Apr 30, 2012

Are We Living in the Last Days?

I've always been annoyed by presumptuous pastors who plot the demise of the human race with more detail than even the Bible predicts. Something in me always seems to be drawn back to Jesus saying that "No man knows the day or the hour." Yet there has always been a subtle intrigue by which believers regard Revelation.

If a church does a series on Revelation the attendance will go up. When a book is published on this subject it could sell in the tens of millions. Even a movie that is apocalyptic in nature will have a healthy haul at the box office. So, am I writing this post to increase web traffic? No, although it probably will. I just want to point out a few things worth noting.

When I was a kid I heard that Saddam Hussein may be the antichrist (this was during the first gulf war). Then President Clinton was elected and people said the same thing about him. President Bush and President Obama have had similar rumors. So do we just always suppose everyone in power is going to become the antichrist?

President Obama was perhaps the most interesting of the comparisons. People were skeptical of his birthplace and even his religion. Many still claim that he is a closet Muslim. For the record I do not believe he is. The reason this is interesting is that Christians over the years switched from believing the Anti-Christ would come out of the U.S.S.R. or the Catholic church to someone from Islam.

What reasons would we have to suspect Islam? Well lets look. Antichrist literally means counterfeit Christ. They are both supposed to be the God of Abraham, the "only" god, and the sole creator of the universe. Sounds counterfeit doesn't it?

Well, no not really. You see the Muslims consider it an abomination to say that the Father has a son. They may have a counterfeit god, but definitely not an counterfeit Christ.

So what prominent religion clearly worships a Jesus that is not the Jesus of the Bible. Until recently there wasn't a prominent religion that did this, just some misguided views in different belief systems. But now Mormonism has moved into the public eye. With commercials on TV that give "hope", a prominent TV personality (Glenn Beck), and even a presidential candidate (Mitt Romney).

Are they a Christian denomination? You tell me. Here are some of their beliefs:

-God the father used to be a man on another planet who became a god through good works.
-God literally had sex with Mary to produce Jesus.
-Jesus and Satan are brothers (Satan wishes that he was on Jesus' level)
-If you are male you can one day be the god of your own planet.
-Each person on your planet will be created through having sex with many wives to produce the spirit babies for insertion into the humans.

My friends this is a cult. Those who pledge themselves to a cult and follow its teachings are prone to demonic influence. The antichrist doesn't start off as a "bad" guy, he becomes possessed by Satan himself after coming to power.

While some are still worried about our current president being a Muslim, I suggest they think twice when considering who to vote for for president this year. If these are our choices I will highly consider an independent or third party. Not because I believe I can stop the rise of the antichrist or even that someone running will be the antichrist. I just don't want to end up in heaven as one of the few duped into helping him rise to power.

Again for the record I am not saying that Mitt Romney will be the antichrist. In fact we may not see the rise of the antichrist for thousands of years.  I do believe we should be discerning in these areas and weigh the risks and consequences of every decision. What do you think? I would love to discuss this with you below.

Apr 19, 2012

Are You Swimming in Your Own Filth?

Donatello
I have to change my turtle's filter about once a week. It is constantly being clogged with his waste and scrap food. The filter needs to be clean to do its job.

If I ever became tired of changing the filter I could decide to take it out completely. Of course this decision would lead to my turtle's death. Good old Donatello could never survive swimming in his own filth without me.

The same is true in life. Living in our own filth leads to death. Romans 6:23 tells us that we deserve death because of sin, but can live because of Christ. 

As we abide in Christ and in His word we are constantly being cleansed of sin. The Bible points out areas we need to turn over to God and jesus forgives us. 

Aren't you glad He does not grow tired of cleansing us? What if He simply turned off the filter and walked away? Isn't it great that He loves us more than I love my turtle?


Apr 17, 2012

How to Use Facebook for Evangelism

Facebook has become a place where gossip spreads, untruths circulate, and marriages fall apart. So is it all evil?

Actually, far from it. I believe Facebook is one of the greatest tools for Evangelism the world has ever seen. If you live your faith it is obvious to others.

However, if you do not live it out you can do irreparable damage to your testimony. A lot of Christian's lives are the very excuses for others to reject Christ. "The church is full of hypocrites" is their popular mantra.

Let me just say that posting random Bible verses is only compelling to Christians. In fact Facebook does not put some of your friends in your news feed. The algorithms that control Facebook put the people with the most in common with you in your news feed.

The people that you want to see the verses you post probably won't anyway. So how does one go about reaching those without Christ online?

Try making a "Hit List" of 5 to 10 people that God has put in your life who do not know Christ. After you have your list make sure you click on it at least once a day. You will see the news feed of only those people.

Pray for your list and interact with the people on it. Like their pictures, comment on their status, but do not preach at them.

You will earn the right to speak into their lives by doing this. They will begin to look at your feed more as well. And perhaps most importantly, you will train yourself to periodically leave your Christian bubble.