Why I'm Not A Fan of Tracts

A tract. In our Christian circles it's something that gives the gospel message to another human being. Not a huge fan of these and I'll give two reasons why. But first, I understand that people can be saved by reading one of these. And praise God for that! And I realize that this is just my opinion and others may come to a different conclusion, which is fine. Not something worth arguing for. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in for what's it worth.

First reason I am not a fan of tracts would be that Jesus called the church (the people of God) to reach the lost. Yes, a tract can be used to do that. But I firmly believe that God created us to relate to people, build relationships with them, and give them the gospel. In the early church I don't see tracts. I see people passionately caring about a lost world and going to them in their culture to build relationships with them to lead them to Christ. Why has anything changed?

That leads me into my second point being that building a meaningful relationship with someone is a lot harder than just handing them a tract and walking away and never seeing them again. Why should that person listen to you and what the tract says? They have no idea who you are. Think of it this way: when someone hands you a flyer, what's your reaction? You probably take it out of courtesy, then dispose of it and the next available trash can. Maybe without even glancing at it. But on the other hand, when someone cares enough about you to invite you to something or let you in on some knowledge they have acquired, you're more apt to listen to them right? It's the same way with unbelievers. You build that meaningful relationship with them to where there's a degree of trust, you have a golden opportunity to share Jesus with them.

So, in conclusion. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not against tracts, I just feel that we, as the church, ought to utilize the meaningful relationships we have to the fullest. Work at those relationships with unbelievers to bring it to the point where they respect you enough to listen to what you have to say. It's a lot harder than just handing out a tract, but it seems to be the Biblical way in my opinion. So strive to build relationships with unbelievers and for those you come in contact with only briefly, a tract may be the best option. But don't neglect building a relationship with someone in your circles out of laziness or fear, cause it's sin.

Much love,
Cam

Jesus Is The True and Better - Tim Keller

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible’s really not about you—it’s about him.

Radical Faith

What is faith? Well as the dictionary defines it: confidence or trust in a person or thing. Let's look at Genesis 22 and examine Abraham's faith in God and how we can relate to it now. To understand the context, God had miraculously provided a son for Abraham way later than normal. It's not normal to have a baby at 90 years old. But anyways, God had promised Abraham "I will make you a great nation." (Genesis 12:1-3). So Abraham now finally had a son to call his own and God's promise would be fulfilled.

But then, getting into our text, God commands Abraham to do something very odd. He tells Him to go and sacrifice Isaac, his one and only son, as a burnt offering to the Lord. What!? And what is Abraham's response? He gets up early the next morning to start the 3 day journey! He didn't delay the trip. When they got there, he told the servants that he and Isaac would return and worship together. Whoa! That's faith with the expectation that God will come through for them. That I would argue is true faith. If you take your faith in Christ away from your life, would your life look any different than it does now? Abraham proved his faith again by responding to his son saying "God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice." Again, faith with the expectation of God coming through. That's radical faith right? This is Biblical faith. It's radical because this type of faith is not seen nowadays and is so foreign to most churches.

This is the type of faith God is after. Now we'll look at God's response to Abraham's act of faith. The Lord saw his radical obedience to kill his own son because He told him to do so. God is glorified through our acts of faith and obedience. God provided a ram for the sacrifice because He saw that Abraham truly feared God. Abraham believed God would provide. To get very practical, when you pray do you believe wholeheartedly that God will answer that request? Abraham was willing to give up his most prized possession, his son, because God called him to. Would you? God is glorified when we prove our obedience through radical faith. This is the Biblical model of faith.

I leave you with Jesus' words on faith: He said to them, "... For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."(Matt 17:20)

Biblical Philosophy of Missions

"I believe" Statements

1. I believe that God has called me to give my life for the sake of sharing the Gospel.

2. I believe God has called me to a local body of believers, but also to share Christ with the unsaved.

3. I believe that I play a part in advancing the Gospel.

4. I believe that through the power of Christ, I can be unashamed of the Gospel.

5. I believe the local church is the hub of God's activity in missions. 

References for Study

1 Chronicles 16:23-24, Psalms 96:3, Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, Acts 26:17-18, Romans 1:16

Other Resources

http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/index.php/subscribe/ 

(Getting an email sent to you each day with a specific group of people to pray for)

I would highly encourage you to take part in this. It's a very good way to remind yourself of the need in the world for the Gospel.

Ways to have a day-to-day Global Missions Mindset:

1. Pray, Pray, Pray for the advance of the Gospel

2. Expose yourself to certain missions (i.e. books, people, events, etc.)

3. Reminding yourself each day that there are people dying and going to Hell today because they are lost. 

Biblical Philosophy of Dress

"I believe" Statements:

1. I believe that the way I dress affects our influence on others.

2. I believe that the way I dress ought to glorify God.

3. I believe that the way I dress shouldn't be a stumbling block to others.

4. I believe the way I dress shows my desire for purity.

5. I believe that the way I dress should be align with my sexuality.

6. I believe that the way I dress should reflect Christ and not be centered on myself.

7. I believe that the way we dress should not be associated with something that God hates.

8. I believe that my clothing can become an idol. 

References for Study

1 Samuel 16:7, 1 Timothy 2:9-10, 1 Peter 3:2-5, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 14:21, Galatians 5:16, Genesis 3:21, Colossians 3, 2 Corinthians 5:15, etc.

Principles For Thought

1. Maintain the male/female distinction (Deut 22:5)

2. Consider the effect of clothing on our influence (Matt 5:13-16)

3. Make sure our clothing doesn't "offend" anyone (Romans 14:21)

4. Be sure our clothing is modest in God's sight (2 Cor 5:15)

Book Reading List 2010-2011

The Truth About Sex - Kay Arthur

Respectable Sins - Jerry Bridges

Erasing Hell - Francis Chan

Forgotten God - Francis Chan

Crazy Love - Francis Chan

Praise Habit - David Crowder

What is a Healthy Church - Mark Dever

The Deliberate Church - Mark Dever

Confessions of a Reformission Rev. - Mark Driscoll

Vintage Jesus - Mark Driscoll

Doctrine - Mark Driscoll

Cross-Cultural Connections - Duane Elmer

I Am Not But I Know I AM - Louie Giglio

The Air I Breathe - Louie Giglio

Growing Up Christian - Karl Graustein

Boy Meets Girl - Joshua Harris

I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Joshua Harris

Sex is Not the Problem (Lust Is) - Joshua Harris

Do Hard Things - Bret and Alex Harris

Dug Down Deep - Joshua Harris

Worship Matters - Bob Kauflin

Counterfeit Gods - Tim Keller

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

Humility - C.J. Mahaney

Living the Cross Centered Life - C.J. Mahaney

Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

He Is Not Silent - Robert Mohler

Grace Like River  - Christopher Parkening

Finally Alive - John Piper

Supremacy of God in Preaching - John Piper

God is the Gospel - John Piper

Desiring God - John Piper

Radical - David Platt

The Millenials - Thom and Jess Rainer

Facedown - Matt Redman

Visioneering - Andy Stanley

Next Generation Leader - Andy Stanley

Every Young Man’s Battle - Fred Stoeker and Stephen Arterburn

Tactics - Fred Stoeker

The Way I Was Made - Chris Tomlin

These are the books I've read this last year. They've been very beneficial in my own walk. Thought I would share to give you some ideas if you're looking for a good book or two. Wouldn't say I agree with everything these guys write, but still there are a lot of golden truths to be discovered and reminded of.

Much love to you all,

Cam

Overcoming Pornography

There are so many forms of pornography in the world we live in. And such easy access to it. I could share with you all the stats of the industry itself, but that wouldn't accomplish the purpose that I'm writing this for. My goal through this post is to help you receive victory in your fight for purity. So understand two things: 1) the porn industry is powerful; but 2) Jesus is more powerful. And He already defeated it's power by rising from the dead and conquering sin.

So, for whatever reason this sin has been called the "secret sin". For whatever reason I felt that this sin was somehow more sinful than other sins. But, truth is: a sin is a sin. And ultimately the punishment for sin is death and separation from God forever (Romans 6:23). So, be it a lie or a murder, you're destined for Hell. We have to understand that this sin of pornography is no worse than other sins. For some reason, we've categorized sins into major and minor. C.S. Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity, “The bigness or smallness of the thing [sin], seen from the outside, is not what matters.” Ultimately, we need a heart transformation. In God's eyes, sin as sin has to be punished. Again, a sin is a sin. Granted it's a whole lot harder to admit to viewing porn, than it is to admit to lying. But why? 

Because you sinned, something had to die. From the very beginning, the sacrifice for the first sin of our first parents was a blood sacrifice by God Himself (Genesis 3:21). Adam and Eve attempted to cover their sins with tree leaves, but God saw fit to kill an animal to give them the garments to cover themselves and ultimately their sin with. Again the punishment for sin is death (blood had to be shed). That lie that you told was sin. That last time you sat at the computer looking at a porn website was sin. You deserved to die and be in hell forever. That's the bad news. . .

But, this is where the good news comes in.

Jesus, God's only son, humbled Himself and came into this world as one of us (Philippians 2:6-8). He was tempted in every way possible (Hebrews 4:15), yes tempted to lie and tempted to lust after a woman. But, the crucial point being that He didn't sin. Not once. But, He chose to befriend the sinners (Matthew 9:12-13). He loved the sinners (John 3:16). And He forgave the sinners sin (Luke 7:48). But the religious people hated Him because He did all this. And they couldn't accept the fact that He was God incarnate ("in the flesh"). Which eventually led them to crucify Him.

But, this is where the beautiful exchange is. Again the punishment for sin is death. God's wrath had to be satisfied. Someone had to die for the sin for you and I. Jesus did that. Jesus satisfied the wrath of God by His sacrifice (Romans 3:24-26). We deserved it, Jesus endured it. That's the beautiful exchange. All the times you've fallen into sexual lust and fantasies, you can rely fully on Jesus' perfect life. Because when your trust is in Him for dying for you, God sees His righteousness when He looks at you (2 Corinthians 5:21). That's crazy! And worthy of a life of praise.

This doesn't take away the struggle and temptation though. So what happens when it comes up? Even when I write this, I sit in a busy college cafe where girls are dressed in a way that draws attention to them inappropriately. And to be honest my sinful nature wants that. But through Jesus death and resurrection on the cross, I have the power over sin and death to beat those thoughts (1 Corinthians 15:57). That same power that conquered the grave, lives in me and you. But we still fall. And that's where Jesus' living a perfect life comes in so huge! If we had to live up to God's standard of holiness, we would fail miserably (Romans 3:10). But Jesus lived up to it. And if that's what we're relying on fully, we can rest assured that God sees His righteousness instead of our sin.

When I fall into sin I have two choices: 1) I can choose to stay down on myself and live in guilt and shame over my sin or 2) I can choose to repent and rise up again. It comes down to this: am I relying fully that Jesus covered all my sin on the cross and that through Him I have the power to overcome it.

I trust and pray that this would be of an encouragement to you. Let the gospel be your assurance and power to fight sin, knowing the battle is already yours through Jesus’ victory. 

[Now may] “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26