What The World Can't Take Away from Carrie Prejean

Carrie Prejean (pronounced pray-ZHAHN') has continued to be in the news because of the answer she gave at the Miss U.S.A. pageant which supported the traditional marriage definition of one man and one woman. Ever since then, people from all sides of the political spectrum have been attempting to crush her spirit, condemn her thoughts, actions, and beliefs, and it appears they won't be happy until she is stripped of her Miss California crown. They want to ruin her completely. Note this comment at the end of the article link:

GreatBallsOfFire

29 seconds ago

Fail, Prejean! Fail!

The trouble is, they can't take away her faith or her spirit. They can't take away her love for God or His love for her. They can't take away her salvation through Jesus Christ. They can't take away the truth she knows through God's Word, the Bible. They can't surpass the love, support and prayers of the Church (believers everywhere). All of this is far more important than some earthly beauty crown.

I thought of Carrie as I read a devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah. In the November issue of Turning Points: The Urgency, Dr. Jeremiah lays out what our mission (meaning, all born-again Christians) on this earth really is. It involves Jesus' last command - The Great Commission.

No matter what happens with Carrie's earthly Miss California crown, NO ONE CAN TAKE HER ETERNAL CROWN OF LIFE which has been given by Jesus Christ at the moment of her conversion.

God has used this woman in an enormous way. Of course, there are going to be those who hate her for her convictions. However, there are MANY MORE who admire her for her steadfast convictions under a great deal of pressure to compromise her faith.

I know that some Christians believe that she has already compromised her faith because of the photos that have surfaced. But how did Jesus react to the woman who was about to be stoned for being caught in the act of adultery - which could be viewed as a far greater sin?

Jhn 8:2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.


Jhn 8:3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group


Jhn 8:4 and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.


Jhn 8:5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"


Jhn 8:6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.


Jhn 8:7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."


Jhn 8:8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.


Jhn 8:9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.


Jhn 8:10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"


Jhn 8:11 "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Notice that "the older ones" dropped their stones and left first. I'm sure that they had far more sins on their own souls than the younger ones.

Notice that Jesus did not condemn her - his mission at this time was to preach confession, repentance of sin and ultimately the way of salvation. Judgment (the ultimate kind) will happen at his second coming.

Also, notice that Jesus did not condone her sin. He declared, "Go now and leave your life of sin."

The next verse in John says this:

Jhn 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Jesus was declaring who he is, his authority given to him by the Father to give the perishing "the light of life." This illustration is a kind of mini-gospel.

Of course, the Pharisees challenged Jesus.

Jhn 8:13 The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."


Jhn 8:14 Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.


Jhn 8:15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.


Jhn 8:16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.


Jhn 8:17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.


Jhn 8:18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Notice how each time, the people and the Pharisees had an underlying motive to "trap" Jesus. Their goal was to show him (Jesus) as a "disobeyer" of the Law. There was a definite disconnect with what the Law was for regarding the salvation message Christ revealed at his first coming on this earth.

Similarly, there is a disconnect between born-again Christians and the secular world. The trappings and condemnation of this 21-year-old woman was similar to what the people and the Pharisees tried to do against the woman caught in adultery.

Now, on to Dr. Jeremiah's article.

The article is entitled, "Your Mission...Should You Choose to Accept It." It is based on the opening phrase in the 1960's T.V. show "Mission Impossible."

That title implies that the agent had the option of not taking the assignment. Of course for the sake of the show, he always did.

Dr. Jeremiah writes:

Mission Impossible always created a sense of urgency with the execution of the mission. But what if the secret agent had decided not to accept the mission? What would happen? Well, there would have been tragic results. Evil and violent acts would have occurred without confrontation and good people would have been hurt, lost, or even killed. The consequences of inaction would be dire.

[A]s Christians, we have been given a real mission, a mission that is far greater in importance and urgency than any act of fiction in a television show. You may be wondering, "Where exactly is my case file?" Your case file is no man-made piece of work; you have been given the greatest instructional manual of all time, God's Word.

We have witnessed Carrie Prejean's "case file." We have seen a moment in time where her assignment to be a disciple of Christ and witness for God's Word was tested in front of millions of people during a beauty pageant. She chose to tell the truth about God's plan for marriage and despite tons of criticism, ridicule, disparagement, mocking and hatred being spewed by the lost souls of paganism, she did not budge from her convictions. She has done this - no matter what the cost!

As a born-again Christian, her mission (just as it is for all Christians - if we choose to accept it) is to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ into all the world and proclaim "liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" by the enemy (Luke 4:19).

You see, Carrie knows, in her heart of hearts, that people like Perez Hilton are under captivity and are being oppressed by the enemy of our souls. Her kindness and unwillingness to attack back at Hilton probably infuriates him even more. This is the way of the unregenerate world. They will do ANYTHING to hide their sin and make it something "good" - that it is not - in order to avoid repentance. The cross of Jesus Christ is offensive to those who are perishing! This is why Christians are hated so much. Jesus warned us that they (the unregenerate in the world) will hate us because they hated him first.

The mission that Jesus has given all believers is The Great Commission. We need to have the urgency to reach the lost who are all around us. However, we have a voluntary mission - each believer can choose to embrace the mission - or not.

Dr. Jeremiah:

And if we don't? The results will be the same as if the agent in Mission: Impossible refused his instructions: evil will flourish and people will be lost.

[T]he Great Commission is essentially the same as Christ's own mission: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Before spelling out the Great Commission in detail, He told the disciples, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you" (John 20:21).

But His mission was not easy. Jesus had moments of anxiety and suffering. Think about him lying on his face in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, Not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39). And remember the mocking He endured on the cross as the crowds sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God" (Luke 23:35).

He easily could have saved Himself, but that would have jeopardized the mission. So He was obedient to His Father's mission, even unto death.

Did you catch what was in the Luke verse above? "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."

Recall how Satan had tempted Jesus to not fulfill His mission?

Jesus could have called down legions of angels to rescue Him from that cross.

But he didn't.

Why?

Because he LOVES US!!!

If Jesus had not died for the remission of our sins, then our sins would remain on every soul that ever lived. Jesus would have re-entered heaven alone.

Jeremiah:

And this very same Christ who died and rose from the dead has commissioned us to continue to do His work until He returns. Could there be any higher calling for us? To accept and follow Jesus' commission is the greatest thing we can do with the time He has given us on this earth. What a privilege! What a responsibility!

We are all sinners in need of the Savior. How awesome is it that Jesus has allowed us imperfect sinners to spread His Gospel worldwide?

Jeremiah:

The Great Commission is recorded in similar terms by Matthew (28:19-20), Mark (16:15-16) and Luke (24:47) and alluded to in Jesus' words in John 20:21.

Though the disciples could hardly have understood the depth of the mission they had been given, Jesus' words in John 14:12 probably began to take on new meaning: "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father." The disciples (past, present, and future) were being commissioned to take Jesus' physical place in the world - to be His hands, feet, and heart to a world growing daily in size.

But Jesus did not leave them powerless to fulfill their mission. He told them he would send a Helper that would abide with them forever. and that Helper came at the celebration of the Feast of Weeks in Jerusalem, also referred to as Pentecost. Jesus had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the power they would need to fulfill their mission -- power that would indwell them in the person of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15ff.; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5).

And what a difference the gift of the Spirit made! The fearful band of disciples who cowered behind closed doors after Jesus' death became men who turned their wold upside down (Acts 17:6) --they and the thousands who joined them day-by-day as the Good News of Christ's resurrection and power spread.

But it would be a mistake to conclude that Christ's mission was given only to The Twelve, His original disciples. That first dozen clearly understood that it applied to all who believe as they went about recruiting other to join them in faith and then in the mission Christ had given them.

As I finished typing this, I noticed that the Trump decision about Miss California has already been announced. No matter which way the decision came down (and I suspect that her pageant crown has been taken away - they already had the Miss California runner-up prepped to take her place); Carrie Prejean is in victory through Christ. Her missionary work for the Gospel has only just begun!

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Update:

Christocentric: VIDEO - Miss California Keeps Her Crown and Speaks Out Against Intolerance