David refused Saul's weapons and armor. He faced Goliath, with only the anointing of God on his side. It was more than enough, and David defeated Goliath with a single stone. Christians today are facing many Goliaths, but are we even using the right weapons? We rage against principalities and powers beyond our human capabilities, yet we continue to do so alone. God is with us if we allow him to be. He has given us the tools to do his work and to bear his fruit. The battle against the world, the flesh and the enemy has already been won by Jesus on the cross. Rise up and know your enemies, then take up your cross, and share the Gospel with anyone who will listen. The measure of victory is in the people we reach.

REFERENCES

Communicate Jesus, “5 Challenges Faced by Christian Men Today,”

Communicate Jesus, “Accountability Software – Comparing 5 of the Best Tools”

Doyle, Shawn, “My (Personal) List of What it Means to be a Good Man”, The Good Man Project,  

Fathers.com; “The Extent of Fatherlessness”

Got Questions, “What Does the Bible Say About Being a Godly Man”

Jared Crypto Friend, “What are the Biggest Problems Christians Face on a Daily Basis,” Quora.com 

Miller, Vince, “Nine Attributes of a Real Man”, desiringGod.org, 

Murray, David; Preventing Pastoral Burnout, Crossway

Szecsei, Szabolcs; “Top Ten Facts and Statistics on Fatherless Homes for 2022”: Modern Gentleman.net

Turner, Doctor J.J.; “10 Challenges Facing Christian Youth”; Jeremiah Institute

In Genesis 1:28 God gave instructions to man for the stewardship of his creation. It says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Mankind has subdued the earth. We have made it safer more fruitful, but we have also used its resources unwisely. Can we steward better without leaving the "least of these" to suffer in poverty and need? Can we improve but understand the cost? Can we check our privilege and put the needs of others ahead of our own? While we are doing all of this temporal work, who is minding the eternal issues? Can we put the Gospel first and still steward the creation God gave to us?

RESOURCES ON CARE OF THE EARTH

The Environment and the Christian by Calvin DeWitt Green 

Revolution by Ben Lowe

Redeeming Creation: The Biblical Basis for Environmental Stewardship by Fred Van Dyke, David C. Mahan, Joseph K. Sheldon and Raymond H. Brand

Under the Bright Wings by Peter Harris

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 202–204.

REFERENCES

The American Scientific Affiliation

https://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/environment/index.html

Bible Study Tools, “Revelation 11:18”

https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/revelation-11-18.html

Eco-Justice Ministries

http://www.eco-justice.org/default.asp

Evangelical Environmental Network

https://creationcare.org/

Lott, Maxim, “10 times 'experts' predicted the world would end by now”, Fox News Online,

10 times 'experts' predicted the world would end by now | Fox News

Lock, Miriam Kates, “What does the Bible say on the preservation of the environment?”

Jerusalem Post; https://www.jpost.com/judaism/what-does-the-bible-say-on-the-preservation-of-the-environment-660189

Mahoney, Kelli, “8 Christian Environmental Organizations” Learn Religion.

https://www.learnreligions.com/christian-environmental-organizations-4590157

Quiring, Kathleen, “What Does Jesus Have to do With the Environment”, Becoming Peculiar;

http://becomingpeculiar.com/what-does-jesus-have-to-do-with-the-environment/

Rai-Roche, Sean, “Renewable energy could provide 33-50% of US electricity by 2030, but

unlikely to hit Biden 80% target”; PVTECH. https://www.pv-tech.org/renewable-energy-could-provide-33-50-of-us-electricity-by-2030-but-unlikely-to-hit-biden-80-target/#:~:text=If%20this%20trend%20continues%2C%20renewables,the%20nations%20electricity%20by%202030.

World Economic Forum, The World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Jesus assures us in John 15:18, “18 "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” This is not a warning to adapt to the culture for safety. It is an encouragement that when the culture is against us, we are on the right path! Can we react to suffering like the disciples did in Acts 5:41 “41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” or do we conform to the world in an effort to avoid the pain of taking up His cross? In times of tragedy and suffering we can bring it to our Lord, leave it at his feet, and ask for relief, peace and comfort. Do we ever take a moment to try to understand the loneliness of the suffering Jesus took on for each of us? My goal with this study is to do just that. Seek to understand the suffering of our savior that led him to ask relief of Father God in Mark 14:36, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Live in repentance, live in empathy, live in grace. Rise Up!

RESOURCES ON SOLIDARITY IN JESUS’ SUFFERINGS

God Has Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time by Desmond Tutu

A Grace Disguised by Jerry L. Sittser

Invitations from God by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

REFERENCES

Ahlberg Calhoun, Adele, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 221–223.

Essenpreis, Spencer and Kari, “5 Steps to Encourage Someone Who’s Suffering”

https://research.lifeway.com/2020/05/21/5-steps-to-encourage-someone-whos-suffering/#:~:text=Ask%20God%20to%20provide%20healing,them%20and%20strengthen%20their%20faith.

Ice, Thomas D., “The End-Time Apostasy” Liberty University, [email protected]

https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=pretrib_arch

Can a Christian lead a non-believer to Christ by sharing their personal redemption story? Should they? We were commissioned to share the Gospel of Christ, the good news of eternal salvation. We have many tools at our disposal as evidence that the Gospel is true. Witness can be among the most powerful of those tools because of the human connection of shared experience and the visible component of changed lives. As R.C. Sproul once said, “A Christian’s testimony may be good news of a changed life, but in and of itself, it’s not the GOSPEL.”

RESOURCES ON WITNESS

Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World by Rebecca Manley Pippert

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer

Saltshaker Ministries, www.saltshaker.org

The Alpha Course, www.alpha.org

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 180–182.

REFERENCES

Ahlberg Calhoun, Adele, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 180–182.

Koukl, Greg, “Another Conversation with YouTube Atheist PineCreek Doug”, Stand to

Reason,

https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RyLm9yZy9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseQ/episode/c3Ryd2Vla2x5LnBvZGJlYW4uY29tLzFjYTYyZmMwLWNjZjQtM2

Sproul, R.C. “Your Testimony is not the Gospel”; Ultimately Podcast

Ultimately with R.C. Sproul - Your Testimony Is Not the Gospel (google.com)

Voltaire, has been credited with saying, “If God created us in his own image, we have more than reciprocated.” Since the Garden of Eden mankind has sought to eliminate God or replace Him. Most recent examples like Cultural Christianity, Christian Nationalism, and Evangelical Deconstructionism are simply efforts to strip away the truth of God's nature and replace it with the tenuous and inadequate abilities of man. Join me as I demonstrate that there is "nothing new under the sun" when it comes to human efforts to deny the one true God and his efforts to reconcile us to him through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. No matter how far you have run from God you are never more than one step from His open arms. That single step is the next step in the effort to change the world.

References

Daniel, Elise, The Institute for Faith, Work and Economics; Three Fallacies of the Social Gospel (tifwe.org)

Editors, Social Gospel | Description, Movement, & Facts | Britannica

Hoffecker, Andrew, “Liberal Theology”; The Gospel Coalition Liberal Theology - The Gospel Coalition

Harrison, Darrell, Walker, Virgil; "Evangelical Deconstructionism"; Just Thinking Podcast; EP # 117 | Evangelical Deconstructionism - Just Thinking Ministries 

Salter, G. Connor, “How Can Christians Respond to the Impact of the Enlightenment Today?”; Chritianity.com. How Did the Enlightenment Impact the Church? (christianity.com)

What is Progressive Christianity? - Bethel UCC (bethelbeaverton.org)

Wellman, Jack, What Is The Social Gospel? (whatchristianswanttoknow.com)

Woodbridge, John, “The Rise of Biblical Criticism in the Enlightenment”; The Gospel Coalition   The Rise of Biblical Criticism in the Enlightenment - The Gospel Coalition

Is Discipling a Command or a Suggestion for Christians? The ripple that Jesus started with twelve men in Israel continued to grow over two centuries to encircle the world. Are the prophecies of the end contingent upon the obedience of the elect to live out the Great Commission? Are we waiting for the return of Jesus or is God waiting for us to finish the work the Son of Man commissioned us to do? I try to answer some big questions and give some hope to many who have struggled to keep moving forward in their faith. 

References

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 155–157.

Chismar, Janet, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,

What is a Christian? (billygraham.org)

FOCUS3.COM, WHAT DOES DISCIPLINE MEAN?

What Does Discipline Mean? - Focus 3

Ritenbaugh, Richard T., The All-Important Introduction to Revelation, quoted by

Bible tools.org, What the Bible says about Sense of Urgency (bibletools.org)

When I heard this discipline title "RULE for Life" I immediately thought about legalism. Remember the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament? They made up rules that God never stated in the Bible. Rules governing tradition, behavior, food, clothing, gender, age, politics, wealth and anything else they could dream up to puff themselves up with power stolen from the God they had all-but forgotten.

How do we position ourselves closer to God? How do we live out his will for our lives? Creating a Rhythm for Life can help us to determine both where we are going and what we need to do to get there, intentionally. Determine your destination and live a life that helps you to get there on purpose.

RESOURCES ON A RHYTHM FOR LIFE

Living with Contradiction by Esther de Wall

The Rule of St. Benedict

Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 37–41.

Grenz, Stanley, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 71–72.

Last week we discussed the hypocrisy of Cultural Christianity. This time we delve into society's current boogeyman of choice Christian Nationalism. Whether it is a true threat to our culture or not depends mostly on your politics. Either way it has true ramifications for the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ, his Church. I will spend time discussing the rights we were guaranteed by God and whether a corrupt culture can guarantee us anything. Tune in, find out, Rise Up!

#prayingforUkraine

References

Barna Study on Biblical Worldview among Christians

Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years - Barna Group

Cultural Christians; website,

Cultural Christians

Harrison, Darrell B., and Virgil Wlaker Just Thinking Podcast, “The Church and Culture”

Just Thinking Podcast (google.com)

Howard, Kathy, “4 Reasons Christians Compromise with the Culture”, kathyhoward.org,

4 Reasons Christians Compromise with the Culture - Kathy Howard

Lovelace, Berkeley, CNBC, “CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese”

Covid: CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized were overweight or obese (cnbc.com)

Shepherd, Josh, “Survey Finds Only 9% of Self-Identified Christians Hold to Biblical Worldview”

Survey Finds Only 9% of Self-Identified Christians Hold to Biblical Worldview (julieroys.com)

Stetzer, Ed, “Christianity Isn't Dying, Cultural Christianity Is” crosswalk.com,

Christianity Isn't Dying, Cultural Christianity Is (crosswalk.com)

Stuckey, Allie Beth, Relatable, “How Tim Keller and Russel Moore became mouthpieces for

masks and Vaccines.” Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 560 | How Tim Keller & Russell Moore Became Mouthpieces for Masks & Vaccines | Guest: Megan Basham (google.com)

The Free Dictionary.com “General Welfare” General Welfare legal definition of General Welfare (thefreedictionary.com)

Nationalism

Hitler's Rise to Power: A Timeline (thoughtco.com)

Cultural Christianity and Christian Nationalism are two ends of the Christian Spectrum. One ideology caves to the whims of the world while the other puts worldly concerns above the eternal salvation of the Gospel of Christ. In this first of two podcasts, I discuss Cultural Christianity. I define it, explain its motives, and delve into whether it is replacing Biblical Christianity. How should a true Christian be salt and light in a world demanding sugar and shadow? 

References

Cultural Christians; website,

Cultural Christians

Harrison, Darrell B., and Virgil Wlaker Just Thinking Podcast, “The Church and Culture”

Just Thinking Podcast (google.com)

Howard, Kathy, “4 Reasons Christians Compromise with the Culture”, kathyhoward.org,

4 Reasons Christians Compromise with the Culture - Kathy Howard

Lovelace, Berkeley, CNBC, “CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized for Covid were overweight or obese”

Covid: CDC study finds about 78% of people hospitalized were overweight or obese (cnbc.com)

Shepherd, Josh, “Survey Finds Only 9% of Self-Identified Christians Hold to Biblical Worldview”

Survey Finds Only 9% of Self-Identified Christians Hold to Biblical Worldview (julieroys.com)

Stetzer, Ed, “Christianity Isn't Dying, Cultural Christianity Is” crosswalk.com,

Christianity Isn't Dying, Cultural Christianity Is (crosswalk.com)

Stuckey, Allie Beth, Relatable, “How Tim Keller and Russel Moore became mouthpieces for

masks and Vaccines.” Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 560 | How Tim Keller & Russell Moore Became Mouthpieces for Masks & Vaccines | Guest: Megan Basham (google.com)    

We, as human beings, are not well suited to submission of any kind. We haven't been since the serpent convinced Adam and Eve that God was holding them back from their true capabilities. That said, we allow principalities and powers to speak into our lives making us their advertisers. Whether it is politics, religion, medical issues or anything else we submit to a side and then fight for "their truth". The only objective truth is God's. Do you belong to God, or does some self-centered version of God belong to you? Join us to find out WHOSE you are!

RESOURCES ON SUBMISSION

Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Community & Submission by Jan Johnson

Whisper by Mark Batterson

Ahlberg Calhoun, Adele Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us,

                Revised and expanded. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2015), 136–137.

Harrison, Darrell and Walker, Virgil Just Thinking Podcast, Podcast - Just Thinking Ministries  

Kruse, Kevin “Servant Leadership: Definition, Examples, Characteristics;” Leadx.com

                Servant Leadership: Definition, Examples, Characteristics - LEADx

MacArthur Jr., John F. Slave: The Hidden Truth about Your Identity in Christ (Nashville:

                Thomas Nelson, 2012). Chapter 13.