Articles
Grounded in the Word. Ready for the Mission. Christian Military Fellowship provides Scripture-centered Bible studies that invite people to know Christ, grow as disciples, and lead with integrity in every season of military life.
SGM Daniel Cartwright, USA (Ret)
Dan has been with CMF since 1982. He has served as a Local Leader, Regional Representative, and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dan served 28 years with the United States Army Special Forces. He and his wife, Dee, live near Fort Carson, Colorado.
Truth, Lies and Horseback Riding
You are probably thinking that’s a rather silly title for an article. Maybe, maybe not. If it stimulated your curiosity to the point you are actually reading this, it accomplished the desired goal of the author! Therefore, it makes at least a little bit of sense. Agreed? Now on to the point.
Months ago, maybe even years ago in some cases, while studying various aspects of Christianity in light of Scripture (a favorite pastime of mine), I began to see beliefs in Christendom that had little or no Scriptural support, and that some of those questionable beliefs had achieved the status of “doctrine.” To disagree with them was labeled minimally as growth-hindering misunderstanding of Scripture, and, at the other end of the “error spectrum,” blasphemy deserving of Hell. I had then, and still have now, a soul-deep conviction that God wrote the Book and therefore what was taught as truth, but didn’t agree with the context of Scripture, was wrong or false in some measure and in some cases, was an outright lie.
The unavoidable question brought to this inquiring mind was, “How did these falsehoods and lies end up so widely believed by professing Christians?” The answer I arrived at after a considerable amount of Scripture study, researching a range of historical resources, and comparing them both to widely held beliefs of professing believers was and IS, precisely this: The “accepted” lie always rides in on the back of truth. Without an element of Scriptural truth upon which to hitch a ride, the lie never survives.
A prime example from the early church would be the Pelagian heresy; it denied any adverse effect of Adam’s sin on the rest of mankind that was birthed after the Fall. That lie didn’t get very far and was condemned as heresy. The “Semi-Pelagianism” that followed acknowledged that Adam’s sin affected all of us, but said that man is still able in and of himself to cooperate with God in the salvation of his soul. That was also condemned as heresy (at the Council of Orange), but is in fact alive and well in both major camps of Christianity. No segment of Christianity has ever admitted to being Semi-Pelagian, although a synergistic Gospel is by nature, exactly that.
There you have one man’s explanation of the connection between truth, lies, and horseback riding. The initial lie, without an element of truth, failed. The second lie, while admitting “some” truth, made a modified version of the first lie perfectly acceptable, and even pleasing to human sensibilities.
There have been other examples of lies riding in on the back of truth, some with a longer history of acceptance than others. The two most damaging to both the cause of Christ and the souls of men are 1) that Christ established a single religious organization as the only true church with an “infallible” human as head of that church and 2) that God “accepts” us unconditionally, WITH our sin. (Don’t panic — please read on!)
Both have a segment of truth. Christ did declare he would establish His Church on earth. God does LOVE unconditionally – it’s His nature and one of His divine attributes.
The Church that Christ established is made up of those persons for whom He died, from every tongue, tribe and nation – those whom He purchased with His own blood. We weren’t put on layaway!
If God could “accept” us into His Kingdom WITH our sin, His Son died in vain. The first point of the Gospel is that Christ DIED for our sin!
Pastor Bob Bingham
In 1962 Bob and his wife Dorothy were appointed as missionaries with the Overseas Christian Servicemen's Centers (now Cadence International), and served with them for 21 years, 17 of those years serving at three different military bases in the Philippines. Hospitality and discipleship training became the focus of those years with hundreds of lives being touched for eternity.
A change of ministry came in September of 1982 when he joined Scope Ministries (a biblical counseling ministry headquartered in Oklahoma City). This led to Bob's present ministry, CUPbearers, a discipleship ministry centered on the Lord Jesus Christ located in Englewood, Colorado.
For more than 25 years Bob has pastored the Rocky Mountain Evangelical Free Church in Black Hawk, Colorado, in tandem with his discipling ministry.
Bob has ministered in the Philippines (1962-1979, 1995, 1998) and a number of other countries in Asia and Europe with OCSC (1962-82), Panama (1996) and in Trinidad (1998). His additional ministry opportunities have been to Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong (2001), and Nepal (2001), China (2006).
Bob also served as Chairman on the CMF Board of Directors for many years.
Happiness and Joy
These two words are often considered as synonyms, but the Scriptures make a distinction between them.
Biblical HAPPINESS is generally dependent upon the circumstances that one experiences. The law of Moses identifies happiness in marriage, “When a man takes his new wife, he shall not go out with the Army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall give happiness to his wife whom he has taken” (Deuteronomy 24:5).
Another example, “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “your God reigns”” (Isaiah 52:7).
In general, you are happy when life and things are going well, and you are unhappy when life and things are not going well as you had hoped they would.
Biblical JOY is more of a state of being and not dependent upon your circumstances. “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, he will be quiet in his love, he will rejoice over you with shouts of joy” (Zephaniah 3:17).
Jeremiah the prophet discovered that ingesting God’s word brought him great joy. “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became for me a joy and a delight of my heart; I have been called by your name oh Lord of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).
The apostle John gives us a few quotes of Jesus Who is our joy, “These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).
Jesus prays to His Father, “But now I come to you; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves” (John 17:13).
The apostle Paul adds, “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us… Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1 – 2).
Jesus Christ endured the cross expressly for the joy of bringing you into his eternal kingdom.
THE ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT TO SHEPHERDS
“There were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over the flock by night. And the angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”” (Luke 2:8 – 11).
THE SHEPHERDS TERROR CHANGED TO GREAT JOY
“When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another; “let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that is happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as he lay in the manger. When they had seen this, [with great joy] they made known the statement which had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:15 – 17).
THE MAGI’S LONG JOURNEY BROUGHT THEM GREAT JOY
“After coming into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they [with great joy] fell to the ground and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:1).
“Now when they had gone, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.’ So Joseph got up and took the child and his mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt” (Matthew 2:13 – 14).
God’s plan probably did not make Joseph very happy, but he had great joy since God must have provided the Magi’s gifts to finance their trip and time in Egypt.
CHRISTMAS TODAY
It is quite possible that the uncertainty of the world’s chaos and current circumstances that you face today may produce in your heart and mind a lack of happiness.
Nevertheless, Jesus who is our everlasting joy, assures us, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
However, let’s remember what the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid: for behold, I bring you good news of GREAT JOY which will be for all the people” (Luke 2:11).
Our prayer is that this Christmas we together with you will remember and celebrate Jesus’ birth and his many blessings to us with GREAT JOY! Have a joyous Christmas!!!
Robert W. Flynn
Bob has been with the Christian Military Fellowship since 1981. He has served as a Local Leader, Coordinator of Ministries, Chief Operating Officer, President/CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors. After a short retirement he returned as Chief Information Officer. His ministry area has been one-on-one mentoring and discipleship. He now also leads the the Remote Access Discipleship Program creating opportunities for our members to engage in Bible study where ever they happen to be standing.
Bob enlisted in the United States Navy in 1968 and served on active duty until 1991 when he joined the CMF Staff. He and his wife, Nancy, live near Buckley Space Force Base, Aurora, Colorado.
Absolute Surrender
December is here and soon the yuletide will be upon us. With it comes the day we set aside to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. My mind has trouble grasping the full significance of this event. For on this day, in a time long since past, the Son of God set aside His Glory to become a man so that He could save us from our sin. He gave to us an eternal example of His life given completely to the will of the Father. The ultimate weapon used to win the ultimate war thus became absolute surrender.
Here then before us is the example of the Nativity—God lying in a stable midst the stench of the animals and the odor of our sin through the centuries. The first question that comes to your mind is, “what does that have to do with the title of this article?” I thought that it might be fitting as we celebrate Jesus’ first day on earth that we remember our first day with Him. Do you remember the day you met Jesus Christ? Do you remember the warmth of His sweet salvation as His Spirit swept over your soul like a mighty river. Do you remember with a sense of disappointment how that warmth faded with time? Often you have wondered why it was that your relationship, instead of deepening, has become lame and produces no fruit in your life. The answer, though not complicated, is far reaching. You wandered from the Highway of Holiness! You wandered from Him.
It appears as though it may now be the midnight hour in this age of grace, and all the while the church races headlong toward apostasy. The newspapers are replete with the witness of holding to a form of godliness yet denying the power thereof. For the believer still lives in a reality where temptations abound and Satan is active in the deception of the whole world and all its inhabitants. Within us resides a sinful nature that all too frequently resurrects itself.
So despite salvation we can find ourselves impotent toward sin’s power and our victory absent without leave. There is no repair shop that can fix this old man. There is no transformation operation that can remake him anew. He can only be put to death.
Beloved, you are God’s treasure! You are destined for that which is far greater than a temporary sojourn in happiness. Jesus has prepared for us a dwelling place that is Himself where we are to “abide.” We must see our abiding as an intimate connectedness like that of the branch to the tree. Have you ever seen a branch wander away from the trunk? If we “come to him” to “abide” we must also “take the yoke” lest we stray and make the ditch alongside the “highway of holiness” our home. Jesus cannot be Lord if we think we have the right to have our own way in the thousand things of life. If we say we are our own masters, the captains of our fate, then there can be NO blessedness NOR peace. Jesus said: “A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart.
Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. So why do you call me ‘Lord,’ when you won’t obey me?” “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads you into all truth.” (Luke 6:45-46, John 14:15-17 NLT) Jesus’ example was to forsake everything for the Father. The disciples’ example was to forsake everything to follow Christ. The Apostle Paul’s example was not only to “count all things to be loss” but he also “suffered the loss of all things.” (Phil 3:8 NASB) Warriors, this is absolute surrender. Paul declares, “For God is working in you giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. (Phil 2:13 NLT) Since the Holy Spirit lives in us and is the provision to keep “my commandments” perhaps we ought to say, “Jesus, I forsake all to follow you.” This is NOT a passive thing (the ditch on the left of the highway) NOR is it an act of arrogance (the ditch on the other side). It is in the balance between Grace and Truth wherein we are delivered from sin’s penalty and power. We can then live in the hope of the day when we shall see Jesus and also be delivered from sin’s presence.
“The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity