“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:19-21

This is a wonderful time of year. The grass is green and the trees still have their blossoms. Every time I drive to or from Camas I am taken by the beauty of the fields, hills, and ravines. This morning as I was driving I was listening to two men having a debate. One was an atheist and the other was a Christian who believed in theistic evolution. It was a strange conversation to listen to because I didn’t agree with either man. While I was looking at the absolute beauty of life around me, I was listening to two men discussing how that beauty came about over millions and millions of years of defects and rejects, culminating in thousands of different kinds of plants and animals.  As I listened to what the men were saying while at the same time seeing what was around me, the words and the sights seemed in conflict to each other.

When I got to school I spent two hours judging projects at the Science Fair and got another huge dose of the wonders of the world. Exhibits on plants, animals, and the environment filled the gym. They outlined how detailed and functional and precise our world is. I thought back at the men’s arguments I had just heard and could just not accept the creation of the world through random acts of fineness. The complexity of the smallest organism all the way up to our largest animal begs for a designer. Our own bodies are testament to design. The function of the skeletal system, the muscular system, the cardiovascular system, the digestive system, the Endocrine system, the nervous system, the respiratory system, the lymphatic system, the urinary system, the reproductive system, and the integumentary system (which holds everything together) work together in perfect harmony for millions upon millions of people everyday. The miraculous existence of  living things is a testament to the incredible handiwork of God. Yet, many believe there is not enough evidence for God.

Some see the wonder of creation but neglect the idea of a creator. Paul wrote the above words to the Christians in Rome in an attempt to show how many had  replaced the creator with the creation as an object of worship. Those words are as relevant today as it was in Paul’s time. Actually, since the culture is degrading with time, it is probably even more relevant today than it was in those years following Christ’s death. Some people worship nature and some their own bodies, but worship of anything other than God is a misdirection of adoration.

When we look at the intricate details of the smallest things in nature up to the huge and complex design of the whole universe, our only conclusion is there must be a designer (if we are objective).  We who live here in Oregon can easily find ourselves in the  predicament of worshipping creation.  It is so wonderful here we can lose sight of Who has made things so wonderful here.  Even as I sit here typing it is wondrous how my eyes see the page, my mind creates a thought and my fingers (slowly) type some words. The function of the human brain cannot be matched by anything man can make. Amazingly, other animals, be they less sophisticated, have brains, too. Every time we begin an activity hundreds, upon hundreds of messages are shooting through our bodies to bring about a desired outcome. It is almost beyond belief and to believe that nothing plus time brought this all about. Life is incredible whether it is plant or animal.

I have often hear the phrase, “I am spiritual, but not religious. If I want to connect with God I go to the (insert favorite nature place here… river, mountain, camp, hike).” And who can blame us? There are so many places that are so serene and can give us such a variety of emotions- from peace to excitement. But what we can never forget is this- although these might be places for worship, they should not be places to be worshipped.

Every time we sit beneath a sky (like I did last night) it becomes a reminder, a lesson so to speak, about who God is. That reminder is what changed British Professor and Philosopher Anthony Flew in 2004. He was regarded by many as the world’s most acclaimed atheist and when he renounced his atheism in favor of theism, it rocked the world of science as much as the church would have been rocked if Billy Graham suddenly renounced his Christian faith. What was the basis of Flew’s conversion? The evidence around him. He became fatigued by having to ignore the undeniable design of what he saw in the creatures and nature around him, in favor of a fortunate stroke of good luck that brought this altogether so nicely. He finally relented to the undeniable fact that there must be a designer.

We should always be in awe of the world around us. We should never take its beautiful design for granted. But we must also remember why it is here – to point us toward God. Although nature points to Him, it should not be confused with Him. Paul says this when he writes, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles (Rom 1:22-23).” Creation represents the greatness of God, and without Him it would not exist. Let’s never degrade God by putting His creation above Him.  Check out the sky tonight and the trees tomorrow and thank Him for the wonderful signposts He has made that emphatically, undeniably, and unquestionably point to Him.

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Today’s verse is one of the most beautiful, most quoted, and misunderstood in the Old Testament. It has become the battle cry of the misguided but ever-growing prosperity movement and a go-to verse for those counseling someone who is going through tough times. But as is the case with many verses in the Bible, this verse needs to be examined textually and contextually if we are going to determine its real meaning. If we do not do that, we will find our faith in God sorely tested when we don’t get “everything we want.” After all, this verse seems to be pretty clear- God can and will give us the desires of our heart. The only criteria- take delight in Him. It all sounds pretty simple.

This Psalm is written by David when he is an old man. By this time, he has experienced wondrous events and heartbreaking events. He certainly was not the one to write that God gives a person everything he wants, every time he wants it. David’s family problems are well-documented. His sins and their consequences are used as examples of things to be avoided. His many children from many wives led soap opera lives resulting in rape, premature deaths, and murder. Eventually, all this family intrigue led to the unraveling of the kingdom of Israel that he had so delicately woven together. These certainly could not have been the desires of David’s heart.

There was a father and son swimming at a river when the young boy saw a blackberry patch on the other side. The boy begged his father to let him swim across to get some. The father hesitated because the boy was not a great swimmer, but it was a short distance. Finally, the father gave in and the boy got halfway across, tired, was pulled under and swept downstream. Later when the father was explaining it to the police, he said, “He just wanted to go over there so badly, I didn’t want to tell him no.” I think the boy wished his dad would have told him no. God knows when to tell us no or to let us go. We need to tune into that great knowledge.

It has often been said, “It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives

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us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it.” I think that is the case with the verses in Psalms 37:1-7. Here are the things we are told to do in these verses: fret not, trust in, delight in, commit to, and rest in. In doing these things, we will know God better, when we know God better, the desires of our hearts will mirror the desires of God’s heart. In obedience to Him we will not only see what our desires are, but what they should be. We will realize that every want is not a need and every desire does not reflect the heart of God.

When David wrote these verses, he certainly had not forgotten his desire for a woman on a neighboring rooftop which led to adultery, which led to pregnancy, which led to murder, which led to punishment. God allowed David to act on the desires of his heart, but those were contrary to the will of God.  If David would have turned to God, God would have turned David away from his sin.   Obviously, what the verse in Psalms is telling us is that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will be aligned with His. The desires of our flesh are evil. If God were to give us our fleeting desires for fame, riches, and power, He would be no more than a genie in a bottle granting wishes without regard to consequences. But God cares about us and in this verse He is saying that if we delight in Him he will protect us from our own desires and replace them with desires that match His will.

David tells us first of all to “Trust in the LORD, and do good.” (Psalm 37:2a). If we trust God, we will look to Him for direction. We will run the desires of our heart past God first to see if they conflict with His will. David did not do that. He knew that his escapade with Bathsheba was wrong, but he did not “trust in the Lord.” He felt that his own wants should be satisfied, even if they conflicted with the nature of God. He did not trust and he did not do good.

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How could a man “after God’s own heart” do such a thing? Because our hearts are “desperately wicked” and if we don’t run all desires through God first, we will choose to what is wrong.

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” The word delight means to soften, to be pliable, to submit. This is the first step in understanding our desires. I might desire more money, which might lead me to make decisions that will hurt me and my family. Only God can see ahead at the consequences of my decisions, so I should submit to His authority through a careful study of His word. I should want to tap into His wisdom. My delight should be in the Lord and His wonderful omnipotence, not my own short term wants.

“Commit thy way unto the LORD;” (Psalm 37:5a) I should commit myself to follow God’s directives. He is a powerful and loving father and will know what is best for me better than I do. One of my favorite poems (I have quoted it before) is the prayer of the unknown confederate soldier. I think it illustrates so well that believe we know what we want, but only God knows what we need.

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for health, that I might do greater things;

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy;

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among all men most richly blessed.

David tells us in Psalm 37:7a to “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him:” We often want what we want and we want it right now. There is a story about a man who asks the right fielder in a little league game the score. The boy says 18-0. The man said,”Wow, you must be discouraged,” and the boy answered, “Why should I be? We haven’t batted yet.” Now that is patience. Being patient in God is one way we can show our trust in HIm. There is rest in patience. We can rest in God by listening to God. There is no peace in doing “our own thing” outside the will of God. We must be patient because God not only knows what we need, but when we need it. Like the soldier in the poem above, if we involve God in our wants He will reveal our needs. Our desires should be trusting God, committing ourselves to Him, and resting in Him.  Only then will our true desires be met.

There are those who stand behind the pulpit and say that 37:4 means that if we desire something (like a new car) and we ask for it, we should receive it. But if our desire is outside the will of God, it will not turn out well. This is the bottom line. If we desire something outside of God’s will, we better hope He doesn’t give it to us. He is all-knowing, we are all-desiring. We need to pray that He will sometimes stand in the way of our prayers and not give us everything we want. I think in eternity if we get a chance to ask God why he didn’t give us something we wanted and He tells us why, we will say, “Thank you so much.” If we delight in God we will ask Him to give us what we should have, not what we would have. If He gives us what we would have instead of what we should have, we will later wish that He would have given us what He should have given us (you may have to read that a few times). If we ask God to give us what we should have, he will give that to us. That is the love of a Father.  He wants to give us good things, but without Him we just don’t always know what is good!

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

We are going through the book of Acts in our seasoned learners Sunday school class.  I like to watch  some of the movies based on the book.  Some are very accurate; some not so much. Even though the fishermen on the screen do not match the fishermen of my mind,  I am reminded why Luke’s book of Acts is such a wonderful record  of the beginnings of the church.

After the seeing the risen Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, the apostles showed courage reserved for few in history. In Acts 4:13 Peter and John are examples of what should happen when we meet the risen Christ and are indwelled with the Holy Spirit. The Apostles had walked with Jesus for three years and had seen His many miracles. They had seen His compassion and wisdom. They had seen His strength and His resolve. Yet, they still did not understand Him.

That is one of the things that I enjoy the most about the Bible. Its pages are filled with flawed men who are strong and weak, wise and foolish, fearless and fearful. One might think that “fake” book of scripture might be filled with sterling characters whose minor flaws are quickly excused by pointing out the tough circumstances and questionable people around them. This certainly wasn’t the case with the Apostles who spent much of the time they were with Jesus being scared and confused.

When Jesus was arrested, they ran. When He was being tried they hid. When Peter was confronted, he denied. After Jesus was crucified, they were discouraged. They talked about the good run they had had, but it was time to go back to fishing. Of course, these are some of the same emotions we all struggle with throughout our lives, and I am sure that the apostles felt as justified as we do.

But then something amazing happened. Christ rose from the dead and presented Himself to them. Suddenly, these men who were hidden in an upper room discussing their return to normal life began to be strengthened. They saw the risen savior and touched Him. They received the Holy Spirit and were filled by Him. They suddenly had more wisdom and courage. They went from hiding to preaching boldly, and all but John would go on to be martyred for their message.

The apostles behavior, attitudes, and priorities changed.  It reminds me of a message I heard was on someone’s answering machine. “I am not available right now, but I thank you for caring enough to call. I am making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes.” It is though the apostles old acquaintance fear called them and they refused to return the call.

We should be able to do the same things the apostles did. We have seen the risen Christ through His Word and many other evidences. We have received the Holy Spirit. We know who Jesus was (and is) and what He means to this world. We should boldly step from hiding to the open proclamation of Him. We have had the same supernatural experiences as the men who walked with Him; we should have the same boldness. People should marvel that we have been changed and in us, they should now see Him.

Let’s not talk about how great it was that the disciples were changed; Let’s change who we are and talk about how great Christ is. Let the world marvel that we of lowly positions (most positions are lowly), seem to speak like we have some special knowledge and boldness- because we do.

Over the last couple of weeks we have taken a look at the rise of the nones in this country.  If you have not read the last two devotions you might want to just to get the context of today’s devotion.  We have been comparing the ministries of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts.  Peter’s audience was familiar with the Old Testament scriptures, so he used their knowledge in his presentation of the gospel.  Jesus, the greatest evangelist, Stephan and Phillip and others did the same thing.  On the other hand, Paul spoke to those who had very little understanding of the God of the Old Testament.  Paul tailored his gospel accordingly.

In Acts 17 Paul was waiting in Athens for Timothy and Silas to help him deliver the message of the gospel, but as he looked around at the incredible idolatry of the city he was moved to begin his preaching alone. He preached in the synagogue first as he always did,  and then went to the marketplace. We can be assured that the messages were the same, but that the approach was different in each of these places. In the synagogue he was speaking to those who understood his message even if they did not agree with it completely (like the population in the U.S. thirty years ago).  In the marketplace he was speaking to the common Athenians who were going about their daily lives probably unconcerned about things spiritual (like the people in the U.S. today). We do not know his exact speech in those two locations, but we do know that it peaked the interest of the local philosophers and got him an invite to the intellectual center of the city, the Areopagus.

“Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.” (Acts 17:18-21)

These two groups might ring a bell to us today. Epicureans pursued pleasure as the greatest purpose in life. They did not deny the existence of gods, but believed they were inconsequential to their lives. Stoics, on the other hand, were pantheists who believed everything is god, and that there was no such thing as a single, personal god. Between these two groups, we have a slice of our culture today. Many people fit into one of these groups or combined variations of them both. So did Paul pull out his synagog sermon for these men? No. It was a great opportunity to speak at Mars Hill, and he was going to deliver his message in the most effective way possible. He was going to tailor the “delivery” of his message without changing the “heart” of the message.

These people did not have scriptural knowledge. They knew little or nothing of the old testament stories and prophecies. They probably had not even heard of the Messiah. Had Paul started with those particulars, he would have lost his audience within a few minutes. He wanted to get to his message without losing anyone along the way. So here was his message paraphrased: “I was passing through and looking at your many finely carved idols and came across one with the inscription: To the Unknown God.” Paul connected with the people with something they understood- their own gods from their own culture. Paul continued, “I am here to proclaim to you the unknown God who you acknowledge but do not know.” He then described God in eight beautiful verses that tells what He has done, is doing, and will do in the future.

“Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything,since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.  For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.  Being God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)

Paul did not approach these men with prophecies that were meaningless to them, and yet did not compromise on who Christ was and is. Although the cross is not mentioned, he spoke to them intellectually and honestly. We can be sure that Luke’s account of the speech is only a partial one because this would only be about a two-minute sermon and no one who got the floor at Mars Hill would squander the opportunity with a two-minute speech, especially Paul. What we do get from this sermon is a nice formula for approaching unbelievers with gospel.  First of all, know where people are before you talk to them- Paul knew he was talking to Epicureans and Stoics and he knew what they believed, so he started there. Secondly, find the need in someone’s life that Christ can fill- Paul knew that they believed in something greater than themselves (they had hundreds of Gods) and used that knowledge to introduce Christ. Thirdly, do not water down the gospel- Paul told of the power and nature of God and ultimately the resurrection of Christ.  We are surrounded by “Epicureans and Stoics” today and we cannot expect them to know what we know and treat them like they have grown up in the pews and have just gone astray. They may have never even visited a church.

Today’s churches need to follow Paul’s lead. If Peter would have spoken on Mars Hill, he would not have spoken to them the way he did the Jews in Jerusalem. When Paul spoke to the people in Corinth (his next stop), he did not use the same presentation as he did on the Areopagus. We cannot treat people of this century like the past century. We sometimes try to talk to the people on the street in the same way we visit with our friends in church.  We must start where they are, not where we are.  We must reach out and speak to others knowing they who we used to be before we knew Christ.

The nones are not bad people, just fed-up people. They don’t like organized religion because it too often paints and inaccurate picture of Christ and a too accurate picture of Christians.  If we want the nones to start checking the Christian box, we must give them more than religion. We must give them Jesus. We are Christians, not church-tains, so He must be the focus. We can no longer assume that those around us have any kind of Bible knowledge, so we must start there when conversing about the Lord.  As churches, once we get nones in the door, we need to give them huge helpings of Christ, not a few morsels. Only then will they be filled, only then will they come back for more.

Last week I wrote about James Emery White’s book The Rise of the Nones. The Nones referred to in the title are those people who indicate that they have no religious affiliation. Studies have found that since WWII the number of Nones has increased from 5% of the population in the 1940s to 20% in 2013. Over half of that number has come in the last 15 years.  White contends that one of the reasons modern churches are failing because they are using Peter’s method of witnessing in Acts 2 when we need to be using Paul’s methodology from Acts 17. Peter was witnessing to Jews who had religious understanding of God and the scriptures and he tapped into that knowledge while he witnessed.  On the other hand, Paul was dealing with the intellectuals of Athens who had little knowledge of God and didn’t particularly want any new knowledge of Him.  Consequently, Paul’s understanding of their unbelief shaped the way way he presented the gospel.  White believes that the churches are treating those outside the church like Peter’s audience when they are much more like Paul’s.

The “nones” are important to reach because the body of Christ can only grow when new members are added to the “church” not just moved around from denomination to denomination. The old Pink Panther movies were a riot and I think Peter Sellers was a comic genius. In one of the scenes of the first Pink Panther movie Inspector Jacques Clouseau is trying to get into a window with another man by standing on his shoulders, but he cannot reach. He says, “Wait, you can stand on my shoulders, you are taller than me.” Well, obviously, that doesn’t change anything at all. That is much like the modern churches. Exchanging members with other neighborhood churches does not increase the size of the Body of Christ. We live in challenging times, and as usual, the answers on how to meet the challenges can be found in the Word. We need to look at how Paul dealt with the problem of recruiting the uninterested because that is a majority of the people we deal with on a daily basis. In the meantime, we can do what Christ, through the Apostle Paul calls us to do… “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-4)

There is no doubt that Bible literacy over the past eighty years has decreased exponentially to the point where the most common Bible themes and teachings elude the average reader. I taught English for many years and there are so many Biblical allusions in classic literature that at least some rudimentary knowledge of the Bible is necessary to understand many of our greatest literary works. Unfortunately, I saw fewer and fewer students who could recognize even the most obvious Biblical connections. Well-known Bible accounts such as Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, and others drew blank stares from the students. Every year I had to give more and more Biblical information to the students before I could explain how the allusion fit into the story. We are in a time where over half our population does not know who the vice-president is; do we really expect them to know who Lazarus was? We have to learn from Peter and Paul that the presentation of our message must be fitted to our audience.

Jay Leno once went into the audience to test their Bible knowledge. Only one person even ventured a guess on one of the Ten Commandments. “God helps them who help themselves?” he said.  Nope, sorry. Not even in the Bible, much less the Ten Commandments.  No one in the audience could name even one apostle, but almost everyone one of them could name the four Beatles.  A  recent Gallup survey found that only two of ten people know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount and typically most people can only name three or four of the Ten Commandments (not good, but beating Leno’s audience decisively).  Remember, we live in a country where over 80% of the people say they are Christian.  There is a simple Bible test that has been circulated among churches over the past few years. The average score is usually somewhere around atrocious. It is thought that practicing Christians should do well on this test, so the poor scores seems to indicate that there are a lot un-practicing Christians out there.  So the stage is set.  We are witnessing to people outside the church who say they are Christians but have no desire to go to church, read the Bible, or know the things of God.

Part of the problem in the U.S. is that Christians set the spiritual bar for the rest of the country.  If Christians are not in the Word, the rest of the population will be in the Word even less.  Would we really expect the average man on the street to know who the prodigal son is if most Christians have no idea.  If we, who claim to know God, don’t care to read His words, why would we expect others to.  In China the people have have little access to Bibles, but find time to read. In America we have unrestricted access to Bibles, but find little time to read- that is called irony.

For many years now many families have relegated their Bible study to an hour of church or Sunday school weekly. During these difficult covid times families are finding out how important it is to have consistent schooling. Education that is hit and miss is not very effective. Distance learning without social interaction has had its negative effect on almost everyone, and that effect has been very noticeable.  Sadly many cannot see the connection between this forced isolation in our country and the voluntary isolation in their spiritual lives.

Most parents realize that their children can’t learn math or science in one hour a week with no homework, but find it fully acceptable for Bible study.  This is a trend that has resulted in Biblically illiterate adults who think Sodom and Gomorrah are two guys with really bad names. Only 16% of Christians say they read the Bible daily. With those few Christians reading the Bible, how much knowledge does the rest of the population have?

When I have a problem with one of my vehicles I take it to my mechanic.  In explaining the issues to me he uses all kinds of terminology that sails over my head.  I smile and nod my head politely, but I am virtually clueless about what he is saying.   I have never studied the workings of a car and my knowledge is just what I have picked up on my occasional breakdowns.   My mechanic is sharing truths with me that he would like me to understand, but  his great deal of knowledge combined with my lack of knowledge makes it a pretty fruitless goal. This experience is similar to what Biblically illiterate people must be thinking when someone approaches them with spiritual ideas.   It is incumbent on us to keep this in mind when we speak to others about the Lord.  Paul understood that and we can learn a lot from his evangelistic methods.

Next week we will look at Paul’s approach in Athens because the people of Athens sound a lot like the people we deal with everyday.

Part 3 next week!

Author/Pastor James Emery White wrote a book a few years back called The Rise of the Nones.  Fortunately, you can see by the spelling in the title that it is not a book about gangs of black and white clad ladies overrunning the streets with rosary-bead num-chucks. The book, instead, covers a rapidly growing segment of the US and UK population. On almost every census form we see a list of various denominations followed by the category “none.”  In 1940 five percent of the US population marked none, meaning they had “no religious affiliation.” Fifty years later in 1990 it had risen to eight percent which is a very modest increase. Fast-forward eighteen years to 2008 and in that same U.S. study the number became 15 percent. After the next four years in the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’s 2012 study it became 19.3 percent. That’s one in five Americans who do not affiliate themselves with a church. Unfortunately, this rapid increase does not seem to be slowing down any time soon.

The challenge for churches (and consequently for us as individuals) is multifaceted, and though answers are hard to come by, one thing is for sure- the church as we know it is in crisis, and we cannot ignore the problem and hope that it will go away. White says that one of the main reasons churches are struggling is because they are using an Acts 2 model with an Acts 17 culture. He believes that until we change that mindset, the church will continue to decline as more and more people check the “none of the above” box. As we look around the world the US and European countries lead the way for the ever-increasing number of “nones.” Britain has reached the twenty-five percent mark and Scotland leads the disintegration at thirty-five percent. Surprisingly, many African, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries are seeing an explosion of Christian growth. Why the disparity?

In Acts 2 when the disciples experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the onlookers supposed they were drunk because of their babblings and actions. But Peter set them straight when he said, “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: (Acts 2:16-17) He went on to quote
more of the Old Testament regarding the prophecied day of Pentecost. Why is that significant? Because he was quoting the Old Testament without explanation. The people he was speaking to knew what he was talking about. They all had a deep belief in the God of the Old Testament. Paul was using scripture that they understood- that they cared about. They were deeply religious and had, since youth, been exposed the stories, prophecies, and people of the Word as it was constructed to that point. When Peter quotes Joel and later in the chapter takes words from Psalm 16, he does not have to explain those verses to his audience. Peter used scripture that the people around him already knew as a springboard to Jesus.

After he sets the table with Old Testament scriptures, he serves them up these hard words: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:22-24) Peter, who denied Christ three times, hid himself from authorities, and made plans to go back to fishing, stood in the open boldly proclaiming the Messiahship of Christ, accusing the peoples of his death, and revealing His resurrection. Notice that there was a minimum of explanation because the people he was speaking to and would speak to in the rest of Acts, already knew where he was coming from. They were a monotheistic people who valued the Word and knew what Peter was saying because he built his argument on knowledge they already had.

Today we address those outside the church as though they have at least a rudimentary understanding of the Word, but this is a mistake. We are in a country where few have the most basic knowledge of politics and those stories are on the news, in the paper, and on the internet daily. Can we really assume that those around us have an understanding of scripture, that they all believe in one God,
and that they care about spiritual things? If we do, we are sadly mistaken. Peter knew that those around him knew who Joel was, who David was, and who the other prophets were. He used what his audience knew already to convey his message. Unfortunately, that is not the way the world is around us. If Peter would have walked into a gentile square with that same message, they would have stared at him like he was from Mars (if they knew where Mars was). Unfortunately, when we talk about the things of God to most people now, we are talking Martian to them and it has minimal impact.

The mega-churches in the 90’s and first decade of the two-thousands were based on what they called “seekers.” Unfortunately, we are having fewer and fewer “seekers” in our culture. The “nones” are not people who are seeking, but people who are just turned off by churches and other religious organizations. They are not necessarily agnostic or atheists, but just unchurched and happy to stay that way. They don’t see any draw to the modern church and have hardly any knowledge or background that we can tap into while talking to them about spiritual things. When many Christians think Joan of arc was Noah’s wife, how can we expect non-Christians to have a point of reference built on the Bible. Most of the seekers now are actually already Christians who are seeking a church where
they feel comfortable. We have very few converts in the church today, but a whole lot of transfers. Who then are we really trying to reach? The unsaved unbeliever or the disgruntled believer? What do we do to bring unbelievers from the chaos of the streets to the comfort of the church? Before anyone gets the idea that I am all for blue jeans, rock bands, and a watered-down inoffensive gospel that rewrites the scripture with the pen of political correctness, that is not what I am talking about. Too often we actually do fish for men like we fish for fish. Our bait (coffee bars, modern music, a parade of programs, nifty seating) gets them in the door, but what happens from there? When we catch a fish we don’t keep feeding it when
it is in the boat. It is caught and we can go on to the next fish. We need to make sure that we are not worrying only about the catching or only the about the caught, but both.

So if the Acts 2 model is not best for today, what is best? In our next devotion (this is called a cliffhanger) we will take a look at Acts 17 and Paul’s different approach to a different audience.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be snatched away at the same time together with them in the clouds for a meeting with the Lord in the air, and thus we will be together with the Lord always. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).

These are very remarkable verses that describe the snatching away of the church to meet Christ in the air. This event is imminent, meaning that it could come at any time. It is unlike the second coming of Christ which needs certain events to take place before it can take place.

It is important to remember that the rapture and second coming are similar but separate events. Both involve Jesus’ returning. Both are end-times events. The rapture is the return of Christ in the clouds to remove all believers from the earth before the time of God’s wrath. The second coming is the return of Christ to the earth to bring the tribulation to an end and to defeat the Antichrist and his evil world empire.

That is a very brief summary of two cataclysmic end-time events, but the above verses have a very important place in our lives today. Even though the rapture will come on us without warning and takes place at the beginning of the seven-year tribulation (some disagree, but since this is my devotion, I will tell you what I think.  Others can disagree in their own devotions!), there are things that are going on in our world that give us hints that the rapture could be soon upon us.

The word “maranatha” is a Syriac expression that means: “our Lord comes.” It was used as a greeting in the early church. When believers gathered or parted, they didn’t say “hello” or “goodbye” but “Maranatha!”  Similiarily, Aloha in the Hawaiian language can mean hello or goodbye. Aloha also means love and affection.  However, there is no word that can express love more than Maranatha.  Christ promised His return and because he loves us, He will return.

It is too bad that Christians don’t have more of an upward look today. How it would change the church if we all looked at the return of Christ with certainty and conviction. How differently would we look at all those around us? I have a friend who says, “See you here, there (pointing upward), or in air,” instead of goodbye. It is really the three choices believers have- we will see each other on this earth, or in heaven, or in transit. A neat way to add the “where” in “till we meet again.”

It is true that certain things must take place before the second-coming at the end of the tribulation but many of those things have already happened or are happening right now. The stage must be set for the tribulation and anyone who has even the slightest interest in prophesy and current events can see that the table is being set for the end times. For instance, the nation of Israel was scattered across the face of the earth, but yet just fewer than 70 years ago was brought back together and is today one of the most powerful nations in the world. That process of scattering a people then reestablishing them has never taken place before. That had to take place as a prerequisite before all the other events could occur.

So, why worry (oops, I mean think) about all this? Because we never know when The Lord will come again. It is important that we are looking for opportunities to share with those who do not know The Lord because the instant Christ comes the chance to be part of the body of Christ will be lost forever. In fact, if you share with someone and that person accepts Christ, look up, because the word says that the rapture will not happen until the body of Christ is filled. That person that you just shared with might be the last one to fill it and so we all might be leaving right then!

One of my favorite men of courage is the British explorer Ernest Shackleton. I have read several books chronicling his incredible voyages to the South Pole. While on one of the voyages he had to leave a few men on Elephant Island because their ship was crushed and there was not enough room for the entire crew on the lifeboats. He promised them that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, the huge icebergs shifted and a channel opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, Shackleton said to his men, “It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!”

They replied, “We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, ‘The boss may come today.’” That is the same attitude that we should have!

We should not fear the coming of The Lord because it will be a glorious event, but unlike Elephant Island, we do know that there will be many “left behind.” We should do all we can to make sure that our friends and family are not part of that number by living our lives for Christ and sharing Him in word and deed. What incredible verses Paul left for us to remind us of the spectacular transfer of believers from this world to glorious presence of Christ. Let’s just make sure we are rapture ready and let’s encourage those around us to be ready as well! Like the men on Elephant Island we should be packed and ready to go. The “Boss” may come today.

“All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him.”    Hebrews 4:13

God knows all things that are, have been, and will be. There are no secrets from Him. Those things that we have kept from all others are not kept from Him. This is (and should be) both convicting and comforting. Convicting because our lives are an open book and “all our iniquities are set before Him” and comforting because those same sins He sees are paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. How wonderful it is to know that He sees all we have done and will do, yet covers those sins with Christ’s blood.

John Newton, the ex-slave trader and writer of Amazing Grace, once said that there were two things about Christianity that stood out to him. He said, “I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”  What wonderful words.  That we are sinners is convicting, that Christ is a great Savior is comforting. Newton summarized the gospel in that one short sentence.  It is a wonder that God can see the deepest, darkest parts of our lives, but yet still loves us and reaches out with a hand of mercy.  However, we need to be cautious that we don’t allow God’s great comfort to blind us to conviction. We can’t continue in great sin comfortably just because God is the Great Forgiver.  It is true that God is merciful, but He is also just.  A just God cannot ignore sin, so we must not wave the comfort card every time we feel conviction in our hearts.  A shallow apology that follows sin and precedes the same sin is not the right response to conviction.

If we believe that God sees all things and that He sent Christ to atone for our sins it should affect the way we walk.  If we don’t live lives that show comfort and conviction, we should do one of two things. First, We should check our hearts to see if we have truly accepted the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. In other words, we need to ask if we have stepped from death to life by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, we need to do so, “for today is the appointed time.”  If we continue in sin without concern, we might have to ask ourselves if the One who convicts (the Holy Spirit) dwells in us. If He does, He will not allow us to be involved in constant sin without repercussions.  We certainly tend to evaluate others in that way.  “How could that person be a Christian?” is a phrase that is often heard about someone who is living contrary to the Word.  If we abridge God’s Word constantly and consistently, we should examine ourselves at least to the same degree that we examine others.

On the other hand, if we have made a heartfelt decision for Christ, but still lead a unconvicted, uncomforted life, we need to bring our lives into alignment with Christ. If we don’t, we might still have eternal life, but we will not have a peaceful life and will have to face the natural consequences
of our actions. Those who accept Christ and think they can live like the devil do not understand the wonderful eminence of God. God accompanies us, seeing, hearing, and knowing all we do. If we drag Him into sinful places, sinful acts, and sinful speech, it would seem as though we don’t believe He is the omniscient, omnipresent God.   But He is. In Jeremiah 23:24 God asks us, “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?”  The answers are no and yes, in that order.  When we walk through our day we should walk as though God is with us; because He is.

A well-known professional golfer was playing in a tournament with President Gerald Ford, fellow pro Jack Nicklaus, and Billy Graham. Afterwards, one of the other pros asked what it was like playing with that elite group. The pro said with disgust, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat!” With that he headed for the practice tee. After the golfer had pounded out his fury on a bucket of golf balls, his friend asked, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?” The pro sighed and said with embarrassment, “No, he didn’t even mention religion.” Billy Graham had said nothing about religion, yet the pro felt an overwhelming guilt.  This man felt conviction, not because of what Billy Graham said, but because of what the golfer felt in his own heart.

If we have the Holy Spirit, He will convict us of our sin and comfort us in our need.   A thermometer that indicates a fever is not a problem in itself, it is the indicator of a problem.  Conviction, like guilt, is a symptom of something that needs to be dealt with.  We should not ignore it.  Jesus said He would leave us with a comforter and He did. If the indwelling Holy Spirit convicts, and we confess,  show contrition, then He will comfort.  This sad cycle is a necessary one if we are to mature.  This is how God can “Create in (us) a clean heart and renew a right spirit within (us).”  (Psalm 51:10) Don’t fear conviction, but don’t fail to act on it or comfort will not follow.  Be comforted today.

Part 2 (if you have not yet read part 1 below, you might want to do so first)

Secondly, our greatest motivation for giving the gospel should be love.  It will taint our message if we are motivated by anything other than love.  We should not give the gospel so we can check that off our daily list or so we can put another notch in our belt or so we can report to others our great successes.  We need to look at others the way that God sees them- spiritually emaciated and needing sustanance.  Paul writes, in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”  If we love others and see a need we should be want to fill it.  If the need is the gospel, the want should be urgent.

Thirdly we need to be honest, even if we are asked something we do not know.  Our message does not have to be one of perfection because our message is about the One Who is Perfect.   The substance is more important than the delivery.  A signpost might be old and ragged or bright and new.  It doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it gives a truthful direction.  The same goes with us.  If we point true, we will have more success than if we look good but point wrong.  If we don’t have an answer, we are better saying that we don’t. rather than making something up.  Trying to fool people makes us fools and few fools can positively affect other peoples’ lives in a positive way.  Paul reminds us that the message of truth is what seals us in the spirit, so it does us no good to be anything but honest.  “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13)

Fourthly, we need to be humble.  In Proverbs we see that humility will result in success and pride results in defeat.  When giving the gospel, we must set aside pride.  “A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23 ) As much as we like to think it, we do not have a handle on everything.  One of the main reasons we should be patient with the foolish or angry or prideful or doubting is because we have, sometime during our lives, been those same people.  We should  empathize with those who are not saved because we were once not saved.   We need not talk down to people because any heights we have reached are because of Christ, not our own intellect or efforts.  When we think we are superior to others, they will sense it and be incensed.   Everyone we talk to about Jesus can teach us something, so every encounter should be a positive one- even if it seems not to be. If we look at who we are, who they are, and who God is, we will do the right things, for the right reasons, at the right time.

Finally, it is very important for us to be respectful.  Some people feel that evangelizing is yelling, pointing fingers, or holding up condemning signs.  Even John the Baptist, as fiery as he was, spoke to those who came to him.  He was tough on his listeners, but he did not accost them.  He told the truth.  Truthfully, however, we are not John the Baptist.  His approach was unique and in our case it might be if we tone it down, our words can be heard better.  Too many evangelizers are so obnoxious that the people they turn off may not tune into the message for a long, long time, if ever.

The Good News is too important to the world for us to keep it to ourselves.  But we can never forget the key to evangelism which can be summarized in one word-  Jesus.   If we tell people who He is, in humility with love, others will want to become His.  Although presenting Jesus is our greatest duty, it is also our greatest privilege.  We cannot neglect it or deflect it.   We just need to point to Jesus and He will take it from there.

I read once about some miners who found a great vein of gold.  They promised not to tell a soul and went into town to get more supplies.  By the time they returned their camp was overrun with miners.  One of the men asked one of the invaders whohad squealed.  “No one,” he said.”  Your faces showed it!”  That should be us.  We have discovered a richness more precious than gold and our faces should show it.  Our steps should reflect it.  Our voices reveal it.  When we can reveal Christ without any words at all it is the first step in helping others to find the rich vein that now belongs to us.

Part 1

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16a)

We are not all evangelists, but we can all evangelize.  Evangelism has gotten its share of negative press, especially in recent years.  Opposition to Christianity has gotten more and more vehement, and as a consequence, those who openly profess Christ are more openly ridiculed.  As a matter of self-preservation in an unforgiving society, more and more Christians lie low in spiritual foxholes, popping out when only friendlies are approaching.  We may not all be evangelists, but we are all witnesses and ambassadors.  We have an obligation to walk in the Word daily and be quick to share the Word when our actions provoke others to ask about the Word.

I recently read an article that outlined many of the mistakes that gospel-givers make in the world today.  If we can avoid these stumbles, we will find ourselves in a better position to present the gospel when the opportunity occurs.  It is easy for us to become offensive to others and even easier to be defensive, but the true key is that we be responsive.  We need to lead a life that says the words we cannot say until the time is right.  Our gospel-giving actions can start immediately after meeting someone, the words may need to wait- but not too long. Peter tells us to, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (  1 Peter 2:12)

Evangelism should not be a hammer that hurts, scares, or shames someone into belief.  On the other hand, evangelism should not bribe, manipulate, or trick someone into belief.   Bad evangelism is worse than no evangelism.  Well over half of hard-core atheists purport to have had a close relationship with the church earlier in their lives.  The meaning of the word “close” is up for interpretation, but for argument sake, let’s take it at face value.  If many atheists have spiritual backgrounds, what went wrong along the way?  There can be a lot of different reasons, as many there are “apostates,” but we need only to be concerned with reasons that we might be guilty of ourselves.

I do not appreciate the ministry of the Jehovah Witnesses that come to my door.  I truly believe they are propagating a false message.  I also do not enjoy their approach.  I am uncomfortable with them (even though I do converse with them) because they preconceive my “wrongness” and it is apparent from their very first words.  They are not excited about their faith and seem more excited about my faithlessness.  In all honesty, they are not especially concerned about my relationship with God, but my relationship with their religion.  If I show excitement about my faith and relationship with God, they are disappointed and vamoose pretty quickly.  I think I should avoid treating others in the ways that I see JWs treating me.  I think they miss the point of what John was saying about John the Baptist (and us) when it comes to evangelism.  Jesus should be the key.    “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.”  (John 1:6-8)

Here are a few things I think would be good for us to do that our tie-clad door-to-door friends are not doing.  First of all, our delivery should not make God secondary to anything.  We don’t want to promote our church, our denomination, ourselves, or even our pet doctrines.  We are not salesmen whose smooth words promote themselves more than the product. It needs to be all about Jesus.  It doesn’t even need to be about every theological question regarding Christ.  We don’t need to bring up the deep questions that even mature Christians disagree on or sideline arguments that play no role in salvation.  We need to focus on the person of Christ.  It is Him and Him alone that salvation lies…we should try not to get sidetracked on issues that are for another time.  Jesus is for now, those will be for later.

Part 2 next week