Book Review: Unashamed To Bear His Name by R.T. Kendall

"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed (Luke 9:26)."

These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking about bearing the shame of him. Is there a stigma involved in following Christ? Should following Jesus cause a stigma? Are we, should we be ashamed to bear the name of Jesus Christ? The simple meaning of the word stigma is a mark of shame or discredit.

R.T. Kendall addresses the stigma of bearing the name of Jesus in his book, Unashamed To Bear His Name, Embracing the Stigma of Being A Christian. The author reaches into his personal background and experience and goes into great detail about the stigma and scandal of following after and bearing the name of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2 of the book begins with a look at Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ," diving directly into the destigmatizing of the gospel which is so evident in our day. The author steps into embracing the shame of the name in chapter 5 where he speaks of the anointing and the greater the anointing the greater the suffering for it. Chapter 7 speaks of dealing with unnecessary scandal and stigma.

Chapter 9, The Reason the Jews Missed Their Messiah is very interesting. R.T. Kendall puts forward a reason which I have never thought of before, seeking the praise which comes from men instead of God. He then follows this chapter with a chapter dealing with the stigma of no vindication. He closes out the book with a chapter dealing with being outside the camp, again offering excellent insight.

While I cannot agree with every doctrine put forward by R.T. Kendall in Unashamed To Bear His Name, Embracing the Stigma of Being A Christian, I can recommend this book as a challenge to accepting the shame, scandal, and stigma of bearing the name of Jesus.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers as a part of their reviewers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Potter and the Vessel

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it (Jer. 18:3-4 KJV)."

I've read this passage of Scripture many times. I've heard multiple sermons preached about the Great Potter and the vessel. What a wondrous concept to comprehend the Potter will mold us into a vessel as He sees fit to make!

A choice is placed before us. We can watch the Potter remake a marred vessel into one which will bring glory to the Potter. We can choose to become the marred vessel in the hands of the Potter.

Those who choose to watch possess a front row seat in the scrap pile of damaged, marred, and imperfect vessels. Those who choose to watch can see the pain and suffering of the vessel on the wheel as it's being remade. Those who choose to watch feel they're safe in the scrap pile. However, the vessels in the scrap pile are useless. The only value they possess is to be crushed back into the clay they were formed from.

Those who choose to get on the wheel, placing themselves in hands of the master Potter, have the guarantee they will become vessels of honor and glory to the Potter. Yet the remaking process is painful. Severely damaged areas must be removed and replaced. Marred areas must be softened, scraped, and resurfaced.

When the vessel is in the shape desired, the Potter places it in the fire of the kiln to harden it withstand the rigor of daily use. The Potter doesn't create these vessels to sit in a display case. These vessels are made for intensive, daily use. They're designed and made to bring glory and honor to the Potter.
 
You're presented with a decision today. You can become a vessel in the hands of the master Potter to endure the pain of being born again to a vessel of value. You can remain in the pile of scrap, broken, damaged, marred, useless vessels awaiting eternal destruction. The decision is yours. Life is wrought with many choices. Eternity offers two. God bless...

God Appoints Our Leaders

"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God (Ro. 13:1 KJV)."

Higher Powers
The word powers is the plural form of the word power used throughout this Bible verse. It means a magistrate, potentate, delegated influence, and authority. The word subject means to be under obedience.

"Let every soul be subject to the higher powers" means every person is to be obedient and/or to their governing authorities. This is a pretty strong statement being made by the Apostle Paul.

There's No Power But of God
The delegated authorities exist only because God allows them to.The authorities which exist do so only by the direct appointment of Jehovah God.

"By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth (Pro. 8:15-16 KJV).

Our president, our congressman or woman, our senator, our governor, our state legislator, our mayor, our county councilman or woman, our Supreme Court justices, our federal judges, our local judges, each and every one of them can only do what they do because God permits them to.

What's A Christian To Do?
Our current government leaders can make no new laws which God hasn't allowed them to make. Does that mean Christians must agree the leaders decisions are right? Not at all.

The United States Constitution gives American citizens the right to exercise free speech. We Americans can say anything we want about anything or anybody we want. But does being a Christian grant us license to do so?

I don't agree with the current administration of the United States. I'm deeply concerned with the direction they appear to be taking us in. I possess serious misgivings concerning some of the laws being passed by this administration.

Are Christians surprised by the beliefs, speech, and activities of not only this administration, but previous ones as well? You shouldn't be. God is in control. They do what they do only by God's permission. It means they're doing exactly what God wants them to do. This is a hard concept to grasp. This concept is exactly what Paul is telling us in Romans 13:1.

So what are Christians supposed to do? If you must speak out, speak out. Yet do so in a manner that isn't derogatory or defaming. Speak and act in a manner which will bring glory and honor to God.

The most important thing Christians can do right now is pray. I don't mean talk about it. I mean on-your-face, on-your-knees, pouring you heart out to God. We must pray for our leaders whether we agree with what they're doing or not. We must pray for our leaders even if we don't like them. We must continue to pray for our leaders even as they keep passing legislation contrary to Christian beliefs and doctrine. God bless...

Forgiven

"Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (Ps. 32:2 KJV)."

Psalm 32:2 is a continuation of the promise contained in the first verse. We learned in verse 1 of how happy is the one whose sins are forgiven. The second verse supports the promise of forgiveness given in verse 1. Verse 2 however, also contains a tremendous fundamental truth.

Psalms 32:1 says the one whose sin is forgiven and covered is blessed, or happy. Psalm 32:2 reinforces this by saying how happy the one is who God doesn't count their sin against them. The powerful truth lies in the words, "unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity."

How many times do we approach the altar and repent for the same sin we commit over and over? Why does this happen? We confess our sin to Christ at the altar, and by faith we believe God has granted forgiveness. We leave the altar feeling good and happy (Ps. 32:1). After a few moments, minutes, hours, or days, something happens.

The enemy of our soul can't stand us believing God's forgiven us. The forgiveness of sin, or remission of sin comes only through the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ. The moment we're covered, Satan loses power. He's rebuked by the blood of Christ. How much time passes from repentance to remembrance?

The devil begins to throw forgiven sin back in our face. We begin feeling the guilt associated with the sin all over again. We start beating ourselves up over it, and before long, we give up and give in, committing the same sin again. We return to the altar and start the circular process all over.

Psalm 32:2 is a direct response to this exact situation. It's a promise of truth saying those whom God has forgiven he will not hold their sin against them. Sin that's covered by the blood of Christ is gone, no longer in existence. That my friends is the tremendous truth contained in Psalm 32:2.

When Satan begins to attack, calling sin to your remembrance, fight back with the words of Psalm 32:2. Rejoice and be exceeding glad! God has forgiven our sin! God no longer holds the sin against us! The sin is gone! God bless...

In My Distress I Will Call On the Lord

In My distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears (Psalms 18:6 NKJV).

In my distress I called on the Lord. What an amazing inspiration this statement should be. Let's dig into this concept of calling on the Lord.

Distress
The word distress is used as a noun. The Hebrew word translated as distress literally means a narrow or tight place. The modern definition of distress is the state of being in serious trouble or in mental or physical anguish.

When things go seriously wrong, it does feel like the world is closing in on you. When you're suffering in mental or physical agony it can become the only thing you focus on. That's a narrow or tight place to be in.

I Call On the Lord
We do have the Lord to cry out to when we get into the tight place of trouble. Instead of crying out to God after we're in serious trouble we should consider calling on Him at the first sign of distress.

Our God will hear us when we cry out to Him. The sound of our voice will reach His ears in the throne room of His habitation in Heaven. God promises us that while we are speaking the words of our prayers He will hear them (Isaiah 65:24).

I would encourage everyone today, including myself, to cry out to God in our distress. He will hear our prayers in His holy temple of heaven. When God hears our prayer, sooner or later, He will respond.