I Can Only Imagine Movie Review

     Everyone has heard, played, and sang the song made so popular by Bart Millard of Mercy Me, but no one knew the story about it until it was released in this well made film about the life of Bart Millard and his relationship with his Dad. But before I get to the review of the film, I would like for you to read and internalize the lyrics and then, you might understand how a man, who was described as a monster, could become Bart’s best friend in the end.
I Can Only Imagine Lyrics by Bart Marshall Millard of Mercy Me
I can only imagine what it will be like
When I walk, by your side
I can only imagine what my eyes will see
When you face is before me
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
Surrounded by You glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
I can only imagine when that day comes
When I find myself standing in the Son
I can only imagine when all I would do is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah
Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah
I can only imagine yeah yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine ey ey ey
I can only imagine
I can only imagine when all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine
Songwriters: Bart Marshall Millard
I Can Only Imagine lyrics © Music Services, Inc
     The film opens up with a young Bart at his grandmothers house blowing leaves around with a leaf blower. Although he probably was playing around, his grandmother loved him and told him what a fine job he did and gave him some money. Bart rides off on his bicycle, stops by a music store, and gets some new cassette tapes to play on his recorder. He visits a junk store and picks of items to make a pretty cool space helmet. When he arrives home, he finds his Dad burning football shoulder pads and throwing his own football trophies in a barrel filled with fire. Dad comes in and gets into an argument with Bart’s Mom and then snatches Bart’s helmet and throws it into the fire can. His Dad is actually an angry man who is both verbally and physically abusive to his wife as well as his own son.
     A few days later, Bart’s Mom takes him to a Summer Christian Camp and drops him off for a week. She tells him that she loves him and drives away. Little does Bart know that she is leaving the entire family and running away with another man. Not only is Bart a victim of child abuse, but his own Mother left him with the abuser. But Bart is a survivor and only by God’s grace that he has made it into adulthood. Bart played football to satisfy his Dad, but even when Bart was severely injured, his Dad had very little compassion for him. His Dad was a hard and hateful man. The entire movie portrays his Dad as an abusive father until almost the end.
      Not able to play football, Bart joined the High School Glee Club and it was there that it was discovered that he could sing, and sing very well. He starred in the High School Play, “Oklahoma” and started attending church with his girlfriend. In one scene, Bart had dressed for church and was going to sing in a televised service on the radio and his Dad got very angry at him and broke a plate of eggs over the back of his head. Bart then leaves and heads to church with a bloody head.
     After Bart graduated from High School, he and his girlfriend parted ways because Bart was a troubled young man and he wanted to leave the town. He went on to Oklahoma City and it was there that he joined a band and they called themselves “Mercy Me.”  He tried to find his way in the Christian music business, through the help of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Scott Brickell. But before Bart was ready, he had to find himself so that he could write from the heart. It took a while and Bart went back home to confront his Dad. Little did Bart know that his Dad had come to Christ and had become a Christian. His Dad’s life had been changed. It took Bart a while to accept it that his Dad really had changed, but he came to understand that if God could transform a monster into a man who was in love with God, God could change anyone.
     His Dad ultimately died and then Bart went back on the road with his band, Mercy Me. It was that time that he wrote, “I Can Only Imagine.” Bart and Brickell pitched the song to Amy Grant. She agreed to record it and sing it at one of her concerts. But as Grant was about to sing it, she just could not because it was not her story. She asked Bart to come up on stage and sing his song, which he did. He got a standing ovation and that was the beginning of the hit song, “I Can Only Imagine.”
     As I think about the film, and the analogy of how his Father treated his own son, his Dad really was a monster and yet God came to his Dad, convicted him of his evil ways. His Dad asked Jesus into his life and he was forgiven.  Isn’t it a miracle that even when we act so nasty, evil, hateful, and mean; it is only through Jesus Christ that hearts can be changed and turned around. Arthur Millard Jr. was an All-American Football player and was Bart Millard’s Dad. Bart was beaten at least three to four times a week and his Dad even told Bart at one time that he did not care about him. But God got a hold of his Dad and changed his heart and his life. This is what the song and film is about.
     Unless you have a hard heart, bring your tissues. There was not a dry eye in the theater last night. I give this film FIVE STARS! It is a very well made movie and I highly recommend it!.
Here is the breakdown of the main cast:
Bart – J. Michael Finley
Young Bart – Brody Rose
Scott Brickell – Trace Adkins
Young Shannon – Taegen Burns
Shannon – Madeline Carroll
Amy Grant – Nicole DuPont
Michael W. Smith – Jake B. Miller
Arthur (Bart’s Dad) – Dennis Quaid
Directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin
Click the following link for the full credits on the Internet Movie Database:
Joseph T. Lee © March 17, 2018, The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Meet Him at the Well: You Will Never Thirst Again

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament as well as the entire Bible is when Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well. Look at the story from John 4.1-43.

4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”

28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” 43 After the two days he left for Galilee.

(Scripture Translation English Standard Version)

Just so that you will understand what is really happening here, Jews hated and despised Samaritans. Many were half-breed, part Jewish and part Samaritan. Jews hated to go into Samaria and they would make the effort not to enter the region, but go around to cross the Jordan twice as opposed to going through Samaria and cross the Jordan River once.

Samaritan’s and Jews had a real contempt for each other. Samaritan religion mingled reverence for Israel’s God and pagan practices of non-Israelite people who had resettled in the northern territory due to resettlement from their Assyrian captors. (See 2 Kings 17.24-41.)

Jesus intentionally went into Samaria and rested at Jabob’s Well. It was the sixth hour, which was noon and very hot. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” Now you must understand that Jews did not typically speak to women, much less a Samaritan woman. Jesus was there and had an intentional conversation with this woman. The reason why was that he wanted to offer her life everlasting through His salvation. Notice in verse 8, all His disciples had gone into town to purchase food for them. His being there was an intentional act, in order for the woman to see the true Messiah, the Christ. If His disciples had been there, possibly the encounter may not have ever occurred. It was a divine appointment of the Son of God, to save her from her uncleanliness and sinful nature.

In verse nine, the woman acknowledges that Jews do not associate with Samaritans, much less a woman. Then in verse ten, Jesus answers her and states that if she truly knew who He was, then He would have given her living water. The woman most likely misunderstood Him when he said that he would give her “living water.” She may have thought that He was referring to rivers and streams. But in the Biblical sense, in the Old Testament, “Living Water” is figuratively a reference to “Divine Activity.”

In verse 13, Jesus states that all who drink the “Living Water” will never thirst again. What He means by this is that He is the “Living Water.” It is only through the belief in Jesus Christ, that people will have a heart change and will live an everlasting life with God after they die.

Jesus continues to have a conversation with this woman. Jesus told her to go get her husband, but the woman says that she does not have a husband. It is then that Jesus acknowledges this and states that she has had five husbands and the one that she is with now is not her husband. Then she thinks he is a prophet.

This woman has had five husbands. According to R.C. Sproul, “This is an indication and symptomatic of a heart thirst that well water cannot quench.” Only through Jesus Christ can his “living water” quench her thirst.

Can you imagine that she starts to run to her town and tell them all that he has told of her life? Many believed her and many wanted to see the Messiah for themselves. Now imagine hundreds of Samaritans running across the field to see the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. I can see them running towards him with excitement and hearts filled with joy and amazement! When they got there, they spoke with him and wanted him to stay with them. Jesus ended up staying two days, teaching them and they believed.

Just as Jesus loved and ministered to the Samaritans, he wants to love and minster to you. Jesus is quoted saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14.6). John 3.16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that who so ever believes in him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.” It is only through Jesus Christ that one can come to God. Unfortunately, many believe that there are many ways to God, but they are sadly mistaken. All other religions have never had a savior, a son of God, that came into the world to save it and not condemn it. Jesus is the only Son of God, who died a horrible death, to redeem us from our sins. No other religions had a Savior who died for them. That is why there is only one way to the Father.

Won’t you surrender your life to Jesus Christ and pray for Him to forgive you of your sins? It is easy. Just pray like this:

“Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I am lost without hope. Please forgive me of my sins and wrongs. I believe that you are the Son of God and that you came into the world to save me (Your Name) of my sins. Please come into my heart. I promise to live for you all the days of my life. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving me. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

By praying and asking Jesus to come into your life and forgiving you of your sin, then He has. Reach out to me and let me know if you prayed that prayer. I pray that God will bless you and that you will live for Jesus in all that you do.

Joseph T. Lee, Copyright © March 2, 2018. The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

Book Review of Patrick of Ireland: His Life and Impact by Michael A.G. Haykin

Patrick of Ireland: His Life and Impact. By Michael A.G. Haykin. Fearn, Tain: Christian Focus Publications, 2014, $12.00.

Patrick of Ireland can be purchased through our Affiliate Link at the top of the page through Christian Book Distributors.

Patrick of Ireland: His Life and Impact was an inspirational book about a young man who was born into a well to do family in Britain. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was abducted by Irish pirates in a raid, which took thousands of people back to Ireland or who were sold as slaves. It was in his captivity that Patrick came to Christ and was ultimately released to return to Britain. The author’s theme of the book described Patrick’s life before and after conversion and how Patrick ultimately went back to Ireland and ministered to not only his captors, but the northern half of the country. The purpose of this book review is to illustrate how God can use a man or woman in ministry who may not be formally educated, but is willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them in their quest to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the utmost parts of the world. Patrick’s impact was profound, not only in Ireland, but the global church.

In the Series Preface, Haykin describes a revised history of early church fathers leading up to Patrick. Haykin wrote, “One final word about the Fathers recommended in this small series of essays. The Fathers are not Scripture. They are just senior conversation partners about Scripture and its meaning” (p. 11). This writer is stating that Scripture is truth and whatever the early church fathers were attempting to communicate, there could be a margin of human error. But whatever they have written cannot be compared or taken as the Word of God.

In Chapter One, Haykin describes the Roman Era and the Romans had been in Britain for roughly 350 years. The Romans had a great influence on Britain, but there was a stiff resistance in three regions; Celtic tribes which would become Wales; Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni; and inhabitants of the present day East Anglia (p. 21). The rebellion almost led to the end of Roman rule in Britain. According to Haykin, “Roman rule led to lavish villas dotting the countryside, built by the Romano-British upper class” (p. 22). The British Church was established sometime in the A.D. 190’s. Haykin writes, “Archaeological evidence from third and fourth century Britain also confirms a growing acceptance of Christianity by the upper classes, a movement that was parallel to what was happening with the rest of the Empire” (p. 26). Patrick of Ireland was born around A.D. 390 of wealthy parents. Haykin states, “His father, Calpornius, was a deacon and his grandfather Potitus was a presbyter. Therefore, Patrick was raised in the church” (p. 30). Although Patrick’s father was a deacon in the church, he was also a Decurion, who was a member of the local town council (p. 31). Therefore, Patrick was born into wealth as opposed to being an everyday citizen. As compared to much of the population, he was heir to wealth. It was when Patrick was sixteen years old, he was abducted by pirates and taken into Ireland. Patrick wrote in his book, Confession, that although he was raised in the church and had heard the gospel from the presbyters as well as his father, he never accepted Christ. He concluded that God was punishing him for his lack of faith and had allowed him to be abducted to go through the trials and tribulations that he faced. As a slave in Ireland, he converted to Christianity and really meant it. Haykin writes, “…Patrick became convicted of his sinfulness—his living in ‘death and unbelief’—and he ‘earnestly sought’ God. The result was his whole-hearted conversion and life-long practice of piety and self-discipline” (p. 36). Patrick had a dream that indicated that he would be leaving his slave master. Somehow, Patrick escaped from Ireland and went back to Britain as a devout Christian. It is estimated for about twenty years, Patrick received theological training. Although he may have received training, he was not well versed in Greek but he did know Latin. He became very astute with the Latin Bible.

Chapter Two is titled, ‘One God in the Trinity of the Holy Name’- The Divine Foundation of Patrick’s Theology. Haykin mainly discussed the Trinity and the relationship of the Father and the Son. Haykin wrote, “The one true God is also a Triune being: the Father and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Here Patrick broaches one of the most profound truths of the Christian faith. …The Trinity is a revealed truth that surpasses the ability of human reason to fully comprehend it, but nonetheless must be articulated as far as we are able by rational discourse” (p. 46). Haykin states that Patrick was thankful for Jesus Christ’s forgiveness and the help that he has been able to overcome temptation. “Today I can confidently offer him my soul as a living sacrifice—to Christ my Lord who saved me out of my troubles” (p. 50). This last sentence refers to his captivity as a slave. Haykin writes towards the end of the chapter, “At the heart of the Gospel that Patrick preached in Ireland was the Trinity: The Father who planned the work of salvation, The Son who became man and died for the salvation of sinners, and The Spirit who brings home the Father’s plan and Son’s work to sinful human beings and makes them, as the confession has stated, ‘sons of God and co-heirs with Christ’” (p. 58).

In Chapter Three, I Am Bound by the Spirit, Celtic paganism was discussed and how Patrick overcame those rituals by preaching and teaching against them. Patrick had mentioned in his Confession that the paganism was even practiced by the sailors. When he was on the ship sailing back to Britain, the sailors wanted him to do dirty and vile things such as suck the breast of a sailor because according to Celtic tradition, it was a sign of friendship. Patrick refrained from that. Patrick also had no standing in Ireland like he had in Britain, the son of a Decurion (63). The Holy Spirit ministered to Patrick. Patrick had given up his all to be in Ireland as a missionary and Bishop to the lost. Ireland was Patrick’s utmost part of the earth.

Chapter Four, God Has Spoken, discussed how Patrick viewed Scripture. He viewed it as the spoken Word of God. There was no other book that had more authority than the Bible. Patrick linked his life of prayer to that of the Holy Spirit. He prayed several times a day. At one point, he confessed to praying at least a hundred times a day while tending sheep in Ireland. Because he devoted himself to prayer, the harsh living conditions were overcome. Every roadblock that occurred, Patrick turned to prayer to overcome the obstacle (p. 85). Haykin states, “Patrick was not a trained theologian. He was unclear in his speech. He had a lack of education, mainly because of his abduction and early captivity. He had a strong sense of inadequacy and inferiority. But God used him even with all his short comings. God called him to minister to the pagan Irish and it was through the Holy Spirit that he could overcome these adversities” (88-89).

In Chapter Five, An Evangelical Reflects on Patrick, Haykin states that he was fascinated with Patrick. He writes that Patrick was not an Evangelical. Patrick’s devotion was to the Trinity and he had a zeal for missions to the lost. He was obsessed with sharing the Gospel to people who were lost without a savior and who were headed for a devil’s hell. Patrick’s mission was all for the right reasons and not for profit or gain. Patrick’s Latin Bible was the authority and he preached from it. Haykin wrote, “Most importantly, in this regard, because of his own weaknesses, Patrick knew that the Spirit’s work in us is humbling work, showing us that all in the Christian life is of pure grace: a truly Evangelical note—‘if I have achieved or shown any small success according to God’s pleasure, it was the gift of God’” (p. 98).

What impressed this student the most was that Patrick was not a well-educated person. He had a few deficits such as speaking slowly, not being able to write in a manner that is clear, and a lack of education. Therefore, he was not what one would expect to be as a Bishop of the British Church. One other thing this student liked was that Patrick was devoted, allowing the Holy Spirit to work through and in his life. He preached the Trinity and the Gospel of Christ as a slow speaking, uneducated, man of God, who was guided by the Holy Spirit. This goes to prove that God can use anyone who has a heart to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. God can work through anyone who allows His Holy Spirit to dwell in him. The author thoroughly supported his thesis. This student does not see that his thesis has any weaknesses. Certainly, not everything was known about Patrick because he was born in 390 and died around 460 A.D. Based on what the author knew, this student feels that the author’s thesis stands.

Joseph T. Lee

Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia

This Book Critique/Review may not be reproduced or copied without the author’s express permission.

Joseph T. Lee, Copyright © February 25, 2018, The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why Didn’t I Ask the Question?

Most recently, I learned that a good client passed away suddenly. He appeared to be healthy and in better shape than I am in. And yet he died suddenly. Many people will ask why did God allow him to die as opposed to someone who has chronic health problems? The answer to that is unknown until we get to heaven ourselves. But this is not the question at stake. The question at stake is “Why didn’t I ask the question?”

Many are probably wondering right now, what is the question that I am talking about? I will get to that in a few sentences. Before I do that, let me just say that we take for granted that we have time. Time is on our side and that we can do whatever we want. As a non-Christian who may be thinking, “I want to enjoy life and not make a God commitment until I sow my oats!” Or the family member whom you have spoken with and he laughs in your face and tells you, “I have time!” Time? Do we really have time? Is time really on our side? My friend, although in great shape, had a brain aneurism and died. He was one year younger than me and yet he died.

When I found out about my friend, as I was speaking with his wife, I could barely talk for fear that I would start weeping as I was so sorrowful of her loss. Not only was I sorrowful, but I had never asked the question. There were five questions that I should have asked, but never asked. Was it because I feared rejection? Was it because I did not want to offend anyone? Was it because that I did not know how to communicate my question to him? Was it because we did not have time to discuss such a subject matter? Was it because I disobeyed God by not asking these simple questions? Was it because…..? And the list of why’s go on!

I could have asked five simple questions in conversational form. But as a believer in Jesus Christ; as a person who “proclaims” that he loves God with all his heart, soul, and mind; as a person who believes what Christ said that we are to “love our neighbor as our self;” I did nothing! I say that I love my neighbor, but my actions do not prove that to be true because if I truly did love my neighbor, I would have asked those simple five questions. But I didn’t and now I have to live with what I did not do! I will have to answer to God when I die and go to stand in judgement. I can hear Him asking me this question, “Why didn’t you ask the question?” I will stand guilty of being silent and unloving. Guilty of not loving my neighbor as myself!

What is the question I should have asked? If I am to love my neighbor as myself, I should have cared more about his spiritual life as opposed to his business life. I should have loved him as my own brother as opposed to keeping silent about spiritual things. I should have asked him, “Do you have any kind of spiritual belief? To you, who is Jesus? Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell? If you died right now, where would you go? If heaven, why? If what you believe were not true, would you want to know it?” The last question is if they do not have a belief in Jesus Christ. Now here is the rub. Not asking these questions or questions like them will never allow you the opportunity to show your love as well as the love of Christ to your neighbor. Who is this neighbor I am speaking about? It is anyone you know and do not know. It could be a friend, relative, next door neighbor, customer, or an unknown person. The direct question I should have asked was, “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior?” But those five forms of questions ease one into conversation about faith.

Fortunately for me as well as for him, he did know Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He was a believer and he was a Christian. How do I know this? Because his wife told me that they have joined a bible believing church and that they were involved and that they both believed. Praise God for my friend’s salvation and that he is with Jesus right now. But that does not excuse my silence! We are all called to share our faith and yet we sit on the sidelines and do nothing! We go to church, sing and praise God, read Scripture, listen to a powerful and motivating sermon, have the benediction, go out to eat after church, then go home to rest. Then we go to work on Monday through Friday, without ever opening our mouths to tell someone about Christ. I say we because I am part of that group. I failed miserably at what I so much talk about and yet I never asked him the question. Lucky for me that when he died, he was a believer in Jesus Christ! But that did not negate my responsibility to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Many will say, “Don’t be that hard on yourself!” I will tell you that if God is bringing this to my mind as a teaching tool, then whoever is reading this blog should also be aware that God will hold us all accountable for not obeying Jesus Christ’s commandment that we are to take the Gospel throughout the world, even if we never leave the comforts of our own town. We are to open our mouths and tell someone about the saving grace of Jesus and His salvation. Don’t use the excuse of not being comfortable about speaking to someone. Jesus Christ was not comfortable at all when they arrested him, beat him, flogged him to where his skin was so mangled and his blood flowed down. They tried him and placed a crown of thorns on his head. They mocked him as they made him carry a heavy cross to the place where they then crucified him. Before he was crucified, he had to willfully crawl onto that rugged cross. His hands and feet were nailed to that wooden rugged cross. They used nails like railroad spikes. It was a gruesome and cruel way to die. And yet our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ did that for us, so that our sins would be forgiven. He died a most horrible death and yet we cannot even experience a little of uncomfortable talk to a friend or a client! Fortunately for us, Jesus died for our sins and transgressions. He was in the tomb for 3 days. On that third day, he arose and lives forever with God the Father.

My point is that I should have said something. I should have at least asked my friend if he had ever made a personal commitment to Christ? I never recall that I even asked him anything about his spiritual life. And I grieve that I never did. To love my neighbor as myself should mean that I also tell them about the greatest gift that has ever affected me and my life. My love for God and my love for Jesus Christ and the gift of salvation.

Look at the following Scripture:

Matthew 22:36-40 English Standard Version (ESV)

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

From now on, I will try to follow Jesus Christ’s commandments better and will love my neighbor by asking a simple five questions that can lead into a wonderful conversation about God’s saving grace. What about you? Do you want to see a friend or loved one die and you never asked them about their spiritual belief? Consider not making the same mistakes that I have made by not being obedient to God. Our faith calls all of us to action in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we say that we love someone, then if we really do, ask those simple questions.

Do You Really Have a Personal Relationship with Jesus Christ?

I am writing to the people who have said that they are Christians, but when you look at their life, you cannot tell them a part from unbelievers and evildoers. God loves you so much that He wants a REAL relationship with you! For years, I thought I was a Christian and I was going through the motions, but I ultimately came to the reckoning and enlightenment that I was a fake! I was not really living my life for Christ. God got a hold of me and showed me what I was really like and I hated it! I fell to my knees and prayed for forgiveness. I changed and had a real conversion.

My concern is for my brothers and sisters who are on the same track that I was on. You go to church, warm the pew, nod your heads to the sermon, then leave to rush to the restaurant, and then live the same way you have always lived throughout the week. It is like a ritual and you are part of the religious rat race in America.

God doesn’t want just a religious person, He wants a personal relationship with each of you. Do you pray? I mean really pray! Not just a one-minute prayer! I am talking about having a conversation with God. He does not want us coming to Him when we are about to have surgery or are in a crisis, and then the rest of our time, we never say hello to God! God wants us praying to Him. He wants us to pour our hearts out to Him. He wants us to have a REAL relationship with His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. How can we expect God to work in our lives if we NEVER pray and have a REAL relationship with Him.

Will Reagan’s Lyrics from “Break Every Chain” speaks it all for me! “There is POWER in the name of JESUS! There is POWER in the name of JESUS! There is POWER in the name of JESUS! To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain!”

Yes, friends! There is power in Jesus name. I know there is because I talk with him every day! If you pray and ask in Jesus Name, the evil one will flee. Satan wants to destroy lives and tear apart families. Don’t let the evil one destroy yours. If you at one time asked Jesus in your life and somehow, you have lost your way, Jesus is waiting for you to come back to Him. He loves you so much! John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Christ came to bear our sins and redeem us from our unrighteousness. God wants a personal relationship with each of us. It does not matter what social status you are in. It does not matter if you are a police officer, business owner, office executive, or pastor. Yes I said pastor. There are some who have never accepted Christ as their Savior, believe it or not. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God wants a REAL relationship with you as well as me. He wants us to study His Word and pray to Him daily. Mighty things can happen when we pray! It is only by God’s grace that we take our every breath. It is through His grace that He forgives us once we recognize that we need Christ and turn from our wicked ways.

I will leave you with this last passage taken from 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Joseph T. Lee, Copyright © February 23, 2018, The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Can you hear it?

Can you hear it? Can you hear it? That still small voice. Is God speaking to you? I have heard that voice. I have heard His voice and I want to seek Him in all I do. As a Christian, we are ALL called to share our faith and share the Gospel of Christ to all who will hear. That still small voice will speak to you, open doors for you, if you are willing to TRUST in Christ.

I am currently 60 years old and am about to graduate in May with a Masters in Christian Ministry. I heard that still small voice years ago prompting me to go back to college and earn my degree. Graduating will open many more doors for me in business as well as in marketplace ministry. I hear that small voice saying to “trust me.” God has placed a burden on my heart to minister to people who normally would not attend a conventional church, but would be open to friendship and the sharing of my faith.

I hear that still small voice telling me to get the training I need so that I can help others in the corporate world find faith in Christ through corporate or marketplace chaplaincy. God can use anyone willing to open his or her heart to Him and stepping out on faith to follow His leading. You don’t need to go overseas for ministry. Ministry opportunities are right in your own town or neighborhood!

For years, I have done what I wanted to do. I have ignored the calling. I have lived a Christian life, but was selfish in my own desires. But God has not left me alone. I still hear that still small voice and have finally yielded to it. God continues to place people in my path for ministry. I really do not have to go far to find them. I believe that God wants each of us to just be open to His calling and He will lead others to us in order that we may share our faith with all who will hear and is open to His Word.

Someone recently asked why I could not just skip Graduate School and do this? My answer is that I want to learn The Bible better and how to share my faith in a more accepting manner. I think that in order to do what I hear God calling me to do within the business world, I needed more training. I have a heart for ministry and for people. I go to sleep thinking about it. I wake up thinking about it. It is constantly on my mind. The question is this: “What have I really done for the cause of Christ?” As a Christian, I feel like I have wasted a good portion of my life in what I wanted as opposed to what God has been calling me to do.

At this time, nothing will change, as I am still an independent businessman, sharing my faith with others when the opportunity arises. I am still involved in my work, helping people to secure their financial futures with offering them the protection they need in the event of a disaster. I plan to continue working and running my business as my business is what opens doors of ministry. But the difference now is that I have heard that still small voice very clear and I have yielded to it.

“Can you hear it? Can you hear it? That still small voice!”  Yes, I can hear it! I hear it! My question to every Christian believer is “Can you hear it? Can you hear it? That still small voice!” If you hear it, then what are you going to do about it?

Joseph T. Lee, Copyright © February 22, 2018, The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Who Will Vouch For You?

Last night, I had a very vivid dream. I was taking a class and had to take an exam. I drove my car to different parking lots to sit and study for the exam. I kept getting interrupted and was run off from several parking lots by the attendants. Then I finally found one and really started to get into the study. A security guard interrupted me and got me out of the car, took me inside, and called the police. The police arrived and were questioning me. It was then, I saw a pastor friend and I called out to him and said, “Pastor Jim (name changed as this was someone I really know), will you vouch for me?” He started to answer and then I woke up!

Not many dreams I remember, but this was so vivid, I thought about it for about an hour and then went back to sleep. While I was up pondering about what I had dreamed, it reminded me that when we die and stand before the Judgment Seat before God, who will vouch for us? I know that Christ will vouch for me because He already paid the price for all of mankind. He was falsely accused, interrogated, scourged, flogged, and beaten, tried without proof, sentenced to an unbearable and agonizing death on a rugged wooden cross. He died for both you and me! John 3:16-21 says “For God so loved the world, that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

So who will vouch for you at God’s Judgment Seat? Will God say, “Well done my faithful servant!” or will He say “I will cast you into the lake of fire because I never knew you?” You have an opportunity right now to get things straight with God. If you are reading this blog, you are alive and can still make a life changing decision. God loves us so much. He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. You can pray this simple prayer right now from wherever you are. “Dear Lord, I am a sinner and I have done many things wrong in my life. I ask you to forgive me and help me to live a righteous life for you. I believe that Jesus was your Son and He was sent by you to die for our sins and our failings. I ask you Father to save me, forgive me, and live in me all the days of my life. In Jesus Name, Amen!”

If you prayed that simple prayer, I believe that God has forgiven you and saved you. The next step is to start reading The Holy Bible and also get involved in a local Bible believing church. Many have asked me which translation of the Bible is the best. I have always enjoyed the English Standard Version, New International Version, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible. The main thing is to buy a Bible that you can understand as a new Christian. Probably the Holman or the NIV would be best. Try to spend at time each day in the Word of God (Bible). When you become a Christian, God sends his Holy Spirit to come and help you through your walk. You will learn about all of this in your study of God’s Word.

Remember, God loves you so much! The answers to your questions can be found in His Word (Bible). I pray and ask for guidance and usually find the guidance through His Holy Scriptures. May God bless you and keep you!

Joseph T. Lee Copyright © February 21, 2018. The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Never Underestimate the Power of One: Billy Graham

February 21, 2018: Today, Billy Graham dies at age 99. Many may mourn that the greatest Christian Evangelist in our lifetime has died. But I can assure you that although his body has died, his soul and spirit has passed on into glory to be with Jesus.

Instead on reporting on his death, let us celebrate his life with the story of the power of one as told by Dave Earley and David Wheeler.

Never Underestimate the Power of One

One Samaritan woman testified to her town, and many believed in Jesus.

One man, Noah, built a boat that saved the human race.

One man, Moses, stood up to Pharaoh and delivered the Hebrews from Egypt.

One woman, Deborah, delivered Israel from the Canaanite oppression.

One man, David, defeated the Philistines when he killed their champion, Goliath.

One woman, Ester, had the courage to approach the king and see her nation spared from extermination.

One man, Peter, preached a sermon that led 3,000 to be saved.

One salesman and Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball, led a young man named Dwight to Christ. Dwight Moody became a blazing evangelist who it is said, led one million souls to Christ in his short lifetime.[1]

Wilbur Chapman received the assurance of his salvation after talking with Moody and went on to become a noted evangelist himself. The drunken baseball player Billy Sunday was an assistant to Chapman before becoming the most famous evangelist of his day. One of the fruits of Sunday’s ministry was the forming of a group of Christian businessmen in Charlotte, North Carolina. This group brought the evangelist Mordecai Ham to Charlotte in 1934. A tall awkward youth named Billy Graham was converted during those meetings.[2] According to his staff, as of 1993, more than 2.5 million people had “stepped forward at his crusades to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.”[3]Millions of souls trace their spiritual lineage back to the influence of one man, a simple Sunday school teacher, Edward Kimball.

Someone said, “To the world you may just be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” To this we might add, to you they may seem like just one lost soul, but to God that might be a soul who can shake the whole world.[4]

(Never Underestimate the Power of One quoted from Evangelism Is, 2010).

It is estimated that over 215 million people have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Billy Graham’s ministry through his live stadium crusades in over 185 countries.

Bibliography

Earley, Dave, and David Wheeler. Evangelism Is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010.

[1] W.R. Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody, by His Son (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), taken from back cover.

[2] http://www.wheatonedu/bgc/archives/faq/13.htm.

[3] “God’s Billy Pulpit,” Time, November 15, 1993, http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979573,00.htm.

[4] Dave Earley and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 133-134.

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Knowing God

Many people continue to ask, “How can I truly know God?” One of the devotionals that I recommend is Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God Day-By-Day.” This devotional is easy to understand and is written for a layperson. I have quoted some of his devotional in this forum in order to share with you how easy it is to have a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Scriptures:

John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Philippians 3:8-10, “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”

According to Henry and Richard Blackaby, “Knowing God through experience is much different than knowing about God through a theological textbook. According to the Bible, you cannot say that you know Him unless you have experienced Him.”[1] In order to experience God, one must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, His one and only Son, whom He allowed to be sacrificed for the redemption of our sins. Blackaby wrote, “Biblical knowledge always involves experience.”[2] Without the experience of knowing God, one is missing out on the love that only Christ can bring. Blackaby wrote, “Jesus prayed that you would experience the depth and width and height of His love and that you would enjoy God’s full and unending love in the day-to-day experiences of life.”[3] Therefore, if there are any biblical truths that you are not experiencing, ask God to bring it into your everyday experience.[4] God will bless you with those experiences once you commit yourself and make the changes that need to be made in order for you to experience the fullness of God.

Bibliography

Blackaby, Henry, and Richard Blackaby. Experiencing God Day-By-Day: The Devotional and Journal. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1997.

The Lantern & Shield Times LLC.

It Should Have Been Me

Today, as I think about what Jesus did for you and me, I had an image in my mind. It was of the pounding of spikes, like those nailed into railroad ties. As I closed my eyes, I could see Jesus crawling onto the rugged cross after being illegally arrested, tried in the middle of the night, and early in the morning, sentenced to die a horrific death. They beat him, scourged him with a whip with metal shards imbedded in the ends of the cat of nine tails whip. They beat him almost to death. Then they fixed a thorny crown of thorns on his head and marched him through the streets to the hill carrying that heavy rugged cross. Then that is when he crawled onto that cross and they nailed each hand into the cross beam. I can hear the pounding of the metal in my mind and his anguished screams. They then placed his feet on top of each other on a type of foot platform and nailed his feet together. That is when the Roman Centurions lifted the cross up and jammed it upright into its mount. Jesus hung on that cross for hours. It was a long day and he suffered from thirst as well as most likely congestive heart failure.

As he was dying, he spoke seven times. The first, he cried out to God. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Then a thief who was also being crucified asked Jesus to remember him. And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). “Jesus said to his mother: “Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to the disciple: “This is your mother” (John 19:26-27). Then Jesus cries out again, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)

Then Jesus, while suffering and in anguish spoke, “I thirst” (John 19:28). They placed a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished;” and he bowed his head and gave over His spirit (John 19:29-30). Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46)

As the Roman Centurion looked upon Him, a great earthquake occurred and the Temple Veil was torn into. The Centurion said, “Surely, this truly was the son of God!” Then I realized that the Centurion was me in my dream and I awoke thinking that I am unworthy to even carry Jesus’s sandals because I am guilty. He took my blame and my sin and yet I had been forgiven by His mercy and grace. I stand looking up at that cross weeping for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He took my place on that cross. It should have been me.

Copyright © February 12, 2018, The Lantern & Shield Times LLC. All Rights Reserved.