For thought and meditation

[rl69]

For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.—Acts 20:27 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=b531c8b36d&e=3dd732485b)How hard it must be for a doctor to tell a family who is anxiously awaiting news on the condition of a loved one, “I’m sorry. He didn’t make it.” How hard it must be to say to someone who just had a medical test, “I’m sorry, but you have cancer.” Yet a doctor must tell the truth.

In the same way, it is hard at times to deliver the whole message of the gospel. The apostle Paul said he had not failed to declare the whole counsel of God. When we share the gospel, we like to say things like, “God loves you. He will give you peace, joy, forgiveness, and the hope of Heaven if you will receive Jesus Christ into your life.” But we avoid using the words Hell or judgmentbecause we’re afraid people will get offended.

However, the word gospel means “good news.” And before I can fully appreciate the good news, I need to fully know the bad news. Jesus did not come to this earth to be an additive in our lives. Jesus did not come just to give us warm, fuzzy emotional feelings. He primarily came to deliver us from an eternal judgment in Hell, and things like happiness, peace, and joy are fringe benefits. The big issue is eternity. We must not be afraid to tell people the truth—the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

We have a message to share, and it isn’t always an easy one. God loves humanity. He is ready to forgive humanity. But if people reject His loving offer, then they seal their own fate and secure their judgment. And if we are going to be faithful to declare the whole counsel of God, then we must tell people that.

[Blackwater]

Great message today, RL. Thanks. It's amazing how many people care SO much about things that will pass away, and so little for things that will NEVER pass away. I fear we Christians have not "put on the full armor of God," and have instead, given ourselves over to political correctness, for fear of saying something someone may not WANT to hear, or to watering down the Word to fit folks' attitudes. Professing Christians have for a very long time been watering down our message, and look around if you want to see what that results in.

I believe we need to be MUCH more aggressive with our message, but NOT in a judgmental manner, which has traditionally been the technique most often seen. If we have the True Love of God in our hearts, we won't be "afraid" to speak up, and calmly and with a good humor, present all the reasons we believe, and what the Word has meant to us in our lives. That second part is why we call it "witnessing." The first is really just a calm and pleasant discussion of the reasons we believe, and unfortunately, most folks can't tell others exactly why they believe. Of all the faults common to us believers, this is probably the worst. If we can't tell others WHY we believe, how are they to take our words seriously? It may be true, but non-believers customarily have a hard crust to get through, before you can touch their hearts. We'll not get through that crust with a judgmental approach, or threats of hell. They don't believe in hell, so that, to them at least, is perceived as an "empty" threat. First, you have to let them know the REASONS you believe, and most can only try to describe the feeling they had when they came to Faith, and feelings are as hard to describe as colors, and a few other things.

I believe this is why we've been so less effective than we could have been for a long time now. We simply don't know, and can't describe, how we came to Faith ourselves. This is one reason I love the RTB folks. Most non-believers can relate to the concrete things of science, and if they can see a pattern there, it simply breaks down at least some of that hard crust they have around their hearts, and gets us nearer the prize of opening their hearts to what is simply the Truth.

I guess you could say we've just been using the wrong ammo? But that can be corrected by some reading and consideration of the Bible, and simple contemplation in asking our own selves exactly why it is that we believe. It's fine for us to simply believe, but unless we can state at least some of the reasons WHY we believe, we're not going to bring many converts into the fold.

And to do that, we have to touch their hearts, and to touch their hearts, we need to KNOW why exactly it is that we believe. All a non-believer has to do is simply bat away any hint of belief. But when you confront them with some concrete scientific truths, and show them that even the heavens and the earth and all that's in them testifies to the Glory and Love of God, they simply have no defense against that, except denial, and even that becomes rather obvious as being a willful act, and not a rational one. So their disbelief is therefore weakened, and they are at least prepared to receive further edification, by having some of that hard crust broken down.

We may not get instant results, but who among us heard a single sermon, and came to Christ? We ALL have to receive and think about much instruction before we CAN understand that God and Christ and the Holy Spirit really ARE real, and we are inextricably engaged in the battle between them and Evil, and have to decide which side we'll serve and be on.

Most Christians take their faith much too casually, and don't exactly think, "Well, I've got mine, let others get theirs for themselves," but it's not nearly as far removed from that as it ought to be. We ARE engaged in a very real battle, and it's raging all around us. If we decide to just sit it out and see who wins, we can't very well be "serving God," can we? It takes time to learn how to witness EFFECTIVELY. It's taken me a lifetime, practically. But most of the effective witnessing I've done was just in pretty casual conversations, and through asking simple questions.

One thing we need to realize, is that those who don't have Faith, cannot truly be happy and satisfied. Oh, they can laugh and "have fun," but they can never really know true inner peace that real happiness and satisfaction bring with them. And they're all searching for it, no matter how loudly and forcefully they tend to deny it. In fact, those who most vehemently deny that they're seeking real satisfaction are the very ones who are usually wanting it the most. Generally, they're just erecting a smoke screen in hopes they won't have to deal with a desire they don't believe they can ever fulfill.

And they're partially right. If they continue in their disbelief, they truly WON'T ever know real peace and satisfaction. How could they? But that's why it's so important for us Christians to know WHY we believe. If we can tell these folks in a calm and appealing manner, at least some of the real reasons WHY we believe, we can at minimum make inroads into them.

Just because they don't believe doesn't mean they can't reason, or recognize logic when they see or hear it. So don't ever be afraid to witness to the loudest denier in a group, or to deal with them individually. Just keep your cool, and your sense of humor, and ask some pointed questions with a good nature. They are FAR from "unreachable," as many like to pretend they are.

Too often we Christians don't engage unbelievers because we fear it's US who is lacking in knowledge of how to go about witnessing to them, or because we fear them. A certain amount of discretion IS required of course! But not enough to justify our letting them control the conversation. Think about it. If we let evil abound because we can't or don't know how to address and counter it, what can we expect but for evil to win, in the end? Do you really think Christ intended for us to lose this battle? Would he return again if He didn't want the battle to be won?

We too often justify our failure to represent Him, because we are all too painfully aware of our short-comings. But remember, God has been using imperfect people to achieve His will for a very, Very, VERY long time now, and mostly, all we need to do is think, get our story together, and then just speak up about it, and do it with the kind of loving compassion and sincerity that Christ admonished us to develop and nurture.

It's really just that simple. It's US who invents all the "complexities" in order to excuse our shortcomings. But bring a soul to Christ ..... let yourself be used by our Lord .... and you'll find it's worth FAR more than it took to simply develop our knowledge of just why it is that we DID come to the Light. FAR more!

And it's the most humbling thing we can do. It makes us realize that we really need not ever again make excuses, and turn away from some opportunity to witness to our Faith. And that ain't no small thing, in the raging battle that gets hotter, seemingly, every day. When you "take up arms" and join the fight, you'll acquire a new appreciation for just who and what you are, and your real value in this world. How could that ever be a bad thing, and why would anyone resist that?

And it'll make such a marked and significant difference in how we behave and think with our family, on the job, and with our friends, too! Who could not benefit from all this? And all it takes is, just as Confucius said, taking the first step, and finding out exactly why it is that WE came to belief. The rest follows as though it were all tied together like a mule train! Was our God magnificent when He designed it all to be this way, or what? And all WE have to do, is take a few simple steps, that are only difficult if WE are the ones making it so with our worldly attitudes!

Everything in the Bible declares the chasm between good and evil, and shows clearly how we ARE on one side or the other. Not to decide is to decide to aid evil by default. Christ has promised that if we, the people who call ourselves by His name, will simply return to him, and confess our sins, and redirect our paths, He will hear in Heaven and He'll heal our land. How can we turn away an offer like that?

It's all on the line, and always has been, and WE determine which way it'll all go. If we fall, it'll be OUR fault, and nobody else's. But WE have to return to Him, and humbly so, and simply do His will. And it's NOT His will that any be lost. We're falling far short of what He has always intended for us to do and be. But we can fix that, and repent, if only we'll simply allow ourselves to do it, and if we'll just follow His most excellent advice and instruction. How can we not do that?

[USMC87]

Thanks for the lesson, Amen.