LOST, BUT FOUND (EXCERPT)

Ruth dove to the center of town and stopped in front of the grocery store. Getting out of the car she walked inside. The bell above the door chimed as she opened it, announcing her presence. She joined the small queue at the counter and waited her turn to be served.

“Good afternoon,” she said, smiling when it got to her turn.

The woman behind the counter smiled back at Ruth. She was in her fifties and her brown hair was almost completely gray. She was small in stature but there was a sparkle in her eyes. “And good afternoon to you too. And what would you be ordering  today?”

“I was thinking of doing some baking for my husband and my daughter,” Ruth answered. “I would like some flour, eggs and some other stuff.” She handed over a list of the things she wanted with the required quantities.

The other woman went about gathering the things that were on Ruth’s list. “You’re new around here aren't you?” she asked, turning her head to look at Ruth.

“Yes,” Ruth said, smiling back.

“Let me guess, you’re not from around these parts,” the woman said as she continued searching for the required items.

“No I’m not. My husband, Greg and Jessie our daughter and I came from Boston, although we are originally from Vermont. My name is Ruth. Ruth Myskill.”

“Pauline. Pauline Foster. So what are city people like you looking for around these parts?”

“My husband Greg got a job here, so we all followed. Hopefully we will be here for a long time.”

“Really?” the woman said turning to look at Ruth with a quizzical frown on her face. “What job is that? I didn't know there was an opening at the high school.”

“It’s not at the high school,” Ruth answered smiling. “My husband is the new pastor at the New Earth Evangelical Church. That is, he is going to be the pastor when Bill Wilkinson retires.”

Suddenly the other woman’s back seemed to stiffen and her movements slower. “The new pastor? I thought Bill was going to continue?”

“Well, you know he’s going to be 75 soon and he has to retire,” Ruth said slowly. She watched as the other woman turned around and moved to the computer to ring up the purchases. The smile had disappeared from the other woman’s face and she had a not-too-pleased look on her face.

“So the church board are still thinking of kicking him out from his church,” Pauline said bitterly punching the computer keys in anger. “We thought they had forgotten about all that nonsense.”

“No one is kicking him out,” Ruth replied mesmerized by the woman’s hands and the anger that moved them.

“And I say that it’s not fair for them to be kicking him out just like that,” the other woman replied in anger. “After all that he has done for the church and the town.”

This time Ruth was silent, not knowing what to say. The other woman was definitely aggrieved with the church board and she didn't want her to find another target in Greg or herself.

“It’s just disgraceful,” Pauline said as she began to pack the items in paper bags. “Disgraceful I say. What do they want him to do when they chase him out? Where is he supposed to go? That will be twenty five dollars fifty cents.”

Ruth brought out her wallet to get money to pay for the groceries now wishing she hadn't come to the shop or introduced herself. It seemed her simple plan of getting to know the people hadn't been so simple after all. She collected her change from Pauline, mumbled a quick thank you and made a quick exit out of the door.

Ruth walked back outside, feeling slightly relieved that she had made it safely out of the grocery store. She walked with the bags to the car and put them in the back. She got into the car but she didn't start the engine, thinking about the little episode in the grocery store. If she’d had slight misgivings before, now she was very worried. If Pauline’s view was representative of the people who attended New Earth Evangelical Church, it seemed that they didn't want Bill Wilkinson to leave.  So where did that leave Greg?

Driving slowly through the center of town, she noticed a coffee shop. She parked in front and got out. She wanted to think and she didn't think she would be able to that at home. Jessie would soon be back and she would get caught up house work again. She needed time alone to herself to think about the situation her family had found themselves in. She walked into the coffee shop and sat at one of the tables, looking round as she waited for someone to come and take her order.

There were few customers there at that hour. Quite a few of the people seated there were in military uniforms. Some were with female companions, some were alone. Ruth remembered that Greg had told her that Fort Rucker the home of Army Aviation was close by and that one of the entrances to the army base was just on the outskirts of the town. Apart from the military types, there were a few other men in the room, taking their time over their coffee. They didn’t look like there was anything they were in a hurry to get to. They didn't seem to have a care in the world.

“May I take your order?”

Ruth jumped, startled by the voice. She turned in the direction it had come from and the sight of a protruding stomach covered by a red check apron filled her vision. She looked up at the owner of the protruding stomach. The woman looked to be in her late twenties with a mass of brown hair that hung limply from her face. Beads of sweat ran down her face. Whether it was from the hot kitchen or from the strain of carrying the weight in her tummy, Ruth didn't know.  It was probably a combination of both, she guessed.

Smiling to win the trust of a stranger for the second time that day, Ruth said, “Good afternoon. Do you have coffee? Preferably decaf.”

“Sure we do.”

“Then can I get a cup of coffee?”

“Sure you can,” the other woman replied, smiling back as she scribbled with her pencil in the notepad she held in her hand. “One cup of decaf coffee coming up. Will that be all or will you be having anything with it? We have pecan pie and muffins if you want.”

“I’ll take the pecan pie,” Ruth replied.

“Okay,” the other woman said as she walked away.

As soon as the waitress went away to fulfill her order, Ruth became lost in her thoughts and they were not pleasant ones. It seemed Greg was already facing an uphill battle winning over his parishioners without them getting to know him or his doctrine first. And it was all because they seemed to be attached to their current pastor who was supposed to retire but who himself seemed too attached to the position. All of which didn't bode well for Greg.

She was deep in thought about how everything was going to work out when the waitress arrived with her coffee. She however didn't notice the other woman until she placed the cup of coffee and the plate with the pie in front of her. Snapping out of her somber thoughts, she looked at the food set before. Now, it seemed she didn't have the appetite for the pie. “Thank you,” she said.

The waitress nodded in response. “You seemed pretty much lost in thought.”

Ruth sighed. “I have a lot of things on my mind. There’s a situation and I don’t see how it can be resolved without someone getting hurt.”

“That’s bad. You wanna talk about it?”

“I really don’t know,” Ruth said undecided. She didn't think it was right to unload all her troubles on a total stranger. Besides, for all she knew, the woman was one of the people in support of Bill Wilkinson.

“If what you’re worried about is that I’m going to blab about it, all I can say is that you don’t know me. I know quite a lot of people who talk about me behind my back. I don’t like it so I don’t do it to others,” the waitress said firmly as she settled in the seat opposite to Ruth.

Ruth felt reassured. “The thing is that it has to do with Bill Wilkinson.”

“Bill Wilkinson,” the other woman repeated woodenly, stiffening perceptibly. Her hands clenched and unclenched themselves involuntarily on the table. Ruth however noticed none of this. She was lost in her thoughts.

“The thing is that Bill Wilkinson is supposed to retire as the pastor of the New Earth Evangelical Church in like six months time. The church board has chosen my husband to replace him and the thing is .....”

“I see,” the other woman said as she stood up abruptly from the chair. Her movements were awkward because of the size of her stomach but she managed it. “I see. So your husband is replacing Bill Wilkinson. So, is he going to come here himself to do his dirty work himself unlike Bill or is that why you’re here? To do it for him?” By now her voice had risen and several other people in the room had risen as well. Everyone was staring at them.

To say that Ruth was embarrassed was an understatement. She stood up as well, reaching out to the other woman, trying to pacify her. “I really don’t know what you mean. I was just trying to say ...”

“You don’t have to say anything,” the other woman said bitterly. “Bill and Ida have said everything that could be said. I don’t go where I’m not wanted and Bill and Ida have made it crystal clear I’m not wanted at their church. Unless you've come to repeat what they've already said. Don’t worry, neither I nor my “bastard” will ever darken the door of your church,” she said with feeling. Her hands were clasped in front of her belly as if to protect her unborn child from Ruth.

Ruth recoiled as if she had been slapped. The word shocked her and made her stomach roll. She couldn't understand what the other woman had just said. Had Bill and his wife really used that word about her unborn child? While she had assumed that the other woman was married, she wasn't one to condemn some other person like that.

“Wait, you don’t understand. It’s not like that,” she said trying to explain. “It’s not what you think.”

“Lady, I think it’s time you left.”

Ruth turned to see one of the military types coming towards them. He stopped for a moment to put his arms around the waitress. “Are you alright Bee?” he asked. She couldn't get the words out to answer him because she seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. He turned to look at Ruth with menace in his eyes. “I thought I told you to get out?”

Ruth wanted to stand her ground but she could see there was no use attempting to speak reasonably with anyone. Everyone in the coffee shop was looking at her with venom in their eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as she began to pack her things from the table. “I’m really very sorry. I didn't mean .....”

“Get out,” the man snarled as he held the waitress he had referred to as Bee in his arms, offering her comfort. “Get out and don’t come back.

With one last apologetic look in the woman’s direction, Ruth walked out of the coffee shop.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

The Gates of Hell Cannot Prevail

I believe that there is something in man that wants to worship God as his Creator, his God and sustainer. When we refuse to give in to that desire or refuse to recognize it, we end up worshipping other things. We end up worshipping cars, houses, sex, and status. All these things only give momentary pleasure or happiness but can never satisfy. I also believe that there is something in all of us that tends toward depravity and we can go either way. In God’s word we not only find hope for our souls as the Word points to God, we also find strength to fight off the demons that seek to lead us to the dark side.

Apart from having an on-going relationship with God, I believe one of the greatest things ever to happen to us is the Bible. In the thousands of years since the Old and New Testament were written, the sacred words in them have given hope, strength, peace and joy to those who adhere to the words written there. Not just the letter of the words but the spirit. The words were not written for our comfort but they are a template for us to live our lives by. The words are light which show us the state of our heart and lives in relation to God and how they should be. Thanks to the fall in the Garden of Eden, man has developed a great aversion to light. The natural tendency of man is to hide from the light and pretend that all is well.

The words written in the Bible were those men like Paul the Apostle, John Knox, Charles Spurgeon, Smith Wigglesworth, Charles Finney, John Wesley and Watchman Nee all lived by and they found God and lived great and fruitful lives. These men did great wonders and saw great revelations of God’s power as a result of these wonder. It is therefore no wonder that I marvel at the arrogance of the men of this age who say they are “Christian” but hide from the light of these words. These people say the sacred words are outdated and we should jettison them and look for other words that agree with our predilections and proclivities. We should look for words that agree with our depravities and which do not show us the wrong that we do. Because they are condemned in their hearts by the sacred words, they want to away with the words. In this they have as allies those who hate God. Those that say they as Christian do not see any wrong in the alliances they have formed because they are moved by their senses.

Ever since the birth of Christianity, several people have risen up with the stated aim of killing it. In the intervening period, they are the ones who have died and the Church has gone on. I am convinced above all that the Church can never die. Jesus declared that the gates of hell would never prevail against the church. I believe this with all my heart. Therefore when I see hell rising up against the Church, while it worries me because I remember the persecution the Church will suffer before Christ returns, I am consoled and strengthened in knowing the Church has prevailed.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers, http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal. 

DECEPTIO (EXCERPT)

Ever since Jeremiah Walker had been transferred to the Chicago office of the FBI from New Orleans, he had made no secret of the fact that he liked her. So he only liked her, a voice in her head scoffed. Liked? Liked was a lukewarm word, the voice in her head mocked. Well, extremely attracted to her, she revised mentally. And he felt she was attracted to him too, which Camilla didn't deny. He had therefore seen nothing wrong with taking the mutual attraction to the next logical level by having an affair. But while Camilla was willing to admit that she liked him as a friend, she wasn't about to get into a relationship with him. Because they were different.

Camilla had been raised in a strict Mexican Catholic home where good girls did what they were told and said their rosaries or else they would end up in hell. There were also consequences to be faced here on earth. Her parents had died when she was just two; the victims of a gang war on holiday in Mexico to visit relatives and she had been raised by her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother was a no nonsense disciplinarian who didn't take kindly to all the shenanigans that boys and girls got up to when they were unsupervised by adults.

However, while in college, she had truly discovered what it meant to be a Christian and apart from a slight blip, (to be honest, a major blip) along the way, she had held on to her faith in God. And in this crazy, changing world, that meant more to her than anything.

On the other hand, Jeremiah didn't believe in God or “all that nonsense” as he referred to anything that had to do with the mention of salvation, redemption or the like. He had grown up with an abusive father who used to hit his children and their mother. Yet, he had been some kind of leader in his church. When his father had dropped dead from a heart attack, he had left behind everything that reminded him of God.

Camilla had experienced the problems that arose from being involved with someone who did not share her faith and she was not ready to walk down that road again. There was no way anything was going to happen between them. Jeremiah however didn't seem to see things the way she did. He felt she was being unnecessarily difficult and that hopefully she would come round to his way of thinking and that he would be patient till that happened. That meant he would be patient till hell froze over.

“Have you noticed anything suspicious or out of place?” he asked, eating the last piece of his hot dog and wiping his hands.

“No, nothing. And I don’t think that anything will happen. I think the whole threat thing is a hoax,” she replied.

“Are you saying that the senator imagined the threat?” he asked dryly. “Or maybe you think he wrote those letters to himself? He might not be my favorite person in the world but I fail to see what he would gain from that.”

Camilla shrugged. She also didn't see what he would gain but she wasn't going to say so. “I just think that he’s trying to give Christians a bad name so that the American public can have another excuse for hating us,” she fumed.

“Do you really think people need any excuse to hate Christians?” he asked, his voice mocking. “You persist in believing in a God that doesn't exist, you try ramming your archaic and funny opinions down other people’s throats and you wonder why people seem not to like you,” he said.

It was interesting that on one level he found her faith in God annoying and funny yet he wouldn't mind sleeping with her. Talk about schizophrenia. “It’s so funny that the same people who don’t believe in God can’t just relax in the knowledge that he doesn't exist. They always seem to be trying their best to “kill” a God that doesn't exist,” she said dryly. “A world with over 6 billion people, the majority of whom believe in God in one way or another, and yet the tiny minority who claim they don’t, feel threatened and would want all of us to say that God doesn't exist so that they can go on killing babies and doing all the other crazy things they like doing without their consciences troubling them.”

Jeremiah sighed. “When did this become a discussion about abortion?” he asked, shaking his head.

“It’s a discussion about everything we believe,” she replied heatedly. “You say that the things we believe in, to quote you, are “archaic and funny”, but I thought the constitution guaranteed my right to believe whatever I wanted to believe?”

“As long as you don’t try getting people believe a tissue of lies while trying to pass it off as the truth,” he said.

“And who told you that you had the monopoly on the truth?” she asked. “You wouldn't know what the truth was even if it hit you in the face.”

He sighed again raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I can see that we are not going to agree on anything. There’s work to be done. Why don’t we get back to work and leave the arguments till later.”

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers, http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal.  

We Have Been Commanded To Love (And Show Grace)

A week or so ago, I read an article about the popular Christian hip-hop artiste Lecrae. In the article he spoke about the criticism he had received from fellow Christians concerning his interactions with secular artistes. They even accused him of selling out because he went on tour with Wu-Tang Clan. The criticism left him feeling frustrated and sad. Just this week, Bart Millard the lead singer of the Christian group Mercy Me also faced similar criticism for daring to complement Ellen DeGeneres on her performance while hosting the Oscars. He had earlier faced a similar firestorm when he complimented Bruno Mars on his half time performance at the Super Bowl earlier this year. I think we need to deal with this legalistic spirit.

First of all, there are very few jobs on the planet that are “godly” in nature. Every job we do is secular because we live in a secular work. However we are called to bring a Christian mind set to whatever we do. I’m sure most people would gladly tell me that as a lawyer I’m headed for the hottest part of hell. The usual reasons given for this assertion is that lawyers are liars, we bleed people dry, we are heartless, blah blah blah. That is just the opinion of some people based on certain experiences but certainly not an experience with me. Someone has to be a lawyer, someone has to be a musician, someone has to be an actor. As long as what you do is legal and ethical, what matters most are the values you bring to what you do.

Secondly, we should be able to make a distinction between what people do in their personal lives and the ethics and values they bring to their work. Values like hard work competence, vision, drive. A man might be an adulterer and a wife beater which makes him a terrible person but yet a great artiste who creates great work. I probably shouldn’t say this but I will. There were a lot of scandals that surrounded Michael Jackson while he was alive. While nothing was ever proved in a court of law, I’m sure that most people believe some or all of the allegations are true. While we might not approve of whatever we think he was, it does not detract from the fact that he was the foremost entertainer of his age who not only had vision but was hard working and dedicated.

Thirdly, once we have separated the personal from the professional life, we should realise that there is nothing wrong with appreciating a professional performance. Let me explain. Let’s say you got accused of a crime or a misdemeanour and you didn’t have the presence of mind to choose a Christian lawyer whose lifestyle you approved of. The lawyer is able to get you acquitted thanks to his expertise and drive and drive and competence, we all know that you’re going to pay his bill. But are you saying that you’re not going to be gracious enough to say a simple “Thank you” to him just because he smokes and you don’t approve of that? Are you going to just walk away with a frown on your face because he is not a “good” person? By complementing Ellen DeGeneres and Bruno Mars he was simply appreciating their professional competence that they brought to their work. It was not a blanket endorsement of their work, their lifestyle or the message of their jokes or lyrics. Really, it wasn’t.

In the article, Lecrae explained that he moved to Atlanta because fellow rappers Ludacris and Kendrick Lamar live there. He’s there not because he wants anything from them but because he wants to influence them for the kingdom. Jesus said we are to be a light and to be salt. Light and salt are only effective when they are in contact with what they seek to illuminate or preserve. How can we influence people for God if we kept away from them as sinners, unwashed and unlovable? We were once like that yet Jesus called out to us even in our sin. How can we influence them when we can’t even be nice to them because we think they hate us? Hate never changed hate. Only love can do that. We have received a commandment to love even those that hate us. How can we expect to receive grace when we do not offer it to others? Jesus said God’s rain falls on both the godly and the ungodly.

Oh, and one last thing. It is totally ungracious and un-Christ like to accuse a fellow Christian of haven fallen from grace. Jesus said only a servant’s master has the right to judge him. We are no one’s master. If we feel that someone has strayed from the path, it is our Christian duty to pray for them. Not accuse. How do expect people to love Jesus when we can’t love each other? Jesus said it is through love that people will know we are his disciples. However it seems we don’t want to love. Because love is hard work and we don’t want to do hard work. We’d rather point the finger. That’s easier to do and much more fun.    

  

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers, http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal.  

It's Not Fear, It's Love

I have probably said this before in one of my posts but I think it bears repeating. When I was younger in the faith and I read in the Bible Jesus saying that the path that led to salvation was narrow and there were few that found it, I used to ask myself what he meant. My reasoning was that how can there be billions of people on the planet and about half of them were said to be "Christian" and yet here was Jesus saying that fewer people would find the road to salvation than those that walked the road to destruction. A few years down the road of faith, I now believe I know what he was talking about.

I read an article by Ed Stetzer a few months back about a survey that was done which showed that the number of people who identified as Christians in America had greatly reduced. He then proceeded to ask whether it was time to start mourning the demise of Christianity in America and the West. In answering the question, he came to a conclusion that I had arrived at some time ago. The conclusion is this, there are many people who go to church but have never met with Christ who think they are Christians. They are not aware that going to church just makes you a regular church goer and not a Christian. From the Bible we understand that to be a Christian you must first be convicted of sin, then believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord. After believing, you confess it. Then you take up your cross each day and follow him. It's therefore no surprise when people who have never been convicted of sin or confessed Jesus go back to where they never left in the first place. Then they gleefully tell us how they are no longer Christians. If I had a dollar for every atheist who thought he was a Christian before "renouncing" the Christian faith, I would be rich.

Centuries ago, someone once famously said God was dead but the only person that is dead is him.  The Christian faith is still going strong the only difference is that those who believe are being separated from those who don't believe. Christianity has survived repression in countries like China and is still in existence in North Korea. Even in places like Iran, Egypt and Syria where it is dangerous to be Christians, they still exist. There is nothing man can do to stop it. I read a Tweet yesterday that made me smile. The tweeter was insinuating that Jesus would be dumped after his fear had worn off out of people's lives. I was amused at the people who make comments on things people don't understand. Just because the Christian faith talks about the "fear of God" some think the fear being talked about is literal. For the record, it's not.

I do not believe in God or Jesus because I am afraid of him. I don not believe in God because I am afraid of him, hell or something like that. To paraphrase Peter, I follow Jesus because he has the words of life. I follow him because I love him. Fear is not a factor. I follow Jesus because he has the truth. I follow Jesus because after considering the other gods men chase after like money, fame and fortune, he still is greater. I follow Jesus because I believe everything else is vanity. Whether or not only one person in the west believes in God, it doesn't matter. What matters is that in the end, those that say they're Christians really, truly know what it means.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

America Doesn't Like God Or Jesus (According To ESPN)

"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." - G. K. Chesterton

“There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.”- G. K. Chesterton

Many people may have heard by now of ESPN's refusal to air a commercial by a St. Louis based children's charity because it contained the word's "God" and "Jesus". The commercial by the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children Medical Center and was in aid of the Center's Tree of Hope Campaign where people are expected to leave messages for the children being cared for at the Center. According to the reports, the network refused to air the advert in it's original state because according to the network, they didn't want to cause offence to anyone. Really?

Christians are told that we need to become more tolerant. What they actually mean by that is we should drop all our convictions and live by their own ways. Which we forsook in the first place by becoming Christians. They say that we shouldn't try and force people to live the way we want. But that is what they want to to do. To live the way they want us to live. To think the way they want us to think. They say our doctrines and beliefs are discriminatory and steeped in hate yet the first chance they get they're discriminating against us. Already there are soldiers in the United States being punished and discriminated against by their superiors because of their faith. Teachers are being told they face lawsuits if they show any sign of their faith in the classroom such that they can't even put a Christian themed screensaver on the computers. And they say we should be tolerant. Make no mistake, there is a battle on about how people should think and behave. 

I understand that ESPN is a private station and they have a choice about which commercial they will air. However when the reason given is that the advert mentions Jesus and God, I can't understand it. What does it matter if there is a mention of God or Jesus as long as some good is being done? How can people be offended by the mention of people they say they don't believe in, as long as good can be done and some children can have a happy Christmas? After all, Jesus is the reason why there is Christmas in the first place even though people would like to forget it. I don't get offended when people mention Mohammed, Allah, Krishna, Ram or whatever god other people worship. So what is it about the Christian God that offends people?   

I believe that tolerance is about understanding that we are all different, and that we all have a right to be different. I am ready to be tolerant as long as you do not ask me give up or not say what I believe to be true. However, a situation where people get offended by words such that they don't even want to hear the words in an advert for a good cause is not tolerance. It's hatred. And we should be cool with that. Jesus said the world hated him and a servant cannot be greater than his master. So maybe while we should be outraged and sad that people don't want to hear about God, it's something we should expect. 

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal.  

Falling Away

Some months ago I read an article by Ed Stetzer. His article was in response to a report which said that the number of people who described themselves as Christian has fallen dramatically in the United States. More people than ever were now saying they had no religion. In his article, Mr. Stetzer pointed out the most important fact that most Christians do not talk about when wringing their hands at such statistics which they say point to a decline in Christianity in America and the West. The fact that going to church doesn’t really make you a Christian. What makes you a Christian is confessing Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. Going to a church building, every week for 50 years does not confer honorary Christian status on you. You don’t become a fellow or an associate in Christianity by the number of years you attend church or the number of churches you attend. You must accept Jesus. That is the starting point. Then you have to live as he would have you live as revealed in his Word, not as your conscience dictates.

I must confess that I am mostly amused when a celebrity comes out and tells us how he or she is no longer a Christian and has found a new faith, either Islam or some new faddish new Eastern cult. Some talk about how they rejected Christianity and became atheists. And so they spend their lives fighting and trying to kill a God they say doesn’t exist in the first place. But when you look at their stories, you realise they were never Christians in the first place. They were just going to some church, marking time and thinking that made them Christians. When I was a young Christian, I used to ask myself, how could Jesus say there were only a few who would find and walk the path of salvation? How could he say that when they were billion of “Christians” the world over. As I have grown in the faith, I have realised the answer to that. Not everyone that goes to church knows who Jesus is. Our churches might be full but not everyone knows why they’re there.

Today I saw two Hare Krishna members. They passed me in a bus. I looked at them and it got me thinking. I didn’t know anything about them but there were some assumptions I made. I don’t think they were born into the religion, they were of a certain age which made me doubt their parents were of that religion. Which means that they converted. I made another assumption that they probably thought of themselves as “Christians” before they converted. As so I asked myself, why did they convert? What was promised to them, either about this life or the next? What were they looking for that they couldn’t or didn’t find in church? The book of James said we are drawn away from the faith by our lusts. Were they looking for “power” Or did someone promise them it was a way to escape poverty?

I didn’t speak to them but a thought came to my mind. Maybe they didn’t leave because they were looking for something. Maybe they thought they had found something. Maybe something called to them. They’re not celebrities who didn’t like the truth because it shone a too bright light on their deeds. Maybe they just found something that made them feel like they were something, part of a great plan. One could argue that maybe they if they had truly engaged with Jesus they wouldn’t have converted but I don’t somehow buy that. Unless of course they weren’t going to church.

I understand that for every leader and congregation, there will be a Judas. I also understand that the greater the congregation, the higher the number of Judases to be found. But the interesting thing is that the Judases stay in church and the ones who could be Peter get caught up in the lure presented by some other religion. But the question that I feel we need to ask is, are we doing enough to give people a sense of purpose? Is the church doing enough to help people feel connected to God? Why are people coming to church and not being touched? Are we presenting God accurately? The answers to that might help us show people a more perfect way.  

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

The Internet and Us

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The “world” referred to is not the Greek word kosmos which refers to the order or arrangement of things or more literally translated to mean the earth. The word “world” there is the Greek word aion which means an age or a period of time. This tells us that the different ages, times and dispensations are all created by the word of God. That tells me that the different times, dispensations and ages and the things we see in these different ages; the internet or the plane for example, were all created or brought into existence by the Word. I believe that God allows those things to exist in the time he wants them to exist.

On August 19, Anne Marie-Miller posted an article on her blog titled “Three Things You Don’t Know About Your Children And Sex (Here’s the link  http://www.annemariemiller.com/2013/08/19/three-things-you-dont-know-about-your-children-and-sex/. Forgive me, I’m not that techie to shorten the link. Hope to learn though). One thing that occurred to me was the danger that the internet posed to children and the Christian faith. Children are going to the internet to find out about things they learnt from their peers which they are too afraid to ask their parents. And Google or the internet does not discriminate. It doesn’t ask whether you’re supposed to be Christian or not. Typing an innocent word like “sex” into the search engine and Google will lead you down paths you never intended to walk. If you start young enough, by the time you’re an adult, it will be a struggle to leave those paths. I know a lot about that. Even when you’re on the straight and narrow, there’s something about the crooked path that calls out to you. There’s a lure about the path that we know we shouldn’t be on.

The internet on its own is like most things in the world, it doesn’t take sides. It’s passive. Forgive the analogy but the internet is like a gun. Michael Moore, the well known and award winning film and documentary maker recently said “Guns don’t kill people, Americans do.” He was referencing the fact that most violent crimes committed with guns leading to someone’s death are committed in America. I agree with Mr. Moore. Guns kill people. But the fact is that someone needs to hold that gun for it to be effective. Therefore I believe that more should be done to stop guns from getting into the hands of those who would use them to commit violent crimes. And the people who say they don’t want to use the guns to commit violent crimes should also be ready to suffer some inconvenience to ensure that it’s hard for the violent ones to lay hold of the guns and not just say it’s their right to bear arms.

I therefore believe that there is a responsibility on every person of the Christian faith to be conversant with the internet and social media to be able to engage with them in a responsible manner. I believe that not only should we engage with them but make use of them and post things on them that are relevant to our faith, especially on the internet. If our children go to the internet on a subject, wouldn’t we feel more comfortable to know that they were going to find something edifying rather than something that would lead to an unwholesome addiction? Addictions do not show on the surface. They simmer underground for years until they show up at the most inopportune times and destroy lives and relationships.

Someone recently pointed out that a lot of Bible verses are short enough to tweet. There’s nothing wrong with posting a chapter of the Bible on our Facebook pages. We are not of this world but we do live in it. I believe we have a responsibility not to run from the bad but to drop our own little bit of goodness and love into the oceans around us for the benefit of those we love.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

Mix and Match

In the first book of Joshua, God instructs Joshua to meditate on his words and tells him that if he wants to have good success he should continually think on God’s word. Every major religion or faith has its major precepts and one of the major precepts of the faith known as Christianity is the Word of God. Our faith tells us the Holy Bible is God’s word. The Apostle Paul tells us that the word of God is given to us for correction, direction, inspiration. The Bible continually tells us to meditate on God’s word. We understand that Christian meditation involves the internalisation of God’s word by the constant muttering and recitation of the word.

However Christianity is not the only religion that uses meditation. Most, if not all Eastern religions also use meditation. Personally, I believe that meditation no matter the religion in which it is practiced, is all about connecting with something outside of yourself or opening yourself up for something to inhabit you. In essence, I believe that meditation, no matter the way it is practiced is spiritual. You don’t have to be a recognised adherent of a religion or faith to practice it. Therefore I believe you don’t have to be a recognised practicing Buddhist to practice Buddhism. All you need to do is adhere to certain aspects or teachings of the religion. And one of the teachings of Buddhism and most Eastern religions is the use of meditation to find inner balance or peace. Therefore to my mind, when you say you’re a Christian and you’re also meditating the Buddhist way, it means you’re not really sure which religion you’re practising.

Many years ago I listened to a programme where the person with the record for the most days spent without eating was being interviewed. Incidentally, the person was a Buddhist. He had managed to go a hundred days without eating. He had managed to do it by a lot of meditating. Some people would argue that Jesus and a whole host of people in the Bible were able to fast for forty days. Exactly! Which is my point. Jesus and the others had the Holy Spirit. I personally do not believe that a person can voluntarily go that long without food unless he has something or someone aiding him.

David said in the Psalms that God keeps those whose minds are stayed on him in perfect peace. I therefore believe that God’s plan through his word, Spirit and presence is to help people achieve peace and balance in their lives. However he can only help us achieve this when we look to him and not to some New Age mixture of religions. The Bible says that God is peace. Therefore there is really no amount of peace we can search for that we will find outside of him. God is also only a payer away. We don’t need to run to some other god or gods to find him. He lives in us. That’s how close to us he is.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal.  

Fight For The Faith

Jude 1:3: "... earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

Recently I watched an episode of "Being Mary Jane" a series on BET starring Gabrielle Union. According to the heroine, she had gone nowhere in her relationships despite being a "good girl". There was a point during the programme when she was in the car with her niece and she was listening to "He's Able" by Deitrick Haddon. So I understood that she was supposed to some sort of Christian. However by the end of the programme I began wondering who shaped the creators of the story's perception of what it meant to be Christian.

I am a firm believer that the Bible is quite clear and explicit about most things. The trouble arises when we decide to put our own spin on things or begin to infer things that are just not correct. When we decide the Bible is like a non-binding guide. That's when we begin to split hairs and choose what we will do or not do. I remember reading a comment on a blog and someone saying that the Bible was against pre-marital sex because of STD's. Which implies that now that STD's are no longer a problem because of science, then we should all let go of our inhibitions and go out and have a good time. I wonder who or what shaped that perception of Christianity. I believe that perception is wrong but unfortunately that is the perception a lot of people have. I believe that perception stems from the deep rooted inclination toward rebellion in man. The thought that no one. not even God can tell me what to do.

There is a contention in the world today about what Christianity is all about. I recently read an article about how soldiers at a camp were told that a Christian organisation is a "hate group". That means that they think Christianity is all about hate. There are those who also say that Christianity is all about love. That no matter what you do, it's okay because God loves you. The first position comes from those who don't like like to be told that they are wrong while the second group don't wan't to be wrong. They both stem from the idea that nothing we do as human beings can be wrong. That for you to love someone means condoning what they do. And there are those who say they are Christians who agree with them. The lives they live are contrary to what Christ says. They therefore shape the perception of those who see them and they decide what it means to be Christian.

Nothing on earth can survive without a system, a structure keeping it in place. Even love has it rules. The first rule of love is that you must show it for it to be believed. You can't say you love someone without showing it. I have said before that I do not accept the labels like liberal or conservative that we put on Christianity nowadays. I am a Christian because I believe in Jesus and I have accepted him as my love and Saviour. I love him and I want to show him from my relationship with him and with men. I however have a responsibility to present an accurate picture of who he is to all men. Not who I think he is or who I want him to be. Who he is. No more, no less. I however have a responsibility to speak out when people misrepresent him or his people, one of whom I am. We all do.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

What Do You Believe? (And Will You Hold On To It?)

“Those who stand in the middle of the road get run over” – Joyce Meyer

Everyone believes something. However you might never know what you believe until what you believe is tested. The test might come in different ways. The threat of the loss of a job, the threat of the loss of our life or that of a loved one. No matter the method the threat comes in, it causes us to really think about what we say we believe. At that point we evaluate what we say we believe and we weigh the perceived consequences of holding on to that belief against the perceived benefits. If we believe the perceived consequences outweigh the perceived benefits, we stop holding on to that belief. We let go of the belief like a man letting go of something in his hand. Please note that I used the word perceived. The perception of the worth of a belief, the way we view it, would determine whether or not we hold on to it.

When I was younger I remember reading the story of the faith of a dying family which led to the conversion of another man. During one of the numerous wars of the 20^th century, a family was rounded up, a father, mother and two children. The father was given an option. Renounce his faith in Jesus or they would all be killed. A whole was dug in the ground by the soldiers and the family was placed standing in the whole and the soldiers began to replace the dirt. The children began crying as the dirt reached their ankles, then their waist then it got up to their necks. Just before the children got buried, the wife began shouting at the husband to recant. He shushed her and then began singing a hymn. The other members of the family joined it till they were all buried. One of the soldiers who took part in the act was so moved by the faith shown by the father and the rest of the family that he later gave his life to Christ. I assure you it’s a true story. I believe the soldier wrote a book about the experience that I read.

Sadly we probably think that we live in a world where those choices are no longer required. I think we need to have a rethink if that’s the way we feel. I recently read an article by Todd Starnes of Fox News. According to the article, a Christian organisation was referred to as a hate group and soldiers were told to report other soldiers who were sympathetic to the organisation. Sadly, I think it’s going to get worse. I believe that thanks to the perceived support they have received from the words of their commander-in-chief, some people now believe it’s open season on Christians and Christianity. I believe people who say they are Christians, not only in the army but in all walks of life are going to be tested regarding what they say they believe. And the perception they have about the belief they say they hold will determine whether they hold on to it. There will be no middle road.     

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him @Cruz_JCReal

We Shouldn't Be Ashamed Of Him

I love Christian music. You know Christian music don’t you? Christian lyrics set to music. Lyrics that talk about God, Jesus, salvation and Heaven. At times there might even be a mention of Mary. I love Christian music because it’s uplifting and it focuses my mind on things about God. Like his love and goodness and Jesus coming to die for me. And it helps in worshipping and praising God. And it doesn’t glorify drugs, sex or the objectification of women. However I must confess that I’m hooked on Christian rock and hip-hop. I remember watching One-Cubed all those years ago and watching the video for Consume Me by Dc Talk. After that I was hooked. Just the other day, I went to a store and bought The Hurt and The Healer, Miracle, Gravity and Believer, the latest albums by MercyMe, Third Day, Lecrae and Kutless respectively.

The other day I read an article in TIME magazine in its religion section where it did a report on how Christian artistes were breaking into the mainstream charts. As an aside, it’s quite interesting that TIME has a religion section. I love news magazines but if you read a lot of magazines like TIME, Newsweek or The Economist, you get the feeling that the editors are of the opinion that people of faith, especially Christians are kooks, people who are crazy and causing all the trouble in the world. If they had their way, they would incarcerate all people of faith. They regularly refer to God as a myth so its therefore something that smacks of hypocrisy that they have a section devoted to religion in their magazine.

In the story, there were talking about how Lecrae and TobyMac had topped the iTunes album charts with music with Christian music. In a particular week, Lecrae had the number 1, 2 and 7 songs on the singles charts. This was achieved in spite of the fact that people normally steer clear of songs that are deemed to be Christian or mention God. However, there were other artistes and groups who were Christian like Switchfoot, who refused to be labelled as Christian artistes. According to one of the members of Switchfoot, they make a point of not mentioning Jesus or God in their songs. They also make a point of leaving their lyrics open to the listener’s interpretation. Which then led me to the question, is Switchfoot a Christian musical group or a secular musical group made up of Christians?

As a lawyer when I started out, my main motivation was winning cases. However, my mind-set changed when I talked to a colleague of mine. When I asked her whether she normally prayed to win cases, she told me no. She explained that while she would do her best in preparing for and prosecuting the case, she would not pray to win the case. Rather, she would pray that God’s will be done. That changed the way I saw what I do. I have no problems with Christians being in a secular musical group. After all, we all live in a secular world. But as Christians we need to bring a Christian persuasion to all we do.

My devotional the other day was talking about how all that we do has to be about Jesus. Even when we do things that edify us like preaching, it has to be about Jesus. However it bothers me when someone says he doesn’t want to be identified as “Christian”. It’s almost as if they are saying that they are ashamed of Jesus and would rather achieve fame and fortune on their terms. So when someone says that the lyrics of their song are open to whatever interpretation the listener wants to give them, I wonder how that is about Jesus. If we can’t say we belong to Christ in song and in our everyday lives, when can we?

Christians, The Endangered Species

In the last few days alone, 75 Christians were killed in an attack on a church in Pakistan while 62 Christians were killed by members of the Al-Shabab militant group, an affiliate of Al-Quaeda. The killings at the mall in Kenya were particularly gruesome and cold-blooded as there are reports that before the killed anyone, they would first ask the person the name of Muhammed's mother. If the person was unable to answer correctly, he was shot. The attack on the Christians in Kenya occurred because of Kenya's involvement in the fight against Al-Shabab militants in Somalia. Pakistan on the other hand is an increasingly unstable country. I once read a dire report from a Pakistan born BBC reporter who decided to leave the comfort of the UK and go back to Pakistan. According to him, if at least 10 people were not killed in a day in Karachi, then it was considered a good day.

On the other hand, in the US and other Western countries Christians while Christians are not yet being killed en-masse for their faith, we constantly face a barrage of abuse and criticism from non-Christians, the media and other people who claim to be Christian but who don't believe the Bible or don't believe Jesus is the only way to God and don't consider him as their Lord and Saviour, the main argument being that Christianity should move with the times and become more 'modern', whatever that means.

Sadly, I only think it will get worse. Whole not trying to be alarmist, I see a trend where in the West where in name and spirit of 'equality', law makers will try to get Christianity and Christians to conform to the spirit of the age by enacting laws that make it hard for Christians to utter biblically sound doctrine. When we think of China and North Korea, we think of repressive and authoritarian regimes. And we think it can never happen in the West. Now I'm not so sure. It might sound far fetched but looking at the things happening this days, I won't be surprised if churches have to go underground to preach the word. I recently heard of an anti-discrimination ordinances a county in the state of Texas is thinking if passing that critics allege is aimed at Christians.

I believe that more than ever, these are the times to know who and what we believe. And I believe these are the times to boldly speak out about what we believe without fear or shame. I believe that is the least we can do since we have not yet been called on to die for what we believe in. Yet. Jesus said if anyone of us is ashamed of him here on earth, he will be ashamed of them before the Father. We should also not forget to say a prayer for those who live in countries where they are liable to die for the faith they profess. These are the things we must do.


Update: Please read this article by Thomas Marshall of the Hudson Institute: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/09/24/kenya-pakistan-egypt-it-is-now-open-season-on-christians/