Passionately Christian
Originally posted at MikeShaw.tv
Yesterday I wrote a little bit of why I am a “Passionate Conservative.” I could have gone on, but I don’t have hours to write and you don’t have hours to read. Bottom line is I believe that Conservative Principles when applied in a Representative Republic give individuals the best chance to be the best they can be. As individuals prosper, the entire society is lifted up. Indeed the results have been dramatic for the entire planet!
This morning I want to talk a little bit about why I am passionately Christian. Bottom line is Jesus gave up Heaven so God could have a friendship with me and you! In other words, God died so that when you die you don’t have to really die! You can live with Him forever!
The only requirement to qualify for Heaven? Believe in your heart that Christ died in your place and paid for your sins and on the third day rose from the dead. Believe that in your heart and confess it with your mouth. That’s it! Romans 10:9 & 10. You then exchange your earthly sin for His absolute righteousness.
Now as simple as that sounds, we all resist. Well, most of us. I do know a couple of wonderful people who have been Christians as long as they remember, but for most of us we decided that “having fun” in our youth was more important then being called “Jesus Freaks.” Of course the fun lead to heartache and sometimes disease. While we might be “good people” we are all pretty selfish by nature. Of course God was still drawing us to Him and eventually we responded and accepted His wonderful gift of salvation. If you haven’t and are alive enough to read this then there is still time.
For me it started in Sunday School at the First Conservative Baptist Church of Canby. I was maybe 8 or 9 and our Sunday School Teacher was showing me in the Bible that God talked about springs in the bottom of the ocean. Springs that scientists were just barely discovering thousands of years later. That was enough for me to accept Jesus into my heart. I still remember the joy I felt as I prayed and in my minds eye I saw light bursting from my heart! It was pretty cool.
But. I eventually stopped going to church and eventually started living more and more for my own desires. That included increasing drug and alcohol use as a teenager and young adult. I even shared a drug needle to inject some cocaine into my arm. I only tried it 2 or 3 times in a one week period when I was about 20 years old, but I ended up paying a high price for the temporary rush the cocaine gave me.
I found out much later that I had Hepatitis C. The worse kind too. It was also about that time that God drew me back to him. I started going to church, got baptized and started reading my Bible. During worship at church I would cry out to God and also actually cry as He was healing my heart. The folks around me at church probably thought I was a troubled man, but I didn’t care. God was working while I was in His presence.
It was during one of those times that I heard God say in my heart about my Hepatitis C, “I’m going to take this from you.” It was a word I clung to during the difficult one year of combination drug therapy. I lost a lot of weight and some hair. Food lost it’s flavor and I had suicidal thoughts. All side effects of the drugs, but I hung on because I had God’s promise!
Sure enough, after a year of treatments I was Hepatitis C free! And still am today. That was 10 years ago. Since then I have left my TV career and have served in a few ministries. Mission Odessa, Family Life Radio and Teen Challenge of Arizona along with some churches along the way. I don’t know if I will stay working in ministries as a job the rest of my life, but I do plan on ministering the rest of my life! God has shown me a lot in His Word and through experiences with Him that I have to share. It’s too important. I don’t always live as I should and God doesn’t just give me what I want, but I know that He is always with me and He always gets me through.
If you want more evidence that God is who He says He is, check out this blog entry from a couple of years ago. Stars really do sing, just like God said they do thousands of years ago!
If you don’t know Jesus and you are still alive, it’s not too late. To say that it is awesome to know the God who created the Universe as a personal friend and Father is an understatement!
Tired of Backsliding
Today is the 14th of November and that means Proverbs 14 is part of my daily Bible reading. That is, when I am being obedient and actually doing my daily Bible reading.
As I was reading Proverbs 14 this morning I didn’t get too far before I had to pause and contemplate verse 14.
14 The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied from above.
I think we all get frustrated with life sometimes. Disappointed that things didn’t worked out the way we planned or the wait for a promise was just a little (lot) bit longer then we expected. These are dangerous times for the Christian. If we don’t stay close to God and stay in His presence we can allow ourselves to get upset and even angry with God. If left unchecked that can lead to bitterness and a dry spirit. (don’t ask me how I know that : )
In these times (which I hope you never experience) it’s easy to turn to “comfort sins.” Those bad habits the old man used to have that want to come back in and enslave again. It can be as simple as overeating comfort foods or much worse. Certainly the comfort food analogy applies.
If you’ve ever been down this dark path even a little ways (I imagine it may be more common then people like to admit) and back again then you already know the wisdom of God through Solomon in Proverbs 14:14. You will grow tired of being backsliden (new word alert!) in heart. You will have your fill and the Holy Spirit will make you sick of it! Thank God for that!
There is a way back. Even better, there is a way to avoid this backsliden condition to begin with. Run to God every day! Stay close to Him no matter what. Share your troubles with Him. Lay your burdens at His feet. If you pick them back up an hour later, lay them at His feet again! He cares in a very personal way for you and the more you spend time with Him, the more you will see Him working in big and small ways in your life.
God is getting you through whatever it is. If you are frustrated and fall, let God pick you back up. Confess your sins to Him. Turn away from Backslideness (an even better new word alert!) and into His loving arms. Then you will be back on the track to being a good man satisfied from above, no matter what your circumstances.
Take Up Your Cross
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
- Matthew 16:24-25
Does God want you to have a wonderful and blessed life? I would say that the answer is yes. As we are diligent to obey Godly principles in our business dealings and personal dealings it brings success and love into our lives. We will find favor with God and Men and as we draw near to God we become blessed to be a blessing.
However, there is another side to following Christ. One that is vital to keep in mind so as to keep from being discouraged when difficulties come. See, the world may not appreciate that you like to do things the right way. The world doesn’t like when you speak out against abortion for example, or if you try to lovingly remind people that sex outside of marriage is not God’s best. The world hated Christ and if Christ is in you, the world will hate you too. That resistance can show up in a thousand ways. Betrayal from a friend. Loss of a job or promotion. Ridicule and insults and even death at the hands of people who don’t know Jesus.
When Jesus said, “Take up his cross and follow Me” think about what that symbolizes. Think about what happened in that barbaric Roman practice of Crucifixion. The “guilty” party had to carry his own cross through town to the Crucifixion location. (in Jerusalem’s case, Golgotha) As the condemned carried his cross through the crowd he was insulted, spat upon, ridiculed, cursed, had rocks thrown at him, etc. He had already suffered 40 minus one lashes and the insults to injury were not a minor thing. After walking the gauntlet it was time to get nailed to your cross followed by a slow, painful suffocation. (no wonder Jesus was sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was considering about what was to happen to Him)
When Jesus says we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him it is not a small requirement. I think that it’s important that we keep it in mind always so we aren’t surprised when the world attacks the Christ in us.
The minute you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you have grabbed a hold of your cross. As Jesus works in your life and changes you and you start to become more like Him, the world is gonna start to notice and not everyone is going to be thrilled. As you reflect the Holiness and even Love of our Savior don’t be surprised if you have to endure insults, ridicule, harassment, being spat upon and even death.
Jesus said in Mark 10:29-30
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
(emphasis mine)
I love the Good News! Jesus died our death so we could live in God’s presence for eternity. Jesus came so that we could have an abundant life! There are vast rewards in this life and especially the one to come. You will be rewarded for every cup of water offered to another in His name. But don’t be surprised if the world is not always for you and is even vehemently and violently against you. Take up your cross. Follow Christ. It may not always be fun, but it will be worth it.
Revelation 12:11
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
