Evolution in Sunday School

During Sunday School this past Sunday, we began a study of Genesis. We started in Genesis 1:1 and we tackled the first full chapter of Genesis in our first week. I believe that we had a great conversation on Sunday, but it was not without some controversy. The difficulty seemed to stem from the fact that within our congregation there are many different perspectives on how we should interpret the creation story as given to us in Genesis 1 & 2. 

What I have surmised during the past 4 years as the Pastor of EFUMC, is that the consensus among us, is that God accomplished creation through the use of evolution. I have challenged this assumption during the past few months through my preaching, specifically through the sermon series entitled “The 7 C’s of Human History.” If you haven’t yet, I would encourage you to go back and watch these sermons

During Sunday School this last Sunday, I made a claim that I am sure was difficult for those in attendance to hear. I would like to review it now, as I believe that it is a critical one in the life and practice of the Church. 

As we worked our way through Genesis chapter 1, the main point of disagreement between me as the teacher, and everyone else in attendance, seemed to be the age of creation. I contended that the Bible’s explanation of “6 days” was actually six literal days, while my other class members seemed to subscribe to an interpretation that views “6 days” as six eras, or six long, undefined periods of time, as explained by secular evolutionists. 

We debated this for a while in class, but due to our time running out, I closed our time together with a question. This question, to me, reveals the strongest point against the theory of evolution and other similar interpretations, such as the big bang and other old Earth theories, from a Christian perspective. I left this question for those in attendance to work through during the week and promised that we would pick back up there the following Sunday. I would also invite you all to wrestle with this same question and join us on Sunday for the continuation of this conversation as we continue into Genesis, chapter 2. 

Here is the question – How do Christian Evolutionists reconcile the following?

The main message of the Gospel is that Jesus was incarnated, died and was raised so that each and everyone of us can be resurrected as well. The wages of sin is death and Jesus fixed the sin problem in us, so that we would no longer die. Death was the problem that became the problem through the first sin of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were created to live forever. There was no death before original sin. 

Unfortunately, if you believe in evolution’s explanation of the creation account in Genesis 1& 2, then you are affirming that death has always been a part of God’s design for Creation, since evolution is built upon the foundation of death. If God has always used death to create humanity, then what did Jesus save us from? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross and be resurrected? 

If we cling to the articles of belief in evolution as a Church, then not only does Genesis not make any sense, but the whole story of the Bible, and especially the Gospels cease to make any sense. 

As a Church, it is imperative that we spend some time reevaluating our thinking on this.

I prefaced the above question with the contention that what we think about Genesis will not impact our salvation. We can have a false understanding of creation and evolution and our mortal souls will not be in jeopardy. But, this poor thinking about God and life, definitely will negatively impact our ability to witness to the truth and power of God in this world. 

As the vessel by which God has chosen to share the Gospel message with the world, we have a responsibility to get it right. 

Only five of us were in attendance on Sunday for Sunday School so I would encourage you all to go to the website, www.efumchurch.org, and watch the video from Sunday. We will continue our study of Genesis this Sunday after fellowship time. I believe that a church wide engagement with the Word of God is imperative if we are going to grow as a congregation and align with the will and purposes of God. 

Reevaluating the Mission of the Church

Have you ever heard the saying “Politics is downstream of culture.” This was a saying made popular by Andrew Breitbart, who was a conservative political commentator who managed the media company that shared his name, until his death in 2012. I would agree completely and affirm the wisdom in this saying, but I would also like to expand it a bit. 

If politics is downstream of culture, then Christian faith is the filter that keeps the water clean and free of toxins and pollution. If left in the river this cultural poison will certainly corrupt and spoil our political system. 

The responsibility of the Church is to place the filter of Christian Faith right under culture so that all of the lies of Satan can be strained out before they can enter the river and negatively affect the lives of the people around us who are under our care. The actual material of this “filter” is made up of the Word of God in Scripture, but it is reinforced by the Love of God as lived out in each and every one of us who are His Children. 

As Christians, and members of the Church of Jesus, we are equipped by the Word of God and empowered by the Love of God, but it is up to us to jump in the river. The church, which is us, must place this filter, being the people of God, into the raging river if we are to be effective in proclaiming truth and refuting the lies of Satan in the world, so that not just politics, but every area of life can be free of the corrupting influence of Satan. 

Getting in the river of cultural influence is a dirty place to be. It is often bitterly cold and full of bottom-feeding creatures who love to nibble on the toes of people who are just trying to keep from getting sucked under by the turbulent waves of sin. As followers of Jesus, who have jumped into the rapids, we can have confidence, because we have a lift jacket that is tethered to the church up on the bank of the river. We also have an air hose that is connected to giver of life, or Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have on our feet, flippers that help us to navigate this perious environment which Jesus has given us through His Holy Scriptures. We also have a wet suit of love, that is designed to keep the stink of this river off of us so that we will not be mistaken for one of those creatures lurking about. 

I wonder if the current political and cultural malaise that we all so frustrated with when we turn on the news is not a direct result of the church not doing it’s job of being the filter that God has called us to be. Maybe we should stand up and take responsibility for the fact that for most young people in this country the only thing they know about Jesus or Faith is what they hear from Hollywood, which was meant to trick them into thinking that God is the enemy and that the Church is the problem. 

I would like to suggest that the Church, that’s you and me, set aside our dry, safe positions up here on the river bank and we jump into the water. Let’s get in the rapids with the Word of God in one hand and the Love of God in the other and let’s actively push back against the lies of Satan.

A Question to Ask Ourselves

Do you know that it is God’s most ardent desire that you draw close to him? He created each one of us for a personal and intimate relationship. He loves us and wants to interact with us. He wants us to enter into His presence and soak up the love He has for us. Do you know that God weeps when we ignore Him? It breaks His heart when His children would rather pay attention to the world and all that the world has to offer, instead of receiving what it is that God has to offer.

How close would you say that your relationship with God is right now, at this moment in time? Is it strong? Do regularly commune with the Father and give him your best self? Or, do you only think about God on Sunday’s and when you need something from him? Sit for a moment and really contemplate this question. How is your relationship with your Heavenly Father? Do you feel His closeness, or does He seem to be distant from you? Do you feel like you know what God wants from you in life, or are you confused whenever you think about God’s will for your life? Do you get excited by the prospect of being in prayer and reading your Bible, or does it, instead, give you a feeling of dread and burden?

I believe that a time is coming, and maybe not too far off from now, when Jesus will begin to separate the wheat from the chaff, and the sheep from the goats. Do you know yourself to be a sheep? Are you certain of your status? Are you on the narrow path that leads to life? If you are not absolutely positive, I would implore you to reach out for the hand of God. I would urge you to run to Him, right now, and fall at His feet and allow Him to guide you and strengthen you so that you might reflect His light in your own life. 

If you are on that narrow path already and you are absolutely confident of your salvation, then I would ask that you engage in a similar conversation as the one I am having with you right now, with someone you love who may not be counted among the sheep, but instead may be on the wide path that leads to death and destruction. This may be the most important thing you ever do for another person. If that person is receptive, then I urge you to walk along side them, showing them the way to Jesus. The blessings of helping a fellow child of God find his way home to Jesus are more valuable than just about anything else in this world. After all, when we lead someone else Jesus, we naturally find ourselves closer to Him as well.

Be blessed, Mike Collins

This Crazy World Doesn’t Not Make Sense.

The world hardly ever doesn’t make sense. We say to ourselves, quite often it seems, that something or other just doesn’t make any sense. We scratch our heads about why a particular person would say such a thing, or why an event would cause such a reaction or illicit such a response. 

While we may not personally understand the full story or the explanation about such mysteries, there is almost always a reasonable and rational explanation for such seemingly baffling happenings. 

When people do things or say things that make us question their sanity, there is usually nothing wrong with their mental health. The problem almost always has to do with their spiritual health. When people take a position that is so far off from what you might support, it is because they are living out of a completely different set of rules and values. A person of faith lives their life out of a set of rules and values that they have received from God through the word of God and affirmed by their experience with God in Christ Jesus. 

Conversely, a person whose rules and values cause them to support ideas and actions that are in direct conflict with God, have allowed themselves to be ruled by that which is against and opposite of what God would want. This force in the world, that is in direct opposition to the will of God, is Evil. Evil is promoted and coordinated by Satan. Satan and his demons are hard at work trying to disrupt and confuse the hearts and minds of people so that God’s will might be thwarted. 

The next time you hear someone speaking and you find yourself scratching your head, wondering how it is that anyone could believe such a thing or support such a policy, just step back and realize that what is likely happening is that Satan is trying to influence the situation in order to cause as much pain and destruction as possible in the lives of humans, with the purpose that we will turn from God and wreck God’s plan for the world. 

Most of the people around us, who seem to be spouting nonsense that is obviously not from God, are usually not evil people themselves, but they have for one reason or another been duped by Satan to do his bidding. Satan is the king of lies and over the generations he has orchestrated an epic system in the world by which most people are indoctrinated and brainwashed into believing that which is inconceivable. 

Unfortunately, many of our public institutions are now controlled by Satan and used by him to perpetuate lie after lie after lie, until “the world” no longer can discern truth from deception. I think it is safe to lump into this paradigm institutions like; many public schools, the major media outlets, Hollywood, many colleges and universities, as well as the halls of Justice and Legislature. 

This crazy world we live in doesn’t not make sense. In fact, it makes perfect sense all the time. As long as we understand the way that the world really operates and what Satan has been so successful in building into modern American life, we should never be surprised by or fail to have an answer for all the lies and deceptions that flows all around us all the time. 

It is the role and responsibility of the faithful followers of Jesus to stay vigilant and to not be seduced by shiny lies that the world spreads on behalf of the Devil. We must keep our heads above the fray so that we can shine the light of truth on every issue and denounce every lie that doesn’t not line up with the glory and the love of God.

This is our mandate. May we be faithful and true in the face of death and destruction. 

Many blessings to you all,

Pastor Mike Collins

A Call to Be A Truth-Teller

When I witness all of the nonsense that has surrounded the Kavanaugh Senate confirmation hearing and other political battles; or the misinformation surrounding the gun-control debate; or the total disregard for precious God-given life in the ongoing, state-sponsored slaughter of our innocent unborn babies; or any number of ridiculous political footballs for which the popular stance is in direct opposition to the will of God, I fall on my knees and ask my Lord Jesus to come back soon and stop all of this madness. 

Only Jesus can fix the mess that humans have made of this world. As Jesus predicted, “a time would come when people would call good evil and evil good.” That time has come. There is no reasonable explanation for the state of things in this country, and really the whole world, except that the battle between Satan and God is raging all around us. 

This Spiritual battle is a real and present danger to many people in all walks of life who have not accepted the Lordship of Jesus Christ and given their lives to him. The only hope anyone has in avoiding being collateral damage in this ongoing battle between God and Satan is through the power and protection of the Holy Spirit. 

For those who are still stuck in the world and who have not yet accepted the wonderful grace and gift of life, given by Jesus through his sacrifice on the cross, are doomed to be duped by all of the lies and corruption that is so prevalent in our world today. I hear ideas and statements from all different directions and by all kinds of different people and it amazes me how much of all of that noise seems to have originated in the mind of Satan. 

Unless we are anchored to the source of truth and consider all statements and claims through this connection, we will not be able to discern truth from deception. Whenever we listen to the news on TV or the internet, or when we have a discussion with a friend or coworker, or when we receive an email or advertisement about some issue or offer, we must take it to the Lord in prayer. We must seek to not only understand it for ourselves so that we can make a good decision, but so we can be able to refute it and explain the flaw in it, to those who are unable to discern the truth. 

The greatest truth we get the great honor and privilege of explaining, to others in this world who are clueless, is the great love of Christ and the wonderful life giving Gospel that comes from knowing Jesus. 

As we watch the political circus; and listen to our friends, family and co-workers debate the issues that divide us; let us commit to thinking through it all using the lens of Scripture as well as the love of Christ, in order to be able to share the only real truth that matters with the people that God has given to us to enlighten. 

Is the World Going to Hell in a Hand-basket?

Have you ever looked around, especially in the current political climate in this country, and wondered to yourself “What is wrong with people? Is the world getting worse and worse?” Or have you asked yourself or others, “What can we do about it?” If you have asked such questions, I have an answer for you. 

Yes, the world is going to hell in a hand-basket! 

No, there is nothing you can do about it.

This planet, our terrestrial residence, is a temporary place. It is not meant to last. There is really no need to treat it like a sacred temple, or a being worthy of our protection. It is just a floating rock on which God created humans. The important part of this creation is the humans, not the rock. 

Because of the trajectory of humanity from the fall to the end, everything is coming unwound. The evil and godlessness that has plagued this world for millennia is now being distilled down to raw truth. From God comes life and eternal bliss, from godlessness comes death and destruction. The choice is and has always been ours. Each one of us has decided, or will soon decide, to follow God or we will decide to follow ourselves. Those are really our only two options in life.  My will or Thy will? This is the eternal ongoing question that determines all of life. 

There is a time coming when all decisions will have been made and at that time God will adjudicate all of creation as he has promised to do. How will the evidence stack up in our lives that either proves that we served Jesus or that we served ourselves? This is not a mysterious unanswerable question. It is a poigniant and easily determinable analysis. What decisions have we made that have honored God versus what decisions have we made that really honored only  ourselves? It is only those of us who have done the math on this question and have truly grappled with its truth who are in any position to realize that we are in trouble without the loving grace of our savior Jesus. 

God is not asking us to fix anything that is broken in this world, except souls. Politics, Hollywood, the economy, healthcare, our legal system, or what ever; it does not matter what is wrong with the world. It only matters who we save out of this world. 

As a Pastor in the UMC, I am trying to focus on realigning my priorities as well as those of my family and church, so that we can accomplish this one task and one task only. Are we truly prepared for the end? Are we doing everything in our power to help prepare others for the end? 

Lord, please help us before it is too late. 

A Critical Warning!

I have a warning for you. It may be the most astute and critical warning that you will ever receive. It is more important than that of “Smoking will kill you!” or the shrill, ear-piercing noise of a fire alarm. Failure to heed this warning will certainly lead to a fate worse than death. If you continue to ignore this truth you will be destroyed and everything you love will be destroyed. However, if you pay attention to this warning and make adjustments in your life accordingly, you will have a wonderful and successful life free from the worry and trappings that most everyone falls into. Are you ready for it? Here it is.

THE DEVIL IS OUT TO GET YOU!

If you are like two thirds of Americans who, according to Barna Research Group, as reported by The New York Times, do not believe that Satan really exists, then you may desire to dismiss this warning out of hand. You may even decide to stop reading and assume that I have nothing good to say on this subject. But, I encourage you to hear me out. 

Satan’s purpose in life is to thwart God’s will, or rather to try. We know, with confidence as children of our Almighty Father in heaven, that God’s will cannot be thwarted. God wins in the end, but that does not mean that Satan will not do everything in his power to reek as much havoc as he can in the meantime. 

In short, God’s will is that all that He has created will bring to Him the glory that He deserves. He loved us, and so saved us from sin through Jesus on the Cross, so that we can love him back. When we love him well, meaning that we deny ourselves and put God and others before us, God gets an optimal amount of glory. Satan just hates this! Satan wants the glory. Stealing glory from God is the original sin. That is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven in the first place and it is what got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Stealing God’s glory is what every single person in the history of mankind has been guilty of ever since and it is really the essence of every sin that we are guilty of as rebellious humans. 

Satan’s purpose is to trick us into being accomplices in his effort to steal the glory that rightfully belongs to the Lord of the Universe. And he is really good at it. 

Every single one of us humans would be slaves under the Devil’s spell if it were not for the active and loving work of the Holy Spirit in the world. The only thing that can keep us from being glory stealers who are controlled by Satan is we are held within the arms of Christ, our Savior. When we follow Jesus, Satan can’t touch us. However, if we only BELIEVE in Jesus we are not safe. Even Satan believes in Jesus. We must be Disciples of Jesus. We must live our lives everyday striving to live into the example that Jesus has set for us. We must go wherever it is that Jesus goes and do whatever it is that Jesus does if we truly want to be FOLLOWERS of Jesus. 

Life is only worth living within the safe and secure arms of our Lord Jesus. In the arms of Jesus we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We also receive, as gifts from God – Faith, Hope and Love (1 Corinthians 13). These are the things that make a life worth living. Outside the protective arms of Christ we are vulnerable to the attacks and lies of Satan where we find death and destruction at ever turn. 

Look around at this world we live in. Can you see the Devil at work? Look at the media; look at Hollywood; look at Washington DC; look at all of the people you know who do not know Jesus. The Devil is having a field day all around us. Now look at the people who have a relationship with Jesus. Observe the people whom you know to be strong people of faith. Are they safe from the Devil? Can you see Jesus in their eyes? 

The Church has much work to do, for Satan is picking off our neighbors, our friends, our family members like a wolf picks off sheep. The Gospel of John says that Jesus is the “Good Shepherd.” We need to be like Jesus. 

How To Find God’s Will For Your Life

As believers in Christ, we want to do God’s will, right? We want to figure out what He wants us to do and we genuinely want to do that, spending our lives in obedience to Him. Here, I summarize some practical advise on how to do that.

First off, I believe it is helpful for us to realize that most of the time, with most of our decisions, God does not care what we do. He does not care about 99% of the choices we make in our lives. He gives us the freedom to choose to live our lives however we feel is best for ourselves. — God does not care where I work as long as I work hard and I am a good witness for Him.

— God does not care where I live as long as I am a good neighbor.

— God does not care who I marry as long as I treat my spouse with love and respect and build our marriage and family on the foundation of Christ.

— God does not care how many kids I have as long as I raise them in the Church and help them to grow up to be men and women of God.

For the most part God does not care what I do with my life as long as I honor Him and give Him glory with the way I live.

My wife, Stephanie, and I met on eharmony.com. While I certainly believe that God used eharmony.com to bless us, I do not believe that God brought us together in some special and predestined way. All you classic romantics out there may not agree with this, but God did not design Stephanie and I to be together specifically. This may not sound all that romantic, but I think that it is incredibly romantic. I had met hundreds of women, maybe thousands of eligible young women, in the 35 years before I met Stephanie and I could have married and made it work with many of them. I chose to marry Stephanie. And Stephanie chose to marry me. We weren’t predestined to be together. God didn’t say “I created you to marry Stephanie Barclay. She is the one I have for you so marry her and be done with it.” – like I had no choice in the matter. I made a conscious and intentional decision to marry her over all the other millions of women in the world I might have married.

Whether it is the question of who we marry, what career we have, what city we live in, what church we attend, or any of the thousands of decisions we make about our lives, for the most part God doesn’t care. Not even about the big stuff.

But sometimes he does care, right? Sometimes there are specific directives, specific tasks that God gives us to do with which he expects us to be obedient. What do we do then? How do we then figure out what those are so we can be obedient? After all, God doesn’t typically speak directly to us in an audible voice. Sometimes he does, but for most of us this does not happen very often. We usually do not get direct instructions from God about specific tasks to accomplish. Here is some advice for how to determine exactly what God wants us to do so that we never miss it and disappoint God. This is very simple, but very helpful. I try to follow this advice myself as a general rule.

When ever an opportunity comes up in your life, SAY YES! It is that simple. No matter what it is, just say yes. Well, let me clarify a bit. Say yes to every legitimate opportunity. Obviously there are things that come across our paths that clearly go against what God would want from us. Illegal and sinful activities are not legitimate opportunities. We can say no to those right away. We don’t need to entertain the idea of dating a non-believer, because Jesus already said not to. We don’t need to pray about whether or not to make an investment in a shady or speculative business deal, because God already said not to.

Also, we have to use common sense. Our calendars can only fit so much in them. There are only 24 hours in each day and we can’t be two places at once. We also must remember to take our Sabbaths and make sure we are getting plenty of rest. We can’t go 24/7, non-stop.

If we follow those general rules we can say yes to every opportunity that comes our way and then trust that God will close the wrong doors and open the right doors. God is fully capable of taking away opportunities that do not line up with His plan for us. If we never take a step forward, saying yes to opportunities, but instead expect God to first tell us where to go, we may be stuck for a good long while. Instead, like a ship in the ocean, we are called to move forward, allowing God to steer us in the right direction.

It is also helpful to note that regardless of what decision we make in our lives, we cannot mess up God’s plan. If we truly and genuinely have a desire to do God’s will and we are doing our very best to honor God with all areas of our lives, then we cannot mess up His plan for us or for others and certainly not His overall plan for the world.

So let’s quit stressing out about finding and doing God’s will and just live by faith trusting that God will take care of the details. God is much more concerned about how we are living than about what we are accomplishing in our lives. God’s will for our lives is that we honor and glorify him with each and every day. God will make sure the building of His Kingdom is accomplished no matter what we do or don’t do. We get to be a part of it when we work to accomplish obedience and devotion in our personal faith journeys.

May God bless you all as you seek to follow Him wherever he might lead you.

How to Live Out the Great Commission

How to Live Out the Great Commission

Matthew 28: 16-20 is a passage of Scripture known as the Great Commission where Jesus tells all of his followers to “go into all nations and make disciples of Jesus, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” We know that as followers of Jesus this is our calling, but we often fail to live into this calling.  Really, most of the time we simply just refuse to pay any attention to this command by Christ. Why is that?

As Christians we make excuses for why we refuse to go and make disciples. Here are five common excuses that we make in response to the Great Commission. We often say to God:

I’m not qualified. God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called. He does not call us to do something that he does not also give us what we need to accomplish it. God does not expect us to do anything, but be faithful and willing to step up and be obedient. When we are obedient He does the work through us and accomplishes what He wants to accomplish.

I don’t have the resources. Maybe we think we don’t have time. However, it is not a matter of not having enough time. It is a matter of how we use the time we have. We all get 24 hours a day or 168 hours a week. Are we using that time to do what God wants us to do or are we using our time to do what we want? It is a simple choice.

I don’t enjoy it. We might feel embarrassed or shy when we share our faith or maybe it is just generally uncomfortable, but Jesus never said it would be easy. After all, He told us to “pick up our crosses and follow him.” Is the work of making disciples of Jesus Christ important enough to rise above the discomfort and be obedient anyway? I think it is.

It is not my job. We often convince ourselves that it is our pastors job to make disciples or maybe other people who have been given that specific responsibility, but let’s do some math here. Let’s say that your pastor works very hard focusing 100% on making disciples and he or she is able to invest into the lives of a new person every week all year long. Over the course of a year 50 people would come to saving faith in Jesus. After all, our pastors should get at least a two week vacation right? Now let’s figure that the average congregation is about 200 people. If every lay person in the church was committed to making disciples over the course of a year and each one brought one new person to church where he or she could develop a relationship with Christ then over the course of a year 200 people would come to saving faith in Jesus. Which do you think would give God more glory, 50 saved souls or 200?

What’s in it for me? Not many of us would admit to asking this question of Jesus when given the mandate to go and make disciples, but if we are honest, this is often what we do indeed tell Jesus. Well, let me tell you. When I get to heaven I don’t want Jesus to sit me down and ask me why I wasted all the resources and opportunities he gave me to share my faith. That conversation would not be fun. Instead, when I stand before Jesus I want him to say to me “Well done good and faithful servant!” This praise does not come automatically from Jesus, but only after a life lived in faith and obedience. These are the eternal rewards we can look forward to if we commit to living out the Great Commission in our lives.

But there are also temporal rewards we can benefit from as well. When we are committed to God’s will and obedient in living out our faith in a tangible and evangelistic way, then God’s power comes over us and fills us up. Do you know the feeling we get when we do well at our jobs or at school or any area of our lives, like when we knock the ball out of the park, figuratively speaking, that is? Can you imagine the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that God will bless us with when we help Him accomplish his plan for the world in saving lost souls? That is an amazing feeling you can’t get any other way in this life.

HOW DO WE DO IT?

“Well that’s great Pastor Mike, but how do we make disciples? We all know we are supposed to be faithful to the Great Commission, but it is easier said than done.”

I have a very simple four step process for accomplishing the Great Commission in our lives. It is so simple and easy that anyone can do it if they decide to.

Step One – Make friends with someone who is not a believer. 

Step One is that simple. We all know someone who does not have a relationship with Jesus. They are all around us, at work, in our neighborhoods, even in our families. Simply strike up a friendship with one person. We can all do that can’t we? We all know how to make friends. Simply be a friend to someone.

Step Two – Live your life in a way that proves you are a Christian.

This one is a little more difficult and intimidating. After all, we know that we goof up from time to time or even all the time, but if we can live our lives in response to who we are in Christ even when we goof up then our new friend will notice that there is something different about us. When they notice that we are different, at some point they will ask us about it. When they do we should be prepared to…

Step Three – Answer the question.

Be prepared to tell your unbelieving friend why is it that you act the way you do. Why did you treat that person that way, or why did you react that way in that business meeting, or why did you refuse to give on that particular issue. When we live our lives for Christ, people will notice and they will ask us why. When they ask, simply be prepared to share your heart with them. Use your own words. There is no need to use fancy theological words or even a bunch of scripture. Just tell them, in your own words, what Jesus means to you and what he has done for you. However, sometimes you may need to be a bit more proactive.

Step Four – Ask the question. 

There is a chance that the person with whom you have developed a friendship will never ask you about your faith. If this is the case then we need to be prepared to be the one to ask the question. In a natural and appropriate context, simply ask your friend what their thoughts are on God or faith or the after life, or whatever. Simply get the conversation started. No pressure! No need for a sermon here. Simply test the waters and allow the conversation to develop over time. If you are indeed friends with this person then they are not going to get mad and yell at you. An effective “God” conversation is not a one time thing. It is a conversation that takes place over several months or even years. But it is a conversation worth having.

What Is Your Worldview?

What is your worldview? What is your basic understanding about life that drives you forward and compels you to act in certain ways? What are your priorities? What do you really want to accomplish in this life? How do you spend your time and money? What really matters to you?

As a Follower of Christ, I struggle with these questions, although I ask them of myself often. These types of questions derive from the age old philosophical question “What is the meaning of life?” We have all asked this question at one time or another in some way in our lives. Few people, however, have answered this question for themselves in a helpful way.

How should we answer these types of questions in light of our commitments to God and the practice of our faith as believers in Jesus? Don’t fool yourselves. Our relationship with Christ should be the sole factor in how we answer these very deep and high level questions about life. If we base our answers to such philosophical questions on the foundation of Jesus and Biblical truth, we will have a much more solid launching point from which to go out and accomplish that which God has for us to accomplish in this life.

There is so much that can be said about this topic and so many different ways we could take this discussion, and I hope to dive deeper with each successive post, but here I will lift up one aspect of solid Biblical truth and our resulting worldview that can either take us one place or another. That aspect is eternity.

What do we believe about eternity? Is eternity guaranteed? Is eternity in heaven guaranteed? Is eternity in heaven a good thing…really? What will it be like? Who else will be there? Who will not be there? What is the relationship between the here and now and eternity? How does our time on Earth compare to eternity? How is eternity determined by our time here on Earth?

Once we have asked such questions of ourselves and wrestled with the answers, we might be in a better position to understand why it is that we are here on this planet. Then more importantly, how should we be using our time and treasure? What should we be working toward accomplishing? What really matters in this life?

There are two fundamental perspectives from which most people approach these types of questions and which result in opposite worldviews. Are we God-focused, or self-focused? Do we defer to God’s will for our lives as the general rule or do we instead demand to have it our way most of the time? This truthful and candid understanding of ourselves is critical to personal Spiritual growth and ultimately whether we will be successful in our pursuit of God.

There is a reason that Jesus himself told us that we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses to follow him. We cannot move forward and get to where we are going unless we first stop and figure out where we currently are. A follower of Christ, who desires to go where Christ is going, must check regularly to see if Jesus is still there in front of them, leading the way.

This is quite a complex and involved series of questions that would require a good bit of focused time to study through in order to come to a sensible conclusion. I have obviously not done that here, but I invite you, especially if you have never really thought through some of these questions, to get your Bible out and maybe some other texts, and spend some time in prayerful study with God to begin to resolve some of these questions in your own mind and heart.

Also, please continue to check out this blog as we work together to prepare ourselves and the world for the time when we get to meet Jesus face to face.