For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse”–Romans 1:20

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”– Revelations 3:15-16.

“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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Matthew 28:19-20.

12 Ordinary Men

Just 12 ordinary men weighed down by grief
Sent by The Messiah on an impossible mission.
Take the gospel news to the entire world
Thereby fulfilling the Great Commission.
Who could understand this enormous task?
Who would think this could be accomplished?
How could twelve simple men reach the whole world?
But they had faith in the Master they cherished.

Refusing to let their Rabbi down,
With trepidation, they all got on board.
And as they set out for their assigned local,
Each prayed for help from their Lord.
None understood how this could work,
They all feared it would not come to pass.
Because the numbers simply did not add up. 
But for God’s impossible math.

Where we see one, Jesus sees many more;
He sees much bigger and deeper and farther
While our natural minds limit us,
He has the unlimited mind of His Father.
His imagination is much bigger than ours.
So He sees God’s people as limitless.
And by using  the Great Commission 
He would prove this impossible thesis.

The 12 did the Father and Son proud,
Spent their whole lives spreading the Gospel.
And I hope before they went home to God, 
They knew they had done the impossible.
For the 12 created a matrix of believers
Using God’s impossible math,
And it is from the matrix they created 
The Great Commission will come to pass.
Linda Troxell©04/05/2022

By Our Fruits, They Will Know Us. 

Recently I read a comment online that, as a Christian, I found not only hurtful but also sad and dangerous. The statement was, “There is no hate like Christian love.” It is disturbing to see that, in general, Christianity is perceived to be toxic. And while negative perceptions about Christianity are almost always based on the perceiver being uninformed or misinformed about the truth of our faith, it is painful to face that the negative perception of Christians as a people group is often shaped by observing the behavior of Christians.

If you are a Christian, you’ve heard it said multiple times that people should know we are followers of Christ by how we present ourselves. And sadly for us, people tend to remember arrogant, judgmental, hypocritical, and wholly unloving Christians over quiet, inclusive, forgiving, and loving Christians. This is not something I want to believe. I wish I could say that this perception is based on a few individuals having isolated interactions with a few who call themselves Christians but behave as anything but. We all know that the prejudice against Christians has been fueled by a long line of abuses and atrocities committed by individual Christians and the entire church. Therefore, we are often expected to be judgmental, hypocritical, unethical, and sometimes cruel. This makes it even more crucial to be mindful that our behavior is always loving, kind, and inclusive. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of them all, and we can’t do that when we lead with arrogance and judgment.

Hiding from a problem only exacerbates it. And I have witnessed too many shocking public behaviors to make it possible for me to hide from this monumental problem in the body of Christ. I want to share two stories with you as representations of how dangerous it is when Christians turn a blind eye to the misguided and unchristian behavior of those who publicly identify themselves as Christians. Let me start by sharing the one that is especially grievous, painful, and, quite frankly, horrific.

I have been associated with a wonderfully unique ministry that focuses on serving young adults by going where the young people gather: raves and music festivals. If you’re unfamiliar, raves and music festivals are events where millions and millions of teens and young adults gather each year to listen to music and be social. Raves are typically a single day of music with thousands of ravers packed in and mingling, mostly peacefully. The peace is often supported by a collection of drugs commonly known as club drugs. The drug most commonly associated with raves and festivals is called ecstasy, which precipitates a feeling and a perception of overall well-being. 

Music festivals differ from raves in that they are usually multiple days of music and socializing. They often include the participants camping at the venue throughout the event, from two to five days. They have in common the young people who attend these events devotedly to experience what they call PLUR- peace, love, unity, and respect. They often find just that, aided by the drugs mentioned above. Unfortunately, the euphoria this drug causes makes it almost impossible to identify a predator, which tends to make the drugs inherently dangerous.

 As a token of the PLUR they want to experience and share, the ravers exchange homemade bracelets they call Kandi. So, this ministry team brings their own Kandi, made by Christian volunteers who pray over every bracelet and pray for the person on whose wrist it will end up. These bracelets are passed out by the thousands at every festival or rave. The bracelets have the ministry website spelled out in letter beads- http://www.plurway.com, where the ravers can learn more about the ministry. 

The website will also invite them to Camp 33, a weekend adventure retreat in the mountains near Lake Arrowhead, California. While at the camp, they will explore the mountains in jeeps, traveling both on dusty roads and off-road to explore the natural beauty. They might explore an abandoned mine, see the mountain panorama from a water tower, and spend some time boating on the lake if the weather permits. After the day’s adventures, they can look forward to good food, good company, and honest and respectful conversation, often huddled around a campfire. And all of it is cost-free. This camp is another of the ministry’s ingenious ideas to bring the gospel to these young adults in a fun and engaging way. And the beauty of the mountain testifies about its creator. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse”–Romans 1:20

The beautiful surroundings and the fun activities are a low-key, no-pressure way of introducing the campers to Jesus and the gospels. At the beginning of the weekend, each participant is given a Bible engraved with their name. They are asked only to keep it for the weekend, listen closely to all discussions, and honestly consider what they hear and read with an open mind. In keeping with the no-pressure style, the campers are assured that if they want to throw the Bible away at the end of the weekend, no one will pressure them to keep it. From there, it’s up to God’s beautiful creation and the movement of the Holy Spirit to do God’s will in these young adults. I can personally testify to the miracles that can happen in a young adult’s life after a weekend at Camp 33.

The overarching goal of this ministry is to demonstrate the love of Jesus to these kids and then wait for opportunities to share the gospel. To this end, they go to raves and festivals to serve the needs of the ravers freely and lovingly. They are always equipped to handle the raver’s needs, from charging dead cellphone batteries to providing band-aids and sunscreen, protecting vulnerable young women from predators, helping those who have overindulged find their cars, and waiting with them until they find a designated driver. At multiple-day music festivals, they camp alongside the ravers. The men make themselves available to help them with “dad” tasks like building a fire or properly anchoring a tent, and the moms help with the more personal needs of the women. In the mornings, the dads cook a free breakfast of sausage and pancakes for ravers as the moms sit and chat with them as they eat. And occasionally, they help save lives. 

The moms and dads are sometimes called on to help a raver who has overdosed. The team calls 911 for medical help and makes the person as comfortable as possible, laying them down on blankets brought along to warm, scantily dressed ravers who didn’t correctly anticipate the weather when they chose their outfits. While They wait for the first responders, they talk to and comfort the person who overdosed, if they are conscious. And they surround them with prayer until help arrives. There is never preaching or proselytizing, any sage advice or reprimands about how they dress or the drugs they take, and no holier-than-thou attitudes. There are only caring older adults known as the rave moms and dads because they freely offer love and mom hugs, care, and dad jokes asking for nothing in return.

But make no mistake, the rave moms and dads wait patiently for the inevitable question, “Why do you do this?” That’s their opening to tell the ravers about the gospels and the love of Jesus. It is this loving behavior that should be associated with Christians; these are the fruits by which we should be known. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.-Matthew 7:16-20 

Unfortunately, another group of Christians also frequent raves and music festivals. This group comes with signs telling the ravers that they are sinners and that God hates them. The placards tell them they are going to hell for how they dress, their behavior, and the drugs they use. These “Godly” Christians mill around outside the venue’s perimeter, yelling and chanting similar sentiments at the ravers as they enter and leave the event; or anytime they get near the perimeter fence. It was this group that displayed the behavior I found so horrific.

It happened at a rave when a young man overdosed, and someone in the crowd ran to find the rave moms and dads to help. As I described above, the moms and dads laid the young man on a blanket to make him comfortable. One of the moms held his hand while another talked to him quietly, assuring him that help was on the way. The rest of the moms and dads encircled him and prayed aloud for his protection as they waited for the ambulance. 

At the same time, this other group, who believe they are Christians, rushed to the fence near the incident and started yelling such things as, “You’re on your way to hell.” And, “God hates you, so now He is sending you to hell,” and similar horrible unchristian insults. I wasn’t there, but true to our age, someone posted a video of the whole thing on the internet. Which group do you think the video’s potentially millions of viewers came away remembering as the Christians? Unfortunately, perhaps because of their noise, it is their harmful fruit by which all Christians have come to be known.

The next thing, while not so dramatic, is still frightening. I came across it while watching a video on Youtube. I enjoy watching debates between Atheists and Christian Apologists, those who defend Christian doctrine and the Bible with historical facts. While watching an interview with a well-known Apologist who was telling stories about debating Atheists, I learned a new, startling truth about the extent to which negative perceptions have damaged the reputations of all Christians.

.

The Apologist explained the set of facts surrounding the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus that is accepted by nearly all historians and validated in extra-Biblical records. They are essential to know in a debate, he said, because Atheists cannot dispute them. Instead, they will try to distract from those facts by saying many words that amount to nothing of substance. When that fails, he said, they fall back on the one thing that can instantly change the trajectory of a debate and make all of the facts he has offered suspect. He explained that when debating, quotes and conclusions of experts tend to lend weight to one’s argument. But when he offers those opinions when debating an Atheist, his opponent will often retort, in a disdainful voice, “Yes, but he/she is a Christian.” This is said as an accusation as if spitting the word Christian out of their mouth. Coming back from that, he said, is almost impossible. 

Hearing from this seasoned Apologist that simply identifying an individual as a Christian can strip that person of all credibility in the eyes of many audiences made me cry and pushed me very close to hopelessness. Knowing that Christians are so disrespected that this one aspect of who they are, which should make them more trustworthy, can cause others to distrust or hold them in contempt horrifies me. And it should be untenable to all Christians. 

We have to turn this around. We cannot allow the perception of Christians to remain so suspect that others entirely dismiss us as a credible source of truth. This is the polar opposite of how we need to be perceived if we are going to win souls for the Kingdom. But to stop this perception, we must make our faith the center of our lives, our true north, guiding every decision we make. Especially for every choice we make about how we behave. We must commit to being full-time Christians rather than marginal, Sunday social Christians. And we must stop all untrustworthy and hypocritical behavior. To that end, we must give members of our Christian community permission to gently make us aware of unacceptable behavior if they see it. It requires all of us to take stock of our motives and behavior as we reevaluate our commitment to living as Jesus lived and loving as He loved. 

I know what it looks like to be a marginal Christian. I assumed my family was Christian when I was young, but now I see nothing to base that assumption on. We didn’t go to church; Christmas was about Santa, and Easter was about the Bunny. Although I heard stories that my mom loved to go to church as a teen and young woman, I cannot remember ever hearing her utter the name of Jesus. In contrast, one of our neighboring families was Jewish. The daughter was my age, and she and I were casual friends. Even though we didn’t spend much time in each other’s homes, I knew without a doubt that they were Jewish. Not because I knew anything about the Jewish faith but because her daily behavior displayed her faith. I remember being envious and wishing that Christianity was a faith that involved my whole life. That’s how marginally Christian my family was.

And my experience is not an anomaly. Too many who call themselves Christians do not live out the faith. For too many, Christianity is not a way of life but only an hour or two on Sunday. But that is unacceptable. Because when we talk the Christian talk and point out the sins of others, while we have no commitment to living our faith or allowing the Holy Spirit to change our hearts, we are identified as hypocrites, rightly so. Remember how Jesus feels about lukewarm Christians? He tells us in Revelations. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”- Revelations 3:15-16. 

For most of my life, I would have viewed this as being none of my business, believing it was a matter between the individual Christian and their God. But that is part of the problem. Christians take the modern view of Christianity as a personal matter, believing that what it means to be a Christian is up to each individual. And while that is in keeping with our American culture of individualism, it is dangerous to our faith and our purpose as Christians. What it means to be a Christian is not a matter for us to decide for ourselves. God has given us the job description. Jesus clearly laid out the basics of these requirements in what has come to be known as the Great Commandment, and it’s found in three of the four gospels, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 27:10, and Matthew 22: 25-40. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:36-40.

Our purpose on this earth, when boiled down to its pure essence, is to help bring everyone to Jesus. We are missionaries assigned to demonstrate the eternal glory, peace, and love available to those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Redeemer. I think everyone is clear about that. But where many need clarification is how we are to do that. Jesus tells us in the Great Commission to make disciples of them all. “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 everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. Many Christians believe The Great Commission is impossible in this modern culture, interpreting those words to mean that we all need to be evangelists and go to another country and convert everyone. But that is not what the passage says.  

Jesus didn’t say go out, as in going to a foreign location as some of us have assumed.  He merely said go and make disciples of all nations. Disciples, not converts. To be a disciple, one must know Jesus, be like Jesus, and do what Jesus does. Making a convert is much easier; a convert must merely believe in Jesus. James tells us even the demons believe Jesus is Lord (James 2:19). Are demons disciples of Jesus? Certainly not. There is so much more to being a disciple than being a convert. Disciples do not need to travel anywhere because we each have our own mission field called our life. If we each evangelize in our own lives, together we will make disciples of all nations.

We can follow Jesus, be like Jesus, and do what Jesus does wherever we are. We can model Jesus’ behavior and love daily. When we do things counter to what is culturally expected, people notice. People notice when we don’t engage or retaliate when someone insults us. When we offer love to everyone regardless of their behavior, it makes an impact. And when we actually listen to those who share their struggles, they notice when we offer to pray for them. Eventually, almost everyone will ask why. And then, we can tell them how Jesus changed our hearts and lives. That’s how making a disciple of Jesus begins.   

But there is more. Many of us pay less attention to the rest of verses 19 and to verse 20.  After we have made converts into disciples, Jesus tells us to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is a public confession that we are Jesus’ followers, His disciples. So now that the disciples know Jesus and are striving, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to be like Jesus, we come to, arguably, the most essential part of Jesus’ command; in verse 20, Jesus tells us, “and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” I would say most have read this as “teach them all of my commands.” But He doesn’t say to teach them His commands but to obey Them. Just as it is easier to make a convert than to make a disciple, it is easier to teach a disciple the commands of Jesus than to teach them what it means to obey those commands. 

We, in the West, tend to cringe at the word obey. Obedience is antithetical to being an American, especially obedience to something we don’t consider essential or relevant; does that ring any bells? We believe in freedom. It is challenging for an independent American to wrap their head around the idea that freedom can come from obedience to Christ. But because God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, He anticipated how challenging it would be for us to make decisions in the mission field that is our lives. He knew we would be lost, confused, and often paralyzed by our ruminations about what is ultimately right or wrong. So Jesus made it simple for us. He told us to obey His commands and leave the rest to Him. Now if that isn’t freedom, I don’t know what is. 

Making disciples and teaching them to obey is God’s plan for putting missionaries everywhere on earth, making salvation possible for everyone. But the message of salvation cannot be carried out by false Christians. I’m not speaking of Sunday, Easter, and Christmas Christians. I’m speaking of those unkind, judgmental, hypocritical, and downright mean Christians committed to a false gospel narrative. They use fear to convince others to follow Jesus, and they are dangerous to all Christians. For they meet none of Jesus’ criteria for calling themselves Christian. Yet, they do so proudly and publically as they poison the well of Christianity with their fear and hate-based rhetoric. 

Sadly, many, perhaps even most, who witness their tirades, conclude that they represent Christianity. This is a danger to all Christians because these hate-based, false Christians are our most significant obstacles in meeting the Lord’s command to make disciples of all people. Fear and punishment are practically synonymous, yet, these misguided Christians try to use the fear of punishment as a weapon to force their brothers and sisters to obey the Lord. Jesus doesn’t want a relationship with us that was coerced by fear. Fear does not promote love. And we know that perfect love, the only kind Jesus has, is the antidote for fear. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.-1 John 4:18.

So why did I write this long and wandering piece? I wrote it as a call to arms. I want to open the eyes of my brothers and sisters in Christ and my own eyes to this severe threat. I hope the misguided Christians whose only tools are fear and hate are only a loud minority. But either way, they are often the only picture of Christianity some folks see. That is a huge problem. Many of us, myself at the head of the line, hesitate to talk about our faith because we know many people are hostile to Christians. But that is the exact reason we need to take a deep breath, ask Jesus to put the necessary words in our mouths, and dive in.

For if folks never see the difference between those loud misguided Christians and those of us who are loving and hopeful through the peace we have in Christ, they will go on thinking Christians are, well, you know what they believe. So, I’m encouraging everyone who reads this to consider that Jesus’ Great Command to make disciples begins with displaying the truth of being a Christian, the love of Jesus, the glory of God, and the changes the Holy Spirit has made in our hearts. And our first step toward displaying these things to the world is what our first step should always be, prayer.

So let’s pray:

Abba, as I begin this new day, help me to love as Jesus did.
As I trust Your goodness to guide me, help me to live as He lived.
Show me how to honor you, Father; make my faith have no ‘ifs, ands, or buts.”Help me to trust you with reckless faith and be obedient no matter what.

May I always make You my true north, the center of all that I do.
And when I say, “Thy will be done,” may it always be heartfelt and true. Abba, today, please show me the path You have anointed for me. And with love for You and my fellows, help me to walk that path faithfully. With gratitude for Your love, Abba, and for all of the blessings You send, Humbly, I pray this prayer In the name of Your Son, Amen