The world's newest religion - Environmental Idolatry

"Global warming is a major industry today. Between 1992 and 2008 the US Government spent $30 billion on climate change research and now contributes $6 billion a year. This finances jobs, grants, conferences, international travel and academic journals. It not only keeps a huge army of people in comfortable employment, but also fills them with self-righteousness and moral superiority regardless of the fact that real science does not support it." Jay Lehr, Ph.D Science Director at the Heartland Institute, USA.

I will digress a bit from my usual fare today. I have been enthralled by the worldwide panic swirling around the who concept of so called "global warming." Now, I know that Al Gore has declared the debate to be "over", but it certainly is not. There is a large number of highly qualified scientist who declare that it is not only good science, it is a purposeful, financially driven hoax; that prays on the fears of a culture thal already lives in fear. I believe that it is a function of the world's newest religion "Environmental Idolatry".

Actually, its not a "new religion" because it was identified as far back as Paul's letter to the church at Rome when he said in Romans 1:25, "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature (creation) more than the creator."

I highly recommend that if you are not yet living in complete panic about the levels of C02 in the atmosphere you read a document by Jay Lehr at http://nzclimatescience.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=471&Itemid=1. (You can copy it here and paste it in your browser). In this compelling document, Jay Lehr "blows up" much of the myth about global warming and I think, exposes it for exactly what it is - a myth and worse, a hoax.

A couple of quotes for to pique your interest:

"Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. On the contrary, it makes crops and forests grow faster. Mapping by satellite shows that the Earth has become about 6% greener overall in the past two decades, with forests expanding into arid regions. The Amazon rain forest was the biggest gainer, with two tons of additional biomass per acre per year. Certainly, climate change does not help every region equally, but careful studies predict overall benefit, fewer storms, more rain, better crop yields, longer growing seasons, milder winters and decreasing heating costs in colder climates. The news is certainly not bad and on balance may be rather good."

NASA satellites measuring Earth atmosphere temperature found 2008 to be the coldest year since 2000 and the 14th coldest of the past 30 years. US climate Monitoring Stations on the surface show greater warmth, but pictures of most of the 1,221 US temperature stations show 90% to be located near human sources of heat (exhaust fans, air conditioning units, hot roof tops, asphalt parking lots and so forth). The conclusion is inescapable: The US land based temperature record is unreliable. (Note: this means that the instruments they're using to record the temperatures of the earth's surface are primarily placed in hot asphalt parking logs and next to air conditioner exhausts, etc. where you would always see rises in temps).

Man in his blind retreat from serving the living God has begun to worship the things that God created. The truth that is being hidden is that MAN (whom the enemy of God hates) is the real target here and the one who will suffer most as we "save" the environment is man. Just ask the farmers who are loosing their farms and living in California because the irrigation supply to their farms has been cut off to save a 2 inch fish called the "Delta Smelt".

The science behind the "environmental" movement is weak and the integrity of its proponents is suspect, especially given the revelations of the past few days in which a major scandal in the environmental movement has been revealed: Computer hackers have obtained 160 megabytes of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. These e-mails, which have now been confirmed as real, involved many researchers across the globe with ideologically similar advocates around the world. They were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global warming claims. The academics here also worked closely with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

I am not proposing waste and pollution. I am suggesting that the danger to the planet has been overblown and supported by unfaithful science. I believe the human motivation is money - but the "spiritual" motivation (we wrestle not against flesh and blood) is to do harm to men.

Be warned - your enemy is not co2, nor is it greehhouse gases. Your enemy is as he always been - the one who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

That which was from the beginning

It may seem like a strange thing, but I was hiding one day this week at Burger King - trying to find a few minutes to study without the phone ringing or some emergency arising to tear me away from the Word. You can buy a soda there and refill it as many times as you like. I had my notepad, a pen, my IPOD with the Bible on it.....and a bottomless diet coke. Now Burger King may not seem like a place to get a new revelation of Jesus; nevertheless as I sat there reading and re-reading the first chapter of I John these words: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have handled, of the Word of Life. For the Life was manifested and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us." I was moved with some powerful images which I think I should share with my friends about these words from that exiled old apostle; not a new revelation, but a refreshed one:

The eternal was manifested (revealed, shown, took form, became known) in time and space.
The unknowable has become knowable
The untouchable has become touchable
The unapparoachable has come near - Listen to what he says; "we have seen it with our eyes, looked upon (observed), we have handled Him with our hands."

The universe is immense in size to a degree that it is a mathematical impossibility to measure it - hundreds; NO! Thousands of light years accross; the planets, stars without number - a vast expanse with no measureable borders.

Colossians 1:15-17, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and the earth, the things we can see and the things we cannot see, all the thrones or dominions or principalities or powers - all things were created by him and for him, and he He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (and are held together).

He existed before all of this
He caused it all to come into being
His presence permeates the universe down to each and every atom.
If you could fly to the farthest expanse of the galaxy you would find Him there.
He orders the rotation of the planets around the sun.
He pulls in the ocean tides and releases them again.
He is eternally self-existent and self-sufficient.
He is the creator and sustainer of the universe; the supreme Potentate of all thrones and dominions.
He is the King over all kings.
He is the President over all presidents.
His decrees are irresistable.
His veto is final and cannot be overturned by any congress or parliment.
At His word the universe fills with light; the seas teem with life, the fields are over run with vegetation and the course of history bends at His sway.

And John makes this incredible claim - "We have seen Him! We have observed Him! WE have touched Him with our hands."

This was no burning bush like Moses.
This was no vision like Isaiah or dream like Jacob.
This was not a disembodied voice booming from Sinai. He came striding down out of the Judean Hills to the shores of the lake, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Follow me."

By means of some incredible miracle, the one in whom the entire universe is contained was contained in a human body. Somehow, the uncontainable clothed himself in skin so He could live in fellowship with His creation.

If you want to know what separates Christianity from every other faith -- here it is! You can fear Allah, you can serve him, you can die for him, but you cannot sit down in the midst of your brokenness and talk to him. If you are a Mormon, you have to take Joe Smith's word for it about what he saw in those golden spectacles. The religions of this world have gods who speak through prophets to communicate their laws and requirements - but the One True God of Heaven has good news for mankind and He delivered it personally. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God who at sundry times and in various ways spoke to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds."

Institute for Christian Discipleship

This month we will kick off our Institute for Christian Discipleship at Agape Christian Fellowship. This is a two year program designed to transform converts into disciples and turn disciples into disciple makers. The fact that someone has converted in belief to Christ does not automatically make them a disciple.

Most of us have no issue with recognizing that to tell a lie is disobedience to God’s Word and is sin. Similarly we understand that to commit audultery or murder is a sin and in direct disobedience to God’s commandments. We also undrstand that we are commanded to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and as well, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that to fail to do either is disobedience to the will of God. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus gives a clear commandment when He says, “Therefore go 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 everthing I have commanded you.” Since this is given as a command - to disobey is to commit sin.

If current statistics (i.e. Barna, etc) are correct which tell us that of the professing Christians today, over 90% have NEVER led a person to Christ. If we have never led a person to Christ, it is highly probable that we are likewise not involved in their discipleship. This means that 9 out of every 10 believers are living in open rebellion to God’s Word.

There are a number of “manifestations” that men long for and believe will mark the advent of true revival in the church. I am confident that true revival in the church of Jesus Christ will be clearly marked by one manifestation: We will see converts become disciples and disciples become disciple makers. We may see many powerful manifestations in unprecedented measure; healing, prophecy, tongues, miracles and all of the other manifestations of the Holy Spirit and I long for them as do many of my brethren - but that will not mean revival has come. You may feel free to announce revival when the nation is transformed and a generation turns to God. Movements are time limited and geographically contained; visitations are highly impactful and personally transformational, but REVIVAL turns the tide of a nation or nations and spans generations. Are we praying for REVIVAL or will we be satisfied with a visitation.

“By definition, there is no such thing as a self-made disciple. Every disciple is made by someone else. The very command to ‘go and make disciples’ signifies that disciples are not self-made. The pattern the Bible describes is one of making and being made. The pattern of disciple-making according to Matthew 28 and 2 Timothy 2 is everyone should be being made a disciple and be in the process of making others. If you are not in the process of being made a disciple or making other disciples, then you really are NOT a disciple. ‘Being made’ has to do with the willingness to be taught, molded, rebuked, and trained. Making disciples involves the same. You can’t possibly be a disciple if you are not willing to be called up and challened. The same is true in regard to making disciples.” (Norm Willis, from his pamphlet “Discipleship.”)

The Grace to Walk in Holiness

A number of my friends in the Lord have expressed a concern of late that I may be in danger of abandoning the wonderful doctrine of Grace in favor of some type of legalism or merit based salvation. I have not.

I was taught as a child, and I still believe that we are saved by grace through faith. I still cling to the timeless truths that were laid in my foundations as a young believer - that we are saved through faith in the vicarious sacrifice of Christ on the cross where He, once and for all, paid the price of my sin.

What some have noticed is a burden for a return to the preaching of that cross. That awful, horrible place where the Son of Glory was freely sacrificed in payment for our sinfulness and a place where I am to lay down and abandon my sinful lifestyle in favor of a lifestyle that emulates that of Christ. I am sickened by the message, "God loves you just like you are." The great truth that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" has been twisted and perverted into a gospel that convinces men they can come to know Christ without being changed by Christ. The real truth is that God is sickened by what we are in our sin, and so He provided a way that we could be transformed into something that is pleasing and acceptable to Him. The message of the cross is that we are twisted and deformed and wasted by sin - but we don't have to stay that way - we can be transformed into something new, something pleasing to God; to the "image of His Son." A message that does not demand transformation, a radical change in life style and in thought life - is not the message of the cross. It is a lie from the pit of hell.

What some have noticed is a renewed burden for men to understand that grace sets us free from the chains of our sin, not just the penalty. Grace does not give us permission to walk in worldliness, but it does give us the power to walk in holiness; and, we are called --no, commanded -- to be holy. 'Be holy, even as I am holy." To be holy is to be different, to be other than the world. It is not "legalism" to say that holiness demands a change in our necklines, hemlines, the way we wear our hair, mark and mutilate our bodies, and what goes in our ears and out of our mouths. Our clothes and hairstyles, our language, and choice in activities to not make us holy - but it does reveal our holiness.

God's grace is mighty, able to triumph over every weakness of the flesh; and God's mercy is deep, deeper than any failure of the flesh. It is not a matter of my being saved that is at issue; what is at issue is the shame I will experience when I stand before our merciful savior and give account of my low regard for His great sacrifice for my sin and my pitiful stewardship of that grace and mercy.

Heart Cry

Twenty four years ago on this date Barbara and I were anxiously anticipating the birth of our third child, Matthew Keith. We hadn't really planned to have this child, nonetheless we were looking forward to having a new addition to our family. In just three days - July 19, 1985 we held our infant son in our arms. He was dead. I won't go into details because they don't really matter. The fact is that our hearts ached with a hurt that can only be understood by those who have experienced it. God blessed us with three wonderful children after Matthew died; Andrew, Timothy, and Abigail and now, eight terrific grandkids. We love them all with depth that cannot be described with written words. Yet, from time to time there is this ache in my heart when I think about Matthew, the little boy I never got to know. As I stood by his graveside, tears burning my eyes I told the Lord, "I can deal with this, if only you could help me understand why." And then, I realized - almost as soon as the words passed through my thoughts, "No, Lord - I don't need to understand - I just need to trust you. I know you love me and I know you love Barb - and I know you love Matthew. Lord just help me to trust you."

That "revelation" has stood me in good stead these twenty-four years. I have come to believe at my very core that "the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord." We do not require understanding, nor is God required to offer it. We cannot, nor should we judge His decisions in our lives. He is a holy, righteous God who does not, who cannot act apart from His love, mercy, compassion, and divine wisdom. His "ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts"......His wisdom is too wonderful for us to comprehend. That is part of my core being.

Tonight, I hear the heart's cry of a good friend who has a tiny little girl in her arms, fighting for life with every breath. I hear in her voice the desperation that comes from utter helplessness and I remember. I can say with surety that I know how she feels and I hurt for her; and I weep with her. . . . .and I pray for her and little Jaeli, and if I could I would direct God to the proper course of action and then I remember - I am not alone, nor are Jaeli's mom and dad - they are cared for by a Father who watched His own Son struggle for life with every breath - and He understands and cares.

Right now, I just really miss Matthew.

Elijah

Hiding in a cave, sucking his thumb in a fit of self pity and exhaustion, Elijah declared that he, and he alone had been faithful in service to God. He was the only one who had kept God's covenant with Israel; the only one who had overthrown the altars to Baal; the only one who had challenged the false prophets - and now he is the only one left.

This is the answer Elijah gave when asked by God, "What are you doing here?" Now, I don't claim to be an Elijah. Like many of the great men of God whose lives are recorded in the Scriptures, I admire him and aspire to his courage. Sadly, I find that I am less like him in his moments of courage and more like him in his fits of self pity. I understand why Elijah is hiding in this cave. He is exhausted physically and emotionally. He has just won a great spiritual victory over the prophets of Baal but now, he is just tired.

There is an interesting exchange between Elijah and God in the 19th chapter of I Kings. Elijah, having received death threats from Jezebel has fled to the wilderness. As he is there the Lord ministers to him, feeds him, and eventually confronts him. "What are you doing here?"

Elijah answers, "I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (v. 10)

In reply, the Lord took Elijah to a mountain where he manifested Himself in four ways: a great wind, an earthquake, and a massive fire, and finally, a still small voice. Most readers will remember that God was not found in the wind, the earthquake or the fire - but only in the still small voice. But then, God asks Elijah again, "What are you doing here?" Elijah replies with a remarkably fresh answer, ""I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (v. 14). Same song, same tired old verse.

Elijah didn't really know why he was there. He just knew he was tired and scared and alone. He had spent most of his life alone - a single voice speaking out against the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel. It gets old, and it gets to you sometime. What Elijah needed was a fresh word from God. Even his spiritual victory at Mt. Carmel could not replenish his spirit the way a fresh word from the Lord could. He needed to hear God and when he did - he didn't feel alone anymore. I am so there. I need a fresh word from God. Not from a friend and not from a prophet and not from a preacher - but from the mouth of God. Not in great and terrible manifestations, wind and earthquake and fire; but a still small voice.

In some ways, and for this reason, I have exiled myself to the wilderness for a season. I have taken a leave from the church for six weeks not only because I am tired (emotionally and spiritually), but I need a fresh word from the mouth of God. We live in terrible and frightening times and men's hearts are failing in fear - I know God is doing something costly in the Body. I choose my word carefully here - I say "costly" because great things are always costly. I hear men prophesying that God is getting ready to do something wonderful and magnificent - a "new thing;" and I agree. What the preachers often fail to mention is that great things are usually costly things. I am confident that there are men and women who are like the "7000" ( a perfect number) who had not bowed the knee to Baal - in the church, and I am so grateful for them - but right now, I find myself sitting under a Juniper tree, waiting to hear what He will say - to me.

God does His best work in the worst of times!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." So begins "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. I was thinking about those classic words today as I made my way along the 65 mile stretch of highway between Brattleboro and White River Jct., VT. The greatest victories are won in the most daunting challenge; the greatest joys leap from the deepest despair, and the brightest light emerges out of the deepest darkness.

We all want to see miracles, but most of us don't want to be in the circumstances where such miracles are birthed. We want to see expressions of God's awesome power but we shy away from the precipice for fear that God's power will fail us in the time of danger. The disciples rode the terrifying waves in the storm on the Sea of Galilee but it was in this very place they saw Jesus' awesome authority over the seas and the wind. Had they been in a canoe on a shallow pond they would have been safe but God's power would have been hidden from them. We want to observe God's might from a safe distance lest something go terribly wrong.

However, one will not be exposed to the miracle without first being exposed to the danger. You cannot see the awesome demonstration of His might from a bleacher; you have to be on the playing field; and no one is ever rescued from a safe place. Jesus got into the boat one day with his disciples as they fished close in to the shore and said to them, "Launch out into the deep." When they did - they took in a great catch. You see, you can catch fish in close to the shore, but the really great catch; the miraculous one is out in deep water away from the safety of the shore. To truly enjoy the exhilaration of knowing His great power you have to cast off the shore lines and launch into deep water. The shore lines keep us moored in safety, but we can never truly make the big catch from that place.

As I have gotten older, I have developed a deep hunger to experience more and more of the awesomeness of God. No, I am not interested in the cheap, side show existentialism that so many are willing to settle for but I do want to stand on the deck in the midst of the storm and hope that Jesus will invite me to come to Him on the waves. I planning a trip to Brazil in September, but instead of flying all the way to my destination, I have elected to travel the final 600 miles on a native line boat up the Amazon simply because it seems I have rediscovered a sense of adventure that I think I misplaced for a while.

Our little family camp in White River is facing deep and troubling waters as our historic old facilities have come face to face with the 21st century. We are going to be required to meet codes and standards that quite honestly I don't think we can do. I was thinking about this as the mile posts clipped by on my 6th trip to the camp in 8 days, "We can't do it." However, as the words of Charles Dickens began to sing a little tune in my head I realized we are in precisely the kind of situation where you are supposed to expect the unexpected; hope in the midst of hopelessness, and sing the victory song before the battle is over. This is precisely the place where God can demonstrate His awesome power and absolute authority and take all the glory for Himself. This is "best of times, it is the worst of times," because our Lord always does His best work in the worst of times. It really doesn't matter that we can't do it, because He can.

The miles began to fly by as I made my way back to camp to calculate sheetrock and wiring needs and for a while the burden began to lay just a bit lighter on my heart as I realized that I may be living right square in the eye of a storm - but that's a perfect vantage point from which to see the hand of God with my own eyes.