What I Believe Makes Me What I Am

Creed, a song by Rich Mullins A paraphrase of the Apostles' Creed I've been stirred recently to share the basics of my faith in Christ. In this age, people don't know the Bible, gospel, or truth that we might assume they do, so perhaps it is time for you, too, to share the details of where you come from spiritually. Our friends and family deserve to know. I think this is a perfect place to start. It's a song based upon the long-held traditions and creed of the Church, and the power of music helps the memory. Here are the words; check out YouTube for Rich Mullins' or Third Day's version. Sing, memorize, know the truth!

I believe in God the Father
Almighty maker of heaven and maker of earth
And in Jesus Christ his only begotten son Our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified and dead and buried

CHORUS: (not part of the original creed, but a response to it)
And I believe what I believe
Is what makes me what I am
I did not make it
No it is making me
It is the very truth of God
Not the invention of any man

And I believe that he who suffered
Was crucified and buried and dead
He descended into hell and on the third day
He rose again
He ascended into heaven
Where he sits at God's mighty right hand And I believe that he's returning
To judge the quick and the dead and the sons of man

CHORUS
I believe it, I believe it

I believe in God the Father
Almighty maker of heaven and maker of earth
And in Jesus Christ his only begotten son Our Lord
I believe in the Holy Spirit
One Holy Church
The communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
I believe in the resurrection
I believe in a life that never ends

CHORUS

Amazing Grace-My Personal Testimony

Amazing Grace 25 Aug 1998 in the year of our Lord Jesus Two years ago on this day was the day that my life changed forever. It was the day that I met God. I am delighted to tell you how that happened. Several weeks before that day, a man by the name of Curtis Timsah began to work with me at Pizza Inn. He talked a lot about what I thought as religion and about the end of the world. I was captivated by his words and though I disagreed, I found everything he said compelling and listened intently. I found myself unable to refute anything. But more to the point, as he shared with me about world events and what the Bible describes about the end of this age, I began to see a pattern. I saw that the world was not simply going into chaos, but that there was a concerted plan. The outcry for a new world order fit nicely with what he described as the kingdom of the antichrist. Everything pointed toward the existence of a devil who was the source of all this evil, a higher power who was leading this world into places it didn't understand. Jerusalem is the center of world attention for this very reason-it is God's city and the devil wants it. Well, at this point I decided that if there was a devil, and the evidence made that clear, then the god who told us that there was one must exist. I came home from work one night and told my wife, Tamra, that I thought I was finding religion. I believed in a devil and a god. I was still unsure about what Christians said about Jesus dying for my sins, but I no longer ruled it out. AMAZING GRACE... The following Sunday morning, I stayed home from church. I was not feeling well, and besides, I had to pack to move into our new home. About 11 o'clock in the morning, God acted. I knelt down on the couch, asked God to forgive me all my sins and asked Jesus to come into my heart. He did both. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-nor by works, so that no one can boast." Eph 2:8,9 God gave, I only received. What I received was newness of life. I had been declared guilty; now I was given clemency. All that I had been was washed away by the blood of God. I stood up from that couch a new creation of God. I was still James England, and I still had to pack belongings. I still had to go to work that night. But now I know my Creator; he is my best friend. We moved into our house the following Saturday. This house I consider to be my salvation gift from God. We had been looking for a house to buy and did not qualify for a large enough home because I worked for tips and mortgage companies couldn't count them. I remember Tamra asking for prayer in Sunday School one day that we might be able to find a house if it was God's will. Even though I was an atheist, I somehow believed that prayer. Well, just as we gave up looking until we could buy a large enough home, someone walked into Tamra's work and offered her this house. Miraculously, they offered to let us pay rent for one year toward the purchase price, lowering it to an amount we could qualify for. The same week I met God, he gave me a house. I did not save myself; I came to the end of denying the existence of God and when I did, he put an end to my misery. I was now what I was created to be-his child. My greatest desire was to begin to read the Bible. I had to put that off until after the move, but what I could do was throw away all the heavy metal music cassettes I had that were not already packed. When we got moved, I threw away the rest. Then I picked up the Bible. ...HOW SWEET THE SOUND This is what I found. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey in my mouth!" Ps 119:103 This book that I had picked up before and found incomprehensible now came to life. In fact, it was life to me. "A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul...." Prov 13:19 I found more and more what I had been created to be. My purpose is to love God with all my heart! I wanted to get to know him intimately, and through his word he made that possible. "But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." Jn 16:13 When I met God, he gave me the Spirit of truth. He has led me into all truth, and the truth is Jesus. Truth is not some ethereal, elusive concept, but in a real sense is a proper noun-a name for God himself. Not only is he the truth, but he is also the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. Jn 14:6 It sounds offensive to some, but it raises joy within my heart to finally hear the truth, to see the way, to find life. "Praise our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard." Ps 66:8 THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME! I have been saved from my own terrible guilt. I was convicted without remedy, and enslaved to continue in my guilt. "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy." Ti 3:3-5 The kindness and love of God is always is there, but we do not see it. When we have our eyes opened, we understand this: "They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed." Ps 22:5 We no longer deny God. " Before I met God, I was miserable and did not know it. But now I know what it means to be a slave to human flaw rather than a slave to Christ. "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Ro 7:24 Another verse describes me before 25 August 1996. "But you did not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." Rev 3:17 I ONCE WAS LOST, BUT NOW I'M FOUND... To be lost and not know it sounds strange, but in my case it was true. I had a good life. I had a wonderful wife and beautiful daughter, a decent place to live, all the necessities of life. I had a wonderful job, and contentment with my income. I am intelligent, and although I failed in engineering school and that door was closed in my life, I thought I was content. But I had rejected the one who created me. Not only had I rejected the truth, but the way to my true purpose in this world. I was running from the one who was trying to find me, shouting lies and covering my ears to drown out his cries. I failed, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Lk 15:24 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Lk 19:10 Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, says "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me." Ro 10:20 God himself loved me so much that he carried a Roman cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and gave up his life there for me. He was buried, then he rose again, and sought after me my whole life to reveal his kindness and love to me so that I might receive his gift of eternal life, forgiveness of all my sins, and relationship with him. WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE! "The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous." Ps 146:8 I had been blind, "ever seeing but never perceiving." Mt 13:14 The Bible further describes how I was before I met God and he changed my life. "For this people's heart has become caused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears and turn, and I would heal them. Acts 28:27 Well, I finally heard the good news. Indeed, "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Prov 25:25 I once was blind, but now I see. I now see clearly what my purpose in life is. When I was an atheist, I thought I knew what I was doing in life. I would be an engineer and develop cars and airplanes that would change the world in some small way, that would contribute to the environment with better design. I cannot change the world, and neither can any man alive-except the one who was dead, and now lives. He created this world, and only he can save it. One day he will recreate the universe. His first priority is the hearts of those he created in his own image, those he loves and created this universe for. It is the greatest purpose of God to have intimacy and relationship with us. Our highest purpose is to be adopted as his children, to love our father. Then everything else comes into order. I am still concerned about this planet; it is handmade by God. I care about endangered species; but this world in its totality is sing and only God can change that. My wife is not just another person, and certainly not another accident of evolution as I used to believe. She is someone created by the loving hand of God; as my wife she is his greatest gift to me except my salvation. God brought Tamra into my life to teach me how to give my whole heart to someone who would give their whole heart to me. Until I met her, I had never known true love or contentment with another person, just loneliness despite a wonderful loving family. The presence of the Spirit of God within her heart melted mine, and I found true love. I shall eternally thank her, for without her love I probably would've been incapable of giving my heart to God. Earlier I said that she was second to my salvation; indeed, she is second to my God. That is the way God requires it. But God is not selfish; because I love God I can more fully love my wife than ever before. I know now that she will not only still love me when I'm 64, but a trillion years from now we will be kneeling in worship to Jesus, hand in hand. Without Christ, I could only love her for a lifetime. Except for what happened two years ago today, I would be in hell. Thank you, my love, for leading me to the cross by your life of love for me. You will take a husband and daughter [and now a son!] with you to heaven.

I am an Oklahoman but not an American?

The Bible says that Christians are part of the Body of Christ. Like a body, each part has its own unique role to play. Eyes, ears, hands, internal parts. We can't all be mouths, hands, etc., or how could the body function? Not only do we have to have all the parts, but we have to serve in our own roles. The same goes for family. We can't have two husbands or two wives, and the children cannot perform the parental role while the parents act like kids. God commands the church to care for widows and orphans. The same for government. Each part of government has a designated role. Obviously, these roles may be defined in numerous ways from nation to nation and state to state. In the USA, our nation is governed by rule of law, and each part of government is to stay within its boundaries. We don't have nuclear armed county sheriffs or federal dogcatchers. Congress doesn't concern itself with local zoning ordinances and the city council doesn't build nuclear weapons. Things go really wrong when judges, presidents, and bureaucracies try to create laws, the federal government usurps state power, and the like. If everyone were a legislator, where would the judging be? Of everyone were a federal agent, where would a local policeman be? Our government has long ago mutated from a properly functioning body to an insane, mutant monster with lots of hands in our pockets, eyes upon us, and a warped mind. Human government is trying to replace family government as well as the role of God. Only God has the right to know our inmost thoughts. What if everyone said, I am an Oklahoman, I don't belong to America? Or if you are from California, you are not an American because you are not like us? By the same token, there should not be categories like African-American, because one is either African or American. Indeed, are there even Africans? Wouldn't they be Egyptians or Nigerians, etc.? In the United States, citizenship is defined nationally. The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution, for example, honors laws from state to state and travel is unrestricted. There is no legal definition of state citizenship, just state residency. What is the point to my rambling? There is much discussion of federal overreach, tenth amendment, states' rights, nullification and interposition, secession, and the like today. It is clear that the federal government had gone off the reservation and is in chronic violation of the Constitution, crushing the states with its tyranny. The states have gladly complied for "free" federal money. I do not wish to get into the myriad examples right now. The United States of America is like a body, even in a sense as described in 1 Corinthians 12. I don't what to carry the analogy too far, but if it is a physical body, could the federal government be considered the skin? We really can't do without its protection. If we compare the nation to the Church, God can surely provide for her even if she has faults, but it would dishonor the nation to reject certain members or to secede. These are indeed the times that try men's souls. In discussing solutions to our national woes, I pray you remember that we are all Americans. It is not right to set liberals or progressives or Californians or socialists or any other groups as our enemies. We have all had a part in bringing on the decline of our nation. It all boils down the gospel truth- hate the sin, but love the sinner. We have all sinned and are fellow citizens with every sinner. We are all Oklahomans. Californians. New Yorkers. Americans. The last thing I would ever want to happen is for states to secede or there be another horrible civil war. The idea might sound crazy, but I think it's not impossible, given the increasing strength of division in our nation. Left versus right. Liberal versus progressive versus conservative. The race war that some desperately want to incite. Jesus taught that we have no right to hate "those people". Please remember this in the days ahead.

The Lord and Oklahomans

When you have no refuge,
     The Lord is your refuge
     And Oklahomans open their dorms, churches, hotels, and homes.

When you have no water,
     The Lord is the living water
     And Oklahomans build a mountain of bottled water.

When you have no hope,
     The Lord is your hope
     And Oklahomans bring blankets, hugs, miracles and boundless energy.

When you have no strength,
     The Lord is your strength
     And Oklahomans bring forklifts and strong arms and energy bars and sixteen hour days.

When you have no power,
     The Lord gives you power to become children of God
     And Oklahomans and Texans and Missourians and Arkansans and ask the rest bring utility trucks,
     And generators hum in the rubble throughout the night, dispelling the darkness.

When all is taken away,
     The Lord is your provider
     And Oklahomans break piggy banks and donate their vacations and share their showers, shelter, and southern hospitality.

When you're mad at what has happened,
     Scream and yell and pound God on the chest,
     Because the Lord hears the cry of the brokenhearted and his ears are open to your prayers,
     And Oklahomans who don't know what else to give will have a prayer for you and a shoulder to cry on.

When you've lost your beloved,
     The Lord weeps with those who mourn
     And Oklahoma does too.

    Oklahoma, tornado, Moore, disaster, May 20, 2013

A Parable on Bengazi

From 2 Samuel 11, paraphrased.
At the time when kings go off to war, the king stayed away; he preferred to lead from behind. He sent the army out, only telling the representatives of the people as an afterthought.

The king had no taste for facing war directly; he choose instead to control events from his remote palace. He partook of sport out on the lush green fields. There were opportunities to gather funds for the kingdom in the decadent city.

The mighty men soldiered on, having no respite. One evening, a heavily armed force descended upon the compound where certain warriors were located. They sent a frantic message pleading for help. When it reached the palace, it was rejected; the relief fighters were ordered to stay in their places. When the men of the city came out and fought against the king's men, some of them died.

A full account, in vivid detail, was made available to the king. It was clear that his men had been overpowered and without assistance. Missiles came from high up and struck the valiant fighters, fatally wounding them. His response was to cast blame elsewhere. His most disturbing statement: "Don't let this disturb you; the sword devours one as well as the other." (v. 25)

What astounds me is how very well the text of 2 Samuel 11 fits the details of the Bengazi attack. V. 24 might just as well say, RPG's and mortars from up high descended upon some and killed them, exactly as happened to two of the men. V. 25 almost exactly quotes one of the Democratic Congressmen's callous remarks to the deaths.

Obviously, the biblical story was about David ignoring his duty to lead his army into battle, instead preferring to lead from behind, and then becoming slave to the lusts of his flesh. Obama's lust does not appear to be sexual, but he sure likes to golf and campaign and fund raise and travel, and his actions after the attack were clearly calculated to ensure his reelection.

As for why he guaranteed the deaths of the men in Bengazi, the reasons are not yet known. It fits the biblical story too frighteningly well for me not to think that he wanted these men dead to cover something up like weapons transactions.

My prayer is that the truth will come forth on the lips of many Nathans, and that most importantly, Obama and his leadership team will repent before Almighty God. One thing is for sure- the blood on their hands will remain.

Humiliation

Sounds awful, doesn't it? Our minds instantly go to painful moments in our lives when we were humiliated, if we dare even to recall. Our human pride hates humiliation. We dread being embarrassed by a bully, our boss, our own shameful actions, secret things we have done and regrets that tear at our souls.

Pride is sin. I don't think most of us have ever even admitted this truth to ourselves. It's the opposite of humility. Period.

Black and white.

Personally, I find it difficult to brag about my accomplishments or take compliments. Even in saying "thank you" for a compliment, I am, to be honest, just saying so dismissively. I do, however, love to brag on my wife and kids and declare that I am proud of them. I do love the song "Proud to be an American." Somehow, however, this seems to be a different phenomenon than pride. I sure don't want my wife or kids to become haughty, but I do want them to know how loved and wonderful they are and how important their accomplishments are. I want them to feel blessed for doing right or well or being good people.

As I contemplate and pray about the next steps to take in preparing for the Day of Humiliation and Prayer that I have called for April 30th, I have become focused on the word humiliation. Someone called me today to express their surprise that I had chosen this word. In fact, I did not. President Abraham Lincoln was only the last in a long line of statesmen to call for a day of humiliation. I am only following in their footsteps.

Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Mary said that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Job despised himself and repented in dust and ashes after God humiliated him for four straight chapters.

It's America's turn.

In our pride we have rejected God. The only way to reverse this is to humble ourselves. Humiliate ourselves. Our righteousness is as filthy rags before God. You know, we ought to be ashamed of ourselves for what we have allowed this nation to become. It's far better that we admit that now, repent, and throw ourselves at God's mercy than keep on going, too proud to turn, and face his wrath.

Start humbly praying now. Please redouble your prayer efforts on the 30th of April. If you are able, please join me at the south steps of the Oklahoma State Capitol from 6 to 9pm on the 30th.

Take a Fresh Look at the Resurrection

I hope you're not in a rut about Easter, tired of the old traditions and complacent about the story. If you're like me, chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts and eating lamb and ham just kind of miss the mark.

Well, I decided to take a fresh look at the Easter story after I heard someone speak on the radio about the solid proofs from the Bible that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. I don't intend to write about them, though they are fascinating and there are thousands of resources you could turn to if you wanted to study that. I think it's far more important that you take the time yourself to study the biblical accounts of Jesus's death, burial, resurrection, and the interesting things he did in the forty days after that.

So here's what I noticed.

Jesus wasn't the first to rise from the dead. He was the first to rise that week, but when he died many holy people rose from the dead. They waited for him, then walked the streets of the city and appeared to many people.

The Pharisees remembered that Jesus had promised that he would rise from the dead and tried to prevent it, but the disciples didn't believe Jesus.

Jesus had some new and interesting skills, and not just with fishing, cooking, and folding laundry. No, I'm not joking.

Jesus appeared to women first, giving them the greatest legal validity they had ever received. The eyewitness testimony of these women is crucial to the concrete proof of the resurrection.

Not to sound crude, but ghosts and those who might be described as the walking dead or zombies are in the Easter story. Often I think that some of the great myths of all time are perversions of biblical truths because men can't even think of original stories.
Jesus seems very busy and driven in the resurrection accounts. He appears to be focused on demonstrating that he has risen from the dead just as he promised, as well as urging his disciples to wait for supernatural power to do amazing things.

To be sure, the next forty days are a mysterious time. The disciples only saw him a few times. Then, from the Mount of Olives, Jesus promises that he will return in the same way he leaves-as he leaves the ground and takes off up into the sky and beyond! This is the real Superman!

After you read the stories in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, please read 1 Corinthians 15 and contemplate how vitally important the resurrection is to everything about following Jesus.