"Go Forward Church, Go Forward"

On January 5, Franklin Graham told almost 2000 chilly Idahoans who gathered at the capitol in Des Moines in his first Decision America event, “I believe we are perilously close to the moral tipping point for the survival of the United States of America.”   Later in his speech he strongly encouraged Christians to put feet to their prayers by becoming politically active, vote according to their Christian beliefs, and run for office, which is all well and good.   We should vote according to what we believe, and we ought to run for office if we think we can accomplish what needs to happen.     However, I am afraid that God’s people have too long been trying to legislate morality rather than working to change hearts.     You see, in the past, we had something called the blue laws, which restricted alcohol sales and movie theater showings on Sunday.   Before that we had prohibition which restricted alcohol sales completely for about 13 years or so.     That’s a nice thought and all, but here is the real deal: No one came to know Jesus because of the laws we encouraged to be enacted.   No life was dramatically turned around because of those laws.   In fact, prohibition encouraged the growth of organized crime. Here in the South it saw moonshining as an occupation, which in a weird twist of fate saw the birth of NASCAR.  There are a few moonshiners in my family’s history by the way, but don’t tell anyone.    It’s all hush-hush.   

Legislation is fine, but all it does is anger the sinner.   It is time that we live according to what we believe.   It is time that we look like a follower of Jesus.    It is time that we have compassion for those who have wrecked their lives because they have chosen worldly ways.     It is time that we befriend them and love them.   Our lives can show them that following Jesus may not offer the same kinds of thrills that a worldly lifestyle offers, but rather a life of following Jesus offers peace where there was none before.   It offers hope of something better.   It offers kindness and a family who will love you even with your warts and all the mess you bring with you.    

I challenge you today to befriend a neighbor, I mean really become a friend to someone who is lost.   Don’t preach at them.   Don’t highlight their ways, but rather show them love and compassion and a smiling face.    Pray for them, and let the Holy Spirit do His thing during your relationship.   You just stay out of God’s ways.   Don’t try to change their ways, before God changes their hearts.   If a heart is truly changed, then their lives will be transformed over time as they get closer and closer to their Savior.    As followers ourselves, we are given a mandate by Jesus to share what He has done with us with others.    It is our duty and our privilege, but I will be honest.   It often isn’t easy.   It sometimes makes us love those who are unlovable.   It sometimes places us in situations where we really don’t want to be.    It is messy doing God’s work, but it’s got to be done.    If we do what He told us to do, then we don’t have to run for office, because the one we reached is.   If we do what He told us to do, then we don’t have to legislate unacceptable behaviors because those behaviors will be changed from the inside.    God told the Israelites in Exodus 14 to quit your praying and go forward.    It’s time for us to “Go Forward.”    

Exodus 14:15  And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

Blessings,
Steve DuVall

Are We Practicing Missional Living?

Are We Practicing Missional Living?

Recently I was asked why I am so concerned with missions.   My short answer was, “That’s where the lost people are.” At the time, it did not occur to me to elaborate more, because if you want to know the truth, looking for the lost and figuring out ways to go there is just how my mind is wired. This concept of missions is so wired into my thinking that often I forget, that for most Christians, missions is a program.  It stands up there with Vacation Bible School or a couple of annual offerings taken to send to the missionaries, either foreign or at home. (For us Southern Baptists, one is called Lottie Moon - received for International Missions at Christmastime, and the other is Annie Armstrong - which is being received right now for North American mission efforts.)

I've discovered that there is no real Christian who would deny the importance of missions. “Go and teach, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” is a commandment probably memorized shortly after John 3:16.    Therefore all of us, who know Jesus, know deep down that He commanded missions.   You can read that during the early portion of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke very little concerning missions, but during the final portion - the period between his resurrection and ascension - He spoke of little else. There were hundreds of matters that Jesus and His disciples could have discussed during the final forty days, but Christ’s mind was filled with encouraging us to take the good news everywhere.   What does that mean though? How do we make that commandment come alive in our day-to-day lives?  I think to many of us it is all just so confusing.  Honestly, I think the kind of church we have built in our culture even helps to obscure the meaning of Jesus’ commandment somewhat.  You see, we get very concerned with budgets, and I know that budgets are important. The power bill does come due - monthly.  We get concerned with attendance numbers, and numbers are important also, because the fourth book of the Bible is called Numbers.  (A lame preacher's joke by the way.)   We get concerned with all sorts of “churchy activities” so much so that our calendars and agendas are completely filled with studying for a lesson we are going to teach, attending choir practice, playing on the church softball team, or going to this committee meeting or that one.   The church and all that goes with being a church builds us a little fortress where we can come and be comfortable, and we come often!   Our friends go to church with us.  We raise our kids and grandkids here.  Our free time is spent taking care of all things church and going to its activities, so we get caught up in very busy and very fulfilling lives.   I think then that maybe we turn inward a little bit too much. You see, when all your friends and relatives know Jesus, it is hard to see the thousands around you who do not know Him, so it is quite understandable that we are confused about what Jesus’ command really means to our lives and how we live our lives under that command.

The only way I know to have Jesus’ command come alive in our hearts is to first seriously pray for the eyes of Jesus.   Pray that God would take away all the things that assault our senses and allow us to focus upon the condition of their souls. Ask Him to help us not see “worldly needs.”  The size of a person’s wallet has nothing to do with whether or not they will go to heaven or hell.  Ask Him to help us not see their level of education, because a few degrees behind someone’s name has never meant they were going to heaven.  Nor does the lack of the ability to read or write mean that one is bound for hell.   Ask Him to help us to look past the color of their skin or the accent upon their tongues.   Secondly, stop wherever you are and look around.   Look into people’s eyes.  Smile at them.   When you do, God will show you lostness.  Then you will see the reality that everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This reality means everyone is bound for an eternity spent without the presence of Jesus in a place called Hell unless they call upon Jesus' name, ask for forgiveness and accept it.  This means to you and me that, while walking down the street, almost everyone we see will spend eternity in a place without hope.  This means where you work or where you go to school, the vast majority of those you know will spend eternity in Hell. When God shows you this lostness in your heart it will break.   Your heart will break.   It's then that you will weep in your car, and it is then that His commandment will come alive within your heart.  When that happens you will automatically pray, “God what can I do? Tell me Jesus, what can I do?”   I promise you, He will answer, and when He does, and we accept His answer, it guides what we do, how we do it, and how we think.   By the way the term for this is called “missional living.”   This, my friend, is the better answer to why I am so concerned with missions.  You see I have prayed that prayer.   I continue praying that prayer, and as a result I am always trying to watch, and every day God continues to show me that the lost really are out there.   I guess I need to be perfectly honest though. Sometimes, quite often, I fail at missional living.   I suppose there are a thousand and one reasons why I fail, but the bottom line is always - my selfishness - my sin.  You see, when we neglect the daily opportunities to share the truth about Jesus for fear of rejection, punishment, looking foolish or any other number of reasons, we are not living missional. We are more concerned with self than with others.  What possibly could be more important than the condition of someone’s soul?