“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.” ~Proverbs 21:30
It has been a trying couple of weeks. I’ve been assaulted by all manner of strange philosophies and ideologies that claim Christ as their core, and yet they seem as far from Christ as possible. As one who associates with a certain subculture, I find it so frustrating to see self-professing Christians use awkwardly interpreted Scriptures to justify their actions and associations, and then stop there. As if they want to move forward in their hobbies and interests and pull the Christian card only when it’s convenient.
As a Side Note: Let me just say this, if you have to search the Scriptures for some loophole to justify whatever it is that you are doing, perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it. I have seen people search for loopholes to justify tattoos, piercings, clothing styles, listening to certain types of music, having a drink of alcohol, smoking, or whatever else it may be that they desire to do. If you are fighting your conscience on a matter, let your conscience win because how much greater is God than your own conscience? Tattoos, piercings, etc. (I’m picking on those because they are the silliest matters I’ve seen addressed) are not for everybody. If you are starting to feel a pang of guilt for considering that cool tattoo you want to get, don’t get it. It might not be for you at the moment, or it may not be for you at all.
What part of LORD do we not understand? Are we not to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship? Do we not know that we are not our own, for we were bought at a price? It as if we are more concerned with being our own unique individual self, than we are about denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and following the Lord Jesus Christ who redeemed us with His Blood on Calvary.
Lord, help us. We are so weak, and we are so feeble.
Over the past few weeks I have listened to a man who is more interested in gathering disciples for himself, and convincing others that he has the right answers, than he is in seeking the Scriptures and giving his life over to God. A man who wants so much to be some grand spiritual leader, and yet his fruit bears witness to the spiritual death that is inside of him. And he is so enchanted by his own self grandeur, in love with his idols of education and antiquity, that I can’t help but to be reminded of the Word which says:
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
~2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
And it hurts because we’ve had this conversation, we’ve been down this trail, and that tree looks all too familiar.
Somehow, it seems that Christ isn’t important or exciting anymore. That He has somehow bored us, and now we have to dress Him up in the latest fashions just to keep Him relevant and inviting to ourselves and to the culture around us. It is absolutely ridiculous the idolatry that we have found ourselves in. And more and more as I see the culture around me, and Christians who look more like the culture around me than they do Christ, I’m starting to wonder where did it all go wrong.
When did Christ become not enough? When did the cries of Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria become so offensive and trite that we simply let them fade away? It seems now, that what matters most is that we be inviting and welcoming with a message that reaches out to the community, and -as far as I have seen- more often than not, that message is a watered down gospel cluttered with all manner of gimmicks and funny jokes to make it entertaining and look attractive to a dying world that revels in its own decay.
THE GOSPEL IS AN OFFENSE to those that are perishing. THE CROSS IS AN OFFENSE to those that deny Christ as Lord and Savior. Watering down the gospel, or smoothing off the rough edges of the cross (to paraphrase C. H. Spurgeon), is to rob God. Are we somehow more loving and more wise than our Father in Heaven that we try to take the offense out of that which is incredibly offensive?
Man is wicked and at enmity with God. Man is on a fast lane speeding towards Hell with a smile on his face. Man is making merry to eternal damnation, and unless we tell him how offensive and heinous his sin is to God, and what Christ has done that men might be saved, man will continue happily on his way to an eternity that stops in the full presence of God’s wrath.
I am fearful also, that there are a number of people who call themselves Christians, that have gone to church all their lives, that have done all the churchy things expected of them, who were at every Sunday service, and maybe at various midweek and home services, that will stand before God and hear those terrible words, “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you!” When our lives have no sign of change, when sin is of no importance to us, when holiness means nothing to us, when Christ is a subject we already know all about, when we live like the devil (to paraphrase Paul Washer) shouldn’t we be terrified?
How is your life any different now from before you knew Christ?
The Manhattan Declaration was encouraging, but I’m afraid it is not enough. Spurring us to act in regards to certain moral issues with a piece of paper signed by Christian and Christian-like religious leaders is heart breaking. Why should we be compelled to do that which we should have been doing from the beginning? Should it not be second nature for us to oppose the murder of unborn children? Should it not be second nature for us to oppose the various sexually immoral unions and encounters that we are being pressured into approving? Why does it take a piece of paper to get some of us to act? Why haven’t we already been taking to the streets with the GOSPEL!?
What makes our lives different from the unbelieving? Is there something that obviously sets us apart from the world around us beyond our words? Do our neighbors look at us and know something is different about our lives? Or are we simply content with putting on a t-shirt that says “Jesus” in a logo similar to that of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, instead of putting on Christ each and every day?
I am tired of lukewarm Christianity. I am tired of the “Have it Your Way” fast food gospel. I’m tired of churchianity and a church culture that denies Christ and promotes a life given to moralistic deism.
It is as if somehow our wisdom, our understanding, and our counsel are greater than God’s. Somehow we’ve become more intelligent, more gentle, more loving, and more peaceful than God. And this blasphemy is taking us, and the world, straight to Hell.
Lord, help us. We are weak, and we are feeble.
“No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.” ~Proverbs 21:30
No Navy working uniform is complete without its appropriate cover (or “hat” for you not military types), and today as I changed into my coveralls and went to grab my command ball cap, I was stunned to find that all the covers in the office were missing. Mine and my co-worker’s covers were no where to be found. I looked high and low, in every office space we own, in every fanroom we own, and I could only find one cover which me and my shipmate have been passing back and forth.
What does a pipe, whiskey flavored tobacco, grilled hot links with spicy mustard & cheese, sandalwood incense, a beautiful winter’s evening over looking the city’s lights, going two days unshaven, and sweet tea all have in common? They are the ingredients to some overdue quality time off. Despite what others may tell you work can be stressful; and sometimes just downright overtaxing. This added to the difficulty of being away from my family during the holidays, I must admit that I have been at my wits end.
One month and twenty-five days ago 
The file contained the last correspondence that my father and I have had with one another in which Gene Pensiero was courtesy copied by four different people during the two month conversation to an email address which Gene had confirmed as valid and functional. When the incident took place, somehow he just didn’t receive anything from the individuals involved in the process. Originally when he told me that he had not seen any of the emails during that time, I found it difficult to believe, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
I was raised by self-glorifying men, who encouraged and enabled sin by turning a blind eye to its practice. Who taught me that a godly and moral outward appearance was more important than a life given over to the Lord; and much more important than dealing with sin. Men who taught me that the best way to understand Scripture is in a way that best fits the cross-shaped box 
Gene did not want peace, but his reputation protected. Nothing I’ve ever said about 
