John 3:30

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease

savior

Vest for Life Poker Run

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On May 5, 2012, I was given the great privilege of speaking to a group from Street Guardians LE MC. This is a group of bikers who came out to support the Armor of God project. Here is the written version of my speech. I will post the video when it is available. It differs slightly, as I took the liberty to adjust my speaking as it seemed fitting at the time.

I would like to thank everyone for being here on behalf of Travis Yates, director of 10-4 Ministries, all the supporters of 10-4 Ministries, future vest recipients and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jaime Padron joined the United States Marine Corp the summer he graduated high school in 1989. While in the Marine Corp, he received numerous recognitions, commendations and medals for serving his country honorably. He was a Veteran of Desert Storm and a very proud Marine. He graduated from San Angelo Police academy in 1995 and bravely served the City of San Angelo for over 13 years as a patrol officer and also served as a member of the gang unit and a narcotics investigator. Jaime received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a supporting degree in Criminal Justice, graduating with honors from Angelo State University in 2004 all while working a full time job and raising a family. He was a compassionate and caring man, who loved spending quality time with his family and his every devotion in life was for his daughters.

According to his obituary, he had a passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles and loved riding often and collecting memorabilia.

Jaime Padron joined the Austin Police Department around 2009. It was in his capacity as an officer for the Austin Police Department the he responded to a routine call on April 6, 2012; a call about a drunk man inside a Walmart around 2:30 a.m. When Padron arrived, the suspect tried to run for the front door and Padron tackled the man. As they fell to the ground, the suspect, Brandon Montgomery Daniel, produced a semi-automatic pistol and shot Padron at point blank range. Jaime was able to call for help using his police radio, after being wounded.
According to Police Chief Art Acevedo, “This was a routine call. What makes our job deadly is that there is no routine call.”

According to Brandon Daniel’s mother, he had been taking the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and drinking tequila. She said he had been acting unusually in recent months since a bitter breakup. He has no apparent memory of the event taking place.

Just a few weeks ago, Padron left a tactical unit to begin an overnight patrol shift, a move his former supervisor said he made so he could spend more time with his two daughters, ages 10 and 6. We will get back to the story of Jaime Padron in a minute.

The primary goal of the Armor of God project, Vest for Life and 10-4 Ministries is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The other deeds we do are secondary. The biggest question anyone can ask themselves is “where will I spend eternity.” We intend to help people find the answer to that question, and that answer comes from scripture.
According to the bible, and this can be confirmed with some simple self-examination, we are all born sinners. That means that our very nature when we are born is to sin. It doesn’t mean we never do nice things or love people, but it does mean that we have a natural inclination to rebel against God’s laws. Think about it, we are natural lawbreakers: have you ever just looked over a pond and thought how beautiful it was? But if you see a sign that says, don’t throw rocks in the pond…doesn’t it sorta seem to make you want to throw a rock into the pond? Hmm, maybe that’s only me, like I said, I’m in club sinner too.

Some examples of sins are lying, stealing, disobeying your parents, coveting other people’s possessions, murder and adultery. Many of you may think you’ve never committed adultery or murder, but according to Jesus, simply having lust for someone who is not your spouse makes you an adulterer in your heart and simply hating someone without cause makes you a murderer in your heart.

So here’s the problem. God is Good. Of course, most of us wouldn’t think that is a problem, but it is you see, because since God is Good, that means that God is Just. Since God is Just, that means he has to do something with sinners. Like a good judge in an earthly court, God is compelled by His own perfect nature to punish sin. Because our sin has been committed against an infinitely holy God, He has created a place we call hell for sinners to suffer eternally for their sins. Look, even a single sin against God is punishable, even the ones we consider “little.”

This is horribly bad news. Sinners, that is, people like you and me are on a very dark road. The end is punishment. Anything we do to try to change God’s mind, or get him to turn away from our sin is seen as an act of bribery. Think about it, you don’t forget that someone stole money from you just because they feed a bunch of homeless people and spend the rest of their life not stealing. Religious rituals and good works cannot take away sin.

But God who is Good and Just is also rich in Mercy and Kindness! He made a way. Since we could not pay for our own sins, but he so loved the world, He sent his only son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and died a brutal death to fulfill God’s eternal plan to redeem sinners. When he resurrected from the dead, he showed that he had power over sin and death. His command is that you must repent of your sin and trust him alone for salvation. You must be born again to enter the kingdom of Heaven. This is a call for all men, women and children to have faith that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised him from the dead. This is the gospel. You can have all your sins forgiven. Your sin can be transferred to the cross, and Jesus’ righteousness imputed, or transferred, to you by this act of God. God the Father punished the Son in the place of sinful men like me, and He sends His Holy Spirit to guide you and remind you of Christ’s promise to never leave you nor forsake you once you are truly His. This is good news. You cannot and do not need to work to earn God’s favor. It is offered as a free gift…like the vests you are here to provide for men and women everywhere! This is why we do what we do. We’ve been given so much, and freely we desire to give back.

Next let me read a portion of scripture from the New Testament. (I’ve combined two passages, you can read them straight through).

Luke 7:2-9 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” Matthew 8:11-12 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Very quickly, I want to share the point of this scripture. This man, this centurion exhibited two vital aspects that we all must understand. He showed humility and faith. This centurion, you need to understand was outside the people of God. At this time, only the Jews were the people of God. Everyone else was outside. This centurion really seemed to understand who Jesus was, the long awaited messiah.

A few things I want to note:

  • He helped build the synagogue – the man had some religious good he had done, in a sense.
  • He professes faith in Christ, and even though the Jews called him worthy, he calls himself unworthy. This is important. We must come to Christ acknowledging our unworthiness to receive Him. Thinking of Jaime Padron: I don’t know whether he was ever born again in this world. There is no indication in any research I did that this man acknowledged his own sinfulness and trusted Christ completely for forgiveness of sins. The fact is, I don’t know for sure what his status before God was when he died. But I do know that all the good he did in this world amounts to nothing in God’s eyes as it would pertain to earning Heaven. Good works cannot cover sin. I don’t say this to diminish his accomplishments and help to our society. He was clearly a model for police behavior and from all I read had a good work ethic and a lot of love for people.
  • The Centurion also declares Christ as Lord. You can re-read it yourself, Luke 7 and Matthew 8, the centurion is making it clear that Jesus is master and Lord when he refers to authorities and the responsibility of those under authority. This is vital. Many people acknowledge God and know God exists. Many even know his name is Jesus. Mental assent to an authority and obedience to said authority are two different things.
  • Finally, at the tail end of Matthew’s version of the story, Jesus makes chilling statements amounting to nothing less than the idea that many people who believe themselves to be “of the kingdom” will actually be cast away by God on the last day. It is those who have faith in the Christ who will spend eternity with him, enjoying His glory and presence. You must not only believe Jesus is God, you must trust that only he could pay for your sins, repent of your sin and follow him as Lord.

Some of you have already understood these things. Praise God! Some of you, this may be the first time you’ve heard this message. You’re thinking, “I thought I was just going to eat some wings and try to get some OSU stuff. That’s ok. I believe God put you here for a reason so you could hear this message.

And some of you may be quite offended at this point. Maybe you think I stepped on your religion, or your beliefs, or even Jaime Padron. Trust me, this isn’t easy to do, nor is it my desire to offend. My temptation is to only say things to tickle your ears so that you would like me and want to support the vest program. But real love tells the truth. And the truth is that some of you have believed in a false Jesus. You’ve believed in a Jesus who requires you to perform religious rituals to add to the work he did on the cross for you, and some of you, on the other end of the spectrum have believed in a Jesus that universally forgave your sins because you said a prayer or asked him into your heart, and now you freely sin under the presumption of forgiveness.

Neither of these are the Jesus of the bible. That is who I am representing, and however poorly I may do it.. I share because I care. I don’t know you, but I love you, and I desire for you to taste and see the grace of God as I have. A sinner condemned, nothing to offer, saved by grace.

Now I want you to imagine Brandon Montgomery Daniel in jail or prison somewhere. Remember him, he shot and killed Jaime Padron, a faithful officer of the law and loving father of 2 young girls. Imagine this man Daniel is in an Austin jail and someone comes to him and shares this message of hope and grace. He learns what I’ve told you today, that faith in Christ washes ALL our sins away. He has a change of heart. This murderer turns from sin and professes Christ as Savior and Lord of his life.

At that moment, Brandon Montgomery Daniel would be sealed forever by God to spend eternity in Heaven based on the righteousness of Christ. His sins are paid for on the cross and the resurrection seals his justification before God. How does that make you feel? Really, imagine this murderer freely enjoying eternity without punishment.

If this angers you, then you don’t love grace. There is still a part of you that thinks men can and should be able to earn favor with God. Please examine yourselves. I didn’t come here to be a downer; I came here because where YOU will spend eternity is important to me and it is of paramount importance to me that Jesus receives all the praise for all the good that any man does.

A few notes.

Thanks. I hope you don’t think I’m trying to appeal to your emotions for support. I desire that you make an informed decision with your money. We are honored if you find our ministry worthy of support of Praise God for you. Your support means so much to so many. A vest costs in the thousands of dollars, and the men and women who need them are not wealthy people. Many are part time or volunteers. The entire ministry is made up of unpaid volunteers and I can promise you that your donations will be used to support the ministry resources and get vests to people who need them.

We have resources here as well. Maybe you are hurting and could use biblical counseling, or you know someone who could. Please stop by our table and sign the prayer sheet and email mailing list. Berean Baptist Church is happy to pray for you and minister to your needs. Thanks for listening and supporting the Armor of God project.

For more information, visit VestForLife.com

Pro-Life & Pro-Choice?

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When considering the pro-life and pro-choice arguments which are often presented, I find it interesting that a lot of people lose sight of the real reason why abortion should be made illegal. Biblically speaking, it is simply wrong to murder an innocent human being, so there are no circumstances where abortion is OK.

When you yoke yourself with a PRO-LIFE group that DOES NOT derive their basis for knowledge and morality from the revealed scriptures and faith in Christ alone, but rather, from the tradition of men, you run the risk of offering poor arguments for legislation. In fact, even if the arguments offered are convincing, you still may be arguing illogically or invalidly. There will be plenty of very intelligent non-believers ready to jump on your hypocrisy and irrationality. Another problem comes from the approach that would be considered “pragmatism.” In essence, this is the idea that you can achieve your desired result through some means but not by following objective truth.

Let me cite the example which is currently in my mind. I’ve seen legislation offered (like Ohio’s heartbeat bill which no Christian should support) which attempts to somehow reduce abortions. The goal is not to declare that the unborn are, in fact, people, nor is it to protect all unborn life. The goal is simply to reduce abortions. Often, I’ve seen it argued that it is a “step in the right direction.” Unfortunately, these types of bills do more harm than good. Precedents are set which actually make some abortions legally more legitimate than they already are considered. Loopholes abound in these bills.

People who understand the Bible and depravity know that men (and women) will find a way to kill babies regardless of the laws.

So the big question becomes: IF we were actually able to label the unborn as persons LEGALLY, how would we prosecute abortionists and people who have abortions? Would they all be tried as murderers? Would “baby daddy’s” who throw money at the problem be co-conspirators? Assuming all clinics are shut down, wouldn’t women just end up having “back alley” abortions resulting in poor sanitation and the loss of more lives due to the lack of sterilization and safe locations for abortions?

These are all questions that have no relevance to the real issue. The real issue is that it doesn’t matter whether people will still have abortions or not. My goal is not to prevent abortion, per se, with legislation. I am pro-life…but more specifically, I am pro-choice too! I believe everyone should be allowed to make choices. But let me further qualify my position. I am PRO-CHOICE-WITH-CONSEQUENCES. I believe that people ought to be free to choose to violate the law but suffer the punishment of it!

In cases where the illegal act can be prevented, those in authority and/or brave men may prevent the evil altogether! In cases where the illegal act is discovered after commission, the accused person(s) will receive due process.

I have no problem labeling every aborting mother, doctor, nurse, secretary, and funding party as a murderer guilty of premeditated homicide and susceptible to the law of the land’s sentence for that crime. It doesn’t matter to me if this ends up acting as a deterrent to other potential aborters or not (but it will). I am not in control of man’s depravity or God’s grace in the lives of sinners. I cannot prevent people from lying or stealing or fornicating or blasphemy or idolatry either. My main point is that the fact that we may not actually be able to prove we can prevent abortions is not a reason that abortion (murder) should be legal. My secondary point is that attempts at legislation that are designed to limit “some abortions” or “certain types of abortions” ultimately, in my opinion, do more harm than good and end up saving no one. They simply legitimize some abortions!

I love Jesus Christ and if there is one thing that He most certainly loves it is children, babies included; so I love babies too. I trust that the preaching of the gospel and fervent prayer are the two greatest acts that anyone can do on behalf of the unborn. Pleading with potential aborters, sniping doctors and passing laws will all have some temporary effect, but hearts transformed by the reality of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is what will really last for eternity anyway.

Please note that I am in no way advocating violence toward abortionists. It is a sad reality that some misguided pro-lifers have chosen the hypocritical road by resorting to murder themselves. Without repentance, we can likely assume these folks will suffer the same fate as the very abortionists whose lives they extinguished.

Nor am I saying you ought not to plead with mothers to avoid abortion! Please don’t misunderstand me. I do believe we ought to help educate people who are ignorant about abortion and plead for the lives of the unborn, just as you would try to talk a friend out of a plan to steal from work or commit adultery.

Dear brother or sister: be rational, be pro-life (anti-abortion or abolitionist rather) and be ready to explain why we believe what we believe and how willing we are to accept whatever consequence there is to adhere to those beliefs. Leave the results in God’s hands; He will do what is right.

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen – Extra Lyrics for you!

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For those of you who enjoy singing hymns in church, I find God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen to be an enjoyable hymn to sing and research. Here are some things I learned about the song.

There should be a comma between the words “merry” and “gentlemen.” It is an unfortunate consequence of the pace of the tune itself which has brought about the idea that the address is to “merry gentlemen.” Rather, the truth is that the Lord is being asked to “keep” the gentlemen in merriment. I even found one place where the idiom “rest you merry” was treated as one phrase, like “jump in the shower.” A phrase which, when taken literally doesn’t exactly mean what it has come to mean colloquially.

My initial research also indicated that the word “merry” actually meant “mighty;” but I found the more I dug into the etymology of the word and into credible sources, it is correct to interpret the word “merry” in that great hymn as you might think: jovial, mirth or pleasurable. It actually derives from “mirth.”

The idea is that we are beseeching God to keep us merry, happy, even joyful! Upon closer inspection of the lyrics, we do see that it appears the song is far more about joyfulness in the coming of the Savior than “mightiness” in any sense.

Nevertheless, I even chose to add my own lyrics to the end of the song. If you want, sing that along with the tune, and I hope you find it encouraging and rich in biblical truth.

The door to God’s Heavenly place
By this pure son was breached.
Yet in spite of these glad tidings
Some still remain unreached.
With urgency and fervency,
the gospel must be preached.

O, tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O, tidings of comfort and joy

Merry Christmas!

Steve Jobs’ Final Wish

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I don’t know a lot about Steve Jobs. I watched Pirates of Silicon Valley and have bought a few iPods. I had never met the man: so how do I propose to know his last wish?

First we must review Luke 16:27-28.

27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

I believe that Steve Jobs’ final wish is that God’s law and gospel be proclaimed to those he loved the most in this world. Whether Steve Jobs is currently suffering the condemnation of God or worshiping the Creator now because he is in Christ Jesus – I trust his hope is that others will know who the One True God is. So where is Steve now?

I don’t know for sure. God knows each man’s heart; I do not. But what I do know is that if he was never born-again, if he never repented of his sin against God and trusted Jesus Christ as the only provision for the basis of forgiveness of those sins, then he is suffering the just punishment for his life of enmity with God – and so will you, without Christ. It is also possible that due to the mercy and grace of Christ, that Steve was covered by His sacrifice and is currently enjoying communion with his Savior. Enemies of the gospel of grace will call me callous for even using a recently deceased person as an example; and I am sure some Christians will find my take on the eternity of Jobs too weak, since he never publicly professed Christ and, in fact, professed a false religion (Buddhism, if my research is correct).

I cannot help Steve Jobs anymore. I cannot pray him into Heaven (a false doctrine of Catholicism called purgatory), and I cannot preach to him or plead with him to repent and believe the gospel. Josh Harris sent him the gospel a while back. I suppose Steve died with knowledge of how to be saved and we can all live with the hope that God had mercy on him late in life. What we cannot say is that anything we know about him indicated regeneration. We cannot just arbitrarily assume that Steve was “probably a Christian” because it makes us feel better, or because we lack the courage to allow people to believe that we think Jobs’ hellbound life remained uninterrupted by God’s grace. For we know the truth is that EVERY man and woman is hellbound. Every man and woman has fallen short of God’s standard and is accountable to God for their own sin. The question is not “Where is Steve Jobs?” The question is – “Have you been born again?” John 3:3-7.

I am sure many will think it is wrong to even refer to Jobs so soon after his death, especially concerning eternal matters. I, of course, would disagree. Assuming this dissension would come from people outside Christiany, the criticism is unwarranted, irrelevant and inarguable. There will be no convincing non-Christians of Christian things with clever arguments or sound logic. These folks simply deny the foundation of Christian beliefs (God’s Word), and, thus, can prove or disprove anything they want, arbitrarily. But let’s look at the Christian response: Are you a Christian who thinks there should be some waiting period before we discuss the gospel after someone dies? Or maybe you think the person’s name should never be used? I’d ask you this: how many people are you ok with perishing to eternal torment while you wait for the right time to begin discussing spiritual matters? Because you do not know, (as Jobs did not), who will be next, or when? What arrogance you have to believe that your non-believing family and friends and coworkers have even another breath in them.

So please, share the gospel NOW. Be gentle and meek, patient and humble – yet bold and confident in the power (Romans 1:16). Refer to the gospel not as your message to humanity, but rather the message of the Bible. Make sure your hearers understand that if they disagree with you, they are actually disagreeing with the Bible. And don’t take it too personally when they reject you and sling accusations at you, for if you properly share it – if you accurately express the message of condemnation of sins and hope in Christ’s righteousness instead of self-righteousness – your earthly existence ought not be too much better than the life of Jesus and John the Baptist.

Dear brothers and sisters, I beg you and command you in the name of Christ: “Go ye therefore.” You may impact someone for Christ who impacts someone for Christ who Steve Jobs desperately wants saved. You will certainly be showing your gratitude for what Christ did for you.

God’s providence in the life of this sinner.

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On March 20, 2011, I began to teach a Sunday school series on the topic of prayer. As the result of the preparation I undertook, I became quite convicted of my own lack of prayer, speaking of both quantity and quality. Since that time, my prayer life has been changed greatly, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve been reading an inspiring book of prayers by George Mueller with the documented answers from God for my class and it has led me to a greater faith and I have begun to submit myself more fully to His will. It is my desire to be wholly and humbly ready for whatever the wisdom of God allows in my life, and to honestly and earnestly seek Him and open my heart to Him. As the result, by His providential wisdom and mercy, I believe He supplied me with opportunity to fill the desires of my own heart this past week. Psalms 37:4, Proverbs 3:6.

Day 1: Monday April 11, 2011

I never leave my ringer on when I go to bed. I leave it on “alarm only” because for a number of years I got a lot of undesirable texts and calls while sleeping. So it came as quite a shock to me when I awoke to my phone “buzzing” at 5:45 am Monday. It was an unknown number; I assumed it was someone from my work, and I had better answer to see what was needed.

To my shock (and a little horror) it was my daughter’s principal. I couldn’t imagine what Bailey must have done to warrant a 5:45am Monday phone call. Thankfully, for Bailey’s sake, the phone call was unrelated to her school behavior. Mrs. Jones was calling to tell me that the High School Bible teacher, Mr. Jennings, needed a substitute. I couldn’t believe it. It had been almost 8 months since I’d put my name on a list to substitute teach. I have prayed at times that the Lord would allow me to teach His Word, and to make me accept His will in this regard.

I immediately went to prayer, asking the Lord to lead me. I decided that in His providence, this was indeed His will for me. I began to prepare for my day. I had no notes ready, no curriculum to teach, as the students were planning to give presentations. I notified my employer that I’d be late and I set off to school.

I was to teach four classes. First period was the Juniors and Seniors. Three of the students were from my church; this gave me some comfort. Not sure what to teach, and not sure how many days I’d have, I decided to give them something heady and challenging. I taught from Isaiah 53 about the doctrine of substitution. I had recently listened to a teaching that I’d enjoyed, and it was fresh in my mind. It seemed to go okay…but it felt odd to just walk into a room full of people, teach them, and then leave.

Second period was a joy. Seventh grade. These kids were raw. They listened well and were a fun group. Third period came. This was the ninth and tenth graders. Now it got interesting.

These kids were well-versed in the Bible and were poised to argue. Almost too ready…at times I questioned the authenticity of the argument, wondering if maybe some of them just liked to argue. Nevertheless, I was able to cram the teaching into the 40 minutes I had. By fourth period, with the eighth graders, I was excited and exhausted, and, after I finished with them, I went to my “real job.” With no idea how tiring this ordeal would be, I attempted to work almost a full day at work. I spent time in prayer on the way there, and in my office, asking God to work the heart of my boss in order that I might continue to teach. I needed to request the rest of the week off to be able to fill in for Mr. Jennings. Finally, before the conversation with my boss took place, I submitted to the Lord that His will ought to be done, that I was willing to obey my earthly master, and that I would not put up a defense or argue but rather trust that the Lord’s will would be done through my boss’s decision. After having become so willing to accept “defeat,” it came as somewhat of a surprise to me when my boss told me go ahead and teach for one week. Not only was I getting a chance to do what I love (minister and teach God’s Word), as well as practice to become a better teacher, I had the full confidence that the Spirit of God had ordained the whole deal and I was completely and utterly in His will.

Day 2: Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Well, any teacher knows that Day 2 actually begins on day one. I was talking to my wife, telling her that I had four more days with these kids! My excitement was only contained by my old age. My head was hurting, my body was tired. I had a honey-do list that wasn’t getting any smaller. I still had no idea what to teach them!

Now, several years ago, as I prayed for a wife, I prayed the Lord would provide me with a godly woman who loved Christ and obeyed scripture. I also prayed that she would be pretty. God was able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever have asked (Ephesians 3:20). My dear, sweet bride suggested that the best way to begin to earn the kids trust would be to open up to them and share my testimony of salvation. I had never thought of that, but I have heard that my testimony has an impact on folks, and they enjoy it. Little preparation was needed for this task, so I decided it made sense.

I read 1 Corinthians 13 to each class. I wanted them to understand that the purpose of my presence was out of a love for Christ and for them, and that I wanted them to see me as a real person, a sinner saved by a Big God, rather than just a substitute teacher doing his job. Without tooting my own horn, I wanted them to have an idea of the sacrifice it took for me to be there on the part of my family and my employer…that Christ may be magnified and exalted in their eyes (Psalm 34:3).

I shared my testimony with the seniors and juniors. For the seventh graders, I had to define some terminology for them, but they seemed attentive.

Somewhat unexpectedly, a 10th grader had taken something I had said the day before, and brought back a written response, using scripture. Sensing a potential ungodly debate, and not wanting to stray from our task at hand, I promised to read it and respond.

I cried the most in this class. The overwhelming love and kindness of my Savior toward me became more moving with each time I repeated my testimony, but by the time I told the last class, I was all cried out. I don’t know why, but I told the story with so much less emotion in this class.

By that afternoon, I was again exhausted. I drove to work and tried to work, wondering when I would have time to plan the next day’s lesson! At 2:15 I got an email from the principal. She let me know that I wouldn’t need to teach on Thursday because the students would have chapel 1st period…the remainder of the day would be study halls. I was devastated. I couldn’t imagine taking away their study halls. I decided to tell Mrs. Jones that I was not going to miss work to be a study hall monitor. Praise God who brought to mind the first email sent to me in which Mrs. Jones signed “Thank you for your servant’s heart.” How humbling, how convicting! I decided that I needed to submit to the will of my Father in Heaven, and to my principal. I had promised to sub for a man who desperately needed to take care of his family, so I decided I would do it to the best of my ability. I asked my wife to gather verses about having a good attitude and working heartily as if unto the Lord, for I needed them myself. And I thought the students would benefit from them as well.

Late that evening, I got a message from Mr. Jennings asking me if I would be the speaker at chapel on Thursday morning. I was overwhelmed with joy. Thank God because the self-loathing I felt because of my heart attitude earlier that day was great. Oh, the depth and riches of His love toward me! Even in the midst of my own pity party, He found it wise to grant me the grace to shut my mouth, and bring to me the very thing I wanted most, to preach to the students at chapel after worshiping together in song!

Unprepared to teach the next day, my wife suggested a Q&A session. Trusting that He has equipped me to know how to answer questions, and which questions to answer, I said yes. I saw it as sort of a training exercise; in case I ever engage in more formal public speaking, as well as an opportunity to truly open up the floor to the students, in order that I might speak to what is on their hearts and minds!

Day 3: Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday went well. I decided beforehand that I could no longer handle teaching and my other job, the same day. I did the question and answers session with the students, and I showed them the scriptures.

Prior to the seventh grade class starting, a student handed me a note. With fear and trembling I opened it and was surprised to see that she was encouraging me. She told me that she realized she needed to share the gospel with people she loved. Another girl told me I did a good job…this was encouraging..

The question and answer session for the tenth grade class went well as we discussed “who killed Christ.” The students were confused, taking some scriptural truths too far. I helped as much as I could. I got another note, this note denying the Trinity! I was overwhelmed with grief. I was praying daily for these kids and I want to see them saved, sanctified and growing in Christ. There were just so many of them and still so little time.

Day 4: Thursday, April 14, 2011

It was chapel day. The difference between teaching and preaching was faint and stark at once. The solemnity with which I prepared to worship and handle God’s Word in a chapel setting was real. I decided that I would try to be encouraging. I picked a topic that I thought would provide great comfort…assurance of salvation, or perseverance of the saints. I used John 10, John 1 and Romans 8:28-39 as my basic texts.

As we worshiped in song, I noticed that the words to the song we were singing tied in well with my sermon! I almost started crying as I thanked God for His providence to do what I couldn’t even ask. I preached. I referenced Matthew 7, the passage about how many will not enter the Kingdom, but I urged the truly born again believers in the room to continue to trust Christ alone as Savior and to be comforted that His grace is greater than all our sin. A couple people commented after and gave me kind words which encouraged me. God is too good to me.

To this point, these kids had heard the gospel 4 days in a row. We had studied the nuances of substitution and atonement, we had repeated the necessity of repentance and faith (and faith alone) as the condition for salvation and the importance of being born again. We’d discussed that the rebirth is a supernatural work that only God can perform.

I took the remainder of the day off work (my other job) and moved a refrigerator in my house. It took quite a toll on my body which isn’t getting younger. I couldn’t believe the week was almost over. I loved these kids. I really did. I asked God to make me love them and He provided. I do not wish to hide my love for them, nor am I embarrassed by it. I love them and I want them to be happy, resting in the only One who can provide for them truly. I want to see the believers among them emboldened to spread the gospel and defend what they believe biblically.

That afternoon a box arrived with LOTS AND LOTS of free tracts provided to me for the students on behalf of the Bezeugen tract club. All praise and honor and glory goes to Jesus Christ alone for this, as Bezeugen would agree, but God uses His people to do His Good will, and He took great pleasure to use my friends Carl and Mande Kalbfleisch to provide each student with a variety of great tracts.

Day 5: Friday, April 15, 2011

In the parking lot of the school, in my weakened state from the week…I lightly sprained my ankle. I was so hurt. My ankle was three times its normal size and I was about to teach…I thought, “walk it off, please.” I asked the Lord to give me the strength to survive the day. He did.

Last day. I had 40 more minutes per kid to make an impact. I taught about evangelism. I showed them a video of a wolf in sheep’s clothing getting people to repeat a sinner’s prayer, then declaring them heaven-bound. I asked the class what they thought. The seniors and juniors seemed to get it: no one is going to Heaven because they said a prayer. We discussed evangelism and the importance of personal holiness. What a great group of kids. It was gratifying for me to get to tell them that God had given each of them talents that they are to use for His glory, and maybe for reaching the lost, like fluency in another language.

My 7th graders arrived for second period. My favorites. They were such a fun group and I enjoyed them so. The teaching goes completely different from 1st period and that’s okay. I rolled with it. At the end, I brought a young man up for a one on one witnessing encounter. What a great opportunity. I was training a group of people, while evangelizing one person quite personally…but the whole class was hearing the gospel again as well!

After this, it got interesting. Third period. The ninth and tenth graders. We watched a few videos and began a good discussion, but it rolled around to this: “What about people in South Africa that have never heard of Jesus Christ, but they love God and worship God…do they go to Heaven or Hell?”*(see note at the end of the post*) The students were concerned when I said the Bible declares they will go to Hell. There wasn’t much time, but I tried to explain that since God is just, all people must inherit eternal damnation, and since there is no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), no one apart from Christ will avoid God’s judgment.

Now the real shock that day came when we did the good person test and the person I witnessed to couldn’t communicate to me the true gospel…I thought the test would fail because she would know to say that it was Christ alone that saves…but she kept repeating that God would be impressed by her “good heart.”

The final discussion was about the perseverance of the saints. As I expected in a room with a few Catholics and Nazarenes, the idea of being sealed by the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:24, Romans 8:38-39) was just asinine.(**see note) Several students took umbrage with my teaching about assurance and perseverance. There were two main issues we discussed.

Issue one was that many students didn’t think it was right that you could be saved, then still commit a heinous sin and stay saved. This is called a religion of works and a salvation by works. People who believe they hold on to their own salvation aren’t really trusting Christ to have paid it all for their sins on the cross. They are still working to please God and are trusting in the flesh. This is not only unbiblical, but irrational if thought out. The idea that God doesn’t forgive EVERY sin when He saves you doesn’t make sense. In fact, why make a decision for Christ at all if you could later lose it? Why not just wait until later in life? I guess just in case you die unexpected, but really, the idea that when Jesus said “it is finished’ that he actually meant “it is begun, but I need sinful men to finish it” is blasphemy and ultimately demonic. I say this with all compassion and love for those who trust themselves for salvation, because I love the Truth and I love you, give it up, put your faith in Christ alone, He is Mighty to Save!

Issue two was that several people were not happy about the idea that they lacked the freedom of will to walk away from Christ at any time. If you are truly born again, you can’t unborn-again yourself any more than you can cause your rebirth. That’s the Truth, plain and simple.

Finally, I had a good last period with my 8th graders as we discussed several different questions. We even drew a Punnett square. My mathematical friends will understand what that is.

God visited us all week, and I trust He is with these kids now. He gave me the opportunity to go see them tonight and support them in their production of “Pride and Prejudice.” He gave me great pleasure by causing some of them to actually like me, or fake it really well. I trust that He will continue to provide abundantly, but I am ever encouraged to ask, as He knows so much better how to give good gifts to His children than men.

Dear Christian reader – be encouraged. God loves you. He actually does have a wonderful plan for your life. It is wonderful because is cannot fail to bring glory to His name. May your willingness to submit to this increase your faithfulness and your love toward Him and your brethren and nonbelievers alike.

*A note for those of you who are very concerned for “remote tribal people who never hear of Christ:” First and foremost, the judge of the earth will do right (Gen 18:25), and all men are condemned already (John 3:18-19), and without Christ there is no hope (1 John 5:12). But more importantly, if you are really so concerned with remote tribal villagers perishing, PUT AWAY YOUR VIDEO GAMES, CANCEL YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT, SELL ALL YOUR BELONGINGS, LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE, GO TO THEM AND TELL THEM ABOUT CHRIST. Stop using these people as an arguing tool for you to cast doubt in the minds of people concerning the God of the Bible’s integrity and Goodness, and start doing something that shows you actually care for their well-being. The problem isn’t with God or His messenger; the likely issue is that you hate the message. You hate the God that would punish a “good atheist” or a “god-loving” man who never hears of Christ. Become a missionary and give up your life for these people.

**I mentioned specific religious groups for the purpose of helping people that are enslaved to these groups and hurting. If you love your religion, this blog is probably not for you. I am sorry if I am offensive, but not sorry to offend. It takes only an elementary look at the basic doctrine of these different religious bodies to see that we do not agree on the gospel, and thus, one or the other of us is condemned.

Why Should We Pray?

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This is the introduction to a series on prayer. Lord willing, I’ll be teaching about 10 weeks of Sunday school at Berean Baptist Church beginning March 20. I have decided to take on the topic of prayer.

Clearly, there are thousands of facets of prayer that could be investigated, researched and discussed. My focus is not to be exhaustive, but instead, my goal is to be decently thorough at that which I do attempt to expound upon.

Ultimately, I hope to answer a lot of questions about prayer, expose some false beliefs that many of us may have, and help you to improve your prayer life, by helping you to understand how to pray biblically. The goal, of course, is always to glorify God. But obviously, praying prayers that are answered is a great joy in a Christian’s life. Learning how to pray prayers that God will answer (in the conventional sense…technically a NO is an answer) will take time and practice and study and we will never be fully perfect at it in this life.

So how is your prayer life? Think for a moment. Do you pray daily, weekly or multiple times daily? Do you pray as long as you wish you did, that is, if you pray for 10 minutes is there a part of you that thinks you should do 15 minutes?

How do you pray? Do you kneel? Only sometimes or all the time? Do you always say “In Jesus Name?” What if you fall asleep while praying… do you feel guilty? If Jesus said not to pray publicly but to go into your closet to pray…then is all public prayer wrong?

Those are some things to think about. Email me your questions you may have about prayer, and I’ll try to find biblical answers for them.

So to start…let’s discuss why we, as Christians, should pray at all. I assume you already know that we should “pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17) and that Luke 18:1 ESV [you] ought always to pray and not lose heart.

The simple fact alone that prayer is commanded by God through Christ and the apostle Paul ought to be enough to compel you to pray.

Just counting the times that the gospels depict Jesus going away to pray ought to be enough of an example. Of all the things that were written about Him, the sheer volume of times He is recorded as praying should move you to your knees. (Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26:36, Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28, for a few examples).

But sometimes we sinners need more motivation than just pleasing God through obedience. We want to know what’s in it for us? What you need to understand is that not only is there a command by God to pray, an example by Christ and the apostles to pray without ceasing, and the potential for God to provide for us what we request of Him through prayer, but we ought to pray simply because we can. For, you see, it is a great privilege to be able to pray.

Let me explain it this way. There are approximately 7 billion people walking the earth today. A conservative estimate would say that religions such as atheism whereby prayer is meaningless are still generally scarce. So let’s say that only 6 billion people in the world subscribe to some sort of religion, and let’s assume that all of these people believe in “prayer.”

Every major (and minor) religion that I can think of has prayer. Hindus, Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists and AA members all pray. There are Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Baptists…etc, all pray-ers.

Muslims pray 5 times a day in a certain position facing Mecca. Many people pray all day long, to the God of their own understanding.

He listens to none of them. Did you catch that? None. God does not have any concern for the prayer of those who are not “His own.”

Proverbs 28:9 ESV If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

Consider this. Not only does God not listen to the prayers of the lost…but He finds their prayers to be an abomination!

Read the contrast: Psalms 4:1,3 ESV Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 3 But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

Notice the statement is clear that he has set apart the godly for himself! He hears when His people call. That is a sharp contrast to considering someone’s prayers an abomination, indeed!

Even more revealing is the concept that the Lord must “be gracious” to hear our prayers. It is an act of divine grace that He would allow you access to the throne room to make your requests known to Him…nay to be able to approach Him at all, even to praise Him!

Also, prayer is not a magic formula. Prayer are not effective because of the words used. Rather, it is the object to which we make our prayers known that has the power. Consider this beautifully poetic and richly biblical prayer:

DEAR JESUS, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

How wonderful a thought! How many times I’ve uttered similar prayers, but never with such beautiful language. Well, here’s the sad news. This was the daily prayer uttered by a well known person, Mother Teresa. This blog isn’t about Catholicism, but any good Catholic will tell you that Catholic dogma denies justification by grace through faith in Christ alone. I’ve found BereanBeacon.org to be a good resource for understanding the actual documentable differences between Catholicism and Biblical Christianity.

But the real sad news is that Mother Teresa, despite pious living, religious devotion, and a life of serving and loving others, (by her own writings and obvious affections) did not believe in Christ alone for salvation. Her dedication to Roman Catholicism and compromise with non-Christian idols exposes her as a wonderful person by human standards who falls short of God’s standard. So her prayer is not heard, nor answered. If you take offense to this, please research what Catholicism really is. Your eternity depends upon it. Your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees in order to see the kingdom of Heaven…and that includes the scribes and pharisees of our day, too.

Mat 5:20,48 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Back to Christian prayer, The Lord hears your prayers and responds by an act of grace and mercy and based on your status with Him, which is based solely on Christ’s righteousness or your unrighteousness. No magic words, no special formula.

Finally, consider John 4:22-24 ESV You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In order to worship God, we must do so in spirit and in truth. Those around us who do not know Christ are not praying to the same God…no matter how many times they say they are. They are praying to a false god…a god who cannot save. Oh these false gods may seem to answer prayer, but they are not sovereign. There is only One who is sovereign!

But if anyone still tends to argue we can supply more evidence, but the nail in the coffin is John 14:6, Jesus said unto him, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but by me.” For if no one can come to the Father but through Him, to whom are all the nonbelievers praying to? It cannot be the Father. It clearly isn’t Christ. So people everywhere, with sincerity, with real devotion to what they believe and a true faith in their prayers, are offering up prayers to nothing…or worse yet, Satan, in an effort to control their destinies. Even those prayers where men and women pray for god’s will to be done…if they are not praying to the One True God…are they really praying for His will? Of course not, they are deceiving themselves with false humility – willing only to submit to the will of a god they can manufacture in their minds.

So what makes you so special? Or maybe you are reading this as a nonbeliever and thinking, what makes Michael Coughlin so special?

Nothing. Nothing at all about me, that is. But the fact that God has chosen to resurrect my sin-ridden, dead in trespasses life makes me special. Not because of anything in me, but because of Christ in me. And for that reason, I have access to God. So dear Christian, do not take for granted the fact that you have undeserved access to the throne of Heaven. Do not use your grace as a license to live the way you like. Submit to God in prayer and make confession and supplication to Him … not just daily, but always!

So you have been given a great honor and privilege. The God of the universe, who created you, who has the power to destroy you, and who came to save you actually wants to hear from you. This is a stark contrast from those whom He will not even hear! So come to Him. Bring him your heartache, your pain. Bring your praise and your joy and thanksgiving. Confess your sin and beg him to meet your every need! He is able and, frankly, is waiting (in a sense) for you to come to Him!
James 4:2-3,8 ESV You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.