Category: Being the Church

Andy Stanley Strikes Again-

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

They do not know nor do they understand; They walk around in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken- Psalm 82:5 NASB

We live in an age of crumbling foundations (Psalm 11:3-4). 

Beliefs and doctrinal views once thought to be foundational to Christianity and one-hundred-percent settled in evangelical circles are now “up for debate”.  Once trusted sources of truth are leading the way in questioning previously settled issues of the faith.  Thanks to these blind guides many Christians are asking themselves the question: “did God really say that?” about a myriad of different topics (Matthew 15:14). 

 Andy Stanley, the lead Pastor at Northpoint Community Church in suburban Atlanta is an evangelical leader who bills himself as a conservative while actively attacking foundational truths of the faith. In past statements, interviews, books and sermons he has poked at the foundation of biblical inerrancy. In my opinion he has displayed a lack of respect for the Bible, even recommending Christians minimize the use of Scripture in witnessing and church services in the name of making Christianity “more accessible” to non-Christians.

As if. 

As a general rule, I make a point of criticizing ideas rather than people. It is not my intention to pile on anyone. My aim here is to report the news and clear up any misconceptions about what the Bible has to say concerning issues. You the reader get to decide what you think about said issues.  

So here goes:

Andy Stanley’s church is sponsoring a conference billed as the premier event for Christian parents with LGBTQ children. The marketing material for the conference encourages Christians to “stop taking sides” and find a quieter “middle space” on the issues of homosexuality and gender identity. The speakers chosen for the event include two men who are married to other men and a “theologian” who has “deconstructed” his views on homosexuality and come out the other side convinced the Bible is A-Okay with homosexuality as long as the relationships are “committed and loving”. 

Here’s the thing:

There is no such thing as a “middle space” when it comes to homosexuality and the Bible.  Nor is there an honest middle space or a path to neutrality concerning gender identity. The Bible is unequivocal about a number of different topics: homosexuality and gender are two of them (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Deuteronomy 23:17-18, Romans 1:26, 1st Corinthians 6:9, 1st Timothy 1:9-10). 

Period. 

In recent years it has become popular to insist: a) the Bible does not really say what it appears to say about homosexuality. b) The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had nothing to do with homosexuality. c) The Biblical text was changed by overzealous scholars sometime around 1800 to make it more condemning of homosexuality. d) Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Therefore, it is okay under the New Covenant as long as the relationships are consensual, loving and committed.  

None of those views hold up to scrutiny. 

The sin of Sodom was a combination of sexual sin (homosexuality) coupled with a general disregard for the well-being of people (Genesis 19). Leviticus has always been condemning of all sorts of sexual behavior including homosexuality. No one has rewritten the New Testament or misinterpreted any of the Greek words. The Bible says what it says when it comes to sexual sin (not just homosexuality). It is true, Jesus is silent on the issue of homosexuality. However, to Jews homosexuality was a settled issue. Homosexuality was forbidden and the Jews universally agreed it was a sin. There was little point in discussing a settled issue the Jewish people had right. Jesus did tackle divorce, remarriage, the sabbath and myriad of other issues the Jewish people had gotten wrong.  Paul was not silent on homosexuality. This makes sense, he was the apostle to the gentiles. Many gentiles routinely practiced homosexuality. Homosexuality was far from a settled issue in Rome, Greece or Asia Minor.  For more information on these topics I highly recommend The Gay Gospel? By Joe Dallas and What does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality by Kevin DeYoung. Both authors treat the subject biblically while showing compassion for strugglers. 

All that being said: 

I have no idea what the unpardonable sin is. However, I do know it’s NOT homosexuality (Isaiah 1:18, 1stCorinthians 6:9-11, 2nd Corinthians 5:17, 1st John 3:2-4). God does not classify sinners. As far as He is concerned an unsaved person is an unsaved person and a repentant sinner is a repentant sinner. Christians should not treat homosexuality differently than they treat any other sin. All sinners looking for a relationship with Jesus and seeking a lifestyle of repentance should be welcomed into the family of God and loved as if they were Jesus Himself (Mark 9:41, Matthew 25:31-45). 

All that being said:

The church should never embrace an activity God forbids just because its socially expedient to do so. That just might be the working definition of giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27). 

And finally:

 There are few people in the church today who feel more isolated or who are more in need of love and support more than Christian parents of LGBTQ kids. I know this because I volunteer a good chunk of my time with two different organizations who offer support groups for parents with LGBTQ kids. If you are a parent with an LGBTQ child or know someone who is. I suggest you skip Andy Stanley’s conference and look up Portland Fellowship instead (www.portlandfellowship.com). Portland Fellowship offers excellent in-person and on-line Bible-based support for parents. All support is designed to help parents love their children well without affirming ungodly choices because that is the path Christians are called to.

If you Want to be Like Jesus do This one Thing-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

If you, Lord, keep account of sins Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness and so you are revered- Psalm 130:3-4 NABRE  

Christianity is more than just a get out of hell free card. 

Ultimately, Christianity is the path to looking like and acting like Jesus (Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). 

 When we put our faith and trust in Jesus, God forgives our sins and removes our guilt and shame (Psalm 103:12). In return Jesus’ goodness and righteousness is credited to us (Romans 4:5, James 2:23). When God sees us, He no longer sees the horrible, awful things we’ve done. Instead, He sees the righteousness of Jesus. Imputation of righteousness is the fancy-pants theological term for this incredibly beautiful exchange (2nd Corinthians 5:17) 

However. 

 We don’t wake up the day after our salvation experience looking and acting like a little Jesus. In fact, most of us wakeup the day after our salvation experience feeling somewhat different but with all the same problems, attitudes and behaviors we had pre-Jesus. The only difference is now we feel bad about those things instead of simply accepting them as a standard part of our operating system. 

That’s where sanctification comes in.  Sanctification is the lifelong process of becoming like Jesus (1st Corinthians 6:11, 1st Thessalonians 4:3). Paul called this process “working out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12-13).  We become sanctified (holy) by letting go of old behaviors that are normal part of our human nature and taking on new behaviors and attitudes that imitate Jesus (Colossians 3:5-14, Ephesians 4:1-3, Galatians 5:16-26).

  One critical step in the sanctification process is learning to forgive like Jesus forgave.  

 Forgiveness is hard. It is, perhaps, the hardest part of becoming like Jesus. It just kind of goes against the grain of our human nature to forgive wrongs committed against us. However, forgiveness is absolutely essential because we are never more like Jesus than when we are actively choosing to forgive (Psalm 103:2-4, Isaiah 1:18). In order to forgive we have to get past the notion forgiveness is something we do for other people. Most of the time, the people we forgive will never even know we forgave them. Forgiving others is something we do for our own spiritual, psychological and emotional well-being. Corrie Ten Boom spent nearly a year of hell in Ravensbruck concentration camp. She later said this about forgiveness: 

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.

God longs for His people to be free of resentment, bitterness and selfishness because freedom is what transforms us into the image of Jesus and prepares us to do the ministry He has for us (Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 4:17).  

 Forgiveness is a process, not an event. In order to forgive we must:

 Understand the call to forgive-  

Forgiveness is not an optional activity or something we get to do when we feel like it.  Our willingness to forgive others is closely connected to God forgiving us and directly affects the level of freedom and joy we feel as Christians (Matthew 6:15, Luke 6:38, Luke 7:36-47).   

Acknowledge the genuineness of the offense-  

Unfortunately, forgiveness is rarely as easy as simply saying the words “I forgive you”. This might work in situations only involving minor hurts or social slights, however, in the case of a big hurt or a massive injustice this simply will not work. Instead, it is absolutely critical we acknowledge the wrong we suffered rather than attempting to stuff or pretend it was nothing. This means taking some time to process through the hurt we experienced in prayer and with a trusted Christian friend, a wise pastor or Christian counselor (Proverbs 11:14). Because some hurts are significant and not everyone we need to forgive is remorseful, God does not command us to be besties with the people we forgive. We are only called to forgive.  

Own our part (if there is one)- 

Oftentimes (but not always) we bear a certain level of responsibility for what went wrong in a relationship or a situation. “Our part” might be as basic as refusing to address issues and problems when they first came up (which always leads to more issues and problems) or as complicated as being complicit in a sinful relationship or situation.  Jesus is clear: truth sets us free (John 8:32). Telling ourselves and God (and in some cases the other people involved) the truth about our part in a situation will keep us firmly in God’s grace and go a long way in freeing us from the prison of bitterness (James 5:16, 1st John 1:8-10, Hebrews 12:15) 

Remember how much we have been forgiven- 

Forgiveness is easier when we are real with ourselves about our own level of sinfulness. We may not have done the awful thing that was done to us, but we all do and have done awful things (Romans 3:23). Recognizing this uncomfortable reality keeps us from becoming bloated with pride and it makes it much easier to forgive others (Psalm 51:10-17) 

And finally: 

The essence of genuine forgiveness is completely letting go of the right we have to punish and hate those who hurt us (Romans 12:19). This is the hardest of all the hard things and it simply cannot not be done without dedicated, intensive and repetitive prayer. Letting go of hate is hard because in a very real sense we all have a “right” to hold people’s sins against them, just like God has the right to hold our sins against us. Nonetheless, God in His infinite kindness chose to be merciful and forgive our sins when we were least deserving of forgiveness (Romans 5:7-8). 

 Can we do any less?     

Our World is a Busted up Mess-What can we do to fix it?

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I- Isaiah 58:8 NIV 

Our world is awash in what can only be described as systemic brokenness.   

Individuals are broken. Families are broken. Culture is broken. Political systems are broken.  

It’s really kind of gross.  

The collective brokenness has led to an epidemic of sexual deviancy and gender confusion, personal woundedness, political bedlam, cultural decay, addiction, offense, psychological damage, loneliness and wrecked relationships.  

Sigh. 

On a practical level this means most folks don’t even know which bathroom to use anymore and biologists are the only ones “qualified” to define what a woman is or isn’t anymore and some of them struggle.  Politics are so fractured the two sides cannot even have a rational discussion anymore. Few bother getting married any more and half of marriages end in divorce. Public schools are propagandizing kids with sex education so weird and revolting it would have been considered hardcore pornography just a few years ago. Sadly, people have become so isolated the government is thinking about ways they can help solve the burgeoning loneliness problem. 

 Everywhere we look people are separated from God and each other. 

 It sucks. A lot.  

Followers of Jesus sincerely believe God has a better plan for this world than what we are seeing and experiencing at this moment in history. One fundamental facet of Christian theology is the belief Jesus came not just to seek and save the lost— but also to bind-up the broken hearted and bring beauty from ashes (Luke 19:10, Psalm 147:3, Isaiah 61:1-3). Christians believe redemption is about more than just individual people getting into heaven. Salvation is about redeemed people experiencing abundant life as we journey our way to heaven and bringing heaven to earth with our actions and attitudes (Matthew 6:10, John 10:10, Matthew 5:13-15).   This faith we have in Jesus’ ability to repair, rebuild, heal and transform should drive us to be a part of the change we want to see in our culture, our educational structures, our political system and in the lives of the people we love.  

Sometimes we struggle with the how.  

 I don’t know everything there is to know about everything (clearly). Nevertheless, there is one thing I know for absolute certain: we cannot lead anywhere we refuse to go.  Therefore, there will be no healing in our world without some heartfelt and brutally honest self-examination on the part of all Christians. Even those who sincerely FEEL they are doing just fine from a spiritual perspective (2ndCorinthians 13:5). I know this is a wildly unpopular perspective in the church, however, I have come to believe with all my heart, mind, soul and strength that the one thing holding the world back from a real and much-needed revival are Christians who are reluctant to admit there might possibly be sin in their own lives.  

Seriously. 

God will not transform our sin-sick culture until Christians get their own houses in order (1st Peter 4:17) and not a moment sooner. This means we must recognize that no matter how good we are or how far we’ve come God wants to take us further and make us better. Growth and personal transformation prepare us to lead others out of their brokenness.  

Prayer is a critical step in any process of transformation.  There are some things that cannot happen without serious prayer (Mark 9:29. Daniel 9:3, Acts 14:23) Sadly, numerous studies reveal the typical western Christian prays a grand total of three minutes a day. Seriously. It’s true. Three minutes. We spend five hours a day on our phones and three minutes a day in prayer.  I assume those who read this blog are above average in this area. Which simply means we need to be praying all the more for our average and below average Christian counterparts. God moves when His people want Him to move. Prayer is the way we show God we’re serious about wanting Him to move.  

If we are going to fix our mess we must look for areas of brokenness in our little corner of the world and then chip away at the ugliness we see with equal measures of grace and truth (Ephesians 4:32, 2nd Timothy 4:2, 1st Peter 4:10).  When we make space in our lives to get to know a single mom or engage with a homeless person, or simply take time to talk with our neighbors it gives us the right to speak truth into people’s lives (Ephesians 4:15). No matter how we choose to do it, it is critical we seek the Lord for creative ways to engage the messy, broken, difficult people in our world. Christians were saved to be salt in our world. Salt is a preservative, it keeps things (and whole cultures) from going bad. However, salt cannot preserve anything it doesn’t come into contact with (Matthew 5:13). Relationships are a messy but necessary piece of healing brokenness.  

As we prayerfully engage others, it’s equally critical we understand our role. Our role is to do our part and trust God to transform people. We must constantly remind ourselves God is God and we are not and fight the inclination to try and control outcomes. We cannot make anyone do anything. Outcomes must be left to the Lord but He moves when we move.  

Where we’re at with the Gender Debate-

Lisa M. Price4 Comments

 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.Let all that you do be done with love- 1st Corinthians 16:13-14 NKJV 

Satan is alive and well and partying it up on planet earth.  

This spring at a YMCA in Springfield Illinois, sixteen-year-old Abigail Newton became uncomfortable with a transgender female (biological male) using the same women’s locker room as her girls’ swim team.  When her parents expressed concern over the situation YMCA administrators dismissed their objections and Abigail was suspended from the swim team.  

Meanwhile in Washington State: 

A bill has passed into law allowing children as young as twelve to live in tax-payer-funded youth shelters while receiving tax-payer-funded “gender affirming care”. This “healthcare” (hormones and surgery) can be accessed without parental consent or even notification.  In the once great state of Washington, it is now “abusive” for parents to object to or attempt to interfere with an underage child’s gender transition. 

These situations are not isolated occurrences of lunacy.  

This is because most public universities have been teaching gender theories (multiple genders, we are the gender we think we are etc.) as fact for decades. As a result, there has been a “trickle-down effect” in education. The idea there is a smorgasbord of genders to choose from is now taught in public schools beginning in the pre-school and elementary years because that’s what teachers have been learning in college for more than a decade.  Fewer teachers in red states advocate for radical sexual propaganda to be taught and the ones who do are quieter about it than in blue states. Nevertheless, that does not mean gender is not an issue everywhere.  

Gender propaganda is impacting public policy on every level. Women are forced to compete against biological men in women’s sports, anyone who sees this as unjust is written off as a bigot and snubbed in polite society. Pronouns are a huge deal these days, using the wrong one or “mis-gendering” someone, even on accident can cost you a hefty fine in many cities. Forty-four percent of young adults believe mis-gendering someone should land a person in jail. In eighteen states anyone can use whatever restroom they wish. Men can identify as women capriciously, making it possible for men to enter female-only spaces anytime they wish, regardless of how they are dressed or whether or not they have fully transitioned.   

Here’s the thing: 

This is the new normal and things will likely get worse before they get better. This because gender ideology has deeply spiritual roots. Anytime human beings in large numbers begin to ignore the evidence for God found in creation they eventually fall face-first into idolatry (Galatians 5:19-21). When this happens the whims and wishes of fallible human beings take the lead and God’s wisdom is either disregarded or treated as “damaging”. This inevitably leads people down a rabbit hole where their thinking becomes confused and darkened (Ephesians 4:18, Romans 1:18-32, 2nd Timothy 3:1). Wrong thinking inevitably leads people to embrace strange ideas about life and sexuality.  

This is where we’re living right now.  

Modern-day idolatry is focused almost entirely on the worship of self. Every aspect of our culture encourages people to do what feels good and to accept, nurture and embrace with open arms their most “authentic self”. Unfortunately, because humans are fallen beings our most authentic self is typically confused, chaotic, sinful and prone to believe all sorts of deception. The things that feel best to us are often the most detrimental to our mental and spiritual health. 

Sigh.   

The only way out of this rabbit hole will be an incredibly far-reaching revival that impacts people everywhere, including those in the highest levels of government and education. Pandora’s box has been flung wide open and Christians need to get busy figuring out how to live in and make a difference in this brave new world.  

 So, what do we do?  

This is not the time for wishy-washy pandering to the feelings of sinners, nor is it a time for cooperation with the world (Colossians 2:8). The body of Christ cannot compromise on this issue. We must be firm that there is no such thing as a third, fourth or sixty-third gender option. God made male and female (Genesis 1:27). That’s it. Period. Christians should support public officials who embrace a traditional view of gender. We should refuse to purchase products produced by companies who openly push radical sexual views and theories. Gender ideology is a powerful social contagion that cannot be allowed to infiltrate the church. Christians should leave churches where gender theory is taught as fact or acceptance of gender theory is encouraged by leadership. 

 However.  

 It is equally as important to be kind and that we do our best to speak this hard truth with minimum vitriol (Ephesians 4:15). This is not a time for cruelty or name-calling. These issues are deeply spiritual; therefore, this is a time to set aside our own agenda and desires and make the time to pray with other believers for our culture. We must understand that for the most part, these folks really do believe what they say they believe about gender. Countless numbers of people today are victims of a powerful satanic deception. They have been taken captive in their thinking by the enemy (Matthew 24:4, 2nd Thessalonians 2:9-10, 1st Peter 5:8). We should never fault the lost for being lost (Luke 15:4).  Instead we ought to do our level best to extend the compassion and love of Jesus while we lovingly hold firm to the timeless truths of Scripture.     

What are Satan’s Hopes and Dreams and how do we Make them Come True?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord- Ephesians 3:10-11 NIV 

Satan has hopes and dreams just like everyone else.  

Seriously. 

He does.  

If a person is not a follower of Jesus his greatest hope and fondest dream is to keep them from putting their faith in Jesus. He makes this dream a reality by keeping unbelievers squarely focused on the here-and-now so they don’t think about things that really matter like life, death, morality and their eternal destiny (Hebrews 9:27, Matthew 7:13-14). He will enlist Christians to help him by getting them to do sinful, egotistical and thoughtless things that keep unbelievers from taking the claims of Jesus seriously (John 3:16, John 14:6, Acts 10:34-43, Romans 3:9-26). His number one goal is to keep a non-Christian from becoming a Christian and he will do whatever he has to do to make his dream a reality.  

Satan has hopes and dreams for Christians too. If he cannot keep someone from becoming a Christian, he will do everything possible to keep them from becoming an effective, healthy, life-giving member of God’s family. He will distract Christians with materialistic yearnings. He will tempt them to lie.  He will seek to sideline them with addiction, church hurt, lust, jealousy and unrestrained self-indulgence. He knows that if a person is bound up in those things glorifying God will be impossible. 

We are living at a decisive point in human history.  We sit on the precipice of either a complete moral implosion that will lead to God knows what or a great revival that will change the eternal destiny of millions, maybe even billions. Because this is such a critical time and so much hangs in the balance, Satan is doing a lot of hoping and dreaming these days (1st Peter 5:8). He’s hoping beyond hope Churches and Christians will be ignorant of his plans and do the following four things:   

Conform to the values of the age-  

Satan loves the values of this age and why not? Today’s values sound awesome, even kind of biblical. What kind of a nutbag would be opposed to wonderful things like tolerance, inclusion and diversity? Seriously? They all sound like the sorts of things Jesus would have been a huge fan of. These values sound amazing until one begins defining terms. Then you discover tolerance demands a wild celebration of every single thing God calls sin.  Inclusion means never saying anything negative about anyone or anything no matter how messed-up it or they are. Diversity is code for embracing insane philosophies designed to pit people groups against each other. It means submitting to the demands of the alphabet soup mafia (Galatians 3:28, 1st Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:24-27).  It is not our job to judge non-Christians. However, we are called to stand firm against the enemy’s schemes (1st Corinthians 5:12-13, Ephesians 6:10-18). This requires we carefully examine the values of this age before simply accepting them as good and life-giving (1st Thessalonians 5:20-22, Isaiah 5:20, 2nd Thessalonians 2:15) 

Believe the culture is innocent fun- 

Satan wants Christians and Christian churches to believe today’s popular culture is no more or less problematic than at any other time in history. It is true that every culture has had issues (1st John 2:15). Sin is not a twenty-first century innovation.  However, today’s culture is aggressively intent on pulling people into sin and the bondage that accompanies sin (2nd Peter 2:19). Porn is more icky, violent and available than ever before. Television, movies and most of the internet is wasteland of stupidity, depravity and woke propaganda.  Promoters of sexual propaganda are not content with acceptance of their sexual “norms”. Activists viciously attack those who refuse to conform to their dogma. The unceasing call for individuals to focus on and serve oneself is flat-out demonic (Romans 2:8, 2ndCorinthians 12:20). It is more critical now than ever before Christians choose to intentionally separate themselves (and their children) from popular culture. We will lose the ability to think biblically if we embrace anything our toxic culture is peddling.   

Minimize the importance of community- 

 Satan wants Christians to feel isolated and alone almost as much as he wants them to feel more comfortable in the company of non-Christians. If Satan can keep Christians isolated from one another he knows they will be more likely to walk away from their commitment to Jesus and into temptation and trouble (Hebrews 10:24-25). We fight this scheme when we are intentional about reaching out to and being available for others. Routinely inviting Christians over for a meal and/or board games, taking a Christian friend a meal or visiting them when they’re sick goes long towards building the kind of community that keeps people connected to each other and the church in good times and bad.  

Avoid the right kind of offense-  

Christians should never be jerk. However, Satan loves it when we are so concerned about “being offensive” we keep quiet about Jesus. Satan loves it when Christians love their friends and family into hell. 

 And finally,  

Satan hopes more than anything Christians will be content with going to church rather than doing the hard work of being the church (John 13:34-35, Romans 15:7, 1st Corinthians 1:10, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:32). His dreams come true anytime our Christian walk is limited to private devotions and church attendance only. We come against his schemes and overcome when we choose to speak truth, love deeply, live righteously and form close and lasting bonds with other believers (Revelation 12:11, John 16:33, Romans 12:21).      

How Should we Respond to the Sparkle Creed?

Lisa M. Price2 Comments

Be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment,but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ– 2nd Peter 3:17b-18a NASB

Every once in a while, I have to decide whether or not I’m going to hop on a bandwagon and write about something that’s getting a lot of attention in the news cycle. 

 As a I general rule I just say “no”. 

Angry ranting about the unrelenting moral decay in our world feels really good.  However, eventually it gets super old and kind of tedious. Peevish complaining helps no one and changes nothing. Furthermore, bitter ranting has a way of transforming Christians into a weird cartoony version of our calling (Matthew 5:13-16, 1st Corinthians 13:1-3).

Sigh. 

This week I decided to break my rule and rant a little before offering a response. 

It all started when I saw a report on secular news channel concerning a church trend I had never heard of before this week: The Sparkle Creed.  Apparently, the Sparkle Creed has been a thing in a number of progressive churches for a couple of years now. It is the brainchild of Satan and the Reverend Rachel Small Stokes. 

This is it in its entirety:

I believe in the non-binary God whose pronouns are plural.
I believe in Jesus Christ, their child, who wore a fabulous tunic and had two dads and saw everyone as a sibling-child of God.
I believe in the rainbow Spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity.

I believe in the church of everyday saints as numerous, creative, and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in wonder.
I believe in the calling to each of us that love is love is love, so beloved, let us love.
I believe, glorious God. Help my unbelief

 Amen.

The Sparkle Creed is a steaming pile of bad doctrine wrapped up in woke twaddle. One need not be a Pastor, Bible scholar or even necessarily a Christian to see and understand this so-called creed is a total departure from historical, biblical, orthodox Christianity (1st Timothy 4:1). 

Sadly.

The architect of the Sparkle “Creed” is a member of and a teacher in a denomination that exchanged the truth of God for a giant pack of lies years ago (Romans 1:18).  Therefore, her teachings should shock no one. This is simply what happens when a “Christian” pastor or teacher has no connection to spiritual reality, biblical truth and/or Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20, Colossians 2:10, Colossians 2:19). When human beings lean on their own limited understanding of life and faith things are bound to go south and they clearly have (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The Sparkle Creed is the byproduct of apostasy (Jeremiah 8:5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3). There are two types of apostasy. The first is the one most Christians think of when they think of apostasy. It’s when an individual professing Christian turns their back on the church, ditches sound doctrine and goes off do their own spiritual thing. Whether or not these folks ever really knew the Lord at all is open to debate. Different schools of thought (and theology) have differing opinions on the subject. In one sense it doesn’t really matter. What matters, is that these folks have departed from the faith and are no longer a functioning part of the body of Christ (1st Timothy 6:20-21, 2nd Timothy 2:17-19).  

The other type of apostasy happens when the organized church of Jesus Christ leaves sound doctrine and loyalty to Jesus in the dust to follow deceitful spirits and teach things that appeal to the unredeemed (1st Timothy 4:1). This is not the first-time in history churches have become apostate. The same thing happened in the Middle Ages. That apostasy eventually led to the Reformation. 

The church was designed to be a preserving influence in the culture (Matthew 5:13-16). Therefore, apostasies always affect more than just the church. When churches depart form truth it impacts everything. Crime goes up, governments go bad and people in general, become much ickier and more violent. 

It’s just what happens. 

The question for followers of Jesus is: what do we do about it? Do we clutch our pearls in horror? Do we lament the loss of biblical truth?  Do we weep and cry and wail over the moral drift? Do we scream and yell about all the dirty rotten heretics who are attempting to take over the church? 

Yes. 

All of those are acceptable responses. For a minute. 

Then it’s time to get a grip. We must remember the Church of Jesus Christ will never be defeated by anyone or anything including woke pastors and the Sparkle Creed (Matthew 16:18). Jesus is still firmly in control. There will always be a remnant who love Jesus and stay faithful. Period. 

However. 

It is critical we do our part. Our part is to know truth, live truth, love biblically and stand firm against the encroaching madness (Colossians 1:13-23, Romans 12:1-2, 1st Corinthians 16:13, Ephesians 6:11). 

Doing our part might mean having an uncomfortable conversation with a Christian brother or sister who’s being pulled into Sparkle Creed kind of thinking. It might mean leaving a church that’s in the process of going woke.  It might mean rethinking how we educate our kids. 

It definitely means loving messy people who need Jesus. 

When we choose to do those hard things, we become pleasing to Jesus and the solution to all the confusion in this world (Matthew 25:21, Matthew 5:11-12, 1st Corinthians 3:13-15)

Is Jesus Coming back Soon?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful- 1st Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV

Life has gotten so absurd it would be comical if it weren’t so dang crazy.

Lawlessness is slowly but surely morphing into a new normal. Grown adults are stumped as to how to identify their own gender.  People appear to be going feral right before our very eyes. Governments allow legitimately evil people to go free while prosecuting those attempting to aid the innocent.  Children can check porn out of their school libraries.  Many parents now openly admit in writing they wish they had never had children.  There is a novel new way to sin devised almost daily (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). 

Sigh. 

The nuttiness of it all has left many Christians wondering: When should we start expecting Jesus to come back?  And: What does He want me to be doing right now?

Fair questions. Practical questions. Questions that deserve a good answer. 

To be honest, I do not have a perfectly definitive answer to the first question.  No one does. Jesus wasn’t even given a timeline of future events. If God the Father saw fit to leave Jesus is in the dark, we need to be content with our own lack of clarity on this issue (Matthew 24:36). 

However, the Bible does give us some clear indicators to look for as well as some instructions as to what we should do while we wait. 

Daniel, the book we’ve been in is a classic go-to for end-times info. 

Daniel is where we get the first peek the anti-Christ, a one-world government and a season of intense suffering for Christians (Daniel 7:8, Daniel 7:20, Daniel 8:25, Daniel 9:27, 12, Daniel 11:21, Daniel 11:36-38). 

However.

The book of Daniel focuses on big-picture events. Consequently, it is not the best place to go to for clues that the season of Jesus’ return is here or approaching (Matthew 24:32-34).  Matthew is a much better book for those kinds of questions. In Matthew twenty-four Jesus gives at least four clues to look for and two directives we should follow as we wait for His return.  

The indicators the season is at hand are:

Insane levels of deception and lies about God-

Deception will be the defining characteristic of the end-times. Some deceptions will be fairly obvious and easy for believers to recognize, people claiming to be the messiah and whatnot. Most of the deception will be far less obvious. Subtly is at the core of every good lie and end-time lies will be so good even some Christians will be deceived (Luke 21:8, Matthew 24:4-5, Matthew 24:24). Most end-time deception will involve doubts about what God really meant by what He says in scripture and calling God’s goodness into question. This is already very normal. Even many church people are asking questions such as: “Did God really say certain sexual behaviors are sinful? Are male and female the only options when it comes to gender? Furthermore, hardly a day goes by when we aren’t presented with some stupid article (often written by a “Christian”) or meme calling God’s goodness into question (1st Timothy 4:1-3). It’s all end-times 101 stuff.

Unprecedented lawlessness, hatred and oppression-

The sinful nature of humanity will be on full display in the season of and prior to Jesus’ return. Jesus sums the behavior of the last days as “wickedness” (Matthew 24:12, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5). Apparently, wickedness so common many will become disheartened by the seemingly unending stream of evil and give up on God altogether (Matthew 24:12). 

Mayhem and chaos all over the place-

Relentless conflict between people groups, plagues, corrupt government and weird religious leaders will be all be increasingly common occurrences just prior to the return of Jesus.  Christians are told directly not to become alarmed by the changes they see taking place (Matthew 24:4-8) 

Christian leaders who abuse and exploit those they are called to lead- 

Near the end of His prophesy Jesus predicts there will be “servants” (Christians) who have authority over other “servants” (Christians). Some of those servants will lose their fear of God, behave shamefully and abuse the other servants (Matthew 24:48-49, 2nd Timothy 3:6-8).  This is a clear warning from Jesus not to allow the behavior of bad Christian leaders to shake our faith in the goodness of God. 

Alongside the clues Jesus gives a couple of clear warnings Christians must heed if they want to survive the chaos.  It’s critical we understand that just the lead-up to these times are going to be so perilous, confusing and discouraging if we don’t cling to Jesus we will be inclined to quit serving Jesus altogether (2nd Thessalonians 2:7-15, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3). 

Apostasy is not inevitable. We prevent it by doing two things:

Practicing discernment-

I do not know when Jesus is coming back. It could be tomorrow. It could be a year from now. It could be decades from now. That said, I do know for absolute certain it has never been more important for Christians to be thoroughly grounded in truth and walking closely with Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). We are close enough to the end that Satan has power to deceive like he has never had before. The only way to keep ourselves from being deceived is to know truth, walk in truth and commune with Jesus daily (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Spiritual truth is the only truly effective antidote to the enemies lies. 

And most notably: 

We cannot let our love for God grow cold no matter how weird, scary or discouraging life becomes (Matthew 24:12)- 

We just can’t. We must be painstakingly careful to keep our love for God from growing cold. Evil people, exploitation, scary stuff, persecution and injustice are going to get worse (way worse). If we are in the end times, my guess is we are probably somewhere in the second or third inning of a nine-inning game. We simply cannot allow ourselves to become unsettled by the evil or disheartened by the persecution and hardship. Followers of Jesus have to play the long game by choosing daily to love Jesus, live righteously, speak truth and love even the unlovable like Jesus loved because those things are the things that prepare us for His return. 

How do we Survive and even Thrive in the face of Tyranny or Persecution?

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong- 2nd Corinthians 12:11 NIV

Daniel chapter three opens with a exhibition of unbridled narcissism.  After hearing how awesome he was (Daniel 2:37-38). King Nebuchadnezzar decided to declare himself a god and have a massive statue created in his image (Romans 1:25). When his project was complete he threw a dedication party and commanded all the leaders in Babylon attend.  (Daniel 3:1-3).  The attendees were instructed to bow down and worship the statue anytime the music played. 

In classic Nebuchadnezzar fashion he informed the crowd that if anyone, for any reason, failed to worship the monument to his own awesomeness he would have them thrown into a blazing hot furnace (Daniel 3:4-6). Posthaste. Three Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stubbornly refused to get on board. It didn’t take long for one of the court sycophants to take notice and rat them out to the king. 

Nebuchadnezzar was not accustomed to being told “no”. Their refusal enraged him. He had the three men be brought before him and gave them one more chance to submit or face the consequences. 

They chose the consequences. 

But not before, making perhaps, the most beautiful statements of faith found anywhere in all the Bible (Daniel 3:16-18). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego flatly refused to submit to an idolatrous act, defend themselves, or beg for mercy. Rather, they calmly informed the king they believed their God did indeed have the power to save them. They also conceded God might choose NOT to save them. Either way there was zero chance they were going to be bowing down to his silly statue. Period.  

God did save them.  Spectacularly.  

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound with ropes and thrown into a furnace so blazing hot it killed the men tasked with executing them. When Nebuchadnezzar looked in on the men, not only were they alive and well, there was also a fourth man walking in the furnace with them. It is commonly believed the fourth man in the fire was the pre-incarnate Jesus. The God of the universe was so pleased with their loyalty and obedience He got into the fire with them. They walked out of hell without so much as the smell of smoke on them. 

Dang. 

In the face of the worst kind of pressure these three young Hebrews retained their composure, fidelity to God and faith in God’s goodness. 

It’s a great story.

However, it’s more than a story. It’s also a bit of a sneak peek into future events. (Revelation 13:1-8, Matthew 24:15).  The Bible predicts that as the end of this age approaches, society and the people in it, will become scarier, less open to truth, more immoral and much more lawless (2nd Timothy 4:3, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-7, Matthew 24:1-25). All that will result in tyranny and intense persecution of anyone who refuses to worship the gods of this world. 

Christians are told to watch for signs of these times (Mark 13:34, 1st Peter 4:7). 

Our world is becoming more lawless and corrupt all the time. Barring a massive revival life will only get tougher for God’s people as the world continues to wind down (Daniel 7:21-22, Daniel 12:1, Matthew 24:9-13).  Christians should always be ready for persecution and trouble.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were prepared for spiritually challenging times. Each was able to maintain their loyalty to God in the midst of the worst kind of oppression and cruelty because they did four essential things:

They knew God intimately and were familiar with His word-

The law (Bible) was their true north (Psalm 119). Their understanding of the law gave them knowledge about God that fueled their love for God. Knowing God, His word and how fiercely they were loved by God (Isaiah 49:15-16) kept them spiritually resilient in literally the toughest of situations. 

They were intentional about forming community-

From day one Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and Daniel resolutely pursued community and the accountability community provides (Daniel 2:17-18). The strength they derived from their little community empowered them to resist the pressure to adapt to the Babylonian way of life. When the going got tough they had each other and that was often enough to keep them from caving to the enormous pressure to take the easy way out of a hard set of circumstances (Daniel 3). 

They decided ahead of time where the lines would be drawn-

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew the time to prepare for persecution is not when it starts. We prepare for persecution by building our spiritual strength slowly over time. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego committed from day to saying “no” to the worldly temptations that would normalize sin that were so prevalent in Babylon (Daniel 1:6-21, Colossians 2:8, 1st Peter 4:12. 1st John 13:13, Titus 2:11-12). Because they went into their situation expecting persecution they were not spiritually disillusioned or confused about where God was in their situation.

And finally. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, believed with all their hearts that losing their lives (dying) would gain them something infinitely better. None of them were hung up on hanging onto the things of this world (Matthew 10:39). Their theology of heaven empowered them to walk through hell here on earth. 

We are no different from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

 We have everything we need to survive and thrive the worst the world throws at us when we choose intimacy with the Father, Christian community, obedience and belief in a better future with Jesus.

What is the Ultimate Goal of the Christian Life? Spoiler Alert-It’s Probably not What You Think it is

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 He must increase, but I must decrease.He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all- John 3:30-31 NKJV

Goals and objectives matter.

A lot.

If a person has no idea what the ultimate goal or objective is in a given situation they will have a tough time hitting that goal or objective. It simply does not matter how pure a person’s intentions are or how much work they are willing to put in. If the objective is unknown, unclear or undefined in any way the odds of failure are always going to be high. 

So. 

This means its mission critical all Christ followers understand what the ultimate objective of the Christian life is. If the goal is hazy or undefined in any way there is a pretty good chance the objective will not be met no matter how hard we try. 

Which begs the question:

What exactly is the ultimate goal of the Christian life? 

Well. 

It’s not what most Christians think it is. The ultimate goal of the Christian life is not to start amazing ministries or plant huge churches. Nor is it to live a quiet Christian life or have a great family and a godly marriage (if we marry). The ultimate aim is not even to tell the world about Jesus and make disciples. All of those things are good things. Furthermore, all the above-mentioned things are things Christians are commanded to do because each one is critical to the ultimate goal in some way (Matthew 28:19-23, 1st Thessalonians 4:11, 1st Timothy 2:1-3, Ephesians 5:21-33). However, they are all essential things that must grow out of the ultimate thing or the execution of all those good things will inevitably be less than ideal.  

The objective of the Christian life is: drumroll please…

To make God a big deal. 

The Bible calls this “giving God glory” (Revelation 14:7, 1st Chronicles 16:8, 1st Chronicles 16:28-29, Psalm 105:1, Psalm 106:8).

Loving God and making His goodness known is the ultimate objective of the Christian life (Matthew 22:37-40, Psalm 46:10). When we get this one thing right all the other things fall into place: we live good lives, our families and marriage are a blessing, disciples are made, churches and ministries prosper and people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 

When we hit the target of the Christian life destinies and lives are transformed (Ephesians 2:1-6, 1st Peter 2:10, 1stCorinthians 6:9-11)

It’s awesome, but it’s also hard— which begs yet another question: why is giving God glory so dang hard? Making God the big deal He deserves to be is difficult partly because we’re human. Despite our status as redeemed people each and every one of us still possesses a sin nature (Romans 7:14-25). Further complicating the whole messy mess is the fact that God chooses to use our sinful selves to bring Himself glory. 

Humans universally struggle with pride and a tendency towards selfish ambition. It’s kind of our thing. Even the good things we do for the kingdom like raising a family, leading a small group, teaching a class, or building a ministry can create opportunities for pride, self-promotion and selfish ambition to become entangled in our efforts to glorify God (Hebrews 12:1). This is a huge problem in a culture like ours where elevating and promoting self has become a celebrated aim rather than a source of shame as it was in previous generations (Philippians2:3). 

Thankfully.

There are all sorts of things that are impossible with man that are possible with God. Furthermore, God is always rooting for us to do more than we even think we can do (Matthew 19:26, Ephesians 3:20-21). It’s easier to glorify God once we’ve made a commitment to three things: 

Living for an audience of one- 

At the end of the day, (metaphorically speaking) God’s opinion of us is the only opinion that matters. Period. God and God alone will be the judge and jury of our actions, motivations and attitudes (2nd Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 10:30). When we choose to keep this reality at the forefront of our minds, it’s a gamechanger. All of a sudden selfish-ambition feels as silly it really is and we totally get that pride is the ultimate foolishness. This makes living a life that glorifies God and God alone a lot easier and much more appealing. 

Staying tuned into the condition of our hearts-

I will say it again: the human heart is naturally predisposed to egotism, corruption, self-promotion and wandering (Jeremiah 17:9-10, 1st Timothy 6:10, 2nd Peter 2:14-15, Hebrews 10:26). The closer tabs we keep on the state of our hearts the less likely we are to fall prey to our baser instincts as well as the schemes of the enemy (Ephesians 6:11, 1st Peter 5:8)

And finally:

We have to remember we’re playing a spiritual long game. I have no idea what the other side of eternity is going to be like. No one really does. That being said, I do know that most of what we do in this life FEELS like it’s of critical importance but most of its kind of stupid and incredibly pointless. All of our little schemes and strategies to make money, build empires and make people think we are more important than we really are is the ultimate waste of our time and talents (Luke 12:13-21,).   This life is not about finding ways to turn ourselves into a big deal. It’s about making God a big deal. Meeting that objective prepares for the next life. When we choose to put our energy into the ultimate objective we are promised it will pay off in a really big way (Matthew 25:14-28).

How do we “Fear the Lord”?

Lisa M. Price3 Comments

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love- Psalm 147:10-11 NIV

There was a time in the not so distant past when all Christians and even most non-Christians agreed God was so unique, superior and different from humans that He should be honored, respected and regarded with a healthy dose of trepidation.  As a result, most Christians did their level best to do what the Bible said. Some were so intent on obeying God’s commands they wandered into legalism and created a whole bunch of crazy-town rules around God’s commands to ensure no one broke a single one of God’s directives. 

  That is called legalism.  

Legalism is terrible. Legalism inevitably leads to a cranky judgmental attitude, mean-spiritedness and pride.  Legalism has never in the history of forever made anyone more like Jesus.

Period. 

Okay, so, the only good thing that can be said about legalism is at its core legalism understands we can and do offend God with our spiritual flippancy and lack of attention to the things of God (Hebrews 2:1-3).

All that being said.

Legalism is not the biggest problem in the church today. These days, most people (even many serious Christians) tend to see God as just a slightly better, smarter and more evolved version of themselves. They believe God just really digs them no matter what they do or don’t do. This mindset causes people to view God as a non-judgy buddy or a benevolent gift-giver rather than as a holy, perfect, sinless being, who is entirely unlike us. A being who literally dwells in unapproachable light (1st Timothy 6:15-16, 1st Samuel 2:2, Psalm 99:9, Daniel 2:21-22, Revelation 4:8)

Fear of the Lord has become kind of old school and obsolete.  

This is a problem because when Christians lose their fear of the Lord they become dismissive about holiness and complacent in their faith. Spiritual complacency eventually metastasizes into a cancer that negatively impacts every aspect of our lives. It impacts how we handle sin and how we treat people. It affects how we witness and the way we approach God (Proverbs 1:7, Deuteronomy 10:12, Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Revelation 14:7, Revelation 19:5). 

Our view of God colors our view of everything.  

When someone sees God as a friendly Santa Claus in the sky, sin just doesn’t seem like that big a deal (Genesis 6:5-6, 1st John 3:8). A soft stance on sin starts us down a moral spiral.  All of a sudden taking advantage of others and treating people made in the image of God with contempt doesn’t seem like a problem (Leviticus 19:13-15, Leviticus 25:17). When our view of God is gets off-center men can start to believe it’s okay to mistreat their wives, pornography feels like a perfectly reasonable way to meet legitimate sexual needs and adultery becomes accepted. When the problems with sin are minimized exploitation becomes the new normal and gender becomes a choice we get to make rather than the will of God for our lives (1st Timothy 3:1-5, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8, Malachi 2:14-16, Genesis 1:27). When Christians lose their fear of God telling others about Jesus feels pointless because God’s warnings concerning hell are tough to take seriously (Matthew 5:22-28, Luke 12:25, 2nd Peter 4:4-22). When our view of God is skewed greed feels like sound financial planning and church attendance becomes about having our needs met rather than giving glory to the one who made us. None of this is good or life-giving. 

So.

It’s mission-critical Christians get the whole fearing the Lord thing one-hundred-percent right. Truth-be-told, for Christians the fear of the Lord is not a cowering, panicky, menacing terror that prevents us from approaching God and having a loving relationship with Him. 

This was once true. 

Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus the thought of approaching God was fearsome and scary and rightly so.  Things tended to fall apart anytime sinful humans approached God in a flippant or haphazard kind of a way (Exodus 19, 1st Samuel 6:19, 1st Kings 19:13, Hebrews 12:18-21). People literally died. It was terrifying. 

However. 

All that has changed.  Thanks to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, when God sees a Christian He sees the holiness and perfection of Jesus rather than the individual’s intrinsic sinfulness. Practically speaking, this means followers of Jesus can approach God with boldness and expect to experience love, grace, forgiveness, comfort and even relationship in His presence (Psalm 25:14, Hebrews 4:16, 1st John 3:2)

Fear of the Lord is less about being fearful of God and more about an accurate perspective on the greatness, holiness and majesty of God. When we fear God we understand what our relationship is to God (Psalm 96:4, 1stChronicles 29:11, Ezekiel 36:23, Isaiah 55:9). When we get all that right fear of displeasing God causes us to go out of our way to obey God. Fearing God means believing two things with all our heart: 

  1. God is who He says He is.  
  2. God will do what He says he will do. 

People who fear God believe God sees everything. They read what God says about Himself in the Bible and believe those things are true and to be taken very literally. They know deep in their hearts that nothing in this world—including the inner workings of the human heart are hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:13). They understand that God is merciful and they know He richly blesses every act of obedience and faith. They also understand God punishes deliberate disobedience. Fearing the Lord is understanding God is compassionate, merciful and good but in the words of C.S. Lewis—He is not safe.