Thoughts on Brit Hume and Tiger Woods

Here are a couple of videos off of YouTube – the repository of all kinds of video stuff on the ‘net.  I’m no sports fan, but even so I could not ignore the the scandals the rocked Tiger Woods’ world.  It made the news clear down here.  What did not make it down here was the criticism of Brit Hume for sending a message to Woods via some kind of sports commentary in which he inserted his opinion that Woods should turn to the Christian faith in which he would find forgiveness and redemption.  Hume then did a follow up on O’Reilly’s show.   Here’s the clips.

About all I can add is that while I agree in principle with Brit Hume’s comments, I’d like to clarify that it’s not just the “Christian Faith” that Tiger Woods needs but rather a personal relationship with Jesus the Christ.  Such a relationship would allow him to become a greater person all around and to overcome the shadows that have fallen on his life.

I do believe that we are but pilgrims and strangers on this earth.  We are on a journey, hopefully along The WAY, and therefore our stay here is but temporary.  But part of that journey is learning to serve God by serving others and it behooves us to do the best we can where God places us or where He leads us.

We know that God lead us to our current place of residence and ministry.  We sought His face and His wisdom and His guidance – and He brought us here and has kept us here in the face of many trials and problems.  We also know that our enemy does not wish for us to be here.

Over the years my ideas on missions and new churches and older churches have changed.  When I was in college the idea of “getting in and out in three years, five years max” was all the rage.  We were told “If the Apostle Paul could establish a church in a matter of months then surely we can do as well in a matter of a couple years.”

It is undeniable that the Apostle Paul started churches quickly and quickly moved on.  The question is – with whom did he start them?  He was not starting churches with folks fresh from the idol temples.  The foundation for the churches he started was always found in the synagogues and amongst jewish people.  The reason being – they ALREADY knew the One True and Living God and were waiting for the advent of the Messiah. Most of what he had to do was show them that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah they had been looking for all these generations and then point them down The Way.

So, with whom do we work today?  At least in Latin America, we are NOT working with people who have been taught the basics of Judeo Christian principles.  We are working with people who have been taught a distorted world view in which “if you sin and pray you tie” (quien peca y reza empata). They have been brought up in a world where Mom is never wrong and is of greater value than God Almighty Himself and “men” can do whatever to whomever they please. Lying, cheating, bribing, fornicating and adultery are a way of life and the only way to get to God is through Mary and the “Saints”.

The first order of business is often to teach people to trust in the Bible as God’s Word and to put its teaching into practice.  Besides the cultural bias against the Bible there is also the educational bias that has grown tremendously around the world – “post modernism”.  The idea that there is no absolute truth is deeply set in people’s minds.  The idea that “all roads lead to the same result” is also all pervasive.  So first we must win people to the idea that there IS truth in the world and that Jesus is the ONLY path to God.  This takes time and a great investment in personal relationships. Yes, I see people “starting churches” in a matter of weeks or months and then sending glowing reports about all the wonders God has wrought through their ministry.  And I’ve seen the leaders that are set up become petty tyrants and the churches become religiously distorted mirrors of the society around them.  It is no surprise that so many scandals break forth – God’s House has been turned over to the two year olds and they have no idea on how to care for themselves, much less how to lead others to a healthy relationship with Jesus the Christ.

And so we are digging in for the long haul.  Taking the idea of the church as being made up of individual “living stones” that are also God’s children, we are working to help those who come to Christ to grow strong and healthy through a balanced diet of His Word.  We are helping them to draw near to Christ and to allow Him to renew their minds so that they no longer conform themselves to the world around them but are transformed through the renewing of their minds.  And this takes time.  Our hope is not just in the current generation, but rather in helping them to pass the torch, as it were, to the generation that follows them – their own children and other youth.  Again, this takes time.

And so we find ourselves looking for more permanent arrangements.  We believe that it will take us at least another 15 to 20 years to help the church to grow up and become the strong, vibrant, self sustaining, self propagating Body that Christ envisioned. We’re looking around and asking the Lord’s direction.  We know that He has “just the place” for us to live.  We also trust that He will provide more permanent quarters for His Church here in Pereira. We don’t know the details, but we do know He will provide in His time.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis Chapter 1 - English Standard Version

Read the rest of this entry »

They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. Hosea 8:4,12

As I was reading through Hosea recently, I came upon the verses above.  To say that they gave me food for thought is an understatement indeed.  The traditional way of thinking in our nation is that if we have a governor, president, congressman, senator or other public figure that it’s  “God’s fault”.  After all, He is the One Who sets up kings and rulers, is He not? Interestingly enough, at the time the words above were written, kings normally received their kingship by inheritance – there was little chance for public opinion to be expressed under normal circumstances.  And yet, although there was no “democratic process” such as we enjoy in modern times, they DID choose men to rule over them – and men who were not according to God’s plan or design. Today we are ruled by a constitution.  Within that constitution the means of selecting rulers is spelled out clearly and the responsibility and power of government is both spelled out and limited.  How much more responsible are we today for the rulers we choose than those who lived thousands of years ago! Read the rest of this entry »

Jesus said, “For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). Swearing and bad language have become extremely pervasive among all ages of people today. Young people in our public schools, of both genders, take the name of God in vain in their ordinary conversations. When their attention is called to it they do not even understand what they have done. They simply dismiss any attempted explanation and continue doing it. They are doing what they hear adults doing in their homes and almost everywhere else. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all the sins that beset mankind, hubris is the hardest to self detect. It is one of the logs that blots out our vision and does not allow us to effectively restore site to those blinded by specks in their own eyes because of the way it pokes and jabs at the one we are attempting to help.

Recently (over the past three months or so) I’ve been preaching through the Gospels.  Not in a systematic way, much less chronological.  Rather I am browsing around, sampling here, cogitating there, looking at the teachings of Yeshua, the Anointed One – the Holy Son of God Almighty.  He came down and lived amongst men, humbling Himself to the point of arriving as a squalling newborn in a smelly stable, laid down to sleep  in a feed trough by his young mother.  Indeed, as if that ignominy were not enough, his mother bore the shadow of scandal on her young shoulders and in the months preceding His birth many murmured about her growing belly and scoffed at her unlikely story of having been visited by an angel of the Almighty. The first to hear of His coming were a band of lowly shepherds who were watching over their flocks in the nearby hills.  They trooped into town to see the sight that had been announced to them and witnessed the veracity of the angelic messenger’s words.  But who would take the word of a bunch of ignorant men from the hills? Read the rest of this entry »

“The Center Of God’s Grace” – thus reads the “location” description for my profile on an internet forum I infest. It was chosen because that is where I strive to live. Right smack dab in the middle of His will for my life. Unfortunately at times I stray for a bit, but as soon as I realize it back to home I run.

It has been stated that “the center of God’s will is the safest place to be.” and I wholeheartedly agree with this statement – with a couple of observations. “Safe” is a relative term. And the context of this statement indicates that if we are in the center of God’s will we will be safe – but His will is different from our own and His perspective is VASTLY different from our own. To many, “safe” implies good health, comfortable housing, plenty to eat and the ability to wander around to one’s heart’s content free from concerns of physical harm befalling one’s self. This view, however, is different from God’s view.

Read the rest of this entry »

This year a friend gave me an IZH Baikal 46M target pistol. It is a 4.5mm (.177 caliber) Russian built pistol. It’s made of blue steel and wood – the way God intended pistols to be made. And I am tickled pink with it – now. At first I was a bit underwhelmed. Accuracy, even from a rest, left a lot to be desired. It’s designed for 10 meter competition and I was unable to get decent groups at that range. Well, I’ve never been one to worry about design limits in my pellet guns. The Gamo CFX had the scope rail removed, the front sight base replaced, the rear sight removed and a Mendoza rear sight fitted to it. A pin sight was fitted to the new aluminum block front sight base and a Charlie Da Tuna trigger replaced the stamped steel factory one. And then it got pressed into service for a 50 meter rifle. So it was natural for me to want to press the 46M into service at 25 meters – but it wouldn’t group right at 10.

Read the rest of this entry »

Revival. We hear the word a lot in the religious world. We are told over and over again that we need “revival”. Now I tend to be a bit contrary in my way of thinking. I’m slow to jump on the bandwagon and I tend to prefer to have my OWN bandwagon (preferably without drums unless they are accompanied by bagpipes) than to join in on one that’s headed the wrong direction or is badly out of tune. So here’s my thoughts (at least some of them) on the topic of revival.

First, I took a look at Merriam Webster’s online dictionary. It’s a great resource and one I find myself turning to again and again. I just wish I had a copy of one of the old Noah Webster dictionaries printed back in the 19th century as they were not yet full of so much politically correct garbage – but I digress.

Read the rest of this entry »

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

The apostle Paul wrote the words above to Titus – one christian to another. As we examine these verses we see an assumption that a christian will change from what he once was to something new. He wrote, “At one time we were” – then goes on to speak of new birth, a new beginning, a new way of living. Why then do so many of us struggle with attitudes and actions that are appropriate to the old way of living? This struggle is nothing new.

Read the rest of this entry »