Lake Louise Church of the Nazarene

It is one of the first things I learned when I became a Christian. I have used them repeatedly. I don’t think they are wrong. It’s just that I am not sure what to do with them. They are the ‘Magic Words’ of evangelism.You know them I am sure. You may have heard of them as the “Four Spiritual Laws”. You may know them as the “ABCs of Salvation”. The “Roman Road” comes to mind. But they are almost all magic words.Let me explain.

When we lead someone to the Lord Jesus Christ and they want to be forgiven their sins and go to heaven when they die, we run through some sort of Scripture program of what it means to be saved. We lead them in the sinner’s prayer and they are saved, Praise the Lord! Then, we tell them they need to start reading their Bible, be baptized and worship (or some variation of those things). And that’s it.

There is a question that used to sit at the back of my head is now working its way onto this page. The question is, “Is that it?” I look at Alcoholics Anonymous and they do a whole bunch more to get sober than we Christians do to get saved. An Alcoholic admits that his or her life is unmanageable and that they are powerless. We do that, too. They come to believe in a power greater than themselves that can restore them to sanity. We are still tracking. They make a decision to turn their lives over to God. Ditto.

Then something insane happens. The person in AA make a fearless moral inventory of their lives. They confess their sins to another human being. I could go on, but it is just insanity. They go beyond admitting that they are a hopeless drunk and take care of business.Sure, I know there are Christians that go farther than simply admitting they are sinners saved by grace, but not a lot. If we are to truly become like Jesus, we need to do more than just get saved. I can hear some of you thinking that is blasphemy. Is it? What would happen if we truly got our garbage out in the open and let God deal with it? What would be the result if we began to deal with our broken relationships and make restitution for the things we have done wrong? I think amazing things would happen. It is imperative that we move past the “magic words” and started to do the hard work of letting God into our lives for real change. That is a journey and not a destination.

How about an example ripped from today’s headlines (Dramatic, yes?): A young Hollywood starlet just was busted for Driving Under the Influence even though she just go out of rehab two weeks ago. She probably learned a lot about addiction and alcoholism.  I am sure she didn’t drink in rehab. Obviously, sobriety is more than not drinking. How do I know? Because she gets out and goes right back to her old habits and ends up drinking and driving, again. She needs to change some habits and become a different person, not just quit drinking. It isn’t good enough for her to admit she has a drinking problem, she needs to face lifestyle habits and personal issues for real change to take place. The same is true for us. We admit our sins, and ask Jesus to forgive us. Then, we need to change our old habits and replace them with new ones. Transformation is more important than information. Without it, we, like this young starlet, will end up right back where Jesus found us. In other words, we need more than magic words. What do you think? Let me know.

The human body is cool. It’s amazing how all of the organs and systems work together. All you have to do is go to the Detroit Science Center and see “Our Bodies: The Universe Within” and you will be convinced. Each system and organ has a function. All of the systems depend upon each other. Everything organ counts on every other organ to function properly. Except the appendix, it is useful in a book, but evidently not in the body. But even the appendix can affect the whole body when it is acting up. We recognize these things in our human bodies. How many of us have stubbed our toe and it ruined our whole day. It affected the way we walk and enjoy the day. And that is just a toe. Yes, the human body is truly amazing.

Properly functioning bodies are able to do all that we need them to do. Sick bodies are often limited. There is less freedom of movement and lots of pain. Sometimes there is a disease or sickness that affects the body but it is not seen until it is too late. That is why we need to go to our physician and get regular check ups. I can almost hear that annoying commercial asking me what kind of doctor I have.

 The church is the body of Christ. No, I did not say that my church is the body of Christ. And I did not say that your church is the body of Christ. We all are the body of Christ. Some of us are neat parts of the body and others of us are, well, not so cool. But, we each need each other. The Body of Christ needs all of the parts of the body.

That is why I wonder why we are so separate from each other. When that happens, the people in our community don’t see a unified body. They see a bunch of churches fighting for their own turf and not even hanging out with each other. This is kind of like what I have discovered about brains. They are cool when you can’t see them. They are gross laid out on a platter separate from the body. In fact, in my humble opinion, all internal organs should stay that way – internal. When we move around thinking we are independent of everyone else, we are like a brain without a body. Yuck!

The point I am trying to make is that all of the churches need to get together and share the love of Christ. If we go around beating each other up, or ignoring each other, people will not see true love. They will see a bunch of people that care more about being right than being loving. Harsh, I know. Is it fair? I think so.

It shouldn’t even be about being right. For example, the human heart pumps blood. The liver filters blood. And the hip bone is connected to the thigh bone. These are obvious things. The heart does something completely different from the liver. And I am not too sure that the liver thinks the heart is wrong because it is not a liver. Why can’t we figure something out based on what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 12? Jesus said we would be known by our love for each other. Even Paul says love is the more excellent way. It is about love and communion with Christ.

We are the instrument that God has chosen to share the Good News about God from God. We are a symbol of hope and promise. We are supposed to be salt and light. Will you join me and other churches as we seek to make the love of God real in this life? You can be an appendix, but where’s the fun in that?

I just finished watching a couple of videos online. They were from an evangelist that uses evidence to prove beyond a doubt God’s existence. Which, as one blog wrote, negates faith. This debate was between two atheists and these two Christians. It was a horror show.

I used to like to argue with atheists. There are lots of books in my library to prove it. Now, not so much. Why? It all comes down to love. I had to decide whether I was going to argue with people or love them like Jesus did.

By focusing on love, this evangelist would say that I am representing only a part of the Gospel. He would say that I am focused too much on God’s love and not enough on God’s judgment. You can look up the video and tell me if you think the argument route is more convincing than love.

Yes, I know that love is a dynamic concept. I realize that sometimes love hurts. I get it…honest. It killed Jesus.

Jesus said that we would be know by our love for each other. We are to love people as Jesus loved us. We are to be imitators of Christ. What would happen if we witnessed to people by living the love of Christ, even atheists? What if we let the Holy Spirit do the Spirit’s job and we love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves?

We could argue with atheists, but is that the best use of our time? I know the Bible says to be prepared to give a reason for our hope in Jesus. It also says it is to be done with gentleness and respect.

So, whether it is a mind-numbing banana defense or using the Ten Commandments, I think I will stick with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, imprisoned, and giving a drink to the thirsty. Simple, yes…and powerful.

Love…the anti-argument.

What does being Christian mean? How do we live the Christian life?

Some people might say that we obey the rules. Others may say that we are to separate ourselves from sin. Still others might say that being a Christian entails total commitment. These may have a place, but is this what Christianity is all about?

I know I have practiced each of these at times in my past. But what is the mark of the Christian life? Jesus said it is love. In fact, we cannot love God if we are not loving others.

We are being Christian when we love each other and the world as Christ Jesus loves the world. This love life seeks the best for the people with whom we come in contact. It brings wholeness and beauty.

So how do you understand love? How do you love those around you? What are your biggest challenges with loving others?

Let’s get the conversation started.

Dave G

It is my desire to spark some conversations and think about what it means to be a Christian in the world today.

Recently, I was walking up the hill of a local ski area with a friend. I asked him the first thing that came to mind when I said “Christian.” He said, “Rules.” We talked a long time about keeping rules and avoiding sin. To him, the Christian life, although the right life, was a life filled with rules and restrictions. It was not fun or freedom that came to mind first, but drudgery. Then we talked about the kind of life Jesus offers so we can live, laugh and love.

Ezekiel 36:24-29 Talks about God giving a heart of flesh to the Israelites, replacing their hearts of stone. God will also give them the ability to live a life that is pleasing to God. We are transformed so the things that used to have our attention longer interest us. We have a new heart and desire new things. That sounds like a wonderful life.

If we don’t get a new heart, we have to insulate ourselves from the world and the people in it. We avoid sin because we can never have real victory over it. All we can hope for is to manage the damage of sin in our lives. However, Jesus said that he has come to give us abundant life and to set us free.

Personally, I want an abundant life and freedom. How about you?

How do we get there? Is it enough to confess Jesus as Lord and go to Church, or is there something else? I am not talking about works righteousness. I am talking about beginning a journey in following Jesus. What needs to change? What can we do to foster spiritual growth in our lives?

Have you been frustrated in your spiritual life? Why, or why not?

Pastor Dave