What Is A Fundamentalist... Really?

This is the day after our church softball team played its first game of the season.  We are the newbies in the league so my expectations this first year out were not that we would dominate the season!  I expected we would lose some games, especially early on. Well, we lost.  What can I say but they just flat played better than we did.  They also knew some of the nuances of the co-ed setup and the particulars of the playing field that we didn't yet know, but even so, we lost on the fundamentals of the game. 

Life is like that.  Sometimes we struggle with the basics.  The fundamentals of any sport, trade or profession must be mastered if we are to perform well.  A mechanic or a plumber must learn certain basic skills before he can go on to be a master at his trade.  An artist must learn certain fundamental concepts and how to perform them before he can go on to explore the more innovative and complex aspects of his craft.  There are certain fundamentals associated with business, accounting, food preparation, Medicine, Law, and any other discipline you want to name.  Learning these basics is the key to success.

As Christians, we have certain fundamentals as well.  The core elements of the faith cannot be forsaken or ignored without weakening the entire structure of Christianity.  Some have mistakenly claimed that we can make room for those who, for instance, refuse to accept the doctrine of a literal Resurrection.  However, the Apostle Paul demonstrates in his first epistle to the Corinthians (Chapter 15) that without this core element of our faith we have no faith left at all! 

What fundamental disciplines are necessary for successful Christian living?  I think we can name three: Bible Study, Prayer, and Corporate Worship.  These three, if practiced regularly, will ultimately result in the practice of other Christian works such as evangelism, giving, showing mercy, and living a pure life.

How are you doing with the fundamentals?  How about today?  It's not too late to get into the Word, all by yourself, to let God speak to your heart.  Now is as good a time as any to make sure God hears from you in prayer.  If we fall short in softball, we still had the benefit of the exercise and enjoyed some fun with the team.  Win or lose, we can say we had a good time and it was worth the effort to play.  There is no real eternal value in a game of softball.  Our faith, however, holds the promise of a life of joy for now and the promise of eternal rewards.

Every true Christian is a fundamentalist, in the sense that he believes and practices the core elements of his faith.  Let's be continuous students of these great truths and continuous practitioners of these basic Christian disciplines.

Who Will Cry at Your Funeral?

I read somewhere about a pastor who was stressed and weary with trying to please everyone and accomplish many things.  He finally came to the realization that it was most important for him to be with and serve "the ones who will be weeping at my funeral."  He had allowed himself to be stretched so thin that he lost sight of those closest to him, and while trying to serve everyone he was not doing much good for anyone.  He was ignoring his own family while trying to reach other families.  His testimony was that he "came to himself" and began to spend the quality time necessary to nurture his own closest relationships and then discovered that he was much more effective at reaching others.

In Christian service, we are called to be selfless.  We are to flesh out the gospel in ways that demonstrate the grace of God in our lives.  Our own close personal relationships represent the first arena of Christian devotion.  Indeed, as the Apostle Paul put it, "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."  (I Tim. 5:8)   I do not think this just means physical needs.  We are to provide love, encouragement, prayer, and emotional support to our loved ones.  Too often we use people to perform our programs rather than use the programs to build people.

Who will be weeping at your funeral?  Those dear ones are your family and closest friends.  We can make an effective witness to non-Christians by being better at life than those without Christ.  More people will be impressed with the life changing gospel if they can see some improved lives!  Notice that Christ, while certainly available to the multitudes, spent most of his time with twelve intimate friends called "disciples".  These men who had spent such time with Jesus went out to literally change the world!  They were the ones who wept at his funeral.  They were also the ones who went on the practice love and worship with their brothers and sisters in the church setting.

Paganism eventually gave way to Christianity because the teachings of Jesus proved to be a better way to live.  In these times in which we live, not unlike that of the first century church, we must present Christ and his truths in both word and deed.  Let's strengthen our relationships.  Open the doors that have been closed too long.  Express the feelings that have been bottled up too long.  Ask God to help you be the husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, or friend that you should be.  Make your best service of all toward those who will be weeping at your funeral.

Quotes:

 "When we stand before God, He's not going to look us over for medals or degrees; He's going to look us over for scars."  Billy Sunday

“Faith makes a Christian.  Life proves a Christian.  Trials confirm a Christian.  Death crowns a Christian.”  -  Anonymous

“If a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere.”  Henry Ward Beecher

 "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa....It is emphatically no sacrifice.  Say rather it is a privilege."  David Livingstone

Time - The Stuff Life Is Made of

This week I experienced a first.  Although I am 50 years old and have been very active all of those years, I have, for the first time in my entire life, picked out, bought, and hung my own wall calendar!
 
I know this may seem like a small matter to most people, but until this year, I would always just hang up whatever calendar I got from some business that mailed me one for free.  Sometimes it might be an office supplies store, insurance company, or the local funeral home.  In fact, I must admit that because it came free, I did not really appreciate the fact that somebody had to design it, pick out the pictures, make sure all the holidays were properly highlighted and print thousands of them.  What a wonderful and helpful tool this is!
 
Well, not only do I have my very own personally picked out calendar, I have along with it a New Year's resolution to improve my calendar skills.  For many this is just a natural part of every day life, but for us who are "calendar challenged" it takes more of a conscious effort.  I do not have any real problem keeping busy.  I have always managed to fill a week, month, and year with productive activity, but my innate lack of calendar friendliness has sometimes thrown a wrinkle into my schedule.  Things can sneak up on me sometimes.  So, this year I got some help from my wife and marked my own calendar, for the whole year, with all kinds of reminders of important dates.
 
Of course it helps to not only look at the calendar but to study it.  For example I noticed that this month all the Sunday's dates are a multiple of seven.  Next month it will not be that way so I must think of some other trick for getting the calendar in my head so when I am away from it I still have a handle on it.  Funny how I can remember the words to hundreds of songs and hundreds of scripture passages but have a hard time recalling what date the second Tuesday of Feb. falls on.  I am always impressed when someone knows the answer just as readily as if they were looking at the calendar with both eyes!  I sometimes have to think about it to remember what day it is today!
 
The calendar is a living, breathing thing.  It changes each year.  It reflects the past centuries of traditions, occasional tinkering and, if we are truthful, is somewhat unwieldy, yet we all are either served by it, or tyrannized by it, depending on how we choose to relate to it.
 
The calendar is a thing of this world.  The very names of the days retain their pagan roots.  SUNday, MOONday, Tuesday (after the god Tyr), Wodensday (Odin), Thorsday (Thor), Friday (the goddess Frigga), SATURNday.
 
The months also bear witness to the pagan origins of our calendar.  Janus (roman deity with two faces), Februa, (Roman festival of purification), March (Mars the war god), April (Aprilis, the season of fertility), May (Maia goddess of growth), June (wife of Jupiter), August (emperor of Rome and claimant to deity).  The rest are simply Latin numbers.
 
It's enough to make you wonder why Christians did not develop and adopt an alternate calendar system rather than use one with so much pagan leftovers in it!  Yet, we do use it, and we use it effectively every day, to do good works.  It is a universally accepted tool of keeping track of time.  It helps us keep appointments, plan our work, keep track of anniversaries, and mark the amount of time we have spent alive on this planet.
 
Where am I going with this?  We must all live where we live.  We live in time.  We live here and now.  Let's make the most of our time.  Let's get to know it well.  Every month, every week, every day.  Let's "redeem the time for the days are evil".  Join me in working with this calendar thing to make this year count for the Lord Jesus Christ!
 
Quotes:
 "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that the stuff life is made of."  Benjamin Franklin

 "What we love to do we find time to do."  John L. Spalding

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."  Annie Dillard
 
and for balance.... "Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save."  Will Rogers

The Main Thing

Someone once said, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."  Priorities are necessary if we are to please God and fulfill our purpose for living.  If we place too much time or emphasis on the trivial we may do so and the expense of the crucial.  When we make the unimportant important, we cannot help but make the important unimportant.
 
What is the main thing?  Does God give us direction here?  How do we determine what is actually worth our most energetic attention?  How do we discover what things God Himself would have us focus on and what He thinks is not worthy of our interest or passion?
 
We typically divide our activity into work and hobbies (vocation and avocation).  Both are important for a healthy and well balanced life, but what about when we allow our hobbies to become too prominent?  Can a benign and harmless side matter become malignant and injurious to us if we allow it to subtract from the # 1 thing in life?  I think it can.
 
God gave us two great big commandments.  He gave us two large and worthy goals to achieve: 1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. and 2. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  He went on to define your “neighbor” as including (The story of the Good Samaritan) those you may consider to be outside your comfort zone, yes those "other people".
 
Surely our personal time with God is the most important thing we do in any given day.  This time alone will cause us to be more willing and able to perform the second great commandment, namely to love others.  Whatever we allow to get in the way of performing these two great commandments is, at best, a poor display of priorities.  At worst it is just plain old fashioned sin.
 
We who claim to be true followers of Jesus should be so in tune with Him that we do not substitute uniformity for unity.  We do not substitute outward appearance for inward holiness and we do not fight and war to achieve recognition or place others in a bad light.  "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." Phil. 2:3
 
When we have a healthy devotional life and when we worship as sincerely as we should, we will automatically gravitate toward our higher calling.  The small things will mind their places and the vital things will take the places of honor that they alone deserve.
             
Quotes...  
 
Forgiveness:
 
"He who has not forgiven an enemy has never yet tasted one of the most sublime enjoyments of life."  Johann Kaspar Lavater
 
          ***************
" 'I can forgive, but I cannot forget', is only another way of saying, I will not forgive.  Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one."  Henry Ward Beecher
 
          ***************
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."   Lewis B. Smedes
 
          ***************
 
"The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."  Mahatma Gandhi(Hey, Hindu or not, when he's right, he's right!)
 
          ***************
 
Faith:
 
"Faith is the daring of the soul to go father than it can see."   William Newton Clark
 
           ***************

"Faith looks up the stairs that Love has made and looks out the windows which Hope has opened."   C.H. Spurgeon
 
           ***************
"Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."  Augustine

Secularizing Christmas

"The most wonderful time of the year" is one great lyric that describes the Christmas season.  Here at Bridge Church we do not secularize the traditions that we have held for centuries concerning the birth of Christ.  While we may celebrate his Nativity each December with all kinds of traditions, we actually celebrate his coming to earth all year round!  While we may celebrate his Resurrection each Spring with our Easter traditions, we actually celebrate the Resurrection each Sunday of the year!  These national holidays are times when this country recognizes its religious heritage.  I am glad that there are still so many who pay tribute to Christ at these special times.
 
Yet, as December 25th approaches, we are reminded that we live in an increasingly hostile environment when it comes to the celebration of Jesus' birthday.  It has become potentially offensive to even wish someone a Merry Christmas, or refer to the brilliantly decorated tree downtown as a Christmas tree, rather than the new politically correct term "holiday tree". 
 
It is funny how no one tries to call Abraham Lincoln's birthday "Log Cabin Day".  We are not pressed to call George Washington's birthday "Powdered Wig Day", "Cherry Tree Day", or "Wooden Teeth Day".  We have no problem recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday in recognition for his efforts for civil rights.  Even Elvis' birthday draws no attempts to change it to some new name that leaves out his name such as "Rockabilly Day".
 
So why all the uneasiness among the secularists about Jesus Christ as a truly great human figure?  Why is it becoming increasingly popular to secularize His birthday to the point that he virtually disappears?  I think the answer may be in the fact that the name of Jesus Christ has real authority and power.  His name draws one to either worship Him, or feel threatened by his claims.  Even though there are those who have tried to deify some great men,  (There is even an "Elvis Church" in Las Vegas where you can get married)  the fact is nobody feels threatened by Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., or Elvis Presley.  We all know that whoever they were, and whatever they did, they are all in their graves, and have no claim upon our lives in any spiritual way.  Christ, on the other hand, claimed to be God in the flesh, Savior of the world, Judge of the world, and Coming King!
 
In a way it is a credit to the power of Christ that his name creates, at the same time, such adoration, worship and recognition as well as such scorn, spite, and resentment.  If he were just another great teacher or just another good deed doer, his name would not be so offensive to the militant secularists.  If he was only remembered for making some great contribution to mankind, but did not make his amazing claims to be the One before whom we must ALL stand one day to give account of our lives, modern America would not have a problem with calling it a Christmas tree, saying Merry Christmas, or having the celebration of His birthday be recognized in clear terms.
 
"The most wonderful time of the year" is indeed, upon us.  The prophecies of God's prophets were fulfilled in Him and are still being fulfilled.  The aged Simeon said, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against..."  Simeon foretold that this Jesus would shake things up!  He would elevate some and bring down others!  He would have detractors, enemies!
 
While it may seem offensive to those of us who love and worship Christ to see the popular culture play games with the holiday that celebrates Jesus’ birth, in a way, it should affirm our faith in Him!  Only a truly Holy God/Man could illicit such scorn from the unholy.  Only a truly great man could threaten the small minded.  Only One who was truly God in the flesh could bring out the best as well as the worst in fallen mankind.  This was foretold, and we see it with our very eyes.  This same dynamic was why he was crucified, why Christians were martyred, why the gospel is resisted, and why the current societal power brokers want to place Christ in the shadows of our culture.
 
For those who understand scripture, this present darkness makes the bright light of Bethlehem shine even brighter!  Let's keep our witness clear.  Let's make the most of the season as long as we have freedom to do so.  Let's invite our friends, co-workers and neighbors to celebrate Jesus' birthday with us as we present the Christmas story through song, drama, worship and proclamation.  Maybe some will see Christ in His true light, and be led to accept Him as Savior and Lord!
 
Quotes:

 "Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time."  Oswald Chambers
      
" Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails."  French proverb
 
"The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others."   Unknown

Politicians

We are in a political year.  This means that certain high profile persons will be striving to become their party's candidate, and then these candidates will be striving for power against the other party's candidates for political office.  The goal of every election, every debate, as well as every war is basically the same.  It is to answer the question, "Who will rule?"  Now this may at first sound cynical, but it isn't necessarily so.  Someone can want to rule because he truly believes that his skills and policies will result in the improvement of his country and that the citizens will be better off with his administration than with that of his opponent.  Political campaigning is the art of getting other people to agree with you so that you can occupy the position of power.  As such it can bring out the best and the worst among us.  Often the art of politics is reduced to denigrating the other candidate and using unfair and manipulative tactics to ruin their name.
 
Politics can be a nasty business especially when the interests of a few are promoted at the expense of the many.  Too often politicians misuse the process and abuse their positions to pad their own nest and reward their supporters with sweetheart deals, kickbacks, and inside information to give their relatives and friends an unfair advantage in the quest for wealth.  Another great evil is the concept that there are some who are born or determined to be a "ruling class" over others.  They view the masses as fools to be fooled and dupes to be duped.  They will say what the voters want to hear and set their sails to catch the wind of popular opinion, knowing that once elected, they can pursue their agenda, that if they had revealed it up front, they never would have been elected.  They are elitists.
 
There are, however, many good public servants and statesmen who disdain such practices and have good ethics.  These will be up front and honest about what they believe and what they intend to do.  They will not tell one crowd one thing and then tell another crowd another thing.  They will be the same in office as they were on the campaign trail.  They will avoid nepotism, cronyism, and all other forms of corruption.  Our country has been blessed with such men and women.  May their kind increase!  Character does, indeed, matter.
 
Jesus warned us about being influenced by the secular political mentality.  In Mark 10, two of His disciples (James and John) came to Jesus to ask if they could sit one on one side and one on the other side of His throne when He set up His kingdom.  This brazen move to acquire prominence was not well received by the other disciples!  We find these men from time to time arguing over who should be the greatest.  They were already striving to pick their titles and positions in the upcoming political setup.
 
The Lord responded thusly, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
 
Jesus was giving them a new and better attitude.  He was also using Himself as an example.  Truly Jesus did not forsake his title as Lord.  He did not abdicate his position as the only begotten Son of God.  He did not stop being THE authority in their lives but he did exemplify divine servanthood.  His power was never forced on anyone.  He did not impose laws except the laws of love, and these are given never taken.  He did not try to destroy anyone else or topple anyone else from power.  He simply held to a high standard of selfless love and service to others.  His disciples were to follow His lead.
 
We are to be political without being selfish.  We are to influence others without being manipulative.  We are to provide opportunities for others to display their best attributes, for their own benefit, not for our own profit, power, or pride.  We are to serve, not be served.  We are to give, not take.  We are to think, act, live, and even die for the welfare of others.  Politics, as practiced in the secular realm, is not to be found in the church.  We are not to "strive" but "be gentle".  In the body of Christ, we are to recognize the gifts that God gives to each of us and lovingly work together for the conversion of the lost, the edification of the saints, and the glory of our Savior!  The Holy Spirit guides us in this wonderful harmony and serves as a witness to the world that Christ is real and makes a difference in people's lives.
 
  Quotes:

"I'm convinced more than ever that man finds liberation only when he binds himself to God and commits himself to his fellow man."  Ronald Reagan
     
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in like you will have been all of these."  George Washington Carver
    
"I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself."  Aldous Leonard Huxley
     
 "Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it."   Colin Powell

Inner Light?

Spirituality is a universal human trait.  Although there are those who have tried to suppress or deny their innate spiritual sense by claiming to not believe in God, the truth is that deep down in the heart of everyone there is the awareness of something other than the material world that we can see.  As the French philosopher Blaise Pascal said, "There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus”
 
When one tries to deny what his own heart knows to be true he becomes frustrated.  This can result in anger, anxiety, depression, and any number of conditions that will deny him joy and cause him to seek solace in pleasures or intellectual pursuits.  When it comes to the unbeliever, the drunkard and the secular humanist philosopher may be both just trying to deal with the pain of an empty life.  The playboy and the workaholic may both be trying to suppress that nagging little voice that says something is very wrong and your soul is in danger.
 
The light of the gospel is a wonderful thing but it may hurt the eyes of those who have shut them against that light for so long that the darkness is comfortable to them now.  To have to see those things which the light reveals is unpleasant because the lost man does not want to repent of his sins and does not want to submit to the Lord.  The Bible says, in 2 Cor. 4:3-4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."  Also we read that "men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."
 
Whenever a lost person comes to a place where the light is shone, he is being drawn of God to make a choice to accept or reject the gospel.  The work of the church, our work as individual believers, is to shine the light of God's truth in any and every way we can.  Light will penetrate darkness.  It always wins over darkness and will ultimately abolish darkness.  Let's be sure our lamps are in good working order.  When the wick is trimmed, and the oil reservoir is full, and the lamp is not hidden, but lifted high to shine brightly, the darkness must give way. 
 
Quotes...  
 
Intellectualism:
 
"One learns through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect."  Mark Twain
 
 "Character is higher than intellect.  A great soul will be strong to live as well as to think."  Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."  Galileo
       
Prov. 1:7"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
          
Illumination:  “All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.” Blaise Pascal
           
"Light itself is a great corrective. A thousand wrongs and abuses that are grown in darkness disappear, like owls and bats, before the light of day."  James Abram Garfield
          
"The thing to do is to supply light and not heat."   Thomas Woodrow Wilson

How to Avoid Improvement

This has been running around in my head for some time. I thought I would go ahead and make a list of the ways we rob ourselves of life's best.  I hope God uses this to spark some positive changes in us all.
 
How to Avoid Improvement:

1. Always assume it is others who need to improve.
2. Maintain a “can’t do” attitude.
3. Gossip about others regularly.
4. Find those who will agree with you about everything and stick only with them.
5. Limit yourself to those tasks that you can do with ease.
6. Let everything “happen” to you.  Do not make any real choices.
7. Complain about how everything “happens” to you.
8. Harbor envy.
9. Trash your spouse to your friends.
10.  Assume that if another is successful, he must be crooked.
11.  Always make excuses for why you failed.
12.  Place “Murphy’s Laws” on your wall at home of the office and buy into that stuff.
13.  Never break out of your safety zone.
14.  Never break out of your comfort zone.
15.  Let criticism rule your life.
16.  Believe the worst about others.
17.  Believe most things are too difficult for you.
18.  Don’t read books.
19.  Do watch lots of TV.
20.  Do what you do for the money.
21.  Do what you do for the approval of others.
22.  Cheat when you can get away with it.
23.  Avoid physical exercise.
24.  Try to get by with the minimum effort.
25.  Say, “That’s not my job.”
26.  Believe you are special.
27.  Believe others owe you something.
28.  Accuse others of what you know, deep down in your heart, is true about your own self.
29.  Do not ask God “What can I do for your glory?”
30.  Do not ask others, “What can I do to help you?”
31.  Believe that life it supposed to be easy.
32.  Expect others to make your life easier.
33.  Get angry when others fail to make your life easy.
34.  Blame others with your own failures.
35.  Make sure you get credit for everything you do.
36.  Make others look bad when you can get away with it.
37.  Be cynical because being cynical is “cool”.
38.  Be emotionally invested in other people's failure.
39.  Be a taker.
40.  Whine a lot.
41.  Reject your elders’ counsel.
42.  Believe your elders are stupid, ignorant, or un-hip.
43.  Listen more to other losers than to winners.
44.  Trust your own emotions.
45.  Never apologize because you are never wrong.
46.  Hold a grudge because you believe it will actually hurt the other person more than it hurts yourself.
47.  Never become silent and submissive in the very presence of God.
48.  Make excuses for why you can’t do something
49.  Blame God for your depression.
50.  Believe that self promotion is a form of improvement.
 
Quotes:

 "A ship cannot move with yesterday's winds"  (Unknown)

 "What lies behind us and what lies before us are
small matters compared to what lies within us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he isn't.
A sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is."
Horace Walpole
 
 "Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death."
Betty Bender