Time2Stand

I just thought I would share a small excerpt from my next book called, Christian – a dangerous title to claim.  It may be out by this fall.  Still in rough editing phase. 

A dangerous claim

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, and if it begins with us, what then will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And ‘if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’ Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”

~1 Peter 2:17-19~  

~ Intro ~

“Before we get into this chapter, I want to confess something to you. As I sit here discerning the correct words to write , an event happened recently that just sums up, as we will talk more about, the idea of a lifestyle devoted to God.

My wife and I took our children to the local beach. My children and I were playing in the shallow part of the river, meanwhile a group of high school and junior high kids were playing water football up and down the waterfront. A couple of times the pile of kids would come close to my kids, but not a big deal, until…

On one particular play, the entire group of about thirteen kids came our way. Two of the bigger kids came within two feet of my three year old son, who was about 30 feet away from my daughter and myself. Just after, one of the other kids, who was about six feet away from my daughter, yelled the f-bomb as loud as he could.

Now, normally this would not bother me too much, after all I have worked with the homeless, drug addicts, drunks, demon possessed and every type of individual there is and nothing before got to me as this one incident. Before I could even think, a drill sergeant came out of me and I told that young man, “YOU WILL NOT USE THAT LANGUAGE AROUND LITTLE KIDS ON THE BEACH.” I said, “YOU ARE FREE TO PLAY HERE, YOU JUST WILL NOT SAY THESE THINGS IN FRONT OF THE LITTLE ONES.” What I said was appropriate and I said it boldly enough the entire beach heard me with clarity.

As I turned I heard, “What are you going to do, hit him?” I spun around as if my children were being drowned. I demanded to know his age and demanded his attention. I demanded a answer as well. While this was happening I sent my children out to the water and up to their mother. One of the older brothers, of this hot tempered thirteen year old, came over as if he wanted to “throw down.” I demanded to know his age as well. He said that I threatened his brother. I said, “No. What I said is that you will not use that language and I simply asked your brother a question.” The brief confrontation came to a quick end and the kids went their way. It was over… or was it?

As I walked up to my where my wife was sitting, she said so calmly and gently, “I wonder if that’s how Jesus would have handled that situation?” Ouch – conviction of the Holy Spirit was in power and swinging for my head. I sat and thought to myself, while talking with the Lord, “I am supposed to take care of my family; defend my family; protect my children. After all, there should have been some control on the beach and respect from the kids playing ball.” Then the Spirit replied, “These things you say are correct, but your initial reaction was very much wrong.” I did not want to talk to God any more about this, but I did.

As I sat there pondering these things only one thought kept coming to my mind, “I must talk to them again and apologize. I cannot leave on terms like this.” I really did not want to talk to God any more. I thought, “The verbal language of these kids appears as if they do not know the Lord. Worst of all, my verbal expression shows that I don’t know the Lord either.” The conviction of the Holy Spirit brought me to a critical point. He asked me, “What are you going to do? Walk in Christ or walk in your own fleshly way? You can’t do both.” Bottom line was that if my claim of being a Christian was real, I was going to have to choose to walk in Christ and listen to the Spirit. The choice was mine. I began to walk over to the kids playing ball. What would I say? How will I approach? How do I show humility in my manners and actions?

To choose humility is never the easy road, but it is always worth it in the end. I squatted low by the waters edge and waited for one of the youth to look my way. I wanted to show that I had come in peace. I asked if the two brothers could come over for a second. I apologized to the younger youth, the one who was cursing, and said to him, “Son, I apologize for flying off the handle. When I am with my wife and children I am very defensive for their well-being and I apologize for my abrupt action.” To the other brother I said, “I apologize to you as well.” I said, “I want to commend you in one thing though, I am glad to see you stand up for your younger brother. Never stop backing him. I hope you guys have fun today and play safe.” I held out my hand to show my sincerity. The older brother shook my hand and cracked open a smile. “Later bro,” I said, and I walked off. A million other things I could have said, but that is what I said. I asked the Spirit for words and that’s what I received.

It hit me on the way to the van, “Those kids have never been apologized to in their life.” I prayed for them and asked the Lord to forgive me and use my sin for His glory. I still hope and pray for their salvation and for a bad situation to become a good day they will remember. I also hope that the youth will show more respect and control for the things they say. Even though I handled the situation in a wrong manner in the beginning, doesn’t mean God can’t use it for His glory. Unfortunately I was not obedient in the first place.

Can you see how dangerous it is to claim to be a Christian? It is a lifestyle. What do you think the thought process in the youth would have been if I just left without obeying the Spirit? What about my thought process, my walk with Lord and my claim would have been if I just left without apologizing? Would my claim be valid if I willfully rejected the Holy Spirit? The reality is that if I am not submitted to Christ and walking in Him everyday, I have no assurance of my salvation.

So what is it that my wife needs of me? What is it my children need of me? Answer: A husband/father who is completely saturated with the total truth of Jesus Christ. My biblical mandate is to lead and love as Christ does the Church. This means I am to love my wife showing her honor, love and respect. I am to raise my children in love by pro-actively teaching them to honor God, exemplify living in faith by the Spirit and raising them in the discipline, instruction, admonition and fear of the Lord. This is commanded of all who have children.

But wait a minute, how can I present a true picture of Christ to my family if I do not know the true Gospel and what it means to live in Christ? How can I know the truth if I continually sit under preaching that is just a vague half-truth? How can I know the truth of Christ if I subject my mind to TV, Radio, Internet and books that are just the sinful desires of my heart? How can I speak the truth of the Gospel if main stream christian media rarely speaks the full truth? How can I know the truth and act out the truth if I do not have the truth in me? The answer to all of these questions is simple – if I am not abiding in the fullness of Christ Jesus, I cannot operate in the truth at all! But what does this mean?

Abiding in Christ simply means that Christ must take up residency within me. It means I must be saved, born again, converted, regenerated, or whatever title you want to give it. I have to be made alive in Christ and become dead to sin. I have to become a new creation in Christ. This is a very real transformation that happens, and it must happen, otherwise I am not a Christian, and neither are you. Christianity is not something that you can create nor something you are by mere title, words, deeds, intellectual decision or by religious ritual. Only God can make this happen; there are no other ways and no other options for eternal life and living in truth.

Salvation is of the Lord, but we are not excused to laziness. We are to seek for God and His truth. We are promised that if we earnestly seek Him we will find Him. God views the heart of a person, therefore only true seekers will be given the promise. You see, true biblical transformation of a sinner results in the application of emotional, physical and spiritual action within a believer’s life. A reaction occurs as a result of the undeserved supernatural work of the Holy Spirit bringing about new life into a sinner and thus creating a believer who longs to glorify God and walk with the Savior.

If this reality is true of you and me, what then are we really to do in our Christian life? The ongoing theme throughout the entire bible is clear – obedience to the guidance and repentance to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, having said this, oh how dangerous it is to claim to be a Christian, especially if you really are not. What exactly makes Christianity such a dangerous title to claim though?

For a true believer, Christianity is all encompassing. It is both physical and spiritual; both present and eternal. It is true and alive; regenerating and life changing. This is what makes Christianity dangerous. To make a accusation that you are a Christian and yet not be regenerated, is blasphemous and dangerous. The seriousness of the Christian claim means a radical lifestyle of sacrificial love, regardless of who the person is and what they have done! The seriousness of the Christian claim I want to present is not the hypocritical claim of the false convert, but rather the seriousness and very real present danger there is in following Jesus Christ. Now I must say, even though there are parts of this claim that we will examine that may seem hard, they are a tremendous joy and privilege to serve the living Christ in such ways. God did not give us a spirit of fear. I want to divide the danger of our claim into three parts: Submission, persecution and a lifestyle.”