evangelism

Completely Other

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“‘I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.’
God’s Decree.’For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them” (Isaiah 55:8-11, The Message).

I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful for a God I can’t figure out. I’m grateful that His ways are higher than mine, because anything I could completely comprehend wouldn’t be worth worshipping. As far as the heavens are above the earth, so much higher are God’s thoughts than mine.

I also think that a lot of deconstruction of faith happens when we judge God by our standards rather than the other way around. We make ourselves the standard by which God must abide. God would never [fill in the blank] because I would never [fill in the blank]. But that puts us above God and essentially makes us gods.

The older I get, the more I’m sure the less I know. I’m less inclined to think I have all the answers than I was when I was younger. I am also more aware of my deep need for a God who isn’t just Me 2.0, upgraded to be faster and stronger and smarter. I need someone who is completely other, someone who could condescend to my level and do for me what I could never do for myself. And that, my friends, is the gospel.

Thank You, God, that You are bigger than entire galaxies and universes, yet You are mindful of me. You who are beyond space and time became like me so that I could one day become like You. You entered into human history to redeem it and to redeem me and everybody else who calls on You in faith. Amen.

From Lonely Agonies to Everlasting Splendors

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Does it not fill our hearts with a thrilling excitement to think that the costly disciplines and lonely agonies that make up our earthly discipleship may at any moment, and without any warning, be transformed into everlasting splendors the like of which we can scarcely conceive, let alone understand?” (James Phillip)

That’s my hope. One day, this will all make sense. One day, God will pull back the curtain and reveal the totality of a glorious tapestry that He’s been weaving in and through our lives. Currently, we only see the darker threads with occasional glimpses of gold and silver. We only see chaos and confusion.

But one day, we will see the big picture. One day, we will see all the colors woven together and see that every one of them points to the glorious splendor of Jesus our Brother, Friend, Redeemer, and Savior. And every bit of suffering that we have gone through or seen our loved ones go through will have been worth it for the joy of that moment when all of God’s creation is renewed and restored and all those who hope in Christ are forever made new and alive.

One day, all those worries and anxieties that constantly dog at our heels and never seem to let us rest won’t matter anymore. We’ll be too busy adoring and worshipping the Triune God to remember or care. The joy will be so much more glorious and overwhelming than any amount of pain or suffering we endured.

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, The Message).

I Wish You Knew

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

One of my favorite artists, Keith Green, has a song entitled “Song to My Parent (I Only Want to See You There),” and I think that expresses my sentiments over so many people I know. If there’s anything I’ve learned from 53 years of being alive and over 45 of those as a child of God, is that having Jesus is so much better than not having Him. My worst days with Jesus are better than my best days without Him.

It’s not about avoiding going to hell, although hell is real. After all, God won’t force anyone to be with Him and He will respect the choices that we have made, even if we choose to be separated from Him. The best part isn’t not being in hell but looking forward to an eternity in heaven with the abundance of joy in this life as well.

There are so many stories and testimonies of people who were hopelessly lost and hopelessly addicted, but Jesus found them and now they are brand new creations. They aren’t improved versions of their old selves. They are something completely new that only God could have dreamed of and made into reality.

It’s amazing when God opens your eyes and you really see everything for the first time. Everything makes more sense. Sure, suffering and pain still exist, but now they have meaning. We still lose people we love, but now we grieve as those who have hope. I’m finally starting to get what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains” (Acts 26:29, NLT).

I’m closing with the song Keith Green wrote for his parents with the hopes of seeing them in heaven one day. He may be gone, but his legacy of music and testimony lives on:

“I need to say these things ’cause I love you so
And I’m sorry you get angry when I say that you just don’t know
That there’s a heaven waiting for you and me
I know it seems every time we talk
I’m only trying to just make you see

But it’s only that I care
I really only want just to see you there

Please try and overlook my, my human side
I know I’m such a bad example, and you know I’m so full of pride
But Jesus isn’t like that, no, He’s perfect all the way
I guess that’s why we need Him
‘Cause by ourselves, there’s just no way

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only just want to see you there
To see you there

Close the doors
They’re just not coming
We sent the invitations out a long, long, long, long time ago
We’re still gonna have a wedding feast
Big enough to beat them all
The greatest people in the world just wouldn’t come
So now we’ll just have to invite the small

And it’s only that I care
I really, really only want just to see you there

Isn’t that Jesus?
Isn’t it Joseph and Mary’s Son?
Well, didn’t He grow up right here?
He played with our children
What? He must be kidding
Thinks He’s a prophet
Well, prophets don’t grow up from little boys
Do they?
From little boys
Do they?”

The Real Winners

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

So I watched the Super Bowl (or at least most of it). I low key wanted Seattle to win, but I was not going to be a bit disappointed if New England won. Still, I made it into the 4th quarter when Seattle was up 19-0 and decided that it was basically over, so I went to old school Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.

Spoiler alert: Seattle won.

My favorite these days isn’t so much when my team wins, which is probably a good thing. My Tennessee Titans haven’t won very many games lately and watching them sometimes is about as fun as a root canal. Actually, the root canal may be more enjoyable.

But I love seeing where former and current players have given their lives to Jesus. I love how they can boast not in any individual statistics or games won or lost, but in the fact that they are known and loved by the God of the universe.

That’s the real victory. I know the cartoon is probably supposed to be mocking heaven, but I’d love to think that’s how I will enter heaven. It will be such a sweet relief and an overwhelming joy. I won’t be able to point to a single thing I’ve done for the reason that I got in, but I can say with the thief on the cross that the Man on the middle cross said I could come.

It’s only by the blood of the Lamb. Because Jesus died for me and took my place on that cross, I can live eternally. Because instead of my own sin I now possess the righteousness of the only One who ever lived a perfect and sinless life, I can come boldly to the throne of God. Because of Jesus, I will one day walk through those pearly gates confidently because my confidence is on the grace that saved me and sustains me.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to hoist that Lombardi trophy and be able to have bragging rights about being the best team in the world for at least the next year. I know that the percentage of people on Super Bowl winning teams has got to be minuscule compared to all those who have played football at any level and are watching from the comfort of their couches.

But I will know the joy of walking victoriously into heaven and that victory will last not just for the next year but all the way into eternity. And that offer goes to anyone who says yes to Jesus.

Learning Something New Every Day

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I’ve been listening to The Bible Podcast by Tara-Leigh Cobble on Audible lately. It’s really supposed to supplement a daily reading Bible plan, but since I’ve been reading the Bible on a different plan, I’m basically listening to the segments straight through. It’s been like getting a crash course on the entire Bible in five-minute segments.

One thing I learned blew my mind a bit. It was after Jesus rose from the grave and met the disciples while they were fishing unsuccessfully. He told them to cast the net on the other side, and when they did they caught 153 fish, nearly breaking their net.

Apparently, there are 153 different kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee, so they caught one of every kind. That harkened back to Jesus telling these disciples that soon they would be fishing for people instead of fish. This was a visual way of telling them that the gospel they preached was to be for everyone.

That means that in heaven there will be people from every single people group, language, skin color, ethnicity, country, and race. When Jesus returns, there will be no more unreached people groups left. Every one will have heard the good news. That means that this mission Jesus gave to us, His church, will not fail.

That should give us greater joy and hope. We can share the good news knowing that it’s never in vain. While not everyone will believe our message every time, we can know that what we preach and teach never returns void. We can labor with the confidence that God is at work mightily through what we do in the strength and power of His Holy Spirit in us.

I love the scene in Revelation when the heavenly throne room is crowded with people from every tongue, tribe, and race. I don’t know if we’ll each be singing in our heart languages and understand each other or if we’ll have a new heavenly vocabulary that we all share. But I do know the song will be the same and the God we sing to will be the same and the eternal praise that comes from joyful lips and hearts will be the same.

“I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!

Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.

The Four Animals called out, “Oh, Yes!” The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped” (Revelation 5:11-14, The Message).

Gatekeepers or Grace Givers

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I think if we’re not careful, we can become gatekeepers of the grace of God. I read recently we judge ourselves by our intentions but others by their actions. In other words, we’re more lenient with ourselves than with others. I see a lot of professing believers posting about how they hope the other person gets karma (which almost always seems to be for somebody other than me).

It’s especially evident when it comes to people we don’t like or with people who think and vote differently than I. It’s almost as if God’s grace exists with exceptions for Donald Trump (or his supporters) and Kamala Harris (and her supporters). We make grace something you have to earn instead of a free gift.

But the truth is that no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy, but everyone is welcome to it. I’ll say it again because someone out there (maybe me) needs to hear it again: no one is worthy of God’s grace and mercy but everyone is welcome to it.

That means that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. With no exceptions. Anyone who acknowledges their sin and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, believes in Him by repenting of their sins and turning to His free gift of salvation, and confesses Him before others will be saved.

I think I get judgmental when I forget how it took the same amount of Jesus’ blood to save me as it took to save anyone else in history. It took all of it. I was (and still am) as much in need of the grace of God to save me and sustain me as anyone else who has ever lived.

The gospel means that no one is too lost to be found, too messed up to find grace, or too far gone to be saved. That’s the hope for the world and the message that every believer has to share with anyone who has ears to hear.

Comfortable Chairs or Carrying Crosses

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would His Word still be enough for his people to come together?” (David Platt)

“Heresy of method may be as deadly as heresy of message” (A.W. Tozer).

I’m a fan of comfortable chairs. I’m all for having working A/C in the summer and heating in the winter. But sometimes, I forget that people around the world are worshipping their Creator in caves or out in the open field. Some are in hiding because it’s illegal to be a believer where they live.

Maybe one day in America, churches won’t have the comforts and conveniences we’ve all grown used to and take for granted. Perhaps even down the road the churches could lose their tax exempt status. What then?

Will the Word of God be enough? When there’s no electricity to power the pyrotechnics and professional sound and production, will it be enough to praise God with our voices? Will people still show up if it’s someone in front of them reading God’s Word without flashy graphics or screens?

None of these things are wrong or bad in and of themselves, but I think we err when we make them the end rather than the means to proclaiming the gospel and leading the lost to find salvation in Jesus alone. Too many people to to churches to be entertain and fed rather than to worship and to serve. It’s more of a “what can I get out of it” mentality rather than one of “how can I serve the people inside and outside of these walls.”

I truly hope that we become a people of worship, but that doesn’t start when we walk through the sanctuary doors at 9 am or a 10:30 am on a Sunday. It starts when we pick up our Bibles on a Monday. When we share the gospel with a friend on Tuesday. When we work hard and don’t bend the rules on a Wednesday. The amount of worship we experience on Sunday stems from how well we worship throughout the week.

May God bless your churches and services tomorrow. I’m praying that God moves in each and every place. I’m also hoping that we don’t have to lose our comfortable buildings to find out what true worship looks like. God, please revive Your people so that we can be about Your business more than our comfort. Amen.

More Amy Carmichael Wisdom

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

‘Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.’

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

All I can say after that is that you need to go right away and find as many Amy Carmichael books as you can, as well as any biographies (especially the one by Elisabeth Elliot). Or better yet, read good books by missionaries who have invested lifetimes in the field for the Lord. Those are just about always worth it.

A Prayer for Sunday

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment
“Lord, look with great grace, we pray, upon the slaves of sin that are present here this morning; break their chains. Save this people. We know there are some in this congregation who are currently “poisoned by bitterness and bound by wickedness” (Acts 8:23). Move, divine Spirit, over this audience, and fetch out from among us those who do not know God, that they may know themselves and their God this day. Make this to be a profitable, soul-winning Sunday, one of the high days on which heaven’s bells shall ring out more sweetly than ever, because many and many a prodigal child has come back to the Father’s house to make the Father glad.
Amen” (Charles Spurgeon).

I usually try to pray every Sunday for my church. I typically pray that God would make our hearts good soil for God’s word to go deep and produce a harvest. I also pray that if there’s anyone sitting in the rows during the service that doesn’t have a saving faith in Jesus that they would come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.

I’m not typing all that to humble brag. I’m simply being obedient. Who knows? Maybe God would have saved someone anyway, but I know the Bible says that we have not because we ask not (to put it in super King James English).

Are you praying for your church? Are you praying for God to move in your services? With all the talent in most churches, it can be so easy to preplan and program every service down to the second and leave no room for the Holy Spirit to move. We can run an entire Sunday off of our own agendas and abilities and charisma and not even be aware that God was not present because we never invited Him in.

It’s always a good idea to pray for lost people to come to Christ in your church services. It’s never wrong to pray for reconciliation of families and marriages, for the calling of people to the ministry and missions, for God to bring revival to your church, your city, and the world.

Lord, move in every place where we assemble to worship. Don’t let us get by on our strength alone but bring us to the place where we’re dependent on You for anything good that happens this Sunday. Speak, Lord, for Your servants are listening.

On the Second Day of Christmas

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

For some of us, we’re already counting down the days until Christmas 2026. it’s 364 days, FYI.

But for a select few, we’re prepping for those two turtle doves because it’s the second day of Christmas, culminating on the epic finale on January 6, also known as Day of the Epiphany. Also, it’s socially acceptable these days to leave your Christmas decorations up through the month of January.

But for me, my plan is to continue to listen to Christmas records and watch Christmas movies for as long as the spirit allows. I will probably run out of records before the movie stash runs out, so then I may switch over to ye olden CD player for a bit.

I love the idea of stretching Christmas out over 12 days. Back then, people opened one present a day and made the feasting last for almost two weeks. I’m not sure my waistline could handle all that, but I’m willing to try if anyone else is.

Above all, celebrating the arrival of Emmanuel should be delegated to one 24-hour period. It should be a year round event (so I’m really not going to be upset if you leave your outside Christmas lights up all year). That one single event changed the course of human history forever.

Now we have a hope. Now we have a future. Now whoever believes in Jesus doesn’t have to be lost forever but can have everlasting eternal life. And it all began when God so loved the world that He gave.

One day, I’d love to have a house where I have a room dedicated solely to Christmas 24/7/365. I’d push the Christmas tree into my Christmas room with all the other decorations. Whenever I needed a little Christmas fix, I could just go into that room. Or I’d even be happy with a Christmas closet.

But in the meantime, I can rejoice and celebrate that because of Jesus, we can be forgiven and set free. We can know the One who made us and loves us and died for us. We can have the full and abundant life not just in the heavenly hereafter but here and now. Jesus is here.