Snapshots and Synapses

"Storms are brewing. Where are you going to find shelter?" This is an urgent message from the Lord. We know that the wise man, who builds his house upon the Rock, will stand strong when the storm hits. The evangelical response to this is (rightly) to tell the non-christian about Christ, so that they will have a firm foundation. But the ones who need to hear this urgent message most right now are"believers". Storms are coming. Where will you find shelter? "Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we put our trust in the Name of the Lord our God." (Ps 20:7) A modern translation may be "Some trust in money and others in power, but..." where is the foundation where American Christians have placed their trust? Is it in our money... power... status... job... 401k? Have we allowed ourselves to think that God spares us from suffering? Have we used our affluence to feed our own selfish desires over the needs of others? I can write with c...

I received an email from a trusted brother in Christ, criticizing the "Emergent Church Problem". Since his emails were sent in public forum, I've decided to do the same. Inevitably, we as Christians are going to make mistakes. George Barna's book "Revolution" identifies some issues within Evangelical circles and outlines some trends within American Christianity... they shouldn't be ignored. Presenting the Gospel in a culturally relevant way has been a challenge and a controversy since Jesus' Ascension. When the culture becomes immodest, do we discard the value of modesty in order to be "relevant"? Do we embrace a "Feminine Deity" to become more inclusive? While both issues reflect an abandonment of Biblical principals, the second is worth drawing a line in the sand and saying emphatically: "No!" The first issue, however, is more difficult; we can focus all our attention on addressing symptoms rather than root cause...

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ... Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:1-4,8 May the love of Christ and our Father in heaven and the Spirit Who dwells within us overpower our lust for the lures of this temporary and deceptive world in which we live! May His Church be a Bride that is set free from the desires of this world! Lord, make us single-hearted in our desire for You,...