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What We Don't Think About When We Think Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict...

 There is a lot of ignorace in the West today about, well, a lot of what goes on in the world around us. We have much more information than we've ever had at our finger tips, yet we still choose to keep ourselves in the dark about much of what we've been taught throughout the years. Some of us don't have the time, some of us only read articles online that affirm what we already believe, and others of us would rather keep ourselves numb and entertained with the myriad of screens that soothe our brains to sleep.

I would challenge you, especially if you are a Christian in the West, to spend a good amount of time researching the reality of one piece of the United State's foreign policy, involving our relationship with Israel. 

 Many Christians automatically toe the party line when it comes to our support of Israel. We believe all of the Zionist propaganda and don't take the time to study the parts of the Bible used (or misused) to back up that propaganda. The reality that we either do not know, or choose to ignore, is that our support actually helps persecute and kill our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, that's not to say that we should therefore support the PLO or Islamic groups that have killed many civilians. It just seems necessary to me, that if we are going to support a country without questioning it's actions, we should at least know the whole truth about those actions. Also, we have to ask ourselves how God views this support? What does He think about our inolvement in the oppression of those He bought with His blood, who love and serve Jesus, who are actively working in awful conditions to try and bring peace to their land? 

 If you are up to the challenge, I would highly recommend three books to get you started:

 "Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel" by Elias Chacour

 "Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire" by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen

 "Son of Hamas" by Mosab Hassan Yousef

Here is an excerpt from "Light Force" to get you started. This is the conversation between a Dutch Christian and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member:

"'Now I would like to ask you some questions.'

 'What sort of questions?' I asked him.

 'About Christianity and the Bible,' he replied. 'I have spent nineteen years in prison. I was first arrested in 1971. I was freed in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange. I was arrested again in 1988 and several more times since. When you spend that much time in prison, you have a lot of time to think.'

 I wondered if Abdul had been imprisoned for terrorist activities. Or was he kept in administrative detention, as I knew thousands of Palestinians were? Regardless, prisoners had little physical activity, which, unless they were determined to use their time productively, provided opportunity for their hatred to fester and grow. 

 Abdul leaned forward to say, 'You talk about the future of peace. The solution is Islam! I reached that conclusion in prison.' He leaned back, lit his cigarette, and added, 'I read the Bible in prison. I also read the Quran and that's when I decided to become a Muslim.' '

 'You were not a Muslim already?'

 'Culturally, I was a Muslim. Not intellectually. However, I have questions about the Bible and Christianity, and maybe you can answer them.'

 I opened my hands on the table, inviting him to ask whatever he wished. 

 He didn't ask anything at first but rather launched into a passionate speech....'That's right. We revere Jesus. He was a great prophet. But the Jews didn't listen to Him. Jesus symbolized for us our struggles. When I read the Injil  [Arab word for Gospel, used for the New Testament], I identified with Jesus. My problem is with the Old Testament. For example, in the book of Joshua, how could God order the Jews to go into Jericho and kill every living person, including women and children and all the animals? And yet we are condemned if one of our people, fighting for our land that was taken from us, kills a few civilians. Can you explain to me the difference?''

 My friends and I were surprised by the intensity of Abdul's words. More calmly than I felt, I tried to answer his question. 'You have to understand the context,' I explained, choosing my words carefully. 'The people living in the land then were idol worshipers who practiced child sacrifice among their many wicked acts. God gave them four hundred years to change their ways. When they didn't, being God, He had the right to wipe them out and replace them with the people of His choosing.'

 'But that is not the situation today,' Abdul said. 'We are not pagans.'

 'You are correct that this is not the same situation. The orders God gave Joshua were unique.'

 Abdul crushed the remainder of his cigarette and lit another. 'Maybe you can explain this to me. Why do the Christian Zionists support Israel so strongly? I would like to understand.' 

 'You ask me the hard questions!' I laughed and for the first time Abdul smiled for an instant. 'Let me first say that not all Christians are Zionists. There are two factors at work for many Christians. One is guilt.' Here I briefly explained how, for the most part, the Christians in the West didn't rise up and protest the killing of Jews during the Holocaust. 'After the war, many Christians believed that it was necessary to give the Jews a place of their own so that they would no longer be at the mercy of a ruthless tyrant like Hitler. 

 'The second factor concerns theology. There are many Christians who believe that God is preparing the world for the end times and that the nation of Israel is the fulfillment of many prophecies. They conclude that if they don't support Israel, they are resisting God's plans.' 

 'I have heard that in the book of Zechariah the last two chapters are being fulfilled today. Do you believe that?'

 Obviously Abdul had read the Minor Prophets. 'Now you ask me to explain one of the toughest passages in the Bible. Those chapters are indeed about the last days. We believe that Jesus will rule over all the earth, as it says in Zechariah 14:9. I don't need to remind you that Muslims believe this as well. But whether the present state of Israel is referenced in these verses, well, Christians do not agree on that.'....

[After Abdul left]...Al and the Palestinian Pastor sat in stunned silence. Finally, Al commented that he was amazed at the man's openness. 

 'Why?' I asked.

 'He's a thinker. He seems to be genuinely searching.'

 'You are surprised that he is a human being like you and me? Perhaps it is easier to think of him as mindless terrorist. That will do nothing to help solve the problems of the Middle East.'

 Later as I lay on my bed, a ceiling fan trying listlessly to move the hot, humid air in my stuffy room, I thought about how Al's response was typical of many Western Christians. The news media rarely put a face on Islamic fundamentalist groups in Gaza and West Bank. Therefore few people stopped to think that these men, like people everywhere, had families, dreams, and fears. Abdul was married, and he'd told us that he had seven young children. I could imagine him at home, sitting on his sofa with a toddler snuggled up to him on each side. This wasn't how most of us chose to think of a senior member of Islamic Jihad. I wondered how many of his colleagues were also struggling to figure out the meaning of life. For many, their only source of enlightenment was Islam."

- Brother Andrew

from: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Force-Stirring-Account-Crossfire/dp/0800731042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387132651&sr=1-1&keywords=light+force

Pride & Pity

In the late 60's as a white woman who darkened her skin, Grace Halsell moved into Harlem and then down South in order to understand a tiny piece of what it was like to live as a black person in that time. The honesty about her transformation ideologically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually is grating but so necessary.

I read this book a couple of months ago and there were so many parts that hit me square in the chest. The reality that a lot of what she experienced has not changed, or has just morphed into some other equally terrible existence quite frankly buried me in feelings of powerlessness. Besides praying, I'm still figuring out what to do with it.

I woke up today, thinking about this one theme that the author kept running into during her experience, the tendency for those in the majority or in power or with means, to enjoy holding the ability to help others above those whom we see as below us. And what it's like to be on the other end. 

"April 17, 1968

 I drove to Virginia to meet Sarah Patton Boyle, who lives alone in a small apartment. In her Desegregated Heart, she writes of being a well-bred, gentile, Southern white who took on the mass of Negro people to love, and of her disillusionment in learning that for all of her ideals, her aspirations, and fondest hopes she attained little satisfaction or spiritual sustenance. 

 Her experience was somewhat similar to one that I had in Korea. My heart had bled for the mass of Koreans. Later I saw that I could not love 'a people' out of my egotistical 'pity' for their poverty or their plight. But I have never felt that I loved the mass of black people, or the mass of white people, nor have I ever been an activist, a do-gooder. And I am not my brother's keeper. 

 Since I chanced to think how I would be treated, if I were black, I have begun to change. I see fat, rich women in the Watergate Health Club who pay hundreds of dollars to lose one pound, contrasted vividly with Rebecca, the black cleanup woman, who holds down two jobs, gets her exercise naturally and probably has the best figure in the spa. 

 I began to see how hard most black women like Rebecca must work. And then I began to fear: can I stand up to that kind of pace? How many hours will I have to work? If I used my status as a white and became a cash-stand operator or a telephone operator I'd be a slow learner. I have learned most everything in life slowly, but because I functioned as a white, others have great patience with me. My slow speech, my slow motions are considered quite charming. But as a black girl will I be considered 'just a little dumb'?..."  pgs 19-20

"Harlem....

Moore is a totally black Negro: not one of the modern pretty boys, but Negroid all the way, the lips, the nose, and the eyes. He is about forty-five years old, rather short, balding, study, almost pudgy.

 'You can't walk there, with those feet,' he tells me when he learns I am on the way to Harlem Hospital. He goes for his car while I pay my bill. I hobble out to find him sitting in a robin's-egg blue, late-model Cadillac convertible. I sit silently as he drives down St. Nicholas Avenue. At the red light on 135th, he studies me, and senses my aloneness. He knows I am in need, although he cannot immediately pinpoint what my needs are. 

 The red light is brief, but it is long enough for his words: 'I will help you.'

 The words are so simple, somehow so sharp-edged--for the good can hurt as much as the bad, sometimes more--that I want to shout, that is not fair! I came here to know you for what you are, you beast, you black, black, black man! And you are ugly to me. You are a nigger. And you feel sorry for me. You are pitying me, you are, Christ in heaven, you are loving me! It's not supposed to be like that! You're telling me you don't care if you ever see me again, but that you will help me, that you will help me no matter what my trouble, no matter what I've done. You are my friend? God, how I need you, how I want you. 

 My face is buried in my hands; the tears are coming. And I feel helpless and stripped naked, stripped bare of those myths I've worn like crown jewels--that white is right, that black is wrong. Moore takes the scales away, he alone, and he does it with four words: I will help you. Help me? How often can one help another? How often does one try? 

 'It's nothing to be ashamed of to run out of money...,' he tells me, presuming that I need money (or might need money before I find a job). He will loan me money, he wants to see me out of my dark miserable hotel room, and he offers to help me find an apartment! No talk of my snooping around in closets, looking for untruths ! 'I'm not including myself in any of this,' he makes plain. He is doing it simply because he wants to help me, 'whether I ever see you again or not, it doesn't matter.' 

 I have opened the car door to get out and go into the hospital. 'But why? Why? Why would you do this? Why would you want to help me this way?'

 'I can't explain it myself,' he says, adding: 'But you must have done something right--someplace, sometime.'"

 pgs 63-64

- Grace Halsell

from: http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Sister-Anniversary-Grace-Halsell/dp/0967401305/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386791433&sr=1-2&keywords=soul+sister

Halsel, Grace. Soul Sister. Washington, D.C.: Crossroads International Publishing, 1999.

Myths About Spiritual Gifts

I am a non-cessationist, meaning I believe that the gifts given to the Church in the New Testament by the Holy Spirit are still in action and that they never ceased. I believe that the Church in the West is still in dire need of these gifts and that to ignore them is to cut off a big chunk of life as a Christian. I can go into the whole mess of the effects of Naturalism and Deism on the Christian faith at another time, but I believe that both of those things are a huge reason (along with the abuses of supposed "spiritual gifts" by certain denominations and Church movements) as to why we don't actively welcome the Holy Spirit's leading in our churches, and cultivate the gifts that are laid out in the New Testament.

I also think that ignorance about the gifts stunts our relationship with God. In following these beliefs, I've been reading and listening to various teachings over the years about the Holy Spirit, and the gifts. During my questioning and learning, I've come across a teacher with a lot of good things to say about both subjects. Right now I'm reading his "Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts". It has been very encouraging reading and listening to Dr. Sam Storms because he has such a balanced approach to the subject. He has re-iterated and addressed a lot of the things I've wondered myself, such as why the abuse of a spiritual gift must automatically mean that it shouldn't be used? I would definitely recommend that anyone who is curious or in need of being taught about the gifts, check out Dr. Storms sermon series on the gifts here: http://www.bridgewaychurch.com/sermons#series_8

And that you also check out his book. Here is an excerpt:

"Myth # 5: If people abuse spiritual gifts, they should cease to use spiritual gifts. Right? Wrong!

 I find it nothing short of remarkable that to a church obsessed and glutted with spiritual gifts, to a church awash in spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:5-7), indeed to a church that had abused spiritual gifts, Paul wrote: 'Earnestly desire spiritual gifts' (1 Corinthians 14:1)! This is stunning, if only because it is so different from the sort of counsel we might have given the Corinthians.

 The Corinthian believers came in second to no one in the charismatic race. Yet they had seriously misunderstood and abused these gifts. My first response is to assume that Paul would tell them to slow down, if not declare a temporary moratorium, on the exercise of these gifts. At the very least he should have told them to stop praying for and seeking after such miraculous phenomena as tongues and prophecy. So much for my wisdom!

 What he told them to do is really quite amazing. To a church aflame with charismata, Paul commanded the people to earnestly seek for more (1 Corinthians 12:31; 14:1, 39)! Whereas we might have doused their zeal with water, Paul appears to pour gasoline on the fire. The point is this: The solution to the abuse of spiritual gifts is not prohibition, but correction. Paul simply told them, 'Do it right!' In other words, 'Don't do it less. Just do it better!'

 I could understand if Paul issued such counsel to a church with great character and little power. But Corinth was a church with little character and great power. This counsel strikes some as unwise, if not dangerous, like throwing a life jacket filled with lead to a drowning man, or saying to a recovering alcoholic, 'Hey buddy, let's go get a drink!' Yet, to the very people guilty of elitism and fanaticism, Paul said, 'Be eager and zealous for more gifts than you've already got.' We, on the other hand, would most likely have said: 'Cool it, Corinthians! Settle down. Forget about gifts. Your spiritual focus is way out of balance. Don't you realize that spiritual gifts are what got you in trouble in the first place!' But, of course, the problem was not spiritual gifts. The problem was immature and unspiritual people. The point is that suppression of spiritual zeal is never the answer. The solution to abuse is not disuse but proper use.

 Recently, a man who had been raised in a charistmatic church wrote to me of his decision to leave it. He had become disillusioned with what he believed were counterfeit gifts and people feigning spiritual manifestations. I'm saddened when I hear stories like this. As hard as it may be for us, we must remember that the existence of fake is not proof of the nonexistence of the real. I'm amazed at how many Christians subconsciously formulate their theological beliefs based not on the beauty of what the Bible describes but in reaction to the ugliness of what they have seen in others who have fabricated an experience or abused some good gift of God.

 Be careful that you do not develop unreasonable expectations of anyone who has any particular gift. After all, no matter how spectacular the gift, no matter how marvelous the manifestation of the Spirit, we are but 'earthen vessels' (2 Corinthians 4:7).


Myth #6: If you ever used a spiritual gift, you can always use it. Right? Wrong!

 Many mistakenly believe that if you have prophesied once, you can prophesy at will, or if you have ever prayed and someone is healed, you can heal at will. The issue at stake here is whether spiritual gifts are permanent (what some have called 'residential') or occasional and circumstantial. Can we legitimately say a person has a gift, or does one simply use a gift? For example, is it possible that someone may on occasion perform a miracle without having the gift of miracles?

 There are several factors that support the notion of permanency, not least of which are the texts that speak of one 'having' a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 13:2; Romans 12:6). In 1 Corinthians 14:28 Paul seemed to envision the possibility of knowing whether or not one with the gift of interpretation is present in the meeting. Paul exhorted Timothy not to neglect 'the spiritual gift within you ' (1 Timothy 4:14). Paul also said some people have titles that describe a continuing function, such as 'teachers,' 'evangelists,' or 'prophets' (Ephesians 4:11). And in 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Paul clearly affirmed that, notwithstanding neglect and disuse, one's gift (at least Timothy's) can remain. We can't appeal to Romans 11:29 to answer this question, for there the 'gifts' of God refer to covenantal blessing bestowed on national Israel.

 On the other hand, Paul consistently used the present tense in his discussion of the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11), as if to suggest that gifts are bestowed to meet the need of the moment. Prophecy, for example, is dependent on the spontaneity of revelation (1 Corinthians 14:30) and evidently cannot be exercised at will. Healing, too, is always subject to the sovereign will of God. We'll see this more clearly later on. 

 Perhaps the best answer is to say that some gifts, such as teaching, leadership, tongues, mercy, and so on are more likely permanent and can be exercised at will, whereas others such as prophecy, healing, and miracles are always subject to the sovereign purpose and timing of the Spirit."

- Dr. Sam Storms

from : http://www.amazon.com/The-Beginners-Guide-Spiritual-Gifts/dp/0830746501/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386536982&sr=8-1&keywords=the+beginner%27s+guide+to+spiritual+gifts

Just An Observation

I was reading 2 Chronicles 20 with breakfast today (yes...I do eat breakfast around 1 in the afternoon), and I noticed something that keeps popping up during times of battle for the Israelites. Thus far in the Old Testament, almost every time Israel goes into battle, they have been terrified or unsure of their strength as an army. Before going into battle, those kings or leaders who worship the Lord (YHWH) take time to ask Him for their battle strategy; they ask if they should even go into battle with whatever foreign nation is coming against them, or they cry out to Him because they are afraid of being outnumbered. Either way, it's an acknowledgment that it's by the Lord that they've gotten to where they are and it's by His strength that they will have victory over their enemies. Those who at least try to follow the Lord's commands, recognize that they must depend on His continuing presence with them. It's not that they know from the beginning that He is their God and that He will automatically let them win whatever battle they enter. They keep asking. And at times, God has told them to actually cut their army in half, or to simply march around a wall, in order to be the victors, or in the case of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles, to just stand and watch.

It's just interesting seeing how the Lord leads His people, even in times of war. His ways are backward or upside down compared to the wisdom of this world. Have a look yourself:


"After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, 'A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar' (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court,  and said, 'O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’  And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy—  behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.  O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.'

 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.  And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.  And he said, 'Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.  And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”  And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.”

 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.  For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another."

- 2 Chronicles 20:1-23 (ESV)

"What Is The Gospel?" Individual Bible Study

Introduction

Before getting into the meat of this study, please humor me for a couple of minutes while I explain why I wanted to make sure we cover this all-important topic in our group. This past Summer, as I was listening to the audio version of a very good book by Matt Chandler called The Explicit Gospel, I became re-acquainted with the reality that although I had grown up in a Christian home, spent most Sunday mornings of my life in church and Sunday school, and knew about various theological subjects, for a long time, I had missed the most crucial point of what Christianity is all about. 

In his book introduction, Chandler talks to the reader about what he calls "The Assumed Gospel." The basic idea of this term is that many people go to church, grow up in Christian homes, and/or call themselves Christians, but don't truly understand what the Gospel actually is. Instead, they end up thinking that Christianity is about following all the right rules, practicing all of the right morals, or being judged for not having the ability to do so. This way of living ends up dragging a person down into a trap of feeling constant guilt for not attaining to a church community's standards, telling him or herself that she will keep trying harder and eventually, with the right amount of will-power he or she might actually elevate themselves to being a "good person," someone worthy of being friends with their fellow Christians.

Until my early twenties, this was how I viewed Christianity too. I had "accepted Jesus into my heart" when I was four. I brought all of my friends to youth group. I argued with my atheist friends about why they should believe that God exists. I tried not to do the things I knew were bad, like hate the girl at school who spread rumors about me, get drunk at college parties, or go too far with my boyfriend. But the harder I would try to meet this moral standard, the more I realized that I couldn't do any of this on my own.

Now, here comes my first question for you: What do you think the Gospel is? (Take a couple of minutes to think about it before moving on. Jot down some answers on a piece of paper or type them up in a Word document so you can keep track)


Also, Why do we need the Gospel?

Take a few minutes to read these Bible passages as you think on this.

Romans 3:10-18
Colossians 1:21-23
Romans 5:6-11



What is the Gospel?

The Gospel literally means "Good News". This good news is the historical reality that God became human, He entered our earthly experience as a baby born to a virgin girl who named Him Jesus. Around the age of 30, He began to teach the people of Israel about who God (Yahweh) is and what His Kingdom is about. He was betrayed by one of his own disciples and arrested by the hypocritical religious leaders of the time on false charges of blasphemy against God. Following torture and violent beatings, Jesus was nailed to a Roman cross. He died on that cross after crying out to his Father in Heaven, and declaring His work finished. His body was laid in a tomb that belonged to one of His followers. After three days, Jesus came to life again in physical human form, having forever conquered sin and death. After making various appearances to His followers, He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, still fully man and fully God.

The Gospel is the story of what God did in Jesus for all of Creation. Sin entered into this world after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. And since then, humanity has been enslaved by sin and death, alienated from their Creator, and doomed to spend eternity separated from God. But because of what Jesus did on the cross, taking the penalty of our sin onto Himself, absolving us of all of the terrible things we do, we don't have to be separated any longer. We no longer have to fear the wrath of God or the reality of Hell.

Because of Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead, we can now have an intimate relationship with the God who made us. We can know Him as a person, and be a part of His work in this world. We don't have to get sucked into trying to do everything ourselves. We can now be changed and guided by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who makes us able to do any good work that God calls us to. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and helps us repent, giving us the ability to stop committing the sins that have constantly thrown us into oblivion. It is the Holy Spirit who seals us for the day when Jesus will return to Earth, to bring His Kingdom into full fruition, and dwell with His people forever.


Other "gospels"

Ever since Jesus ascended into Heaven, His followers have been telling as many people as they can about who Jesus is and what He did. And as far back as the time period when most of the New Testament letters were written, there have been people who take the Gospel and twist it into something that it is not. The Bible calls this false teaching, and those who spread these teachings are called false teachers.

Take a look at Galatians 1:6-9. How do you think God feels about people teaching false gospels?


Let's focus on some common beliefs that are taught in this country. Here is a video of Michael Horton explaining a belief called "Moral Therapeutic Deism":

http://theresurgence.com/2010/03/01/what-is-moralistic-therapeutic-deism


What are the differences between "Moral Therapeutic Deism" and what the Bible says about the Gospel (written above under What Is The Gospel?) ?



Can you relate to any of the beliefs expressed in "Moral Therapeutic Deism"? Take some time and ask Jesus to show you the truth about the Gospel and who He really is through His Word.



A second popular teaching that is becoming very widespread is what theologians and pastors are calling "The Health & Wealth Gospel" or "The Prosperity Gospel". (On a side note, have you heard of "Preacher of LA"? Yeah those guys are Prosperity Gospel preachers) Normally I wouldn't suggest relying on Wikipedia, but this particular page has a lot of the right information in one place. Try to at least read the introduction and the "Theology" section:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology

Again, what are the differences between "The Prosperity Gospel" and what the Bible says the about the Gospel?


How do the following Bible passages go against what this "Prosperity Gospel" is teaching?:

Luke 9:22-24
John 15:18-21
John 16:33




Who does the biblical Gospel tell us to focus on?


And what do these other "gospels" make us focus on? 



After doing all of this reading and listening, write down what you think the Gospel is, and compare it to your original answer. 


If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in a comment below.



Further reading/listening:

The Gospels According to Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John

The Book of Romans

Matt Chandler - The Explicit Gospel http://www.amazon.com/The-Explicit-Gospel-Re-Lit/dp/1433530031/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383018543&sr=8-1&keywords=matt+chandler+the+explicit+gospel

Josh Peterson - The Gospel Assumed, or Explicit?
http://www.thevillagechurch.net/the-village-blog/the-gospel-assumed-or-explicit/

D. A. Carson - What Is the Gospel and How Does It Work?
http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/entry/what_is_the_gospel_and_how_does_it_work_part_1_of_3

Matt Chandler - Making the Gospel Explicit, Not Assumed
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/03/02/matt-chandler-on-making-the-gospel-explicit-not-assumed/

"The Prosperity Gospel Ruined My Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuQIoZV2KRY

"Deists Who Love Jesus and Talk Like Freud"
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/03/20/deists-who-love-jesus-and-talk-like-freud/

North vs. South

As I've been reading various books having to do with the historical and current racial divides in the United States, I've come across a strange fact. Here in the North, we tend to look down on the South for it's involvement in the kidnapping, torture, murder, and enslavement of Africans. It is always right to acknowledge the evil committed by any group of people. However, we tend to get self-righteous and claim that just because slavery was more prevalent in the South, that Northerners' views of black people have always been higher and less racist than those in the South. The truth is, Northerners have been and are just as racist as Southerners, it is just that many times it may be expressed differently, more "sneakily"; behind closed doors or in our jokes among friends (and at other times it's expressed just as blatantly as anywhere else). We like to pretend that we are removed, that we aren't as culpable for our views because we aren't all members of famous hate groups. But in reality, as we have seen throughout history, geography and laws don't change a human's sinful heart. Even if we don't don white masks and haven't played part in violent acts of hatred, doesn't mean that we don't carry the same ugly sin inside of us. And when we stand before the only perfect Man to ever live, to be judged for all of the things we insisted on ignoring in our darkened hearts, He won't be telling us that just because we lived in the North, our sins are lower on the list of reasons that He was nailed to the Cross.

 I know that this topic is much more complicated than I'm getting into right now, but I only wanted to introduce it, not fully analyze it (at least not yet).  I'm sure there are many more examples, but I came across three books where various persons were either more mistreated in places in the North than they were in the South in the present day or just as mistreated in the North as they were in the South while slavery was still legal. These books are Mark Mathabane's Kaffir Boy In America: An Encounter With Apartheid, Grace Halsell's Soul Sister, and the Biography of Peter and Vina Still written by Kate E. R. Pickard.

Here is an excerpt from Soul Sister (If you have never heard of or read this book, I would definitely recommend it. I would also recommend it's predecessor, Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin). In this excerpt, Rudy Shields, a black Civil Rights worker in Mississippi, is explaining some of what I was saying above:

"'I'll say this, being in Mississippi the last few years, I believe that Mississippi will solve this racial problem quicker than most of your Northern states. By '76 black people will be in control of the whole state of Mississippi. And I think we're going to solve the race problem. And this racist down here, in spite of the fact that he'll blow your brains out, in his mind he's a good Christian. And black people and white people live close together and there's more communication between the two races of people in Mississippi than what it'd be in Chicago, or any big city like that, where the blacks and whites are completely separate.

'Here, white and black live together. Well, a block from where I live I have a white neighbor. Of course, you wouldn't never know, I never see her, but that's just how close we live down here together. And as far as the white man goes, as long as you stay "in your place" he'll do you a favor.

'I found this, for instance in Chicago, I was very involved in civil rights and the place where I was employed many of the white people that worked there would ask me, 'Why do the Negroes demonstrate?' And I'd tell them about some of the conditions, not only in Mississippi but right there in Chicago, practically on their doorsteps, and you know, they wouldn't believe me! I remember once I took them into some of the rat-infested buildings and showed them how black people lived, and they all said, 'If I were black, if I had to live under these circumstances, I'd be demonstrating, too.' But in Chicago I saw there was just no communication between black and white.'"

- Grace Halsell

from: http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Sister-Anniversary-Grace-Halsell/dp/0967401305/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383008172&sr=1-3&keywords=s