Universalism...What is that?

Last night we looked at Matthew 7:13-14. In this teaching Jesus says there are two gates, one is a wide gate that is easy to enter through but in the end it leads to destruction. The other gate is narrow and hard to enter but it leads to life. I talked about universalism last night and thought that I might expound on it a little more.

According to dictionary.com universalism is "the doctrine that teaches the universal fatherhood of god and the final salvation of all souls." Simply put, universalism is the belief that you can worship god any way you want. You can call god Allah, Vishnu, Baal, Jesus or whatever you would like, but in the end we are all worshiping the same god and thus all people will receive salvation. This flies in the face of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.

Throughout the Old Testament one can see that God tells his people to have no other gods but him (Exodus 20:3). When God punishes Israel and sends them into exile it is because they have chosen to worship other gods and not Him (See 1 Samuel through Malachi). If Jesus taught universalism then Israel in the Old Testament would have never been punished for worshiping another god since they were still worshiping a god, but calling him by a different name.

In the New Testament this is even more clear. In the book of John Jesus has a series of teachings where he says "I am..." He says, "I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world; I am the good shepherd, I am the door; I am the resurrection and life; I am the way, the truth and the life; and I am the true vine." There is one more "I am" statement and Jesus simply says "I am". One can see as well in Acts 4:12 that Jesus is the only name given for salvation.

The Bible is clear that not all people will receive the fatherhood of God and final salvation. Only those people who place their faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in Jesus will receive salvation. This is a tough teaching, but one that Christians believe. This is why Jesus says it is hard to enter through the narrow gate and that only a few do enter.

The Christians response to universalism is evangelism. We must be looking for opportunities to share the gospel or good news of Jesus with those around us. Pray for those around you that they may see that Jesus is the one true God and follow him.

I am Second

Back in 2003 Switchfoot released an album titled "The Beautiful Letdown". If I am not mistaked it sold over 1 million copies. The album is incredible. Towards the end of the album is a song called "24" Below are the lyrics:

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

The lyrics "I am the second man" always intrigued. I remember asking roomates and friends in college what they thought it meant. The consensus is that Jesus is first man. The one we should strive to be like. He is the ultimate and if possible, we are a very distant second. For Switchfoot to write that they are second is a humbling thing. It is only in humility that one can say, "I am not number 1. I am not the best. I am second."

My wife told me about a website called www.iamsecond.com. I thought that it might have been a Switchfoot fan devoting a sight to them. I was wrong. iamsecond.com is a website that has people sharing their testimony of how Jesus has impacted their life. People both young and old, black and white, male and female are on this sight. Their stories range from helping bring water to the Sudan, to overcoming drug addiction. It is a really great sight. The message of the sight is that everybody is second and Jesus is first. Whoever put this sight together may or may not have heard the Switchfoot lyrics, but in any case both the song and this sight are true: Jesus is the number 1 man.

Be sure to check http://www.iamsecond.com

Senior High Gathering and Sea Gulls

Over the Christmas break the Southwest Texas Synod held their annul Senior High Gathering in Corpus Christi, Texas. We took five students all crammed into an Aspen and had a fun time. The theme was "Divine Design" and each day focused on taking care of a different part of God's design. Day one was taking care of our bodies. Day two was taking care of the world and day three was taking care of each other.

One of the best parts of the entire weekend, and I think it was the students as well, was the worship leader Aaron Strumpel. He has traveled the world leading worship and playing his songs. He is part of a group called Enter the Worship Circle and their goal, other than worshiping God through music, is bringing in the arts back into the church.

Aaron led a break out group where he taught on how he wrote songs, where he got his inspiration, and then led us in an activity. He had us close our eyes while he played a song that one of his friends had recorded. The song only had two lines of lyrics that where sung, chanted or said in many different ways. The music also did different things. After the song was over he had us talk about what we experienced, what we felt God was communicating to us. It was really cool getting to hear what the students experienced.

I bought Aaron's newest album and haven't been able to put it down. His music has spoken to me in a very profound way, a way that I haven't experienced from a Christian artist in a long time.

You can check out Aaron at www.aaronstrumpel.com...and I recommend you do!

Now, for a funny story. There are three different types of high school students; the first is the one who learns from being told what to do and what not to do, the second is the one who learns from observing other people's failures and successes and the third is the person who has to experience it first hand.

Corpus is the home of the first Whataburger and when we arrived in Corpus we went to the two story Whataburger that is located on the water for dinner. We ate outside and all around the eating area are signs that read "Please do not feed the birds." There were Sea Gulls all around us, but we weren't being bothered. However, the one student of the group who has to learn by experience decided to toss a french fry up in the air about 3 feet. Man, that was a mistake. Those birds were on us in a split second. The girls got upset and went inside while the guys laughed so hard we almost puked. It was pretty funny to say the least. Needless to say, next time we are in Corpus I will make sure everybody obeys the signs!

Some ideas for Christmas

Christmas can and is always a hectic time of year. Everybody is going to the store, fighting the crowds and hoping to find that perfect gift. Some people wait until the last minute and shop for hours and come home with a gift they are not to proud of. Sometimes, Christ gets pushed a little too much to the side during the hustle and bustle of the season. With that said, I have put together a list of some ideas to help us all get centered around Christ.

• Grab your Bible, go to a quiet place with no interuptions, and read Luke chapters 1 and 2. Take a note of all the different people mentioned (Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the angel Gabriel, the Shepherds, Simeon and Anna) and really think about what might have been going through their minds as the birth of Jesus happened
• take some time to send a personal Christmas card to someone. Get creative and make the card and then write a special note to that person wishing them a Merry Christmas
• make a playlist of your favorite Christmas songs. While making that list ask yourself "why is this one of my favorite Christmas songs?" and then answer the question.
  
• go rent It's a Wonderful Life
• in whatever way possible, spends some time with Jesus, thanking him for coming to Earth for our salvation
  

Mission Monday- Israel

Keeping with our Christmas theme of praying for the countries where Jesus lived, our focus this week is on Israel.

If you watch the news on any day of the week it is a great possibility that you will hear something about Israel. Whether it be a bomb going off, a president visiting with Israeli leaders, or the "normal" conflict that continues there on a day to day basis, Israel is always in the news. Eighty percent of the population in Israel follow Judaism. Fourteen percent follow Islam and a mere 2% are Christian. The number of Messianic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah and fulfillment of the Old Testament) has increased greatly since 1967. There where approximately 250 Messianic Jews in 1967. In 2000 there was an estimated 7,000 Messianic Jews.

Let's Pray:

• that more Jews would see Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah and place their trust in him.
• Outside of Israel the Messianic Jew Churches have grown. Pray that they may continue to be a strong witness for Jesus to the other Jews living in their midst.
• There is much tension between the Israelis in Israel in the Arabs in Israel. Pray for a peace resolution on both sides and that both would find true peace in Christ.
• With so many branches of Christianity seeing Israel as an important part to their faith (which is certainly is), this leads to some tension among the Christian churches, especially in Jerusalem. Pray that those different branches of Christianity may be able to come together under the cross of Christ and respect each others beliefs.
• there will not be true peace in Israel until Christ returns. However, pray that the Christians in Israel may live in such a way that the kingdom of Heaven is experience on Earth and that the presence of Christ is felt.
  

Mission Monday- Palestine

Since it is December and all the talk is about Christmas I think it would be good for us to look at the place of the world where Jesus lived and pray for that area. We will start will Palestine this week and next week we will look at Israel.

There is much tension between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Simply put, the two countries hate each other. This stems from a long history dating back to Biblical times.

The major religion in Palestine is Islam with almost 87% of the population adhering to Muslim beliefs. The next is Judaism (Jews) with almost 10%. The Christian percentage is almost 2%. As one can see, the very area where Jesus walked and taught has not responded to his message.

Pray:

• that the gospel or good news of Jesus to be received and accepted by the Palestinians.
• for peace between Israel and Palestine, so that the bombing and killing will end
• for a land settlement that both Israel and Palestine will agree to (they both claim Jerusalem as their capital so there is much fighting over this)
• that the 2 million Palestinian refugees will be able to return home
• for the Christians who live in Palestine. Pray that they may be able to stand firm in the face of persecution and that their lives my be a witness to all that would cause people to come to know Jesus.
  

Mission Monday on Tuesday-Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Watching on the news the current activity that has happened over in Mumbai I think it would be good to spend some time in prayer for the people over there as well as praying for the gospel to go forth into that nation.

Here are some numbers so that you can get acquainted with the Maharashtra state in India. 95,000,000 live in this state (that is a lot) in only 308,000 square feet. Mumbai is the capital of the state (like Austin is the capitol of the state of Texas) The main religion is Hindu with 80% of the people belonging to the Hindu faith. 10% of the people are Muslim and 6% of the people are Buddhist. The Christian population is only 1%.

Pray for:

• the city of Mumbai. There has been recent terrorist activity there leaving many dead and wounded. Pray that healing that comes from Christ would take place
• Mumbai is also the home of the continent of Asia's largest slum, 100,00 street children, as well as an alarming number of child prostitution and AIDS suffers. Pray that the Christians in Mumbai may be able to reach out to those children and save them for the horrendous things they may face.
• The church in Maharashtra needs a lot of help. Seeing that only 1% are Christians that means the church is small. Pray that those 1% of Christians may be able to be salt and light and bring the hope of Jesus to the people around them.
• Pray for the government of India and its leaders as they rule their country.