Sarcasm

Sarcasm is such a curious device that we often enable in our day-to-day speech in order to establish a particular point or to make light of a situation. Many would argue that there is no place for sarcasm, and that God would never approve of such a usage. However, I know that God has been sarcastic in His dealings with the people of Israel. Take a look at Amos 4: 6-11

6"I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
7"I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;8so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
9”I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD.
10"I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
11"I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning;yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.
12"Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"
13For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth- the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!

God was blatantly sarcastic with the Israelites, but there was purpose in his sarcasm. Israel denied the idea that these things were happening to them because they had turned away from God. He was making a point that He knew that they were bitter towards him for bringing these hardships, but he still wanted them to realize that they came because they did not follow Him. Would God still be sarcastic with us about our hardships if we were away from Him?

Kyle

Under Pressure

I spent last weekend at Evangelism University with several teens, and was privileged enough to attend some of the adult classes. Throughout the course of study, we discussed evangelism as adults in the workplace and with family members, and then divided those who we would be interacting to into two groups. First, we have those who are lost. This group constitutes the largest number of people we interact with, and can often be the easiest group to evangelize too. Second, we have those who have walked away from God, and need to be restored. This can be the hardest group for us to reach out to, because they have known God but have decided to go elsewhere.
In the midst of the discussion of these two groups, it struck me why we have such a difficult time in reaching these two groups. First, we put so much pressure on ourselves because we feel like we have to know everything about the Bible. We believe that we are expected to have the answer to every question, and that if we do not then we have doomed that person to Hell for eternity. That pressure can overwhelm us and create doubt in ourselves that prevents us from being able to do the type of outreach we need to be doing. Second, we allow discussions about Jesus and the Gospel to turn into religious discussions which for then into religious arguments. This only adds to the fear and confirmation that there is pressure to know it all. We start into a study prepare for a religious battle of wits, and ultimately because of that mentality that is where the discussion goes.
I have come to realize that personal evangelism is not about the religious battle of wits, but about one thing: The Gospel! There can be time for doctrinal issues when this person is a believer open to the commands and examples provided by God. We must first establish the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is this. We deserve eternal death because of sin which separates us from God, but God gave His Son as a sacrificial gift to become sin so that the relationship might be restored. It’s that simple. Want to sum it up in one verse? Romans 6:23. Do not be distracted by religious discussion, the purpose and aim of a Bible study with a well established friend is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You must enter in with that being your focus or study will seem trivial and frustrating! Take the challenge and talk to a friend this week…

Kyle

Becoming Like a Child

In Matthew 18:1-4, Jesus tells us all that unless we become like little children that we cannot make it into the Kingdom of Heaven. So, how can we become like children?

HUMILITY
-never wants to push forward for themselves.

-do not wish for prominence or sovereignty.

-does not strive for 1st place all the time.

-instinctive humility.

DEPENDENCE
-dependence is perfectly natural.

-doesn't try to face life alone or try to choose own destiny.

-perfectly content with depending on those who love and care for them.

TRUST
-because instinctually dependent, they instinctually trust parents to meet their needs.

-they don't try to buy their own food, clothes, or maintain the home, yet they never doubt that food and clothing will be provided and the home will be clean and safe.

-When we are children we set out on journeys planning to pay no fee and just having trust in our parents.

-We need humility to fellow man(attitude of Christ) and dependence and Trust on God that He will meet our needs and will always be there for us. (Don't lean on our own understanding!)
Child->Us Parents->God
We should all take this to heart and make an attempt to become more like children in the sight of God!