All I can say is, “What an amazing day at Charity!!!!” Watching people respond to the nudging of the Holy Spirit is such an emotional experience for me. So, here are a few things that God encouraged me with today.

1. It was great to see the baptismal waters stirred for the 3rd week In a row and we have 4 more to baptize next week. Seeing lives changed never gets old.
2. Tate’s message was so challenging and I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for the staff that God has assembled at Charity. They are all so committed to a life of outstanding character and integrity both publicly and privately. That is refreshing.
3. The night of worship was the absolute best time with our church family and friends. Experiencing that level of intimate worship with the church family you love so much is such a special experience that cannot be explained. I can only imagine what heaven will be like. I can’t wait.
4. The generosity of God’s people is humbling. We had a goal of $2,000. This is enough money to provide a set of kitchen appliances for a poor area of Nicaragua where kids only eat 3 or 4 times a week on average. The offering tonight was over $2,800. God bless those who gave sacrificially.
5. Finally, I believe our church is blessed with some incredible talent. The opening acoustic set blew me away and it set the tone for a spirit filled night of worship. Seeing so many teenagers and young adults overflowing with worship showed me that the next generation has an amazing heart for worship. I’m confident that as we fan the flame of worship in their hearts they will continue to be engaged in the worship experience and ministry of the church.

I am so ready for next week. So, grab a friend this week and tell them they are coming with you to the best place to worship on this side of heaven and I’ll see you at Charity.

A living sacrifice,

Pastor Marty

God has really used Acts 15:19 this week to shake me up. I want to share it with you in several translations so you can fully see what Luke was trying to get across to his reader as he recorded a conversation regarding some religious disagreements.

ESV – “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,”

NIV – “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

God’s Word Translation – “So I’ve decided that we shouldn’t trouble non-Jewish people who are turning to God.”

In this passage, there were some Pharisees, who had become followers of Jesus, trying to make the Jewish Law of circumcision necessary for Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to come to Christ. They wanted to impose their traditional measure of spirituality on those who were coming to faith in Christ even though there was no spiritual value to the practice at all.  There is little doubt these Pharisees were doing so because that was the normal religious practice for them and they probably thought everyone should hold the same view on circumcision they did. They were convinced that it was a godly practice and must be right for everyone.

Peter stood up and made a presentation about why they needed to reconsider their logic. They were wanting to make an issue over something that could potentially create a boundary between the lost and Jesus. He reminded them of where they had been prior to following Christ. He then told them not to let their traditions and personal measure of spirituality hinder anyone from becoming a follower of Jesus. Eventually James stood up and proclaimed that they should be very careful about making it unnecessarily difficult for people to come to Christ. These men were making the case that there was no religious tradition more important than ensuring that the Gospel message was made available to everyone.

As I have meditated on this verse this week I have asked myself, “What have I done or what am I doing that is standing in the way of someone coming to Christ?” That question has caused me to examine almost every move I’ve made this week.

I’ve also asked myself whether or not our church has any religious roadblocks that make it more difficult for people to come to Christ.

God forbid that we would ever put any tradition or preference above the priority of the lost coming to know Christ. God forbid that we would ever be a church that is more concerned with a form of godliness than we are about reaching the godless. God has called us to be united in our goal of reaching the lost by any means possible. To do so, we must constantly examine our methodology and make sure we are not creating or even overlooking roadblocks that stand in the way of the lost coming to Christ.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Marty

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

This is as true today as it was when Peter wrote these words nearly 2,000 years ago. Satan has a desire to destroy you and me by any means possible.

We can guard ourselves against Satan’s destruction by following Peter’s directions for our lives.

1. Be sober-minded. It is imperative that we guard our minds against stinking-thinking. You ever notice how little it takes to discourage us. If Satan can plant one little negative thought in our minds then we usually dwell on it until we are just the opposite of sober-minded. We become inebriated with negativity and we begin stumbling toward destructive thinking and destructive behavior usually follows. It doesn’t take a lot for us to get discouraged and when we are it is usually because we allow ourselves to think unhealthy thoughts. We will dwell on the negativity and fail to look at the blessings that God has given us.
2. Be watchful. If you’ve ever walked through an area where you did not feel safe then you know precisely what Peter meant by this statement. You listen for anything that might bring you harm and you watch for anything that might look suspicious or harmful. Satan is lurking and he’s prowling and if we are not able to identify things and people around us who are destructive we are prone to his tracks.
3. Don’t be that guy or girl who is devoured and don’t let those you love be that guy or girl who is devoured. Heards of animals watch out for one another against the prowling lions. As we are being watchful then we are also looking out for others who might be vulnerable to attack.

Satan is happy when Christians are defeated. No matter what you are facing don’t let him have the victory in your life.

“Stand strong in the lord and in the power of his might.”

Pastor Marty

On September 11, 2001 America was attacked in a horrific way. The vast majority of our great country immediately responded in unity and with a resolve to eliminate those who would attack us in such an evil and cold-hearted manner. At the time, our President, George W. Bush, stood on the heap of rubble from the World Trade Center with a bullhorn in his hand and no teleprompter to be found and said,  “I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people — and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” Those words inspired Americans to lock arms against those who attacked us. Many of us in this nation got on our knees, not before the Allah of Muhammad and Islam, but before the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We begged God to bring comfort and peace to our nation and justice to those who attacked us. A clear line was drawn between good and evil and we stood firm.

But as time went on something else began to unfold and infiltrate the speeches of those in power. Driven by the fear of sounding Islamophobic many of the leaders in America began to embrace the religion of Islam. Speech after speech was made to reassure the Muslim world that they were not the enemy of America and that they were welcome to come and practice their religion freely and openly without fear of attack or persecution.

Now we are several years removed from the tragedy of 9/11 and we are still dealing with the effects of radical Islam around the globe. I’m not an expert in world religions or world politics but I’m currently unaware of any country in which Islam is embraced where they have not tried to take over and make Islam the only acceptable religion.

Today we have a president who seems more bent toward insulting Christians than he is about standing up to radical Islam. He will not call them out, but he has taken several opportunities to call us out as Christians. I guess if I was convinced he was one of us I might accept his criticism more easily but I’m not convinced, and his apparant disdain for Christians irritates me.

Here’s my conclusion. The love and acceptance that has made this nation so great may also cause the demise of many of our freedoms. As in most cases, our greatest strength can also become our greatest weakness. Love and acceptance must find it’s limits according to biblical guidelines. We must distinguish between the Muslim, who needs Jesus, and the religion of Islam, which needs to be destroyed. We should always try to reach the Muslim with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the love of Christ but reject the religion of Islam. We cannot allow Islamic teaching to infiltrate our political system nor our individual worldview. The religion as a whole teaches and practices things that are contrary to Christianity and to the freedoms we have in America. So, if we continue to allow Islam to gain more ground in America we will soon find ourselves having to submit to the demands of Islam or suffer persecution for it.

We must distinguish between Islamophobia, which is the fear and hatred of Islam, and Muslimophobia (my made-up word), which is the fear of and hatred of Muslims. We should hate the religion of Islam but not the Muslim.

Paul wrote it best in Ephesians 6, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” The task before us is to eliminate the religion of Islam by changing the heart of its followers one Muslim at a time.

Pastor Marty

So I just returned from a 10-day missions exploration trip with Sean. We had the opportunity to meet with several missionaries and organizations who are creatively reaching out to those people groups who are considered “unreached.” Some of these are predominately Muslim but only in name. Others are devoted to the Muslim faith and are diffucult to reach with the Gospel. So, after spending several days with these missionaries and spending the night in one of the villages here are a few points that I wanted to share. 

1. There are some very smart people strategizing to reach those in the 10/40 window. We met with some men and women who were actively training Filipinos to go into Muslim controlled countries to share the Gospel. Bravery is not what is driving these people to leave their comfortable surroundings. Instead, they are driven by a heart to share the Gospel with people who need Jesus. 
2. I am spoiled to a comfortable bed. One night we slept in a village and the beds were just an elevated piece of plywood. I didn’t sleep much but Victor, a 63 year old missionary, slept like a baby in the bed beside me. I was a bit envious. Sean, on the other hand, had the same struggle I had.
3. Filipino churches that we connected with appear to understand that the church is strategically placed in a community to reach that community with the Gospel. Many US churches have a long way to go when it comes to avoiding the consumer driven church mindset. Many Christians in the American church grumble and complain about things that are petty because they believe the church is there to serve them on their schedules and according to their likes rather than seeing the church as God’s hands, feet, and voice to spread the “Good News” of Jesus. I pray that Charity Baptist Church will be more Kingdom-minded than consumer-minded. 
4. I could drink a fresh Mango shake at every meal. That’s all I’m going to say about that. 
5. I really enjoy talking to people from other religious backgrounds and sharing Christ with them. On our trip to the underground river we had the opportunity to get to know a Hindu, Muslim, and an apparent agnostic. The consensus with this group was that all religions teach the same thing and that’s all good in their eyes. This is actually a hard barrier to overcome because telling people that trusting in Christ for their salvation becomes offensive. Building a relationship bridge that can bear the weight of truth helps overcome this barrier. 
6. Love is the most effective method and message to spreading the Gospel. Telling people they are wrong without building a loving relationship only builds higher and thicker walls for others to overcome. We saw first-hand how those of other faiths become softer and more receptive to the Gospel when they sense that they are genuinely loved by the messenger. 
7. People love hearing Sean sing even if they don’t understand the words. 
8. Every mission trip is a incredible spiritual journey that reveals more about God’s heart for the nations to me. 
9. Not looking like a pastor is probably a good thing. I carried on a conversation with the Hindu guy for a long time before he asked what I was doing in the Phillipines. After I told him and eventually revealed that I was a pastor, he said he would not have guessed it. The conversation changed and he was more prone to saying the right things rather than what he really felt about certain things. I should probably dress in shorts and a t-shirt more often for ministry outreach. Haha. 
10. I love the USA and I love our church. I know more than ever that I want to see Charity Baptist Church more excited and on fire about reaching people who need Jesus like we never have before. 

Let’s do more than ever together!

Pastor Marty