I heard yesterday that a senior pastor and his assistant expect to be fired soon. It seems prominent members of their congregation are upset with their evangelical theology. Specifically, they object to the pastors’ teaching that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
Undoubtedly, the belief that Jesus is the only way to heaven has fallen into disfavor among an increasing number of professing Christians. Tolerance and acceptance of others’ views are widely held virtues in our mixing-bowl culture, but the road to Heaven is not open to an expansion program. Although we can be tolerant of those who hold views that differ from ours, we must not accept a theology that is eclectic and inclusive.
The apostles preached with conviction that Jesus is the only way to Heaven (Acts 4:12), and they did not amend their message to accommodate views held by their contemporaries.
If professing Christians try to pry Heaven’s gate open to everyone regardless of his or her beliefs, they will have to ignore or reject Jesus’ clear statement, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Our Best Friend
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs17:17).
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and did so for thirty pieces of silver. Nevertheless, a theory being advanced today portrays Judas as Jesus’ friend. It alleges he simply carried out Jesus’ wishes. With a friend like Judas, who needs an enemy?
We seldom, if ever, meet anyone named Judas, but we may encounter a “Judas” nonetheless.
In her prime Rita was a vivacious celebrity in the entertainment industry. Her success brought her plenty of money and friends. An extremely generous person, Rita hosted elaborate parties, donated sizable sums to charity, and treated her friends to breakfast buffets and lunches at a five-star hotel.
Now in her eighties Rita, who never married, is experiencing rapidly declining health. She is too weak to leave home. Her mind is no longer sharp. Her memory is almost gone, and her speech is often incoherent. Because she has no living relatives, she depends entirely upon others to care for her. However, most of her friends dropped out of her life when she became too ill to lavish money on them.
Today, Rita has very little money. A former friend—a “Judas”—whom she trusted with her credit cards and bank accounts, bilked her out of $285,000. This “friend” almost stole Rita’s home out from under her, but a true-blue friend uncovered the fraud and hired a lawyer to protect Rita’s interests.
Rita misses the former social times, but she values the few friends that truly care about her. Most important, Rita is a believer. In her halting way, she talks about how good her best friend Jesus is. She knows He is a trustworthy and constant companion,
As we age, we need to depend upon others for things we routinely handled in our younger years. However, we should not be deceived by a phony smile into committing our financial affairs to a swindler. No one wants to distrust everyone, but we must choose our friends wisely. True friends care about us, not our possessions. And we will never have a better friend than Jesus!
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss, and did so for thirty pieces of silver. Nevertheless, a theory being advanced today portrays Judas as Jesus’ friend. It alleges he simply carried out Jesus’ wishes. With a friend like Judas, who needs an enemy?
We seldom, if ever, meet anyone named Judas, but we may encounter a “Judas” nonetheless.
In her prime Rita was a vivacious celebrity in the entertainment industry. Her success brought her plenty of money and friends. An extremely generous person, Rita hosted elaborate parties, donated sizable sums to charity, and treated her friends to breakfast buffets and lunches at a five-star hotel.
Now in her eighties Rita, who never married, is experiencing rapidly declining health. She is too weak to leave home. Her mind is no longer sharp. Her memory is almost gone, and her speech is often incoherent. Because she has no living relatives, she depends entirely upon others to care for her. However, most of her friends dropped out of her life when she became too ill to lavish money on them.
Today, Rita has very little money. A former friend—a “Judas”—whom she trusted with her credit cards and bank accounts, bilked her out of $285,000. This “friend” almost stole Rita’s home out from under her, but a true-blue friend uncovered the fraud and hired a lawyer to protect Rita’s interests.
Rita misses the former social times, but she values the few friends that truly care about her. Most important, Rita is a believer. In her halting way, she talks about how good her best friend Jesus is. She knows He is a trustworthy and constant companion,
As we age, we need to depend upon others for things we routinely handled in our younger years. However, we should not be deceived by a phony smile into committing our financial affairs to a swindler. No one wants to distrust everyone, but we must choose our friends wisely. True friends care about us, not our possessions. And we will never have a better friend than Jesus!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Pie in the Sky By and By?
“That’s just pie in the sky by and by,” some say about the life Jesus offers, But all who know Jesus as Savior know the life He gives is full, free, and fulfilling today. It gets even better as the seasons of life roll on, and it will be best “when the saints go marching in.” The “pie” isn’t in the sky; it is available here and now. It is delicious and fresh. Psalm 34:8 invites everyone to “taste and see that the LORD is good.”
Friday, August 7, 2009
Not Prayerless Before Being Stentless
My ENT surgeon removed the stent from my nose yesterday, and I am breathing much better today. The excision lasted more than an hour, and the pain was intense. No pain, no gain was certainly a valid maxim. This Sunday, when I preach at Falcon Baptist Church, I will breathe better than I have in more than two years. I won’t be longwinded though.
Before visiting the surgeon on the third floor of Colorado Springs’ Premier Health Plaza and accompanied by my wife Gloria, I stopped at the Surgery Center on the second floor to visit a former member of a church I served as an interim pastor. He was about to have rotor cuff surgery. After I prayed with him, a nurse wheeled him into the operating room. Gloria and the patient’s wife went to the waiting room, and I walked to the Exit.
Just as I was about to leave the Surgery Center, a young woman approached me. She explained that she had heard me pray in the curtained cubicle next to her mother’s cubicle. “Would you be willing to visit my mother and pray for her?” she asked. I gladly accompanied her to her mother’s cubicle and prayed for her.
Opportunities to show the Lord’s love and calm anxious hearts abound everywhere, don’t they?
Before visiting the surgeon on the third floor of Colorado Springs’ Premier Health Plaza and accompanied by my wife Gloria, I stopped at the Surgery Center on the second floor to visit a former member of a church I served as an interim pastor. He was about to have rotor cuff surgery. After I prayed with him, a nurse wheeled him into the operating room. Gloria and the patient’s wife went to the waiting room, and I walked to the Exit.
Just as I was about to leave the Surgery Center, a young woman approached me. She explained that she had heard me pray in the curtained cubicle next to her mother’s cubicle. “Would you be willing to visit my mother and pray for her?” she asked. I gladly accompanied her to her mother’s cubicle and prayed for her.
Opportunities to show the Lord’s love and calm anxious hearts abound everywhere, don’t they?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
When Jesus assembled His team of disciples in the first century, He selected ordinary men from a variety of occupations. They lacked notoriety, seminary diplomas, political clout, social status, and discipling experience. They were a rag-tag crew, a bunch of hybrid peas from different pods, a collection of loose cannons, and a disorderly dozen. At times they showed an appalling lust for personal prestige, a tendency to shoot from the lip, and unwillingness to accept Jesus’ teachings. Nevertheless, under Jesus’ patient mentoring, all but one of these men became an obedient and productive follower of Jesus. They learned slowly, but when they finally grasped the lessons Jesus taught, they turned the world upside down.
• They had learned to love Jesus.
• They had learned to obey Jesus.
• They had learn to submit their wills to Jesus.
• They had learned to overcome temptation.
• They had learned to surmount trials.
• They had learned to triumph over persecution.
• They had learned to serve others.
• They had learned to exercise their spiritual gifts faithfully.
• They had learned to value the eternal more highly than the temporal.
• They had learned to focus on the goal of winning others to Jesus.
How far along in these lessons are we?
• They had learned to love Jesus.
• They had learned to obey Jesus.
• They had learn to submit their wills to Jesus.
• They had learned to overcome temptation.
• They had learned to surmount trials.
• They had learned to triumph over persecution.
• They had learned to serve others.
• They had learned to exercise their spiritual gifts faithfully.
• They had learned to value the eternal more highly than the temporal.
• They had learned to focus on the goal of winning others to Jesus.
How far along in these lessons are we?
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