Is what we have as Christians really 'Good News'?

I was a little discouraged yesterday as I was thinking about the city of Atlanta. How I see zealous Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses almost every week out sharing their false version of a message of how to be reconciled to God. They are trying so hard to get the word out, which is sort of noble even if the version of their message is incorrect and eternally damning if believed.

So why aren't Christians more excited? Why is the typical Christian borderline terrified to say 'I'm a follower of Jesus.' It is because their fear social ostracism or being labeled as a 'Bible thumper', 'narrow minded', 'bigoted', or whatever negative fill in the blank negative stereotype? Perhaps that's the reason. Or perhaps it's because they've never had a single Gospel-centered conversation with a person that's definitely not a Christian and they don't know where to start. This blog post is for those of you who have never mentioned Jesus to anyone - ever - and don't know where to start.

Here are some ideas for how to start a Gospel-centered conversation with someone you barely know or have known a long time. Believe it or not, you really don't have to tell them anything - hardly at all. No, really - you probably should be asking 2 questions for every 1 thing you share in return. And here are some very easy questions to get the conversation going

-Where are you on your spiritual journey?

-Where are you with God these days? (if the person asks for clarification, simply restate the question - I'm serious...maybe with a little bit of "you know - like where are you with God these days?")

-Are spiritual things important to you?

-What is the greatest problem currently facing humanity?

I can almost guarantee that one of those questions will get you off to the races. And if they ask you any of these questiosn in return, perhaps consider sharing a short testimony of how Jesus has changed your life or how someone can be reconciled to God themselves (Greg Gilbert's book called What Is The Gospel? is excellent for this). Go ahead - I dare you. Because I believe you have GREAT NEWS to share with others, and I really hope that we have 1,000,000 more Christians in the United States regularly having Gospel centered conversations with everyone they encounter.

A Few Thoughts About The Election Cycle

Less than a week ago, the United States elected Donald Trump as its 45th President. This was a huge shock given that Hillary had ‘won’ every debate and comfortably led in the majority of the polls. No one saw this coming – as a matter of fact, you could have wagered on Donald Trump to win the morning of the election at more than 5 to 1 odds. The likeliest outcome was that Hillary would win by a landslide, and that the Trump presidential bid was a joke at best and some sort of ‘Manchurian Candidate’ conspiracy at worst.

Needless to say, America adjusting to the idea of Donald being “President Trump” is going to take quite a while in light of the previous paragraph. In my previous blog from several months ago, I wrote how this election cycle gives us a great opportunity, as followers of Jesus, to ‘reframe the conversation’ and talk about sin, ‘functional saviors’, and other larger topics (a functional savior is anything that one would believe in as a savior – whether it be his money, his political party, his economic system, or something else).

And I think we need to continue to do this. Because Donald Trump is no more of a savior (or lack of one) than Hillary Clinton or Gary Johnson. Donald Trump is a man with a sin nature just like the other two. He may move forward the more conservative agenda or he may not, but this irrelevant to the topic at hand. President-Elect Trump is a fallen person, and conservatives need to be wary of looking to him as a functional savior, just like more liberal leaning people should have been careful not to ascribe functional savior type attributes on his predecessor, President Obama.

May Jesus’s agenda and kingdom be established and extended no matter who is currently living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington D.C.

The 2 party system is terrible

I hate the mental process of voting for the lesser of two evils, whomever that is perceived to be. America needs to legitimize no fewer than 3-5 other parties. Democrats and Republicans have both lost touch with reality and their constituencies. And yet people continue to vote for them lest they vote for a 3rd party and "waste their vote."

I am a follower of Jesus, and sometimes people ask for my opinion on various political, environmental, and social points of controversy. More and more so, I try to respond by re-framing the conversation to the core things of our existence. Because I believe that surface level controversies can never solve the deepest problems that exist in humanity.

Take for example – conversations about gun legislation and gun control. 2 days ago, an American citizen pledged allegiance to ISIS on the 911 call that he made right before opening fire on a large group of attendees at an Orlando nightclub. 50 people were killed and an additional 53 were wounded. What a travesty. A wicked thing was committed by this individual, and my soul is saddened by the pain and suffering that this man has caused.

Whatever side of the fence you are on concerning gun ownership – I implore you to think about this: does restricting or allowing for the ownership of guns address the root issue here? The answer is a resounding no. Nor does it address the wickedness that exists in every human’s heart.

“Cures” like restricting gun ownership are not sufficient in addressing root cause issues like sin. The restriction of gun ownership perhaps alleviates the fear of some and satisfies the anger of others. It may even correlate to fewer violent crimes and mass shootings. But it doesn't cure man's sin problem, the deep underlying problem behind all the problems.

Mankind has been living in a state of rebellion against God since the garden of Eden. And until we seek to be reconciled to God, we will never be able to be reconciled to self, one another, and to the rest of creation. All of our political meanderings won't give us what we want or hope for.

I think every human on earth, at the core of their being, wants peace with God and peace with others. Humanity wants hope for today and hope for tomorrow. We seek to live in an environment where hyper-vigilance is no longer required and the threat of physical or emotional harm no longer exists.

Consider what the Bible says about these ideas.

'Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ' (Romans 5:1).

'For in him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross.' (Colossians 1:19-20)

'And the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.' (Philippians 4:6)

'May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.'

Those that have repented (sought to turn away) from their sins and acknowledged Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives have an assurance of both hope and peace, both in this life and the life to come. When those that have made this decision die, they will no longer stand before God as sinners condemned by their own choices but rather as adopted children into God's family and heirs to the promise of eternal life with him.

If you are hoping for the earth to change for the better through political meanderings, you will always be disappointed. Thankfully, there's another option.

Thank you Jesus

Thank you Jesus, that for your gift of salvation to all who believe. I was deserving of God's wrath. As I've grown more and more in my walk with you, God has continued to show me even moreso the layers and depths of my sin. Without Christ, I am just like Paul - "chief of sinners." I was so deserving of God's wrath. So deserving. The grace that's been made available to me leaves me speechless. Oh, that everyone could experience the hope for this life and the life to come that's only available through Jesus. The fact that you are are both the just and justifier is really pretty awe-inspiring. You won't let *any* sin go unpunished. There will be an ultimate day of reckoning, and wrongs will be righted. The righteous will be vindicated. And yet, there's mercy and forgiveness available for *everyone* who believes, even the most angry militant Muslim extremist who sees the light and repents. Even the most anti-god atheist who repents. Thank you LORD.