Keep the Fire Burning

Those of us who have a genuine salvation experience with Christ remember how it was in the beginning. We became a new creation. The burden of our sins washed away. We were excited about the things of God. We were like a sponge trying to soak up everything heaven had to offer.

But time has a way of turning off our love light for Christ—or at least dimming it real low.

Christ wants us to keep the fire burning for Him. This truth can be seen in His words to the church at Ephesus. He commended the congregation because it had persevered, had endured hardships for His name, and had not grown weary (Rev. 2:3, NIV). This suggests a strong congregation, one that does not wimp out when suffering for Christ. How many congregations can Jesus say that about today?

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love,” He added (v. 4). Let’s view this judgment in light of the compliment He paid the congregation in the previous verse. Putting the two together we conclude that though the church still had a passion for serving the Lord, it was not as it once was. The people had lost the love they had for Christ, resulting in His rebuke. He told the church what she must do to make things right. I would like to refer to His charge as the three Rs for renewing one’s passion for Christ:

“REMEMBER therefore from whence thou art fallen” (verse 5a, KJV). Think about the time when you were most zealous for the Lord. When was that? Is it now, or was it some time in the past? If in the past, then you have left your first love for Christ. In your heart you may argue that you are still more passionate for Him than most believers you know. But this is not about comparing you with your neighbor or with the bulk of the congregation; it is about comparing you with yourself.

“REPENT” (verse 5b). Most people who have experienced a spiritual drift from the Lord have already taken the first step mentioned above, though involuntarily. That’s because it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our drift from Christ. But this is not enough. The Lord calls us to repent about it. This means there must be a godly sorrow about it that turns the heart back to Christ.

RETURN; that is, we must “do the first works” (verse 5c). We know exactly how to do those works because we have done them before. Of course, time is not just waiting around for our use for this cause. We have replaced that time we used to devote to the things of God with worldly endeavors. But whatever it takes, whatever we must forsake, whatever changes are required, we must return and do the first works if we want to renew our passion for Christ.

So what should we take away from the Lord’s rebuke of the church at Ephesus? It is that He regards a ho-hum relationship with Him as unacceptable. Our God is a jealous God. He demands to be first in our life. No other mindset will do.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Poll: Most Christian Leaders Not an Influential Voice

(Article first published as Poll: Most Christian Leaders Not an Influential Voice on Technorati)

If you were asked who is the single most influential Christian leader in America, what would be your answer? The results of a survey conducted by the Barna Group between August 1 through 14, 2011, were released earlier this week. According to that report, two out of five Americans cannot think of a qualifying Christian leader.

Of course, the finding of the survey in and of itself is not the real issue. Preachers and churches are not in a popularity test. In fact, Jesus says, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). The point is that false prophets tend to tell people what they want to hear and, hence, are people pleasers. Conversely, true messengers share the Word of God even when it does not set well with those who listen.

On the other hand, the degree to which Christian leaders in America have or have not become an influential voice is a useful indicator. For one of the most important missions of the Christian church is to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To accomplish this mission, Christian ministries must use all means of communication and media available today to proclaim their important message. And the most prominent figure of a local church or a parachurch organization is usually the preacher.

This all being true, this recent survey by the Barna Group suggests that the Christian church’s outreach efforts are not effectively pervading society at large.

Not surprising to me, nearly one out of every five Americans (19%) regards the aging Billy Graham as our nation’s most influential Christian leader. One out of every 20 Americans, 5%, considers Joel Osteen to be that leader. Two percent each say Joyce Meyer and Charles Stanley. No other Christian leader gets the vote from more than 1% of Americans, according to the report.

The results of the survey were based on an unaided survey question. This means that respondents answered the question on their own with no response options. According to the Barna report, this type of response often reflects the first name that comes to the person’s mind, and suggests that a lasting impression on the respondent has been made.

It’s no secret that the society in which the Christian church currently exists is becoming increasingly more complex. And I believe that the Barna report underscores the need for Christian leaders to re-evaluate the effectiveness of their current strategies to impact the world for Christ.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

How to Find Rest for Your Weary Soul

Thinking back on my days as a teenager, all I can say is gone are the days when life was simple. Technological advances such as smart phones, tablet computers, social networks, and electronic reading devices have caused our way of life to take a quantum leap. Only God knows where the future will take us. It’s a job just trying to stay in touch with and remain functional in today’s ever-changing world.

Moreover, it should not be hard to understand that in America where unemployment continues to hover at 9 percent or better, many Americans are weary in their struggles in life. So how can we answer the demands and the pressures of life and not burn out in the process?

Jesus gives us a recipe for how to find rest for our weary souls: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls,” He said (Matthew 11:29).

Imagine if Jesus came into our world today, and He had the same mission on earth that He had nearly 2000 years ago. I submit to you that He would overcome all the distractions of life and still get the mission accomplished. How? Because during His public ministry, He made Himself one with the Father, and in turn God showered everything He did with grace and heaven’s help.

That brings us to the significance of Jesus referring to a yoke in the verse above. You see, the effect of yoking two animals together is that they can then operate as one. When they learn how to do that, the load is much lighter for both of them. What Jesus is telling us to do is to symbolically yoke ourselves with Him. In doing so, we will learn how to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. In turn, our load will become lighter because Jesus will bear the bulk of our load. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” He says (verse 30).

OK, so how do we symbolically yoke ourselves with Christ? By studying the Bible, and learning His ways, and allowing His ways to become our ways. I am convinced that the more we learn how to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, and the more we become one with how He walked while He was on earth, totally trusting the heavenly Father, the more we will experience rest for our souls, and the less stress we will experience in our life.

There's a lot about the hand we have been dealt in life that we cannot change. We have to do what we have to do. But in the process, the Lord wants to give us rest for our weary souls. The secret is to “take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.”

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

In Everything Give Thanks?

One benefit of the Thanksgiving holiday is that it reminds us of God's commandment to be thankful. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” the Bible says (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is a verse we Christians toss around a lot during the Thanksgiving holiday season. When it’s read in church or the preacher quotes it during his sermon, most of the congregation warmly receives it. After all, as stated in the verse, “this is the will of God.”

But I believe that if we are honest about it, most of us struggle with obeying this verse at times.

This verse does not command us to give thanks for all things, but to give thanks in all things. The point is that thanksgiving to God should not be a function of our circumstances. Yes, I know this is a truth that at times can be hard for us to live out because it’s human nature for us to be negatively affected by depressing circumstances. Giving thanks to God amidst such ordeals is perhaps the farthest thing from our thinking.

On the other hand, God never asks us or commands us to do the impossible. Though it may take a little more effort, or perhaps a lot more effort, we can in fact offer genuine thanksgiving to Him even when times are trying in our life.

As I pen this post, I acknowledge that some of you who will read it will do so during unfavorable circumstances in your life. Perhaps for some of you, the term unfavorable circumstances is an understatement. A living hell is more like it. Given the current state of our economy, it is reasonable to assume that such will be the case for some who read this. But friend God still wants you to render thanksgiving to Him.

The point is that God does not want our response to and worship of Him to be driven purely by human emotions. We should not limit our thanksgiving to Him to the times in which He showers us with His blessings and we judge Him to be thankworthy. Rather, our giving of thanks to Him should be driven by the fact that He is God the Creator. Yes, I am saying that God deserves our thanksgiving simply because He is God. So even when life gives us little to write home about, God is still God, and that alone makes Him thankworthy.

I have not shared any new revelation in this post. And nothing I have said makes it any easier to be thankful to God when we find it hard to do so. But remember that this is the will of God for us. Moreover, when we press our way to obey Him in spite of our circumstances or how we feel, God honors our faithfulness.

So--in everything give thanks? The answer is a resounding yes.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Second Coming of Christ

Earlier today, I was at a church preaching on the subject of the second coming of Christ. In this post I just want to share one important point from that message. I was preaching from 2 Peter, chapter 3. In that chapter, Peter warns the believers that in the last days, there will be mockers saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4).

So it seems that one of the main arguments of the mockers will be that such a long duration of time has elapsed, thousands of years to be exact, and Christians keep saying Christ will return, but all things continue as they have since the creation. And just dating back to when Jesus was here and said He would return, it’s been nearly 2000 years.

But note how God inspires Peter to respond to the mockery about the issue of time: “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (verse 8). I don’t know about you, but I have serious difficulty grasping this truth. That is, that to the eternal God, there is no difference between a day and a thousand years!

Believe it or not, ever since the day of Pentecost, as recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we have been living in the last days. How do I know? Because on that day Peter stood up and said, regarding their Pentecostal experience, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy….” (Acts 2:16-17).

Since the Pentecostal experience was the fulfillment of something God promised would happen in the last days, we have been living in the last days for nearly two thousand years. But remember that to God, a thousand years is like a day. Hence, even though to us, it feels as if it has been like forever since Jesus left and said He would return, to God it’s as if Christ just left us a couple of days ago!

Peter wrote his epistle to prepare the believers for the mockers and naysayers who would come and try to make light of the message of the second coming of Christ and to give believers a biblical perspective on the issue of the time that has elapsed. I believe those mockers will abound as we near the return of Christ and the end of the world, but Christ’s return is settled in the heavens. So let us stay focused on being about the Father’s business.

Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Churches Should Promote Healthy Eating Habits

Earlier this year, I posted an article that was based on a study by Northwestern Medicine researchers, and it strongly suggested a possible link between faithful church attendance and obesity. I won’t discuss the findings in this post, but you can read the previous post by clicking here.

I am convinced that not only is God interested in our spiritual health, but also He is interested in our physical health. The Bible goes as far as saying that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Moreover, I believe that many of our health problems are brought on by our poor eating habits, and churches can play an important role in promoting healthy eating habits among their members.

Being a preacher, I get my share of eating in the fellowship halls of local churches after worship. It seems to be a universal joke in the body of Christ that preachers and fried chicken go hand in hand. Well, I don’t know how much truth there is to that saying, but I do know that the fried bird is king in the many churches I have dined at over the past 30 years.

Additionally, there is oftentimes an abundance of cakes, pies, and other desserts that members either bake or buy from their local grocery store and bring to church social gatherings. Plus, there are other high fat/high calorie foods such as macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and other stuff that have the power to send you to your Maker early, if you get my drift.

It’s not simply the fact that the kinds of foods I mentioned above characterize the typical menu at church fellowships, but it’s how often some churches devour these kinds of foods. Some churches have even coined the phrase, “an eating after every meeting.”

I believe that local churches should model responsible eating. During church social gatherings, we should have more vegetables than desserts. Also, baked meats more often than fried, etc.

Church leaders should promote changes such as these, and they should tell their congregants why these changes are conscientiously being made. Everybody knows that obesity in America is a serious problem in all age groups. And the greater point is that many of our health problems are directly related to our bad eating habits.

Many local churches do a good job at emphasizing the need for their members to grow spiritually. But let us also model discipline in the area of our eating habits during church social gatherings. The ultimate hope is that such emphasis at the local church level will spill over into the personal lives of church members. This in turn will make for a healthier church body.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Can We Live up to Our Motto "In God We Trust"?

(Article first published as  Can We Live up to our Motto “In God We Trust”? on Technorati)

Last Tuesday, by a vote of 396-9, the House reaffirmed our national motto “In God We Trust.” This motto was first adopted by Congress in 1956. Since there was no threat to abandon the motto, some lawmakers argue that the recent measure was unnecessary. President Obama mocked the legislation, saying it does nothing to create jobs.

It is good for us that we live in a country where we can have such a national motto. But I have to ask what I believe is a very relevant question: Can America live up to this motto, or are these empty words?

One of the challenges to our living up to this national motto, at least at the legislative level, has to do with the very freedoms that each of us has. Specifically, we have been granted freedom of religion. The result is that we live in a pluralistic society, and God means different things to different people. Hence, among those lawmakers who reaffirmed the motto by their vote last Tuesday, the majority of them voted the same way, but they had different concepts of God. Now imagine if they try to agree on and pass any legislation aimed at embracing this motto.

A second challenge to our living up to this motto is the word trust. In order for us to trust God, we must be willing to place our faith in what He says. From what I can see, our government would prefer that God have little or no say in its affairs. So how will this trust in God manifest itself in our government? Currently, even the public display of a plaque containing the Ten Commandments is a no-no in federally-funded buildings.

So let’s bring this motto down to the grassroots level. This is where it can work and for many of us it does. For instance, I am a Christian, and I am committed to living a life of trusting in the God of Christianity. I know of others who practice different religions, and they are free to commit themselves to trusting in their ideas of God. This is the practical significance of our national motto. And because in America we have been granted the religious freedom to personally embrace this motto, to me it is more than empty words.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Power of Words

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” This is what my friends and I used to say to each other when we were young. We often responded this way after someone had said something that was calculated to anger or belittle us.

But we were so wrong. Our words do have power. They can and often do hurt.

Actually, I have seen two sides of the power of words. As a preacher, I have seen the power of words to encourage and to edify others. That’s one of my objectives every time I stand up to preach the Word of God before His people. Occasionally, people do share with me how the words I have spoken in the pulpit have positively ministered to them. Sometimes the impact they convey is so profound that the words of their testimony in turn encourage me to continue what I do.

Then I have seen the power of words to tear down people. What sometimes amazes me is when I hear a mother verbally abusing her little child out in public. She may think her words are merely words. But when you keep telling a little child how worthless he is, and you regularly bombard him with foul language, these words leave scars that sometimes last a lifetime. Moreover, most of us, I believe, personally know the destructive power of words because we have been the purveyor and/or the recipient of such words.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” the Bible says (Proverbs 18:21). That means we can use our tongue either as a means of enriching the lives of others, or to do the exact opposite. Obviously, God’s will is that we choose the former over the latter.

For some people, even among those who say they are Christians, making this choice is much easier said than done. Not because they don’t have it in them to impart life-giving words to others. Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue. We have both. But if we have spent our lives being negative and finding fault with everything and everybody, we need to renew our thinking in this regard. The love and faith and hope and confidence that Christ has put on the inside of us should flow out of us and minister to those whom we come in contact with each day.

So from this day forward, let us use the power of our words for good and not for evil.

Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.