Many young people start out idealistic, with boundless energy, believing they can change the world. Now I don’t have boundless energy, and I’m not particularly idealistic, but I do believe that I can and will change the world!

Yet it frustrates me to no end when I discuss my dreams with many older, supposedly wiser, people and get a predictable response. They say, “Yeah, I’ve been there too. Wait til you get a little older, then you’ll understand. It’s not that simple. You just don’t understand how life works. You’re too young to know better!”

That’s horrible advice! How do I know? I’ve already been through several phases in life with smaller, but still seemingly unattainable, goals in which I have been told I’ll fail, and yet I never have! Experience has already begun to prove them wrong!

The reality is that throughout history many, many people have tried to change the world. Most didn’t, but a few did. A few advanced science, abolished slavery, cured diseases, reduced poverty, brought hope, etc. Why can’t I be one of the few?

As I thought about it, it seemed to me that a wise man would respond with, “Yeah, I’ve been there too. Let me tell you where I’ve failed, and where I’ve succeeded. Let me warn you of the burdens that will slow you down, and the obstacles you’ll encounter, so that you can overcome them. I’ll be there for you along the way, because I know it’s a lonely road. But you can do it!”

Then it dawned on me. I was getting advice from failures, so of course they were going to be cynical! They weren’t failures in life overall, but had failed miserably at their early efforts to make a real difference in the world! They couldn’t see anyone rising above what they had accomplished, because then they’d have to admit to themselves that they were failures! Why not encourage young people to be one of the few, instead of telling them indirectly that since you failed, they’ll fail? I’ve come to believe that a wise person may tell you that you shouldn’t, but they’ll never tell you that you can’t!

The reality is that if you want to succeed in anything in life, surround yourselves with people who have succeeded! It’s not an original idea, but it’s so important!

My advice: Find those in your life who have succeeded in the area you’re pursuing. Read about those who throughout history succeeded. Learn from them, and look for the common threads in their successes. You’ll be amazed at how similar successful leaders actually are!

We talk about love quite a bit, but sometimes I think we forget about what love truly is. It’s not an emotion. It’s not kindness. It’s not about avoiding conflict.

It is about putting ourselves aside and caring for others. Being there when they’re hurting. Being there to celebrate the little victories. Encouraging them to fulfill their calling. Sometimes, pushing them beyond where they are comfortable, so that they can rise to a new level.

Listen to: Dear Christian

I think it’s time to talk. I’ve watched you for awhile now, and I’m really concerned.
I see you go to church regularly. That’s great!
Your whole family is in church too. Way to go!
You do an awful lot of great things. You volunteer at church, and help out your local ministry. Your gift of time means the world to those who you help.
You post Scriptures, and encouraging thoughts on Facebook. I really like seeing that!

But I’m still concerned. You see I’ve noticed something frightening.

I don’t see the love. I don’t see the passion that comes from spending time lost in the presence of your one and only.
I used to, but I don’t see it today. What happened?

Life got in the way, didn’t it? Work became really important when the family came along.  And both eat up a lot of time, don’t they? After all, Scripture does say that providing for your family is important right? And it just got worse. House payments, car payments, vacations, sports, hospital bills, family time, overtime at work. Each one took a little focus away, and then the focus starting eating away at your time.

Worship is still important to you, but it’s a little different now isn’t it? Now, the songs that you sang when you first met Christ are the only ones that really evoke the same response. Do you know why? It’s called nostalgia. Those songs bring back the memories and feelings of that time when Christ was all that mattered. They’re not ushering you into the presence of God, they’re just reminding you of the emotions and experience of that time when you used to stride boldly into His presence.

Have you noticed that you spend more time talking at God, and reading about God, and less time actually in His presence listening to His heart?

I’m concerned for you. You’re missing out on the One who fills our every longing. You’ve substituted religion for God, and you’re missing out!

But it’s even worse than that. You see your life, and how you live it? This drift didn’t just impact you. While you’re unknowingly embracing an empty shell called religion, your friends, they’re dying! They’re living in death, and dying without the relationship that you talk about! They looked into your life, and didn’t see anything better than the emptiness they already had, and they moved on. They turned to addictions, they turned to despair, they’re chasing relationships, jobs, and money, when all they really wanted was Jesus! You see, they didn’t know they were looking for Jesus, because they never met anyone who knew Him!

How do I know all this? I’ve been there. And I don’t want to ever go back. I don’t ever want anything in life to come between me and the love of my life. Satan will provide plenty of opportunities, but he can’t grasp the kind of power a relationship with Christ brings. He’s in for a nasty surprise.

Will you come back? Will you fall into the arms of the One who gave His life for you? Will you search again for that priceless jewel(Christ!) for which you’d give up everything in your life for? Jesus offers renewal for you. He wants to become your priceless jewel. He offers to become the only thing in your life of any significance!

I beg you. Follow Christ until He becomes such a part of you that you don’t know how to exist each day without Him. Pursue Him until He becomes your identity, not just a part of you. You’ll gain the world, and the world will only see Him.

It’s your choice. Choose wisely.

How long are we going to treat Christianity like a self-help solution? Pastors, and religious authors teach us about all the things we need to do to achieve healing, prosperity, love, happiness, or become good people. There’s no doubt that their intentions are good, and that they’re helping a ton of people achieve a better life. But it all seems a little hollow to me. When I look at what Scripture says, I see a different approach to ‘improving’ lives.
In the very heart of the Scriptures we see over and over again that our best efforts to become good fail miserably, and always will. Instead of focusing on our sinful failings, we focus on becoming closer to God, and building a relationship with Him. God tells us that that relationship is enough to transform our lives!
Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the laws, and ‘guidelines’ are not the things that we strive towards. They are merely a measuring stick for us to use against our lives to determine where our relationship with the Lord actually is. They give us warning signs when we begin to stray. They remind us that we can’t acheive good on our own. God tells us that rather than strive to become better, we are to strive to know Him better, and He’ll take care of the rest. That’s it!
Take 1 Corinthians 13. Most Christians take it as a goal, something that they strive to achieve. That’s missing the whole point! Love is what manifests in our lives when our focus is on the Lord! It’s not about our effort, it’s about our focus!

Yes, I have been to Kenya.
Yes, I have seen an overwhelming amount of poverty in person.
Yes, it’s a very emotional experience.
No, it doesn’t change my response to the need. Nor should it!

Let me explain. For most, it seems the response to the overwhelming need we see throughout our world is based on how emotionally powerful it is. Kids dying in 3rd world countries don’t get help. Pictures of kids starving in 3rd world countries get help!

Undoubtedly you’ve seen images before of those around the world living in poverty. This is nothing new to anyone who has seen the evening news. We already know that throughout the world, people are dying in hunger without knowing Christ.

But I’m begging you to look at them a little differently than normal.

I challenge you to look past your emotions, past that little twinge of guilt, and look at the people. Look at them as your brother and sister, your father and mother, your grandchildren. Look into their eyes and see the hopes and dreams of real people, not just representative samples of the latest crisis. Put yourself in their shoes as they dream of better lives for themselves and their children.

At this point I should be challenging you to give to help with the current crisis, but I can’t. That’s not the point.

The Problem

In spite of the awareness, and in spite of the obvious facts, the suffering persists, and the church remains immobilized. The church hasn’t even fed the starving, or clothed the naked, let alone offered them life!

I saw a documentary a couple of months ago that was talking about the ‘science of evil’. In it, it talked about a study that was done that looked at the impact of distance on our understanding of evil. Specifically, they asked participants if it was evil to walk past a wounded person on the street. The vast majority of course said that it would be evil. Then they asked if they knew that the same person was dying on the other side of the globe, and they had the power to help, would it be evil not to help? The vast majority believed it wasn’t! Their conclusion: Evil is relative to our proximity to the person in need. That’s wrong! And yet for most Christians that is exactly how they act.

So what should our role be in all of this?
What’s our responsibility?

We help others because we can, and because we know that the abundance that God has given us is not for our own selfish comfort, but to empower us to help those in need!
Scripture commands us many, many times that we are to serve others whenever we can. Serving them by offering life, spiritually as well as physically.
Not suggests. Demands!
We ‘know’ this, and yet…

Where’s the disconnect? I’ve always wondered how it’s possible to see unimaginable suffering without taking any action beyond throwing a little guilt money at it. I’ve looked at this even more recently as I prepared for this trip. I could document the crisis, but to what purpose? It’s already been documented, and we’ve already become deadened(especially in the church) to the suffering of the world. How could I capture the plight of humanity in a way that could bring it home, make it tangible, to those who saw it. As I asked the Lord for inspiration, I began to see the answer. But it wasn’t in a picture, and it wasn’t in a video. The answer is a call to sacrifice.

We must look past our own selfishness, and our own comfort, and begin loving others with the same love that we have received from our Lord. Even when it hurts us a little! Even when it gets in way of our dreams! Even when it alienates us from our friends and families!
It’s not for those who are called by God into full time ministry! Christ calls everyone of us who claim to follow Him to sacrifice our lives for His kingdom and His glory.
In fact, Scripture tells us very clearly that we have never loved God if we don’t love our fellow man, not just in word, but in deed!

Now some of you are reading this, and you already have an excuse lined up to get yourself off the hook. Call it what it is, a lie from Satan, and move past it.

Common Excuses:

“But I can’t solve the world’s problems!” Nobody asked you too! God simply asks you to do your part.
“But there’s so much poverty/despair/problems right here at home!” Glad you noticed! How much are you sacrificing to alleviate the, comparatively small amount of, suffering in your own back yard?
“You’re just another bleeding heart” Not exactly, not that it would matter.
“That’s what missionaries are for” Find that in Scripture, and get back to me on that one!
“Oh, I send money to several groups that are doing a great work” Are you giving till it hurts?
“I can’t” You should be serving a more powerful God. Ask Him, and He’ll show you how you can change your world.
“Everyone can’t go!” Not everyone will cross the ocean, but everyone must go.

Go to your neighbors. Go to those in need. Go to those who are dying without hope. If you’ve allowed God to transform your life, then you know just how awesome a gift He offers through us to the world.
Go.

I can. Will you?

Listen to: I can’t

There’s a phrase that just drives me up a wall when I hear it.

“I can’t!”

When someone says that, my first instinct is to write them off as either a loser, or someone who just isn’t trying. But then the Lord pointed out that many times it’s true. We can’t!  Coming to that realization in many areas of our lives is exactly what God expects of us. Just as long as we don’t stop there!

The fact is that in so many areas, we can’t. We can’t overcome addictions. We can’t break generational curses. We can’t forgive people like we ought. We can’t love like we should. But God can! God can give us the power to overcome addictions! God can break generational curses! God can give us the ability to forgive! God can transform our hearts to love! God can, and does, take us so far beyond our limitations that He alone can get the credit!

When Moses told God that he couldn’t speak before Pharaoh, Scripture tells us that God got angry at him. After knowing God all his life, and standing before a burning bush, Moses was still so wrapped up in his limitations that he couldn’t see that if God called him to do something, God would give him the power to accomplish it!

We see the same concept repeated constantly in Scripture. Abraham, Joshua, Gideon, Esther, Daniel & Friends, Peter. Everyone of these people were called far beyond what they could do. When we read their stories, we don’t see what they accomplished, we see what God accomplished in spite them!

God calls each of us to something far greater than we can ever dream! We have to acknowledge that we can’t, but we’re willing! From there God takes over, and shows His power and glory to the world through our insignificant lives!

When I started the “Dangerous Christianity” series, I neglected to explain what the series is actually about! So here goes…

To me the term ‘dangerous christianity’ is the intersection of two distinct ideas.
1. Today’s Christianity promotes traditions, and pet doctrines. Churches spend their efforts teaching about, or against, doctrines like healing, fasting, baptism, tongues, and prosperity. These at best are distractions from the life and power that Christ offers. To consume ourselves with what amounts to a selfish gospel is dangerous! It’s dangerous to us, and to those around us. While we create a god that has nothing to do with Christ, our friends and neighbors live in death, longing for a hope that is nowhere to be found in our lives! This kind of Christianity is dangerous!

2. When we move away from this selfish gospel and pursue a real God who is a rewarder of those who seek Him, we find that He offers a fulfilled yet dangerous life! Scripture tells us of a God that calls us to far more than we ever dreamed. He also warns that in order to follow Him, He demands everything! He demands our life, our hopes, our dreams, and our total obedience. We see throughout Scripture examples of the times that He called ordinary people to do the impossible. For them, and for us, taking the step of faith to obey His call would seem to be nothing short of dangerous! But the resulting relationship with our God is more than worth it!

The intersection of those two concepts is where this series lies. Comparing the dangerous selfish gospel with the dangerous power-filled life in God we can see in the contrast where we are and what God offers.

Listen to: Dangerous Christianity: Heaven

How can a good God send good people to Hell?
Can you lose your salvation, or is the sinners prayer your ticket to Heaven?

To hear most Christians talk, the best thing about Heaven is that it’s not Hell! Apparently saying the sinners prayer makes us good people, and that’s why God doesn’t send us to Hell with the rest of those horrible people who aren’t smart enough to follow God. Now no Christian I know would actually admit to the previous sentence, but their lives express it very clearly!

Let’s take a look at what Heaven is, and why you might want to go there.

Heaven is the best of all the afterlife options that you’re offered. It’s a reward for not being as bad as murderers/drug addicts/politicians/etc. It’s the ultimate ‘vacation’ spot. Right?
Wrong!
Heaven is nothing more or less than the opportunity to spend eternity with the One that we love! It’s the marriage, the beginning of the best part of our relationship with the One that we adore! I submit that those who can’t imagine spending an infinite amount of time worshiping their Creator would be absolutely miserable in Heaven!
Heaven isn’t about a lavish retirement place. It isn’t about re-uniting with loved ones. It isn’t about living pain-free. Quite simply, it’s not about us at all! Much of what I hear about Heaven all revolves around us, how wonderful we’re going to feel, how happy we’re going to be, and how comfortable it’s going to be for us.
I don’t buy it! I dream of spending an eternity worshiping and serving in the presence of the One who gave me life! That’s so much more than enough! The happiness, the lack of pain, re-uniting with loved ones all fades into the background when we anticipate bowing down before our Saviour, and worshiping Him! If you could only grasp the magnificence of that thought!

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Phillipians 1:21

How so very true!

Now if the only appeal of Heaven is God’s presence, then why would someone who has rejected God want to spend eternity before Him?
God doesn’t choose to send people to Hell! He offers the choice of living in His presence, or not. The torment of Hell is the separation from His presence and care. On earth, regardless of whether we choose God or not, we enjoy His care, and the bounty of His creation. If we experience His care, and still reject Him, then as we enter eternity, Hell is the only logical option. It’s our choice, not God’s!

When we talk about Heaven, another question tends to quickly arise.
Once we’re saved, can we lose our salvation?
Let’s not beat around the bush. Yes! God tells us over and over that He longs for a relationship with us! He doesn’t say that He’s longing to punch our ticket to His jewelled resort. Anyone can give up on a relationship, and a relationship with God is no different.
I once heard it said that when we ask the question of whether or not we can lose our salvation, we’re really asking how far away from God we can get and still get into Heaven! That’s the wrong question! We should be asking ourselves how close can we get to God! When that’s your focus, you’ll find that a ton of ‘doctrinal issues’ like this disappear, or just look plain stupid!

Here’s what it boils down to: Your life can be full and overflowing by having a real relationship with a real God. When you have that kind of relationship, the anticipation of Heaven is almost unbearable, and the desire for others to experience that relationship is nothing short of overwhelming. On the flip side, if that anticipation and desire isn’t there, perhaps it’s time to do some searching for God!

Listen to: Proof: A Study in Arrogance

Is there a difference between the truth and proof? I have talked to many friends who claim to be searching for God, especially in science. Having pursued a similar life-defining search earlier in life, I can relate well with them. Is God real? Is He worth following? Which religion is right? Can we know? How do the records of history weigh in on our decision? What about science, does it even allow for the possibility of a God? How can we know for sure?

These are real questions, and the answers have major implications not just in our personal lives, but to the problems and heartaches that plague our little planet. As the Bible challenges us, we need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

But in some of the discussions that I’ve had, there is a theme cropping up that I’ve noticed. Everyone seems to be looking for proof. Now that seems like a fantastic thing! Really, it does! But there’s a problem. Proof is not the same as truth! Whether or not we can prove something does not make it any more or less true! Regardless of whether we can prove that the earth revolves around the sun, it either does or doesn’t! It did long before we thought it did, and will continue whether or not we believe it does. The infuriating thing about truth is that it stands independent of our ability to understand it.

Now why does that matter in our “God search”? If you’re only willing to believe God when you see the proof, you may never find Him, even though He exists! Especially if you’re only willing to accept certain kinds of proof(I’ll touch on that in a moment)! You see, the problem with searching for proof instead of searching for the truth is one of arrogance. Refusing to acknowledge that God exists until you see proof is saying that you are capable of grasping the full complexity of the universe and able to understand everything that can be known. In essence, you are pre-disposed to never find a God because you have already set yourself up in His place!

The most popular, and perhaps the worst kind of search is searching for proof of God in science. Science being the unbiased observation of the world around us. Now I love science. I love the way the scientific method paves the way for us to extend our understanding of the world around us faster than ever in history. It reduces error, put’s to rest urban legends, and silences old wives tales, leaving in their place innovation, advancement, and efficiency. But there are a few limits to science that we have to keep in mind.

First, science can’t prove anything. It never has, and it never will. Any good scientist can tell you that this is the very bedrock premise of science. It can only eliminate possibilities. Often we say that science proved this or that, but in fact research and observation only eliminated all the other probable explanations that we could think of. In the future, a less probable explanation might rear it’s head after more observation, and be shown to be more accurate!

Secondly, science is limited to our physical world. This is because science relies on repeatable observation by human beings. If something exists beyond our capability to observe, then it lies far outside the reach of science. Now the ‘theory of God’, if you will, proposes that God, as creator of the universe, necessarily exists and operates outside of the universe He created. Thus trying to prove this theory with science alone will always fail and lead to confusion.

Philosophy offers similar limitations. Philosophy relies on our own intellect, and our ability to fully grasp the ideas debated. To rely solely on one or two disciplines to ‘prove’ there is a God, and refusing to believe in Him otherwise is no different than me saying that I won’t believe that Washington was president unless I speak to him in my house! In the end, I would only find what I anticipated finding, simply because I ignorantly eliminated all other possibilities before I even started looking!

So if science and philosophy can’t prove God, then how can we know with confidence whether or not He exists? The ‘theory of God’ proposes that the world around us provides evidence that points towards a God. It suggests that if we look, we’ll see a world created by God, and see the effect of a creator within it. It’s not proof, it’s more like arrows pointing us down the right path. Scripture also proposes that we’ll see evidence of God in those who truly follow Him. It says that we’ll know them by their love. You see when we accept God’s love, it transforms us in a way that nothing on earth can duplicate or explain, and that love radiates from those who love Him to those around them.

Another way that we can know whether God exists is that when we dig past the distractions and lies that we tell ourselves, we see in our heart that there is a longing that can only be filled by our Creator.

So my challenge is this: Search! Search with everything that you have. Leave no stone unturned! But first, answer the question of: what you’re really looking for? Are you searching for an excuse to live life as you please? Are you searching for a way to become a better person? Are you looking for proof that you don’t need a God? Or are you searching for the truth, no matter what it is? The answer to that is a matter of life and death!

This post begins a series called ‘Dangerous Christianity’

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

How many times have you heard the Bible referred to as the Word of God? There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but when they become synonymous, there’s a problem. You see, the Bible is part of the Word of God, but not the only part. Why does this matter? Treating the Word of God as the only channel through which God communicates to us is like trying to maintain a relationship on love letters alone. Scripture tells us that God communicates with us in more ways, and it’s critical that we accept this.

I’ve seen to many people that spend their lives reading the Bible, and talking at God, whose lives would indicate that they have no idea that they’re supposed to be in a relationship. I think using the Bible as the only source of information about God is a safety net, and in some cases, a cop-out.

It’s easier for denominations to exist, and churches to operate if we are able to use a god that comes with an instruction manual. It’s easier when we have a God that doesn’t instruct people to do ludicrous things like go bury clothes 300 miles away, marry a prostitute, kill their kids as test of faith, or tell a king to let half a million slaves leave. It’s safer for churches to be able to identify themselves with a certain set of beliefs. After all, we wouldn’t want to go to the wrong type of church and hear something that made us uncomfortable!

As long as we stick to our church doctrines and traditions, we keep God(at least our version of God) in a box . On special occasions we may even ‘bring him out’ for healing, tongues, or soul-winning just as long as He doesn’t do anything contrary to our set of doctrines! And heaven forbid if He meddles with my life outside of Sunday without my request!

But the God that I serve deserves and demands it all! My entire life. My pride. My dreams. And if He asks something crazy, as long as I’m spending time with Him, I’ll know His voice well enough to know it’s from Him, and trust Him enough to do it. What a novel idea!

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, – 1 John 4:1,2