Love Your Enemies

A pastor in Florida is making news by spreading hate. He is threatening to burn The Quran on September 11th. As a result he is inciting hate. He is also transforming his call to Gospel ministry into a political tool instead of preaching "Christ crucified." I wonder how he sleeps at night knowing that his actions have put thousands of American Soldiers at risk? How does he feel knowing that years of incarnational ministry among Muslims is going to be threatened because of this simple publicity stunt? How can he claim to be a follower of Jesus when Jesus says, "Love your enemies?"

Dr. Timothy Tennet, President of Asbury Seminary, says, "In 1900 34% of the world population called themselves Christian. In 2000 33% of the world population called themselves Christian. The figures demonstrate that Christianity simply kept steady with the population growth of the world. In 1900 12% of the world population called themselves Muslim. In 2000 20% of the world population called themselves Muslim. The Muslim faith grew 8% over the rate of population growth. This makes Islam the fastest growing religion in the world." In the 18th and 19th century, Judaism was the second largest religious group outside of Christianity in the United States. Currently Islam is on the same level as Judaism and is expected to surpass Judaism in the United States for the title of second largest religion within a decade. Islam is a highly misunderstood and feared religion by many of us in the West. Yet we are moving into an era where we will have neighbors that are of the Muslim faith. Our children will sit beside children of the Islamic faith in school. We visit restaurants where the owners are Muslim. It is becoming more common everyday to come across and interact with a person of the Muslim faith. We can choose to ignore the fact. We can refuse the Scripture’s mandate to love and just turn our backs on our neighbors or we can begin to have a conversation.

As parting words, Jesus tells his disciples and us, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18ff). The word “nations” in the Greek is not what we consider when we think of nations. It does not mean nation-states with borders and boundaries. “Nations” in this passage refers to ethnic groups. There are approximately 24,000 ethnic groups in the world today. 10,0000 of those belong to a world religion outside of Christianity. 4,000 ethnic groups currently belong to Islam. If we are going to be faithful to the command of Jesus we must reach out to the Muslims. If we chose to leave out any people group simply because they seem difficult, unreachable, or none of our concern then we are not faithful to Christ. Our call is to invite all Muslims into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Our invitation is to all peoples to be followers of Jesus.

Carl Medearis: Relating to Muslims

In 1900 34% of the world population called themselves Christian. In 2000 33% of the world population called themselves Christian. The figures demonstrate that Christianity simply kept steady with the population growth of the world. In 1900 12% of the world population called themselves Muslim. In 2000 20% of the world population called themselves Muslim. The Muslim faith grew 8% over the rate of population growth. This makes Islam the fastest growing religion in the world. In the 18th and 19th century, Judaism was the second largest religious group outside of Christianity in the United States. Currently Islam is on the same level as Judaism and is expected to surpass Judaism in the United States for the title of second largest religion within a decade. Islam is a highly misunderstood and feared religion by many of us in the West. Yet we are moving into an era where we will have neighbors that are of the Muslim faith. Our children will sit beside children of the Islamic faith in school. We visit restaurants where the owners are Muslim. It is becoming more common everyday to come across and interact with a person of the Muslim faith. We can choose to ignore the fact. We can refuse the Scripture’s mandate to love and just turn our backs on our neighbors or we can begin to have a conversation.

As a church I would like to see us committed to reaching out to Muslims. I see no greater opportunity than right now witnessing to the people of Islam. The God of Abraham hears the crying of Ishmael in the wilderness and he is challenging his people to also hear that cry. We must commit ourselves to reaching the Muslim world.

Lion of Judah

The first movie my wife and I saw as a couple was "Legend's of The Fall." Besides "Tombstone" it happens to be my one of my favorite movies. The movie is set in the beautiful mountains of the frontier. A log home surrounded by forests. The plot revolves around three brothers and their father. The eldest brother is focused on wealth and power. He moves to the city, starts a business, and later gets into politics. The youngest brother dies in the world war. The middle brother, Tristan, played by Brad Pitt is restless and dangerous. He is the untamed lion of the family. His heart will not him be controlled. He is wild at heart. An old Native American in the movie says he has the spirit of the bear. He says the spirit of the bear cannot be tamed.
The Spirit of Jesus cannot be tamed. Howard Mocey says, "The spiritual life cannot be made suburban; it is always frontier and we who live in it must accept and ever rejoice that it remains untamed." The poodle us suburban, tame, and domesticated. The lion is frontier, untamed, and undomesticated. It is very difficult to put a lion on a leash. Yet this is what we have attempted to do with Jesus when we replace the missionary pioneering presence of the Spirit of God with the domesticated, safe lifestyle of doing church.
I am convinced that Jesus has a lot more to teach us if we are willing to go. We miss out on the blessings of God because we have settled. We have not gone all the way with Christ. We have stopped and placed ourselves in comfortable seats when Jesus is challenging us to press on with the message of hope, love, and peace. What is it going to take to reach the 1.6 billion people who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ? It is going to take a pioneering presence. It is going to take a church that does not settle for comfort and safety. It is going to take people of faith who go out in boldness possessed by the Spirit of the Lion of Judah.

Walkin w/ Jesus

"In that new way of living and new form of society which is called the Kingdom of Heaven, there are no nations, there are only individuals." (Quote from Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago).
As followers of Jesus we are called to reach individuals. It means we cannot distinguish from going across the ocean or going across the street. We go where we are sent to reach people. Another way I like to define missions is simply taking a walk with Jesus. If you decide to talk a way with Jesus today don't be surprised by the places he may take you.