Christianity | Ain't Complicated

Jesus’ Family in Mexico?

So…they…

purport to be devout Evangelical Christians. All members are disciplined to abstain from narcotics themselves and care for their homes and children, La Familia says. They are also made to study a special Bible….

Then there’s this a little farther down in the Time story:

The sect also uses the Internet to spread its gospel. On one on-line forum, hundreds of supporters sing the praises of Christ and La Familia. “Victory to La Familia Michoacana, gloryfying Jesus by helping others,” writes one aficionado calling himself Fran. “Evil will only reign until Jesus stops it,” writes another calling himself the Messenger. “Nobody is saved from divine justice and they cannot imagine the pain and suffering they will go through.”

Time calls them a sect? Maybe that’s what they are, but, somehow, that seems to me to dangerously tarnish real Evangelicals.

La Familia Michoacana just is not your conventional religious group:

Their use of extreme violence against rivals and police has given La Familia a brutal reputation across Mexico. They first burst to fame in 2006 when gangsters severed the heads of five rival traffickers and rolled them onto a disco dance floor.

😯

They don’t sound like your conventional Mexican drug cartel either

HT: Amsalazar

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam died in a traffic accident 5 months before the publication of his landmark book about the US war in Korea. In the days following the author’s death, fellow writers and colleagues volunteered to conduct a national book tour on his behalf. During every engagement, they paid tribute to Halberstam by reading from his new book and offering personal recollections of their friend.

[…]

At times we may feel that witnessing to others about our faith in Christ is a frightening task or a burdensome duty. But talking about a Friend whose presence and influence have transformed our lives helps us see it in a new light.

The gospel of Christ has always been most powerfully presented by the witness of His friends.

— David C. McCasland

I read the full piece in my print copy of Our Daily Bread — you may read it online here.

What’s With Rick Warren?

From the current Lighthouse Trails Newsletter:

You’ve heard me say many times that the greatest thing you can do with your life is tell somebody about Jesus … if you help somebody secure their eternal destiny, that they spend the rest of their life in Heaven not Hell …your life counts, your life matters because nothing matters more than helping get a person and their eternal destiny settled. They will be forever eternally grateful….And I’ve always said that that was the greatest thing you can do with your life. I was wrong. There is one thing you can do greater than share Jesus Christ with somebody, and it is help start a church.” -Sermon from 11/2003 when Rick Warren Announced His Global Peace Plan to Saddleback.

In an interview in August 2006 with Charlie Rose, Warren stated that we don’t have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he just met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, “Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?” Sawyer answered, “Use your moral authority.” Warren then said to Rose, “I’m working with these guys … I’m looking for a coalition of civility, which means let’s get back to the original meaning of tolerance.”

Do you agree with Mr. Warren?

Needed: Good Preachers

Here, my friend, is an excerpt from A.W. Tozer’s The Size of the Soul:

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.

Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes and I pray God there will be not one but many, he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.

pages 128-129

So. What do you make of that?

And (secondly), would you put up with the kind of preacher Tozer envisioned?

Or are you enjoying the kinds of preachers he spoke against?

(Just thought I’d ask.)

Buy the book here: The Size of the Soul

Test Your Movies

The Motion Picture Production Code

A Code to Govern the Making of Talking, Synchronized and Silent Motion Pictures. Formulated and formally adopted by The Association of Motion Picture Producers, Inc. and The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc.

There’s some amazing stuff there.

Those of you that watch “family friendly” or Christian movies, would you have them to watch if the above code were still in force?

(No, it isn’t in force — it’s from 1930.)

Though I don’t watch movies, I’m guessing that even many Christian movies of today would fail the Code test.

So tell me — what has happened to Christianity?

As in the days of Noah, things will get worse — much worse.

Adopt a Plane – Mission Aviation Fellowship

You can help an MAF airplane bring desperately needed aid and assistance to needy people in remote places. For only $1 a day you can adopt a plane and help open the doors to the Gospel in places you’ll never go.

In the remote regions where MAF serves, daunting geographical barriers isolate people living in remote areas. These barriers prevent access to the Gospel and life-sustaining services, isolate millions. Most languish under spiritual and physical oppression, lacking the most basic resources.

Your caring sponsorship helps to transform lives. When you adopt a plane, you help cover fuel and maintenance costs for MAF planes to continue flying throughout the world. More than 600 Christian and humanitarian organizations as well as thousands of isolated nationals rely on MAF planes everyday.

Last year, the MAF fleet of 53 aircraft executed 37,490 flights, logged more than 3,014,031 miles, transported 111,459 passengers, and delivered 10,240,209 pounds of cargo–all on 1,700 rough, unimproved dirt and grass airstrips, or waterways.

In case you think they’re only after your money, go to their site and order an absolutely free-to-you book. Even if you don’t make any sort of donation.

Or, if you want to save them some money, buy the same book (different cover) by clicking the left image below. 😀

Jungle pilot;: The life and witness of Nate Saint