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Monday, May 20, 2013
A Better Resurrection
How many of you are as weary as I am of hearing about another "victory" for "same-sex marriage" and the hypocritical slogan: "marriage equality" nearly every single day?
By the way, not a single person who trumpets the slogan "marriage equality" actually believes in or promotes "marriage equality." It should be obvious why that is the case. "Marriage equality" would mean that a man can marry his beagle, his horse, or his 5 goats, 12 women, 3 of his children, and his grandfather if he so desires. *That* would be marriage equality. And, of course, no one using that phrase truly affirms it. We all know what "marriage" is and no one (with perhaps, sadly, an exception here and there) wants marriage equality.
It seems that every day now we're hearing about one more defeat for the cause of God and truth, one more setback, one more brick being laid in the wall of the heart of this nation to block out the rays of the sun. I fear for the world my children and Lord willing my grandchildren will see. I started reading "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" to my children yesterday. Reading account after account of precious Christian men, women, and young people losing their lives for the sake of Christ's saving cross (in, I must add, unspeakably horrific ways) made me look forward to meeting those people - those dear brothers and sisters in Christ whose courage, devotion, and passion far eclipses my own. My heart is raw and breaking for what my children might have to see and experience. I'd give almost anything to protect them from it. The black cloud seems to be gathering fast and for the most part it still seems not to be touching us yet. But it continues to grow on all sides.
There is one thought that consumes my thoughts - and has for the last 6 years. It is this: Where are my children and grandchildren going to go to church? I also remember the words of Freiderick Neiztche's "The Parable of the Madman" who was running around looking for God. It closes with this thought: "What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of a dead God?" There are so many buildings with the word "C-H-U-R-C-H" plastered to them, and yet where are the calls to repentance? Where is the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, where are the announcements of God's coming judgement followed by the sweet comfort of the all-sufficient saving bitter cross of Jesus and His resurrection as the only hope for mankind's forgiveness and restoration to God's favor? And if these buildings are not the places where such a message is trumpeted, then Neiztche's epithet that they are but tombs and sepulchers - not of a dead God, but of a dead church - must be taken to heart.
Here is my plea to everyone who might still be reading this: Beg God every day to raise up godly, holy, gospel preaching, fierce, and courageous churches, preachers, and pulpits. We seem to be standing on the edge of a precipice of another dark age, ready, willing, and able to take the leap into the darkness. And if there are no godly pulpits, no men who have fire in their guts to preach Christ and Him crucified, no people willing to call our culture to repentance, no Christian people who will embrace and rejoice in holy living instead of compromising with worldliness, then what's to stop us? If we allow ourselves to be seduced by the siren-calls of a death culture, then we are just salt that has lost is savor - good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. We need more churches, more of the gospel, more of a clarion call to repentance and faith in Jesus. Would that all of God's people would humble themselves and pray that God would raise up an army of godly, fearless disciples of His Son. May we be numbered among those who will be found faithful.
Let us not forget this passage of Scripture which may become a life verse for us and our children more quickly than we might think:
Hebrews 11:35 "... And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection."
By the way, not a single person who trumpets the slogan "marriage equality" actually believes in or promotes "marriage equality." It should be obvious why that is the case. "Marriage equality" would mean that a man can marry his beagle, his horse, or his 5 goats, 12 women, 3 of his children, and his grandfather if he so desires. *That* would be marriage equality. And, of course, no one using that phrase truly affirms it. We all know what "marriage" is and no one (with perhaps, sadly, an exception here and there) wants marriage equality.
It seems that every day now we're hearing about one more defeat for the cause of God and truth, one more setback, one more brick being laid in the wall of the heart of this nation to block out the rays of the sun. I fear for the world my children and Lord willing my grandchildren will see. I started reading "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" to my children yesterday. Reading account after account of precious Christian men, women, and young people losing their lives for the sake of Christ's saving cross (in, I must add, unspeakably horrific ways) made me look forward to meeting those people - those dear brothers and sisters in Christ whose courage, devotion, and passion far eclipses my own. My heart is raw and breaking for what my children might have to see and experience. I'd give almost anything to protect them from it. The black cloud seems to be gathering fast and for the most part it still seems not to be touching us yet. But it continues to grow on all sides.
There is one thought that consumes my thoughts - and has for the last 6 years. It is this: Where are my children and grandchildren going to go to church? I also remember the words of Freiderick Neiztche's "The Parable of the Madman" who was running around looking for God. It closes with this thought: "What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of a dead God?" There are so many buildings with the word "C-H-U-R-C-H" plastered to them, and yet where are the calls to repentance? Where is the preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, where are the announcements of God's coming judgement followed by the sweet comfort of the all-sufficient saving bitter cross of Jesus and His resurrection as the only hope for mankind's forgiveness and restoration to God's favor? And if these buildings are not the places where such a message is trumpeted, then Neiztche's epithet that they are but tombs and sepulchers - not of a dead God, but of a dead church - must be taken to heart.
Here is my plea to everyone who might still be reading this: Beg God every day to raise up godly, holy, gospel preaching, fierce, and courageous churches, preachers, and pulpits. We seem to be standing on the edge of a precipice of another dark age, ready, willing, and able to take the leap into the darkness. And if there are no godly pulpits, no men who have fire in their guts to preach Christ and Him crucified, no people willing to call our culture to repentance, no Christian people who will embrace and rejoice in holy living instead of compromising with worldliness, then what's to stop us? If we allow ourselves to be seduced by the siren-calls of a death culture, then we are just salt that has lost is savor - good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. We need more churches, more of the gospel, more of a clarion call to repentance and faith in Jesus. Would that all of God's people would humble themselves and pray that God would raise up an army of godly, fearless disciples of His Son. May we be numbered among those who will be found faithful.
Let us not forget this passage of Scripture which may become a life verse for us and our children more quickly than we might think:
Hebrews 11:35 "... And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection."
Saturday, April 6, 2013
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