A Knock at The Door (Part 3)

You’ve finished your breakfast, and cleared the table of everything… well, except for your houseguest. You’re talking to a Jehovah’s Witness who you have invited into your home and engaged in conversation with. While talking about Who Jesus is, they turn the focus on the conversation to how He died, claiming that he died on a “stake” rather than a cross. They will argue that the Greek word used in the Bible (stauros) is more often translated stake than cross in Greek literature. While this is true, completely reliable historical documents (both Biblical and extra-Biblical) record that Jesus died on a two-beam cross. Not to mention the historical proof of the normal Roman method of capital punishment, the fact that the earliest Christians treasured the symbol of the cross, and reports from 1^st century historians. There is little valid argument that Jesus died on a stake rather than a cross. This will likely end up yet another losing battle in discussing semantics.

What’s more important is the purpose and accomplishment of Jesus’ death & resurrection. As Christians, we believe that Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished “penal substitutionary atonement.” This means that the sins of humanity deserved punishment of death (Romans 6:23), so Jesus took that punishment on behalf of sinful humans in order to restore our relationship with the Father (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Witnesses will argue that Jesus died as a ransom for “obedient humans.” The danger of this stance is that it causes me to trust myself rather than placing my faith in the finished work of Jesus. If humans were “obedient” outside of what Jesus did on the cross, there would be no need for the cross! This is why the Witnesses are at your door on Saturday morning… because they are trying to pay for what they haven’t the capacity to pay for… what Jesus gave us freely.

This message is central to the gospel. That there is nothing that we can do to “earn” God’s favor. Romans 3 illustrates that our sinfulness makes this impossible. There is no obedience outside placing our faith in Jesus’ act of obedience. You may or may not be able to sell this your houseguest; especially since this belief is the reason they’re at your door on a Saturday morning. However, you MUST be convinced of this in your own understanding of the Bible.

A Knock at The Door (Part 2)

So you’ve thrown on some sweats and answered the door to a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses (If there are two, the second person is likely “in training” and won’t speak much). Don’t bother offering them any of your Frosted Flakes… they’ll refuse and begin firing scripted questions at you… challenging what you know.

Most of the time, they’ll start off with the most basic issue, God’s “proper name.” They’ll tell you that God’s name is Jehovah, and begin to show you several verses in their KJV Bible that refer to God as Jehovah. They won’t expect you to know Hebrew, so you COULD surprise them by explaining that the term they are referring to is actually “Yahweh,” not Jehovah. The Jewish scribes refused to say “Yahweh” out of reverence and rather used the generic term for God, “Adonai.” “Jehovah” is a fusion of the two terms (the consonants from Yahweh + the vowels from Adonai) that was introduced by Christian scholars in the 12th century. That will probably turn out to be a prolonged discussion of semantics, and it’s in your best interest to move on to a much more important issue… like who Jesus is.

This is the major separation point between Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christians. While we believe in a Triune God and that Jesus is co-equal to the Father, Witnesses believe Jesus is inferior to the Father… and thus, not God. They’ll say that Jesus never claimed to be God (despite John 1:1-5, 4:25-26; 10:30 and several passages from the prophets and epistles that display Christ as God), and that because he was “begotten” of the Father, that must mean he is inferior. Philippians 2 teaches us that while Jesus was the “same essence” as the Father, he humbled himself. Jesus subjugated himself to the Father for a season in order to accomplish redemption for us.

This is why Jehovah’s Witnesses are not considered Christians, despite the fact that we read the same Bible. Essential to our belief in God is WHAT we believe about God. We believe in the supremacy of a Triune God. We also believe in Jesus’ sacrifice to atone for our sinfulness. We’ll talk next about how we differ from Jehovah’s Witnesses on that issue…

A Knock At The Door (Part 1)

You’re waking up to your “body clock” on Saturday morning… glad to have slept in today. You’re still in your pajamas, trying to determine if you feel like making a hot breakfast or just breaking open the Frosted Flakes when the doorbell rings.

Before you complete your first step toward the door, you realize… you’re not expecting company… and it’s Saturday morning… most sane people (i.e. yourself) are just waking up… except for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. At this point, you have a choice:

A.    Turn off all the lights and pretend not to be home.
B.    Go to the door and begin yelling all the Spanish words you can think of.
C.    Open the door and take the bait.

I wouldn’t be mad at you if you chose letter A. Can’t say I’ve never done it. I would caution you against letter B… because many of them are trained to speak other languages fluently. The purpose of the next few blogs is to prepare you for letter C… should you be up to the challenge.

Before you open the door, you must realize… they’re ready! They already know what they’re going to say. They already have all the verses memorized from their King James Version Bible. They are very skilled at “proof-texting.” This is when someone finds a verse and molds it to prove what they’re saying is true (normally outside of its context). If you believe the Bible (which I expect that you do), it’s hard to argue with a Bible verse that you’ve probably never considered that seems like it proves their point.

It’s important for you to be confident in what you believe, and to be able to also discuss your viewpoint from Scripture. They can smell uncertainty a mile away and will pounce on the first hint of hesitation on your part. I encourage you to be prepared, assertive, and control the conversation. Over the next couple of days, I hope to equip you with some info that will help give you that confidence.

Sunday Reflection: First Baptist Church of NewHill

• I spent this past weekend taking my family on a road trip to North Carolina to visit the church that I spent my Sundays at while I was in college.
• First Baptist Church of NewHill is a small, country church in a suburb of Raliegh. The town can’t have more than 300 people in it… and 5 churches!
• When I was a young guy in college, First Baptist Church of NewHill took me in and allowed me to learn ministry and sharpen my preaching ability. I appreciate them sitting through some bad sermons and allowing me to do ministry on a church level.
• FBC NewHill was celebrating their first annual “Youth Day” weekend. They had VBS throughout the week, a cookout on Saturday and a special Sunday service that the youth led.
• I’m noticing that I’ve gotten accustomed to the (forgive the term) “production” that Youth Day is at FBCG. I seem to have forgotten that every church doesn’t do it big like us. For some churches, a cookout + the youth choir = Youth Day.
• I preached a message from Luke 6:46-49 that I’ve called “Sand Castles.” The theme was “On Fire For Jesus” (Sidebar: Yeah, I know… very 1990) and Pastor Clanton asked me to challenge them to examine the authenticity of their walk with Jesus. My favorite kind of message to preach!
• It was GREAT to see so many of the people who loved and cared for a broke, hungry college student back then. They loved me much more than I had earned! Some hugs and greetings are just priceless.
• Levi’s Godparents Kevin and Loren Phillips made the trip down also. It was great to spend the weekend hanging out with them. Definitely 2 of my favorite people in the world.
• On the trip back home, we stopped at Smithfields BBQ to get some food. I went to Smithfields almost EVERY Sunday after church when I was at Campbell… and I loved the food then. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that I was a hungry college student than anything else, because the food really wasn’t that great this time around. LOL.
• I’m so proud of Levi. He did really well on those 5-hour car rides this weekend. Except for a formula-change mishap that caused us to make a couple of extra stops, he was great!
• I missed the first half of the BET Awards because we were on the road… but my Twitter fam kept me abreast. Maybe I’ll watch it when it re-airs on Tuesday night.

Man in the Mirror

Look in the mirror.
See the spiritual and emotional flaws.
See the broken home environment.
See the father wounds.
See the misplaced childhood.
See the superficial discontentment.
See the self-hatred.
See the sexual struggles and misplacement.
See the loneliness and isolation.
See the hurt beyond the shine.
See the pain behind the spotlight.
See the extravagant spending in attempt to accumulate self worth.
See the masks and disguises.
See an unfulfilling lifestyle that would inevitably lead to a tragic, untimely death.
Look in the mirror.
See yourself.

Don’t wait until you’re 50 to realize that sin has gripped your life. Christ died not just so that you could go to heaven some day, but also so that he could conquer sin in your life now. Make that change.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~John 10:10

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

It took a while for me to wrap my mind around the news when I heard it yesterday. I was just talking about Michael the day before with my wife and some friends when one of those friends voiced her doubt that Michael would do his upcoming 50 concert tour in England. “Something’s going to happen, Bobby,” she said. She had no idea how right she was.

It was her who called my cell as I was driving to North Carolina for a speaking engagement. I didn’t believe her… and I didn’t want to turn on the radio to find out if she was serious… but I did. When we arrived to our hotel, I tried to block it out of my mind with the NBA Draft (which I look forward to every year)… but I’m too addicted to Twitter and Facebook to have ignored that my favorite entertainer as a child had died.

I remember being the biggest Michael Jackson fan as a kid. Many of my friends from elementary school have already hit me on Facebook to remind me of my moonwalking exploits! I won several talent shows and dance contests… I had the Thriller jacket and a Michael doll with interchangeable outfits… I wore white socks with dress shoes… You get my point! LOL.

Michael Jackson was an immensely talented entertainer… but that wasn’t all. He was a man with deep emotional wounding, no real childhood, and many internal and external battles that he would eventually lose. Basically, he was human. And like the rest of us humans, he was infected with sin.

Because he was human, let us remember not to allow our celebration of his life turn into idolatry as if he were God. I bet the type of love and devotion we are showing to Mike is the exact same type of love and devotion God is looking for from us. Because the rest of us are humans, let’s remember that sin plagues us just as badly as it did him… maybe not as publicly… but definitely just as badly. That sin separates us from God. Let’s turn to Christ as the atonement for our sin so that we can be reconciled to the real King.

Francis Chan – Balance Beam

No commentary needed.

Sunday Reflection: My First Father’s Day

Running a couple of days late with this one… but here goes!

• Today was my first official Father’s Day since Levi was born. This lil dude is so amazing. I’m so blessed to be his daddy!
• Spent the majority of my day the same way I spend most of my Sundays… at FBCG! Pastor JKJ preached a message from Malachi 4 called “The Power to Change Hearts.” Great message about how God changes the hearts of fathers toward their children, and vice versa.
• Pastor JKJ challenged us in this message that a good father will VISUALIZE, VERBALLY AFFIRM, and VALIDATE his children. That’s an incredible challenge to me for Levi (and whatever children will come after him). I want to be that guy for my kids… always there, rooting for them!
• After a long morning at FBCG, I spent the afternoon laying on the floor chilling with LaVera and Levi. We found the first season of 24 (our favorite show) on DVD on sale, so we relaxed and watched several hours of 24 as a family. That was the best gift… just chill time with my 2 favorite people.
• Levi got me a card that said it was from my “lil’ buddy.” Well, LaVera actually got it for me… but you know!
•  After that chill time, all 3 of us went back to FBCG for evening service.
•  I’m blessed to be one of those dudes whose father has always been there for me. I have a healthy relationship with my dad and I can see the direct result of having that discipline/nurturing/love that dads give. I don’t take it for granted.
•    For those of you who don’t have that type of relationship, know that you have a heavenly Father that wants to be that for you. Embrace Him. He can more than make up for what you’ve missed.
• I’m appreciative of another “father-type” relationship… which I’m struggling to put in the proper vocabulary. I work directly under Pastor Jenkins as his special assistant. For several years, he has been making an incredible investment in me. I’m battling with the “father” vocabulary because of Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:9.  Jesus says, “Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your father… He who is in heaven.” I think context will help me with this… will probably blog about it soon.
• I pray you had a great Father’s Day… that you celebrated your earthly father… and honored your Heavenly Father. Much love.

The Universe Moves… God Doesn’t!

Man, I love Will Smith! I can pretty much recite the words to Parents Just Don’t Understand, Girls Ain’t Nothin But Trouble, and seasons 1-4 of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It’s clear that Will is pretty much successful at whatever he puts his hand to… whether it be rapping (Boom! Shake the Room notwithstanding), acting, or producing. He’s a gajillionaire because of this “I’ll work the hardest” philosophy. But there’s a place where his philosophy breaks down, and it breaks down in a dangerous neighborhood.

You buckle down and work hard… you determine where you’re going, what you will accomplish, who you will be. That’s great! I haven’t had much interaction with the “universe” to know whether it will “move out of your way.” The term “universe” is so abstract, I really don’t know what it is. However, I have had enough interaction with God to know that YOUR WILL ALWAYS STOPS WHEN IT RUNS INTO HIS. You will see how unstoppable your force is once it hits the Immovable Object.

An appliance manufacterer creates a toaster for a specific reason. If you were to use that toaster for a different reason (say… to blend a smoothie), the toaster will break down, and/or you will not get the desired result. Likewise, we can only successfully be what the Creator has created us to be. Unlike Will’s universe, God doesn’t move out of our way… He determines our way. I appreciate Will empowering this generation to strive for our goals. I’m just encouraging us to understand that God created us in His image, for a reason. Inasmuch as your desire coincides with His desire for you, you are unstoppable. Not because of you… but because of Him.

Do What YOU Do Well!

Facebook is at it again. In an ongoing attempt to snuff out Twitter as it’s latest social networking competition, it has implemented two new features.

“First was the acquisition attempt. Then came a focus on real time content streams. Today we saw phase 3 – a search engine for public status updates and other content that a small percentage of users are able to test. Next week, we hear, phase 4 of Facebook’s systematic attack on Twitter is scheduled for beta testing: the Everyone Button.”

You can read the entire article here. Twitter has become very big recently… particularly with it’s involvement in the Iran election. Facebook is having big issues with this and attempting to conquer Twitter by doing what Twitter does better than Twitter. I think that’s a bad move!!! No one ever asked Facebook to be a constant stream of information. Facebook has always been a network whereby I can keep in touch with people that I went to school with, met at some function, or have association with through a friend. I can connect with them, know what’s going on in their lives, see photos of them and their children, and invite them to an event that I’m hosting. This is what Facebook does BEST! But for some reason, they are abandoning what they do best in an attempt to do what Twitter does best. This could be the demise of Facebook.

Now, I HATE the phrase, “Do you.” I actually have said from the pulpit that if all you’re doing is “doing me,” you must not have anything better to do. I say that in the sense that people refuse to receive guidance and direction. However, in the sense that you are doing what you do best I say, “Keep doing you!” God has gifted all of us. The moment we try to do what He has gifted someone else to do, is the moment we dishonor who He has created us to be in Him. Don’t be threatened when someone is successful within the gifting that God has given them… just strive to be successful in the gifting that God has given you!

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them!” ~Romans 12:6