You Should Never Cry At a Funeral

Ok, you should never cry at funerals. I only typed that so you would read this because the statement is ludicrous. I am sitting at LAX airport. I just participated in the funeral of a dear friend of my wife and I. I cried like a baby because I am selfish. She's with Jesus but we all want her here being like Christ to us. So, technically the crying is over my selfish desire to have her here and not with Jesus. So, crying at the funeral of someone who loved Jesus is selfish. But in the midst of my selfishness I am again reminded to work hard, imagine, dream, and never quit. Why? Because my last breath us unknown. I have to quit jacking around while in this state on this earth. We all must. We just must quit playing games. It's short. It's really short. So, join me those who are reading this and dedicate yourself to living and loving Jesus in such a way that others cry at YOUR funeral! And act your funeral is today!

Missional is Positional

We have been plugging and I have been preaching the "missional life" concept for years. It's not new..just like everything else. If you hear the words innovative or new just get out an old crusty encyclopedia or do a Google and you will find out it's not new...nothing is. The first line of my book: "Do You Want to Go To The Mountain" is LIFE IS A MISSION TRIP. What I have been feasting upon and warming hands to is that this is easy to talk about but hard to teach. It's all great theory but harder to connect to people's mindset. Me living this way is great, needed, and a priority. This all must be modeled. I thought this would have the impact needed for others to follow almost as if they would "automatically" begin to live this way. Modeling it has inspired some but there are still so many nodding their head, "Yes" when I preach but are not tracking with it in their actions. Again, it sounds good to everybody: helping people and serving but it still comes back to, how does this become a lifestyle? How can you connect this into a lifestyle and not temporary behavior modification. There is no one answer but I have been seeing the answer to this as a positional question. What I mean is how do I see myself, my life, my job, and my family positionally. I have been put here, with these people, in this time for mission. I am not working downtown but rather I am positioned downtown. I am not just going to the grocery store but rather I am being sent by God to that position. Seeing my job not as "that's not where I have chosen to work" but rather this is WHERE GOD HAS POSITIONED ME. When we see what God has done to position us we will begin to have MISSION as a lifestyle. I have yet to take someone overseas who did not see this. They knew they were there on mission...that's why they came on the trip! They were in a certain place for a certain purpose. They were in a position for mission. So, if we can teach viewing our life as one of divine positioning we can more easily be ready to be on mission with God where we are and with WHAT we are doing!

What We are About?

One of my preaching hero's is C.H. Spurgeon. It sounds redundant to say that becasue he has been called the "prince of preachers". But when someone is awesome...they are awesome...and Spurgeon is awesome. Here is some sweet nectar I have been sucking on from the lips of Spurgeon:

"For we long to see all religious teaching built upon the solid rock of truth, and not upon the sand of imagination; but, at the same time, our grand object is not the revision of opinions, but the regeneration of natures. We would bring men to Christ, and not to our own peculiar views of Christianity. Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ!"

Feast on that!

I'm Going to India And Here's An Article About Where I'm Going

FAITH UNDER FIRE
Indian judges OK 'Hindu Taliban'
Police given unlimited power to jail those talking of Christ
Posted: August 11, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


The Supreme Court in India has given police across the nation unlimited power to arrest and detain anyone who has been accused of talking to another person about Christianity.

The report comes from the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, which issued the alert on its News & Analysis mailing list, and Assist News Service.

The WEA report by researcher Elizabeth Kendall said the ruling "opens the door for police with Hindutya sympathies to act as Hindu Taliban."


Hindutya is a militant Hinduism that seeks political and religious dominance.

"Nuns, pastors, bishops and evangelists, as well as Christian aid workers, teachers and social workers, are all immediately at risk of arrest and imprisonment because of their Christian witness," Kendall's report said.

As WorldNetDaily has reported, India is moving up on the list of nations around the world where Christians are persecuted.

"In fact, every Christian, actively witnessing or not, is at risk from hostile elements that may exploit the opportunity to bring false charges against them, inspired by a variety of motives, in the same manner that the blasphemy law is exploited for person gain in Pakistan," Kendall wrote.

The technical ruling from India's Supreme Court was that police are not required to have warrants to file First Issue Reports and arrest and detain suspects.

According to the Times of India, the ruling relieves police and prosecutors of the requirement of "prior sanction" from the federal or state governments, or a local prosecutor.

The previous practice that protected religious leaders in their speech was found in the Criminal Procedure Code, which says, "no court shall take cognizance" of a complaint about proselytizing unless there was government approval for the arrest.

But the new court ruling from Justices G.P. Mathur and Dalveer Bhandari said the only requirement for an arrest on those charges is a complaint, relieving police of that "authorization" requirement that was set for the courts.

The decision, described by the IndLaw.com website, came in a case involving Pastor Paulrai Raju of Kanartaka state. He was beaten by Hindus last year and arrested on charges of trying to convert Hindus to Christianity. His wife petitioned on the basis there was no warrant, and a lower court quashed the case.

But the state government appealed and the case eventually ended up before the Supreme Court.

Kendall's report said the Times of India noted the court explained that although a prior sanction would be required for a court to hear the case, that is not needed before someone could be accused by police, then arrested and detained, for proselytizing.

"Mere production of the arrested accused before the magistrate and the latter remanding him to custodial detention does not amount to taking cognizance of the offence, for which alone prior sanction is required," the court's opinion said.

my SPACE

Fads. That's what this post is. A response to a fad. It will go away...but for now I am a conformist. I hate that. Well, anyway. You keep hearing people say, "God wants to be a part of your life"! Or you must, "allow God to have access to every area of your life". Now, what does that mean? That God requires us to have a "My Space" account to have access to us, control of us, or realization about what is going on IN us? Wow. That God seems pretty small to me. Listen, God does not need "Your Space" or "My Space". He is! Omnipresence anyone? Should we surrender to HIM? Yes. But, GOD...Well...there's no space issue. That's some space!

The Fruit of Razor Blades

A few days ago I preached the "Do You Want to Go To The Mountain" message to a live audience of about 2,000 and media audience in the millions. That did not matter to me becasue of Mary. Not Jesus mother but a single mom of two boys that was in the service that night. She was one of the last ones to come up and speak with me after the service. She said she had been touched by God through the message and that she was ready to be "free" and go to the mountain! She wanted to experience HIS GLORY as the message shares. Before she walked away I received from her some of the "fruit" produced by God's Word in her that night. We often never see most of the fruit from the power of the preaching of HIs word. I am not concerned about ever seeing it becasuse it's God's business not mine. But I actually held the evidence of the "fruit" God produced in her that night. Right before she walked away she handed me a container of razor blades. They were huge and she had been a cutter. She was ready to use one of them one final time to end what she deemed as a life of misery. But, upon handing them to me she said, "I know God wants me to give these to you!" There I stood holding in my hand large razor blades handed to me by a woman who had just been touched by His glory. I never thought of holding the fruit of God before but the other night I did...and Mary nor I will never be the same again. We don't have to hold the fruit God produces but, should HE ever allow it, take hold of it as a revelation of HIS GLORY, that changes your life!

Next Day Roast

We have rash of the need for the "new"on our hands. There seems to be a passion for something to be new for to be relevant. Many are saying we need a new message or we need to repaint the message of Jesus. The new wave of promotion is about something being a secret the no one has ever discovered in God's Word or the Christianity needs to be revised for a new culture. There are some valid thoughts that have come from these promoters. However, what was cooked in the oven yesterday is sometimes even better today. I loved my mom's roast. But it was even better the next day. It had soaked all night in the gravy and it was awesome. It made a great sandwich too! Have you read what God cooked in John Owen or Jonathan Edwards dozens of years ago! The truth they shared makes a great sandwich before bed! Try reading them. You might just realized that God's word has an embedded relevance to it that has brewed and cooked in people's hearts for years. I am getting my own food from my own study. But it sure is good to sit and eat with them at a table. Go back and discover some of the "old" stuff and how good it is today! Why, it's from the WORD.