No, You Aren't Paranoid. Someone is Really After You.

 

_____ Has a wonderful plan for your life.

Have ever you seen the sentence above?

If you have ever seen "The Four Spiritual Laws" created by Campus Crusade for Christ, you know this is part of the opening line. 

This is one of the most popular evangelistic tracts ever used. It opens with the statement, "God Loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life." Of course, it continues by showing how our sin has destroyed this plan. You can see it in over 150 languages here  - 4 Spiritual Laws - 

However, for this post, I want to make a small change to the sentence. It is equally as valid, but rather than encouraging. It is terrifying. 

The Devil Has a wonderful plan for your life

The Bible teaches us that our adversary is “prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) His plan involves your death, humiliation, and the scandal of the Christian message.

Is there anything we can do about this fact?

1. Refuse to Court Pet Sins

You know the sin I am talking about. The one you know is wrong, but for some reason, you continue to nurture it. Maybe you feel like you deserve one bad-habit. Perhaps you feel like a victim, and this is your addiction. Sin isn’t your pet; it is your enemy. Kill it, don’t court it.

Consider carefully this passage written by James, the brother of Jesus:

James 1:14-15 CSB
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

The sin you allow to grow in your life will kill you. It is the plan of your enemy!

2. Appreciate the seriousness of sin

The old Puritan John Owen famously wrote: “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”

Most of us don’t believe that. We don’t really believe the warning from James (above) either. 

We think we can outsmart our sin or that it is not really that big of a problem. “After all,” we tell our selves, “I know people who do so much worse.”

This is all a fine delusion until we admit that we have an enemy. There is one who has a plan for your destruction, and the sin (whether it is large or small) is his tool for your demise.

The other day I was reading a scene in a book. The good guy was at a table with his enemy. He was confronting him with a crime. The enemy offered the hero a drink. “You look thirsty. Have a drink while you talk.”

What would you do? Would you take a drink from your enemy while you were attempting to bring him down? Neither did the hero of the story. He knew the drink was not an act of kindness; it was a poison designed to destroy. 

3. Be afraid of the consequences of sin

Over the past couple of months I have come to appreciate the fact that, when it comes to sin and the plans of the enemy, I am a coward. I have watched much stronger, and seemingly more spiritual men fall. When I think about myself, I come to the conclusions; I am just too afraid. 

• I am afraid of embarrassing God and the Christian gospel.
• I am afraid of facing my wife, my kids, my parents, my church members.
• I am afraid of the men in my life who would confront me in love but without gentleness
• I am afraid of losing my job and my reputation. 

For a while, I thought that I must not be growing in grace if fear was keeping me from chasing sin. However, in the past couple of weeks, I appreciate the depth of this fear. 

When you are tempted to sin, remember there are consequences when you get caught. 

Be afraid my friend, be very afraid. 

4. Don’t let the mystical aspect of spiritual formation distort the practical reality of self-control

I like the idea of mystical Christianity. That is, I am fascinated by the idea of a life that is so absorbed, or in step with God that he is living powerfully through me. I read the books, and I pray the prayers. I long for the day when I can live a life of blessed relief. However, today is not that day. This is a war, and it requires me to fight.

When a brother or sister falls into sin, we utter the phrase, “but for the grace of God. . .” 

I am not sure what we mean by this sentence. Are we saying that God’s grace failed our friend? Are we saying that God is overcoming our will and temptation but didn’t work that way in our sister?  

This cannot be true, and it does not seem to fit the biblical vision for Christian living. The Bible teaches us to “resist the devil.” It instructs us to “flee youthful lusts.” It guides us into a life of self-control. 

Now, this “self-control” is a fruit of the Spirit. He opens our eyes to the sin and its consequences. He convicts and confronts, but HE doesn’t say, “No” in our place. We have the power, but we must take up that weapon ourselves. 

My friend, you are not paranoid. Someone really is after you. Do not let his plan for your life succeed.

Reflections on a Bad Week in the SBC

The past several weeks have been quite painful for our Southern Baptist Convention. We have watched leaders fall, boards stumble, friends get hurt, and our worst side has been dispayed on world-wide media outlets. This is not our finest hour and we have not helped ourselves.

All week I have wondered what, if anything, I should write. So many have already written good pieces, well timed warnings, and even stern challenges. 

My message for the past several months, with regard to the SBC has been: 

• They sky is not falling.
• Now is not the time to give up.
• We have a mission and a message that others need to hear.

These sentiments have been tested this week; but, though I am very sad about all that has happened, I think it is important to remember that the Southern Baptist Convention cannot be reduced to these events or these men.

Below you can read two clips from my past writings that I hope some will find these an encourage reminder of the blessing the Southern Baptist Convention can be.

FROM: “Reasons to Stay in the SBC”

The SBC is not a twitter handle:

• We are teams serving in hurricane ravaged areas, bringing hope to desperate people
• We are hundreds of young men and women who will graduate and go bravely into difficult areas of ministry and mission. 
• We are missionary teams from hundreds of local churches partnering with long term missionaries around the world, bringing the light of the gospel into the darkness
• We are churches across this country that, week after week, labor in our communities to spread the healing balm of Jesus to families, neighborhoods, and individuals.
• We are preachers who study, pray, and preach.
• We are missionaries who are struggling to live in foreign countries, but who do so with joy because of the gospel. 
• We are regular men and women, teenagers, boys, and girls who struggle to live for Jesus in a world that desperately needs to know him.

The list could go on but I think we get the point. 

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The uniqueness of the SBC can be found in our cooperative spirit and structure. This means we are tightly connected and that what one entity does, impacts us all.

There is also a great strength in our cooperative efforts. We make a grave mistake when we reduce cooperation to financial contributions. Certainly supporting the Cooperative Program is central to our work. However, this cannot be the sum total of our working together.

FROM: Together on God’s Mission

Consider some of the many ways Southern Baptist churches can cooperate. A Southern Baptist church is cooperative when:

• it sends a short-term mission team to serve alongside an International Mission Board missionary who was sent out by a different local church and is supported by our convention of churches

• it mobilizes members to work with a church plant in North America or serves a role in the revitalization of a church in a struggling area

• it’s members work alongside members of other Southern Baptist churches as part of disaster relief teams, to adopt a local school, or to engage in local community outreach

• it receives college or seminary students as a stewardship from their home churches; as these students mature and sense God’s call to ministry, the mission field, or a professional career, both churches can celebrate the fruit of discipleship

• it hires a seminary student and patiently grooms him for service in another church or on the mission field

• it partners with other local churches to fulfill strategic association or state convention initiatives

• it utilizes its people and resources to partner with other local churches in engaging and planting churches among various people groups locally, nationally, or globally

• it empowers other ethno-linguistic people groups to plant new Southern Baptist churches that effectively reach that group

• it strategically works with other local churches to reach, engage, and minister within their community.

• it seeks opportunities to partner with other churches to train and equip their members for ministry.

It is my sincenest prayer that Southern Baptists will receive the events of the past week as God’s gracious hand of discipline. That we will learn, grow, and become the Convention He wants us to be. We have not arrived, but we have potential. Let’s commit to work together for the glory of our Lord.

5 Ways Pornography Hurts You

One conversation I dread but have far too often concernes the damaging and damning impact of pornography. I grieve the loss of joy and passion as lives are consumed by the pain, guilt, and frustration that accompanies porn use. In my mind, there is no question that pornography is extremely dangerous.  In fact, several state legislatures have declared pornography a public health risk.

Some say that pornography is just good adult fun. "If you don't like it," they say, "Don't watch it." Supporters claim pornography is fantasy entertainment. I have heard it compared to science fiction. "Everyone knows it isn't real. But it is fun to imagine."

This may be the experience of some; however, evidence shows that pornography is far from harmless fun. Sure, it creates a fantasy world. But it is a world from which many cannot escape. Pornography, whether visual or literary, fuels desires and sets expectations that, for many, ends in disaster. 

In this post, I want to discuss five negative consequences of porn usage.

1. Porn Shapes Your Relationships

Looking at or reading porn teaches us that others are nothing more than objects for our sexual pleasure. Porn is an illusion, but we can be quickly fooled into thinking that everyone is our toy or pleasure object. We start believing we don't need to put effort into a relationship. Everyone we meet is an actor or actress in the porn theater of our minds.  This is not only unfair, but it is also the recipe for a lonely life. 

I have heard tales about partners who watch porn together to "add spice" to their relationship. Both enjoy it and find it beneficial. Personally, I don't know any of these people, but, like unicorns, maybe they exist. 

In my experience, 100% of the time, pornography is an unwelcome intruder in a  marriage or dating relationship. Of course, the porn user is positive about it, but the other partner is not. In a study released in Psychology Today, Kevin B. Skinner shows that women who discover their partners are using porn experience fear and insecurity. They feel judged and uncomfortable in social settings. The introduction of pornography into a relationship, even if it seems fun at the beginning, is a sure fire way to hurt the ones you care about and wreck the relationship altogether. 

2. Porn Shapes Your Bodies and Minds

Not only does pornography affect relationships,  it quite literally changes the way our brains and bodies function. Research is starting to show a that a larger than average percentage of men under 40 are experiencing erectile dysfunction. One of the chief causes of this is excessive use of pornography. 

That is scary!

The inability to be with a real person is much to high price to pay for videos, pictures, or stories of other people doing what we no longer can. 

In an article on huffingtonpost.com, Robert Weiss has observed, "[I]t appears that online pornography is causing, in some men, including a lot of men in their sexual prime, an emotional and psychosexual disconnection that is manifesting physically with real-world partners as ED, DE, anorgasmia, and the like. This, of course, is awful not only for the men, but the romantic partners who love them.” You are not the only one who suffers. 

3. Porn Shapes Your Schedules

Not only does pornography shape our relationships, minds, and bodies, it can also take control of our schedules. Consider the results from a recent survey,  ". . . of 29,000 people at North American universities shows 51% of men and 16% of women spend up to five hours per week online for sexual purposes, and another 11% of men spend anywhere from five to 20 hours per week.” Not only is this far too much exposure to unhealthy images and ideas, but it is also a massive investment of time. 

Comedian Chris Rock, opened up about his porn addiction and the role it played in the collapse of his marriage. One of the real problems he faced was that the way porn consumed all of his time. He says, "I was addicted to porn and, you know, I was 15 minutes late everywhere." (http://ew.com/tv/2018/02/14/chris-rock-porn-addiction-cheating-tamborine/)

I don’ know about you, but I don’t have enough time to do the things I  need to do or the things I want to do. My “to-do list” outgrows my “done” list every day. Time spent watching porn robs the quality of the rest of your life. 

4. Porn Shapes Your Self Esteem

On some level, we all know pornography us not right. I don't know a single person who, once they have turned off the computer or clicked off a video, says, "I am really happy I did that. We see people at their most vulnerable, and we try to convince ourselves that we are better than that. 

Bret McKay, who writes at the Art of Manliness website, puts it pretty well: “It's pretty gross when you take a step back: you're paying people to have sex so you can watch them do it. No man would ever want his sister to be a porn star, so why is it okay for someone's else's sister to do it?” 

Deep down, we know this is right. So when we stoop below our moral threshold, we are dragging ourselves down as well.

Not only does the subject of porn degrade our self-esteem, but also its use. For most young men I have talked to about this, every time they watch porn they are breaking a promise to themselves. The promise that, “the last time would be the last time…” We only lie to people we don’t respect. Breaking this promise to ourselves has a negative impact on our self-worth. 

5. Porn Shapes Your World

According to a report by the US State Department, between 600,000 and 800,000 persons, a year are trafficked across international borders. About a quarter of these for sexual exploitation.  The people at “Fight the New Drug” have just started a campaign called #StopTheDemand which calls attention to the global impact of pornography. Their stuff is really helpful.

I know that most of those reading this would never participate in human trafficking or slavery, but when behavior creates demand, this fuels an industry and encourages seedy activity. Several studies have shown that a large amount of the porn consumed has been created by unwilling participants. There is a good chance that you have watched the actual rape of someone who has been sold into slavery. 

You don't want to be a rapist, human-trafficker, or child molester. In fact, the thought of these activities probably turns your stomach. Most people who use porn, don't realize their private consumption fuels an industry that steals and kills people. We rise up in the face of racism and we would stop any man or woman we saw abusing a kid. It is frightening to realize how you may encourage those very activities through your porn use.

This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book Bondage and Freedom. 

PRAYING FOR THE NATIONS

I also write weekly for The Center for Great Commission Studies at Southeastern Seminary (www.thecgcs.org). In the last two weeks,  I have written 2 posts that give some prayer points for two of the most unreched countries in the world. 

Below I have listed the links to these two posts:

PRAYING FOR IRAN - 

The Islamic Republic of Iran dominates the US news cycles again. There are conversations about sanctions, gas prices, and debates about political posturing. At Southeastern, Iran has a special place in our hearts for different reasons.

The first ever Southern Baptist missionaries to Iran, Dr. George, and Joanne Braswell were students on our campus and later came back to teach missions. Southern Baptists appointed George and Joanne in 1967 and sent them into Iran where they worked until the time of the Islamic Revolution. The book To Ride a Magic Carpet is a fascinating memoir of their time. The Braswells continue to be friends of the seminary and of our Center for Great Commission Studies. 

SEBTS also has an initiative dedicated to the training and education for Iranians around the world. This initiative provides theological education in Farsi, the mother tongue of Iranians. As far as we can tell, this is the only opportunity in the world for Iranians to receive this type of training. You can find out more about our Persian Leadership Training Initiative here: https://www.sebts.edu/academics/gti/persian-initiative.aspx

As I read the news and listen to people talk about Iran, I thought it would be good to challenge Great Commission Christians to commit to pray for Iran for the next several weeks. 

READ THE REST OF THE POST HERE:  http://www.thecgcs.org/2018/05/praying-for-iran/

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PRAYING FOR KOREA

If you are like me, you have been stunned and elated by the news that the leaders of South and North Korea have signed declarations of peace and have stepped across the DMZ to shake hands. This truce ends one of the most protracted and most public civil wars in recent history. The signatures and handshakes are indeed significant steps. We can hope that this ends the military build-up and even the loss of life that has resulted from this war. 

I am sure there are hundreds of details that need to be worked out. There are questions about travel restrictions, economic ties, and human rights. However, one question we need to ask is, What does peace on the Korean Peninsula mean for the Great Commission?

READ THE REST OF THE POST HERE: http://www.thecgcs.org/2018/05/what-does-the-peace-on-the-korean-peninsula-mean-for-the-great-commission/

Reasons To Stay in the SBC

During the Conservative Resurgence, I heard several people say, “I don’t care who wins this battle, I am going with the Annuity Board.” That comment always rang hollow. Now, don’t get me wrong, the older I get, the more I understand the need to protect retirement funds. But, that doesn’t seem like a reason to stay part of a denomination. In the face of current SBC conflict and crisis, people are asking questions about staying. 

Should we stay with the Southern Baptist Convention?

Several years ago, I was in South Asia talking with a SEBTS colleague. We were lamenting the tendency of younger Southern Baptists who were allowing their frustration to lure them away from the SBC. In the end, we agreed, if everyone left the SBC one of us would turn off the lights, and the other could lock the door. In other words, we were going to stick it out and stay with the SBC.

Why?
What makes us choose to stay part of the SBC in the face of conflict, crisis, and embarrassment?

As I think about it, there are three reasons I will choose to stay in the SBC.

1. The Family
Southern Baptists are my people. 

We speak the same language. We laugh at the same jokes. We share the same stories. When I think about the best friends I have, the deepest ministry partners I work with, and the greatest people I know — they are Southern Baptists.
Without question, there are some Southern Baptists that I struggle to identify with. People say things I don’t like. People do things I disagree with. Sometimes I click my tongue on the roof of my mouth and shake my head. But Southern Baptists are my immediate Christian family. 

When people complain and talk about leaving the SBC, I sympathize with many of their concerns. But I ask, “Where can we go? This is home.”

2. The Heritage
In the introduction of my book, Together on God’s Mission, I write:

I am a life-long Southern Baptist. Through the “cradle roll” program, my name was on the roll of a Southern Baptist church months before I was born. I am a product of the Southern Baptist Convention. I was saved, mentored, and called to ministry in a Southern Baptist church. I received my education through Southern Baptist schools. I have been honored to serve on the staff of several Southern Baptist churches and as part of the administration and faculty of a Southern Baptist seminary. My passion for missions and my missionary experience is a result of the Southern Baptist Convention’s work. The greatest commandment is to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Southern Baptists have helped me to love God in all of these areas. The Lord has used this convention to make me who I am.

There is plenty in the history of the SBC that we should be ashamed of. We have worked to rectify some of these. We still have work to do on others. I am praying we will have the courage to keep moving forward on these. But, my personal heritage, my spiritual heritage, is anchored in the Southern Baptist Convention.  How can we walk away from the people who birthed us?

3. The Mission
The mission of the SBC gets me out of bed in the morning and keeps me laboring through the night. The mission to take the gospel to the unreached and unevangelized people of this world. The mission to strengthen and empower the local churches to pursue God’s mission in their neighborhoods and through their people. The mission to raise up a new generation of leaders who will preach with clarity, evangelize with courage, and challenge the establishments with prophetic zeal. When I look at the visible mission of other denominations and Christian organizations, none of them fire me up like the mission of the SBC. 

JD Greear has written an excellent post on SBC cooperation and the value of mission (Cooperating Together). Take a few minutes and read it. I am not asking you to read JDs blog because you agree with him. The post is a good summary of the work of the SBC and how it supports the ministry of the local church. We should all consider how the mission of the SBC can compel you and your church to embrace more fully God’s mission. 

Let's not forget, the SBC is not a twitter handle:

• We are teams serving in hurricane-ravaged areas, bringing hope to desperate people
• We are hundreds of young men and women who will graduate and go bravely into difficult areas of ministry and mission. 
• We are missionary teams from hundreds of local churches partnering with long-term missionaries around the world, bringing the light of the gospel into the darkness
• We are churches across this country that, week after week, labor in our communities to spread the healing balm of Jesus to families, neighborhoods, and individuals.
• We are preachers who study, pray, and preach.
• We are missionaries who are struggling to live in foreign countries, but who do so with joy because of the gospel. 
• We are regular men and women, teenagers, boys, and girls who struggle to live for Jesus in a world that desperately needs to know him.
• The list could go on, but I think we get the point. 

I can’t imagine a future without an influential Southern Baptist Convention. Scratch that — I don’t want to imagine a future without an influential Southern Baptist Convention. Current headlines showcase our internal problems, but they miss so much else that we are.