The Arrogance of Atheism

In my humble, but firmly held opinion, atheism is arrogant. Pure atheism requires absolute knowledge, unless we define it as faith and not knowledge. To say that I know for certain there is absolutely no God, then I have to be able to say, I have searched and researched every possibility. I know everything, therefore, I know there is no God.

In order to have faith that says, “I know that there is a God,” I do not have to know everything, I simply have to know God. For example, someone in Japan says, “I have absolute knowledge that Brad Bessent does not exist,” they have to be able to say, “I have met every person in this world, and there is no Brad Bessent.” For someone to say, “Oh, but you are wrong, I know that Brad Bessent does indeed exist because I have met him personally.”

It is not arrogant to say that I know that God exists. I have met Him. He speaks to my heart, and I talk to Him everyday. Some can say (indeed some have said) that I am nuts. But knowing God does not require absolute knowledge, just personal experiential contact with the living God. Atheism, pure unadulterated atheism, that requires absolute knowledge. Since no one has that, except God, then anyone claiming to be an atheist ultimately declares their arrogance. That is my uncut raw point of view.

Agnosticism, however, is a different matter. Someone who settles in agnosticism, or gives up the search for truth, so to speak, is just lazy. If you don’t know, keep searching.

RELIGION SUCKS…..the life out of you.

I hate religion. I don’t want to be a religious person. I think most religious people are selfish, mean, and bound for hell.

Have I gotten your attention yet? “Religion” is the activity of people to try and gain God’s approval. It is built on a code of behavior of certain “do’s” and “Don’ts” that you are expected to practice in order to be “religious.”

Think about all the evils of the world in the name of religion. The Crusades were two powerful religions killing each other. Think of the masses in India that are oppressed in the name of religion, even hungry with cows walking around that could feed them if they weren’t worshipping them.

Knowing God is not about being religious. Knowing God is about entering into a personal relationship with the living God, and then enjoying daily fellowship with Him. I believe that God can make the rules because He is God. I believe that God can disclose Himself to us, or not. I believe that if God discloses Himself to us in some form of revelation, He determines how we come to know Him.

Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not subscribing to a religion. It is acknowledging in faith that God has indeed revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and that He has made a way of access to Himself. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except by me.” (John 14:6)

Some will say, that is so narrow minded. Maybe. But consider this. It is narrow in that it is one way, the only way. But it is broad in that anyone can come that way. Religion sucks the life out of you. A relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the beginning of real life.

Why not the ‘Daybreak Series’?

Do you ever wonder why the world is so fascinated with vampires, and ghosts, and werewolves? Now we have a romanticized vampire series. What is it about the stories of a ‘dark world’ that attracts so much attention?

When did we lose the ability to tell the stories of truth, and light, and goodness in a way that is attractive? I would hazard a guess that most people in our nation today can only tell bits and pieces of a few of the stories of the Bible. But even though it is so much more, it is one of the greatest story books ever. The stories are true, and they are fascinating.

There are wars of epic proportions, the most significant of which is spiritual. There are heroes, and their are victories.
There are dark figures and there are failures in lives. But through it all is a great story of God’s incredible love for the people He created and His work of redemption to restore creation to its pre-curse splendor.

The Bible says that men prefer darkness over light because their deeds are evil. We do have a natural inclination to lean to the dark side. But Jesus is the light of the world. And we were created to live in the light. So I propose we tell the ‘Daybreak Series’. It is far superior to the Twilight series.

Stop! And Get directions.

OK! So I admit it. I stop and get directions on a trip only when I am completely and hopelessly lost. And yes I put things together without the instructions and have parts left over. I am a man, that is what we do.

When it comes to life, most people read the instructions or seek directions after the fact. But a loving heavenly Father wants to guide you to get the most out of life. The psalmist writes, “Your Word is a lamp for my feet, and a light on my path.” (Ps. 119:105). I want to suggest to you that you begin your day with instructions and directions from God.

Unlike any other book, the Bible is not just some words written down about God. It is not a book of men’s words about God. It is God’s revelation of Himself to man, and it gives directions to life. It is much like a “driver’s manual” to your automobile. In the glove compartment of your vehicle is a driver’s manual that was placed there by the manufacturer. It gives you instrucitons on how to care for your vehicle. It was not placed there to cramp your style, but to give you the most mileage and use and enjoyment out of the vehicle.

God’s Word is not written to “cramp our style” but to help us get the most out of our lives. It has been given to us by the One who designed and created us. It has been given to us in order to lead us to full and meaningful lives. When God says, “Don’t do something”, it is because He knows that doing that will harm us in the long run. When He tells us to do something, it is again for our own good.

Develop the habit of sitting down everyday and reading the instruction book. Spend time in the Word of God and get directions for your life. No need to wait until you are hopelessly lost, because you are already there. God wants to light your path. He has provided a lamp on your way.

Find a Quiet Place today, and let God speak to your heart through His Word. If you have never read the Bible, begin with the Gospel of Luke, or John. Go from there to Genesis. I love to read from Psalms everyday as well. I take the date, and then add thirty. So, for example, today is the 29th. So I read Psalm 29,59,89, 119, and 149. That way I read through the Psalms once a month. I also read from Genesis. May God bless you as you spend time with Him.

God will make a way.

I have a small framed piece of cross-stitch that a friend of mine gave me many years ago. He has long since gone to be with the Lord, but the cross-stitch simply says, “Where God guides, God provides.” Most of the Christians I know would say that they whole-heartedly believe that. When it comes down to where the rubber meets the road, however, they live as though they are practical atheists in that regard.

For example, the church I serve as been involved in mission effort in Mali, West Africa. The average cost per person for a trip is $4,000. Some look at that and say, “Holy Moly, I could never afford that.” And yet after four years and 22 teams, God has provided for each person He has sent. The money comes from many directions. But God has faithfully provided. Some, however, sensing God’s call have chosen not to go because they said, I cannot afford the trip. My point of view is that God can provide you with $4,000 as easily as He can provide you with 4 pennies.

God called Abraham in Genesis 12, to leave his home, his relatives, and go where He would lead Him. He did not tell Him where that would be, or what He might encounter along the way. When God promised an heir, Abraham got tired of waiting and took matters into his own hands. He slept with his wife’s servant, Hagar, and generations have reaped the results of his sin. God, however, provided an heir in Isaac, even when the Bible says that Biologically Sarah could no longer bear him children.

When God challenged Abraham to offer his own son, Isaac, Abraham obeyed. On the way to the place of the sacrifice, Isaac said, “Dad, you have the wood, and the fire for the sacrifice, where is the Lamb?” The answer is amazing. Abraham said, “God will provide Himself the lamb.” God did, and ultiamtely He proviced Himself in the person of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who bears the sins of the world.

Today, remember this. Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you will eat or wear. Instead, seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33). In other words, Jesus said, if you will make it your business to seek first my priorities and my business, I will take care of your needs.” When we focus on God, God will provide. Indeed, God will make a way, even when there seems to be no way.

Would You Rather?

I was listening to one of the sports channels the other day, and they were advertising a game to blame with your friends called, “Would You Rather?” Honestly, I have never played the game, or had I heard of it before. But it brought some interesting thoughts to mind. So in the privacy of your own life, no one but you around, I have some questions.

Would you rather sig through a church service, or a close football game between your team and their biggest rival? Tell yourself the truth. Which would you actually choose to do?

If you had to choose between one hour in the Presence of God, or three weeks in your favorite vacation place, which would you choose? Really?

If you could choose financial security for your family for the rest of your life, or the opportunity to carry the Gospel to a village in India or Iraq, where they had never heard of Jesus, and know that only one outcast woman would be saved, which would you choose?

If you could give $500 and have two 50 yard line seats for the whole season at your favorite sports venue, or give $500 to an organization fighting the human slave trafficking in our world, which woud you give to?

If you could spend an extra three hundred dollars each month and have a brand new car, or give that same $300 to get your church out of debt, which would you choose?

Would you rather see your football team win the National championship, or see someone saved in church this Sunday, which would you honestly choose?

The truth is, we make these choices every day of our lives, don’t we? What does your calendar and your pocket book say about your commitment level to God?

Marvelous, Infinite, Matchless Grace!

Someone asked the other day, “Do you believe in unconditional love?” The answer to that question for me is an unreserved “Yes.” Having affirmed that, however, I must confess that I cannot comprehend unconditional love. I am confident that only God is capable of completely loving unconditionally.

God’s Word teaches that God is by His very nature the essence of love. I John 4:8,16 state, “God is love.” It is God’s love that drew salvation’s plan. And yet God’s justice provided the means of salvation. Unconditional love is based upon absolute righteousness. God who is absolutely righteous paid the debt of our sin so that we might experience His grace.

Grace is an amazing possibility. Grace is receiving something we do not deserve and could never merit. That is the whole foundation for us having a relationship to the one true and only living God. God loves us because of who He is, not because of anything we have done or could ever do. Honestly, we could never under any circumstances merit or deserve God being gracious to us.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, before we ever thought of God, sought after God, or even desired God, He loved us. He provided a way for us before we ever sinned. It is beyond human ability to comprehend the marvelous, infinite, matchless grace of God.

Pride stands in our way. It stands in our way on the one hand when we think we can do anything without God. When we think that we can be our own “god” by being in charge of our lives, we refuse to submit to God. On the other hand, and we call it an inferiority complex, it is pride that says I have to do something to merit being loved, and since I cannot, God could never love me.

Experiencing God’s grace, and therefore, His incredible love, is a surrender of faith. It is a humble admission, I do not nor could I ever deserve it, but God loves me anyway. It is understanding that I can never do anything to make Him love me more, nor can I ever do anything to make Him love me less. He loves me unconditionally, because He is God.

Is it Black Friday?

What is the reason for calling today Black Friday? Wikipedia suggests that it has come down to the fact that retailers show a profit, thus they are in the bladk, not in the red. I saw on my twitter account where a pastor argued that the Friday before Easter was the real black Friday because the world was blackened when Jesus died on the cross. I think we see the result of the cross and call it “Good Friday.”

The reason for “Black Friday” is deals and shopping for Christmas. Christmas itself has become extremely controversial. What was supposed to be a celebration of the birth of the Christ child has become so commercialized that in many places it is even considered politically incorrect to say, “Merry Christmas”. So what do we do and how do we relate?

It is not likely that Jesus was born on December 25th. That was the date set by the Pope in the 4th century, if I remember my history correctly. Most scholars suggest it was more likely that Jesus was born in the spring, because shepherds were watching their sheep out in the fields. The Puritans abandoned the celebration of Christmas because it had become so commercialized in their day. Instead of “Yuletide” they spoke of “Fool’s tide”.

Honestly, I love the trappings of a traditional Christmas. A Christmas tree, stockings hung by the fireplace, Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas Caroling, White Christmas, Pecan pie; Never have cared for egg nog. I enjoy the idea of giving, and of family together. All that has accompanied it through the years. The smiles on children’s faces, a sense of wonder, all that has been positive.

Perhaps the Puritans were on to something we should explore. Maybe we should celebrate the birth of Jesus within the church at some other time. I am not suggesting surrender, but the reality is for most Christmas is not at all about what God has done. It has little to do with the Incarnation. It has little to do with a “Savior is born”. It is about many other things. It can be the joy of family, and love, and peace, or it can deteriorate into crass materialism. Either way, it is not much about Jesus.

I am not advocating much of anything in this article except a recognition of reality. Much like that first Christmas, whatever day of the year it was, there is little room for Jesus. No room in the inn. No room in our heart. No room in our celebration. The announcement of the angels was “We bring you Good News of a Great Joy.” That news had nothing to do with turning a profit in the retail world. That news had nothing to do with a “Black Friday.” That news was, “A Savior is Born.”

That is, by the way, what we need. If we got what we deserved, it would not be a black coal in our stocking for being naughty. It would be eternal separation from God because we are sinners. What God has provided, however, is not toys under a tree, but a baby born in a manger that would one day hang on a tree in payment for our sins, so that we might be saved.
God bless you as you ponder my ramblings.I hope they point you to Jesus.

Thanksliving

I am thankful that God loved me while I was still in the very act of rebellion and yet gave His only begotten Son to die in my place at Calvary. I am thankful that once God wrote my name in His book of life, He never has forsaken me, never has threatened to abandon me, never has allowed me to be separated from His love. I am thankful that God is a God of second, third, and hundredth chances. I am thankful that for those who are in Christ Jesus there is now no condemnation. I am thankful that He took my sins as far as east is from the west.

I am thankful that in the Providence of God I was born in a land where I would be free to worship, and where I would have the opportunity to know Him. I am thankful for the opportunity He gives to share the Good News with peoples around the world that were not that privileged. I am thankful for the men and women who gave their lives to make this land free, and who defend her still today.

I am very thankful for all that my Mom and Dad provided me in life to give me the opportunities that I had early. I am thankful that my Mom still cheers me on. I am thankful for the best wife ever, and that she continues to believe in me and encourage me, and take care of me. I am thankful for each of my five girls, for my two son-in-laws and for my three grandchildren. I am thankful I get to see them all today.

I am thankful for the people who caught the vision of “Church Unleashed” and have endured the difficulties of the transition. Because God tells us to give thanks for all things, and because I know He is in charge, I am even thankful for those who not only did not catch the vision but have said less than kind things about me. I thank God for the fresh and new opportunity that He is giving us as a church family to make a difference in this community. I am thankful for each day that God gives.

I am thankful for the International Mission Board of the SBC and the five thousand plus missionaries and employees that labor as partners with other Great Commission Christians to seek to get the Gospel to every people group in the world. I am thankful that it is making a difference.

I am thankful that one day Jesus Christ is coming again to establish His kingdom rule and that all of His enemies will become His footstool. I am thankful that God is going to bring about a new heaven and a new earth. I am thankful that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord” will be saved.

I am thankful that “Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.” I am thankful that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I am thankful that He will never leave me nor forsake me. I am thankful that the Lord is my shepherd and I will not want. I am thankful for the privilege of prayer by which I can enter into the very Presence of the one true and living God in Jesus Christ’s name. I am thankful that He has called me friend. I am thankful that there is coming a day with no sorrow, no pain, no death, no sin. I am thankful for prayers that God has said “No” to. I am thankful for all the promises of the Bible.

I am thankful for the incredible privilege that has been mine to receive a great education. Most recently I am thankful for the incredible opportunity afforded me by CIU to work toward my DMin, and I am thankful that the goal is now in sight. I am thankful for the Word of God. I am thankful for so many encouragers and friends.

There are literally hundreds of things, thousands of things I could continue to list. But we need to name our many blessings and give thanks each and every day. WE should thank God for the trials of life by which He perfects us. We should live in an attitude of gratitude.

One last thing. I thank God that I grew up to be a Clemson Tiger, and not a Garnet and Black Chicken. (Just having fun here at the end. I am thankful to be a Tiger, but I love my Gamecock friends.)

“I Will Tan Your Fanny.”

My grandfather’s cousin, Inez, was like a grandmother to my brother and me growing up. She was the one that was at home after school. She cooked, supervised homework, and generally baby sat us whenever needed. She had her own room in our house.
And she was “old school”. She grew up down in Monck’s Corner and had that old south, charlestonian kind of mind.She knew how to cut a “switch” off the bushes in the back and was not afraid to use the paddle. More than once she warned us, “I will tan your fanny, if you ….”

So how do you tell a 4 or 5 year old child not to play in the street. You cannot say, “Don’t go out in the road, a car might run over you.” There is no experience to relate that to. “Huh,” the child thinks. So you warn them, “Play in the street and I will spank you.” That most could understand. Unless you are one of those who doesn’t believe in spanking, in which case I will pray for you.

Does a parent discipline their child because they do not love them? Of course not. Discipline is a sign of love. And in the same way, our heavenly Father loves us. He disciplines us to correct our behavior and to teach us right and wrong. He calls His church to practice loving discipline.

Recently, someone dropped a comment in our church offering plate on a “Connection Card” that said, “Love one another. You are a liar if you say you love God and don’t love one another.” Honestly, this came from someone who needs to receive church discipline. That would be the most loving thing that could be done. But churches today rarely practice discipline. We think, “That would not be nice. We should tolerate everything and everyone.”

A deacon once said to me, “You expect more out of the church we planted in west Africa than you do out of us? After pondering that, I said, “Yes, that is true.” So then he asked, “Why is that?” After thoughtful reflection I finally said, “Because I can.” We have strayed so far from the Biblical ideal that we really need God to intervene and restore the church. But I fear God will not do for us what He has told us to do ourselves.