The Cure for Millennial Malaise

“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”—Jesus 

(John 10:4)

This post was inspired by a heart who wants to reach, love, mentor and encourage this generation. 

I read a disturbing article the other day. Disturbing, because the author claims that only four percent of Millennials are Bible-based Christian believers. The author goes on to basically state that ninety six percent of Millennials probably don’t practice the teachings of the Bible, assign much value to Christian morals, and most likely will not be found darkening the doors of a church.

I need to start by saying I absolutely hate these demographic labels that marketers, psychologists and researchers have assigned to us. I'm in my late fifties and I hate being referred to as a "baby boomer." What a stupid label. "Gen-Xers." "Millennials." These terms are insulting in my opinion. But for the purpose of context and because the article I mentioned deals with the Millennial Generation, I will use the term here.

Time and space do not permit me to go into a lengthy definition of what a Millennial is. You who are not familiar with the term can do your own Internet search on the word and find enough material to keep you busy reading for days, maybe even weeks. Millennials know who they are, and from everything I have seen, hate being told that they are to blame, are wrong, or lost—so, please know, that is not my intention in writing this.

My intention is, however, to start a dialogue, and encourage younger people who may feel no sense of community in their Christian life.

The church is not a building or organization. But we the believers—God's people—are the "called out" ones. We all already know this; but all churches are made up of deeply flawed, imperfect, prone to fail, weak, human beings. That includes every pastor, elder, staff member, helper, teacher, usher, musician, sound person, and everyone who serves and volunteers, as well as everyone who sits in the pews and seats on the various days of the week. 

We're to love Jesus, not church. Then we're to love our neighbor as our self. But we're also called by Jesus to love and encourage the Body of Christ—the people—as imperfect as we all are, young, old, pastors, teachers, diaper changers, janitors, or fallible, imperfect, prone to fail folks, (like me). 

 I've been hearing the following for the last twenty years. 

"The current generation is unique and different from those in the past—they can't be reached by preaching the Gospel."  

I would encourage all those who may feel this way, to go back and read the New Testament and see what Jesus said about how to reach and save people. It's through the power of His Spirit, His love, His grace, the gift of faith, and the Word of God preached. 

And people are people. Deep down, we're all the same. Everybody hurts. Everyone wants to be loved, needed, accepted, and be a part of something. Everyone wants to belong. Everyone wants to see the world be a better place, and help make that a reality if they can.

We are not called to make the church look perfect to the world. That's never going to happen. It's not possible to be perfect this side of Heaven.

But we are called to know Jesus and to make Him known. And to invite people to freely accept His offer of eternal salvation "by Grace through faith, and that not ourselves, it is the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast. (See Ephesians 2:8-9)

If we *just* love people but neglect to share with them what God did for them by sending His Son Jesus to save them from their sins, we may make them feel better today. But we have robbed them of an eternity in Heaven. We've conned them out of God's emotional and spiritual healing in this life. We have stolen their chance for real, lasting joy; now and hereafter.

How is that loving people?

Love as Jesus loved; speak the Truth in love. Share the gospel; the good news, that Jesus came to save and heal the hearts and souls of broken people--and that is the whole world.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

You want a cure for Millennial Malaise?

Get to know Jesus more intimately, personally. Talk to Him as a child would talk to his dad. Be thankful to Him for all things. Even adversity, which He allows to draw us closer to Himself.

And then don't look to "church" to be perfect, or bring you joy, or give you the sense of community or family you desperately need, or meet all the world's needs. Try as we might, [we] will never live up to those lofty expectations. Jesus Himself said, "Without Me, you can do nothing."

But point people to Jesus, and you personally take them by the hand, put your arm around their shoulder, and invite them to come along with us, as imperfect as we all are, to know and make known our loving God and Savior, who alone is the only Perfect Father, that this fatherless society so desperately needs.

"Church" really happens after Sunday morning service is over.  When we each go our way, to our homes, back to work, in the coffee shops, or walking the sidewalks and malls in our city. Hurting and hopeless people are everywhere. True ministry happens in our day to day lives when no one else from church is watching. 

Be the change you want the world to see.

I invite respectful, on-topic comments, questions, and dialogue.

In Christ's Love,

Mark

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

In God's Image

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him.” 

(Genesis 1:27)

For many years, I always wondered, what does that really mean? That God created man "in His image?"

Scripture, taken in context, interprets scripture. So we shouldn't have to guess or speculate.

First, what does the biblical word "image" mean?

The Hebrew word translated as "image" in Genesis 1:27 is H-6754; 'tslem' "an illusion, resemblance, a representative figure: image."

So if man was created in God's resemblance, what does God who created him look like?

What does the Bible say?

“God is Spirit.” (John 4:24)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth.” (Colossians 1:15)

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (John 1:18)

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.” (Numbers 23:19)

From these four verses, we can know the following about God's image or resemblance:

• He is Spirit
• He is invisible
• He is not a man
• No one has seen Him at any time

So in the context of Genesis 1:27, does that suggest a God that looks like me or you? It doesn't to me.

How then do we resemble God's image?  We too, are, or have, an invisible spirit—the eternal life force that is in each of our physical bodies.

People will argue, "but Jesus is the expressed image of the invisible God, so we are created in Jesus' image." But the Apostle John says Jesus, the Word, became flesh. (See John 1:1-14). Meaning, He was not always in a fleshly body.

Another interesting definition of 'tselm' (resemblance, image) is "a representative figure." Originally, God made man as His representatives on earth. Man was to re-present Him. That was the original plan. Then you know the rest of the story; we blew it right away, and Adam and Eve fell, and mankind has been in a fallen, sinful state ever since.

But Jesus came down as God's visible image. Born in a manger, the tiny babe of Bethlehem came into the world to save His people from their sins—which is all of us. As born again followers of Jesus Christ, we are to re-present Him to the world today. But we have nothing in of ourselves to offer humanity. The only thing we have to offer them is "Christ in us; the hope of glory." (See Colossians 1:27)

This is just a brief scriptural look on my part at the amazing nature of God. It is not intended to be a complete dogmatic doctrinal statement. And please feel free to respectfully disagree and expound from the holy Bible with a differing point of view.

We all should always search the scriptures daily and see what God's Word says about Him and His nature. My intent is to know Jesus more, to make Him known, and to glorify His name.

Amen.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Balance?

“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”—Jesus

Balance.

That's what most people today say you need in your life. "You don't want to be too fanatical. So maintain a good balance of serving God and serving your own desires. That's what it takes to maintain a healthy, happy life," they say.

Looking at the context in Luke chapter 9, Jesus had previously been speaking to His disciples, preparing to send out the twelve, to preach the Gospel. Then He met with Herod. After that He fed the five thousand. Following this, Jesus was alone praying, and His disciples came and joined Him. Jesus then said to them all:

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26)

I heard a message several years ago about the difference between a disciple, and the multitude.

A disciple is a student, or more accurately, an apprentice. An apprentice often lived with his master, learning from him every day, observing what he did and taught, then doing the same. Learning by doing life together. Learning by his masters example. He usually spent years in an apprenticeship until he was ready to go out on his own. The disciples Jesus called left everything to follow Him.

The multitude in the gospels came to Jesus for healing, food, and blessings. But after they got what they needed, many went back to where they lived. Many turned away from Jesus when He spoke something difficult that challenged them. They didn't follow Jesus everywhere, every day, calling Him Lord. They were basically only after the benefits He offered. But few left everything to follow Him.

The more I read about the life and teachings of Jesus, He presents Himself as an all or nothing Savior. You can't serve both God and riches. You either serve Him, or serve the Devil. You're either walking in darkness, or in His light. You either repent, believe in Him, get born again, and follow Him. Or you remain in darkness, dead in your sins, awaiting the harsh judgment of God. You'll either spend a blissful eternity with Him, or be forever banished from Him into outer darkness and fiery torment. You're either hot, or cold. The lukewarm, He said, He will vomit out of His mouth (See Revelation 3:14-16)

The following passage has always been particularly challenging to me:

“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:27, 33)

The biblical word translated as "forsake" here means to "quit or leave entirely, with no intention to return to."

A guy I used to go to church with many years ago tried to tell me, "Well, I think what Jesus was really trying to say here, is you just need to be willing to give up everything for Him, and then He'll show you what you can keep, and what you should give up." 

Really?  

As if Jesus, the Lord of Glory Himself, full of all knowledge and wisdom, the fullness of the godhead dwelling in Him bodily, isn't really sure what He's saying, and is somehow struggling...trying to find the right words. 

You should prayerfully seek to make proper life application from the Scriptures.

But to imply Jesus didn't really mean what He said?  Be careful. You're on very dangerous ground when you try to put words in Jesus' mouth, or claim He didn't really mean what He said. And while there is certainly some allegory and symbolic language in the Bible, it is the Word of Truth. People have led many believers astray over the years by giving private interpretations to the Word of God, or relegating the literal Word to allegorical nonsense. This is where heresies such as "replacement theology" come from, the anti-Semitic lie that claims "God is done with the nation of Israel, and has given all their promises to the Gentiles, and has forever cast away His people Israel." Lean not on your own understanding.

This is why it is so critical to always test all men's words, writings, opinions, doctrines, by the immutable Word of God. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

So the question I have often asked myself, and am asking again, is, am I truly being a disciple of Jesus?

Or just part of the multitude?

I'll leave it at that.

You have to ask and answer that question for yourself.

But as for me, I want to be all-in for Jesus, as His disciple, and not be just part of the multitude who only seek His gifts and benefits. 

I love You Lord Jesus—please help me to be more like You. I am not ashamed of You or the Gospel.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Guard Your Heart, part 3

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

(Proverbs 4:23)

This is part 3 of an ongoing theme I was recently led to write on, to, "Guard Your Heart."

Having spent some time in prayer and study on what it means to guard your heart, I've inadvertently neglected to attempt to relate from Scripture, just what the "heart" is.

So, it is with a heart that is prayerfully open before God, seeking Him and His wisdom on this topic, that I now feel led to share what I discovered when I received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily to see if these things are so. (See Acts 17:11)

I have to start by saying, throughout my walk with Christ, I've read certain books that really spoke to my heart, and shaped my views on things like the Rapture, the end times, the new heart, and walking with God. I definitely have a handful of favorite authors whom God has used to speak into my life. And He's given me a lot of counsel over the years, in pivotal moments in my life. And through His Fatherly wisdom, has 'righted the ship' when I got off track.

But what I've also been convicted of, and more recently than before, is, am I testing the Bible by other men's writings? Or am I doing what I really should do, and testing other men's writings by the Bible? The Bible is the God-breathed Word of God. It's not merely "inspired." It is literally God-breathed.

We're commanded to, "test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

The Bible is the living Word of God; the Word of the Father who sent Him, according to Jesus. It is the Divine litmus test, the eternal plumb line of Truth, that all other supposed truths and doctrines must be measured by—the Heavenly sifter, through which all other men's teachings and writings must be poured.

So, what does the Bible say the heart is? In Ezekiel 36:26?

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” 

If we want a clearer understanding of what a biblical word means, looking up the word used in the original Hebrew or Greek language is a good place to start. In Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew word for "heart" is H-3820, 'leb'—"the heart; feelings, the will, even the intellect; the center of anything; understanding."

Reading the passage with the literal Hebrew definition of the word, it could read:  'I will give you a new understanding, new feelings, new desires, and put a new mind in you.' The Hebrew word used for "spirit" here is, in part, defined as the "mind". (H-7307, 'ruwach')

In the New Testament, the word "heart" is often defined in the original Greek language as, "The thoughts or feelings: (mind)." (G-2588, 'kardis')

Also in the New Testament (see Ephesians 2:3), a Greek word often used for "mind" is G-1271, 'dianoia'; "deep thought; disposition, imagination, mind, understanding." Another NT word for "mind" is G-3563, 'nous'—"the intellect; mind--in thought, feeling, or will; meaning mind, or understanding."

“For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

What does the heart do? For one thing, it believes.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

From the heart we are also commanded to forgive. We love from the heart, have compassion and show mercy. We are to be thankful for all things, from the heart.

What are some of the things that come from, or are in the heart?

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27)

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:19)

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:38-39)

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And the rivers of living water than will flow out of us are the Holy Spirit—not any perceived goodness we may have in our new heart/mind. 

What about our desires? Where do those originate?

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” (James 1:14)

So, upon looking closely at, and comparing these scripture verses to gain a better understanding of what the "heart" is, and what its functions are, I pray God will enlighten my understanding.

It seems true in scripture that the "heart" is the place where we believe and have our deepest convictions. That it is the place in us where desires come from; whether those desires are pure, or evil, is a matter of our choosing which of our two natures we will listen to. That it is the part of us where we see its fruit in the words we speak, whether good, or bad. That it is our deep innermost part where our feelings, thoughts, desires, intentions, understanding, choices and intellect truly emanate from. And this is understood, at least to me, by the very words used in scripture, as defined in the original languages God Himself saw fit to have the scriptures recorded in.

As we already know, our mortal Enemy, Satan, is constantly attacking us, tempting us, trying to trip us up, and steal, kill, and destroy the joy, hope, peace and faith that God has given us. No question. And apparently, he can put impressions in our minds, dangle the bait, and even mess with us in our dreams. But none of us can say, when we are tempted and we sin, "The Devil made me do it!" Satan cannot "make" you do anything. And besides, God promised us:

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The biblical fact is, we have two natures within us; the old man (fleshly, sinful, human nature). And the new man (the new nature/heart/mind we received when we were born again). And these two natures (old man and new man) have two extremely different desires and intentions. 

The old man seeks to please self. Seeks to love self at the expense of others. Is self-focused, and self-idolatrous. Sees himself as the captain of his own salvation. Does not see his need for God. Is rebellious. And cares not for the things that God cares about. He is comfortable in his sin and does not see it as sin. The old man is thankless, and takes credit for everything he does that seems good to him. He is prideful and the fruit of his life shows it.

The new man wants to please God and love Him and love others. Though the new man still does not do all these things perfectly, and he, like the apostle Paul wrote, fails at times and occasionally makes bad choices, he hates it when he allows his old nature to come through, and he repents and asks God to help him do better. He is sick inside when he fails God and tries to do things in his own strength and wisdom, instead of relying on God and His strength and wisdom. The new man humbles himself before God, and is thankful to Him, praising Him, giving Him all the credit and glory for all good things. He is the exact opposite of the old man.

The old man and new man can be illustrated as two wolves; a dark wolf, and a light wolf. We all have both wolves inside of us. Which one grows and thrives?  —The one that you feed.

"Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." These were the words Paul the apostle wrote to the early church. Paul was not relying on his new man, or new nature for hope, or salvation. Paul saw the constant struggle we all face between the flesh and the spirit. He lamented as such. The things he desired to do, he could not seem to find. But the very things he loathed, those things he practiced. (See Romans 7:15-25). Paul sums this up in verse 25 by saying, “So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

The new heart (mind, feelings, thoughts, willingness, understanding) Paul received at conversion, desires to serve God. But his old nature, the body of sin; the flesh, wants to serve the law of sin.

The age old battle of the dual natures.

But again, he makes it clear that he doesn't serve God perfectly. It's part of our walk with God in this life that, frankly, will remain a mystery. But this much seems very clear to me; when we are commanded to guard our heart because all we do flows from it, upon examining all these scriptures that teach us about the heart and our dual nature, I am led to believe we must guard our hearts from Satan and the world on the outside—and guard our hearts from the sinful desires and thoughts of the old man on the inside. I presently can't see any other conclusion to arrive at. But in all areas where I am mistaken, I know that God will teach me correctly.

Only God fully knows why He allows us to retain both natures, even though our two natures battle each other daily.

But I will say, one day, many years ago, in desperate exasperation, I cried out to God; "Lord! Why do you leave us in this condition? You could change me in an instant, and I would never sin or fail again! Why Lord?" And then He clearly, gently impressed upon my heart:

"So you'll stay close to Me."

As my friend and I agree, knowing Jesus is central. He is our only hope.

My hope or trust is not in my new heart and mind God gave me. The new heart and mind He gave me only prove to me more and more each day just how desperately I need Him, and how insufficient I am. Jesus said, "Without Me, you can do nothing." If we were now in our heavenly, eternal bodies, bright and shining like angels, I am convinced that we would likely become like Lucifer, and would not see any further need of God. We would pridefully want to ascend to the place of God and be God.

So I am humbled and thankful to God that He has designed us and put us in a place where, even though born again, cleansed by His blood, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise; we are still totally dependent on Him for our eternity, provision, peace, health, fruitfulness, and to abide in Him, and remain forever in His love.

Who is our only hope? Paul writes in Colossians 1:24-27:

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is:

"Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.