Is There Not A Cause?

What is lacking in the world today is a real committal to a cause. People are without direction. Like ships without rudders, tossed to and fro upon the restless waves by every wind of teaching or philosophy. Apathy permeates every echelon of man’s mundane and material existence. Nothing appears worth living or dying for. The question that leapt to the lips of the shepherd boy, David when he faced Goliath, needs to once more echo among God’s people in our land and in every land upon God’s good earth. The shepherd boy who became the man after God’s own heart cried out, "Is there not a cause?" He then proceeded to do mighty battle in the power of God for the noble cause of the destruction of evil and the preservation of God’s chosen people.

We seem to once again live in a day similar to the catastrophic day following the era of the Judges of Israel. Anarchy prevails and everyone is doing what is right in his own eyes. Which is normally what is wrong in the eyes of an eternally righteous Almighty God. All seek to be captains of their own souls, masters of their own fates, sailing their own ships and rowing their own canoes down the river of life, with no worthwhile spiritual destination or safe harbour in sight.

Even Christians seem to be afflicted with the same deadly malady, as they allow this world and it’s god to establish their standards, select their priorities and set their agenda. The failure of Christians to fully commit to Christ and present themselves as living, dedicated sacrifices to His cause, has led to great confusion in the world.

We are overwhelmed by the moral and ethical crisis threatening to destroy our nation and other nations with cultures previously called Christian. We are confused by the popular philosophies of secular humanism, relativism, situational ethics and post-modernism that have captured the hearts and minds of the masses. We are now seeing a deadly so-called emerging church movement threatening even evangelical Christianity.

We are puzzled by the prevailing promiscuity of our society. We are perplexed when the culture cries, "Assert your rights. If it feels good, do it!"

But God is calling for committal today on the part of His people. He is looking for those who will stand up, speak up and won’t be shut up, no matter how powerful the pressure or painful or embarrassing the world’s rejection. Those who will not cave in or succumb to the ridicule or scorn of their peers, the press or politicians. Those who will not be overly concerned about what the mainline or mainstream will think or say about them.

Those who are more concerned about God’s approval than the acceptance and applause of all the world around them. Yes, God is seeking those who care more about the future of their family, than financial success or failure. Those whose principles are not for purchase at any price. Those who do not mind the world knowing who they are and where they stand. Those will hold the line against accommodation and compromise whatever the cost.

Those who take seriously the words of Christ who said, "No man can serve two masters." Because truly, as has been said, "Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, in the strife "twixt truth and falsehood, for the good or evil side."

Only as people are truly converted and accept the challenge of true discipleship and the calling to commit their life and living to Christ, will the tides of evil that threaten to inundate and overwhelm our world be effectively countered.

The Perfect Place

Have you ever considered the best place to be in time of trouble? For the small animal, scurrying for safety in order to escape the sharp talons of a circling shadow, it may be crack in a rock. For the fox, relentlessly pursued by the pack, it may be his den. For the child, it may be his mother's arm. For the soldier, it may be a simple foxhole. For the weary traveller, it may be the light up ahead. For all these, who seek shelter in time of trial, trouble or tribulation, there is a perfect place.
Late one afternoon, many years ago when we lived In an area known as tornado alley, the flash of continuous lightening lighting the darkening sky and constant echo of the terrible roll of
thunder warned of impending disaster. As night approached, I became quite concerned that I might find a place of protection for me young family. I sought a place and found it.
But there were others who were not as fortunate. The next day, as a pastor, I visited my cousin, one of the survivors of the terrible storm that came that night, in a local hospital. His body was bruised, broken and battered. He told me of his ordeal. He, his wife and his in-laws, saw the same storm approaching, They hurriedly began to prepare to go to their elaborate outside concrete storm shelter to spend the night. Just as his wife approached the door to rush outside, she turned and embraced him and said, "Oh no, it's too late.." The next thing he remembered was being spun around high in the air as the terrible wind wrenched his wife from his arms. His wife was found a few hundred metres from him. She and her mother didn't survive.  They did not make it to their perfect place of shelter and refuge.
Sometimes a Christian needs a perfect place of shelter during the inevitable storms of life. The Christian life at best is a stormy and sometimes troubling and terrifying experience. Jesus said it would be so when He told us that in this world we would have tribulation. But the exact location of that perfect place for a Christian may vary with time and circumstance.

The perfect place for Noah was an Ark, Even though it had never rained in all of history, he was called to warn his friends and neighbors of the inconceivable judgment of God and invite them into that perfect place of shelter. He preached and warned for one hundred a twenty years, but they would not heed, so only eight souls found refuge in God's perfect place,

The perfect place for Enoch was taking a walk with Jehovah. Someone has envisioned it like this, "Enoch and Jehovah were walking along one day, and talking as they as the always did, when God noticed they had gone much further than ordinary. It was a long way home for Enoch. So God said to Enoch, 'Why don't you just come along to my place tonight, it's much closer than yours. It's a perfect place for you."
The perfect place for Abraham was not in the land of his birth, the Ur or Chaldee, but as a pilgrim and sojourner on a journey to a promised land. A city whose builder and maker was God. Later, the perfect place for his son, Issac, was lying atop a rough stone altar of sacrifice, on top of a mountain, trussed up hand and foot, awaiting the thrust of his father sacrificial knife.
The perfect place for Joseph was a pit, a prison and then a throne. The perfect place for Daniel was a lion's den. The perfect place for the three Hebrew children was a fiery furnace The perfect place for Job was sitting in an ash heap, covered with boils from head to toe, being tongue lashed by his fair weather friends and nagged by an unrelenting wife. The perfect place for Jonah was the belly of a whale. The perfect place for David was hiding from the wrath of Saul in a Judean cave. The perfect place for Elijah was beside a brook being fed by the ravens. The perfect place for John the Baptist was in Herod's prison awaiting the executioner's axe. The perfect place for Paul was a basket on a city wall and later a cold, dark, dank cell in the Marmertine prison on the banks of the Tiber river.   The perfect place for our Savior was a manger, a garden, a hill and a cross.
What do all these places have in common and what is the perfect place for a Christian? Obviously, it is sheltering in the very center of God's will. Even in the greatest tribulation, those who turn to God and trust in Him, will find a perfect place of rest and peace!

I Have My Own Religion!

"I have my own religion!,"  the man said indignantly. Hardly a day passes in door knocking endeavors without such an encounter occurring. Normally the statement is made is such a way as to dismiss any idea of further pursuit of the matter of how one really becomes a Christian. And as a rule, the sincerity of the statement cannot be called into question.
But herein lies the real problem. The fervency and sincerity of the respondent does not negate the falsity of the underlying philosophy. In fact, I'm always reminded of the old cliche', "Do you have a solution? Or are you a part of the problem!" Religion, the solution proposed by such a philosophy, is often the real problem.
The Pharisees, who constantly criticized and questioned the message and methodology of Jesus as He sought to share His message of repentance and faith with sinners, were perhaps the most religious people of all history. Paul, who was one of them, gave testimony to their deep sincerity and overwhelming religious zeal. But he said none of this was of God. He correctly saw their religious rituals and liturgical litanies as merely thinly disguised attempts to establish their own righteousness.
The purpose of all their religious mumbo jumbo, do good philosophy and self-justification, Paul said, was to enable them to personally avoid submitting themselves to the righteousness of God, as expressed in the person and purpose of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross. As long as they religiously maintained such a false facade, they would not have to swallow their false pride and humble themselves in simple childlike repentance and faith, trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him alone, for salvation and eternal life. (See Ro. 10:1-3)
Things have not changed a great deal in this area as time has passed. The same philosophy, still seems to be prevalent today. Such false teaching permeates the altars and is proclaimed from the pulpits of some of the most ornate cathedrals of our time. We hear the same sentiments espoused by the most modern of so-called theologians. We see such religion walking up and down our streets every weekend. I shudder to think of the greater condemnation modern-day Pharisees, who have led people to trust religious rituals and their own imagined good works, will face at the Judgement.
The sad fact of the matter, for those who "have their own religion", is that religion will not save. Religion is what we imagine we do for God. True Christianity is what God has done for us, Religion is man looking for and seeking God. True Christianity is God seeking and finding man. Religion says do. True Christianity says that Christ has done it all on the Cross long ago. It is finished.
Religion says look at me. My good works. My form of godliness. My beautiful rituals. My piety. My holiness. My sacrifices. True Christianity says look to the lifted-up Christ of Calvary and the judgment scorched earth all around. What man needs is personal salvation rather than religion. But just how can you personally receive this salvation? -

1. Understand that you are personal sinner Jesus died for. (Romans 3:23)
2. Accept that your sin will separate you from God forever. (Romans 6:23)
3. Know that Christ died for you personally on the cross. (Romans 5:8)
4. Repent (be sorry for, confess, turn from) your sin. (Luke 13:3)
5. Believe (rely upon, trust absolutely) the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ro. 10:9-10)