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What an election year this is going to be… be part of the action!

Look, I get the politics of this… the mantras “let’s focus on fiscal issues”, and “let’s not rock the boat with social wedge issues” are valid… especially considering it’s the first time Republicans have controlled both houses in Maine in a generation- I get it.  But upon reviewing 4 bills that were brought before the Maine Legislature last session I fail to see anything that should be considered a “wedge” as it pertains to protecting the unborn with basic safeguards, while at the same time keeping in place a woman’s ability to “choose” to end the life of her unborn child.

Many times I hear pro-choice politicians- pro-choice Democrats and Republicans alike- say: “I am personally pro-life, but I still believe we need to preserve a woman’s right to choose.”  They will usually conclude by saying, “abortion must remain legal, but we must do everything in our power to make them more rare.” I used to be a person that said those exact things in everyday conversation, so I know the thought process. The 4 bills I will outline fit this description perfectly- their purposes are to help make abortion more rare, but by no means do they prevent choice.

So I’m not going to call out Republican Legislators by name in this post- the documents linked below will provide the info how people voted if you want it- but here is an open question to those who voted against these bills:

“What about these bills offended you, and why?  If your hope is to ‘help make abortions more rare’- as even a pro-choice politician (if that’s what you are), why could you still not support them?”

The bills from the 2011 Legislature were as follows:

LD 1457: to strengthen rules regarding parental consent of minors considering abortion,
LD 116: to enact a 24hr waiting period prior to an abortion,
LD 924: to educate women on the medical risks of abortion, and
LD 1463: to protect an unborn child from offenses that attempt to harm them (non-abortive offenses, that is)…

Federal law dictates that abortion is here to stay for at least the foreseeable future, but States have it well within their rights to help promote life and make sure those considering abortion know that other options are available. Measures such as these would have done just that.

My ultimate point is that there’s no reason (other than political posturing) why a more moderate Republican that considers him/herself pro-choice should not been able to support those 4 bills and the modest protections they would have implemented. None of those bills removed supposed “choice” from the equation, but rather would have helped the woman make a clearer and more reasoned “choice”.

Here is a good summary provided by the Maine Right to Life Council of how legislators voted on each bill:
Maine House - http://www.mainerighttolife.com/pdf/2011house.pdf
Maine Senate – http://www.mainerighttolife.com/pdf/2011Senate.pdf

Christ is in Christmas for the long haul- even if people try to take it out. Therefore, I don’t get all worried about the so-called “secularization of Christmas” we hear about all the time. If people want to turn away from the true meaning of Christmas, then that is done at their own peril. For those of us who care about what the holiday truly signifies, we cannot and should not be lead astray by how the non Christ-centered world tries to portray the celebration of His first coming.

Nowhere in the Bible do we see Christ’s first followers gathering around a tree with pretty lights. In fact, Christ was murdered on a tree fashioned into a Cross. My understanding is the tradition of the Christmas Tree didn’t start until the 16th century, right around the same time the King James Bible was first published (you know- the translation people claim is the “truest Word of God” because Jesus supposedly used it some 1500 years prior). If businesses want to appeal to non-Christians by calling it a “holiday tree” then who cares? Just laugh at them and move on. No one is going to force you to quit calling it a Christmas tree within your home. If someone wants to say “Happy Holidays” don’t get all bent out of shape- there are other holidays during this time of year after all. Just wish them “Merry Christmas” in return with a smile.

We live in a time predicted in the Bible. You know, the part where Jesus warns his disciples that a time will come when “many will fall away…” and “the love of many will turn cold” (read Mt 24:10-14). As followers of Jesus Christ, all we can do is “endure to the end” and continue to proclaim His name in spite of any ridicule that may come our way. As for those that choose to “fall away” or simply believe other things- the best we can do is explain the real meaning of Christmas in love, and then pray they are willing to hear it. Rest assured, Christ is in Christmas for the long haul.

As soon as you start telling someone the stark positive realities that a life with Christ offers, then you immediately begin outlining by default the stark negative realities of a life without Christ- or more importantly for Christians- what happens when our walk with Christ falls short. These realities are eye opening for the believer more so than the unbeliever. We shouldn’t assume just because someone is “churched” that everything is ok in their life.

By pro-actively speaking the gospel message (in love) to our fellow Christians then we can mutually shepherd each other in our walks with Christ. Notice the term “mutually shepherd”- this isn’t just about calling someone else out when you think they need correction. It’s about maintaining accountability in our own lives, as well. I firmly believe the Gospel message has the power to convict us, so only by speaking it to others and even to ourselves are we able to keep on the right path in our own lives. Finally, all of us as Christians are called to “go and make disciples”- what better way to practice our ability to evangelize than by “preaching to the choir”!

So- what is the Gospel message?

Well, the article I referenced also did a great job summarizing the message. I don’t know about you, but how many times have you wanted to share the gospel but have a brain camp and either don’t feel ready to share it, or even forget it all together?! Learning the Gospel should be Christianity 101 so that we can always be ready to share our faith, and the awesome life-changing power found in Jesus Christ.

We should all come up with a way in our own words to share this simple equation:

Adopted + Justified + Saved + Regenerated = The Gospel.

Here are the words directly from the article-

Because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus we are:

- Children fully loved and accepted by our Father, adopted into his family – Adoption.

- Fully pardoned from the punishment of a holy God on our sin, now declared righteous – Justification.

- Completely saved from the clutches of Satan and hell, given eternal life with God – Salvation.

- Given a whole new life and identity by the Holy Spirit who lives in us – Regeneration.

Depending on the situation the words we use can and should be different, but the message should remain the same. If we can remember to share the implications of Christ’s life, death and Resurrection with fellow Christians whenever the opportunity arises, then we will be better able to reflect to the world these same implications. If we ignore the Gospel in our personal Christian walk and relationships, then the world will ignore us just the same.

The same passion and almost remorse I saw in my doctor’s eyes as he lamented, is what I see in my pastor and feel myself for “the people out there” doing nothing about their spiritual well-being. My heart literally aches when I sit in a busy restaurant or similar place and just look around at all the people who could care less about a meaningful, healthy relationship with the only Person that could change their lives.

I have concluded that I feel this “ache” because I have lived that same “care-free” life until just the last few years. During my life of living for myself I never thought I was doing anything wrong, and therefore saw no need to seek any type of self-improvement, or more importantly- soul-improvement. I just urge anyone reading this “rant” to take care of yourselves- physically AND spiritually. You can’t have a healthy life without both.

Finally, in your spiritual life be sure to search for truth, because even you think it doesn’t matter now, it does… eternity is a long time. We don’t just die, go into the ground and rot, and then stop existing. I believe Jesus died for me, so that I may live forever. Maybe for most of you reading this you either don’t care what that means, don’t want to believe it because you can’t understand it, choose to believe something else, or believe nothing. So why Jesus you might ask? To that I say- why not Jesus? He is the ONLY man who defeated death after all. If we want to be like Jesus and defeat death, then we have to try to “be like” Him while we are alive.

With love and compassion-
Aaron

A quick background on myself- I did not grow up in church, and while I considered myself a Christian, I was by all intents and purposes NOT a practicing Christian until late 2008 at the age of 28 when I made a profession of Faith and became born-again, later also being baptized. You can read my entire Christian testimony. I give that brief background to put in context my previous experiences (or lack thereof) coming into an event as charismatic as would be expected from a Jesus Culture conference. One would have to agree that to have not grown up in a Charismatic-leaning church- let alone no church at all- a good amount of the experiences at Jesus Culture Awakening would be new territory for me.

To be in a room with over 15,000 fellow believers that just have a burning desire to exalt Jesus is a feeling like no other. However, after a month or so of reflection what I’ve come to discern is that worshiping and obeying God is not just about “a feeling.” Charismatics like to call it “pressing in” to call on the Holy Spirit and get what can be described as nothing other than a feeling. They would surely argue otherwise, but what I witnessed firsthand many times at Awakening were people in search of a feeling. We must never forget the Holy Spirit- one of the three persons of the Trinity- is just that, a person- not an impersonal force. When Reinhard Bonnke is walking back-and-forth on the stage yelling “Receive! Receive! Receive!” to 15,000 young revivalists wailing in approval, it could easily and unknowingly be twisted in the minds of the well-meaning “receivers” to be receiving someTHING instead of someONE.

With all that said, I came away from Jesus Culture Awakening with a better understanding and awe of an All Mighty, All Powerful God. A God whose miracles and power are for today, and if applied correctly, for every believer. I truly believe there IS “Power in the Name of Jesus!” I have actually learned better how to call on the Holy Spirit in prayer, and can put in proper context my experiences from Jesus Culture Awakening.

One such thing that helped put things in context was just last week I watched a video from Mike Bickle at IHOP in Kansas City (another unabashedly Charismatic/End-times focused group like Jesus Culture). This message from Bickle made me feel more at ease with the corporate display of “being slain in the spirit” I experienced at Awakening. In his message entitled “Perspective on the manifestations of the Spirit at IHOP-KC“, Bickle states in his 40 years of experience he has determined 80% of so-called “manifestation” to be man-made, rather than Spirit-led. But despite that fact, he is not willing to put an end to the 80% fake – the “hamburger helper” as he calls it- and risk losing the 20% authentic moves of the Holy Spirit in his services at IHOP-KC. My favorite Bickle quote from that message- “The Holy Spirit is not the spirit of hype, he’s the Spirit of Truth”- amen. I have linked to that video because it is worth a watch if you have the time.

But as far as my final thoughts on JCAwakening- my favorite speaker at the conference was by far Sean Smith whose style of Evangelism is nothing short of amazing. My favorite speech was Banning Liebscher’s from the opening night when he challenged all of us believers in the room to answer the call from Jesus- to truly give up our lives for Him. Reinhard Bonnke had a very well-versed and inspirational story that would motivate anyone to spread the Gospel far and wide. And lets not forget the awesome Jesus Culture band who along with hillsong united rocked the house all 3 days- admittedly my first motivation for making the trip in the first place.

I know God had a purpose for my attendance at this event. I grew closer to my wife and friends in our discussions of our relationships with Jesus, and the zeal we experienced at the conference has undoubtedly been carried back to our home church. Jesus Culture Awakening 2011, what already seems like just a “flash in the pan of life” in less than 2 months, will stick with me for a while- if not for the rest of my days.

The fundamental Biblical principle is that solely by His grace alone, we are justified in God’s eyes by Faith Alone (in Him)- or “Sola Fide.” Nothing shows God’s love more for us than to know we are saved simply by the grace of God- and not by ANY works of our own that we can later boast about in heaven (see Ephesians 2:8-9). We are actually saved by works- just NOT our own, but rather Christ’s dying work on the cross.

However, this doesn’t mean we can just do anything we want in life, and simply go to heaven because of God’s Grace. We must demonstrate our saving grace through living a good life and representing Christ to the world in a way that would be pleasing to him. Without the demonstration of works, then the Bible calls into question whether we have really been saved by Grace. So when a “saved by works” advocate (i.e. a Catholic or Mormon) references James 2:17-18 and says you can’t be saved without works, they are misleading you (either intentionally or unintentionally). These verses in James simply say our faith is DEAD without works- meaning faith is not actively working (or being demonstrated) by us! We are not saved BY our works, we are saved FOR works. So if your faith is not actively working, then you should re-evaluate your current relationship with Christ to ultimately assure your salvation.

Finally, on the question of whether once we are truly saved by Grace alone, can we go on sinning? Paul answers this plainly in Romans 6- by no means! If we truly have a new life in Christ, then sin will be put to death as a result. If we fail to get rid of sin, then we will be far from our God Christ Jesus.

But despite all this- no matter how often we push him away- God’s Grace is always there for our taking. God’s love for us never fails. ”Religion” is actually contrary to The Gospel. Religion says God only accepts us if we are good enough. The Gospel says God already accepts us (by His Grace) if we simply accept Him in return. And we demonstrate that we’ve accepted Him by living a life that is pleasing to Him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhe5qLju3h4