We Are What We Believe

Elijah had just won a decisive victory over the pagan gods Baal and Asherah at Mount Carmel. In a great display, he had called the fire of God down from heaven in front of the people thereby showing people who the true God was. In the aftermath of his display, he had killed around a thousand of the prophets of these false gods. He should have been feeling good with himself and confident in the power of God. However, shortly after this great display, he receives a message from the Queen Jezebel who threatens to kill him like he killed the prophets of the heathen gods she worshipped. Instead of being confident of the God who had just displayed such naked and awesome power on his behalf, Elijah runs away from the threat of the queen, abandoning his servant along the way.

Elijah ends up in the wilderness in Beersheba in the country of Judah, far from Jezebel’s reach and falls down tired, asking God to take his life. While resting under a juniper tree, God sends an angel twice to feed Elijah for the journey ahead. After a long journey, God catches up with Elijah in a cave. God then asks Elijah what he’s doing there in the cave. Just like he asked Adam where he was after he had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and his eyes were opened and he knew he was naked, God was not asking Elijah a question he didn’t already know the answer to. Elijah then launches into a sob story of how he had been quite zealous on God’s behalf and everybody had abandoned God and he was the only one left serving God. God then tells him to stand on the mountain so that he could speak with him. While on the mountain, a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire pass by Elijah. The Bible says that while these things passed by him, God was not in it. It was until a still, small voice was heard that he heard God’s voice. When God spoke, it was to ask the same question he had asked at first. Again Elijah answered God with the same story of victimisation and abandonment he had rehearsed earlier. After this God gives him instructions on the people to anoint and to prepare himself for death.

At times we all go through circumstances that debilitate us. Circumstances like anxiety, depression, fear and other negative emotions come to test us and to try our faith and belief in God. They come to taunt us, to make us doubt the presence of God and his saving power. They want us to forget the numerous God has come through for us. Ultimately, they want us to confess negatively and speak words that agree with the circumstances we are going through. While the Bible says God was not in the wind, earthquake or fire, I believe those phenomena were sent by God to remind Elijah of his awesome power that was available to Elijah if only he could correctly discern what was happening. Instead of seeing God’s power at work, all Elijah could see were his present circumstances (which were temporary) and he therefore could not see the power of God. The Bible urges the weak to declare that he is strong and for the poor to declare that he is rich because of what the Lord has done. This is about recognising that while we go through things in life, the things we go through do not define us. What defines us is what God says we are.

God didn’t want Elijah to die. I believe he still had a lot for Elijah to do. However there was nothing God could do because of what Elijah believed about himself. Even after seeing a display of the awesomeness of God, he still could not look past his circumstance to lay hold of God’s goodness and grace by faith. Hence he died. We live in a fallen world and most and generally it’s a terrible place to live. But God want’s us not to look at the world with natural eyes, seeing those things that are temporary. He wants to look with eyes of faith to those things that are eternal, resting our hope and trust in him.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers and LOST, BUT FOUND.

So Much Ideology. So Little Faith

I read an article in Christianity Today written by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, an African-American woman who was writing about the lack of diversity in the line-up of speakers within the conference speaking circuit. Her article I believe was her own response to the furore raised by a previous article written Rachel Held Evans. In the Christianity Today piece, there was a link to the earlier article by Rachel Held Evans. After reading the first article, I decided to read the write-up that had started the trouble. It was probably one of the worst mistakes I have ever made.   

There was nothing particularly wrong with the article itself. It was well written and thoughtful in its nature. The entire article spoke of someone who was afraid to speak so as not to cause division but felt she had to speak for the sake of the faith she professed, I felt the article was a perspective that was needed with regard to issues affecting Christianity in the West. However, when I started reading the comments section, a feeling of depression quickly settled on me. The more comments I read, the more I wondered whether I was reading the comments section of a Christian blog or that of a far left, liberal Democratic Party supporter. The more I read, the more I saw people who said they were atheists agreeing with those who claimed they were Christians in church bashing. There were those who even went as far as describing Christianity as oppressive. (I’m sure those in North Korea would disagree with them on what constitutes oppression).

Critics of marriage point to marriage point to the high divorce rates as evidence of the fact that marriage as a concept has outlived its usefulness. I disagree. Everybody agrees that governance is broken in Washington but does that mean we should abolish democracy? As long as imperfect people are involved, there will be issues. The same with Christianity. As long as the people involved are people and not walking in the spirit, there will be issues. But for people to say Christianity and by extension the Church is oppressive, that worries me. For people to say the bride of Christ, as opposed to the people who say they are Christians, is oppressive says a lot more about them than they might say. The comments were all without grace and all about blaming others. Most worrying however was the replacing of human ideology for faith.

From most of the comments I read, I understood that for the people commenting, the ideologies and traditions of men trumped any articles of faith. In short, it seemed that people who were ideologues and card carrying members of the Democratic Party believed they were better Christians than those who were Republicans. I read a comment from someone railing against the right’s attempt to enact laws that would affect a woman’s reproductive health. By that I take it the person was talking about abortion. Is that what Christianity in the West all about now? The murder of innocent babies? The understanding I got was that there were a lot of people who claimed they were Christians who were viewing Christianity through the prism of their sense of right and wrong instead of viewing their sense of right and wrong through the lens of Christianity.

Jesus said people had made the laws of God of no effect by replacing them with the traditions of men. From the comments I read on Rachel Held Evans blog, a lack of love or unity is the last thing we need to worry about. The book of Jude urges us to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. How can we earnestly contend for the faith when we refuse to listen or do what God says? How can we earnestly contend for the faith when we are so busy blaming others for all that's wrong with Christianity? How can we earnestly contend for the faith when we think Christianity is some anachronistic cultural phenomenon stuck in the Middle Ages that we need to drag kicking and screaming into the 21^st century. I am always baffled and amused by those who think they know more than the fathers who delivered the faith we profess to us. I’m sure there are those who think they know more than Christ. I’m sure there are those who if they had their way would burn the Bible because the Word of God isn’t politically correct and is what stops Christianity from being truly “progressive”. No, a lack of unity or love is not really what’s wrong with Christianity. The problem at times is the people who think they know what’s wrong with Christianity.   

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers and LOST, BUT FOUND.

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

Victory In the Face of Defeat

Whenever we think of God and following Jesus, there are certain things that come to mind or are associated with our thoughts of the Godhead. We think of things like power, victory of everything that comes against us, being rich in money and other things. If I were to categorise these thoughts I would say that the thoughts are rosy in nature. We all have these thoughts that because we believe in God and follow Jesus, everything will be fine and dandy and we will never have to worry about anything. Or some things. I have discovered that at times, the things we believe are more founded in our belief in the assertions of whoever ministered to us when we gave our lives to Christ or even our pastor or the people speaking into our lives than they are founded in the Bible, the word of God.

The book of Hebrews is a fascinating book. The authors name is never mentioned in the book but theologians attribute it to the Apostle Paul. The book is basically on the issue of faith. Faith and trust in God. However the most fascinating part of the book is Chapter 11. The chapter starts by giving us the picture of a Hall of Fame of heroes of faith. Men and women who trusted in God and they received what they were trusting God for. Chapter 11 of Hebrews is mainly a glowing report of the testimony that people had of the goodness of God. In the midst of all the glowing reports, verse 13 gives us something of an inkling of what will come later. It tells us of people who died without handling the promise but seeing them afar off. Abraham and Isaac and Israel were all promised that their seed would be like the sand of the sea shore. Though they never saw this, the fact that they saw the next generations after them gave them hope it would happen, so they had faith.

However by verse 35 things take a decidedly “negative” turn. In the latter part of the verse we are told of people who were tortured and preferred to die in the hope of a better resurrection. Verse 36 tells us of people imprisoned and beaten for their faith while others were killed. Verse 37 talks of people stoned to death, some sawn to death, others living a life of deprivation. According to the writer of Hebrews, the fallen world we live in was not worthy of these people. Yet the curious thing was that all these people died without being “victorious” by the standards of the world today. Yet the writer of Hebrews tells us that these people were victorious because they died in faith and in the faith. They were tempted but yet they overcame. They were victors not because of their circumstances in life but of their circumstances in death. They were tried, afflicted and burnt in the furnace of affliction yet they remained steadfast in the faith.

Issues of faith are not always evident in our circumstances but they are evident in our character in the face of affliction. Christ is more interested in our character than in anything else. What we throw up our hands for and call defeat is not necessarily a defeat but a chance to ask ourselves, how does this glorify God? How does my life and what I’m going through glorify God? Jesus told the disciples that they had not yet resisted the Devil to the point of death. We all think that our lives only glorify God when we are alive or free. We need to have a rethink. Just maybe, our incarceration, loss of freedom and possibly even death might glorify him more.

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. 

Saint Know Thyself

3 John 1:1  The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, who I love in truth

At first reading, a man calling himself “the elder” seems quite pretentious. However, when I continued to look at this scripture it occurred to me that the words were not those of an ego driven man but those of a man who knew who he was, his position in the scheme of things and the responsibility that came with that position. At the point he wrote the letter, he was probably old and nearer the end of his life than near the beginning of his ministry. He could have called himself an apostle, the one whom Jesus loved the most when he was alive, anything. However he chose to refer to himself as an elder. This doesn’t even begin to describe who he was to the church and what he had done. By this time he and Peter had healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate. He had done many things by this time although he had not received the revelations detailed in the book of Revelations. He had seen many things, he had experience. He knew the power there is in the name of Jesus.

A man came to Israel and said he was the Son of God. He impacted the life of a dozen men, eleven of whom went on to do great works in his name. People were impacted by the lives of these eleven men such that men in exponential amounts began to follow the Jesus that these men preached. These men made such an impact on the world that in one of the places where they went to, they were described as the people who were turning the world upside down. These were men who were beaten, went to jail, suffered all kinds of deprivation yet they never lost sight of what they were, men and women who had been privileged enough to be called and chosen by God for his purpose. Nothing was too much for them to suffer to bring glory and honour to God. Some of them were killed for the sake of the message they proclaimed.

In today’s era of social media and being concerned about what people think of us, the question I ask of myself is: what am I ready to give up to serve and honour Jesus? What do I think is too much to do for God? What am I ready to suffer for Christ? The apostles of old were totally aware of whom they were in Christ. Paul understood that his identity was to be found not in any thing he had achieved but his identity was to be found in a God who loved him enough to send Christ to die for him. I believe the there was a direct proportional relationship between the revelation  these man had of God to the understanding of who they were in him which was directly proportional to the exploits they did in his name.   

Every day, I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not really about me, it’s about him and his purpose. Until I let go and stop struggling to find relevance for myself and realise that it’s about what he wants me to become, I will never truly find myself in him. I will continually struggle to live this life that he has given me. But like Paul, every day I press on that I may be found in him. Every day, I hope to grow in the knowledge in of God that I might truly fulfil the reason for the call on my life knowing that he who loves me and called me is cheering me on.

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. 

     

Can I Do All Things Through Christ?

I honestly believe that there is no substitute for reading the Bible ourselves. The book of Joshua enjoins us at Chapter 1, verse 8 that “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success”. The simple fact is that if we want to ensure that the book does not depart out of our mouths or and that we meditate on what is written in the word day and night and observe to do all that’s in the word, there is no substitute for us to read the word and understand it ourselves by the help of the Holy Spirit. While our pastors, friends, colleagues and other Christians are there to help us with our understanding of the Scriptures, it does not absolve us of the responsibility to check if what they are saying is the truth.  

 

The Sun Shining

While I was in university, I remember that when examinations came around we were urged to pray and declare that our memories were blessed and that we would remember all that we had read. I really didn’t think much of this and I happily and fervently prayed along with the rest of the congregation that my memory was blessed and that I would remember all that I had read. No matter how little I had read or understood. However when I got round to reading the verse of scripture that gave rise to the prayer point, I discovered that we had been applying the scripture in error. Proverbs 10:7 says: “The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot”. Immediately I read it, it occurred to me that the verse had nothing to do with my memory or examinations. It also occurred to me that it had been taken out of context. I realised that what the verse was talking about was about how men who were considered just or wicked would be remembered when they’re dead. Case in point, Saint Francis of Assissi and Adolf Hitler. While people are grateful for the life of the former, a lot of people probably wish the latter had never been born.

Which then leads me to the verse of scripture that I think has been quoted of context the most, probably because a lot of Christians have not taken time to read it and understand it for themselves. They’ve heard their pastor, parents, friends, colleagues and even new converts to Christianity all quote it and so they’ve accepted it. Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. However, when people misquote it, the “which” somehow changes to “who”. What they then mean is that thanks to Christ who strengthens them, they could become a brain surgeon, an architect, an intrepid explorer, you name it. For a while, I accepted this misquote. But then, I began to wonder, why would Christ strengthen you to be able to do all things if he has a specific purpose for your life? I then went back to read the verse and I found out that people were quoting the verse all on its own. The more I read it, the more I was convinced that verse 13 was linked to and could not be divorced from the verses above it, especially verse 11 & 12. Verse 11 talks about how Apostle Paul has learnt to be content in whatever situation he found himself. Verse 12 talks about how he has learnt to abound or be abased, be full or be hungry. Verse 13 then talks about how he is able to all those things he talks about in verses 11 and 12 through Christ. The question then is, is it Christ that strengthens him to go through those experiences? Probably. However, I believe that in using “which” instead of “who”, I believe what he was saying was that the things he goes through strengthen him for the other trials that are to come. In short, they build character in him.

The Bible is full of rich texts which if we faithfully apply and follow, our lives will be full of joy and prosperous, just as God intended. However, we can’t continue to receive revelation on a second hand basis. We need to dig into the word of God ourselves and unearth it’s rich resources.      

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO, a thriller published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. DECEPTIO is available here http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000194087/Deceptio.aspx. He is also the author of LOST, BUT FOUND, a story of love and redemption. LOST, BUT FOUND is available on Amazon,  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on @CruzJC_Real.

The Power Is Yours (Use It)

While meditating on the story of Moses, I realised there were certain similarities between his story and that of Gideon, Joshua and practically everyone that God has ever used whose story is recorded in the Bible. It starts with the called man who has just been intimated with God's will of how he intends him to use him to bring salvation to a certain people, usually the children of Israel. The man makes known his feeling of inadequacy and asks God how he is to accomplish the task God has set before him. God tells him "I will be with you." That usually settled the matter. The man would then go on to do amazing feats and exploits. But the fact is that he did them because God backed him up. That was in the Old Testament.

In the New Testament, we understand that Jesus is the express image of God. In Matthew, as he was about to ascend back to God, Jesus promised the disciples he was going to send the Holy Spirit. He then gave a charge, a command to them. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt 28:19-20). In the above verses, Jesus follows God's example and gives us a command, telling us to into all the world and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things he has taught in his word. He then promises, not be with us, but that he is always with us.

I read a post on Facebook from Reinhard Bonke. He talked about how Christians want to have a feeling of power before they move to do what God expects of them. He said that the Holy Spirit is like potential energy. You won't feel him till you actually get up to do something bigger than you that you require his power for. I recently read Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience. In it, she talked about an American woman, Katie Davies who has lived in Uganda for the past seven years. Katie was a student president and home coming queen in high school. But on leaving high school at 17, she travelled to Uganda to care for the less privileged and she has been there ever since. At 24, she is a mother to 13 Ugandan orphans and runs an organisation that raises money to help ensure that poor families do not have to give up their children. She documents her life and experiences in a blog called Kisses For Katie.

Most Christians seem to think that all God exists for is to meet their needs. There are things that God wants us to accomplish. While God and the Holy Spirit will always be with us as a sign that God is committed to us, I believe that God is even more committed to those who are actually doing what he has called them to do. I believe that God is less committed to making our dreams come true than he is to making his will and plan for our lives come to pass. He has given us a commandment through Jesus. We need to get off our butts and stop waiting to feel powerful. The Holy Spirit is waiting us to get moving and fulfil our own part of God's grand plan. If you're thinking that you're not good enough, then you're in good company. Just ask Moses. Or Gideon.

What is it that God has called you to do? What are you waiting for?



JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelso Publishers http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND published on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DPLLEUQ/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

G. K. Chesterton on Christianity

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“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” – ILN, 7/16/10

“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.” – Where All Roads Lead, 1922

“There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.” – ILN, 1/13/06

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” – Chapter 5, What’s Wrong With The World, 1910

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBow Press, (www.westbow.com) a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers.

J

The Myth of Equality (And The Tyranny of Progress)

The mantra on everyone's lips nowadays is that of equality. In everything there must be equality. Even where it is clear that equality has nothing to do with it, equality is used as a yardstick. The crazy notion of equality has also crept into the church. Last year, the Anglican Church in England held it's General Synod and voted against the ordination of women bishops. Comments that I read before and after the vote baffled me. In the end I had to come to the conclusion that the Anglican Church is seen as something of a club both by the media and even its members. I asked myself, whatever happened to having a calling? What happened to being led by God through the Holy Spirit? I am extremely baffled by the people who think that any change in culture automatically equals to some sort of progress.

Equality is a myth and when you chase a myth you end up creating confusion. What people should be looking at is what is just and fair. However in a world where everyone has the wrong idea of what should be and equality is the new fad, trouble is inevitable. I love sport, especially tennis. Thanks to people like Serena Williams and the world media, all the major tennis organisations now give equal prize money. The myth is that the men and the women do the same work. I disagree. If I were to randomly pick a hundred men and women, and ask them which match-up they would prefer to watch, a Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal contest or a Serena Williams/Caroline Wozniacki contest, I'm sure over 90 per cent of the people would want to watch the Federer/Nadal contest. The only people who might want to watch the female match-up would be Americans because of some strange sense of patriotism. That tells me that they are not equal. Especially when the men play five sets and the women three.

If you really want to push the idea of equality, you would find out that the women would be the losers. If all the tennis grand slams deecided that the women should also play five sets, or the army decided that women had to do the same number of push ups and run the same number of miles as the men, the women would find it extremely hard to cope. We only push for "equality" when it suits us. We all heard about how Navy SEAL Team 6 found Osama Bin Laden and assassinated him. How many women were part of the team?

The world has been gripped by the equality fever but the Church must stand firm. We are followers of Christ and we must not be ashamed to admit that we play by a different set of rules. It may offend people, even some who say they are Christians, but Christians but Christianity is not about equality. I have looked through my Bible and the God I love and who loves me is not a God of equality. He is a God of justice. Justice is different from equality. Equality is about what you want. Justice is about what you deserve. And not just because of you or what you've done. God's justice is based on who he is and his love for us.

 

Happy New Year (And Wait On God)

Happy New Year everyone. It is my earnest prayer that this year, we will come to know God, and his power, in a more intimate way. I pray that the Spirit and life behind the Word and the Spirit of prayer and intercession will move us greatly this year.

There might be the temptation for a lot of us to look back at the year that has just ended and conclude that there is nothing to be grateful for. There were probably quite a lot of things we were believing God for (or one important thing) and we didn’t get to see it and so some of us are probably disappointed. You’re not alone. I also thought last year was the year in which I would get a literary agent who would agree to represent me and would offer me a representation contract (is that what they are called?). I thought that after a little while, the major Christian publishing houses would be breaking down my door in order to get my signature on a publishing contract. Did any of that happen? No. I wrote a lot of book proposals and I got a lot of rejection letters. There were even more literary agents who didn’t even bother replying so all I got was silence. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I giving up? No. Why? Because I know what I believe about what God has said to me. What the whole thing has taught me is patience.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 9, verse 4 that “a living dog is better than a dead lion.” As long as there is breath in our lungs, we should live in hope. Especially if we believe that we know what God has said about the particular situation we are trusting him for. I have told myself that I am going to send a book proposal to every literary agent under the sun who represents Christian writers until I find one who will represent me. I believe that I have a good story (at least one of the agents has told me she likes certain aspects of it. I have been waiting for word from her superior) so I believe that there must be someone out there who will like it and will be ready to represent me. And I believe this is the year.

So if you are thinking of quitting, thinking of giving up, let it not be today my friends. We need to keep on going because tomorrow just might be the day. We should have it always in our thoughts that God has our best interests at heart. We might not always get the things we want but he will give us the things we need. And as the Kutless song says, Even If we don’t get the things we think we should have, we should still praise and worship Him because he is worthy. Let’s stick close to Him this year. I believe there are a lot things He wants to say to us. We should not let our circumstances or situations drown out his voice.

What are things we are believing for this year?