Life & Death

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="002a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Page"><U>HOME</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Page"><U>BOOKS   </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Articles"><U>ARTICLES </U></A>  </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tapes"><U>TAPES</U></A>   </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spiritual Warfare/Occult "><U>SPIRITUAL WARFARE, OCCULT   </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sexual Abuse Issues"><U>SEXUAL ABUSE ISSUES</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Exposing the Darkness Seminar"><U>***EXPOSING THE DARKNESS SEMINAR***</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="guestbook"><U>GUESTBOOK</U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial Rounded MT Bold" > </FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:greid@elp.rr.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:greid@elp.rr.com"><U> <img src="HTMLobj-925/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="67" height="50">  </U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#BBBBBB" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> Life & Death</div> <bR> <div> I have a deep concern for this new generation of church folks and church kids. Perhaps it has been a concern for a long time, but I am beginning to see it with a new clarity.</div> <bR> <div> One of the major downfalls of the “seeker friendly” churches is that we can rarely be sure why people are there. Is it genuine spiritual seeking - or is it because it's friendly, fun and family-oriented? (The Mormons have that.) I'm realizing more and more how easy it is for people to get into the “God thing.” Especially since, well, it's safe, moral, and harmless. Better than raising kids without those things, right?</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, we are in danger of losing the one dynamic that makes the Kingdom of God real, and different from all other religions - RESURRECTION LIFE. </div> <bR> <div> I've been concerned for some time because this generation of Christian kids, for the most part, doesn't even know how to lead someone to Jesus. Lately I've been concerned because many of them are not even very clear on what a Christian IS. They know it has to do with church, taking communion, prayer, being moral, and believing in Jesus. My concern is you can have all of that…and still not be saved.</div> <bR> <div> You can believe in Jesus and still not be saved? Sure. James said, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble! (James 2:19) I believe in the President. I believe in many of his ideas, even. But I do not KNOW him. I just know ABOUT Him. In the same way, many know about Jesus but do not have a personal relationship with him. There is a big difference.</div> <bR> <div> The phrase “born again Christian” was the right concept, but soon became a semi-derogatory term. Now it's rarely used to define what a Christian is.</div> <bR> <div> Jesus said, “Assuredly I tell you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) First birth - natural. Second birth - spiritual, eternal. It is not a set of ideas but a transformation, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His Son, from death to life.</div> <bR> <div> We have largely exchanged the truth of the resurrection life for a kind of spiritual home improvement. Jesus makes you better, nicer, happier. But we leave out the cross.</div> <bR> <div> And here is where we have missed the mark. Recently I read a quote that hit me so hard that it plunged a sword straight into my heart. I want you to prepare your own heart to receive this truth, because it is absolutely crucial that we understand it and apply it:</div> <bR> <div> Jesus doesn't take bad people and make them good. <U>He takes dead people and makes them alive. </U></div> <bR> <div> Until we nail down this essential truth of the Gospel, we cannot fully understand - nor convey - the true meaning of “Christian.”</div> <bR> <div> Being a Christian, then, is not about how you live, or what you believe (although both of these things are VITAL if you <U>are</U> a Christian) but it is about WHO YOU BELONG TO. A Christian is one who has consciously handed over complete ownership of their life to Jesus. It is someone who has come to the cross, and seen with perfect clarity their sinfulness, their deadness, and cried for Him to exchange their sin and death for His life. There is no other way.</div> <bR> <div> “If any one is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Cor. 5:17) A <U>new species</U>. Not a dressed-up, heavily make-upped version of the old one. That's what a funeral home does: they try to make the dead look good one last time. Too often that is what we do. We put the makeup of Christian trappings on church folks, hoping the clothes will somehow transform them. No! It does not work that way.</div> <bR> <div> This problem has become clear to me in my attempting to help kids know how to find the “right one.” I'm pretty clear about this up-front. Do not date an unbeliever. Period! “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” (1 Cor. 6:14a) Paul's words were based on a clear understanding that we were of a different species.</div> <bR> <div> I don't know how many people I've known that ignored this verse, to the thwarting of God's plan for them. They married an unbeliever, believing they would get saved. 40 years later, nothing. Some kids date unbelievers thinking they can save them. Rarely happens. And the trap is, once they begin to bond with an unbeliever, the delusion grows. They think if they share their faith, it will “draw a line” and the other person will say, “Oh heck no, I'm not dating a Christian.” Instead, if they are already attracted, the other person will play the game of, “Well, what kind of a Christian do you want me to be? I can be that.” They'll learn the church thing and the God talk and play the Jesus card and all the rest - just to marry the person (or worse, as often happens, just get them into bed.) Only later does the naïve believer learn that it was just an act. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> “But they are a good person, moral, even believe in God. Isn't that better than dating a drinker, druggie, or someone who sleeps around?” The answer is, it doesn't matter how “moral” they are - why are you dating a corpse? Satan loves nothing more than to trap Christian kids into believing their faith will “rub off” somehow and the corpse will become alive. No! That ONLY happens through transformational encounter with the Living God in Jesus Christ. NO OTHER WAY! And I always tell kids, unless you are 100% per cent sure the person you are interested in loves Jesus as much or more than you - and aren't afraid to tell people that - don't get anywhere near them. </div> <bR> <div> I once heard someone got engaged, and their fiancée said, “I will NEVER love you more than Jesus. If you're going to try to change that, we're not getting married.”</div> <bR> <div> You should not settle for anything but that kind of commitment in a potential mate. God's not into “fixer-uppers.”</div> <bR> <div> When you begin to truly understand the difference between being born again and being spiritually dead, then your mission to the world changes. You're not here to offer marriage tips, cool “Christian” music or nice invites to potlucks. You are one a life and death rescue mission. Those around you who do not belong to Jesus are dead, and you cannot fix them. We need to stop trying to make the church attractive to unbelievers. Where in the world did we get that ungodly, unscriptural concept? The church is not there to attract the dead but to RAISE THE DEAD TO LIFE!</div> <bR> <div> Our message inside and outside the church should never be, “Try Jesus, you'll like Him” but rather, “Jesus ALONE can save you from eternal death.” It stops being an accommodating lure message and becomes a challenge to darkness and evil to give up their dead.</div> <bR> <div> Open our eyes, precious Jesus, to see that we are not an entertainment center with a positive message, or a cultural center where we can learn to get along. Help us to see that the church is an E.R., and we, each of us, are its medics. End the confusion brought on by so many years of weak preaching that we cannot even define what a true believer is anymore. Help us to understand that we are resurrected light-bearers,  truth-tellers and life-givers in Jesus, and that only when we truly see the unredeemable death in those around us - no matter how moral or religious - can we shine the light of Jesus and say, “Lazarus, COME FORTH!”</div> <bR> <div> Gregory R Reid</div> <div> <IMG SRC="39c244f0.png" border=0 width="292" height="335" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>