Al Mohler on Election of Obama as President

The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States came as a bang, not a whimper. The tremors had been perceptible for days, maybe even weeks. On Tuesday, America experienced nothing less than a political and cultural earthquake.
The margin of victory for the Democratic ticket was clear. Americans voted in record numbers and with tangible enthusiasm. By the end of the day, it was clear that Barack Obama would be elected with a majority of the popular vote and a near landslide in the Electoral College. When President-Elect Obama greeted the throngs of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, he basked in the glory of electoral energy.
For many of us, the end of the night brought disappointment. In this case, the disappointment is compounded by the sense that the issues that did not allow us to support Sen. Obama are matters of life and death -- not just political issues of heated debate. Furthermore, the margin of victory and sense of a shift in the political landscape point to greater disappointments ahead. We all knew that so much was at stake.
For others, the night was magical and momentous. Young and old cried tears of amazement and victory as America elected its first African-American President -- and elected him overwhelmingly. Just forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, an African-American stood to claim victory as President-Elect of the nation. As Sen. Obama assured the crowd in Chicago and the watching nation, "We will get there. We will get there." No one hearing those words could fail to hear the refrain of plaintive words spoken in Memphis four decades ago. President-Elect Obama would stand upon the mountaintop that Dr. King had foreseen.
That victory is a hallmark moment in history for all Americans -- not just for those who voted for Sen. Obama. As a nation, we will never think of ourselves the same way again. Americans rich and poor, black and white, old and young, will look to an African-American man and know him as President of the United States. The President. The only President. The elected President. Our President.
Every American should be moved by the sight of young African-Americans who -- for the first time -- now believe that they have a purchase in American democracy. Old men and old women, grandsons and granddaughters of slaves and slaveholders, will look to an African-American as President.
Regardless of politics, could anyone remain unmoved by the sight of Jesse Jackson crying alone amidst the crowd in Chicago? This dimension of Election Day transcends politics and touches the heart of the American people.
Yet, the issues and the politics remain. Given the scale of the Democratic victory, the political landscape will be completely reshaped. The fight for the dignity and sanctity of unborn human beings has been set back by a great loss, and by the election of a President who has announced his intention to sign the Freedom of Choice Act into law. The struggle to protect marriage against its destruction by redefinition is now complicated by the election of a President who has declared his aim to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. On issue after issue, we face a longer, harder, and more protracted struggle than ever before.
Still, we must press on as advocates for the unborn, for the elderly, for the infirm, and for the vulnerable. We must redouble our efforts to defend marriage and the integrity of the family. We must be vigilant to protect religious liberty and the freedom of the pulpit. We face awesome battles ahead.
At the same time, we must be honest and recognize that the political maps are being redrawn before our eyes. Will the Republican Party decide that conservative Christians are just too troublesome for the party and see the pro-life movement as a liability? There is the real danger that the Republicans, stung by this defeat, will adopt a libertarian approach to divisive moral issues and show conservative Christians the door.
Others will declare these struggles over, arguing that the election of Sen. Obama means that Americans in general -- and many younger Evangelicals in particular -- are ready to "move on" to other issues. This is no time for surrender or the abandonment of our core principles. We face a much harder struggle ahead, but we have no right to abandon the struggle.
We should look for opportunities to work with the new President and his administration where we can. We must hope that he will lead and govern as the bridge-builder he claimed to be in his campaign. We must confront and oppose the Obama administration where conscience demands, but work together where conscience allows.
Evangelical Christians face another challenge with the election of Sen. Obama, and a failure to rise to this challenge will bring disrepute upon the Gospel, as well as upon ourselves. There must be absolutely no denial of the legitimacy of President-Elect Obama's election and no failure to accord this new President the respect and honor due to anyone elected to that high office. Failure in this responsibility is disobedience to a clear biblical command.
Beyond this, we must commit ourselves to pray for this new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation. We are commanded to pray for rulers, and this new President faces challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous. May God grant him wisdom. He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office. May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.
We must pray that God will protect this nation even as the new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.
We must pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of our crucial concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.
Without doubt, we face hard days ahead. Realistically, we must expect to be frustrated and disappointed. We may find ourselves to be defeated and discouraged. We must keep ever in mind that it is God who raises up nations and pulls them down, and who judges both nations and rulers. We must not act or think as unbelievers, or as those who do not trust God.
America has chosen a President. President-Elect Barack Obama is that choice, and he faces a breathtaking array of challenges and choices in days ahead. This is the time for Christians to begin praying in earnest for our new President. There is no time to lose.

The Church...Club to Join or Future of Christian Faith

I saw a Catholic cartoon recently and on the cartoon a little girl was rejected admittance to her friends’ Superhero Club, until she exhibited great bravery by jumping into the river and saving a three-year-old boy. The superheroes henceforth offered her an invitation to join their club, which she denied boldly proclaiming to be a part of the greatest club of all—the church.

Is there perhaps a better way to describe the Church today? Are we teaching our children that being part of the Body of Christ is likened unto membership in a super-duper club? Is that something we should be proud of? Would Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, be content with the consideration of Christianity as a social club? Would Peter consider the Christianity for which he was, crucified upside down, a social club? Would Paul take all those stripes, be stoned, imprisoned, and ship-wrecked time and time again for a social club? A study of the book of the Acts of the Apostles has no such mention of this social club of Christianity. I doubt Jesus had “social club” in mind when He said “If anyone would come after me, He must deny himself take up his cross and follow Me.” The members of the early church would scoff at our pitiful attempt to do church today in America.

Let us examine the definition of social club: a formal association of people with similar interests. Think of your church group, and compare and contrast it with the definition of social club. Chances are you are finding that your church group fits the definition for social club very well. That might not seem entirely bad, on the surface. Naturally your church group is a group people gathered together formally for a common purpose. The American Heritage Dictionary defines church as “a building for public, especially Christian worship.” Okay, now let us examine what is before us. Given these two definitions we can define Christianity in America as, “a social club gathered together in a church.” Now I suppose it seems a bit worse eh (that is not a typo)? A few more components to American Christianity should be added to this definition including (with no particular order: excruciatingly tight schedule (in order to keep mandatory lunch obligations), no more than two meetings per week, assigned seating, sour countenances, and invitations printed only for those whom we like. Finally we can construct the entire definition of American Christianity: a social club gathered together with an excruciatingly tight schedule, assigned seating, sour countenances, in a church; where invitations are only extended for those who are “liked” by the members of the social club.

We have a false concept of what “church” means. Church is not a place to go, or a thing to do, rather according to the original Greek it is “a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly.” Read that closely, “a gathering of citizens;” so in other words, the Church is a group of people, not a building. If you have truly repented of sin and believed in Jesus, then you do not go to church, you are the Church. The aspects of the American church that seem to be missing from the scriptural church are the time schedule, the one particular building, the assigned seating, the sour countenances, and the lack of invitation. The American church also lacks the zeal, persecution, and witness that the New Testament church had so abundantly.
The Apostles saw thousands of people come to Jesus on multiple occasions, baptizing as many as three-thousand in one day. When is the last time any of our American churches saw more than ten or twenty (or one) come to Christ in one gathering? The early church was hated by the world around it for its radical message, and the members were often beaten and martyred for their faith? When is the last time one of our American churches was persecuted because of the radical message of faith in Jesus? The members of the early church took witnessing seriously, and took the message of the Gospel to the streets? When is the last time ten percent of a congregation of more went door-to-door witnessing in one day? Perhaps they had it all wrong in Peter, Paul, and John’s day. Perhaps the Apostles should have practiced hour long services, with twenty-five minute long sermons, five songs, and an offertory hymn. Timothy and Barnabas should have just made friends with the world, built a building, drank a cup of coffee, ate a doughnut, and gone to lunch where they could talk about things that are truly important; such as football and NASCAR.

Maybe we are apart of a great club, but that club is in direct contradiction to the Biblical picture of the Church. Eventually, if we do not correct this issue ourselves, this issue will be corrected for us and I do not believe we are going to enjoy the process of that correction.

Christian View of Our Presidential Candidates

The youth culture is completely enamored with Barack Hussein Obama...and that makes me sick! Our media paints this picture that McCain is a George Bush clone andObama is the only option to be our new president. And lets face it, President Bush is a good man, but he has not been a good president. Our economy is in shambles and Bush is not responsible for all ofthat, but he could have probably kept it from getting as bad as it has.But heres the thing... The media has brain washed our youth intothinking Obama is some kind of deity! And that is what makes me sick!Obama is lying to America...



HE LIED to himself even by accepting the presidency because he evenadmitted he would not be ready to be the president back in 2004 whenhe was elected to the US senate for his FIRST and ONLY term...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnLozS-TnM


America has never had a president that has as little experience asObama does...HE LIED to us by saying he will lower taxes. How can he lower taxesand still implement all of the programs that he is proposing?Socialized health care will cost the government a lot of money andhow will the country pay for that???The only feasible answer is more taxes! Obama will not lower taxes,he will raise them across the board! He says he wants to lower taxesfor the poor and raise them for the rich. The problem with this isthat people will start taking jobs with a smaller salary just so theydo not have to pay as many taxes. This will cause our economy tocollapse because the thing that has always drove our economy is theAmerican dream of getting rich. If you know you are going to gettaxed out of your butt then why would you ever want to get rich?Also with socialized health care, even poor people who do not havejobs will be covered. And who will pay for that? The american taxpayer! Why would anyone even want to get a job and work and pay taxeswhen everything is going to be free for them if they are on welfare?

HE LIED to us by downplaying his involvement in the ministry of Jeremiah Wright, a racist and an anti-American. He went to his church his whole life until this year and there is no way he had never heardany of Wright's comments against white people and against America. Heslips up here and you hear two opposite things come out of his mouth...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU2Yv-rnJEoSo does he support Jeremiah Wright or not?

HE LIED to us by saying he supports the sanctity of life and thesanctity of marriage. He says marriage is between one man and onewoman, yet he voted to legalize homosexual marriage. He also says itis a woman's right to do what she wants, even though abortion is notmorally okay. If he thinks it is not morally okay, then why is hevoting to allow it. He voted against a ban against partial birthabortions. Do you know what they do in a partial birth abortion? Whenthe baby's head is in the birth canal... they stick a vacuum likesuction into its head and suck it's brains out... Had they waitedjust a few moments later, the baby would be crying and opening itseyes in this world. How can this man believe it is okay to kill ababy moments before birth???

And lastly... HE LIED... to America by saying he is capable of running this country when he can't even run his own state!
Check out these facts...In the last six months 292 people have been killed (murdered) in Chicago while 221 soldiers were killed in Iraq...Chicago is the main city in Obama's state and he cannot even cut downviolence there, what makes you think he can do it in America, letalone the world???Leadership in the state of Illinois...

Senators: Barack Obama and Dick DurbinRepresentative: Jesse Jackson Jr.Governor: Rod BlogojevichHouse Leader: Mike MadiganAttorney General: Lisa Madigan (daughter of Mike)Mayor of Chicago: Richard M. Daleyall Democrats...Their State pension fund $44 Billion in debt, worst in country.Cook County ( Chicago ) sales tax 10.25% highest in country.And the Chicago school system was rated one of the worst in the country.His own city and state are in shambles and yet he thinks he can runAmerica?DO we really want this guy to be our president?

If you are 18, go vote on November 4th, and vote for the man thatshould be our president... JOHN MCCAIN!

Motivation for Good Works

What is Christian Ethics?
-In general, Christian ethics is the attempt to understand what it means to live and to think like a Christian.

8 Distinctions of Christian Ethics
-Built upon a objective theistic worldview
-Affirms that there are moral absolutes
-Are obligatory (they are not suggestions but mandates for followers of Christ)
-Perfectly modeled by Jesus Christ
-Recognize and seeks to participate in God's moral order already present in created order
-Ultimately Universal
-Attainable for Spirit-indwelled believers (not tempted beyond what you can handle)

Not the means of earning merit w/ God but rather your natural result of merit given to you when you were saved

Read that last one again. The rules and morals and laws that are found in scripture are not there for you to try to work you way into heave or try to earn God's favor. We are born in sin with a sinful nature and when we become saved, our new nature is in constantly battle with our old sinful nature. I wanted to make not of this final distinction of Christian Ethics because I believe that sometime we fail to see what God has ALREADY done for us.

When you become saved, something is suppose to change in you. You should act, talk, and live differently so the laws and rules found in scripture should no longer feel like a burden but should feel easy (Matthew 11:30 For My Yoke Is Easy But My Burden Is Light) the reason it is light because that is why you were created. You were created in the image of God and were created to live out these good works not because they save you but because they prove you are saved, that something inside of you has changed.

So I leave with you this thought.

What do you feel of the rules and regulations given for you to live that are found in scripture? Are you trying to work you way in heaven?

Are they hard and burdensome for you?

Or are they enjoyable because God has radially changed you life?

Think About It...What Is Your Motivation For Good Works

Great Expectations

You ever wonder what God expects of you? Most people know that the Bible was written by man and inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the nature of God and to show us our perfect example in Jesus Christ but we are sinners. What does God think and expect of the His creation that was made in His image Genesis 1:26. How does our inevitable sin match up to God's expectation to Be Holy Because I am Holy 1 Peter 1:16 When God looks down from heaven, what does he expect from us?

Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, of laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God. Hebrews 6:1

#1 God expects you to grow up, so not to waste time. There is something wrong with the Christian who continues to learn the same principles over and over again because they were not put into practice and forgotten. Sunday school teachers and other Bible teachers are constantly forced to revisit topics and reteach because they were not learned and then put to use. God expects us to live with urgency, to take seriously God word and then to seriously put it into good use for the kingdom of God. There are 250 million unchurched people in America, time is short.

Brothers, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet able to receive it. In fact you are still not able. 1 Corinthians 3:1-2

#2 God expects you to grow up, so to put you to work. God can't and wont use babies for the most important thing in this life. We need to realize that God DOES NOT NEED US to share His good news, to bring about salvation. God CHOOSES US to participate in the gospel so share in the eternal reward (1 Corinthians 9:22) We are the hands and the feet of the gospel, we are the soldiers, we are the workers and all of these are EXPECTED of us as Christians. Paul is telling us in 1 Corinthians 3:3:1-2 that we can't fulfill our expectations, OUR RESPONSIBILITIES as Christians if we don't grow up and advance in our relationship with Christ. God expects you to love Him and want to grown up with Him so that he can put you to work because that is why HE CREATED YOU. You were created for a purpose, this is it.

A Generation That Doesn't Care

There has never been a generation that is quite like the one that is present now. This generation of young people have abilities that did not exist and weren't even thought possible in generations past. My sister is 12 years younger than me and when she was 7 she was given a computer for Christmas and she knew exactly how to put it together, set it up, and use it. Young people today have created their own medium of communication "texting" and they are able to point and tap on the keyboards of their cell phones as fast or probably even faster than most can on a full size laptop. What I am trying to say is that these young people have knowledge and potential that surpasses all before them.

But how does this knowlede, potential and mindset come into play with their religion? I have come to think of these young people as a generation that doesn't care, even thought it may sound negative, it can have positive elements. This generation is able to come out and say "I DON'T CARE ABOUT RELIGION and of course these young people want nothing to do with rules and authority of religion. Christianity to them is viewed as a list of rules and practices that keeps them from doing what they want, it shows authority over them and they naturally rebel. Classic proponents of this saying "I don't care about religion" is Nietzsche who said "God is Dead and we have killed him." Young people who care nothing of Chrisitianity believe there are no absolutes and what is right for me may not be right for you. It is a sad thing, to be apart of a generation where young people say "I Do Not Care" but there is also something good to be found.
There is hope for this generation when it comes to their religion. Yes it is true that some young people do say "I Do Not Care about Religion" but also there are plenty that say "I Do Not Care What You Think." Our churches contain a generation of young people that are no doubt are SOLD FOR JESUS CHRIST and they do not care what it takes or what other people think of them. Our churches have young people that can say "I don't care how you judge me or how you look at me, I love Jesus Christ and willing to do anything for Him." This generation is not lost in sin, it is lost in direction. The material is there, the young people are willing they just need the right motivation and direction. I thank God that He has used young people in the past and is using them today.

Christianity has never been about prosperity and seeking the easy road in life. Christ suffered to pay for the sins of the world and Christ is our perfect example to follow. We as Christians are to suffer and endure and to draw of Christ for our strength. There are young people who are willing to do what ever it takes and are living out scripture.

No one should despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

God is using this generation who doesn't care but I should ask you.....

What Do You Care About???

God, Where Is My Persistence?

As a Seminary student and follower of Christ for many years, I read lots of things that give ideas of what to preach on and things that encourage but on a very seldom occasion do I read something that stops me in my tracks. I read this story for a missions class and I wept and cried for forgiveness immediately. Read this and know that you are called to a life of missions and called to a life of persistence and advancment of the gospel AT ALL COSTS.

One day Joseph, who was walking along one of these hot, dirty African roads, met someone who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Then and there he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The power of the Spirit began transforming his life; he was filled with such excitment and joy that the first thing he wanted to do was return to his own village and share that same Good News with the members of his local tribe.

Joseph began going from door-to-door; telling everyone he met about the Cross of Jesus and the salvation it offered, expecting to see their faces light up the same way his had. To his amazement the villagers seized him and held him to the ground while the women beat him with strands of barbed wire. He was dragged from the village and left to die alone in the bush.

Joseph some how managed to crawl to a waterhole, and there, after days of passing in and out of consciousness, found the strength to get up. He wondered about the hostile reception he had received from the people he had known all his life. He decided he must have left something out or told the story of Jesus incorrectly. After rehersing the message he had first heard, he decided to go back and share his faith once more.

Joseph limped into the circle of huts and began proclaim Jesus. "He died for you, so that you might find forgiveness and come to know the living God," he pleaded. Again he was grabbed by the men of village and held while the women beat him, reopening wounds that had just begun to heal. Once more they dragged him unconcious from the village and left him to die.

To have survived the first beating was truly remarkable. To live through the second was a miracle. Again, days later, Joseph awoke in the wilderness, bruised, scarred--and determined to go back.

He returned to the small village and this time, they attacked him before he had a chance to open his mouth. As they flogged him for the third and probably the last time, he again spoke to them of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Before he passed out, the last thing he saw was that the women who were beating him began to weep.

This time he awoke in the his own bed. The ones who had so severely beaten him were now trying to save his life and nurse him back to health. The entire village hade come to Christ.

How do you respond to the good news that has been given to you. Do you hoard it and guard it and keep it to yourselve? This man went 3 rounds as a new Christian and there are those who have known Jesus Christ for years, even decades and have failed to go 1 round. I pray that this story challenges you, because Christ has set the bar high. Where is your persistence to share the greatest news ever given?

What Keeps You Busy?

As an Associate Pastor and one who is in charge of many things that occurs in the Baptist church that I attend I am always pushing my teens and church members to attend every activity that is going on. But when certain things come up and I hear things such as "I have to work that day" or "I have a volleyball game this weekend" or "I just want to sleep in this Saturday" or "I have homework to do" how exactly am I suppose to feel? I understand that many many things encompass the lives of the young adults that I am responsible for but what really are we created for? Are we created to fill our lives and weekends with sports practices and games, are we created to work on days that are suppose to be set aside for our Lord and Savior, and finally are we created to fill our days with so much stuff that we are forced to do homework during times designated for church (because I do believe school is important)? Where do we draw the line? What am I suppose to tell the parents of the young people I am responsible for?

Most people know what I mean when I say the gospels but for those who don't, the gospels are the books of the New Testament that are written explaining the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. During the early church after the time of Jesus Christ and before the gospels were written what do you think was going on? Jesus Christ the savior of man had just come to live and had just ascended into heaven after performing miracles, healing the sick, encouraging the suffering and pretty much changed the lives of everyone in that region but the gospels or stories of His live werent written down until 30 years later. What in the world were they doing? Why would these individuals who had physically seen the miraculous stuff that Jesus had done but wait 30 years before they put it down on paper?

BECAUSE THEY WERE TO BUSY....But not with the mindles stuff that will have no impact in eternity, they were busy telling people the stories of Jesus Christ, they were to busy spreading the gospel, they were to busy making a difference in this world.

If you think about your day to day you will find lots of things that take up your time that will not make a difference in this life or the next. We are to busy worrying about our future and to busy worrying what makes us happy rather than focus on the Great Commission.

What are you created for? You are created for the glory of God and in God you are created and destined for greatness. Don't fill your life with the things that are trival but fill your life with the things that will allow God to say "Good job my good and faithful servant."

You and Your Marriage...Made in the Image of God

It is terrible to think about that 50% of all marriages end up in divorce, but if you think that is bad, continue reading because the same percentage is found inside the church. Thats right, from a numbers stand point there is ABSOLUTELY no difference between life inside the church and life outside the church when it comes to marriage and family. How could this be? How could it happen when something such as divorce and marriage and family are talked SPECIFICALLY and EXPLICITLY in Scripture. We as a generation have forgotten what the image of God looks like. If you believe that Genesis 1:26-28 was written to boost your self-esteem because you "physically look" like God then you would be wrong. The latin term imago Dei from where we get image of God does not describe a physical attraction or resemblance to the one who has never been seen, but rather a functional resemblance. We as man and woman, whom are made in the image of God are suppose to function as if He were here. Man was placed here on Earth to function just as God would if He was here and and if He experienced the same as we do. Do you think that God would be the one endorsing or going through a divorce if He were here? Of course you don't so you might say "well God is perfect so therefore He wouldnt be in a divorce" but how does that explain Him asking you to function like Him. Don't you think He knows you are sinful and that you are fallen and that you are unworthy of Him, of course He does but He asks you to function like Him anyways. God tells us in 1 Peter 1:16 "be holy because I am holy, not because He is mean and not because He is asking to much of you but because with Christ, as a new creation, you have dominion over sin, you have power over Satan, you are made in the image of Christ therefore you are to function as He would function as a Christian believer. God HATES divorce. The whole idea of marriage is to paint a picture of how God ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS loves the church. God would NEVER divorce the church for the church is His bride. Men, start loving your wifes as God loves the church, women start being obedient and submissive just as the church is to God...Couples remember that you are created in the image of God, therefore you are to look/function as God does.

Revival...A Key To a Locked Door

Churches all across America have the habbit of just simply placing revival on the church calender thinking of it as just another church event. Revival is not something that we can just plan and put on the calender but must come from God. Along with with this mediocre notion of just another church event, church members blindly put their faith in revival to solve the problems in the church and the community around them. Revival is NOT for LOST people, it is for the church. It is a time where God sends down his power and his spirit to ENABLE and to ENGAGE the world around them. As Christians it is our duty and responsibility to be light and salt to the lost, both are substances that completely changes the environment they are in. We are also called to be all things to all people and revival is where these duties and responsibilities are enabled. Becoming all things to all people and becoming light and salt to a lost world is not a spiritual gift that is given, it is more of a mandate or requirement for Christianity. Revival is where these duties and responsibilites are enabled that allows you to change the world for Christ. The lost world is outside the walls of our church building and outside the walls of our Christians friends and outthere is the locked door that you cannot open without the power of God through a revival. Revival is your key to your locked door in the shape of your families, coworkers, town, and community. Christians, we are given the tools and means and they KEYS to unlock the lost world and expose them to the light of Christ. Seek a revival in your own heart, not a revival placed on a church calender.

"Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God."

-William Carey

Is Missions For Everybody?

The Southern Baptist Convention is one where the whole emphasis and focus of their existance is on the concept of missions, both local and abroad all for the advancing of the gospel. Scripture talks a great deal of missions and in a way I believe is the entire focus of Scripture. The heartbeat of God lies in mission work. The whole idea of our salvation is to realize what Christ has done for us and to not SIT on that information but to go and tell. Almost half of the New Testament was written by Paul when he infact was on his missionary journeys. Missions is the goal and should be the focus of every Christian believer, but what constitutes as mission work? Programs such as the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, and Annie Armstrong are offerings and means to take in income to support missions but does that get an individual off the hook. I have no problem with those programs and means of raising funds but when the concept of GIVING, PRAYING, and SHORT TERM MISSION when God has called you full time becomes a supplement for you so you are off the hook, I have big issues with. When your duties and responsbilities turn into the check list of "I have given my money, Im good now" or "I have prayed for the missionaries, Im good now" or "God has called me to be in Africa for 2 years but I went for 2 weeks instead so Im good now" you are not full filling the Great Commission. You are short changing God. We must have a heart for the nations and do it will full obedience to Christ. Missions is for EVERYONE no matter their skills, talents, abilities or limitations. God has not instituted ANY means to excuse you from missions but rather has created means for you to be involved. Go and do the Lord's work. You are the vehicle and means that God has created to share the Gospel..Go and Do and Be Obedient.

One Small Step At A Time

The Christian life by some is thought to be abstract, knowing that the Bible contains the information to accomplish the major goals of the Christian life but it almost seems dated. It is true that things are differnt now than they were during the writing of Scripture but don't you think God knew that? Of course He knew, therefore He didn't leave you in the dark. Knowing what to do and how to act is key to living the Christian life. There are specific goals for each believer, so there are specifc goals for each moment. If you are asked to submit a report to your employer, you should do it "heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord will receive the inheritance as your reward." There is no mandate or Scripture that requires you to submit that report, on time and in the form requested. But this is the application of many more general teachings of Scripture. Not every instance is covered in Scripture but the principle for every action and decision can be found. We are to do ALL THINGS for the glory of God, which includes the little things because the journey toward reaching the major goals of the Christian life requires many little steps.