Tag: world

  • Fire is Free

    Photo by Harsha K R via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    I was listening to a message by Rob Bell a few years ago and someone posed the question to him, “Why do people drive for hours to be a part of Mars Hill.” His answer was profound and simple: “People will drive from miles around to see what’s on fire.”

    Very true, isn’t it?

    When I read the book of Acts I am sucked into the story of both the fire God started and the massive attention that fire drew wherever the Apostles traveled. Sure, there was spectacle on the day of Pentecost where God dropped tongues of fire on believers as they were indwelled with the Holy Spirit.

    Yet they only grew by a few thousand that day.

    By the end of Acts there were tens of thousands of believers. (Maybe more?) They had unleashed a virus of forgiveness of sins and restoration of relationship that the Roman army couldn’t stamp out. By Acts 28, what started as a small fire in Jerusalem was spreading. God had captured hearts whereas other gods and kingdoms tried to capture their bodies– and the Romans simply couldn’t shut down a virus that spread with love.

    Because of the division between Luke-Acts we lose sight of the resolution of the story of Jesus’ ministry. While the credits roll and Easter is celebrated at the empty tomb, the story isn’t over!

    The story is really just beginning.

    It was a virus so strong that within three centuries it would topple the most powerful and dominant empire the world has ever seen.

    The empty tomb is the climax. But the unleashing of God’s people by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are the resolution.

    Why did Jesus come to earth? Surely, to seek and save the lost. Surely, to make a way for salvation of all who seek him. Of course those are reasons He came to earth.

    But it was also to unleash a fire through his believers that can’t be stopped.

    For 2,000+ years the fire has burned as the only hope of the planet spreads. While evil has appeared from every direction over millennia the fire has spread. Even as martyrs were literally burned at the stake they passed the flames on with their love. The fire is shared from father to son, neighbor to neighbor, classmate to classmate, and homeless man to executive.

    A lot of people I know are disappointed in God today. A new year has dawned and they look at the resources they have available, they scratch their heads, they look at the agenda God has laid on their heart, and they cry silently– God, there is no way I can do this with the resources I have.

    Unfortunately, too many of my friends in ministry woke up this morning wondering if God has still called them to a life in ministry.

    To both, I have this simple reminder from Acts: Fire is free.

    The great Hope of the world flows from the pores of our weakness. While we may be depressed by a lack of resources or even a lack of a job– be encouraged the your greatest calling spreads fastest through people with no resources, no stock piles, and nothing left but a flickering flame.

  • Animism Invades Christianity

    animism-christianity

    Are people generally looking to do bad things in the world? Is the world full of evil people set out to destroy you? If you take some doctrine too seriously you fall into this heretical view of life.

    Here’s what I mean. A lot of Christians go through life scared of “the world.” You can show them proof that crime is down in America. You can ask them about the people that they know personally. And you can ask them about their personal experiences of good people versus evil people. And yet a perversion of the doctrine of man will lead them to believe that all people are out to get them. Trust me, there’s a reason for this.

    Any reasonable observation of human behavior reveals the opposite… most people are generally good. Every person is not a potential murderer or rapist. Every person isn’t trying to rob you. Every person is not trying to knock you down. On and on.

    In short, we have a  tendency to believe the Fall of man overrides the benevolence of God. We do believe that all Goodness in the world comes from God, right?

    So why do most believers in Jesus Christ believe that the world is evil and full of people out to get them? My opinion is this: Too often the church, a place they trust to tell them the truth, is the one perpetrating this view of life that God’s creation is all-evil, all the time!

    Why? Because creating a culture of fear leads to increased giving. (Increased giving means your church is successful, right?) Appealing to fear is easy access to cash. It’s a primal response true of people of all walks of life and belief systems. And the people who give to God out of fear don’t want to believe that they got ripped off… so they inherently believe that their giving has somehow protected them from the stuff the leader scared them about. (the church closing, their kids being conscripted by the world, their family falling apart, etc.) This is far different from giving an offering from a cheerful heart, isn’t it? Giving to a cause purely as a way to appease God to protect them from the boogie man… that’s not Christianity at all– that’s animism!

    Take some time to observe how church leaders use fear to raise money. [This doesn’t happen everywhere or all the time.] Watch TV and pay close attention to how a charity uses fear to separate you from your cash. Fear is the easiest way to convince a person to donate. I would dare say that many church leaders are so ingrained in this culture of fear that they don’t even intentionally use fear to raise money. But they do it instinctively because they know it brings the money. I won’t give examples of the phrases leaders use to do this. I want to challenge you to observe it for yourself. Oh, it’s ingrained in sophisticated ways!

    My belief system recognizes that while there is evil in the world, and while we are all inherently sinners to the core… people are generally good. People generally chose to do good over evil. The world is safe. And I refuse  to allow fear  to override enjoying the benevolence of God in His creation. See my examples below for proofs.

    Addendum #1: Of course, the culture of fear isn’t just for believers. Fear of bad stuff happening leads you to vote for candidates, vote to increase your taxes, support political ideologies contrary to your belief system– on and on.Any time someone is trying to manipulate you to their position… watch how they intuitively use fear and perpetrate this heretical view that the world is a horrible place.

    Addendum #2: I’ve used fear to get you to read this blog post– the title and imagery were chosen to appeal to your sense of fear. Twisted stuff, isn’t it?

    (more…)

  • Drag and drop world

    For those of you who like to think of the world in computer terms, you will love this. I love this style of animation!