Compelled By Reality

Top 3 Reasons You Should NOT Study the End-Times

Filed under: Christianity, End Times, Jesus, Satire

3. We’ll all be strumming harps on clouds for thousands of years anyway… what’s the point?

Once we finish standing in the long lines at the pearly gates, are introduced to all of our favorite bible characters, and say hello to the big guy and ask him all the questions nobody had answers for here on earth, and we have full knowledge and understanding… we will be given a harp and a cloud. It will be a very special harp, and a very special cloud, because to God… you are very special. Yes, you will not get bored and will have no need to do anything of value… just think of it as a fully-funded retirement; the American dream times 100. So why bother?

Is God is going to bring heaven and earth together at the 2nd Coming of Christ? Having made known the mystery of His will, will He gather together in one ALL things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him? Seriously, if heaven and earth were joined together and believers could interact with both the heavenly supernatural realm and the earthly physical realm that would be rather mind blowing… and very distracting from the harps and clouds reality everyone is so excited about.

What I want to know is who started the rumor that Jesus is coming back to rule and reign as King of Kings on the earth and that we would be here with him forever? Somebody needs to investigate this and get back to me!

2. Jesus is a heavenly Santa Claus and is committed to making my life easy in this age.

Jesus understands my needs and desires and as long as I am going to church, giving to the poor and doing more than my other Christian friends, He is committed to giving me the desires of my heart. I am working hard to make sure the house I live in and the car I drive matches up with the church culture around me and makes me happy. Jesus wants to make me happy. Why would I need to study about the end times if Jesus is just as committed to me obtaining the American Dream as I am?

It’s not like I would learn anything about Jesus by studying His leadership and heart at His 2nd coming. I’ve heard some of those who talk about this Jesus who is a zealous Bridegroom King coming to establish His Father’s glory, vindicating His persecuted Bride and replacing all evil governments on earth by dashing nations and executing heads of nations that refuse His leadership… but that doesn’t sound at all like anything I would go through as a Christian. Jesus wouldn’t allow me to suffer persecution, so I have no idea where they got their information. Besides that would totally wreck my lifestyle if I actually had to believe that.

1. Studying the end-times will not affect my Christianity today. It’s irrelevant, a waste of time, and distracting.

If I studied the end-times in a focused way it would distract and pull me away from other subjects in the Bible that are more important and pressing in the day we live in NOW. This subject takes would-be kingdom workers and makes them into theoristic, eccentric Christians who seem to put the topic of Jesus and His coming to be with us and our desire to be with Him AHEAD of loving our neighbor and bringing others to the knowledge of Christ.

… wait a second …

[goes and reads Mark 12:28-31]

… now this is awkward.

Tags: 2nd Coming, Christianity, End Times, Eschatology, Jesus, revelation, santa claus, Satire

Sin - As Defined by Barack Obama

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, Jesus, Knowledge of God, Politics

I saw this article in the USA Today and the author was commenting on a quote from Obama in an interview when asked the question “What is sin?” I found his answer to be very revealing, not only of his personal beliefs but in how many in the world today are coming up with their own definitions of sin and what it really means to “sin.” 

Sin (as defined by Obama):

“Being out of alignment with my values”

Sin (as defined by the Bible): 

1 John 3:4 - “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (sin is lawlessness)

Romans 4:15 - “…for where there is no law there is no transgression”

Romans 4:23 - “Whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Sin = Transgression of the Law; Sin = Whatever is not from faith

so that would mean:

Whatever is not from faith = Transgression of the Law = Sin

So in Obama’s case, he is saying that if he is out of alignment with his values, then he is sinning. This type of thinking is very normal in postmodern America. Especially among young people and it has unfortunately also entered parts of the Church. We tend to personalize our faith, and rightly so. Our faith is very personal, but our faith in God, and in Jesus Christ isn’t based on a set of values that each of us determines on our own. The values that we as Christians should have SHOULD be determined by the values that God has. 

Here is how Wayne Grudem defines sin in his book (which I highly recommend) Systematic Theology:

“Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.”

Sin is here defined in relation to God and his moral law.

3 Biblical Aspects of Sin

1. Action (Ex. 20:17)
2. Attitude (Mt. 5:22,28)
3. Nature (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:3)

Sin in our Actions 
This is an easy one to see and the one most people will agree with as being morally wrong. These include individual acts such as stealing or lying or committing murder.

Sin in our Attitudes
Now on this one it starts to encroach on most people’s comfort zones. When someone starts to tell you that things you are thinking are wrong, or desires that you may have are not desires that you SHOULD have, then attitudes start to flare and walls go up right away. However, this type of sin is something Jesus spoke about in the Sermon on the Mount (basic foundational Christianity at its core). (Matthew 5:22,28; Gal. 5:20; Mark 12:30)

Sin in our Nature
This refers to our humanity and our inherited sin. We are counted guilty because of Adam’s sin. Paul explained the effects of Adam’s sin in this way:

“Therefore… sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all mean because all men sinned” (Rom. 5:12)

“while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

“we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3)

When we are first introduced to this concept, the tendency is to think it is not fair that we should be counted guilty because of Adam’s sin. We didn’t actually sin. How can we be counted guilty?

But we must remember a few things:

1. We will be judged for our own sins on the day of judgment. Everyone who is of the mind that this is not fair has committed some type of sin to which we will be judged. (for God “will render to every man according to his works” (Rom. 2:6). 
2. Our sin today also likely demonstrates that if we were in the same boat as Adam, we would have sinned to and wrecked it for the human race. 
3. However the best answer lies in the 3rd one. If we think that it is unfair that Adam represented us and thus we bear the guilt and inherited sin of what he did, then we must also concluded that it is unfair that Jesus represented us and our sin on the cross and so we get to reap the benefits of His righteousness being imputed to us. (”As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous” Rom. 5:19). 

Our View of God (and who Jesus really is)
Our values determine our actions, how we walk out our faith. But if our values are faulty, or based off of wrong information, to begin with, then our actions will suffer the consequences of faulty values. It is our view of God, what He is like, and what we as moral beings must do about Him that will shape our values. 

As Tozer puts it:

“The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It begins in the mind and may be present where no overt act of worship has taken place. 

The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.”

Our View of Jesus Christ
This brings me back to another statement made by Obama in the interview. When asked who Jesus was to him, first he laughed nervously. Then he went on to say that:

“Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith… and he’s also a wonderful teacher.”

While those things are all true it is missing one crucial element of the Christian faith. Jesus was and is God in the flesh. Jesus even said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.” 

Having a right view of who Jesus Christ is (which really means who God is), will dramatically shape the way you think about everything, and it will specifically shape your values. Jesus is 100% God and 100% Man, He was and is both Fully God and Fully Man. Not half and half. He was not only a great teacher (though He was that), and not only a historical person. Jesus is the ONLY true God. 

Obama’s Christian Faith of Many Paths
Which brings me to the other comment made by Obama. When you begin with a wrong view of who God is and who Jesus is, then you too may find yourself saying this statement:

“So, I’m rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe there are many paths to the same place…”

Tags: Christianity, God, law, obama, Politics, sin, values

Jesus’ One World Government

Filed under: Christianity, End Times, Jesus, Knowledge of God

What I’m going to attempt to do in this article is to provide the framework for the real establishment of a real government whose leader is God Himself in human form. This will take place at a future point in time and will be a progressive time of preparation for the earth as a whole.

This framework will take on these 2 assumptions:

1. Jesus is coming again to the earth at some point in the future (2nd Coming)
2. There will be a literal 1,000 year period of time starting soon after Jesus returns to the earth (2nd Coming).

For the past 2 months I’ve been studying Psalm 50 (a Psalm of Asaph). We’ve been looking at it in a small group I lead as well as singing through the passages each week. I’ve developed an insatiable desire to see Jesus break into this world set the wrong things right and setup a righteous government all the while believers getting to be with Jesus and work along side of Him.

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Tags: 2nd Coming, Christianity, Eschatology, Government, Jerusalem, Jesus, Zion

Is Life A Punishment?

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, IHOP

Zack Hensely, a missionary at the International House of Prayer here in Kansas City, wrote a very insightful post on Life is Punishment? that is well worth the read. Go on over and check it out, and leave a comment if you found it interesting.

Obama thanked Planned Parenthood for the “invaluable work” that they do to help young women be saved from unwanted pregnancy.

Let’s talk about how absurd this type of thinking is for a second. Under the logic used by Obama, there should also be an organization that saves women from making bad choices for husbands. They could call in “Planned Matrimony”, if you don’t like your husband they’ll show up in the night and shoot him in the head with a shot gun and take him away.

Technorati Tags: Abortion, Life, Barack Obama, John McCain, Planned Parenthood, Murder

Be a Voice, Not an Echo!

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity

This is something I am trying to figure out right now. I know plenty of people who write things based off of other sources or speak using material they didn’t create themselves and end up quoting or paraphrasing what the previous author had said.

But how do you be a voice and not just an echo?

When you go through training with a school or university and speak about it aren’t you really just echoing what you have learned? Aren’t you pretty much voicing the same ideas as the place you got the from did but just with a different persepective? However, is that bad? Is that wrong? If so, does that mean that you have no original thoughts of your own?
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Pain in Life: Is it God’s Desire?

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, Featured, Knowledge of God, Practicals of Life

One of the many basic questions on every human’s heart in life, especially as it relates to God, has to deal with pain and suffering. Why does God allow pain and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people? 

In this post I will attempt to give my thoughts on the issue. Feel free to respond if you agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own about the issue that I did not address. 

In the Bible God does not give micro reasons to every little problem everyone may go through. Instead He gives macro reasons, the ultimate goal behind the situations that come up in life that cause us to face our humanity and face His divinity and make a choice.

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ATC: Leadership Track

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, IHOP, Prayer, Youth

Just another personal update here about this 3rd Leadership Track of ATC (Awakening Teen Camp). I am blown away by these teenagers. My heart is so moved seeing young people leading prayer meetings, and wanting to be trained to lead prayer meetings in their high schools and middle schools. I mean these are 13-17 year olds leading a room of adults in prayer… and it’s REALLY enjoyable.

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How to Provoke Prayer

Filed under: Christianity, IHOP, Prayer, Youth

In a country where 1 out of 10 high schools has a club for gay and gay-friendly kids and where sexual laxity in our society among teenagers has become a social norm, there are forerunners who are standing up for purity, wholeheartedness, and fighting to maintain a life in God.

Zealous Teenagers In YOUR City
In the high schools in YOUR city there are teenagers who are in love with Jesus and want to see revival break out in their schools. They want to see kids saved and set free from addictions and are willing to pay the price to see that happen. These ones who have a seemingly unlimited amount of zeal and strength and a hunger for more like you’ve never seen are in YOUR church and cleaning out YOUR refrigerator.

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The Word of Life

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, Jesus, Knowledge of God

Why are people willing to renounce all to follow him and even die in his service? How is it that one who died the death of a criminal could be worshiped today by hundreds of millions? How is it plausible that two thousand years after his death his life would be avidly studied and worshipers would address their prayers to him?

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Awakening Teen Camp

Filed under: Blogging, Christianity, IHOP

I just had to post this video. This was this morning at the Awakening Teen Camp at IHOP KC. I love seeing teenagers getting saved and set free from drugs and sexual addictions and realizing who they are in Christ.

This is an answer in part to our prayers for the youth of this city and this nation.