The historian, Sidney Mead, described the United States as a nation with the soul of a church.   If we are truly a nation with the soul of a church then the most important thing you can do this July 4th is to be in Church getting right with God. The genius of our nation is not in our political parties but in our people. But until we are willing to accept God’s spiritual remedy for our sick soul, our nation will night rise above our own spiritual condition. The nation can never be better than we are.

It does not take too much time in study to realize that the founders of our nation firmly believed that the morals, values and ethics of the Bible were foundational to the success of our nation.  This quote from Thomas Jefferson is found on the wall of the Jefferson Memorial:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever

It is time for Christians to stop following the world and return to being the people of God.  I firmly believe that the nation rests on our shoulders, we are salt and light to the nation.  We cannot cower down when we are accused of being out of date, out of touch and moralistic.  Christians have to shed the clothing of secularism and let the robes of Christ be seen.

All too often, in the name of cultural relevance, we have compromised the Gospel.  Too many churches try to look like something besides a church, a sound stage, a movie theater, a fun park.  And every such act is a compromise with the world.  The world does not need another emergent church or any other cutting edge organization.  What the world needs is a repentant church, a church that seeks the face of God in hopes that God will renew us.

Revival among the people of God is the only hope for a declining nation.  Please pray for revival and may it begin with you and with me.

“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Jean-Louis Chavel stood like a stranger in front of the 230 year old house.  He had been born there; as a child he played games of hide-and-seek in the bushes; as a boy he had carried the melancholy and the sweetness of first love up and down the shaded drive.  It have been all his.  Now, he was a stranger.

Chavel, a Frenchman, was, like his father and his grandfather before him, a lawyer.  He was a wealthy man.  But, the Germans had imprisoned him along with the mayor of Paris and others.  One day the German officer said that some Germans had been murdered the evening before and three of their lot must die.  He did not care who it was.

They folded thirty pieces of paper, an old letter that belonged to one of the prisoners, and drew lots out of a shoe.  Chavel drew the third unlucky piece of paper.  He threw it on the ground and cried, “I never consented to the draw, you can’t make me die for the rest of you.”  He said “I will give 100,000 francs to anyone who will take this!”  The others looked on him in shocked pity.  Someone said why don’t you give up everything.  So he replied, “everything, money, land, everything.”

Janvier, a poor man took up his offer. Chavel said, “You’ll take my place?”
“I’ll take your place.”

So they drew up papers and transferred all of Chavel’s wealth to a poor man and Janvier left it all in a will to his family.  The next day, the poor, now rich Janvier died for the rich now poor Chavel.  And Chavel lived the rest of his life with his shame (Graham Greene, The Tenth Man).

It must be a severe curse to live while others die.  But it must be the severest of all to know that you were alive because someone else died for you.  Chavel, changed his name, grew a beard and hid in life’s shadows so that others might not know, might not remember how he survived.

Substitutionary Atonement is one of those theological phrases that cases people to fall into a deep, deep sleep.  We can hardly get the word out of our mouths without yawning.  But, it is, in reality, an exciting word.  It simply means this, Jesus died in our place.  But, there is a world of difference between the death of Janvier on behalf of Chavel and the death of Jesus on behalf of us.  Chavel was a coward and he used his wealth to escape his fate, but only for a time.  Death comes to us all.

Scripture tells us that God’s salvation is a free gift of grace through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ.  In fact, it says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Sin is so destructive and our situation is so helpless that we have nothing to offer to anyone to be our substitute.  What could we offer for a worthless soul?  Nothing!  Yet, Jesus died for us.  He became our substitute.

Jesus had a hard time convincing the disciples that he came to bring salvation into the world.  The Apostle John records seven times where Jesus said I am: I am the Bread of Life; I am the Light of the World; I am the Door; I am the Good Shepherd; I am the Resurrection and the Life; I am the Way and The Truth, and The Life; I am the Vine. All symbols and all which they did not understand.  Jesus even said John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”   How could they have missed that message?

Three times just before Passover, Jesus told the disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to die and that He would rise again on the third day.  They still did not understand.  The reason is that we humans don’t have a big enough imagination to fathom the notion that the same God who judges us and calls us sinners would also become flesh and die for us.  Who could imagine God coming among us in our condition?  We live in a world where the power of law can barely keep us in the bounds of civilized behavior.  Murder runs in the streets, sickness runs in our bodies and darkness runs in our souls.  Why would God care to come among us?  That is the mystery of Grace. God has loved us with such an incredible love that it is beyond us.  Otherwise why is it that some will sit in church for the length of their lives and never give place their trust in Him?   If you have wisdom you will gladly give yourself to Him.

On this evening of Passover, a time commemorating Israel’s liberation from Egypt, Jesus presented us a living parable so that we may never forget what He has done.  Knowing the suffering that was before Him, He said “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”  He looked forward to these last few moments with his disciples.  Jesus knew that they did not yet understand but he also knew that one day they would.  The Holy Spirit would open their eyes and they would be able to look back with clarity at what he had done.  For, if they did not understand, his work would have been wasted.  Jesus wanted them and us to not only understand, but to also to remember and to tell others about what he has done.

Jesus took one of the cups of Passover and a piece of the bread and created a new ritual.  Like the one before it, it was designed to make us remember as if we were there.  He handed them a piece of bread and said that this is my body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of me.  Then He picked up the cup and said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My Blood.  Do you see the theme here, My body given for you, my blood which is poured out for you?  He was our substitute!  He took our place.  He who is God and cannot tolerate sin, became sin and paid the penalty that was due to us.  He took our place.

For nearly 2,000 years, believers have joyfully raised the cup and taken the bread in honor of our Lord.  We remember what he as done.  We act out the drama of Jesus’ great Sacrifice.  Paul said that we bear witness to his great act of love 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

So, every time we sit in church and go to through the ancient ritual of the Lord’s Supper, we should be filled with excitement as we remember together that Jesus became our substitute. As we approach Easter, the thoughts should be even more vivid.   Though we were not there, we remember. We remember that one dark day with a crowd of jeering unbelievers, Jesus was hung on a cross.  His blood was spilled, his side was pierced.  He was humiliated and he died so that he might pay the penalty for our sins.  He did not scream I never agreed to die for you.  He never tried to bargain his way out of it.  He gave up everything.  He said, I will take your place.  He was our substitute.  He died for us.

The following is by a friend of mine who teaches, among other things, preaching at the Baptist College of Florida.  This is an example of what is called inductive preaching.  I think it has a great insight into the text

ACTS 27

This story of Paul’s shipwreck on the way to Rome is one of my favorite stories in the New Testament.  It is a favorite of mine because, like most favorite stories do, it leaves us with more of a picture than a plot.  Great stories paint great images for us to look at and think about and learn from.

And you might not immediately see the picture when you first read this story.  On the surface, this chapter seems to be simply an overly-detailed description of a sea voyage “gone bad.”  And knowing that this is the Book of Acts we are reading, you might even wonder why Luke would devote a whole chapter to this single event in the life of Paul.

Shipwrecks were actually commonplace in the first century.  When Paul wrote the Book of II Corinthians, he said he had already been in three shipwrecks!  So it hardly seems right to take up a whole chapter in the story of the early church (only 28 chapters long) with just this one story.

And Luke gives every single detail of the trip.  He tells where they left from, and when.  He tells which way the wind was blowing.  He talks about the time of year.  In v28, he tells how deep the water was.  And in v37 he makes sure we know exactly how many people were on board.

I think these all details were written to get us thinking about the rest of the details that surround this story.  If we can put ourselves into the story with these details, then maybe we can also understand the tremendous pressures that weighed on Paul as he took this journey to Rome to stand trial.

Here was a man who had no real home.  Since the day Jesus had spoken to him on the Damascus Road, he had given everything to the cause of the Gospel!  He traveled from place to place, telling people about Christ.

He worked hard to start churches in places where there were no churches, and now his reward is to be arrested…to be arrested and sentenced to the ultimate fate.  He must appear before the highest human court in the world–the court of the emperor of Rome.  And no one will stand with him when he gets there.  He is alone.  He has given all and lost all.

And if his troubles were not enough, now the ship that is taking him to his fate is sinking in a winter storm, even after he had told the captain of the ship that it was going to happen! This is the ultimate Murphy’s Law in action!  “If you are sailing to a Roman trial and near-certain death, your ship will also sink.”

So what does Paul do?  I know what I would have done.  Griping and whining would have been the order of the day!  “I told them this was going to happen, but does anybody ever listen to me?  NOOOOOO!”

But instead of griping, whining, or general discouragement, I see the incredible picture of Paul begins to emerge in verse 33…

• after 14 days of being blown off course,
• after fourteen days of being so seasick that they could not eat,
• after 14 days of being in a storm so bad that he couldn’t sleep (v33 says this happened just before dawn, “as the day was coming on”),
• after 14 days of pure misery, the Apostle Paul kneels on a cold deck, in the pouring rain, in the blowing wind, and gives thanks over a piece of soggy bread.  “After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all.  Then he broke it and began to eat.  They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.”

That is the image I want you to see and to keep.  And it is an amazing picture!  It is not “singing in the rain,” but “giving thanks in the rain.”  It is not just saying that everything is fine; it is knowing that things are not fine and giving thanks in faith.

Why would anyone do that?  Why would anyone give thanks for soggy bread in the middle of a storm?  Why would anyone give thanks when the situation seems hopeless?  The only answer is that Paul knew that things would only be hopeless if they DID NOT give thanks.

That really was Paul’s philosophy.  That really was what Paul believed:

• You live by giving thanks.  You stay strong by giving thanks.
• You survive by giving thanks.

It all explains the blanket statements that Paul made in the rest of the New Testament:

• In Eph 5:4, Paul tells the Christians to give up their old ways of foolishness and coarse jesting and put, of all things, thanksgiving in its place.
• In Eph 5:20, Paul says to give thanks at all times for all things.
• In Col 2:7, Paul says to overflow with thanksgiving.
• In I Thess 5:18, Paul writes those words that some of you have even memorized…”in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

These are all “BLANKET” STATEMENTS.  NONE of these verses ask what the circumstances are, and they should not.  That is the whole point:

• Giving thanks lives outside of circumstances.
• Giving thanks is what delivers us from being prisoners to circumstances.

That is why we are drug through this story detail by detail: because we are supposed to see Paul kneeling on the deck of a tossing ship and realize that thanksgiving is also our strength, our deliverance, from the storms, the discouragements of life.  Thanksgiving is our spiritual food.

Leadership Journal told the story of a woman who bought a parrot to keep her company, but she could not get the parrot to talk.  She returned the bird to the pet store and complained, “This bird doesn’t talk.”  The owner asked if the parrot had a mirror in its cage…”Parrots love mirrors, they can seem themselves and start a conversation with themselves.”  So the woman bought a mirror.

The next day she was back and complained that the parrot would still not talk.  The owner asked her if the parrot had a ladder in its cage.  “Parrots love ladders, and a happy parrot is a talking parrot.”  So the woman bought a ladder.

But the next day she was back again.  This time the owner asked if the parrot had a swing in his cage.  “Parrots love to swing.  Once he starts swinging, he’ll talk up a storm.”  So woman bought a swing.

She was back on the fourth day, but this time she came with sad news.  She told the owner, “my parrot died.”  The store owner was shocked and said, “Oh, I am sorry…did he ever talk before he died?”  “Yes,” the woman said, “just before he died, he looked up at me and said–’don’t they sell any food at that pet store?’”

The act of giving thanks is our spiritual food.  It takes us through the unbearable.  It allows us to bow before God in the worst of circumstances and come away with encouragement and confidence that God is with us and knows all about our situation.  We were never meant to live without gratitude.

Several years ago, a fine man named Lamar Breland died.  You don’t know his name, but I wanted to tell you about him.  He is one of those unsung church heroes.  He was one of our deacons, and a wonderful man.   He loved to fish.  He loved to tell stories.  You knew it was going to be a classic Lamar Breland story when he would say, “now here’s a sho-nuff true story!”  With Lamar, they were all “sho-nuff” true stories.  He loved to see friends and family.  He just loved to see folks.

But at the end of his life, he went through the mill.  It started with pneumonia.  And then for some reason, he got an awful case of TMJ.  Every time I saw him, he was just in agony.  And the pain from that would aggravate his heart problems.  And then finally, the cancer came.

One day at his house, after the doctors had told Lamar there was nothing else they could do, Lamar was sitting in his chair and he looked at me and said, “You know Ed, God has given me a wonderful life.”

And for just a moment, I could have sworn that I saw a man on a ship, kneeling in the rain, thanking God for soggy bread.  And it made me wonder if I had really yet tapped into the power God has placed in the simple act of giving thanks.

This particular video is about a fresh water project.  But can’t we see the possibilities if we enter into an Advent Conspiracy of many kinds, food, teaching, being a friend, sending gifts to those less fortunate than we?  What about the shoebox ministry or how about just asking your neighbor to church?  Wow, what a world we might create if we lived out the implications of our faith!

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

I thought this was an interesting quote from the Evangelical Philosophical Society blog

In speaking of the fear of religion, I don’t mean to refer to the entirely reasonable hostility toward certain established religions and religious institutions, in virtue of their objectionable moral doctrines, social policies, and political influence. Nor am I referring to the association of many religious beliefs with superstition and the acceptance of evident empirical falsehoods. I am talking about something much deeper–namely, the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that (Oxford Univ. Press, 1997), 130-131.

Ben Witherington III

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Ben Witherington III

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William Lane Craig

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