus has come to expose them, and all others that call on the name of God in speech but not in spirit. So the very important thing that we can't miss is that the pharisees absolutely knew at this point who Jesus was, but refused to submit to his because they would lose all political influence and social control.
So in Chapter 3, we see that the scribes come down from Jerusalem (v. 22) stating that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul and that he is performing these miracles by the power of Satan himself. By the time we get to verse 28, Jesus has utterly destroyed the credibility of these men and makes the statement of the unforgivable sin. These men knew he was sent by God. These men knew the power of the Holy Spirit was on him and working through him. Yet, they credited all this to Satan to maintain their power, their riches, and their control.
So, with these videos, the tragedy is not that these people have indeed committed the unforgivable sin, for most have no real understanding of the power of the Spirit or God himself. They simply deny that these forces exist; perfectly forgivable. We all held this position of our heart in some form prior to coming to the Lord. The real tragedy is that the majority of these people seek to make the boldest statement against, not against God, but against his ambassadors; Christians. Now, granted, some know exactly what they are doing and for them I am truly saddened. Their fates are indeed sealed.
The remaining, and majority, of these people have been, in some way so injured by the actions of proclaiming Christians that they are willing to risk (and accept) eternal damnation in place of identifying with God's church, all the while lacking a proper understanding of what they are doing. This breaks my heart.
As Christ's ambassadors (Eph 6:20) we must be mindful of our actions against the backdrop of how they impact the Kingdom of heaven. If Jesus is our Lord, we must live at all times, lives that compel people to consider him, not reject him. We must love PEOPLE unconditionally. We do not have to accept or agree with sin in peoples lives, but we absolutely MUST love on them. Love was the center of Christ's teachings. As such, love must be the center of our actions, thought process, motivations and agendas.
For anyone who reads this blog, I would ask this and issue a new challenge. Locate one of these videos on YouTube. Listen to what the person is telling you about how they came to be in front of a camera denying the Holy Spirit. Then pray specifically for a softening of their hearts and that true Christ followers would rise up around this person and show them the love of Christ. Ultimately, that they may repent and be saved. And should you come across one of the individuals that demonstrates a proper understanding of what they are doing, pray simply that their influence would be hindered and that they will not lead others astray. What do we have to lose in saying a prayer for this person? And what do they have to lose?
Father- I pray for revelation in the lives of the people who may still come to you. I pray that you will soften their hearts, open theirs eyes and ears and bring true repentance to their lives. Your word states that it is your will for all to come to you, and that none should perish. Father- I pray that those walking in lies would turn to the truth of your word, your love and your son and open their hearts to you.
And Father- for those that have made their final decisions, I speak out against their influence. I pray their mouths would be shut. I pray, father, that those that hear their words would hear your truth more clearly and more loudly.
And for your ambassadors, father, I pray a renewed sense of urgency around the lives we lead. I pray for hearts that offer unconditional love to those we encounter, and wisdom to know how to speak into their lives. I pray that we would represent you to a lost world that desperately needs to see your love, hear your invitation. I pray steadfast faith for your children father, that they would be sustained in their efforts to win souls for your glory.
But then I came across several videos with the topic of "The Blasphemy Challenge" in their title. Out of pure morbid curiosity, I clicked on several of these videos and was completely stunned at what I saw. There is a young man who, according to his video, has recently abandoned his faith in Jesus. He lists reasons for him coming to the conclusion that there is no God. (I will leave the content of his logic to your own morbid curiosity.)
The point of this video is to issue a challenge to all atheists to ban together to commit the Ultimate Sin; blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He actually calls people to make a video of them publicly denying the existence of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. He even promises all who complete the challenge a movie entitled "The God that wasn't there."
As I sat and watched as person after person proclaimed their denial of God, I found it impossible to process the vast array of emotions I felt for these people. Most of them were very uncertain about what they were doing. You could see the hesitation in their bodies. You could hear the fear in their voice. But the one thing that come through louder than the fear was the depth of their pain.
Now, just for the record. The biblical foundation for this challenge can be found in Mark 3:22-30. Specifically, verse 28-29 states " truly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes the holy spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."
It is vital to understand the context that Jesus states these words. Jesus' reputation has grown to the point that the pharisees are watching him very closely. He has appointed the apostles and, at this point has performed many public miracles, some in the presence of scribes and pharisees. At the time that Jesus has said this, the pharisees are very fearful of Jesus. They understand that he is here to turn tradition on its ear and set a new standard of righteousness; the position of the heart. Under Jesus' teaching, no more can they be outwardly "religious" and continue to live self-serving lives. Jesus has come to expose them, and all others that call on the name of God in speech but not in spirit. So the very important thing that we can't miss is that the pharisees absolutely knew at this point who Jesus was, but refused to submit to his because they would lose all political influence and social control.
So in Chapter 3, we see that the scribes come down from Jerusalem (v. 22) stating that Jesus is possessed by Beelzebul and that he is performing these miracles by the power of Satan himself. By the time we get to verse 28, Jesus has utterly destroyed the credibility of these men and makes the statement of the unforgivable sin. These men knew he was sent by God. These men knew the power of the Holy Spirit was on him and working through him. Yet, they credited all this to Satan to maintain their power, their riches, and their control.
So, with these videos, the tragedy is not that these people have indeed committed the unforgivable sin, for most have no real understanding of the power of the Spirit or God himself. They simply deny that these forces exist; perfectly forgivable. We all held this position of our heart in some form prior to coming to the Lord. The real tragedy is that the majority of these people seek to make the boldest statement against, not against God, but against his ambassadors; Christians. Now, granted, some know exactly what they are doing and for them I am truly saddened. Their fates are indeed sealed.
The remaining, and majority, of these people have been, in some way so injured by the actions of proclaiming Christians that they are willing to risk (and accept) eternal damnation in place of identifying with God's church, all the while lacking a proper understanding of what they are doing. This breaks my heart.
As Christ's ambassadors (Eph 6:20) we must be mindful of our actions against the backdrop of how they impact the Kingdom of heaven. If Jesus is our Lord, we must live at all times, lives that compel people to consider him, not reject him. We must love PEOPLE unconditionally. We do not have to accept or agree with sin in peoples lives, but we absolutely MUST love on them. Love was the center of Christ's teachings. As such, love must be the center of our actions, thought process, motivations and agendas.
For anyone who reads this blog, I would ask this and issue a new challenge. Locate one of these videos on YouTube. Listen to what the person is telling you about how they came to be in front of a camera denying the Holy Spirit. Then pray specifically for a softening of their hearts and that true Christ followers would rise up around this person and show them the love of Christ. Ultimately, that they may repent and be saved. And should you come across one of the individuals that demonstrates a proper understanding of what they are doing, pray simply that their influence would be hindered and that they will not lead others astray. What do we have to lose in saying a prayer for this person? And what do they have to lose?
Father- I pray for revelation in the lives of the people who may still come to you. I pray that you will soften their hearts, open theirs eyes and ears and bring true repentance to their lives. Your word states that it is your will for all to come to you, and that none should perish. Father- I pray that those walking in lies would turn to the truth of your word, your love and your son and open their hearts to you.
And Father- for those that have made their final decisions, I speak out against their influence. I pray their mouths would be shut. I pray, father, that those that hear their words would hear your truth more clearly and more loudly.
And for your ambassadors, father, I pray a renewed sense of urgency around the lives we lead. I pray for hearts that offer unconditional love to those we encounter, and wisdom to know how to speak into their lives. I pray that we would represent you to a lost world that desperately needs to see your love, hear your invitation. I pray steadfast faith for your children father, that they would be sustained in their efforts to win souls for your glory.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Degenerative Metamorphosis
"What Ive felt
What Ive known
Never shined through in what Ive shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub the unforgiven"
How ironic that words in a popular Hard Rock song from the 1990's can ring forth such truth. I have been shown recently what a cancer unforgivness is to our spiritual lives and our relationship with Jesus.
I have suffered a loss of intimacy with my lord over the last few months because I have harbored anger, bitterness and resentment towards a person in my life who has been the source of a great deal of pain for more than 20 years. It used to be, before my new life in Jesus, that I would push this person away and allow them minimal access to me or my family. Honestly, it was easier then. I didn't have to deal with her. If she made me angry, or in any way reminded me of the chaos that accompanies her presence in our lives at times, I could simply slam the door harshly in her face and feel quite satisfied with myself and the justification for how I felt.
When I came to the Lord, however, he had different plans for me. He issued me an order early on in my new life in him. I heard it as plainly as if he literally spoke the words to me audibly. He said to receive the fullness of the life he has prepared for me, I must reconcile this relationship. So, for the past two years we've been doing pretty well. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction. Recently however, the strong holds in her life have resurrected their heads and revealed they still have sway over her life. In this, my sin was revealed in how I responded to her. Though I would like to explain what I felt in such a way that you will empathize with me, plainly put it is hate.
It is hate simply for not being the love that Christ offers. Anything apart from the Lord and his righteousness is filthy rags. Those things e mask as frustrations, or "mild" anger, left unchecked will fester until they are revealed in their full vileness for what they are; hate. And the cost of this in my life is unbearable.
So now I embark on a journey of reconciling this rooted bitterness with a person I am fully justified in being angry with. Yet the Lord does not acknowledge this justification because like the debt he paid for me on the cross, this debt has been paid in full as well and is no longer mine to collect. Christ has purchased through the cross even those wrongs done TO me. I am left with not one injustice I can rightly seek vengence for. To usurp these injustices from him is to remove him from the position of Lord of my life. In taking back these debts, which he returns to me for a season, I discovered a most unpleasant and unexpected cost; I must reclaim the debts I owe as well.
Its an all or nothing exchange. I cannot expect that my Lord will pay my debts and allow me to hold on to bitterness towards others that have done me wrong. He can't allow that. To love as he loved, and live as he commands, requires that I submit EVERYTHING to him. If I insist on holding on to this unforgiveness, then the love of Christ does not live in me and I am apart from him.
If this sounds preachy, let me be plain. This sucks. I am not typing from a pious position of illuminated wisdom, rather from a pit of humiliation and, dare I confess, despair of what I must do to find the intimacy with my Lord that my soul thirsts for. I am a prideful and vengeful man today. But praise God that he has shown me what must be done for me to walk in victory over this thing that will steal my life from me and corrupt me into something dark, hard and wicked.
Father, I surrender this to you. Lest my own heart become diamond hard against you, I surrender. Please teach me your grace. Increase my faith father so that I may let you be lord over my life. Teach me to forgive my mother...
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