Thur. 4 Missions: Transformed Muslim

My colleague and good friend, Dr. George Robinson, wrote this account in late May. Read the whole thing here, but here is an excerpt.

While there a strange man came up to him and put his hand on his shoulder and said, “One day you will be a great man of God.” The confused young man left with more questions than answers. Several years later he had moved into the city and was excelling at his studies. While at the university he got involved with a radical fundamentalist Islamic group and quickly rose to the top as a student leader. After studying the Qur’an in depth, he again felt like there were more questions than answers. One night he took a walk to think through all of this. As he crossed a bridge in the city a strange man approached him and put his hand on his shoulder and said to him, “Soon you will be a great man of God.” It was the same man that had approached him in the cemetery!

Wednesday - Be encouraged!

Don't get too busy to be abnormal

 

This is not a new message and it is surely words you've thought or said before.  I'm struggling a little bit.  I let a few days go buy without spending time in God's Word.  I got to bed a few nights late and woke up a little later than normal and I let the day just zoom right by without taking time to read the Word. Now it is not quite so easy to prioritize my day, not quite so easy to answer my kids with patience, not quite so easy to be kind to my wife when she is upset.  It is not quite so easy to be Christlike.  Gee not hard to figure that one out. 

 

I know the joy I get from living in obedience and communion with God.  I know the pain of being too busy for God- I've seen those consequences too many times.  So why do I do it?  Why do I not do what is right? 

 

Because it is natural.  Because it is normal.  Because it is our nature, our sin nature to NOT seek God.  It is the unnatural thing to seek God, to want His will in my life.  Sometimes my kids struggle with making good choices and as we are talking about it they complain that it is not easy to obey.  They know I expect them to obey and I probably make it sound like it is easy.  Just do the right thing, just do it, don't fuss, don't waiver, just do it, follow God and do what is right.  We set that bar high, don't we?  We fuss at them, scold them, discipline them when they make poor and sinful choices.  We really expect them to make good decisions and we let them know that in no uncertain terms. 

 

Sin is normal.  Godly behavior is not.  It is kind of a shocker to my kids as they've gotten older when I explain this to them.  They have always believed that being a good boy or a good girl was normal and they were in trouble for not being normal – not being good.  Well I guess in a way that is not a bad idea for them to have.  But as my children have gotten older and made some bad conscious choices and felt remorse over them and frustration with their seeming inability to please God continually, I've had some talks with them about this complicated matter.  I tell them it is hard to follow God.  They look at me like I've said something bad.  We have this discussion frequently and as they get older their understanding of God is growing.  They are learning that is not easy but it is right and even though it is not easy, the pain of doing right is less than the eventual pain of doing wrong. 

 

It is such a simple thing that I have to learn over and over.  We are called to be abnormal creatures, not creatures of habit and instinct, not to do what comes natural and what feels good. 

 

So that's why I failed to study some of God's Word the past few days.  That's why I let things get too busy for God.  Not really because I was purposefully pushing God out, but instead because I was NOT purposefully pulling God into my life so to speak.  It is normal to not seek God.  I was acting normal.  So today on lunch I'll be opening God's Word.  And tomorrow morning I'll make time for a very unnatural act- meeting with my Lord and Savior and to read His words to me and talk with Him. 

 

I encourage you likewise; take time to have an UNnatural day.

 

Be encouraged and lead your families,

Philip Buford

 

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Christian Indignation?

“We’ve got to do something about this – call your Congressman…”

How often have you heard something like that? When did this shift in Western Christianity occur? This thought struck me the other day, that we rightly see things in this fallen world that make our (and God’s) heart sick – abortion, poverty, divorce, sexual deviancy, chemical abuse, etc… - but we have stopped reaching out to help people – instead we have turned to the government to shelter, insulate, and legislate the solution to these problems:

“Abortion is wrong! Call your congressman!”

“Homosexuality is wrong! Call your congressman – defend marriage!”

“Pornography is wrong! Call the FCC – defend our children!”

 

Are these sentiments wrong? At the root of it – of course not! Let’s think about something though – what does the Law do: heal or condemn? The Israelites were given the law – yet the majority of the time were just as sinful as their pagan neighbors. The law doesn’t do anything except condemn you. I think about Christian talk radio: I never hear things like “wow – isn’t abortion one of the saddest things? Please get out there and show the love of Christ to these women who are thinking about abortion – tell them the good news, tell them about adoption…” Instead I hear the opposite “Abortion should be illegal, shouldn’t it? How can any sane person not think that abortion is murder…”  then everyone calls in and agrees with how evil everyone is who agrees with abortion. Nice and Christ-like huh? The first thought seeks to heal the damaged soul that seeks to sin – the other seeks to simply stop the behavior. Hmmm…that would be peachy if good works could bring us into a life changing relationship with God. (Hint: it doesn’t).

It seems to me that the majority of modern Christians (myself included) have lost (or never even had) Christ’s love for sinners. Who did Jesus condemn and get angry with? The fakes. Jesus could not stand to be around those religious guys who acted like they were perfect, had all the answers, and knew how to fix everyone else. They thought everyone should ACT right instead of BEING right. Jesus knew the Jewish Law – He could have rained down a mountain on the adulterous woman the leaders brought before Him. Instead – He condemned them!

Listen, we live in a fallen and Godless world, just like the ancient Hebrews, just like the early Church – no amount of legislation will change people’s wicked hearts. We MUST get back to the Gospel if we want to change our world. The world sees right through hypocrisy and doesn’t care about rules. Why should they? We have something so much better than legislation and legalism to offer:

We have freedom! We have the broken chains of bondage laying about our feet – THAT is the message you should take to your Congressman:

You want drug abuse to stop – lead them to the Great Physician, whose love heals all pain – Jesus Christ.

You want to stop sexual sin – lead them to the lover of their soul – Jesus Christ.

 

There is great risk here – with legalism, you can at least attempt to control everyone’s behavior and create a comfortable lifestyle bubble around you. Simply preaching the Gospel and leaving people in the hands of the Spirit leaves you vulnerable. If you stop the gay couple from holding hands, you may feel more comfortable. If you tell them of Christ’s love and freedom from sin and they reject it – the behavior continues. So, you have to decide – what’s more important – stopping bad behavior or saving souls? Tell your Congressman.

 

Nathan Campbell
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