None of my bidness

"What you think of me is none of my business."

Have you ever heard people say this who want to believe it?

Imagine if you lived your life in a way that you did not care too much about how others perceived you.

What would your life look like? Would everything change? Would you laugh less often at stupid jokes or laugh more at the truly funny jokes?Would you tell your boss "no" more often and yourself "yes" more frequently?Would you be more honest in your relationships?

I was recently asked for my opinion of someone and I realized that it doesn’t matter what I think of them.Why is what I think of them any of their business?Who cares what I think?What matters is what they think of themselves.Do I posses the power and authority to speak for another?And the same can be said for me, what you think of me is really none of my business, right?

The problem with listening to others’ opinions about another is that those who are often the most verbose with their opinions are the least healthy and self-reflective.

So I think I’ll start my evaluation with, "what I think of you is really none of your business. So with whatever I say, take what you like and leave the rest."

What does matter is what God thinks of you and how you internalize who you are as one of God’s beloved children.

Woe to You, Chorazin!

I was reading in Matthew this morning and I came across one of those passages that you've read a hundred times before, but then something great gets in.

The scripture I want to talk about is as follows-

Matthew 11:20-24 NASB
The Unrepenting Cities
20Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent.
21"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22"Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
23"And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24"Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."


The city of Sidon was a hotbed of Phoenician idolatry(Isa 23; Ez 28) and materialism.
Tyre was at one time, an important coastal port. Ezekial foretold that continuous invasions would make it a place where only fishermen dry their nets. And we all know what happened to Sodom.

Jesus is chastising Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because they have had the blessing of His presence, His teaching, and His miracles and yet they do not repent. These other cities didn't have that benefit and yet will be better off than those who have heard but not listened.
Revelation 13:9 says, "He who has an ear, let him hear.

Here we are in this great nation today, striking the name and title of Jesus our Christ from public prayer. People were outraged when the Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert referred to the politically correct "Capitol Holiday Tree" as the Capitol Christmas Tree. There are too many examples of this type of behavior for a nation where 91% of the citizens proclaim a belief in God.

So much is said about a God of love, but we tippy toe around about a God of wrath.

Let's hear and fear Him

PAY ATTENTION!

PAY ATTENTION By Dr. James MacDonald
Now therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation. Hebrews 2:1-2
The Christian life is not a destination; it’s a journey. While it began at a point in time when you came to the cross, it most certainly doesn’t stop there. Are you moving ahead into all the great things that God has for you? One of the primary messages of the book of Hebrews is, “keep growing.” The author repeatedly warns believers in Christ Jesus to keep our relationship with God current. Don’t let your heart get hard, or cold, or calloused to the things of Christ but press on to what’s ahead. Hebrews 2:1 urges: “Now therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”
When you came to Christ you made some promises to God, right? How are you doing with them? Don’t drift away from the most important thing in your life. Here are some penetrating questions to keep your relationship with God moving ahead:
Does my life give evidence of a person truly redeemed by the Son of God?
Does my faith endure in hard times as well asgood times?
Does my life reflect a growing pattern of righteousness?
Do I have an increasing hunger for God’s Word and a passion for God’s kingdom?
Is my love increasing for God and His people?
You say, “I don’t want to drift away. What can I do?” Perfect question! Your answer is in verse 1: “Therefore we must pay close attention.” What a great wake-up call! “Pay attention—this matters!” If you think you might be drifting away a little bit—come back! If you’ve been caught up in other things and lost sight of your primary purpose—come back to the Lord. In the most loving way I know how, I urge you to stay on course. If it’s been several days . . . or weeks since you knelt in humility before the Lord with your life open before him, get on your knees right now. Review the five questions above. Ask the Lord to show you the areas of your heart that need a fresh touch from him and a recommitment from you.

Here's What I Know

I don't know why God allows evil things to happen, but I'm glad that He did allow one evil thing to happen- He allowed Jesus to die on the cross. That was, from the human perspective, an evil thing. He was an innocent man who died at the hands of angry, threatening people. This is fact. We know that it happened. And we also know that, three days later, this Jesus rose from the dead. This one historical fact that we do know outweighs the many other things that I don't know about God.

From God's perspective, this was a good thing. Because Jesus rose from the dead, I know there's life after death for those who follow Him. That gaurantee of eternity makes the pains of this life seem much more bearable. As the New Testament says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18.
What I know outweighs what I don't know.

As a result, I think that having hope makes more sense than having bitterness. I think that believing in God at whatever He does is better than cursing Him. I think that having Jesus' name on my lips as my Lord and Savior is better than having His name on my lips as a swear word. I think that joy fits reality better than despair does, and assurance of eternal life fits better than the fear of death. I think that basing that assurance on the historically factual events of the Cross and Resurrection is better than any kind of false, psyched-up crossing of my fingers. I think that following and obeying Christ and His morals produce a much better life than following my desires, my hormones, or my sinful fantasies.

Would anyone listen to such a long tirade? Maybe not. But even if we deliver only a part of this message, especially in the way we act, we've given nonbelievers an answer to an unasked, but perceived question as to why we would choose to submit to an old book and a Master they cannot see.

Falling in a Ditch

Why is it that the most arrogant people are often the most ignorant?

Seems like it would be a contradiction, doesn’t it?

Arrogance comes from the Latin that means to assume. Ignorance from Latin means something like not aware. Surely you have the relative at the family reunion or an outspoken friend who is an expert on everything. He or she assumes that he knows what he is talking about but is clearly not aware. What’s scary is that usually, if not always, the person is unaware that he is not aware of his assumptions. In other words, he is ignorant of his ignorance and arrogance.

And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch. Matthew 15:14

Think about when the arrogant lead the ignorant, what happens then? I fall in a ditch.

I am often embarrassed by my ignorance and arrogance. Reflecting on the times in my life that I have been most arrogant is often when I have been the most ignorant. This typically happens when I am attempting to impose my views, that is, my judgments on others. Sadly, most of my arrogance was based on ignorance. I spoke about people who I had never met or associated. Regardless of how much I knew or thought I knew or how sincere I was about my convictions doesn’t mean that I know what I’m talking about, like Charles Kettering said, “You can be sincere and still be stupid.”

It also seems that ignorance and arrogance is often alive and well in religious and political circles. If you ever meet someone with all the answers and they are arrogant, this includes pseudo-humility, there's a strong chance that you are dealing with an ignorant person. Perhaps my writing that line qualifies me for that club.

I think of the people Jesus butted heads with on his journey. These folks were the ones with the answers to life. They had their law books and could tell you how to live. They were arrogant about the law and ignorant about love.

Ever met a religious person who is arrogant about the law and ignorant about love?

If anyone was going to be arrogant you think that Jesus or some other spiritual person like Mother Theresa or Gandhi would have been. Yet each of these souls possessed something beyond belief, knowledge and the law… Love.

Love moves beyond belief, knowledge and law.

Pride vanquishes in the presence of the Mystery, for I know that I do not know.
I can assume I know and yet not be aware, making me both arrogant and ignorant.
We can possess beliefs, knowledge and laws and still not walk in Love.

Jesus said that the world would know him by the way we love one another, not how much we think we know or what we claim to believe-- otherwise we just fall in a ditch.

Best Friends

I heard this radio program last night about a street urchin who snuck into an old widows kitchen to steal some eggs. As he was leaving, he was startled by a light coming on and dashed out the door, only to fall in the darkened alley breaking the eggs and scraping his knees.
The old widow, seeing all of this, came to the door to help the little boy up and into a kitchen chair.
The boy sat terrified at being caught and quietly awaited his punishment. The old lady patiently cleaned the egg residue off of his hands and clothes and cleaned and dressed his wounded knees. When she was through, the boy looking perplexed, asked her why she had done this instead of beating him or calling the police. The woman replied that the eggs were hers and noone else's and that she had chosen to forgive him for stealing them.
The boy was amazed at the woman's kindness. He thanked her and began to leave. The old woman asked the boy where he was living and he told her that he had made up a nice shelter a few alleyways over. The woman said that she wanted him to stay the night in her spare bedroom. The boy, of course, refused but the woman kept insisting. She said it wouldn't be any bother and she would not disturb him because her bedroom was upstairs while his would be downstairs adjacent to the kitchen. The boy questioned why she would allow him to sleep next to the kitchen and back door knowing what he had just attempted.
The woman replied that friends must learn to have faith in each other and that he should decide whether their new found friendship was more valuable than a few eggs.

That story caused me to think about my best friend Jesus, and how He has chosen to forgive us our transgressions. He's cleaned us up and offered us shelter from the world. He doesn't see me as an urchin. He sees me as a joint heir. Praise God!

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Giving Thanks

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday I wanted to share a Peanuts comic strip with y'all.

It shows the Peanuts gang inside getting ready to enjoy a sumptuous turkey dinner and in the next frame you see Snoopy sitting on top of his dog house with a bowl of dog food. We all know how much he hates his dog food and he has a look of disgust as he is depressed because he can't be inside to share in the meal. In the third frame he resolves himself by thinking- "It could be worse, I could have been born a turkey."

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Have a blessed Thanksgiving

Is God Fair?

Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you, or that wicked people seem to get ahead, have more stuff, and don't seem to have as many burdens? When I say wicked, I mean people who are living with principles of "self" instead of God's principles.

In Psalm 73 Asaph is complaining to God about ungodly people because they-
have no struggles
don't have the same daily burdens
get away with oppressing others
mock God
are always carefree

In verses 13-15 He says not only is there no benefit to being good, but there is also a price to be paid for being good. And his heart is grieved.(vs.21)

Envy and comparison will always be a stumbling block to faith.

Notice starting in verse 16, he begins to turn his heart towards God. He said that he walked into the sanctuary of God. He isn't talking about corporate worship here. It's private and personal.

Turn our focus totally toward God and get alone with Him.

In verse 18 He starts to see that the wicked have costs too. And nothing is always and all.
He sums it up in verse 28, "But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all Your good works.

"As far as I can remember, being a celebrity has never helped me make a good picture ... or command the obedience of my daughter, or impress my wife. It doesn't even seem to help keep fleas off our dog, and if being a celebrity won't give one an advantage over a couple fleas, then I guess there can't be that much in being a celebrity after all." - Walt Disney

So... Is God fair?

Absolutely Not!

Or else we would get what we deserve. Thank You Jesus!

Our National Motto

If I were to ask the average American Joe or Jane what our national motto is, do you think they could tell me? Do you think they would even care? Well if you've been a reader of my blog for any time at all, you've probably guessed that it has something to do with God. Well you'd be right. It's "IN GOD WE TRUST."

This all came about because a simple preacher wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase in 1861 proposing that we should acknowledge Almighty God on our money because it would- "relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters."

From 1938 until the present, that statement of faith has been on virtually every form of American currency.

A law passed by the Joint Resolution of the 84th Congress and approved by the President on July 30, 1956 declared "IN GOD WE TRUST" the national motto of the United States of America.

Notice that our motto isn't "IN god WE TRUST", or "IN gods WE TRUST." It signifies the one true GOD above all other gods. It's really scary how prophetic that simple preacher's concern about disowning God was when you read and hear about the ACLU and other groups passionately trying to eliminate any and every mention of the Triune Godhead.

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His inheritance.

Isaiah 60:12 For the nation and kingdom which will not serve You shall perish, And those nations shall be utterly ruined.

Are we as passionate about TRUSTING in our GOD?

Stretch Out Your Hand

"Do you want to be healed?"

"It is easy to tell people that you are feeling tense. It is not as easy to tell three or four people in a small group of the great ache in your heart because a relationship with your husband or wife, son, daughter, or friend has fallen apart at the seams. Nor is it easy to talk of your fears—losing your job, the operation you face, losing your mother who is dying. But when you do and turn with hope to God and the prayers of members of the group, a slow inner transformation begins that never fails to surprise people and that keeps them coming back." Avery Brooke, Healing in the Landscape of Prayer

I think many folks visit church for the first time due to a great big ache in their soul that longs to be acknowledged and healed. Is your community the place where true transformation and healing begins? Or is it only a place where you can tell people you are feeling tense?

Transformation is a $10 word that is tossed around the church often. I wonder if we talk about transformation so much because it is so rare?

Perhaps the first step toward healing or transformation is to admit that we need healing. Maybe the next step is to show or acknowledge our wounds. Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he said: "Stretch out our hand."

Is your congregation a place where folks can stretch out their hands?

You Are There

Have you ever read a story or parable in the Bible and wondered what you would be doing if you were there? Think of the feeding of the 5000. Would you be discussing with your friends the impossibility of a seemingly endless supply of food coming out of the basket being passed around, or by faith would you just accept it?

What if you were in the garden with your best friend over the past three years? Your Lord and Savior is in obvious pain and stress and you can do nothing about it. All of a sudden a huge and intimidating group of soldiers appears to take Him away and possibly kill or torture Him. What are you going to do? Flee? Throw yourself in front of Him inviting imminent death? Or stand numbly in shock as they take Him away.

I was reading in Luke 5 this morning about the paralytic man and his four friends that were carrying him on a stretcher, doing what they could to get him to Jesus. I would hope that I would be one of those men willing to do anything necessary to get my crippled friend to the feet of Jesus where he will have his sins forgiven and paralysis ended. Would I be? Or would I be pushing through the crowd trying to see and hear the prophet for myself not even thinking of my friend? Or, worse yet, would I just stay home because of the hassle- and I hate crowds-and they're all dumb anyway for following anybody anywhere?

What am I like today? Am I willing to do everything I can to bring my sick, broken, and sin paralyzed friends to the feet of Jesus? All too often I just stay at home.

Neighbors and Enemies

It seems like pain and suffering in ourselveswould teach us a little about pain and suffering in others.

Too often it doesn’t.

It seems like having a loved one face a potential life threatening illness would soften our hearts to others who are facing a life threatening illness.

Too often it doesn’t.

It would seem that knowing the fear pain, confusion, hurt and loss that is associated with a loved one’s suffering would move us in a manner that we would never want to see another human suffer.

It would be rather hypocritical to beg God to heal and cure my friends and family while I live a life that perpetuates indifference and even hatred toward others.I may not be violent, but I surely am not following Jesus when it comes to loving my enemies.

Something seems wrong with "Dear God, please heal my wife." While I advocate sending kids off to a foreign land to kill and hurt the "enemy" and to be killed and injured by the "enemy." Does God only hear my prayers? I mean, does God hear my prayers for healing of a loved one while ignoring those who live opposite of my views? If God hears my prayers knowing my potential for evil, what would possess me to think that somehow God wouldn’t hear the prayer of those who differ from me? That is about the same mentality as, "Please God help my team win" while hoping the opponent’s quarterback gets creamed.If I am going to pray for a loved one, it would seem that God would expect me to pray with at least the same intensity for the healing of others. Too often I don’t. I wonder how that impacts God? Seriously, I wonder what God must think? "Dude, I know you love your wife, but how 'bout passing on some prayers for those you can't stand."

Perhaps that is a mark of my spiritual maturity? Praying with the same intensity for those I dislike as those I love. Passionately praying for those who I think are my enemies the same way Jesus instructed. If so, I am not all that mature.
I need to repent. I mean if I am going to use the Word and talk about repenting I ought to at least repent and turn toward the Love and believe the Good News. That is, that God loves us all the same. Even those I don't like.
But while I am begging God to heal those I know and love there are those with whom I differ who are begging God to heal those they love. Tonight as we pray for a friend to be healed from cancer there is a mother begging God to return her son or daughter home safely from a war or a dissident begging God to help end government oppression and abuse or some woman begging God to end the violence in her own home. If I am going to pray, then my prayer life ought to transform my world view and the way I live. My prayer life ought to not be only for my healing but the healing of the planet. Because, prayer really isn't all about me.

Lord in you mercy hear OUR prayer(s).

The Band of Bullies

Walking down the street you are heading towards home. It has been a delightful day with areas of victories and successes to be proud of. And then it happens before you can realize it: you are in danger. A bunch of guys come out, seemingly out of the blue, and surround you! This band of bullies begin the initial taunt and jeering of your character and personality. You stand there stunned asking yourself, how do they know my weaknesses like they do? There is an obvious leader who decides to confront you by saying to you, “sissy, what are you going to do about it?” Your heart races, and the fear for your life begins to take view asking yourself internally “What should I do? Where can I run to? Who is going to help me?” So, the gang leader again approaches you and this time physically pushes you in the chest saying “loser, what are you going to do about it?” And before you know it this bully has your arm twisted behind you back which causes an intense sharp pain in the arm as you crouch over facing the ground attempting to levy the pain away. Taking advantage of your position of weakness, the bully gets really close to your ear and whispers, “hey loser, what are you going to do now?” This band of bullies are now in full force laughing and making belittling comments about who you are and your predicament. One of many probable thoughts running your head is how did I ever get into to this? And more importantly, a thought that if I get out of this, I will never in my life time walk down this street again.Feeling helpless, powerlessness, ambushed, overwhelmed and fearful are common themes in recovering from sin. Such experiences occur when sudden attacks corners us, like being surrounded by the band of bullies. Their main goal is to remind you of your past behavior and who you were when in the throngs of a familiar pattern of sin and acting out. This band of bullies knows nothing of edifying, encouraging or mercy. For that is not their job. The band of bullies job is to remind you and distract you from the Truth that God has offered mercy for all your sins, even your vices. And this band of bullies know that if they can distract you enough from the Truth of mercy, emotionally you will spiral and not experience victory in your behavior, thoughts and feelings.Mercy is a powerful word in that it is received, as it is accepted. God so desires you to grasp that His mercy is powerful and wants you to take it in to be part of you. When we sit in the shame and guilt of past behavior, tormenting thoughts and feelings feeds a defeated attitude. In that we then become polarized, stuck in the moment. U2, a famous rock band from Ireland, wrote a song entitled “Stuck in a moment” which was written after a friend of the band completed suicide after a long battle with his “demons.” To summarize the idea that being “stuck in the moment” is the twisting of the arm by the enemy and we place our face to the ground in a powerless moment. But crying out for help and receiving that mercy from God empowers us to not be “stuck in the moment” but moving towards better and hopeful moments. Being “stuck in the moment” can be pure helplessness but not powerlessness. Your prayer life has a strong part in the ushering the power of mercy into your life, and maybe more forgiveness towards yourself.One can encourage people to take the mercy God offers, but it takes faith to accept that mercy in spite of life events and situations. God offers mercy to you irregardless of your situation brought on by you or by a band of bullies. Crying “uncle, UNCLE, UNCLE,” will not release you from the enemies clutches. It is relying and believing on the mercy of God that you can say “Jesus help me” or, “God help me,” and/or “Holy Spirit, help me I am in danger” chases off the band of bullies. God’s mercy is the element that will pick you up no matter what befalls you. It is the key to your accepting and receiving forgiveness from God. Even though He gives it, you have to receive it by faith.Continuing with the introduction story: So you are facing the ground and the band of bullies are in full force, so you call out, “God help me.” Then in a powerful quiet approach, three blurred figures come towards the band of bullies. This blurred three approaches with synchronized momentum as they come quickly from behind the leader of the band of bullies, who has no idea what is happening. But then he sees that his troupe is breaking apart and then running off, leaving him all by himself to deal with this blurred three which comes into focus as One. As He approaches, makes eye contact and states, “Flee, NOW.” The leader releases your arm and struts off saying with a defiant attitude, “yeah, whatever, I’ll be back, you’ll see.” As he walks away you fall to the ground narrowly miss hitting your face as your one un-injured arm supports the hard landing. This Helper is now reaching out to you offering comfort and encouraging you to sit and recover because He will keep watch for you. You are too weak to get up now, “rest with Me” He says. Then He reaches out and takes your arm over His shoulder and supports you to stand. He brushes you off, and walks with you home.On the way home, you finally recognize who it is. It’s your Heavenly Father. “Dad” you say, “I am so embarrassed, they made fun of me and all that I was.” He responds, “First my child, I love you for who you are today and who you will become tomorrow and lastly I can assure you I will deal with that band of bullies in due time.” He smiles and you both continue the walk home. “It is sure a long walk home,” you say. He responds, “yes, but I am here right with you to support you if you let me, I wont force myself on you, please don’t do it alone.”

James 4:7

Guilt and How to Feel Forgiven

1. Remember that what God has forgiven, you have no right to continue feeling guilty about. In other words, if God has forgiven you, then you must be willing to forgive yourself.

2. Confess the guilt as though it, in itself, is a sin. When you refuse to accept God's forgiveness, you are saying that Christ's sacrifice was not enough to handle your sin.

3. Discipline your mind to stop thinking about whatever keeps making you feel guilty. satan wants to keep you bound up in guilt so you will be ineffective for God.

4. Pass along that forgiveness to others. Comforting others with the same comfort that you have received helps greatly in the healing process.

5. Give yourself a break. It takes time. There will be setbacks, but with patience and persistence you can break the stranglehold of guilt and unworthiness.

Without Love

Speaking the Truth in Love?

What does it mean to speak the truth in love?Have you ever noticed that those who claim to speak the "truth in love" rarely are compassionate, loving people?

Wonder why that is?

Rarely do I see the love.As a mater of fact, most often when I hear someone saying, "I’m just speaking the truth in love" I can be fairly sure it’s not about love or truth. It is frequently about manipulation, control, or some distorted, ego-centric ideal of truth, which isn’t really truth.

It reminds me of Jack Nicholson in the movie, A Few Good Men. You may recall when on the witness stand his character said, "Truth, you want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!" For some reason this high-ranking officer assumed he possessed and controlled the truth. Like many folks in religious circles, he justified his actions as truth while hiding behind his hatred and power.

And that is where the problem lies.

Without love,there is no truth.

For, according to Jesus the supreme reality, the ultimate meaning and value of existence-- the truth--is love.And love appears to be the truth that many can’t handle,especially for those so caught up in speaking the truth.

In You I am well pleased

I was reading in Luke 3 and I thought this was really cool! Starting at vs. 21. Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

The first thing I noticed is that this account of Christ's baptism is unadorned compared to the other gospels. John isn't even mentioned! I also found it interesting that it said He was in the act of talking to God when heaven opened up.

What really blew me away was the end of verse 22 where the Father says,"You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased. Why would God say He was pleased? Is it because He is holy? Or is it because He is a good teacher?
I think God chose to speak aloud in front of the masses for the first time in over 400 years because Jesus was willing to humble Himself by identifying Himself with the Gentile people. Who were these people? As John the Baptist said back in Luke 3:3, they were being baptized of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. They were non-Jewish sinners that Moses' law could not save. And as we all know, Jesus was sinless! I think that's why God was so proud. Jesus led by humility. There was no need, but He set an example for us, even at the beginning of His ministry.

Waiting on Heaven

Waiting On Heaven
If I should die upon a day and there soon be forgotten.
I'll soar above to old friends dear and play on clouds of cotton.

Of pixie dust and fairy lands and dreams of come what may
-all childish tales I've left behind for promised crowns to lay.

With lions and lambs and streets of gold and banquets where we feast,
I burst with joy to know someday I'll sit with the King of Peace.

JG

Are You a Camel?

There is a Middle Eastern way to teach camels to become useful to their masters. The way it works is that when a camel is young, the teacher will continue to pile object upon object on the camel's back until it is so weighted down that it has no choice but to kneel down. The teacher then begins to take weight off of the animal's back. When the camel feels it can, it will rise up. The teacher will then tap the camel on the hump to kneel. Of course, the camel, being immature and stubborn will not readily kneel so the patient teacher will again pile burdens on the camels back, occasionally tapping on the camel's back until it kneels again. Eventually the camel kneels with just a gentle tap on the back and becomes a willing tool for it's master.
How much does this sound like us? If we learn to kneel in prayer and look to our Master for instruction, our burdens will be light.

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus in the Temple

We had an interesting and lively discussion last evening in Bible study. We have been studying the book of Luke and we were in chapter 2. When we started talking about Jesus as a child of 12 in the Temple(vs.41-51), people started asking alot of questions and providing various opinions. I must say, I found this very exciting because you can read a passage over and over and it's like you're skimming the surface and then SPLASH! you're immersed in it.

Several points here:
1. In that culture and time, a child was not considered responsible for his or her own sins until the age of 13. Jesus was 12 at the time.
2. If Jesus were of age and in the Temple telling the teachers of His intimate relationship with His Father, He probably would have been drug out and stoned.
3. No self- respecting Jew would have said "My Father". They might have said "Our Father".
4. Some translations say in vs. 49, "in My Father's house". I like the more literal Greek, "about My Father's affairs."
5. Mary was most likely relaying this message to Luke years later and held these memories dear to her heart.

Questions:
1. Did Jesus "sin" when He chose to disappoint and worry His parents in vs.48?
2. How did He know about "His Father's affairs"?
3. In vs. 48 again, If His parents were amazed at His knowledge, who taught Him?
4. vs. 50. Why would His parents not understand His statement, considering their hidden knowledge of His conception?

Where The Buck Stops

“To pass the buck” is an American colloquialism signifying to evade accountability by passing it on to someone else. President Harry S. Truman had a card on his desk bearing the words, “The Buck Stops Here.” The motto meant that blame for just about everything stopped at his desk. He would not, or could not, blame someone else for failure by a federal government agency.
President George Bush evidently adheres to the same motto. He accepts blame for real and alleged failure by the federal government to respond adequately to Hurricane Katrina. “I accept responsibility,” he said. The buck sits on his desk.
That may be good politics, but it is nonetheless silly. It is not the President’s job to micro-manage government handling of disasters such as befell New Orleans and neighboring communities. It is not within the scope of his office to answer for the respective performances of the designated first-responders to local disasters.
Thinkers who argue about federalism and states’ rights generally agree that – given the Constitution as it stands – police and fire departments are local agencies that answer to local communities, not to the federal government. Accordingly, the Louisiana National Guard takes its orders from the governor of Louisiana, not from anyone in Washington. Only under grievous circumstances would the President try to usurp the rights and powers of state and urban agencies.
That, of course, is precisely what President Bush should have done. We now know that New Orleans’ mayor was incompetent and Louisiana’s governor no better. While they dithered, the President should have sent the Louisiana National Guard into New Orleans. Of course, if he had done so, he’d have been savagely criticized for what his critics now say he should have done but did not do. They would drop every buck on his desk.
Presidents are expected to take the blame for national disasters in which they played a part. John F. Kennedy authorized the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba. Because it was a federal action, he was held responsible for it. The buck was on his desk.
Israel’s King David understood accountability. For his arrogance (which was shared by the people), God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people. David was horrified. “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong,” he confessed. “These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family.”[1] David knew that the buck was on his desk. The plague was his fault.
Hurricane Katrina was nobody’s fault. The flooding in New Orleans was nobody’s fault except, perhaps, politicians who – in spite of repeated warnings that a Category 4 or 5 hurricane would hit someday – failed to allocate funds for bigger and better levees. On whose desk did that buck stop? And who failed to evacuate the city in time? Not the President. It is sweet of him to accept responsibility, but unless it is politically astute, it is quite silly. The buck for the mess in New Orleans does not stop on President Bush’s desk.
Don Cole.

With One Hand Tied Behind Our Backs

I went to my bible study Tuesday night at the church. It's given by one of the teaching pastors. He asked if anyone had heard what happened after the last service. He said that 2 families had gotten into a fight. He didn't elaborate, but now it's out there. Right away my alarm system went up that this wasn't cool. Needless to say, at break, as I sat in my chair waiting for the study to resume, I heard no less than 5 people discussing the incident. I could have screamed! I mean seriously, we don't need to worry about satan using the unsaved or his demons to destroy us Christians. It seems like we do a good enough job all by ourselves.
I constantly see instances where we tear each other down. Sometimes even destroying a brother or sister in the name of Jesus Christ. People throw around terms like, "righteous indignation", or chastising someone who doesn't live up to the standards that we ourselves could never attain. There seems to be so much judgement flying around out there and not enough compassion, or coming along aside one another.
I was just thinking about Jesus and how he would correct people; and it seems like He was only slightly forceful or aggressive when speaking with the "Holier than Thou" sect. (Pharisees, Saducees, Jewish Tribunal). When dealing with His beloved disciples and followers and many people that were concidered the dregs of society, He was gentle, compassionate, and understanding of their flaws. He said Himself that He did not come into the world to judge but to save it. And in John 8:15 He said that we judge in human terms while He doesn't. We shouldn't cause others to stumble. 1 Cor. 10:32.
I have been SO guilty of being too liberal with my tounge and not stopping to think of who I'm hurting or the consequences of my actions. I truly feel that by my lack of spiritual maturity, I helped tear apart a church family instead of coming along side and bringing my brethren together. So I truly am the worst of these. But the point is that we are to grow and mature and learn from our trials and temptations to use that awful tounge to spread juicy stuff about those we are to love the most. Never forget that we are called to be the Light in this World for those unsaved family, friends, and aquaintances around us. So, let's stop tearing down and start lifting up.

This morning

I was talking with God on my way to work this morning and I was thinking of times when I've felt like my prayers were not strong enough to get an answer from Him. Isn't that silly? I mean, of course He wishes to answer our prayers... If, and that's a big word, IF it is in His will or if we are following His will, which to me is pretty close to the same thing. Then of course, I start feeling guilty... like, what am I holding out on Him about, or what am I not allowing Him to have total control of or me submitting to. God forbid I should be deliberate about it. At those times, I drive myself crazy because I slip back into those patterns of guilt and self condemnation. It's nice to know that someone's got your back when you're wallowing in those murky places. I pray for my family daily, and not just the perfunctory mass prayer, but sometimes even a pleading, supplicating prayer. I know my wife prays for me like that and I wonder if it's okay to ask others to make a commitment to pray for me daily. Strength in numbers and all.

The Other Side of the Desert

The Other Side of the Desert.

How do you use your power?
While studying on Matt. 4 about Jesus’ 40 days in the desert this was brought to mind. It said that after fasting and being alone in a barren place, Jesus was hungry. While the story leaves to our imagination what Jesus endured in the desert, one can only imagine what must have gone through his soul.
The story suggests that the Tempter came along at what appeared to be a moment of weakness in Jesus’ life. The goal was to get Jesus to use his power to save himself.
Evil used sustenance, beauty and power to tempt Jesus.

How often are you tempted by sustenance, beauty and power?

I know there are times when I am feeling lonely, tired, hungry and weaker than usual that I want to use my power to save myself. I want to depend on myself to relieve myself of what I am facing or have just faced.

But the story teaches that Jesus never used his power to save himself, rather he used it to resist the temptation to save himself.

He used his power to continually trust God.

He used his power to resist the voice that wanted to take him down and chose to listen to the Voice within that reminded him of who he was as God’s son.

He allowed God to sustain him.

Imagine if we used our power in the same manner. Imagine if we used our power to resist the temptation to save ourselves from what the world tempts us to think is the right way. Imagine if we used our power to simply trust God.

Imagine if we used our power to listen to the Voice within that reminds us that we belong to God.

I am not suggesting that we are Jesus, I am suggesting that we need to silence and resist the voices in the same manner he did.

In order to do that, we must know who we are as children of God.It is when we are tired, hungry, alone, and weak that we need to speak out against those things that want to steal away God’s desire for us.

The story ends by telling us that the devil left him and the angels came and attended him.

This story ultimately reveals Jesus’ identity, and it can remind us of our identity.We always need to be reminded of who we are as God’s beloved. Our fear and pain may tempt us to seek sustenance, beauty and power, but the truth is that by holding on, God will not leave us alone, but will send his angels to attend to us-- especially when we have just walked through the desert.

Led Zeppelin rethunk

Thank You..."And so today, my world it smiles, Your hand in mine, we walk the miles, Thanks to You it will be done, for You to me are the only One. Happiness, no more be sad, happiness....I'm glad. If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving You. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be You and me." (Plant/Page 1969)

String 'em up!

I stopped by a friends home yesterday and she was watching Oprah who was doing a show from an area that had been devastated by Katrina. She said that she had been crying with Oprah and Faith Hill, so I know that it touched her heart. Here's the troubling part. The next words out of her mouth were, "Some heads gotta roll." (Needless to say, this floored me, coming from a follower of The King of Peace.) I asked what she meant and she said that she thought that we needed to find out why it took so long to help these people and who was responsible for that and they needed to answer for that and be thrown out of office and that she even e-mailed Oprah and suggested that with her clout she could make this happen. She asked if I agreed and I said that I didn't. She said that it was good that at least one of us cared. I told her that it wasn't that I didn't care, but I didn't think we should be acting like- In the name of Jesus, heads gotta roll. She said that righteous indignation was okay. I think that is a misrepresentation of righteous indignation, which if you look at our example; He was indignant when people were deliberately oppressed or taken advantage of. I don't feel that any mistakes that were made were deliberate. Mistakes were definitely made. All over the place. For one, I don't think anyone thought it was going to be as bad as it was, especially when so much media emphasis is put on categories and mph. Also, the canal wall breakage was devastating. Anyway, I said that my wife and I had been praying for not only the families affected but also the people directing the relief effort and all the volunteers. With all that said, here's what that conversation lead me to think about this morning.
I have to say that mob mentalities really scare me, because at times, we humans seem barely better than animals. I've seen it happen too many times with terrible results. Just look at our past. Lynchings, race riots, gay bashing, the witch hunts, the crusades, or more recently, the looting and violence after the hurricane; or how about the release of a criminal named Barabbas and the hanging of our sinless Savior on a cross because they were offended by Him. Why, because He insulted their pride? All examples of mob hysteria and "righteous indignation."
God's Word tells us:
Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke6:37
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John3:17
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. Romans12:19
We all remember the story in John 8 where Jesus asks for he who hasn't sinned to cast the first stone and then asks the accused where her condemners are.
And finally, let us pursue peace and not let bitterness spring up like it teaches us in Hebrews 12:14-15. Jesus said we ought always to pray. That means without ceasing. If we are always talking with Him, it doesn't leave any room for bitterness and vengeance.

Released and Embraced

Jesus allowed even Judas to come close. What does that say about God's love?I was reading about Judas today and was reminded at how often I intentionally betray God. As I meditated, I wondered when was the last time I sold God out with a kiss? That is, when did I pretend to be a friend of God only to doubt in my soul that He really has it under control? When was the last time my fear about trusting God to be who God claims to be allowed me to deny God? It is often when I lose perspective on who God is that I am so willing to sell-out, even for just a moment.Betray comes from the Latin word tradere, which means "to hand over." Anytime I betray God I essentially hand myself over to my doubts, fears, selfishness, insecurities and systems of injustice. I look around my world and I recognize my indifference I realize that I am not living into the love of God. I am not trusting that love is the bigger, perhaps more difficult, way. This probably happens more often than I am aware, but the story of Judas demonstrates that I shouldn’t lose myself in my guilt and think that I am beyond God’s mercy and forgiveness for when I do, I essentially kill myself. The guilt that leads me into believing that God is incapable of loving me or forgiving me.Like Judas, who returned the coins, there are those who sometimes want to remind you of your falleness; folks who want to keep you down for your indiscretions. Judas allowed those voices to remind him of his betrayal rather than his friendship with Jesus to remind him of his chosenness. We must hear the voice of love calling our names reminidng us that it is finished, to turn back and come home. Just as I need to forgive others to release myself from bondage or resentment, I need to forgive myself to release myself from the bondage of guilt. Forgiveness is not about accepting unacceptable behavior, but the release of the self-destruction associated with unforgiveness and the resentment and guilt associated with it. God did that for us.Through Jesus, God did for humanity what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He removed the noose that we placed around our necks and smothered us instead in love and strangled hate, unforgiveness, and death forever. Reminding us that we are loved beyond our comprehension, even when we think we don’t deserve to be loved, no one is out of reach of the arms of Love that embrace us all like babes where we are made alive forever.

GROWTH

G Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7)

R Read God’s Word daily (Acts 17:11)
Begin with the gospel of John
O Obey God, moment by moment (John 14:21)

W Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matt. 4:19; John 15:8)

T Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7)

H Holy Spirit-allow Him to control and empower your
daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16-17; Acts 1:8)

Be a Conqueror!

When the mind dwells on self, it is turned away from Jesus, the source of strength and life. Hence it is satans constant effort to keep the attention diverted from Jesus and thus prevent the union and communion of the soul with Jesus. The pleasures of the world, life's cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of others, and our own faults and imperfections- to any or all of these he will seek to divert the mind. Do not be misled by his devices. Many who are really conscientious, and who desire to live for God, he too often leads to dwell on their own faults and weaknesses, and thus by separating them from Jesus he hopes to gain the victory. We should not make self the center and indulge anxiety and fear as to whether we shall be saved. All this turns the soul away from the source of our strength. Commit the keeping of your soul to Jesus and trust in Him. Talk and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put away all doubt, dismiss your fears, say with the apostle Paul, "I live, yet not I, but Jesus lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20. Rest in God, He is able to keep that which you have committed to Him. If you will leave yourself in His hands, He will bring you to be more than conqueror through Him that has loved you.

The Master Deviant

The term deviance refers to a practice that is outside the established norms for a particular society or group within a society. Christ is the Master deviant! Not in terms of conforming to the wishes of His heavenly Father and doing God's will, but this question is referring to deviance to society. In the course of His earthly life, Jesus consistently defied the social norms of His day. There are too many examples to share them all but I would like to point out a few.
He amazed His disciples, in John chapter 4, because He, being both a man and a Jew, openly spoke to a Samaritan woman. This broke not only social customs in dealing with other races but also in dealing with members of the opposite sex. He was willing to not only heal lepers but also touch them. This is something that a leprous person would never feel again- human touch. They were outcast by society and here Jesus (Mark 1) shows compassion, and deviance from society because they had no compassion, and instead of moving away from him or requiring him to shout "Unclean, Unclean!" Jesus reaches for him and touches him! Here's a thought. Do you think He touched them because He knew He was God or because He didn't care and had the faith to be protected?
Jesus deviated from the culture norms in that He did not instruct His followers to ceremoniously wash their hands before eating (Mt.15). He again surprised His disciples when He, being the Master, washed the feet of His disciples. This was a chore that society had reserved for the lowliest of servants. And yet here was the One they had confessed was the Messiah kneeling to wash feet!
He again deviated in Mark 10 when He instructed His disciples to not forbid the little children to come to Him- for society wanted the children seen and not heard and not waste the Master's time- but instead took time for them and explained that the adults must become like the children!
Pilate was also amazed at His deviance from established norms seeing how He did not try to defend Himself. Pilate in John 19 asked Jesus if He understood that Pilate had the power to crucify Him and why then would Jesus not present a defense against the charges. Jesus responded in a way that was deviant from the natural and cultural norm to self-preserve. He had already explained that His Kingdom was not of this world. If it was, His followers would fight, but since it wasn't, they wouldn't. None of this should have surprised him because Jesus(Emmanuel) had already stated, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways... (Is 55:8)

7 Tips for Building Intimacy with God

1. Spend extended time alone with God. (like 1 day every quarter)

2. Seek to please God. (Don't worry more about upsetting people than God)

3. Reflect on God.

4. Find a Christian who models intimacy and ask questions.

5. Tell yourself the truth about your relationship.

6. Practice intimacy with your spouse and family.

7. Participate in a forum that encourages intimacy with God. (Like a Bible study or chat group)

Root or Fruit?

I was listening to a program the other day and the speaker was talking about God's word being as sharp as a two edged sword(Heb.4:12). He was pointing out how His word separates the "root" issues from the "fruit" issues of the world. I'm not talking about the Fruits of the Spirit.
I am relating it to marriage specifically. I think too many people today view marriage in a way that asks about the rewards or benefits for the time invested. If my spouse has fed, watered, and nurtured me- seeing to all my needs, then I will produce the fruit of love, stability, and respect for her that she desires. That is entirely a worldly view.
God's word deals with the root issues. We can view our marriage this way by establishing ourselves firmly in God's word and talking with Him together each day. I've found that by living His principles and putting my wife before myself, I don't have thoughts of unmet needs. Tell me what marital problems can't be fixed by dealing with personal pride and selfishness.

A Different Kind of Middle East Terrorism

A terrorist that opposed any territorial concessions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict opened fire on a bus in Northern Israel on Thursday, killing four Israeli citizens. While that sounds commonplace in the tragic history of this long conflict, it actually was a very different kind of Middle Eastern terrorism. What made this distinct from most of the terrorist killings is that the terrorist was Jewish and his victims were Arabs.
Two months ago, Eden Natan Zada, went AWOL from the Israel Defense Forces because of his disagreement with the Israeli government’s planned disengagement from the Gaza strip. After hiding in a West Bank settlement, Zada boarded a bus dressed in IDF fatigues and carried an IDF automatic rifle. He arrived in the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram where he opened fire on the Arab citizens of Israel who were riding the bus. Apparently, Zada hoped to provoke Arab violence and thereby pre-empt the upcoming Israeli pullout from Gaza. Tragically he killed four Israeli Arabs before police apprehended him. Then a mob of Israeli Arabs seized the young terrorist and lynched him on the bus.
Besides the terrorist being Jewish and not Palestinian, there were some other factors that made this brutal terrorist attack different from the kind of terrorist assaults that usually take place in Israel.
First of all Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denounced Zada’s actions in the strongest possible way. He described it as “a sinful act by a bloody terrorist!” He promised to make every effort to assure the safety of every Israeli citizen. Then he made available every governmental aid to the victims of terrorism, both the survivors of the attack and the families of those who were murdered. How different that response is to the typical Palestinian Authority response to Palestinian terrorism. While the frequently denounce terrorism, it is common for PA leaders to do so not because it is wrong, but rather unproductive.
Yet another way that this attack was different can be seen in the response of the families. Eden Natan Zada’s family was horrified by his actions. Zada’s mother had notified the army of the young man’s desertion and begged them to find him for fear that he would commit this reprehensible act. How different from Palestinian mother’s who celebrate their terrorist sons, calling them martyrs for their cause and wishing that their other sons would join them.
This terrorism was also dissimilar in that the President of Israel and the two chief Rabbis made condolence visits to the bereaved families. How different from Palestinian leadership that would denounce terrorism but then send letters of congratulations to the families of the terrorists.
The entire nation of Israel was horrified by and corporately denounced Jewish terrorism. There was no justification or excuses given. It appears that Israelis understand Proverbs 17:15: “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.” Jewish and Palestinian terrorism are the same in that they are equally evil. What makes them different is evident in the national responses to terrorism.

Michael Rydelnik.

A Mirror

A Mirror
Lord, let me be a mirror
of You the world can see.
I'll be Your faithful servant
because You set me free.

When my mirror has some flaws,
I know that I'll be broken.
But then I'll be a clearer one
by hearing what You've spoken.

Even in the darkest night,
I'll shine like noonday sun.
Because Your glory fills my soul,
there's only room for one.

A mirror shows both good and bad;
of that you can be sure.
So keep your mirror polished up
reflecting what is pure.

JG

THE SUPREME CLIMB

THE SUPREME CLIMB
"Take now thy son ." Genesis 22:2
God's command is - Take now, not presently. It is extraordinary how we debate! We know a thing is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it at once. To climb to the height God shows can never be done presently, it must be done now. The sacrifice is gone through in will before it is performed actually.
"And Abraham rose up early in the morning and went unto the place of which God had told him" (v. 3). The wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not confer with flesh and blood. Beware when you want to confer with flesh and blood, i.e., your own sympathies, your own insight, anything that is not based on your personal relationship to God. These are the things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose the sacrifice. Always guard against self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may be a disease. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential order of God for you is a hard time of difficulty, go through with it, but never choose the scene of your martyrdom. God chose the crucible for Abraham, and Abraham made no demur; he went steadily through. If you are not living in touch with Him, it is easy to pass a crude verdict on God. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because in the crucible you learn to know God better. God is working for His highest ends until His purpose and man's purpose become one.

Rant Revisited

I was getting my hair cut this weekend by my mother in law and I brought up the topic of the homosexual man that wanted to become a member of his church from Friday's post. She disagreed with me and went on to say that she didn't think that a gay person should have the same rights as a "card carrying" member of the church. I told her I thought the Nazi party were card carrying and that the European community thought they were neato at first because they destroyed pornographic and other types of unacceptable literature. You see where that lead. Yes, that might have been a bit harsh but it made me think. It's not really the fact that he was being shut out as much as this set of rules and regulations set up by denominations. "Card carrying" as my mother in law puts it.
I used to go to this church that had a long list of bylaws. One of the most amusing, and tragic I guess, was that they had two different levels of membership. A "Community member" could smoke and stuff, but you were kind of the B team in christian politics. Then we had the "Covenant member". That was the good stuff. You were in like flint on that one. This was about five years ago. What's interesting is that they were receiving complaints and losing membership because of this deliniation so over a period of a year they quietly eliminated the "community member" option.
The Holy Bible tells us not to go beyond the Word, and Paul said in 1Cor. 1:11-13 that some people were saying they were following Apollos, others Paul, while others followed Peter. Paul asks a very important question. "Has Christ been divided?"
It's my opinion that denominations are a form of legalism and while being a member of a Baptist, Wesleyan, Methodist or whatever shouldn't keep anyone out of Heaven(I hope), I do think they have gone beyond His Holy Word and seperate and keep people out.
Therefore, this is my new monicker. It's a long one, so bear with me. I am a child of God, a follower and joint heir with Jesus and my rule book is only one- The Holy Bible. That's the only membership you need.
P.S. Mr. Webster's definition of Denomination is: A religious sect.

Today's Rant

Okay, so I don't usually get on a jag about things too much, but here's something that's been really bothering me. I was listening to my usual local christian radio station this morning and the news guy was reporting that the National Methodist Conference or something like that was in a controversial quagmire because a gay man had wanted to become a member of this church. The Pastor refused to allow him membership because he was not repentant of being gay. Is being gay the ultimate sin, or did I miss something? I mean, I wonder how many members are in that church who have committed adultery, left their spouse and are now with the new person. Are they going to repent, leave that person and try to beg forgiveness and reconcile with their former mate? Or how about a church member who becomes addicted to alcohol or prescription pills? I say throw 'em all out! God forbid we should open a discussion on glutony. UH-OH, there goes the new addition to the building with the full gym and indoor pool because half your church just got banned. Don't ever misunderstand me. I think the homosexual lifestyle is a path to sure and eternal death, but we, as a church body, cannot shut people out because our Lord definitely wouldn't have. Why would a person ever want to repent if they're not accepted with open arms?If they have those feelings it doesn't mean they have to act on them. It's no different than if I see a pretty girl and have a momentary lustful thought. Do I feel bad? Yes. But I repent and go on. I don't act on it. Same goes for eating. I enjoy food, but I know better than to eat like I did when I was a kid or else I'd probably croak in a few years. End of rant.

Forgiveness

I don't know about anyone else, but that's probably the hardest (or one of the hardest) hurdles for me to get over. What's interesting is that if it's just an acquaintance, it's easier for me to forgive. Is that because I just don't care? He asks us to love everyone the same.
I do believe this much; Even if you forgive, I don't think it let's the other person off the hook for the responsibilities of their actions. In other words, the previous Pope went to a prison and met with the man who tried to kill him back in the late 80's(I think). He forgave him of the act, but the man still had to do the time. I must have some narcissistic tendencies because isn't forgiveness really to heal yourself of that burden of carrying it around and basically just giving another person some power over you? I'd just betcha that in most cases when someone is harbouring unforgiveness in their heart against somebody, that that person probably isn't even aware of the offense. Too much time and effort is expended on waiting for someone to be sorry.
I think we all need a confidant, whether it be a spouse or a best friend (same thing for me), but it has to be someone you can trust with everything. That's a hard thing to find. I've opened myself up a few times in the past and everytime it seems to have become fodder for them. Some things must be too juicy to hold in. I don't know why people do that. I'm probably a poor judge of character. I guess we should seek out someone whose house is in order- like His word says.

Four Wives

Four Wives
Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another. He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confident and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times. The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her! One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone." Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart. The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!" In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity.
Thought for the day: Remember, when the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.

Legalism Today

Legalism Today
What trivialities do we obsess over, and what weighty matters of the law-justice, mercy, faithfulness- might we be missing? Does God care more about nose rings or about urban decay? Grunge music or world hunger? Worship styles or a culture of violence?
Author Tony Campolo, who makes a regular circuit as a chapel speaker on Christian college campuses, for a time used this provocation to make a point. "The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to death each day, and most of you don’t give a sh--. However, what is even more tragic is that most of you are more concerned about the fact that I just said a bad word than you are about the fact that ten thousand people are going to die today." The responses proved his point: in nearly every case Tony got a letter from the chaplain or president of the college protesting his foul language. The letters never mentioned world hunger.
Much of the behavior considered sinful in my youth is now common practice in many evangelical churches. Although the manifestations have changed, the spirit of legalism has not.~ excerpt from "What’s So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey

What Is A Habit?

What is a habit?
We spend so much of our time reading, writing and talking about bad habits. We are sometimes consumed with guilt and even allow bad habits to control our lives. People have been destroyed by desires of the flesh. We attempt to break our bad habits while giving little thought to good habits. As with anything else we want, it takes will- the will to create a good habit over a bad one. Sorry to say, there is no magic pill, just determination and patience.
Good habits can play a powerful role in helping us to become consistent. Consistency means repetition; repetition eventually becomes a habit. Proverbs 22:6 says that teaching a child something over and over is the best way to ensure that it stays with them as an adult. If you haven’t made habits out of a daily devotional time, church attendance, prayer, and other godly pursuits, you are making a habit out of being inconsistent in all areas of your life.
Oswald Chambers wrote, "If I am in the habit of steadily facing myself with God, my conscience will always introduce God’s perfect law and indicate what I should do. The point is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I walk without offense. I should be living in such perfect sympathy with God’s Son, that in every circumstance the spirit of my mind is renewed, and I "make out" at once "what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
If we obey when we hear that still small voice, our new habits will become commonplace and the peace that surpasses all understanding will find us.
JG

STAND and PRAISE

Stand and Praise


I was recently studying in 2 Chronicles during my devotion and was moved by the events that occurred in chapter 20. The king of Judah at that time was Jehoshaphat. Like us, Jehoshaphat was not perfect and made a lot of mistakes, but he truly loved the Lord and tried to do what was right in His sight.
The chapter begins with word coming to the king of an impending attack by other nations. (vs.1-2). I think we could all relate this to the many fears, trials and temptations we face daily. The question then is how did Jehoshaphat deal with this threat. In verse 3, because of his fear, he sought the Lord and called for a nationwide fast. Then all the people came together to seek God’s guidance (vs.4). When everyone was gathered, Jehoshaphat led his people in prayer, proclaiming God’s greatness and power to do all things.(vs.5-12). If we face problems today, either personally or as a church family, we should come together as one and always pray for each other. I feel Jehoshaphat made a bold statement of faith in vs.9 when he said that even if sword, judgement, pestilence, or famine should come upon them, they will stand before God and He will hear and save them. The king understood that they were outnumbered and had no power to defeat the enemy but vowed to keep their eyes on the Father. (vs.12). We too have no power over sin in the flesh, but if we keep our eyes on Him, sin will be defeated. Through a prophet, God spoke to all His people and told them that all they need to do is stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. (vs.15-17) I know I have a tendency to want to pick something back up and try to manipulate it, especially when it seems like He’s not solving the problem as quickly as I would like. If we could just take ourselves out of the equation and stand, we’d realize that the battle is His.
Now let’s take it a bit further. (As if just standing isn’t hard enough sometimes). As we read on, we find that not only did they stand in faith, but before the battle had begun, they stood and praised God with voices high. (vs.19) The king consulted his people and appointed people to sing to the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness. The people then went out before the army. As they started singing and praising, God had already started, so when they came over a rise to look upon the enemy, they were already dead. (vs.21-24). What would happen if the next time we were facing a battle, we STOOD, SANG and PRAISED. You never know, the battle might already be won.
J G

ARE YOU EVER DISTURBED?

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." John 14:27
There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When Our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace, His words are ever "spirit and life." Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? "My peace I give unto you" - it is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realizing His undisturbedness.
Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God's providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren? Then look up and receive the undisturbedness of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is the proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. If you allow anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you, you are either disturbed or you have a false security.
Are you looking unto Jesus now, in the immediate matter that is pressing and receiving from Him peace? If so, He will be a gracious benediction of peace in and through you. But if you try to worry it out, you obliterate Him and deserve all you get. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one confers with Jesus Christ the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him, and in the face of difficulty, bereavement and sorrow, hear Him say, "Let not your heart be troubled."

Interesting article on technology

VIEWPOINT
Virtual Christianity: Evangelicals, America, and the Big Show
by Glenn R. Paauw
The great machines of our technological age produce some very powerful entertainment. Today’s typical teenager, raised on Sesame Street, Saturday morning cartoons, commercials, and now MTV, has been treated to an impressive display of technological images, all moving at an incredible speed before his or her mesmerized eyes. And this is just the beginning. Already we are fast-forwarding to a whole new world with an even better show.
The next step is what is called Virtual Reality. This electronically created experience "tricks" one’s brain into thinking it is in a real three-dimensional place. Instead of merely watching images on a screen, one now enters the world of images.
Already there is talk of fascinating applications of this new entertainment supermachine, including virtual rock concerts, virtual war games, and virtual sex. And, given the current culture, is there any doubt that few limits (if any) will restrain those applications? After all, the new, powerful technologies do not improve human nature; they merely magnify the depths of the human heart.
What would evangelicals do if they had Virtual Reality at their fingertips? It’s a troublesome question. American evangelicals have had a long, well-documented love affair with technological progress. We’ve married the Great Commission to the great machines with the oft-repeated blessing, "The message doesn’t change, merely the method." Believing that the old, old story can be told equally well in any new, new medium, evangelicals have excelled at delivering the message in culturally relevant forms.
There are many reasons for evangelicalism’s technological optimism. More than a few historians have noted the strength of the bond between American culture and our expression of the Christian faith. The strands of that bond include a deep commitment to individualism, a depreciation of history and tradition, and a tendency toward popularization and anti-intellectualism. Combine these forces with the essentially free-market orientation of our vast empire of parachurch ministries and publishers, and the result is an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. New, market-driven expressions of the faith thrive in this environment.
Today, evangelical enterprises are working overtime to keep in step with the visually dominated, fast-paced, technological times. We have Nintendo-like Bible adventure video games, cartoon versions of Jesus’ parables, music videos showing Satan and his demons being shot down in a Western-style gunfight, and Jesus as the leather-jacketed leader of a Christian street gang.
All these phenomena should compel us to examine more closely our enthusiasm for the electronic gospel. Why do we so naively assume that these powerful new media are really neutral conveyers of our cherished timeless truths? It is time to ask not just the usual "Will the technology reach more people?" but more importantly, "What message will actually get through?"
In fact, the new forms of communication are increasingly biased against a "message" at all (in the sense of communicating rationally understood content). The dominant media today form a funnel, allowing only the visually stimulating, emotionally exciting, and lightning-paced to reach us. But evangelicals seem unaware that when a particular medium follows its own strengths, it necessarily shapes and molds what is communicated.
One might attempt to fight the medium by producing content-heavy lectures on television, but that’s "bad television" and it won’t survive. Boring video games won’t sell. In the end, the medium calls the shots.
We would like to believe, of course, that the technology itself is neutral, able to be used for good or ill. But this neutrality is true only in the most limited of moralistic senses. To plug in Bible stories to replace pornography ignores the similar structure of the experiences. The shifts toward the new, the fast, the exciting — these are not neutral biases. They change the very way we live and relate and understand. The fact is, the electronic media have been remaking our message for some time.
It’s not that evangelicals haven’t confronted today’s media-saturated world; they have. But the preoccupation has been primarily with the surface effects, the moral content of the various electronic media. Our products simply try to add "values" to all the entertainment.
Authentic expressions of the depth of Christian theology do not fare very well in this environment. High-tech popularizations of our faith have little regard for the more serious, less action-packed material in the Bible. It is no accident that video Christianity tends to be Christianity lite — a faith minus the meat and reduced most often to moralisms. Cartoon Christianity tends to be just that — laughable.
A recent Christian video, for example, uses animation to turn biblical depictions of the pain of violence into cartoons on the level of Roadrunner and Coyote. When my kids viewed the video’s depiction of the man on the road to Jericho being beat up, they thought it was funny. The production itself turned violence into slapstick. They were supposed to laugh, despite the intention of the original Author. In this case the medium — an animated cartoon on video — reshaped the message and miscommunicated the Bible’s meaning.
Everywhere, on all sides, the pressure mounts to conform to the onslaught of visual media. To compete with the powerful visuals of the electronic show, print media are trying to adapt. We see shorter articles, bigger type, more white space, action photos, and computer-enhanced design. Bibles must be simplified — even for adults. To get any attention at all, reading material must become what it is not, trying to match TV’s sound-bites for brevity and its flashy imagery for visual appeal.
On these terms, reading material doesn’t stand much of a chance. After all, behind that shiny hologram on the Bible cover, one still must deal with all those laws in Leviticus and complicated passages in Romans. Who can make it through that stuff anymore?
It is ironic indeed that despite the impressive array of excellent study Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, and other helps available to us, as a group we could not answer even the simplest questions about the Bible when George Barna’s researchers interviewed us. If we honestly look at the results that matter, not merely annual sales figures and units moved, we have to admit that something has gone wrong. Biblical illiteracy is a problem among born-again believers, people who have been reached but now spend more time watching the Show than reading the Book.
So what is a culturally relevant ministry to do? Switch to a shorter, easier, faster version of everything? Admit that in the age of the 3.5-second attention span the One-Minute Bible just takes too long? Get over our outdated obsession with black marks on flattened, dried-out wood pulp and start producing 24-hour-a-day Christian MTV?
How does a religion based on a substantial amount of content from a book survive in this environment? Increasingly, it survives in a reduced form — less to know, but more to see and feel and experience. This shorter, easier, faster Christianity is a diminished Christianity.
Will the show go on? Will we continue to fall all over ourselves in the rush to inject some values into the latest electronic medium? Unfortunately, we seem to be well on our way to Virtual Christianity. Given our history of adoring technology, of falling under its spell like everyone else, we will soon see the Virtual Reality "Battle of Armageddon" Bible adventure game. How else will we reach the video game generation with the good news?
And what could be more effective for evangelism than Virtual Bibleland? Who could possibly resist a gospel appeal after actually being there at the Crucifixion and hearing the Roman centurion say, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"? But perhaps we will only get Virtual Conversions — thrilling, moving, exciting — but not quite real when the machine gets turned off.
Can we stop and think before our Christianity becomes virtual and our faith becomes less than real?
I am not advocating a mindless fear of the new and strange, like some 1940s fundamentalist Christian condemning motion picture technology to hell. By now we have had some experience with various electronic and visual media. It’s time for a tough, hard look at their real-life effects and lasting impact. Although it goes against the grain of our instincts as American evangelicals, perhaps we should rethink our participation in the Big Show.
First, when we do decide that a particular technology is appropriate for our use, we must still be frank with ourselves about its strengths and its weaknesses. What are the biases of this new technology? What distortions of Christianity might this medium foster? Our televangelists, for instance, apparently did not stop to think what their television techniques would do to the message they brought. In contrast, we must commit to using new methods thoughtfully, critically, and carefully.
Second, more time, energy, and resources must be put into efforts to move people beyond the artificial life offered by new technologies to the authentic life of following Jesus in the real world. This authentic life involves knowing His Word and living His ways.
The experiences produced by the new technologies are addicting. Everyone is "wowed" by them. But hypnotized videots cannot relate very significantly with others, nor experience much of God’s full creation. Real social interaction and group experiences are decreasing in our culture as more and more people enjoy their own isolated experience of the show. Attempting to "redeem" video games, television, and personal computers by adding moralistic content is not going to change that.
We talk fervently about "reaching people," about bringing the good news to a new generation that doesn’t read books or listen to long sermons. But do we really think that once we’ve contributed to their ongoing entertainment, albeit with the gospel, they will willingly and easily turn into reflective Christians that meditate on God’s written Word? What steps are we taking to make sure this happens?
In fact, it is not happening. Maybe the way we are reaching people has something to do with the kind of Christians they are becoming. Our all-consuming drive for "relevance," revealed especially in our embrace of entertainment, has not produced disciples of Jesus so much as shallow fun-seekers.
Evangelical Christians rightly seek to "reach people where they are" — even in the entertaining world of the technoshow. The question today is whether we are content to leave people where we reach them. Even more perplexing is the question, "Have we ourselves comfortably settled in with them?"
Real Christianity means we must live our lives, work out our relationships, raise our children, and fulfill our mission in real reality. It means getting to know our neighbors, playing outside with our kids, serving meals at our local street mission, or taking a walk with a friend to just talk.
Evangelicals have done all they can to match the technical quality of the Big Show, while making sure the fun is good fun. But it’s time to offer something more. The frenetic pace of the electronic media produces restlessness and disquiet. Too often what we’re left with, even after the values-added versions, is mere agitation. The Bible causes us to realize that God’s salvation brings rest and peace. As one of the Reformation catechisms (the Heidelberger) reminds us, we can "begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath." How truly refreshing it would be to our frantic world if we fulfilled our role as agents of this rest, of God’s shalom, rather than merely imitating the agitators.
God has revealed Himself as the Word. He came and walked among us in the flesh. For real. He is a majestic God whose profound depths we can never fully communicate to the world. But we can take the time to pass on what we know faithfully. Our current temptation is to reduce Him to the slick, the silly, and finally, the unreal. It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to settle for Virtual Christianity.
Glenn R. Paauw is product development manager for International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, CO and an elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

A Poem

Dirty Knees

I lie awake. I toss and turn.
I long for this. For that I yearn.

I work all day and fret at night.
So many bills. What is my plight?

I go to church and praise God's name.
Where's my reward? Is this a game?

Nowhere to turn, I start to cry-
fall to my knees and ask God why?

That's when it hits me clear as day.
I never took the time to pray.

I lift my eyes to God above.
There on that floor I'm filled with love.

I see a man knelt in a garden,
and on a cross Our sins He pardoned.

My daily worries now seem so small.
He prayed for us-then gave it all.

So through life's trials and tragedies,
you'll find clean hearts on dirty knees.

Tithing

I was writing my tithe check the other day and I was thinking that the normal human conception of giving God your first tenth is that you will have 90% of your income remaining to pay your bills. Well, here's a different viewpoint. If I have all the money I need to pay my debts, isn't that 100%? So really, isn't our Father giving us 110%? I think when we begin to realize that it's all His anyway and He could just as easily take it all away, then it's easier to let go of it. We couldn't even take our next breath if He didn't allow it. Matt. 6:25-27.