What’s Your Purpose in Life, Bob?

Josh McDowell explains , “An executive recruiter, a ‘head-hunter’ who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, ‘When I get an executive that I’m trying to hire for someone else, I like to disarm him. I offer him a drink, take my coat off, then my vest, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he’s all relaxed. Then, when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, “What’s your purpose in life?” It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question.

“Well, I was interviewing this fellow the other day, had him all disarmed, with my feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then I leaned up and said, ‘What’s your purpose in life, Bob?’ And he said, without blinking an eye, ‘To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.’ For the first time in my career I was speechless.” 

The resurgence of atheism

An article entitled, ‘Puncturing Atheism,” describes the resurgence of atheism and the challenge of some brilliant Christ-followers.

You would have to have been hitchhiking across Siberia to have missed a striking new phenomenon: The atheists are back. Not just back, mind you, but globally parading in triumph across tv, bookstores, and the Internet. But don’t be tongue-tied; an unlikely God Squad (including the flamboyant Al Sharpton) is taking them on.
Related articles and links

In the past 12 months, atheist authors, according to The Wall Street Journal, have created a publishing sensation, selling more than 1 million books worldwide. These include: more

The other great thing about October 31

Many people do not know that Oct 31 is Reformation Day. On October 31, a monk named Martin Luther walked to the cathedral of his little German town, Wittenberg, and nailed a list of “95 theses” to the door of the Cathedral.

Because the Cathedral door acted as a kind of newspaper or blog for the town, it drew attention. His “theses” were statements of belief and disagreement with the Roman Catholic practice of indulgences – the selling of a place in heaven to faithful givers.

I believe it would increase anyone’s appreciation for God’s grace if he or she would spend a few minutes reading about the Reformation.

Tim Challies has a long list of links for sites which celebrate, explain and seek to further the Reformation.

Also, check out Steve Weaver’s blog

Happy Reformation Day!!!

Halloween –

Al Mohler writes…

Halloween is a big deal in the marketplace. Halloween is surpassed only by Christmas in terms of economic activity. According to David J. Skal, “Precise figures are difficult to determine, but the annual economic impact of Halloween is now somewhere between 4 billion and 6 billion dollars depending on the number and kinds of industries one includes in the calculations.”

Furthermore, historian Nicholas Rogers claims that “Halloween is currently the second most important party night in North America. In terms of its retail potential, it is second only to Christmas. This commercialism fortifies its significance as a time of public license, a custom-designed opportunity to have a blast. Regardless of its spiritual complications, Halloween is big business.”

Read the rest of the article for insight on the pagan roots of Halloween and especially, the fascination with and exaltation of evil and the demonic.

Here is a wise and healthy perspective:

I am guessing my neighbourhood is all-too-typical in that people typically arrive home from work and immediately drive their cars into the garage. More often than not they do not emerge again until the next morning when they leave for work once more. We are private, reclusive people who delight in our privacy. We rarely see our neighbors and rarely communicate with them. . . . In the six years we have been living in this area, we have never once had a neighbor come to the door to ask for anything. . . .

Yet on Halloween these barriers all come down. I have the opportunity to greet every person in the neighbourhood. I have the opportunity to introduce myself to the family who moved in just down the row a few weeks ago and to greet some other people I have not seen for weeks or months. At the same time, those people’s children will come knocking on my door. We have two possible responses. We can turn the lights out and sit inside, seeking to shelter ourselves from the pagan influence of the little Harry Potters, Batmans and ballerinas, or we can greet them, gush over them, and make them feel welcome. We can prove ourselves to be the family who genuinely cares about our neighbours, or we can be the family who shows that we want to interact with them only on our terms. Most of our neighbors know of our faith and of our supposed concern for them. This is a chance to prove our love for them.

I am also convicted that there could be no worse witness to the neighbours than having a dark house, especially in a neighbourhood like ours which is small and where every person and every home is highly-visible. We know that, if we choose not to participate, the neighbors will notice and will smile knowingly, supposing that we feel too good to participate.

. . . Our door will be open and the light will be on. And we trust that the Light will shine brightly.

I do not see Halloween as a great evangelistic occasion. I do not foresee it as a time when the people coming to your door are likely to be saved. But I do think it is a time that you can prove to your neighbors that you care about them, that you care about their children, and that you are glad to be in this world and this culture, even if you are not of this world or this culture. Halloween may serve as a bridge to the hearts of those who live around you who so desperately need a Savior.

Nice try at names, but no cigar!

Thanks for the suggestions – serious and otherwise. Fortunately, Corrie and Nathan did not choose any of the suggestions.

Corrie and Nathan have chosen to name the baby girl…

Sadie Brooklyn.

I love it.

We’re looking at a March birth.

Satan’s slide

I receive a weblog from Life Action Revival Ministries. The latest blog is insightful in the ways of the Evil One. Check out the questions at the end of the blog.

Satan is a deceiver, a defiler, and a destroyer. His intent is to “undo” the revival you have experienced. His methods are often subtle, rather than obvious or blatant. Memorize the nine steps listed below and purpose to guard your heart from being ensnared by them. If you do find yourself on the superslide, you should immediately humble yourself and cry out to God so that He may send a “grace ambulance” rushing to your side. Yielding all expectations will help keep you off of the superslide.

1) Disappointment (comes from unfulfilled expectations)

2) Disillusionment (with God’s workers, God’s Word)

3) Discrediting (finding fault and verbalizing it)

4) Discouragement (worrying, disheartened)

5) Disobedience (backing up on God)

6) Depression (guilt because of irresponsibility and disobedience)

7) Despair (what’s the use trying?)

Defeat (giving up)

9) Destruction (the enemy’s goal in your life)

MAKING IT PERSONAL:

1. Which of these steps have the greatest potential to trip me up spiritually?

2. Is there any step of this superslide that I can see myself on right now?

3. How did I get there?

4. How can I protect myself from getting on this superslide?

It’s a Girl – what is her name?

It’s official. Corrie and Nathan will have a girl in March.

This is so interesting, since Nathan’s family specializes in boys.

Corrie and Nathan have not chosen a name, and have suggested that any readers of this blog – all 3 of you – suggest a name.

Send it to samvshawjr@gmail.com.

Here are the guidelines:

It can’t be so cute that she will not taken seriously if she is 25 and seeking to be a lawyer (that means “Bambi” is out!)

It has to go with the last name of Peak.

That’s about it.

Well, what do you think?

Most incredible ending to a football game ever!

The Wonder of Rain

After months of drought, the rain of recent days is a welcome relief. The rains have reminded me of something written several years ago by one of my theological mentors. I’ve freely adapted his mediation.

Job 5:8-10 states, “God….does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. He gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields. Job 5:8-10

Have you ever considered rain as one of God’s great, unsearchable wonders?

Consider this:

1. Rain comes out of the sky. Empty air literally carries water from the ocean or lakes, hundreds of miles away, and then pours it out onto the fields. How can empty sky carry water?

2. How much does rain weigh? If one inch of rain falls on one square mile of farmland during the night, that would be 27,878,400 cubic feet of water, which is 206,300,160 gallons, which is 1,650,501,280 pounds of water. That’s heavy.

3. How does it get up in the sky and stay up there if it’s so heavy? Evaporation – the water sort of stops being water for a while so it can go up and not down.

4. How does it get down? Condensation – the water starts becoming water again by gathering around little dust particles between .00001 and .0001 centimeters wide. That’s small!

5. What happens to the salt? After all, water from the ocean is salt water – which kills crops. What about the salt? Well, it gets taken out while it’s being carried.

So get this – the sky picks up a billion pounds of water from the sea and takes out the salt and then carries it for hundreds of miles and then dumps it on the farm?

6. It doesn’t actually dump the water. If it dumped a billion pounds of water on the farm, the wheat would be crushed. So the sky dribbles the billion pounds water down in little drops. And they have to be big enough to fall for one mile or so without evaporating, and small enough to keep from crushing the wheat stalks.

7. How do all these microscopic specks of water that weigh a billion pounds get heavy enough to fall? Coalescence – the specks of water start bumping into each other and join up and get bigger. And when they are big enough, they fall.

Well, not exactly like that – they would just bounce off each other instead of joining up, if there were no electric field present. Electrical field?

8. So – here’s another question – How do drops ever get to the ground? If they start falling as soon as they are heavier than air, they would be too small not to evaporate on the way down, but if they wait to come down, what holds them up till they are big enough not to evaporate?

Job calls rain one of the God’s wonders. Maybe that is one reason I love the rain so much! The heavens really do declare the glory of God!

Parents are clueless

An unrestrained and open look into the hearts and souls of both parents and children. Frightening, uplifting, disillusioning, hopeful. It is worth spending a few moments on this site.

I Dare You to Watch without Laughing

Five Questions You Can Use Once a Month

My good friend Josh Hunt writes a weekly column for Bible study leaders. His column this week gives five questions that any teacher or leader can ask a group or friend over and over and without getting old.

1. HOW ARE YOU DOING THESE DAYS IN TERMS OF YOUR TIME ALONE WITH GOD?

Every month or so, ask your group: what are you reading? What have you read lately that was meaningful to you? Have you memorized any verses? What are your praying about?

2. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT FOLLOWING CHRIST? WHAT HAS BEEN GREAT ABOUT IT RECENTLY?

Here is Josh’s list:

I love having a Bible that instructs me on how to live.
I love sensing the presence of God in my life on a daily basis.
I love enjoying Christian teaching. We have such great Christian teaching these days in books, radio, podcasts and other media. What a time to be alive!
I love serving the Lord. Jesus said as we engage in the task of making disciples, that He will be with us. We know He is with us always, but there is a special sense of His presence when we are serving Him.
I love the sense of calling and purpose–a reason to get out of bed in the morning. A Christian needn’t ever be bored.
I love the church and the fellowship of Christian friends.
I love the knowledge that I am forgiven of all my sins.
I love the knowledge that death is not the ultimate enemy. (What would you pay for that?)
I love knowing that God is God and I am not. I love resting in the fact that He is boss. The world is not running recklessly out of control. There is a throne in heaven and Someone is sitting on it. Not pacing the floor and wringing His hands. Sitting. Relaxed. In charge.
I love the promises of God, especially Romans 8.28. Life is hard; often very hard. In a difficult world it is great to know that there is a God who is working all things together for God as we love Him and follow His calling for our lives.

An old hymn describes our heart as, “prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.” It is really true, isn’t it? We need to be reminded on a regular basis of what we have in Christ.

3. HOW DOES IT BENEFIT YOU TO FOLLOW CHRIST?

4. WHAT DOES FOLLOWING CHRIST COST YOU?

5. WHAT ARE YOU BURDENED ABOUT THESE DAYS? WHAT IS ON YOUR HEARTt? WHAT HAS TEMPTED YOU TO WORRY?

Thanks, Josh, for great questions. I’ll use these for my accountability group.

For a fuller explanation of the questions, and to sign up for Josh’s newsletter, check out www.joshhunt.com

The History of Religion in 90 Seconds

This is definitely worth checking out

Un-Christian

I first heard about the book at Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last month.

A study was commissioned by Barna’s Research team and published in a book titled UnChristian by Steve Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The book reveals some of the latest research on how people view the Church and the people in it.

The conclusion – Christianity has an image problem.

James Emery White writes…

Many of those outside of the Christian faith think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind – that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be. We’re seen as hyper-political, out of touch, pushy in our beliefs, and arrogant. And the biggest perceptions of all are that we are homophobic, hypocritical, and judgmental.

Simply put, in the minds of many, modern-day Christianity no longer seems Christian.

And much of that image has been earned. We’ve acted in ways, talked in ways, lived in ways, that have stolen from God’s reputation.

Here’s the heart of the matter: among young American “outsiders” (the author’s preferred term for those others might refer to as seekers, non-Christians, or the lost), the following words or phrases were offered as possible descriptors of Christianity, and the number who affirmed their accuracy:

*anti-homosexual (91%)

*judgmental (87%)

*hypocritical (85%)

*old-fashioned (78%)

*too involved in politics (75%)

*out of touch with reality (72%)

*insensitive to others (70%)

*boring (68%)

*not accepting of other faiths (64%)

*confusing (61%)

Fifteen years ago I commissioned a similar study that went to those who were unchurched and asked them a simple question: How did the church and those inside it lose you? I first published the research, done in coordination with the Barna Research Group (which also conducted the research for UnChristian) in my book Rethinking the Church. Comparing the two studies is interesting.

In 1992, the unchurched gave the following reasons for abandoning the church:

*There is no value in attending (74%).

*Churches have too many problems (61%).

*I do not have the time (48%).

*I am simply not interested (42%).

*Churches ask for money too frequently (40%).

*Church services are usually boring (36%).

*Christian churches hold no relevance for the way I live (34%).

*I do not believe in God, or I am unsure that God exists (12%).

Such findings pointed to a culture that was saying, “God, yes; Church, no.”

Now, research shows the deepening crisis, for it points to a culture that says “Christ, perhaps; Christianity and Christians, no.” Whereas before we were losing them institutionally, but not necessarily personally, we are now losing them personally. They look at our lives and see little that is attractive – and even they know that this means they are seeing little of Christ.

So what is the answer? Allow outsiders to determine the agenda and message of the church? We do not have that option, if we are to be Christ-followers.

White writes…

As with any crisis, we must not lament the problem, but address it.

First, get the book, read the results, and immerse yourself in its implications and dynamics. It is already causing quite a stir in the secular media – it needs to cause a stir among Christians.

Second, Christ-followers must renew themselves as to what it means to truly follow Christ. The “outsiders” are right – it isn’t Christian to be a hate-monger, or to be judgmental, or hypocritical. Many of us have drifted from the faith, and we need to repent. As the final chapter in the book dictates, we must move from “unchristian” to “Christian.”

Third, we must speak openly about such matters.

The book might be overwhelming, the findings discouraging, but we must take heart. “As C.S. Lewis believed, imagination precedes fact,” Lyons concludes in the final section of the book. “Let’s imagine together what could happen and then commit to being the change we want to create.”

Why the Gospel Is Central

One of the richest declarations of the gospel is found in the following article by Mark Labberton, pastor of Grace Church, in the San Diego area. Chew on these words:

What do we mean by Gospel centered? That is a question that is often asked. It is so important.

While there may be many ways to state an answer, this is what I mean: That the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the most significant event in time and eternity. It means that when God writes the final edition of the newspaper, “Great events of history”, it will have one story – Jesus the Son of God was given by the Father and took on flesh, lived a sinless life in submission to the Father, offered up his life as a once for all sacrifice for sinners, then was buried, and broke the power of death in his resurrection. It has many implications.

Here are a variety of thoughts about this:

It means there will be no boasting in the eternal joy we shall experience because of the Gospel. There will be no competition for glory – only he will be glorified and we will be glorified in him.

The Gospel is glorious because it is not about what we do. It is not even a message that tells us to “ask Jesus to be your savior and you will be forgiven.” That is not the Gospel, it is a response to the Gospel. The Gospel is news about what Jesus has done. We subtly distort the Gospel when we make it about us. The Gospel is more than “God loves you as you are.” It is God saves you as you are.

The Gospel is news about Him not about us. It is the description of what he has done. We are the beneficiaries, but God is the One who has acted to save us. We should dwell often on his person and work and less on ourselves.

For more…