Book Review: "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand

This is an incredible, sobering book! It is so easy for us who enjoy the freedom of the West to forget that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are presently experiencing persecution for their faith. We read of Jesus’ words in John 15:20, “Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” Yet, we cannot relate to this statement. We know little if anything of persecution. Thus, we fail to fathom what it is like for other Christians who are experiencing persecution. The end result? Indifference to their plight.

Richard Wurmbrand, who wrote this book many years ago, has done the Christian community a great service by reminding us of the persecuted, underground church. He speaks firsthand of the torture he experienced for Christ and calls upon the church in the West to rise up and come to the aid of our brothers and sisters.

Book Review: "90 Days of God's Goodness" by Randy Alcorn

I obtained my free copy of “90 Days of God’s Goodness” from Multnomah for review. I handpicked this book because of my love for Randy Alcorn’s writings and I was not disappointed. Let me outline why this book should be read by every Christian.

First, for anyone who has experienced, is experiencing or will experience some really tough times (and this includes all of us), this book is extremely relevant and very comforting. Each entry can be read in about 5-10 minutes and includes a Scripture, comforting/insightful word from the author and a closing prayer. The author’s words comfort the heart and inform the mind.

    

Second, this book is creative. As I prepared to read this book, I wondered how much could be said about dealing with difficulty. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the author makes each chapter fascinating and unique. He looks at the theme of suffering (sickness, death of a loved one, loss of job, lawsuits, severed relationships, persecution, etc.) from various angles in each chapter and never makes you feel like he’s repeating himself. As you trek through the book, you find yourself looking forward to the next journey he will take you on in the consecutive readings.
   

Third, this book isn’t just “fluff” as so many other books today. It’s easy reading and yet at the same time it builds a biblical theology of suffering. It addresses the questions of why suffering happens, what suffering produces, how a child of God is to respond to suffering, etc. The fact that the author can present a book filled with theology and yet present it as a devotional, easy-reading book speaks to the giftedness God has given him. The author has the ability to simplify the complex without watering it down.

   
Fourth, the author has the moral authority to write a book on suffering. As he includes so many stories of people who have suffered, he peppers the book with his own trials. He is very transparent and speaks of many different traumatic events that God has allowed into his life. As you become aware of the calamities he has experienced and then continue to hear him talk of God’s goodness, it gives the book power. You realize that you aren't simply listening to someone who wants to make a buck off of a book sale. He's writing from experience and wants to help others glorify God in their difficulties.

  
As I heartily recommend this book to you, I’ll conclude with a quote from day 82 that explains why I believe you must read it: “Before difficult times come your way, develop the habits of studying God’s Word, listening to Christ-centered teaching and music, reading soul-nourishing literature, both nonfiction and fiction. Daily fill the reservoir from which you can draw when facing difficult times – and helping others face theirs.”

Sermon (video): Know God's Power @ Work in You (Ephesians 1:19-23)

This sermon was preached at the First Baptist Church of Brooksville, Florida on February 20, 2011.

The quality of the video isn't too impressive. However, I hope you enjoy listening to this 32 minute sermon as much as I enjoyed preaching it. This text is incredible and I had fun sharing the principles found in it with God's people.

Click here to view the sermon

I died when I was 8 years old...

Yesterday, as I met with some men for Bible study, someone asked me to explain a passage that had him puzzled. He read Romans 6:2-4.

" ... How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life."

He stopped there. The subject matter of "death" continues until verse 14 but these first few verses allowed him to make his concerns clear. I silently prayed something like, "Lord, help me to explain this in terms that will clear up the matter for a man that really wants to understand. It is a profound truth but help me to explain it simply."

Immediately, I thought of an illustration. Let me share a bit of what these verses are talking about and then conclude with the illustration:

The end of Romans 5 tells us that no matter how bad our sin problem was/is, God's grace can cover it. "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Romans 5:20). To highlight God's amazing grace, the author, Paul, said that God's grace was abundant enough that it could cover any sin.

However, Paul assumed that folks would hear this truth and be tempted to presume upon grace. Someone may think: "If God's grace will forgive me of any sin, and if grace is a good thing, why don't I sin as much as I can so I can be forgiven and get the good stuff - grace!"

Paul told his readers that this wasn't an option (Romans 6:1-14). Why? Because we died to sin. We were "buried with Him (Jesus) through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). When we were saved, we were identified (baptized) with Christ. We were identified with his death, burial and resurrection. Essentially, we died! When we received the gift of eternal life, our "old self" died. The point that Paul is making is: "You shouldn't keep on sinning ... because dead people don't sin."

Illustration: I bought a pretty cool video program a couple of months ago. Among all of the editing options it provides, probably the most basic is "splice" and "insert." I can locate a specific point within a video, splice (cut) the video at that point, and insert another video into that opening so that the inserted video becomes an actual part of the original video.

Imagine for a moment that I was able to go back to that day when I received the gift of eternal life. I was 8 years old at the time. I can picture that Sunday afternoon when I talked with my dad in his church office. I remember closing my eyes in prayer and asking God for forgiveness and giving my life to Him.

Now (don't check out yet), imagine that all of this was caught on video. Romans 6 tells us that as I was praying, God hit the "splice" button. He separated the beginning of that prayer from the end of that prayer and He inserted another video into that opening making it a very real part of the story. The video He inserted? It was Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

Essentially, God made Jesus' experience my history. If you were to re-watch the video with the added section, you would see me bow my head in prayer, then you would see the cross scene where death took place, then the tomb, and then the resurrection. In the next scene, I said "Amen" and opened my eyes. I died to myself when I prayed to receive the gift of eternal life and when I said "Amen," I was a brand new creation walking out of the empty tomb. The person I was before I received the gift of eternal life died. But that's not all. I was resurrected to walk in a new way of life.

Do I still sin? Of course I do because I still live this side of Heaven. Daily, I have to claim the promise of 1 John 1:9 and confess my sins. But now, I am to "consider myself dead to sin" (Romans 6:11). I'm to think of myself as a dead man. In fact, I'm to be more specific than that and say that I died when I was 8 years old. Why? Because dead people don't sin.

Sermon excerpt: Ever feel like the Bible isn't relevant?

Ever feel like the Bible isn't relevant? That it doesn't seem to speak to you in today's 21st century American culture? Ever wonder why?

Watch this 8 1/2 minute video taken from the introduction of a recent sermon to see if it accurately provides the reason. In it, I describe what was different in the culture of the New Testament world and warning signs in what we deem "relevant."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSLaul66vhU

Church, State, and Truth-telling

I was recently in a conversation with a well-intentioned Christian. We were talking about a potential moral dilemma that, if a reality, should be addressed by the Christian community at large. However, he informed me that I was forbidden by the U.S. government from talking about the issue from the pulpit. I bristled.

Why? Because I firmly believe that the pulpit is the place where I get to proclaim the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If the government can silence me and I will allow myself to be silenced, then the whole process of truth-telling is undermined.

The reality of the matter is that American preachers are allowed by government to address moral issues, not candidates, if they want to keep their tax exempt status. In the following post (dated September 28, 2008), I share my motivation for "complying" with this law and how I believe my compliance does not even remotely undermine my ability to be a truth-teller.

"Why I won't advocate a presidential candidate today"

Today, September 28, is a day that pastors across our country are being asked to exercise their first amendment rights. At www.alliancedefensefund.org, it states: "Pastors participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” will preach from their pulpits Sept. 28 about the moral qualifications of candidates seeking political office. The pastors will exercise their First Amendment right to preach on the subject, despite federal tax regulations that prohibit intervening or participating in a political campaign."

While I believe the men and women of the Alliance Defense Fund are good people and have helped to serve the Christian cause for many years, it is my humble opinion that they are out of step in regard to this issue. The following brief points are the reasons why I won't participate:

1. First, it's not because I'm afraid of losing our tax exempt status - although I'm concerned that many pastors who take on the IRS will more than likely lose their case. Almost certainly, churches and pastors will get hurt as the IRS flexes it arms and exercises the laws on its books. But this isn't the reason why I won't advocate a presidential candidate from the pulpit. In my lifetime, there almost certainly will come a time when pastors will be told not to preach on certain issues (e.g. homosexuality, etc.). At that point, pastors will have to determine to serve God rather than man and take the consequences. But that's not the issue here.

2. I won't because I am convinced by unquestionable data that clearly reveals that no national, American revival has ever originated in the White House. At some point in the past, it seems that the U.S. government looked to the local churches to point the way to truth and righteousness. Now, it seems that many Christians are looking out their church windows to the Capital for the same reason.

3. I won't because the pulpit should be the place where unadulterated truth is spoken. While folks are encouraged to make certain that what they hear from the preacher is true, they should constantly be brought to the conclusion that what he has said is correct. Advocating one candidate over another crosses the line. That changes the conversation. The foundation upon which the message rests moves from the Bible to the candidate. He (or she) is set up as the one who embodies the qualities of a "God-approved" leader ... which brings up all sorts of questions in the listener's minds - and rightfully so. (It is amazing that candidates who are usually no better than nominal Christians [at best] are esteemed so highly when they are candidates for high office. It is also frustrating to hear folks who claim to be Christians talk of "Jesus" less and less and speak generically of "God" more and more the higher the office they aspire to.) Should we really be advocating such folks and behavior from our pulpits?

So what is there to do? Should we have a que sera sera attitude or do we have a responsibility and civic duty?

First, pastors, stick to God's word as your authority. Engage the culture through the paradigm of Scripture. Don't point people to mankind. Point mankind to Jesus. Encourage them on their path to holiness and show them how this plays out in their lives and daily decisions.

Second, encourage your folks to be "salt!" As I understand the purpose of salt to be holding back decay, I believe that in our society, that means among many things that Christians are to exercise their civic duty and vote. We are to strive to put the right people in office and the right laws on the books. But ultimately, we are resting in the fact that our Sovereign Lord, who works all things after the council of His own will (Eph. 1:11) is working out His plan. When November 5 rolls around, we will continue to do whatever it takes to win our communities for Christ no matter who was selected the previous day. Let's never look to Washington D.C. to do what God has delegated to us.