My Black Heart Changed

50 Million+

“THIS IS WHERE THEY PERFORM THE ABORTIONS,” I said to my beautiful and precious daughters in 2011 as we drove past the innocuous looking building called Family Planning Associates located just a few miles from our home at the time. Making a quick U-turn I parked just up the street from the entrance. A solitary man looked like he was praying as he strode slowly up and down the sidewalk in front of the medical offices.

Two women exited. One was weeping as they both hurriedly walked to the parking lot. The praying man told us it’s busiest on Wednesdays and Fridays because that’s when they carry out their “surgical procedures.”

“Daddy,” my then 12-year-old DD exclaimed, “why is it called a Family Planning Clinic? Why did they name it that?”

“Because,” I gently explained, “it sounds better than advertising that it’s a place to murder your child.”

Flash backward about twenty years from that day to a Christian Singles Retreat I attended shortly after committing my life to Jesus. In the dining room a petition was passed around from table to table opposing a new abortion clinic that was just getting ready to open for business. “I can’t sign it,” I protested, “I am for abortion.”

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The Importance of Baptism

Baptism

On this day 29 years ago, at Hope Chapel Hermosa Beach, I was baptized as an adult, fully immersed in water like Jesus, (and which was the practice of the early church), in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in obedience to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28.

Thirty-nine days after I became a born-again believer by putting my trust in Christ for forgiveness and repenting of my sins, I made my public declaration of faith. Hallelujah!

The only thing I remember about that time was saying this in front of my entire church: “I thought Amazing Grace was a bartender at the Red Onion.”

Yeah, I was really lost back then….

There’s a lot of confusion regarding baptism and I would even say that most Christians are indifferent to it, or worse, people who call themselves believers in Jesus may have never been baptized at all according to New Testament baptism even though Jesus clearly says,

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

There are two ordinances, or commands, for the Protestant, Evangelical church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. I’d like to bring some biblical clarity, starting with the word “ordinance.”

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The Prince of Preachers Gets Saved

Great Quotes

On this day in 1850, my long-dead pastor, Charles Spurgeon, got saved while on his way to church during a snowstorm.

15-year-old Charles ducked into a Primitive Methodist Chapel to escape the snow and sat with a very small congregation to listen to a lay preacher who was filling in for the pastor.

Here is the story that Chuck told 280 times in his sermons:

A poor man, a shoemaker, a tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach.

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What an Epiphany!

Special Days

TODAY IS EPIPHANY ON THE CHURCH CALENDAR!

I was saved in a church that was founded during the Jesus Movement in the ‘70s. I went there for 22 years and was a pastor for fifteen. We were a biblically-based, solid, Evangelical church that desired to teach people to live for Christ authentically.

But, I never heard about the liturgical calendar.

The church calendar helps Christian believers to acknowledge Christ throughout the year, marking off specific seasons and days to celebrate. Apart from Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas, I didn’t know any of the other special days until I came to pastor Community Church of the Hills.

Once there, I discovered the rich tradition of the other special “Holy days” of the year.

“Epiphany” is celebrated each January 6, but churches commemorated it yesterday since it was the closest Sunday to the actual date.

Epiphany celebrates the visit of the wise men to Jesus and marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas.

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