Call Me A Babbler

I’m going to shoot it straight. I think we’ve planted too many bushes to beat around when it comes to this topic.

Let me start out by asking… if you found out that what you believed (about any topic) was wrong, would you want to know the truth? Of course, who wouldn’t want to know the truth?

After studying Acts 17, I’ve concluded that America has become like Athens in the day of the Apostle Paul. If you take a look at Acts 17, you’ll read about Paul going to the city of Athens. In the city, Paul finds it to be full of idols built to every single god that the people could conjure up. They even had an altar built “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD” in case they forgot one. In Acts 17:21, we see that the Athenians and visitors to the city use to spend the majority of their time “telling or hearing something new.” The key point to notice here is the fact that they were not being satisfied by these gods and stories they were telling. They wanted more because they did not know the Truth. They were trying to fill a void that could not be filled by anyone other than the one, true God.

How is this like America? The heart of man is an idol-factory and we have built altars to gods such as money, fame, abortion, sex, alcohol, drugs, pornography, and the list goes on and on.

So, as we keep reading in Acts 17, we see Paul is given the opportunity to address the men of Athens in regards to what he has been preaching about Jesus. Paul boldly proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ to these people.

To this I ask, "What makes the Gospel good news?" The Gospel is good news because it tells of salvation through Jesus Christ from not only Hell, but salvation from the wrath of God!

Paul begins with the foundational truth that God is the Creator of everything, and then shows how God sustains every life and how He is the One who directs man’s life. Paul ends with the call of every man to turn to Christ and repent and believe. All I am doing here is giving a short summary. I strongly encourage you to read Acts 17 for yourself.

At the end of his speech, some people sneered while others believed. Which response are you?

Christians: Paul was faithful to share the Gospel despite the outcome. That’s what we, as Christians, are commanded to do. Yes, we may be labeled “babblers,” but we know the Truth that has made us alive and [FOUND] in Christ and that a dying and lost world so desperately needs to know.

So, what is the point? Well, I want you to see that every person that has a heartbeat and is breathing is in search of something to believe in much like the Athenians. Today, society along with self-help programs and whatnot tells people to look within to find truth and to believe in themselves.

What a lie! How can a society “look within” to find truth when we have men who think they are women and women who think they are men?!? How can a society “look within” to find truth when we have murders, adulterers, thieves, liars, sex offenders and child molesters, and so on?!? Woe unto us!

But you may be saying to yourself that you are a good person. Okay…let’s work with that for a minute…

Have you ever stolen anything?
Have you ever looked at a woman in a lustful way?
Have you ever told a lie?

Since you are not perfect, then more than likely all three answers are “Yes.” Based on your answer and according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments, you are a lying, stealing adulterer. Now, you cannot deny that and if you factor in a society (and a world) FULL of people like you and me and worse, then how can people say, “look within” to find truth?

Can't you see how absurd that is? The only Truth is Jesus Christ. He is constant. He is holy. He alone is the way, the truth and the life and no man will see the Father in Heaven except through Jesus.

According to the Bible, man’s heart is deceitful. So, I beg you to turn your eyes upon Jesus. I challenge you to consider all things and, in turn, see that all things are held together by its Creator: God.

Are you [FOUND]?

I mean, seriously?

A few months ago, this is what I found written on a bathroom stall wall at school…

“God, please help me. I am so alone!”

This is such a sad and disturbing engraving on a bathroom wall, especially on seminary property. Granted, I can understand a person who has come to school without knowing anyone and is having a hard time away from friends and family. It was lonesome for me for a little while, but not for long. The problem comes from the fact that this person went to such length in displaying it on a bathroom stall wall. This is more than just wall graffiti, but rather, this shows a possible desperate cry. As fellow Christians, this should be upsetting…no, it must be appalling to us. Why should we care? Well, if this was written by a fellow Christian then something is seriously wrong.

So, is this sufficient evidence that God abandons a person? I seriously think not. Over and over in the Bible, God promises that He will never leave nor forsake us. This is our hope.

This is not the end of the story…

Tonight, I went back to use the same bathroom while at work and this is the addition I found written on the bathroom stall...

“Get over it.”


Wow. I was utterly floored and broken hearted at the same time. To think that the first statement was too much, this response drives the nail deeper. Honestly, I cannot fathom the response of our Father in Heaven. Broken heart?

Yes, God never leaves us nor forsakes us, but do we often find ourselves leaving or forsaking each other? From the looks of this hidden conversation on a bathroom wall, it seems as though there is somewhat of a lack of concern for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We never know what a person is going through. We never know what is on the mind of the person who is next to us.

So, be challenged to invest in your brothers and sisters in Christ. Be challenged to encouraged and build each other up. Be challenged to live as Christ, not only to the lost around you, but also to other believers.

Established

As the first blog of The [FOUND] Project, I deemed it necessary to define the purpose of this project and this blog. Please grant me some sort of leeway, seeing how I am sort of new to this aspect of the Internet. Right now, this is a third aspect of TFP; the other including a Myspace music page as well as a Facebook group. All of these aspects make up a ministry that exists to encourage believers to be bold in their faith.

So, for starters, welcome to my blog and I hope you are encouraged by what is posted here. Please feel free to comment. Now that that has been said, let’s get started! Below is the mission and sole purpose of The [FOUND] Project:

The Found Project is not a new idea, but it has become a new ministry. The foundation of TFP is found in Philippians 3:7-14 and Ephesians 2:1-13. As Christians, we have been found and made alive in Christ. We once were far from Christ, but now, we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. As new creations in Christ, we are "projects" that God continuously works on so that He, in turn, will receive all the glory!

The mission of The [FOUND] Project is to challenge people to live beyond the ordinary and to count everything as loss in order to know and follow passionately after Christ. TFP aims to challenge Christians to proclaim Christ so that the world may know and understand that there is hope and there is a God who is real and active.

The majority of this world is wandering around aimlessly, looking for something to believe in and something to live for. The deceitful schemes of Satan have been successful at keeping people from knowing what it means to truly live. Yes, every person that is alive is so because of a physical heartbeat, but not every person is alive spiritually, which means there is no sign of a spiritual heartbeat. Do you have a spiritual pulse?

In looking for love and hope, what do people see when they look at Christians? If we examine our lives, we will find that we, as Christians commanded by God, need to be the ones to show people what it means to be found and made alive in Christ.

It's time for a change. It's time to live [FOUND]!