Simplicity

"I do not look for any other means of converting men beyond the simple preaching of the gospel and the opening of men's ears to hear it. The moment the Church of God shall despise the pulpit, God will despise her." ~ Charles Spurgeon

A Mile Wide and a 1/4 Inch Deep

If you were to look on the surface of modern evangelical Christianity today you might think that there is a renewal taking place. Nothing could be further from the truth however. The explosion of mega churches, the growth of the Christian publishing industry, Christian themed movies, etc., are deceiving indicators as to the health of the church of Jesus Christ today. Modern day evangelical Christianity is a mile wide and a1/4 inch deep.

Sure if you were to look at the church from the waters edge it is quite a site to behold; large and intimidating in appearance. But dive into 1/4 inch deep waters and you soon realize the peril the church is in. The pure and solid teaching of God's word has been replaced by weak man- centered topical messages. If you were to read Christian literature or listen to most sermons today you would think that man's greatest need was to be happy in this life. That friends, is not our greatest need. If it were than our poor brothers and sisters in China and other closed countries got a raw deal.

I am reminded of the words of Craig Wood who shared his testimony with us a few weeks ago. Craig suffers from a serious and painful skin disease. When asked what was one of the greatest lessons God has taught him through his suffering he said it was that "we should not make this our Heaven." Craig is right. But that is precisely what the church today is encouraging people to do. The focus today has shifted away from God and onto self.

We are no longer confronted with the ugliness of our sin and the holiness of God. You often hear of God's grace and mercy but never hear about His wrath. Ironically, you cannot understand the depths of God's grace and mercy until you have a proper understanding of terribleness of His wrath. What good is it to tell a person about the salvation God offers without telling them what they are being saved from? Are they saved from their bad marriage? The pain of a wandering child? Their low "self-esteem?" Of course not. They are saved from the wrath of God which is poured out upon them because of their sin (Rom. 1:18). On the day of judgment all other issues or problems will pale in comparison to the problem of our sin.

In spite of all of this Christian leaders boast of great successes, likening what is happening today to a second reformation! These leaders tout poll numbers which show the majority (in the 90% range) of Americans proclaim to be Christian. Another interesting note however is that only 36% of Americans believe in the bodily resurrection of believers. I often wonder if the average Christian today (I am referring to people who have been believers for at least 5 years) could explain the meaning of the following words or phrases found in Scripture: Atonement, propitiation, new covenant. etc. I would also speculate that these words are rarley used or explained from the vast majority of pulpits today.

The church today sees its sheer size as a sign of health. That kind of thinking is as foolish as mistaking a large waist size as a sign of physical fitness.

When I consider the state of the church in America today I cannot help but remember the words to the church at Laodicea recorded in Revelation 3:17-19 “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

God bless,
Pastor Duane

My Time

I went to Wal-Mart today to pick up some ink for my printer. I always like to use the self-checkout partly because it is quicker to check out on my own and partly because I like to play with the machine. Anyway, it was rather busy, so I had to wait behind 5 or 6 people. Most of these individuals had only 1 or 2 items also.

It wasn't long before I noticed that the couple in front of me (approximately late 50's) were not the patient kind. They were purchasing a Crock Pot. While waiting in line the clerk came by and had to reload the machine with cash which took less than 2 minutes. All the while the lady was sighing and huffing very loudly so as to show her impatience.

The clerk got the machine running and the next person began to ring out. This young man had an item that didn't want to ring up so the red light on the machine started to flash indicating a need for help.

Well, needless to say the woman was now acting out even more, pacing back and forth, sighing even louder, and mumbling something to her husband. After a minute or two with no help in sight the young man left the item on the counter and walked away, no doubt, in response to this woman's actions.

Finally the last person before them rang out and it went off without a hitch.

Then it was their turn. First of all the husband begins by ringing the item out, and then immediately trying to cram a $20 bill in the slot to pay. Not once did he read the on screen instructions and press the necessary buttons. When all was said and done he took longer than the 2 people before him combined.

In all of this I was struck by some irony. First these people were buying a crock pot (slow cooker) which I thought was funny considering their impatience. Second when leaving they walked slowly out of the store, so slow in fact that I checked out and passed them walking to my car which just happened to be right next to their truck.

So what was the hurry? Why do we get so impatient waiting in line at the store, even when we have nowhere to go? We're all guilty of this.

I think it has something to do with it being "our time." We want to use "our time" the way "we" see fit. We don't stop to take into account that God may have us here in this line for a reason. I know this sounds simplistic but is it really? I think the way we handle ourselves in line at the store speaks more about our character than how we act at church.

I am in the last 2 days of jury duty this week. I have only been called to the courthouse 2 times and both times I did nothing but sit and wait for several hours and go home. When I found that I had to go into the courthouse this morning I was irritated. I have to much to do to sit there in that room.

My outlook changed however when I went to check in upon arriving and the clerk asked me what I did for a living and I told him I was a pastor. He asked me where and I told him and he said "That's not far from where I live. Do you have a card?" I gave him a card and chatted for a few minutes. About an hour later he called me back up and asked me if I had another card because he was telling a co-worker about the church and she wanted a card too.

Here is a great example fo what I mean. I saw "my time" in the office preparing for Sunday as valuable and any of that time spent in the courthouse as being a loss. God showed me however, that it is all His time and He had a predetermined course for me that I would not have chosen on my own.

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." That command is important because unless our heart and mind are stilled before God we often do not see Him working and in turn we do not have a chance to know Him.

Just my thoughts for this day.

God bless,
Pastor Duane