Wow

Wow, God must be really ticked off. Think of all these disasters: Aids, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in China, Haiti, Mexicali and Seeley, and then, most devastating of all, I stepped in some gum the other day and my shoe stuck to Wal Mart’s floor for a whole hour! Gum on my shoe! How does a loving God fit into that?
If you read blogs or listen to certain television hosts it seems that God is really pouring out his wrath lately. Literally every time there is a natural disaster or plague you can count on Pat Robertson or Pastor Billy Bob Bumpkin of the “Conservative Fundamental Holier Than You Church” in Resume Speed, Oklahoma telling whoever will listen that God is pouring out his wrath for this reason or that reason. And the media listens! You can count on Keith Olbermann naming Pastor Bumpkin the “Worst Person In The World.” You know that the newspapers and cable news shows will cover every inane statement these guys make so they can have something controversial to talk about.
Please allow me to explain. I have absolutely no doubt that God is able to bend storms, cause natural disasters or even make it rain frogs. He is God, he has that kind of power. The question is, does he use it? Does God look down and say, “You know, Imperial County and Mexicali are so wicked that I am going to cause some major pain in that region. That’ll show ‘em!” Really? Is that really what happened? I don’t think so.
Is this the same God that sent his only son to die for humanity? The same humanity that he seems bent on wiping out? If God was going to wipe people out willy-nilly, why send Jesus at all? Why make your son go through the agony and torture of puberty, let alone death on a cross?
Trust me, the day is coming when God’s judgment is going to fall. The Book of Revelation details what is going to happen when God finally closes the book on our world. It is going to be pretty hairy, and I want no part of it.
In the meantime, though, we have to be careful assigning blame to God for every natural disaster that comes our way. It is important for Christians to remember that God sent Jesus to die for everyone. John 3:16-18 says, "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.”
Does that sound like the God who would willy nilly knock people out of their homes and destroy businesses and lives? Or does it sound like the God who would send his son to die for us and then expect his followers to show others his love? I think the idea is obvious.
I believe that God would be better served by Christians showing compassion in these times of crisis than by showing judgment. How about using the gifts he has given us to make the lives of those who have been hurt better? My wife did a couple of stints at the Office of Emergency Services Command Center. It was amazing watching the different agencies banding together to make sure that those whose lives had been turned upside down got the help that they needed.
My church, Remnant, did its part, and is continuing to do more. That is the only mention you will ever hear of what he have done. You see, our act of service is between us and God. We didn’t do it for a press release or a mention in the paper. We did it because it is what we felt God would have us do.
What would God have you do? It may be a big thing or it may be a small thing. The important thing is to do something! And sorry, telling everyone that God is pouring out his wrath on folks doesn’t count. Nor does it help. Nor does it show people who God really is. So stop it, will you?
Still waiting for the shaking to stop… Jerry

Anticipation

At about this time 29 years ago I was looking forward to my wedding (and my honeymoon!). I didn’t worry too much about the ceremony, that was Lanette’s job. I did worry that she would get smart or come out of whatever fog she was in and decide I wasn’t worth marrying. She didn’t, much to her displeasure for all these years, and we have been together ever since.
In March of last year I was looking forward to the birth of my first grandchild. As the day of his grand entrance came closer I got more and more anxious. I was half crazed with anticipation, wanting so badly to see Soren before I even knew what he looked like. The waiting was agony!
Last year was my first year as a football broadcaster on KYFC radio. Todd Evangelist and I had a ball doing high school football games from all over the Valley. Before the season began I felt nervous. What if I sounded stupid? Or worse, what if I was boring? Hopefully, I was neither, and I am looking forward to another great season this year. Football is still four months away and I am chomping at the bit to get going!
A wedding, a grandson, and football. What on earth do they have in common? I was looking forward to each, and the anticipation for each was incredible. And each one turned out better than I could have hoped.
At Remnant we are finishing up our Elements series. Jeremiah taught about “Element ET: the End Times.” Not the other ET, although I wish someone had given Jeremiah Reese’s pieces right before the message! The Bible tells us what is going to happen as god draws this earth to a close, and it is amazing, terrifying and beautiful all at once.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, “The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise, they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 4:16-18 The Message)
Christians will be gone! We will meet Jesus face to face. How incredible is that?
Unfortunately, there will be people who will be left behind. Hey, someone should write a book series about that… Anyway, there will stuck here. And it is going to get ugly. The Book of Revelation is pretty clear that bad stuff is going to happen to the earth once the Christians leave. In fact, it calls that seven years the Great Tribulation. I definitely don’t want to be here!
Growing up, I knew of preachers who dangle us over the fires of hell every Sunday like hot dogs over a fire pit. Their idea was to scare us out of hell. Jesus didn’t do that, in fact, he did the opposite. He chose to love people into heaven. He would confront them about their sin, but he forgave them and put them on the right track. Sound like a pretty good idea to me. If you are reading this and you haven’t turned your life over to Christ you need to do some real soul searching. God has offered you this incredible gift, the gift of salvation, and all you have to do is accept it. No hoops to jump through, no cleaning up necessary to begin, just accepting him. Once you do, get in touch with a good pastor and ask them to guide you through the next steps. You won’t be sorry!
You can also be comforted instead of terrified at the End Times. I am not afraid of what is coming because I know that God has a plan to take care of me. I will be fine, and you can, too!
To all of the Christians who are reading this, I have a question. Do you really believe all of what you have read? Do you really believe that Jesus could call us home any day? If so, shouldn’t that determine how you live your life? Shouldn’t that challenge you to do whatever it takes to reach your friends and family. If the days are truly short, then our time to reach our friends and loved ones is even shorter.
Looking at the sky and wondering when… Jerry

Are You A Christian Or A Christ Follower?

I have come to the realization that some people are not sure if they are Christians or not. So with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy I have come up with this “View From The Pew Guide to Christians.” Or the less official name, “You might be a Christian if…” Follow along and score for yourself. Trust me, there will be a quiz at the end!

• If your car’s rear bumper is held together with bumper stickers warning that your car may be unmanned after the rapture or that Jesus is your co-pilot, you may be a “Christian.”
• If your Sunday lunch is programmed to be done at 12:30 in the afternoon, you may be a “Christian.”
• If you truly believe that a bumper sticker on your car or a tract left on a table is evangelism, you might be a “Christian.”
• If you avoid the newspaper, radio and television because you’re afraid they will rub off on you, you might be a “Christian.”
• If your right arm is permanently bent into an odd shape from carrying your 25 pound family Bible under your arm, you might be a “Christian.”
• If you have a cross made out of railroad spikes around your neck, you might be a “Christian.”
• If you dislike the new music in church, you know, any song written after the 19th century, you might be a “Christian.”
• If your internal clock sets off an imaginary alarm in your head at noon every Sunday, you might be a “Christian.”
• If your favorite Sunday lunch is roast pastor, you might be a “Christian” (or a board member at some of the churches I have pastored).
• If your favorite television personality has a huge bouffant hairdo, inappropriately large jewelry and/or garish eye makeup, you might be a “Christian.” Or a fan of Lady Gaga.
• If you are more concerned with getting out of church on time than on what the preacher is saying, you might be a “Christian.”
• If you have perfected the art of sleeping sitting up straight with your eyes open, you might be a “Christian.”
• If your nose is permanently angled downward so you can look down at others with it better, you might be a “Christian.”

See, that is the problem. So many people believe that Christians are like that. I meet people all the time who tell me that they have no problem with God, it is Christians they don’t like. I told a co-worker the other day that I don’t consider myself a “religious person.” I don’t use the term Christian all the time because we have done such a good job of watering down and compromising the term. Instead, I call myself a “Christ follower.” Being a Christ follower is a high standard, and sometimes I don’t measure up, but I strive to be worthy of the title every day. Let me show you the difference…

• If you are more concerned with those who are hurting than your own comfort, you might be a Christ follower.
• If you are praying for those who try to hurt you or despise you, you might be a Christ follower.
• If you are sincerely trying to make your life conform to what the Bible says it should be, you might be a Christ follower.
• If you are more concerned with living right than having the right bumper sticker, you might be a Christ follower.
• If your friends and family think of you as the person to go to when they have spiritual problems, you might be a Christ follower.
• If you live every day and make every decision based on the words of Christ, you might be a Christ follower.
• If your heart breaks for the people in your neighborhood, home or at work who don’t know Christ, you might be a Christ follower.

Quite a difference, huh? Jesus called us to be salt and light. Salt because it is a preservative, light because it repels darkness. If some of these little jabs made you uncomfortable (or downright angry) before you fire off that email, stop and ask yourself if there is a grain of truth to any of it. Eat the fish and spit out the bones. Doesn’t the life of the Christ follower sound more like what God wants from us than worrying about whether or not our pastor wears a tie? If we’re not careful, we can major in minors and miss the big picture. Christians, we can be more! Christ commands us to be more!
Challenging the saints because I love them… Jerry