A Few Additional Comments

Last night I took the opportunity to watch (in it's entirety) the Saddleback Civic Forum on the Presidency which was conducted on August 16th. During the forum, Rick Warren asked a series of questions to both John McCain and Barack Obama. You can watch the interview on the internet. The interviews were conducted seperately. Again, there are many things that could be said, but once again I will control myself.

Let me share one of the questions.

Warren: When does life begin?
McCain: At conception.
Obama: The answer to this question is above my paygrade.

Watch the entire forum and let me know what you think! Just go to youtube and type in Saddleback Civic Forum.

stay off the paved road...

--craig

A Matter of Life and Death

I have not devoted many blogs to politics, but after listening to Barack Obama’s speech last night, I cannot help myself. There are many things that I would like to say, but I will limit myself to a couple of topics. The purpose of my blog is not to tell you how to think. If you listened to the Obama speech, you must draw your own conclusions.

I will share with you what I think. I think it is ridiculous for a person running for the presidency of the United States to say, “We might not all agree on the abortion issue, but we must work together to lessen unwanted pregnancy.” The liberals (now calling themselves progressives) have been vehemently opposed to abstinence education in public schools. While the safe sex message has been promoted in our schools and in our culture, approximately 2,500 teenage girls a day become pregnant. While abortion supporters pass out condoms, 12,000 teens every single day contract a sexually transmitted disease. A number of these diseases are not curable.

I have purposely included a picture here of our granddaughter Hannah Elizabeth Fuller. Our first grandson (see ultra-sound above) will be born in January 2009 and then another grandchild in March 2009. Even though he is still in his mother’s womb, our grandson’s name is Caleb Haddon Svoboda. How awesome! What is extremely sad is the fact that over 50 million Hannah’s and Caleb’s have been senselessly and sometimes brutally killed. Christians often pray for God to bless America, but why should we expect God to bless a nation that murders their babies.

How can a politician with any kind of integrity say, “We need to help the poor” and yet support killing the unborn. How empty are the words, “We must make health care affordable for every American” while supporting partial birth abortion. How laughable is a statement like, “We must protect our precious environment” when we cannot protect our precious babies. And for all of you who call yourselves Christians and do not take a stand against abortion, shame on you. I am hearing younger “emerging” Christians deflect the issue by saying we should be engaged in more than one or two issues. REALLY? When the issue deals with life, nothing is more important! I am pretty sure universal health care, alternative energy sources, social security, poverty, environmental issues, and even war did not make God’s top ten list. LIFE DID!

What I do see is, “you shall have no other gods before me” (ex. 20:3) and, “You shall not murder” (ex. 20:13) What I do see is that we are created in the “image of God” (Gen.1:27) and that we are “knit together in our mother’s womb" (Psalm 139:13) just as Hannah, Caleb, and new baby Fuller. If you are not currently engaged in the political process, you need to get there. It truly is a matter of life and death.

-craig

EXCUSES and how to respond to those trying to dodge the Great Commission. Who knows, it may be YOU!

Many Christians do not have difficulty coming up with reasons to avoid reaching out to others with the good news of Jesus Christ. I thought it would be helpful to share these excuses and responses by Mark Mittelberg.

1. "I don't have any non-Christian friends." Jesus was a friend of sinners. We need to take risks to follow his example.

2. "I don't have the gift of evangelism. It's not my thing." Jesus gave the Great Commission to the entire church. We all have a vital part to play by using approaches that fit our unique personalities.

3. "I don't have time right now." Mix outreach with things you're already doing by inviting unchurched friends to join you. Think of the difference one lunch made in the life of Zacchaeus!

4. "I'm afraid of what friends will think of me." That's a good sign you're sensitive enough to approach people in ways that won't unnecessarily offend them! If you interact respectfully, they'll likely be open.

5. "I'll just live out my faith in front of my friends; they'll figure it out." That sounds appealing, but it's neither biblical nor effective. Paraphrasing Romans 10:14, they're not going to see it unless we also say it.

6. "I don't know how to bring up the topic." Pray for wisdom and courage to seize split-second opportunities to steer ordinary topics, like getting a drink of water (John 4), into spiritual conversations ("I could have given you living water").

7. "I wouldn't know what to say once the topic was raised." That's okay because it's best to do more listening at first anyway. Once you're into it, you'll find experiences to explore, questions to discuss, and stories to tell—and the Holy Spirit will guide you!

8."I don't know enough." The best way to grow in this area is simply to dive in and say what you do know. You can always delay answering a tough question until you've had time to look into it.

9. "In our church's tradition, we don't talk about personal faith." Your friends need to understand the gospel message because it's "the power of God for salvation." Stretch yourself to communicate it in ways that fit you, and them—maybe writing letters or sending books or tapes. Take small steps, and it'll become more natural.

10. "My church is more into teaching and worship than evangelism." Don't excuse negligence of one area because we have competence in another. For the sake of lost people who matter to God, let's do all we can to reach them, personally and through the church.

stay off the paved road...

--craig

Only the Gospel

I have been reading and studying recently in the book of Romans. The book is very rich but there are a few things I would like for you to think about from Romans 1.

Paul longed to visit Rome. v.11
Paul thanked God for the faithfulness of the Roman believers. v.8
Paul prayed regularly for the faithful. v.10
Paul prayed that he would be able to come to them. v.11
Paul told them that he had planned to come. v.13
Paul wanted to share spiritual gifts with the church. v.11
Paul wanted to be encouraged by the believers in Rome. v.12

Paul goes on to say in verse 13 that he had been prevented in coming to them. There has been some speculation about this verse. I believe the rest of verse 13 makes it clear why Paul was prevented from visiting up until this point. As passionate as Paul was (indicated in the statements above) about coming to the believers in Rome, he was absolutely positively more consumed with preaching the Gospel to those who had not yet heard.

We could rightfully say that he was obsessed. To be obsessed is to “have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.” Paul knew that the “Gospel was the power of God for salvation.” Depending on the translation, verse 14 states he was “obligated” or a “debtor” to share the Gospel. The Greek word (opheiletes) literally means someone who is obligated to do something.

Why do we not have the same OBSESSION?

Consider the fact that in v.17 Paul tells us that the Gospel brings salvation “for in it the righteousness of God is revealed.” The “righteousness of God” is the major thrust of Romans. Some form of this word is found over 60 times in this letter. In the language of the O.T, the salvation of God and the righteousness of God are virtually synonymous (Ps. 98:1, 2; Isa. 46:13; Isa. 51:5-8; 56:1; 62:1).

• There is no salvation apart from becoming right with God.
• There is no right standing with God apart from the Gospel.

No video, no book, no emerging philosophy, no cool church, no pep talk, no motivational sermon, no coffee shop, no extravagant structure, no yoga class, no candle burning, and no green theology will bring anyone to a right place with God - ONLY THE GOSPEL.

hungering and thirsting . . .

--craig

I have been reading and studying in Romans recently. I wnat to present a few instructive thoughts from Romans 1 and then present a few question.

"For I not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteousness man shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17 Within these two verses we find the theme of the entire book.

Verse 17 clearly indicates that the state of righteousness is the state of being in "right relation" with God. The passages prior to the familiar verse 16 describe Paul's passion to come to the beleivers, impart spiritual gifts to them, and be encouraged by their faith. As impoprtant as these things were to Paul, he specifically states that he was prevented in coming to them.

So here is the big question, "What prevented Paul?" The answer is found in verses 14 and 15. Now remember, verse 16 is central to the entire book of Romans. The two verses leading up to the profound "I am not ashamed" statement reveal the driving motivation of Paul's life.

How many believers feel a strong sense of "obligation" (the word Paul uses) to share the Gospel with the unreached. Verse 14 says, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the follish." Paul was eager (an understatement) to share the Gospel.

I'm a New Mexican

I haven't posted for a while so thanks for coming back. Due to the fact that I am now a New Mexican, I thought it would be appropriate to make some changes to the site. The New Mexico landscape with a different format and color is obvious. I also changed the name of the blog. I continue to be be totally in awe of the wonder, and holiness, and vastness of Almighty God. My passion is to always make much of Him. Hungering and thirsting reflects my desire for His majesty and glory.

I love the words of Jerry Bridges. He states, "As you allow the Father to guide you into His throne room for intensely personal times of worship, You'll exalt God for...

• HIS GREATNESS...beyond measure, beyond compare
• HIS HOLINESS...transcendent majesty
• HIS WISDOM...skill and splendor on display
• HIS LOVE...the infinite love of an amazing Father for His child

hungering and thirsty...

--craig

God of This City

As friends and relatives are aware, Susan and I have been called to a new ministry. I have just started serving as the Associate Pastor of Evangelism and Discipleship at the First Baptist Church of Bloomfield, New Mexico. It is an awesome church and we look forward to being "on mission" here. It was difficult to leave Pittsburgh but God's call was truly the basis of our decision. My life has been tremendously blessed while serving as pastor of Crossroads Church of Pittsburgh. The church family has blessed our lives in so many ways. We also look forward to what God is going to continue to do in Pittsburgh. I think the video below sums it up and I would like to share it with friends old and new (Pittsburgh & Bloomfield).




stay off the paved road...

--craig