Does God Work in a Factory?

So often we Christians think the only place a person can get saved is at an altar in a church with the pastor leading the way.  We have grown accustomed to inspiring sermons followed by an altar call for lost souls to come forward to receive salvation.  The pastor then comes and leads that lost soul in a prayer of faith, and viola, the angels in Heaven break out in celebration because another soul has entered the kingdom.  Sound familiar?  It happens in churches (I would like to say all the time but I know better) sometimes; occasionally; not as often as it should, and all to often it ends up being an emotional response to a heart-stirring message, and without the necessary baptism and discipleship, that freshly renewed soul soon drifts back into their former lifestyle.

But is that the only place where a lost soul can receive Jesus as Lord?  Nope, uh-uh, nyet, nah, NO!  Our Lord is anywhere and everywhere - omnipresent.  He knows everything and everyone - omniscient.  And He is not limited by any power or force - omnipotent.  So can He work in a factory?  He sure can; and any other place He chooses - or better yet, anywhere and anytime anyone is ready to accept Him as Lord.

I recently had an opportunity to be His witness in a factory environment.  While working beside a young man at our our workstation, in a noisy, smelly factory, doing a hard and dirty job the Holy Spirit was right there with us. It was as simple as asking him a few questions about what he did in his free time, and he began to tell me about what he did and what he believed.  He told me about his dabbling in Buddhism which opened the door for me to tell him about the one and only true God.  As we continued to talk he said that he had been raised in a mainstream protestant denomination and had been baptized, but had drifted away.  To make a long story short, he decided right then and there to recommit his life to Jesus.  I asked him if he owned a Bible, but he did not, so I offered to bring him a Bible the next day, and he accepted.  When I gave him the Bible I told him to read the books of Luke, Acts and Romans, and write down every question he had so we could discuss them. I had already put bookmarks in the Bible so it would be easy for him to find.  Now we are working together toward the goal of making him a disciple, and I believe a fresh baptism not just in water, but in the Holy Spirit as well.

Does God work in a factory?  He sure does!   And I know one young man that is excited to know that He can and does work anywhere.  How about where you work?  Have you allowed God to use you as His witness at work, or school, or wherever you happen to be?  You just have to be ready when the Holy Spirit provides the opportunity.  That's what the Great Commission is all about.  Taking the faith we have with us wherever we go and being willing to live righteously and speak up when the time is right.

In John 4:35 Jesus said "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  And in Matthew 28:19 He said "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

So my challenge for you this week - Go!  And be prepared wherever you are.

Peacemaker or Peacebreaker?

Peacemaker.  This is a term used to define many things.  It has been a weapon - the Colt 45 Peacemaker - the gun that tamed the wild west.  It has been a super hero comic series in the 1960's pitting good against evil.  There was a movie titled "The Peacemaker" which had George Clooney, as a U.S.Army Colonel working against a band of terrorists to thwart a nuclear attack on New York City.  There is even a cartoon character - Globeman, a.k.a. "The Peacemaker" who is the mascot for an environmental group - who has a little blue body and a big blue head that looks like a globe, and is holding two green leaves in his misshapen hand.  And there are several others, but they all share one common theme -  they stand up for good and battle against evil in its varied forms from wicked villains, to terrorists, to polluters and the list goes on.

Jesus also mentioned "peacemakers" in His famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5.  He said "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God".  I wonder, how many of us strive to be such peacemakers.  It seems like we hear daily of "peace-breakers"; those who seemingly go out of their way to wreak havoc in our society and our churches and around the world.  Surely they are sons of someone too, but I don't think they would qualify to be called sons of God.  Whose son's do you suppose they might be?  I won't dare to speculate.

We seem to  hear all too often about "peace-breakers" in the church.  Those who are easily dissatisfied, disgruntled, disenchanted, and dare I say dis-involved.  Doesn't it seem that those who sit on the sidelines and evaluate rather than participate find it so easy to frustrate and discombobulate what God is working out in the life of His church?  I wonder sometimes if we had more participants than spectators in God's house if we wouldn't also have more peacemakers - sons and daughters of God.  There is an old saying, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop".  What if we all got involved in doing His will?  What if we were all producers rather than consumers?  Wow!  What a concept!  People involved in ministry, reaching the lost, and restoring peace and honor to the house of God rather than spectating, frustrating criticizing and consuming the time and efforts of those who are trying to do His will.

My challenge to you this week is this.  Seek to be a peacemaker!  Come alongside your pastor and the leaders in your church and become a super hero for them - get out there and fight off the bad guys for them and give the pastors and church leaders God has provided the freedom to focus on leading the church rather than fighting every battle that comes along.  Go and start making disciples rather than making trouble.  Do your all to live peaceably with one another.  Rather than drawing a line in the sand or saying "it's my way or the highway", get on the bus, find your seat and enjoy the ride.  God has a very special destination in store for for His sons and daughters; those who are peacemakers, and I pray that everyone of you will make it There with me.

Have yourself a blessed week you little peacemaker you!

Missing in Action

  As Christians we are all a part of God's Army.  Every soldier has a specific duty to perform (check out Romans chapter 12), and when that job doesn't get done another has to step up and do it along with his job, or several others have to pitch in to share the workload - either way the job will get done. God has a plan, and that plan will go forward with or without the missing in action.  Those missing in action will have to answer for their absence.  I spent a little time in the army, and the term for the no shows really is A.W.O.L. - I know that, but missing in action sounds better in my story - so you will just have to deal with it!  Sorry!

Anyway, God has big plans for all of us, and His rewards are better than anything you or I could ever imagine.  Have you been Missing in Action?  You still have time to report for duty.  Give your pastor a call this week and let him know you are ready to report for duty.  Be prepared for a long pause - he has just passed out and will  need a little time to recover - but hold on because he will be back on the phone as soon as he recovers.  Then just tell him what you are able to do.  I can assure you that he will find a job that fits you to a tee, and if it isn't a  perfect fit, no big deal, there is some other soldier Missing in Action whose place you can help fill until you find your fit.

So sign up, sign on, sign in, whatever it takes, just don't get left out of the action.  Oh, and don't forget to be in church on Sunday - that where we all get our basic training.  God bless, and have a great week

The Forrest Gump Church

Have you ever been to a Forrest Gump church?  It's one of those churches where you never know what to expect.  Where the theology of the church seems to shift with whichever way the wind is blowing on a particular Sunday, and the doctrine tends to change as about often as the "Preacher" changes his shirt.  Often the "Preacher" steps up to the pulpit, flops open the Bible and begins to preach from whatever catches his eye, and then proceeds to cover everything from Genesis 1:1 through maps (if his Bible has them), and then ends every service with a fiery altar call to scare everyone in the house to come to the altar for salvation (for the umpteenth time), and get saved one more time.  And many times people do just that.  It can be a pretty confusing place for a lot of well intentioned people that just have not taken the time to read and study their Bible.  I call that "The Forrest Gump Church."

If you have seen the movie "Forrest Gump" you probably remember him saying "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."  There are many such churches out there that operate much like I have described.  They have no stated doctrine, no sound theology, and most often no accountability.  As a result people never know what they're gonna get.

Paul advised Timothy "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2Timothy 2:15 NIV).  As followers of Christ we to should all heed that advice, and not just do as the "Preacher" says, but read and study our Bible daily to protect ourselves from coming under unsound doctrine and false teaching.  We sure don't want to stand before God on that Day of Judgment and say "But Forrest said . . ."