Avenging Quotes

"He's adopted."
"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't dress like that."
"So that's what it does."
"It's a dumb order."
"Puny god."
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"I fail to see how that's a party."
"Hulk.....SMASH!"
"I'm working right now."
"That's my secret...I'm always angry."
"Twelve percent."
"I'll have that drink now."
"You lack conviction."

Joss Whedon is a genius writer.  He's a genius director too.  What can't the guy do?  I hope we don't find out.

I am struck by how universally this movie was enjoyed by my Christian friends.  I enjoyed it too, but I am struggling with finding truth in it that I should enjoy it so much.  Except maybe in Agent Coulson's line to Loki - "You lack conviction."  Then he dies realizing that his sacrifice can become the galvanizing event the Avengers need to become a team.

And then there's the slow motion cuts of firemen and police aiding the injured and frightened.  As if to say, "Let's not forget who the REAL heroes are."

Real heroes never lack conviction.  Real heroes pay the price no matter how high.  I guess that's why He's my real hero.

Jesus.

Real conviction.

Real sacrifice.

Real salvation.

Shalom

Re-Membering

I belong to an evangelical baptist church that belongs to a group that has a 100+ year history in North America. OK, I pastor said church (we ain't 100 yet, but we will be 50 in 4 years).

In a recent update from our national leadership it was revealed that "membership" issues will be discussed at our next national conference. I know that local churches have been debating this for some time now. Doctrine is difficult to change.

Here's my position:

I'm a Christian - specifically a Protestant, and I'm a convinced baptist. I am in favour of adult believer's baptism by full immersion in water as the best way to follow scriptural instruction.

However, I know several folks who were not "immersed" although they were baptized (my wife is one) who are as devout and authentic as you can find in the faith. I was baptized by my United Church Minister parents (yup, both of them) as an infant.

As a teenager I sinned my weaselly little butt off - and I did a fair amount of that as an adult, too. When I realized - really realized who Jesus is and what baptism meant I, and my wife, were convicted and convinced about our need to willing be obedient in baptism. No problem. We were baptized by immersion but we understood that we were already "in". What was needed was an act of obedience and worship that would stand against our former disobedient witness and mark for ourselves and others our new direction. We needed it.

But I know folks who haven't strayed as we did since they openly confessed Jesus as Savior. As a note: all churches that practice infant baptism also require that young adults (or older ones if it takes longer) make a full public confession in keeping with Scripture. "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9. Martin Luther would have called that act "receiving your baptism properly". And some of these folks need no new "marker" as we did. Their lives have already been a better testimony that ours, even if we live another hundred years.

So I believe that anyone and everyone who follows Christ will have to be obedient to the command to be baptized. But I am becoming more convinced that the method and mode can be understood and accepted in a wider vein.

I still will teach, preach and recommend believer's adult immersion baptism, but I recognize all who belong to Jesus and are my brothers and sisters. Now to help my conference, association and local church recognize the same thing and find a gracious way to deal with it. Pray for us.

Shalom

Pro Deo et Veritate

This is the motto of my school - Taylor Seminary. It means "For God and Truth". I am an unashamed disciple of Jesus Christ. I want to be obedient to God my Father through the power of The Holy Spirit living in me as the mark of Jesus Christ my Savior, Redeemer and Friend - who is the Lord of my life. I am a sinner - saved by grace. And I want everyone to know Jesus as I do - even better than I do.

But......

I believe it is difficult - if not nearly impossible - for others to believe in the One I testify about unless my witness is true.

There is a video making the rounds on facebook and other places. It tells a powerful story of a confrontation of faith between a student and a professor in a major American university. It's a great story, but it has problems.

Now I'm not trying to point fingers here - and please forgive me if it seems so - but so many of my friends are passing this around that I can't keep up with it and I have concerns. I wrote to one friend and we discussed it privately but now I want to open it up to others. So, here's the link to the video in question, just in case you haven't seen it -

"This Should Keep Us All Thinking"

And here is my response to it.

Dearest Friends,

I want to start by saying that I love you as Christian brothers and sisters and I never want to do anything to dampen your spirit or your passion for Christ and your desire to be His disciples and witnesses. I really enjoy following how you are living this out and facebook is a great way to do this.

I really liked the story about the student & the professor that I've seen circulating on facebook - it's a great story, but I have one problem with it. It's not verifiable, and it probably isn't really true. If you follow this link -

Truth or Fiction - Athiest USC Prof Encounters God Through a Piece of Chalk

You can read it for yourself.

Like you, I want people to know Jesus, to think about Him, to consider Him and to be compelled by love to get to know Him, but Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" and I think if we are going to witness to Him our witness should always be the truth. I think this is important, because if someone who doesn't trust Jesus or who has big doubts about Jesus and Christians sees that video and then checks it out they might decide that Christians lie, and that Jesus is a lie, too.

Anyway, I'd be really interested in your take on this, and your ideas about how videos like this one could be made that come from real, true and verifiable stories. I know that God is doing things every day just like what this video describes so I don't think we need to make up stories. We need to find and share the true ones.

Anyway, I know you didn't make up this story - but if you send it to someone or post it on your home page you are endorsing it and vouching for its truth, so you might want to think carefully about doing that with this or any other story you can't fully verify. I think the wise thing is to either use your own story, or one that you absolutely know is true and can testify wholeheartedly to.

Now in the spirit of that suggestion I'll share a true story of healing I witnessed two weeks ago. I don't have the permission of the person involved, so I'll refrain from using his name here but you can email or text me and I'll give it to you privately.

Susie and I attended the NAB Pastors and Spouses' Conference in Banff this November as we do almost every year. One of the themes that emerged was "healing". On Sunday morining, November 8th, we were in worship, sharing prayer requests and praise items with one another. One of our leaders, whom we have gotten to know over the years, told us about how arthritis had robbed him of the joy of raising his hands in worship. He could only raise them as far as his shoulders, and he had suffered this restriction for 10 years. Then he raised his arms over his head and made the "touchdown" sign, actually touching his biceps to his ears. He was weeping with joy. He had been healed the previous evening during prayer.

That's the truth of what Jesus can do - how He can heal, set people free and answer prayer.

Stay in His Love and Will, and keep witnessing.

Shalom