Thursday, April 27, 2006
We Are Weak But He Is Strong
Things changed when God moved in! God worked externally in Daniel’s day. Now, He works in us. How pathetic is that, you say! Before I bumble my way through this post, one thing must be understood: God Himself does not change. His power has not diminished in any way since Old Testament times or when He was with us, Immanuel; He is still with us and that in its self is a supernatural occurrence. The miracle is seen in a civilization where education, medical care, charities, the arts and sciences advanced from a Christ-following social structure. The miracle is in the development of free nations rooted in Judeo-Christian law. There are clouds of witnesses in mission fields worldwide, End of the Spear types of miracles. Just as Hebrew children were coached in their faith, we are responsible for learning and teaching the real, true evidence, the faith building stories. Besides the Biblical testimony of prophecies coming to fruition, even in modern history, there are concrete proofs among the truly obedient, the remnant of faithful followers.
So where are they? Jesus told His followers they were going to be salt and light. I love Lee Strobel’s section title, in God’s Outrageous Claims, “Salt That Stings, Light That Glares”. Lee Strobel comes from an atheist experience. He has seen Christianity from the outside. About Jesus’ plan, Strobel writes, “What an outlandish idea --that frail and fallible, timid and tongue-tied, insecure and inconsistent people like you and me would be the main purveyors of the monumental news that can change people’s eternal destinations. It was a high-stakes strategy. And the results have been…well, let’s admit it: a bit mixed.” (Emphasis added) He is so right. Our representation of Jesus becomes less and less salty, dimmer and darker. Our witness inflicts pain…the salt stings; the flashlight sized light glares in the outsider’s eyes. Why?
Christians are a mixed bag of the true and the fake. Not fakers, I mean misguided. Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge makes several good points in his recent re-release of Why I Believe. Aren’t Christians generally considered a safe group? Don’t fear levels drop a few notches when someone pulls out a Bible? Yet visions from history flash blindingly, the injustices inflicted by Christians in power. Was it really Christian doings that sentenced so many to death in Spain or was it the true Christians being sentenced by their refusal to bow to such heretics…a la Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! It was not Christ-like for Church leadership to play God as if Judgment Day was a day of their choosing. Christians aren’t always Christians. As the churches have stressed more “what God can do for you” and less “what can you do for God?”, Christian professors have become less obedient, less Christ-like, and much less miraculous.
So where are they? Jesus told His followers they were going to be salt and light. I love Lee Strobel’s section title, in God’s Outrageous Claims, “Salt That Stings, Light That Glares”. Lee Strobel comes from an atheist experience. He has seen Christianity from the outside. About Jesus’ plan, Strobel writes, “What an outlandish idea --that frail and fallible, timid and tongue-tied, insecure and inconsistent people like you and me would be the main purveyors of the monumental news that can change people’s eternal destinations. It was a high-stakes strategy. And the results have been…well, let’s admit it: a bit mixed.” (Emphasis added) He is so right. Our representation of Jesus becomes less and less salty, dimmer and darker. Our witness inflicts pain…the salt stings; the flashlight sized light glares in the outsider’s eyes. Why?
Christians are a mixed bag of the true and the fake. Not fakers, I mean misguided. Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge makes several good points in his recent re-release of Why I Believe. Aren’t Christians generally considered a safe group? Don’t fear levels drop a few notches when someone pulls out a Bible? Yet visions from history flash blindingly, the injustices inflicted by Christians in power. Was it really Christian doings that sentenced so many to death in Spain or was it the true Christians being sentenced by their refusal to bow to such heretics…a la Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! It was not Christ-like for Church leadership to play God as if Judgment Day was a day of their choosing. Christians aren’t always Christians. As the churches have stressed more “what God can do for you” and less “what can you do for God?”, Christian professors have become less obedient, less Christ-like, and much less miraculous.
