Reprinted by permission
See more at http://kohd.org.
Family
The First C
Reprinted by permission
See more at http://kohd.org. And if you like what you see as much as I do, feel free to contribute to Knocking on Heavens Door.
Life’s Preaching
Judging Others
“Those People” Need Christ Too
by G C Forsman
Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks your
~ Casting Crowns
As Christians, we are doing an absolutely horrible job of sharing Christ with with world. I have thought this for some time now, and a recent post (An Open Rebuke… Er… Letter to the Western Church) by my friend Daniel M. Klem got me to thinking.
Certainly there are great people that God is using to make a difference, but what about each and every one of us who claim to be Christians? Are we doing our part? How many people have you spoken with about Christ lately? How many Gay people have you convinced that Christians do not hate them? How many times have you crossed the racial lines to show the love of Christ? Do your actions show others that Christ really does make a difference in your life? Do your actions make others want what you have, or do they drive people further from Christ?
Paula White said, “God doesn’t focus on your current state, He speaks to you from your future! He knows your potential!” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we saw the potential in each other instead of everything that’s wrong with a person. Maybe if we spent less time talking about people, and more time praying for them things could change.
Make an effort to love others through Christ as they are,
and leave it up to God to transform their lives!
~ Paula White
The Prayer
I have shared this before, but it seems extraordinarily appropriate that I share it again today.
The List
Zimmerman Trial: Reality?
by G C Forsman
Now that everyone has had a night to sleep on it, let us take a realistic look at the Zimmerman trial.
In recent history, there have been a few trials that have captured the country’s attention and caused division among the American people. OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, and now George Zimmerman are prime examples.
The days of news and information are long gone, Walter Cronkite must be appalled by what is happening in the media. Today’s newscasts are News Entertainment Shows, with the emphasis on entertainment. Have you stopped to think about why there is so much unrest about what happens in the courts? Let’s take a little journey, keep an open mind, we can figure this out.
OJ Simpson was crucified by media and others. He was tried and convicted before the trial even started. Casey Anthony was declared the most horrible woman in history, and George Zimmerman was branded a racist. Was their portrayal accurate, were they deserving of the infamous notoriety? News media filled our heads with so-called facts about what happened, when in reality their comments were based on pure conjecture unclouded by actual facts.
As these trial began, we thought we knew what the outcome would be. None of the presupposed outcomes were delivered. The actual facts delivered in the courtrooms did not match the media hype.
Now let’s look a bit deeper into the Zimmerman case. This was a horrible tragedy, a young man’s life was ended before it ever got started. According to the media, Martin was an innocent youth walking home from the store. According to Zimmerman, Martin was entirely to blame for the situation. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
The media built a story that Martin was a good boy and the victim of racism. Information that came out in other markets claimed that Martin was a troubled youth on drugs, involved in a jewelry store robbery and the break in and robbery of a local home. In actuality, it is possible that both of these played a role in this situation? Is it possible that Zimmerman had racist issues despite having white, hispanic, and black heritage? Is it possible that Martin was acting suspiciously, and possibly known in the neighborhood as a young wanna-be gangster?
The real question in the Zimmerman case is about the stand your ground law. Does a person have the right to protect themselves and use whatever force they deem necessary to provide that protection? Is it possible to see into a person’s mind to determine whether or not they believed their life was in danger? Should the law be changed or abolished?
We all need to take a step back, stop attempting to make everything about race, and look at reality. In a recent poll on television, the “news entertainment world” has deemed that racism is once again growing in our country and that division along racial lines is worse now than it has been in quite a few years. Why is that? Who or what is driving people on all sides to foster hatred for each other?
God has been being systematically removed from our society in earnest since the 1960s. Without faith, there is no hope. And without hope, people wallow in the pool of darkness that has become our society unable to see good in anything or anyone. The morality of our society is unraveling at an unprecedented pace and instead of placing the blame where it belongs (on ourselves for allowing the moral decay of our nation) we blame everyone else. We refuse to take responsibility for our actions, and seek any reason we can conjure up to point at someone else because we could not have possibly been so stupid or morally inept to have caused any of this mess ourselves. Search for God while He may be found, turn from the wickedness, and begin anew. Allow God to show you the love and peace your life should have, and allow Him to use you to show that love and peace to someone else. Love, peace, and morality will begin to grow exponentially, and our society will begin to turn around.
Mixed Messages
Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee
Author Unknown
A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The granddaughter then asked, “What does it mean, Grandmother?”
Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water — but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her granddaughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?
ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?
What is a Christian’s Role in the World
by G C Forsman
Everywhere you look, there are Christians being persecuted.
Hindu Extremists Refuse to Let Christians Buy and Sell in India
Christian Couple Attacked for Refusing to Recant Faith
Priest Beheaded as Crowd Cheers
School Shuts Off Mic as Valedictorian Voices Faith
Here in America, we know our country was founded on Biblical Principles. However, that doesn’t matter to people today. The church has always been persecuted. Jesus said “Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20, NKJV)
Murder is being committed in incredible numbers and justified a choice.
Doctor Found Guilty of First Degree Murder in Philadelphia Abortion Case
Second House of Horrors, Abortion Clinic is Investigated in Texas
“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13, NKJV)
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you.” (Jeremiah 1:5, NKJV)
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:13–16, NKJV)
Gay Marriage is Accepted and Glorified
College Professor Demands Students Support Homosexual Behavior
Franklin Graham: No One is Entitled to Rearrange God’s Divine Order
Selling Homosexuality to America
Gay Marriage Ruling Already in Use in Other Cases
State , Gay Couple Sue Christian Flower Shop
“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Leviticus 18:22, NKJV)
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–10, NKJV)
Where Does That Leave Christians?
How should the Church respond to a culture that seems increasingly hostile toward Christianity and Christian principles?
We need to stop trying to inform people about the past, and start making an impact for today. As we see our culture, and the world, deteriorating into a moral-less ball of confusion it is our job to point the world to Christ. Resist the idea to run away from the world and cry “poor me.” We cannot seek special protection as a persecuted minority.
We seem to forget that right after God listed all of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God, He added, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, NKJV) We need to engage the culture in a different way, our authority and power as Christians is not derived by any government institution; it is a gift from our Father in Heaven, The Almighty God. We must defend the truth lovingly, cheerfully, with a child-like charm and innocence. Allowing others to see Jesus in all we do and say.
In a 2000 sermon, John Piper draws out six truths from 1 Peter 2:9-17 about how Christians should be involved in society and culture.
________
1. We were once all in darkness, along with the whole world.
Notice the phrase near the end of verse 9: “Him who has called you out of darkness.” We were once in darkness. The darkness of sin and unbelief and ignorance about God and his ways. It was the darkness of deadness in sin, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:5. This is the condition of our culture and our society. And we were once a part of it by nature. Why are we no longer?
2. God called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
This truth comes from the same phrase in verse 9: “Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” We are not by nature smarter or wiser or more courageous than those who remain in darkness. The difference is that God exerted toward us an absolutely undeserved and compelling kindness: he called us. Paul put it like this in1 Corinthians 1:23-24, “We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” It was the omnipotent call of God that wakened us from the spiritual sleep of death and opened our eyes to the power and wisdom of God in Christ. Let us never forget: Free and powerful grace alone is the decisive reason that we are able to see the darkness of our culture and be free in some measure from it.
3. God’s aim in calling us out of darkness is to send us back to (but not in) that darkness to “proclaim his excellencies.”
Now all of verse 9: “But you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” That is why you have been called out. That is why you are God’s people, a chosen race. We exist to display with word and deed the excellencies of God. This is the way God’s call came to us. Freely we received, now let us freely give. Our witness is not the same as the call of God. But God’s call happens through our display of God’s excellencies. When we speak and show God’s excellencies to others, we provide the truth that God may grant the blind to see. If we say nothing, they will see nothing. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). And new birth is “through the living and abiding word,” the gospel (1 Peter 1:23-25).
4. God’s aim is that the way we make his excellencies known to the darkened culture around us take place both by avoidance and by engagement.
This is very crucial to see. Some err here by stressing one to the exclusion of the other. One group is swept away with social action. Another is absorbed in personal holiness. The Biblical way is both/and, not either/or.
Notice verse 11: “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” This is the avoidance ethic. And it is absolutely right and necessary. There are things in our culture that we should simply avoid and abstain from.
But notice verse 12: “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Here we are “among the Gentiles.” Here we are going on display to the Gentiles. Here we are not just avoiding their effect on us, we are aiming at having an effect on them with positive action. “They observe your good deeds and glorify God.”
Over and over in the New Testament the writers stress that we were created and converted to be engaged relentlessly in a life of public good deeds. Indeed, Titus 1:14says that Christ died to “purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” The term “good deeds” does not mean sitting at home watching wholesome videos instead of going out and watching dirty movies. Good deeds means designing ministries for caring for AIDS orphans in Africa, and feeding the malnourished, and housing the homeless, and teaching the illiterate and ignorant, and freeing the addicted and fighting crime and visiting the prisoner and befriending the lonely, laboring in the cause of protecting the unborn and relieving the crisis of unexpected pregnancies, and a thousand other visible ways of doing good to others in the name of Jesus (see Titus 2:7-8;3:8; Hebrews 10:22; Matthew 5:16).
My point here is that, in relation to our sin-riddled culture, we should pursue both avoidance and engagement; both purity of heart and merciful involvement, both personal holiness and public justice. In short, we should with the mind of Christ be both culture-denying and cultural transforming. The transformed mind steeped in scripture will discern when and how.
5. Submission to cultural institutions (like the state, and places of employment and family) is not canceled out by our freedom in Christ (and our citizenship being in heaven, and our being “strangers and exiles on earth), but our submission is put on a whole new footing of submission to God.
You see the call to submission in verse 13: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” Christians are not self-assertive rebels who kick against the pricks of regulations in government and business and schools and home. We are eager to be supportive and compliant wherever it does not compromise our commitment to Christ our king.
But notice the words in verse 13, “for the Lord’s sake.” Or: “On account of the Lord.” Once we may have been submissive out of fear, or out of conniving for advancement, or out of greed, or out of laziness, or because we believed that these earthly institutions really were our master. But that is not how Christians submit now. It is for the Lord’s sake.
Verse 16 is Peter’s interpretation of those crucial words: “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” We are free. We are not slaves to any human institution. So why submit? Why not drive at any speed we want? Why not pay whatever tax we feel like? Why not come to class late? Why not wear perfume to the first service and park in the most convenient place for ourselves? Why not come in at whatever hour you please as a teenager? Why submit to a hundred rules and laws and guidelines in our culture and work places and schools and homes?
The answer is, God freed us from these institutions as masters, and then sent us back into them to declare his excellencies as his servants, not the servants of man. We submit in freedom, for the Lord’s sake. Everything is on a different footing. All is from the Lord and for the Lord. Christ died to purify us for good deeds and we enter the world and the culture with a view to displaying the glory and the excellency of this great Christ.
6. Finally, Christians honor all persons, and seek to do it in different ways that are not the same for each, but appropriate to their roles in life.
Verse 17: “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.” There is a special kind of honor for the king. There is a special fear for God. There is a special love for fellow Christians. But there is an honor for all persons, including the wicked.
Matthew Henry wrote:
The wicked must be honored, not for their wickedness, but for any other qualities, such as wit, prudence, courage, eminency of employment, or the hoary head. Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, the prophets, and the apostles never scrupled to give due honor to bad men (Commentary on the Whole Bible [Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co., n.d.], 1019).
So in conclusion, let us not simply be a passive and apathetic people priding ourselves in our avoidance ethic. Let us live in the power of the grace that called us out of darkness into light and let us turn back to that very dark and dying culture and declare the excellencies of the One who called us, and let us be rich in good deeds, so that people might see the kind of Master we serve and give him glory on the day of visitation.
Born To Be Wild
Laughing with a Friend
Real Love
The Role of Spouses in Making Decisions
by Os Hillman
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15).
When John Benson decided to make some financial investments in a new business venture, he was very excited about the possibilities for a handsome financial return. His business and financial background had served him well. John felt strongly that his wife Jenny would not understand the complexity of his investment, so he casually mentioned it to her. When she asked a few simple questions, John became defensive and justified his plans for investing in the venture.
A year later, after investing a large sum of money, John received a phone call from the investment company. All the investors who had put money in the company were going to lose their investment with no ability to recoup it.
This story could be retold repeatedly across the world. God’s principles for making decisions require input from both spouses, regardless of their level of expertise. If you are not married, make sure you seek wisdom from a few close associates you know and trust.
God has called married couples to be one. If we seek to make decisions independently, then we benefit from only 50% of the intended resource God has placed within our grasp. In marriage, this stewardship of decisions requires two people. God blesses this union by honoring the decisions made with the motive of glorifying God and relying on His Spirit to lead in our decision-making process.
Before you make a major decision, get confirmation for your decision from your spouse.
Polyamorists Battle for Legal Recognition in Canada
A group of polyamorists says they want the same legal status as other relationships, following the group’s first national convention in Canada.
Polyamory involves intimate relationships between three or more people at the same time.
Canada redefined marriage in 2005 and saw a major legal case involving polygamy in 2011.
Read more at http://www.charismanews.com/world/40024-polyamorists-battle-for-legal-recognition-in-canada
Is this next for America too?
To God be the Glory
By G C Forsman
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4, ESV)
I have said before that we should be sharing what Jesus did for us with others, and tonight I want to do just that.
This week has been amazing and miraculous. But before I get to that, allow me to give you the back story.
I used to joke that it would be nice to work on the weekend, and have the week off. Then God gave me just such a job. I worked 54 hours straight starting at 3:00 pm on Friday, and ending 9:00 pm Sunday. While working in this position, I was afforded the opportunity to teach a Bible Study every Sunday. During one Bible Study, I was asked a question and I answered with the word of God (Leviticus 18:22). For standing on the word of God, I was rewarded by being fired from my job.
It is my understanding that when you get fired you cannot collect unemployment, and thought surely the company would protest paying me. Somehow God removed all obstacles and unemployment payments began after the normal one week delay. Almost immediately I found a part-time job that allowed me to continue to cover my financial responsibilities. As I began my job search, I interviewed for a great position only 5 miles from my home. I was notified that I have been selected for this position.
So… God gave me a good job that I used to joke about having. I stood on his word and was persecuted for doing so. God responded by providing all of my needs, and then delivered even a better job closer to home. He is truly amazing!! I give God all the glory. I know He protected my family and I, and that He rewarded me for standing on His word.
I know there are those who would disagree with God’s word, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
It is important to know God’s word… It is more important to know God. It is a relationship, not a religion.
Gotta Love This One
Retrieved from http://kohd.org/. Reprinted by Permission.
Where’s The Love
by G C Forsman
Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, NKJV)
I have been debating whether or not to comment on Exodus International shutting down. However, it seems to me that when Alan Chambers recently apologized to the gay community, and announced the closure, many in the Christian community seemed offended. For nearly 40 years, Exodus chose the mission to minister to the gay community and offer the opportunity to meet Christ and receive counseling designed to repatriate homosexuals to the heterosexual community.
Of course there is much debate as to whether or not this conversion from gay to straight is possible, and that is not what I’ll be discussing here. My take on this situation is simple. Alan Chambers admitted not that the Biblical stance on homosexuality is wrong (as many contend) but that the methodology of Exodus was flawed.
Too often we set out to change the world for Christ, but end up doing something that does not reflect Christ at all. The gay community by and large believe that Christians hate them. This is our fault as Christians. Where is the love? Jesus did not say love everyone except homosexuals. The treatment of the gay community at the hands of us Christians has been deplorable.
We should be loving them, inviting them to our churches, and allowing God to work on them as He works on us. It is not our mission to judge or change people. Our mission is to share what Jesus has done for us, and to invite others to have similar experiences with the love of God. The fact that many gay people believe we hate them speaks for itself. If we as Christians do our jobs, everyone should feel loved, not hated.
Where is the love?
Knocking on Heavens Door
Knocking On Heavens Door: The Comic Strip is a family friendly web-comic written by stand up comedian Tommy Blaze and illustrated by Nate Fakes, a cartoonist for Mad Magazine and creator of the syndicated comic strip Break of Day. Dubbed KOHD by its growing fan-base, the strip follows the humorous and often poignant adventures of Spencer, a highly precocious but thoughtful 6-year-old boy, and his best friend who happens to be — for no reason ever explained — God. Comics are posted every Sunday through Friday at KOHD.org.
Retrieved from http://kohd.org/ Reprinted by permission.
U2SA 