As I read the Gospel records of the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, I am often struck by the way our Lord responded to the questions and teachings of the Pharisees.  I find them one of the most striking groups in the time of Christ’s ministry.  I sometimes wonder how we would see them if they existed in our day under a more respectable moniker.

It fascinates me that the people in that day who had a reputation for knowing and revering the Scriptures above anyone else were the ones whom Jesus most virulently condemned.  These were the people who had the highest standard of behaviour among God’s people, Israel.  They would be viewed as the ultra-conservative.  Fundamentalist Jews, if you will.  They were passionate about standards of behaviour, dress, and cleanliness.  They expended great efforts in proselytizing even if it was only to have one convert who would join them.  And having accomplished that, they would succeed also in reshaping his life into the same respectable standard that they espoused.  What great energy exerted in fashioning their lives into a nearly flawless image!

Yet Christ warned His disciples not to be like them.  Imagine a Christian who looked like they never did anything wrong, dressed right, acted right, and went to great lengths to bring people to church.  We’d be shocked if Christ showed up and said, “Watch out for that guy!  Do not be like him.”  Yet there is a huge danger in conformity instead of conversion.  The adorning of our outwardness is not as vital as the hidden man of the heart.  Many of the things the Pharisees were doing were outwardly good, but inwardly vile because of a wrong heart.  Don’t think you’re so special just because everybody else does!  Let us come to God and say “search… and see if there be any wicked way in me.”  O Lord, when you look deep inside may my inner man not show Pharisee, but a disciple!

Pastor Paul Gibbesh

In the time of John and Charles Wesley, Epworth was much like any other English village.  As I was going through some history today I was reminded of what I learned of Epworth when I was there half a dozen years ago.  The Wesley boys grew up in an England much different than what we think of when we picture England of their day.  We picture a very religiously centred society with high morals and pure standards of living.  However the truth needs a little clarity.  What we imagine they grew up in is more like what they died in.  When they were growing up, England had become a place of rank ungodliness among the people.  Sure there were churches; their father was a minister.  But these churches had a form of godliness without any power.  The common man was mired in immorality.  Beer and ale were the universal beverages.  Drunkenness was commonplace.  Violence naturally followed.  Was it always like that?  No, there had been significant spiritual strength less than a hundred years before.  Things had reached a state where if something did not change, their society would face total collapse and anarchy.

Sound familiar?  I am shocked by the parallel between 18^th century England and 21^st century Canada.  Immorality is so rampant that standards of decency, chastity, and propriety are more often mocked than mimicked.  Alcohol consumption has reached the point that I don’t think I know anyone who abstains without strong religious or medical reasons (and even some who have these reasons partake anyways).  We are surrounded by churches bereft of the power of God.  Yet, the more I look at the similarities, the more I am struck by the fact that in such a time as this God sent revival.  During the lives of the Wesleys there was a mighty upheaval of their land through the power of God.  So mighty was the change that it inevitably spread to other countries as well.  By the time these men of faith had passed off the scene things were so shaken that the repercussions are still being felt today, nearly three hundred years later.

And so, I say, it is time.  It is time for men of God to shake off the formalism and fashion of religious exercise and take up their crosses to follow Him.  It is time for saints to shake off their love for the world and develop a love for witnessing.  It is time for us to stop talking about what we are doing and start testifying about what Almighty God is doing.  It is time for a great awakening.  It is time for purging.  It is time for revival!

Pastor Paul Gibbesh

Pastor Paul Gibbesh

1. A fire needs dry wood suitable for burning.  It is difficult to burn green, unseasoned wood.  Likewise, it is difficult for a church to be warm toward each other and God without a certain amount of Christian maturity. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Paul tells the church at Corinth that they were carnal, baby Christians whose lack of maturity was shown in their divisions and lack of love one toward another.   1 Corinthians 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2. A fire needs a solid base.  One of the most effective means of starting fires is to use several larger sticks as a base.  This provides insulation from cold or wet ground, and serves as a reflector to intensify the heat. Colossians 2:7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
3. Fires need progressively larger fuel.  It is imperative as a church that we never forget that the grand doctrines are built on simple faith, and simple facts.  It is also essential that we not forget the new Christians, who often follow Christ quickly but burn out without assistance from others.  Yet at the same time, we must keep learning. Hebrews 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Are we growing, or are we content with where we are?
4. Fires need wood in close proximity to each other.  To burn properly, firewood must be close to each other.  In practice, sticks need to be laid about one inch apart.  That way, the fire warms several sticks at the same time, and as one starts to burn, it intensifies the burning of its neighbour.  In our personal relationships, how close are we to other members of the church?  Are we trying to keep a fire hot on our own, or are we getting involved in other’s lives, helping them to burn brighter?  1 Corinthians 11:18  For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. It is imperative that members of a church are involved in each other’s lives on a regular basis.  Interaction at services is NOT enough!  We need to emulate the disciples in Acts 2:44-46, who were visiting each other, eating together, and sharing all things.  Build relationships beyond the pews.
5. A fire must have an adequate air supply. Just as a fire must have sufficient air, so the Christian and the church must have great quantities of the Spirit of God.   We can become so concerned with external forms that we quench the Spirit of God.  Standards, order, and structure are important, yet without the moving of “God’s breath”, the fire will smoke and smother itself.
6. The best campfires are built within reflecting walls.  Without stretching the analogy too much, the best heart-fires are built within the walls of the church.  Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Ezekiel 22:30  And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

To those who study the sorry state of Christianity in this land, these verses are painfully appropriate.   The news in Christian circles is constantly full of leaders who have fallen.  Almost daily I read the sad news of some fellow-soldier who has weakened, to say nothing of the hundreds who never make the news, or the thousands of Christians who daily lay down their arms and retreat from the fight.  As a fellow soldier of the Cross, I feel compelled to ask you to stay in the fight for these reasons.

We are in a war. To most Christians, spiritual battle is about as real as the war in Afghanistan.  We read about it, but have never truly experienced it.  But to those who will surrender their wills and fully enlist in God’s service, the battle is intense and constant.  Hebrews 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. We are in a bloody battle, don’t forget it. The only way out is surrender or victory!

War requires sacrifice. I am reminded of the battle recorded in 1Sam 14, where there Jonathan attacks the Philistines on his own.  But there were also 600 men doing nothing(v.2 Lazy), Hebrews fighting on the Philistine’s side (v.21 Traitors),  and men hiding in the mountain (v.22 Cowards).  Out of thousands of men, only Jonathan and his armour-bearer were willing to sacrifice their lives to win.  It is much the same today.  There are many who claim Christ, but few who bear His cross.  There are many who will sing, but few who will serve.  And there are many who have surrendered to the enemy, but almost no one who will sacrifice for Christ.  Christian, what class are you in? Traitor, coward, lazy, or Sacrificial Servant? If you are not the latter, repent and join in the fight!

War’s require reinforcement. Casualties are a fact of war, and in the spiritual war, there are always soldiers who go AWOL, have self-inflicted wounds, or are ambushed by Satan.  And as the ranks thin, the pressure on those remaining increases.  There is an ever present and always increasing need for skilled, sacrificing servants of God to join the battle.  I beg you; let nothing deter you from putting on the whole armour of God.  Let nothing stop your service for Christ.  Decide right now that you will be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:3-4  Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

Christian, the gap is widening.  Will you step into the fight?

Pastor Charles Hollingsworth

Although I trusted Christ as my Saviour as a child I spent some time in my early teenage years where I was not excited about my faith.  I knew God.  I went to church.  I was saved.  However, I was sleeping away my life.  Many Christians are spiritually sleeping.  Are they alive, do they have eternal life in Christ?  Absolutely!  Do they give any signs of life?  No.  The life is there, but it is not doing anything.  In Matthew 25 Jesus told a parable about people waiting for the coming bridegroom.  The purpose of the parable was to illustrate their lack of readiness for his arrival.  They didn’t know when he would come, and while they waited they slept.  Too many Christians are saved but sleeping.  They get saved and receive new life in Christ, but after that they want to put their feet up, put their heads back, and snooze until Jesus comes.

In Jonah chapter 1 Jonah was on the way to Tarshish when a storm tossed the ship in which he travelled.  They were on the brink of destruction, and the Bible says that Jonah was asleep.  A sailor came and shook Jonah awake and asked him to call on God to save them.  Can we afford to sleep while people all around us face destruction?  Do we need them to come shake us awake and ask us to pray for their salvation before we will do anything?

When Christ went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray He asked His disciples to come with Him.  While our Lord planned and prayed over our redemption’s price, the disciples slept.  While His anguish showed in sweating great drops of blood, they dozed in the cool of a garden.  While Jesus thought of the cross and the crowd, they dreamt of a throne and a crown.  They slept while they should have been watching, working and weeping.  They failed not because their spirit was unwilling, but because of the fleshly weakness.  Can we cease from the most important calling of life simply because it is difficult or uncomfortable?  Is the satisfaction of the flesh worth sleeping away our one life for God?

Ephesians 5:14 says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”  Isaiah 52:1 says, “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion.”  Romans 13:11 reminds us that it is high time to awake out of sleep.  Have you been sleeping?  Awake!!  Has your life and time for Christ been passing you by?  Awake, let Christ give you light!!  Can you see the need of the work?  Who will do it if Christians sleep?  Awake!!  Awake!!  Awake!!

Pastor Paul Gibbesh

My wife currently baby-sits a couple of children.  Though sometimes it has been challenging trying to control them; we have been able to develop a friendship with the unsaved parents, and both of the children’s mothers have visited our church.

Recently one morning the young 4 year old girl that my wife watches came in with a “Hannah Montana” plastic guitar.  This guitar is a full package deal. It sings Hannah Montana songs while the child strums the nylon strings.  There are head phones and even a microphone attached, so the child can sing along and hear himself croon away.  Is this merely a harmless toy?  I don’t think so.

Being a musically conservative, independent Baptist family, and desiring to shun the world’s wicked music, we admittedly had never really heard any Hannah Montana songs.  We allowed the girl to “play” the guitar for about twenty minutes, which turned out to be about 19 and a-half minutes too long.  The first 30 seconds were just an informative learning experience, the latter, just annoyance and aggravation.  My 3 year old daughter, who looks up to this older girl, was bouncing along to the songs and enjoying the “music” that the little plastic guitar spewed forth.  I could see that if we let Hannah Montana sing in our house all day, my daughter would be her newest fan.  Thus the guitar suddenly went missing.

It is not my desire to write an article on music, but merely to put forth some thoughts about the worldly indoctrination that frequently occurs at an early age. This indoctrination happens not only in the area of toys, but DVDs, books, and video games.  I am sure this musical toy comes in a brightly covered package.  It is a popular, attractive item and often parents want their children to “have more then we had,” so they endeavour to beg, borrow, or steal to get their children the latest in youth entertainment and pop culture.  I believe this happens not only in unsaved families, who really don’t know any better, but in saved families as well.  They certainly don’t want their children to be the “un-cool” ones in the neighbourhood and they do all they can to make their children popular.

The danger in this mentality is that little by little the once staunch disdain and contempt of those worldly items slowly erodes or even replaces the Biblical foundation that was being laid there.  Instead of teaching children that God abhors worldliness and compromise, and desires that we listen to music which glorifies Him, we let a little sin in the camp and thus neutralize the teachings of Scripture we’ve attempted to instil.  Without even realizing it, parents can set their children’s spiritual growth back years, simply by allowing a double standard in the home.  At Sunday school and church services they are taught that worldly music is wrong, but the toys, DVDs, books, and TV that exalt a sinful lifestyle and music, are allowed to invade the home.

The young minds of children are so mouldable and impressionable.  They do not have the maturity to discern the error and thus fed a continuous diet of confusion, slowly begin to lean toward the world and eventually mirror it.

One day a parent comes home from work unexpectedly and their pre-teen is “rocking” away in his room listening to music that has “never been allowed in our home.”  The Christian parent then thinks, “What happened?”  Why did they all of a sudden being to listen and like those sinful sounds?” I would put forth to you that it wasn’t “all of a sudden,” but that they have slowly and methodically been allowed down the slippery slope simply because the parent permitted music like Hannah Montana’s into the home.  Oh Hannah is not yet an outwardly immoral girl; she seems harmless and fun to the kids, but her music and lifestyle once accepted in the home, makes the transition to and adoption of more evil things, palatable.  Sure your kids may have been partially influenced by schoolmates or friends around the block, but they’ve never grasped the seriousness of the downgrade because the instruction was not serious enough at home.  No wonder your teen now likes rock-n-roll.

Parent, are you surprised at the bad attitude your child or teen displays?  Having trouble getting your child to obey the simplest rules set in place for their good?  Re-examine the influences that are weighing upon them.  Is the television programming that your child views or the music that they listen to chock-full of bad attitudes, disrespect for authority and clear admonitions to “live life the way YOU want to”?  You might find some answers to your behaviour problems there.

God has placed us as parents to be the rulers of the home.  It is up to us to instil in our children the Word of God, so they will live a holy, God-honouring life.    As God said of Abraham in Genesis 18:19,

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

God help us as parents, and especially fathers, to command our children, and “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4b)  God has made the Christian home to be the bastion of truth for training our children.  With so many things fighting to control them in this depraved world, let us beware of a little leaven that will eventually corrupt or destroy the family unit.  In this perverse generation the Christian home needs to shine out as a beacon for the lost to see.

What do you think of when you think of a man?  Does John Wayne come to mind, staring frosty eyed at a villain?  Perhaps Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone playing Rambo typifies a man for you.  But while these popular movie characters may portray Hollywood’s notion of men, they are a far cry from the men we find in Scripture.  Unfortunately, men of all ages are influenced by the stereotypical man found in popular culture.  The mold is defined as a rugged, steely eyed specimen who has no capacity for tears, no tolerance for authority, and no morals regarding women.  Yet while we instinctively realize that something is terribly amiss with all this, generations of absent fathers and poor role models have left a visible void in our homes, churches and communities.  True men are scarce these days.  Our churches need men, our wives and children are crying out for REAL men, our nation is led by spineless pretenders, and the need for men keeps getting bigger.

Part of the problem lies in men being defined not by who they are, but rather by what they are not!  For instance, men do not cry, men are not wimps, men are not emotional, and similar statements that many people have heard in reference to men.  Even the dictionary definition given above is not very helpful! But what truly defines a man?  How are boys to know when they have reached manhood?  What guidelines are there?  How is a lady to distinguish between a true man and a pretender?  In this study we will examine some aspects of Biblical manhood as revealed in Scriptural role models.

Jesus Christ is of course the Ultimate Man, and from Him we will gain the majority of our ideas. But there are others in Scripture that teach us, men like Moses, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, John the Baptist, Paul and others.  The traits given here will not be exhaustive, but rather a general template for use in your personal life.  As we begin, it does us well to remember 1 Corinthians 11:7  For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. This idea of men being made for God’s glory will be central to our study.

One of the most common misconceptions about men is that “they do their own thing.”  But Scripture affirms that real men are in constant subjection and obedience to the will of God.  John 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. Jesus was viewed as one who was counter-culture, a man against the tide, but that opposition to culture stemmed not from his own will but rather from God’s.    In the midst of tumultuous public applause, Pharisaical anger, and Roman injustice, Christ stayed in subjection to His Father’s will.  The defining mark of a true man is purposeful obedience to the will of God. But purposeful obedience has prerequisites.  First, a man must have a personal relationship with God.  It is impossible to follow Him without being a Christian. Second, a man must be able to discern the will of God as revealed in Scripture and prayer.  This will require much time with God, and the ability to listen. Third, a man must pursue the goals God reveals to him.

Purposeful obedience to God will also result in a stable and secure life. The Apostle Paul commanded the Ephesians to be stable in doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), and equated instability with childishness!  This stability does not result in a monotonous life. Instead it  is exhilarating living on the edge through faith!  Knowing that the big picture is submitted to God’s will and therefore CANNOT fail gives a man great freedom to concentrate his energies on details.  The concentration of energies on details makes a man excellent in his pursuits, and that excellence brings glory to God, thus fulfilling man’s purpose! The difference between a life lived for self and a life lived for Christ is astronomical.  The selfish life is like a light bulb, bright but weak.  The submitted life is similar to a laser, whose submitted and conformed light waves are capable of communicating vast distances or cutting steel.

Another element of Biblical manhood is that of sacrifice for others.  Common phrases like “top dog” and “the big man” echo the world’s selfish model, but Jesus’ ministry was always about others.  The long hours spent teaching, the many times he healed others, the countless diversions from his true task to a secondary one; these show the true nature of a selfless servant leader.  Consider for instance Luke 4:40-42  Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. It is reasonable to infer from the arrangement of these verses that Jesus spent the entire night healing people, and then began to journey.  Consider also the hours spent in prayer in Gethsemane, the night spent on a mountain praying! Biblical men sacrifice themselves for others.  This is easy for us to understand when it involves sports or physical assistance to our families, but what about the unseen aspects like prayer and time invested in our families?  How crucial it is for men to emulate this aspect of the Master!  How different our lives, our families, our churches would be if men would selflessly serve others for Christ’s sake!

One popular notion of men that is backed up by Scripture is that of physical endurance. Not physical prowess, but endurance.  Consider the warrior poet David, and the lengthy battles he fought. Consider Elijah and the long journeys he made.  Consider Jeremiah languishing in prison and Paul enduring repeated beatings.  These are a few examples of the many.  Consider also the fast and temptation of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-2  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. Notice He went to be spiritually tried, but also that it was a lengthy trial of his physical body.  Men can endure much, and I believe one of the reasons for that is so we can still have time for God AND our other duties.

The passage in Matthew 4 brings up the aspect of solitude.  While Scripture clearly repudiates the idea of a hermit, many men of God were men who spent much time alone.  Jesus was 40 days alone!  Most men cannot endure much more than a week or so.  John the Baptist was in the deserts from his childhood until he revealed himself to Israel, possibly 10-15 years. (Luke 1:80) Our era of Facebook and Myspace urges constant communication with others, but makes it more difficult for men to stay centered on their primary relationship.  Let me encourage you to spend time each day in silence.  Not in the thoughtless emptiness of eastern religions, or the mystical contemplations of others, but in simple quietness before Almighty God. Isaiah 30:15  For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Courage is an essential part of Biblical manhood.  Let us once and for all repudiate the idea that Christian men are wimps!  Certainly men like Joshua, Caleb, Peter, and Sampson could not be considered cowards or sissies!  But what about men like Paul, who was mentioned in 2 Corinthians 10:10 as being weak in body and contemptible is speech?   What about Daniel, who passively resisted the unlawful diet of the Babylonians?  Were these men less courageous?  No, for the list of afflictions and trials mentioned by Paul in 1Corinthians 11 and the lions in the den with Daniel effectively quiet that notion.  So we see that facing physical and mental trials with courage is part of Biblical manhood.

Another facet that is often highlighted today is that of tenderness.  Sadly we live in a generation of boy-men, and the natural emotional content has been replaced by abhorrent effeminate nature.  Yet the true man is neither effeminate nor hardened, but of a tender nature.  Moses was described as the meekest man on earth(Numbers 12:3), but nobody who led a million complaining Israelites could be described as weak!  Again, we also see this in the life of Christ.  This Man endured fasting and solitude, chased the moneychangers with a whip, and died a tortuous death with dignity.  Yet Christ was gentle enough to weep, touch the feeble, and hold little children (Mark 10:13-16)!  True tenderness results from close communion with God.

Manhood is a complex subject, and these small notes scarcely touch the subject.  Yet for all its subtleties and nuances, manhood is essentially a matter of emulating the Ultimate Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.  His gentleness hints at unshakable strength.  His purposeful movement through life lends stability to our own lives.  His courage, compassion, and character blaze like a sun from the pages of the Gospels, and compel us to admit our shortcomings and His glory.  A thorough study and imitation of His life is essential for every man, for in His life we will find our own.

Charles P. Hollingsworth, February 2009

Yet while we are rightly offended by the thought of a 13 year old father,

K. Tuck at http://www.sxc.hu/...

that issue is only the latest rotten apple on the tree of “civilization”, a tree that has long since died.  While a commentator in the aformentioned article rightly talks about “broken Britain,” the fact is Western civilization is swiftly descending into chaos and confusion.  The foundations of our culture, civilization, and indeed our future were based upon Judeo-Christian principles, principles that have been largely abandoned.

Perhaps you remember the cases last year where people who fought dogs for money got more jail time than those urged their children to fight for fun.  Or the current situation where pictures of bleeding seals get more response than pictures of aborted babies.  Where “eco-terrorists” get sympathy, polar bears get protection, but Jews are the targets of global hate.  Athiest activists, sodomite zealots and Islamic fascists continue to intimidate the spineless media and politicians of the West, but these are merely symptoms, the visible rot of nations that long ago forgot God.

Romans 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

The solution to these issues is not found in social reform, political activisim, indignant blogging, or other similar activities.  The answer is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14  and my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land. By and large, Christianity has abandonded fervent prayer. To use an analogy, instead of holding conversation with God and meditating on His Letter to us, we have degenerated to sending one-way “Twitter” messages because we are to busy for the God of Eternity.  I speak from bitter personal experience and sad general observation.  Where are the all night prayer meetings?  Who takes more than 10 minutes in prayer each day?  Have we forgotten about “praying always?”  What about the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man?  It would appear that there are few righteous men these days indeed.  Having said that, I am greatly encouraged by many of the IFB pastors accross Canada who are publicly telling of their committment to prayer and the work God is doing as a result.

When I look at 2 Chronicles 7:14, I see four areas that are necessary before God will hear the prayer of His people.

1. Humilty: A casual review of the Sword of the Lord suggests that the fundamental core has begun drifting into man-worship.  “We’ve got it together!” each ad seems to proclaim, “Look how well we do church!”  The ragged knees of the saints of old have been replaced by shiny spots between the shoulder blades from all the back patting we do.  Pride has become more common than genuine humilty and it prevents us from relying upon the Lord.  Men who would dare denounce Herod are in short supply, but thank God for those who do. (By the way, I subscribe to the Sword of the Lord, and appreciate the publication.  This is not intended to be a knock against the Sword, per se.)

2. Prayer:  While prayer is supposed to be the hallmark of a Christian, why are prayer meetings so poorly attended?  Could it be that our self-righteousness blinds us to the need for strength from on high?  Why is it we concentrate so much on what moves man, and so little on what moves God?  Which side are we on anyway?  Will we ever learn that “without me ye can do nothing?”

3. Seek God’s Face: It seems when Christians do pray, we are oftem most concerend with seeing God’s hand move.  In essence we pray very selfish prayers that are concerned with results rather than relationships.  Yet the God’s command is not to seek His power, action, or abilities, but His face.  We have a selfish relationship with God, a sort of lust rather than love, a childish desire for gratification instead of a reciprocal love for Who He is.  We preach about the the Great I Am, but pray as if He was the Almighty Bell-boy.  Seek His face, gaze upon His countenance, and let this world fade away.

4. Repent: It seems that repentance of any sort, much less public repentance, is outmoded.  Sin has become a private matter, unfit to speak of in public, unless in a favorable light.  The old idea of personal purity has been replaced by personal permissiveness.  We have collectively arrived at the place where justification of sin is the norm, and seeing what we can “get away with” is the motto.  The depths of sin in the average church is astounding, and true confession is the only remedy.  Put away the Band-Aids, and get out the knife.  It’s time for surgery.

Proverbs 30:12  there is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness;

1 Kings 8:38-39  what prayer, what supplication soever be made by any man, of all thy people Israel, when they shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house; then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men),

While doing research on another topic, I followed some news links and stumbled across a very disturbing article in The Hour Online, a regional online news outlet in Fairfield County, Connecticut.  Apparently in the state of Connecticut there is a growing problem with an iconic symbol of our nation – the Canada goose.  The birds are no longer migratory, but are living year-round on the luscious lawns, parks, and waterways of the state leaving their unsightly droppings for all to despise. Alexis Cherichetti, senior environmental officer for the City of Norwalk, located in north-central Connecticut, has come up with a way to cull the obnoxious birds.

Cherichetti and other local environmental activists are urging local residents, especially those with waterfront property, to do their part in controlling the geese population through geese “family planning.[1]

The article continued by saying,

“We are trying to reduce their long-term growth rate by locating their nests and oiling their eggs,” Cherichetti said.[2]

Apparently the eggs, once oiled, are no longer viable and though Mother Goose (pun intended) still incubates them, the eggs simply do not hatch thereby reducing the influx of new geese on an already abundant population. Hang on now, this is the part that really irked me. The article continued,

Eggs are only oiled if they do not float during a float test. If an egg, submerged in water, floats it means it is in the later stages of incubation and the chick has fully formed, so the egg wouldn’t be oiled. If the egg sinks, in means it has been incubated for less than 13 days and the chick is not matured, so the egg is allowed to be oiled.[3]

So basically Cherichetti is saying that if the chick is (in their opinion) not fully formed, they will kill it. Now before I totally lose you, and ye think me an environmental wacko, realize that I have no problem with killing the over-populated birds.  God gave us the command to:

…Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that             moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28.

I believe that in accordance with this command we have total freedom to reduce animal populations to unobtrusive levels, especially since man is God’s highest creation.  Additionally, I have no problem with the chosen method of disposing of these birds; although it would be much easier to simply let some hunters with Remington® 870′s do the deed.  I do greatly disparage over the fact that politicians and environmental activists are willing to sacrifice an unborn baby on the altar of a woman’s selfishness; and then, in a similar “god-like” decree, spare some Canada geese from early termination because, “they are in later stages of incubation.” The total disregard for the sanctity of human life and the seemingly “caring” attitude for the birds is yet another example of despising the God-ordained order in Creation. Though the abortion debate is not new, this article about protecting geese eggs, is especially distressing since the recent “taking up of arms” against abortion opponents by the new administration in Washington, D.C. who are at this moment plotting the destruction of even more unborn babies, by preparing to attempt to rescind Roe v. Wade which would permit late term abortions.[4]

God’s Word tells us in Psalms,

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Ps 139:13-15

God cares for His animal creations, but there are no statements that I can find in Scripture, where God mentions the unborn animal, with such love and care as He does a human child.  We all know the above passage clearly references the uniqueness of a human being, formed (by God) in the mothers womb, and how “fearfully and wonderfully” a tiny baby grows and flourishes there. (See this article about the placenta, for a small glimpse of the remarkable miracle of life, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n1/placenta) The thinking of these “goose-savers” is so skewed that they are blind to the truth of God’s Word, and would much rather worship the creature more then the Creator, as God succinctly articulates in Romans 1:28.

Modern medicine has shown us that, given the proper care, an unborn baby is indeed fully formed (enough) to live outside the womb at 24 weeks,[5] and reportedly some infants have even survived at 21 weeks. Regardless of these facts, in our world today, animals have more rights then humans do.  If you kill an animal on the endangered species list and that animal happened to be pregnant, you can be charged with killing two endangered animals. Yet, abortionists around the world, daily kill hundreds of unborn children who are created in the image of God. Despite the breakthroughs in the medical field, like in utero heart treatments,[6] the God hating abortionists still persist at their murderous ways while “unborn” geese are given the “right” to live.  This is a sad commentary on life (or should I say death) in the 21^st century.

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/women/ Scroll down to the heading, “Reproductive Choice.”

[5] http://blueridgeobg.com/pregnancy%20timeline.htm

[6] http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Health/In-utero-cardiac-fetal-surgery-Laser-atrial-septotomy-in-the-treatment-of-hypoplastic-left-heart-syn.html

“Everybody is looking for the next wave. We went from cathedrals to churches with pews and vaulted ceilings to the Willow Creek model — the theater seats and big screens and big production — and for me, the biggest movement right now is the intimacy issue,” said Snider. “How do we do ‘big’ small? If we have to get 500 people in a space, how do we get it to not feel like 500 people?” – Greg Snider

Why is everyone looking for the next wave?  Are the unchangeable precepts of God as transient as a wave?  Do the eternal Scriptures need to surf the changing need of culture?  Have the need of man’s soul changed in the last 6,000 years?  Then why are we perpetually striving to be relevant?

I firmly believe that true Christianity is always outside the box of culture and that Heavenly ideas are always difficult for the unregenerate to comprehend. Our shameless need for acceptance from the world reveals our whormongering nature and backslidden condition.

Jude 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Now, I am not against renting buildings.  Our church rents, and many others do also.  Because of the evil nature of the movie industry, I might have difficulty renting a theatre.  But it is the need to be culurally neutral, the urge to blend and homogenize that irritates and vexes my soul.

Christian, don’t ride the wave.  Anchor to the Rock, and let the waves break as they may.

There will always be another wave…

There is only one Rock.