Throwing Stones

I have found one of the biggest road blocks to people getting to know Jesus and follow His teachings is Christians. They are supposed to lead others to Jesus but instead they chase people away by misrepresenting the grace and love of God. It was one of the things that for years kept me from becoming a Christian myself.
In the time of Jesus if you were condemned to death by the Jewish community and Levitical Law the form of carrying out the death sentence was public stoning. What I have come to find is that many of the physical things and events of the bible represent spiritual truths and lessons for us today. And public stoning for us represents us publicly condemning or judging another. And that's what many Christians that I have encountered do. They judge or condemn others thinking that pointing out others faults will somehow make them see they need Jesus. Problem is it doesn't work.
What does it say in 1 John 4:7, 8 about those who follow Jesus? They should walk in Love
1John 2:6, He who says he abides in Him ought himself also walk just as He walked. The He is Jesus so we should look at Jesus as our model. So if we want to be Contagious Christians we should look at what Jesus said and did as a model for how we love.
When Jesus encounters people who are living a sinful lifestyle how does He go about dealing with their immorality?

If we look at the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 He does not dwell on the fact she lives an immoral life. He does not judge or condemn. Jesus said in John 12:47, “I came not to judge the world but to save the world.” And in Luke 6:37 Jesus said, “Judge not and ye shall not be judged, condemn not and ye shall not be condemned.”
Jesus takes it a step further when He encounters the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8. Not only does He not speak condemnation but He defends her against those who do. He stops them from throwing stones.
The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:20 can show us what the Fathers heart is like. When the son who went astray came back we see the father running out to meet him. Why would he run and not wait? I believe Deuteronomy 21:18-21 gives us a clue. It says if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son the men of the city shall stone him to death. So I feel he ran to protect the son from the stones.

So are we going to be stone throwers or stone shields to those who we encounter?

Jesus gave nothing but grace to the sinners who lived immoral lives. The only ones he gave out judgment and condemned were the religious ones who lacked humility and pointed out other faults. Jesus said “I will make you fishers of men”. We are just here to catch the fish not clean the fish.
In the end we all sin and the penalty for all sin is the same. No one is better or less of a sinner in Gods eyes. Jesus took off His clothes to wash the feet of the apostles. We are not to cover up our faults when helping others. Jesus showed us how to do it in John 13. When He was cleaning the feet of the Apostles Jesus first took off his clothes. He showed them that He was a human too. That He was like them and then humbly served them. When we minister to others we are most effective when we share in a humble way and serve others. Good results happen when we show others the truth about ourselves that we are imperfect too. We have the best chance of them listening and receiving what we have found to cover them when they know we are just like them (sinners).
One more thing: Our walk will make more impact than our talk. Matthew 25:35-36 shows us we are to feed the hungry, put clothes on the naked, give a drink to the thirsty, take in the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned.
People won’t want what you share until they know you care.

Delirious? Creation Fest 6-28-2002

Here is one I have been looking for for a while. Chris at the Latin American Delirious? fan site was nice enough to share it with us. he let me make some artwork for it before he posted it. Thanks Chris!

So here is the show. 

Delirious?

Creation Fest 2002

Agape Farm

Mount Union, PA

6-28-2002

01 Bliss

02 Deeper

03 Sanctify

04 My Glorious

05 We'll see Your Glory Here

06 Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble

07 Everything

08 Touch

09 I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever

10 History Maker

11 Investigate

Total Time 57:07

Mp3/192k

http://www.mediafire.com/?runv70eqcyxsexp

Why Is There Suffering?

When sharing about my belief in God I had people ask questions that I was unable to answer. Maybe you have questions about faith that give you doubt.
One of these tough questions to understand is; why does God allow suffering? We as believers are often asked by skeptics, “why are there tragedies, war, and suffering?” Skeptical people will say, either God is all loving but not all powerful, or God is all powerful but not all loving. They say this because they feel if God was all powerful he would stop suffering, and if God is all powerful he must not be all loving because he allows suffering. What skeptics are saying is they believe God is to blame.
Is it God’s wishes that cause suffering? I don’t think so. God created a perfect world for us to live in. That is His desire. I believe because of sin (our own failing)the world is not perfect. It is imperfect because of the sin in it.

If this is the reason then why is there sin, and why does God allow it?

God gave us free will because he wanted us to love him out of our own choice. He gave us choice because love cannot be forced or programmed. God created a perfect world, (Genesis 1:1, 10, 25, and 31). Man then chose to sin, and be disobedient to God, (Genesis 3:1-19). This sin causes the world to be the way it is.

So when God lets something bad happen is it God’s judgment against us?

I have heard some people say 9-11 was God’s judgment, or that hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment. I don’t think it was.

Jesus said this in Luke 13:4. “Those eighteen on who the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were the worse sinners than all the other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” Were the people who died in the twin towers the worst sinners in New York? Were the people who died in hurricane Katrina the worst sinners in New Orleans? The truth is bad things happen to relatively good people and bad things happen to bad people. Because of sin in the world bad things happen to all of us.
In Matthew 7:24-27 it says that one man built his house on the rock and one man built his house on the sand. When the rains came the one on the rock did not fall. The one on the sand fell. Notice that the rains will come to both types of people. Bad stuff is going to happen.
The good news is that if you build your house on a foundation of rock that is Jesus Christ you will be able to get through the tough times.

Suffering comes in three types.
Corrective suffering, constructive suffering, suffering that glorifies God

First: Corrective suffering. God sometimes uses suffering to bring us closer to him. In Luke 15 the prodigal son came back to his father when the suffering he was subjected to got bad enough. Suffering can bring us back to the Father our God. And when this happens he will come running to you with open arms to welcome you home. Suffering can be like an amplifier of God’s voice. God whispers to us in good time but it seems like he shouts to us when we are in pain. In Hebrews 12 it says God’s children will be disciplined (this is how he corrects us). We are to be happy because this is a reminder that we truly are his children.

Second. Constructive suffering. Sometimes God will allow suffering to prepare us to do his work. The suffering can help harden or shape us to be used or useful to do his work. This is like when fire is used to harden steel. It is often the people who go through the great trials and tough times that are the ones who have the most powerful testimony for God.

Third. Suffering used to glorify God. Sometimes God will take away suffering and glorify himself in the process. An example of this is when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said in John 11:4, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it”.
When we pray to God to stop suffering, sometimes He says yes and sometimes He says no. Paul asked God three times but God did not take away his suffering. God said to him in 2Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness”.
In John 9:3 Jesus gave a blind man sight because, “But that the works of God may be done in him”. John 9:6, 7. “He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and he said to him “Go wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is translated sent)”. Once he was healed he didn’t know who Jesus was but he became a great witness to God’s glory! And then he became a faithful believer in Jesus.

Maybe there has been some type of tragedy or suffering in your life. Maybe God is trying to draw you nearer or get your attention. Maybe he is trying to open your eyes to who Jesus is. Call out to God and let him help you through it. He is the God of comfort and will be waiting with open arms for you. Be just like the blind man and say “once I was blind but now I can see”. God will use these things for good if you let him. Romans 8:28. In all things God works for the good of those who love him. He can make you a better person through it. He only wants the best for you.
Jeremiah 29:11. For the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
The future He has in mind and has promised to those who follow Jesus is to live with them forever in love and in a perfect world.

There is a fourth type of suffering and that is pointless suffering. If you don’t let God have a part in your life then suffering can not be used by God for your good. Don’t let the suffering in life be pointless to you.