Be Bold! Be Encouraged!

By Justin Edwards

It is so rewarding to see God work through our faith and obedience. We are on vacation this week and I have been praying each day God will give me the opportunity to share His glorious truth with someone. I have prayed that He prepare our conversation and prepare the heart of the person I might speak with so they will be receptive to the message I would share with them. And, oh, did He ever answer this prayer!

My wife and I were hanging by the pool when a lady named Cathy pulled up a chair poolside and happened to be reading The Shack. Well, if that wasn't a flashing red light from God I don't know what is! It took me about 30 minutes to muster up the courage to speak to her as I imagined a number of ways the conversation could go. I simply prayed that God would speak through me and embolden me to talk to her. Finally, I asked, "so how is it so far?" - inquiring about The Shack. She said it was a great book so far and asked if I had read it. I kindly told her I had not but have read of it, and that led us into a discussion about the book. She told me what she thought about the God in the book and how The Shack was helping her overcome preconceived notions and was changing how she thought about God in general. As you might imagine, this was the perfect door to walk through and share Jesus Christ with her.

And what a conversation we had! We must have talked for an hour! She shared with us that her father had passed away several years ago and was very involved in his church. She had no doubt that he was a born again Christian and was in heaven now. Having been brought up in church as a child, she had bad experiences with people being judgmental and hypocritical, so she has not pursued God since. But her father's testimony stood out to her, and I wanted her to know that she could see him again one day.

Cathy was very receptive in going through the Law to see if she was a good person, and she really seemed to grasp the consequence of sin and how Jesus paid our debt once and for all - she thought that purgatory might exist and was in the Bible. I explained to her how we need to repent of our sins and place our complete trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. We also talked about the endtimes a bit and she agreed that we are near the end of something.  We covered a lot of ground on faith and it was so comforting to know that the Holy Spirit was guiding our conversation.

While Cathy admitted to understanding everything we talked about, she conceded that she had a difficult time in trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. I happened to have a copy of Mark Cahill's book, One Heartbeat Away, and gave it to her along with my Urgent Message tract. She was so excited that I was giving her a free book and couldn't wait to start reading it. She said she just might start reading it right then, perhaps putting down The Shack. In any case, I'm confident the Lord will take the seeds planted today and water them in His perfect timing.

This was one of the most rewarding conversations I've ever had. Truth be told, witnessing to strangers face to face is new to me. Mark Cahill has been a great testimony and encouragement to me, especially in his other book, One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven. God has used him to break down the walls of fear I have in being bold in sharing my faith. And who isn't nervous about these sort of things? Knowing that I can do all things in Christ because He is my strength gives me great comfort, and since He is for me, who can be against me?

Cathy could have rejected any conversation or the message I shared with her and that would have been ok - because my reward is in heaven when people reject me for His name's sake. But thank God that His perfect will was fulfilled yesterday and I rejoice in the faith He gave me to share His Son Jesus Christ with a stranger.

I hope this short post has been an encouragement to someone to step out on faith and let God take it from there. As the Holy Spirit continues to work in me, I am beginning to understand what it means to walk out on the water. Keep your eyes and ears sensitive to situations that will enable you to share Jesus Christ with someone. Pray that God will appoint you to speak with someone and prepare their hearts before hand. Let the greatest desire of your heart be to share the Way, the Truth, and the Life with the lost, and I promise you your prayer will be answered. When we pray that God's will be done, you can bet it will be and He will be honored and glorified!

Please take a moment to pray for Cathy that God will continue to draw her to His Son. I got the feeling yesterday that He has been drawing her for a little while now. Pray that these seeds will be watered and that she will come to know the Peace that passes all understanding. May the Lover of her soul draw her to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Cathy, if you're reading this, thanks again for the conversation and I'm confident many will be praying for you to become a child of God. May His perfect will be done in your life, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Ephesians 1:3-14

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

11In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

The Shack Author: "The God of Evangelical Christianity is a Monster"

From Lighthouse Trails Research

On Friday night, author and researcher Ray Yungen attended a lecture at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon to hear The Shack author William Paul Young. The name of Young’s talk was “Can God Really Be That Good?” During the talk, Young told the audience that “the God of evangelical Christianity is a monster.” He was referring to the belief that God is a God of judgment and will judge the unbelieving. Young also rejects the biblical view of atonement (wherein Jesus died as a substitute for us to pay the price of our sins). This view by Young is evident in a radio interview he had one year ago where he rejected the biblical view of the atonement. He echoes the sentiments of William Shannon and Brennan Manning, who both say that the God who punishes His own son to pay for the sins of others does not exist:

He is the God who exacts the last drop of blood from His Son, so that His just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased. This God whose moods alternate between graciousness and fierce anger — a God who is still all too familiar to many Christians — is a caricature of the true God. This God does not exist. (Shannon, Silence on Fire, p. 110, also see Manning who stated the very same thing in Above All, pp. 58-59 )

Young told the audience that his book has now sold 14 million copies. He says that he believes his book has been a “god thing” to heal people’s souls because so many people have been tainted by this evangelical God.

Young said his book is so effective because when you put something in a story form it gets past mental defenses.

Young’s obvious distain for evangelical Christianity (in a derogatory manner, he said there are “1.4 million” rules in the evangelical church) is shown in his book as well when The Shack’s “Jesus” states: “I have no desire to make them [people from all religious and political backgrounds] Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa” (p. 184).

Young asked “evangelicals,” “Do you want to hold onto your darkness?” and answered for them, “No, you want to get rid of it.”

13 Heresies in The Shack

From: The Crosstalk Blog

The Shack continues as a best seller, and evangelicals and otherwise conservative churches are eating it up.There are 13 separate heresies about God in the novel. We know they are heresies because they contradict what the Bible plainly teaches about God. Without the Bible as our standard for truth, we are making God over in any image of our choice. Today on Crosstalk, our guest is Pastor Larry DeBruyn who has written a book on the seductive spirituality of The Shack. The book is, Unshackled: Breaking Away from Seductive Spirituality and it is available by calling 800-729-9829. It has caught on like wildfire because Christians today let their feelings determine truth rather than let truth dictate their feelings. Here are the false representations of God found in The Shack. They are written by Dr. Michael Youssef, a nationally televised pastor, who preaches an entire sermon on the book. Scroll down at this link to see the video box that says, “Michael Youssef’s Message.”

Thirteen Heresies in The Shack

1. God the Father was crucified with Jesus.

Because God’s eyes are pure and cannot look upon sin, the Bible says that God would not look upon His own beloved Son as He hung on the Cross, carrying our sins (Habakkuk 1:13; Matthew 27:45).

2. God is limited by His love and cannot practice justice.

The Bible declares that God’s love and His justice are two sides of the same coin — equally a part of the personality and the character of God (Isaiah 61:8; Hosea 2:19).

3. On the Cross, God forgave all of humanity, whether they repent or not. Some choose a relationship with Him, but He forgives them all regardless.

Jesus explained that only those who come to Him will be saved (John 14:6).

4. Hierarchical structures, whether they are in the Church or in the government, are evil.

Our God is a God of order (Job 25:2).

5. God will never judge people for their sins.

The Word of God repeatedly invites people to escape from the judgment of God by believing in Jesus Christ, His Son (Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1-3).

6. There is not a hierarchical structure in the Godhead, just a circle of unity.

The Bible says that Jesus submitted to the will of the Father. This doesn’t mean that one Person is higher or better than the other; just unique. Jesus said, “I came to do the will of Him who sent me. I am here to obey my Father.” Jesus also said, “I will send you the Holy Spirit” (John 4:34, 6:44, 14:26, 15:26).

7. God submits to human wishes and choices.

Far from God submitting to us, Jesus said, “Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life.” We are to submit to Him in all things, for His glory and because of what He has accomplished for us (Matthew 7:13-15).

8. Justice will never take place because of love.

The Bible teaches that when God’s love is rejected, and when the offer of salvation and forgiveness is rejected, justice must take place or God has sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for nothing (Matthew 12:20; Romans 3:25-26).

9. There is no such a thing as eternal judgment or torment in hell.

Jesus’ own description of hell is vivid … it cannot be denied (Luke 12:5, 16:23).

10. Jesus is walking with all people in their different journeys to God, and it doesn’t matter which way you get to Him.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one will come to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).

11. Jesus is constantly being transformed along with us.

Jesus, who dwells in the splendor of heaven, sits at the right hand of God, reigning and ruling the universe. The Bible says, “In Him there is no change, for He is yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 11:12, 13:8; James 1:17).

12. There is no need for faith or reconciliation with God because everyone will make it to heaven.

Jesus said, “Only those who believe in me will have eternal life” (John 3:15, 3:36, 5:24, 6:40).

13. The Bible is not true because it reduces God to paper.

The Bible is God-breathed. Sure, there were many men through 1,800 years who put pen to paper (so to speak), each from different professions and different backgrounds, but the Holy Spirit infused their work with God’s words. These men were writing the same message from Genesis to Revelation.

Listen here as William Paul Young denies the penal substitutionary atonemenf of Christ, cardinal doctrine, folks. (Fast forward to hear the specific denial 16 minutes in.)

**Note**Last July, Elmbrook Church, a large evangelical megachurch in Waukesha, Wisconsin, featured William Paul Young as a speaker and promoted it on secular media to draw in outsiders. They defended their hosting of Mr. Young with a shocking set of lies that are so obviously refuted it beggars belief. You can read Elmbrook’s claims here about Young’s book. Then get Pastor DeBruyn’s book, filled with footnotes and see for yourself. When pastors at Elmbrook include no proof or Scriptures to defend their positive claims about The Shack, and Pastor DeBruyn has filled his book with footnotes and detailed claims, it says volumes. These pastors have so dumbed down their congregations that a line or two of assurance is all that’s needed. They are trained to believe whatever they are told, not to go to the Scriptures themselves. Decades of not teaching the Word results in this kind of seduction. That members would accept their pastors’ word on this without any kind of Berean approach to Scripture is symptomatic of the times in which we live.