Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category
Socialism – for individuals, not nations
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Oooooohhhh!!! Shiny!!!!
There is about the human creature a mental simplicity akin to that of a child. We all seem to suffer from it in one degree or another. It’s the The “Ooooohhh!!!! Shiny!!!! Syndrome”
As a child we tended to be attracted to the pretty doodads our mothers hung over our cribs. As they bounced and swayed our little child’s eyes followed them around and we’d laugh and coo and giggle and wiggle and try to grab them. And all that was needed to distract us was another new and shiny object on the horizon. Read the rest of this entry »
For what did Christ die?
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. I Peter 2:23-25
Today a carnal gospel is being preached around the world. Time after time I hear people declaring that God wants us to be prospered in that which is disappearing, that He wants us to be rich in that which will be destroyed. Today, Saturday of “Holy Week” here in Colombia, we are awaiting the celebration of Christ’s resurrection which we will have tomorrow. As we transition from remembering how He died and was buried to celebrating His return to life we have time to reflect on the simple question: “Why?” Read the rest of this entry »
Who’s voice?
1“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. John 10:1-6
There are many voices competing for our attention today. There are many who are promising all kinds of rewards if we will but follow them. So how does one recognize the Voice of the Master? How does one recognize the Voice of the Shepherd? Read the rest of this entry »
Some thoughts on “prophets”
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:15-23
This scripture makes it clear that not all who call themselves “prophets” ARE prophets in the Biblical sense. It’s quite evident – when one loves the truth – that not all who claim to be of God ARE of God. When our Lord said “Watch out for false prophets” it is clear that a false prophet is someone that one can spot. And by spotting him or her one is not judging, one is merely doing what the Lord said to do, “Watch out for false prophets.” Read the rest of this entry »
On Living The Christ Like Life
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus”. That simple phrase gives a lot of food for thought and study. What exactly WAS the attitude that Christ Jesus had? How can we ourselves have that same attitude?
The passage goes on to say, ” 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-7)
To Vote Or Not To Vote
Since I’m messing around with the blog today I thought I’d take time to say a little something about the voting process. As a US Citizen the privilege of voting is something I take seriously. I know that many of my country men do not. In fact many of them will abstain from participating this year. But I urge any of you who take the time to read my comments to take the time to express your opinion at the voting booth.
Voting is about expressing ourselves and proclaiming who our choice of representative is. It’s not about a contest between the “Two Parties”, because the US was not set up as a two party nation – even though we have mostly had two parties to choose from for the most part throughout our history (although different parties at different times). Do you know who the candidates are? And I mean ALL the candidates. The mass media has forced upon us a false paradigm in that they insist that there are only two candidates. Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader are all on the ballot in many states across the nation. The media has sold us the idea that “there are only two candidates” – and it’s a lie. Some would say “Yes, but there are only two VIABLE candidates.” – but why would that be? That’s because as a nation we’ve allowed the media to control our way of thinking. I sure wish we’d turn back to the old paths and seek REAL leaders from amongst ourselves, men of character and wisdom. They still exist, but we need to seek them out and encourage them to join in the battle to retake our country from the grip of encroaching enslavement to humanistic socialism.
Dr. Del Tackett has a blog called “Truth Observed” and recently he posted some thought provoking articles on it. It looks like ol’ Noah Webster knew more than just how to write a dictionary… 
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: How To Vote
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Political Evils
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Remedy For Political Evils
Political Wisdom From Dr. Noah Webster: Defining Politics
Choosing The Lesser Of Two Evils
So now the big question is: “What are we as Christians going to do?” Are we going to give up the battle to those who wish to destroy our nation? Some maintain that they “keep their religion separate from politics” – assuming that the two can be separated. But that is only true if you do not live your faith actively. If you are truly on fire for Christ you can NOT call evil “good” nor can you call good “evil”. If you are TRULY on fire for Christ you can NOT say that those who support the murder of unborn babies or the equating of abnormal, deviant sexual behavior with God ordained marriage are representative of your ideals – IF you are on fire for Christ. We are told that we are not to be conformed to the world – we are called to be transformed. That means that we as christians are neither Democrat nor Republican – that we will vote for those who support Godly ideals rather than those who actively promote submission to the corruption fleshly desire. This doesn’t mean that we seek perfect people to represent us. It means that we seek out those who strive with us to achieve God’s design for man kind.
One of our great failings as a church has been in relinquishing our call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and lift up the fallen to the government. That is not government’s sphere of expertise or duty – it is the church’s. The first hospitals were founded by christians. The first orphanages were too. Hmmm… come to think of it, even education was in the hands of the church for generations prior to government moving in to teach kids that 2+2 does not necessarily equal 4.
It is time for us as a people to take back our land. It is time to say “No more humanism – turn back to God.” Yes, there are great problems in our land and around the world, but no human government has the answer. It’s time for us to say “Quit muddying up the waters, get out of the way and let us show you the way.”
Psalm 81:13-34 says
13 “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, 14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
And in 1 Chronicles 7:14 it is written:
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Now although these words were written for the jewish people, they can be applied in principle to christians as well – because like the jews we are too often eager to follow our paths rather than God’s. BUT when we turn away from our stubborn evil ways to follow His paths – He WILL bless us, and also those around us.
So if you are a US Citizen, dig deep in your heart and seek to know the way that God would guide you. Go to the polls on November 4 and choose the options that are most like God’s paths. Do not vote for those who support policies that go against the Holiness of God. Send forth a loud cry “No MORE!” and lets start taking back our nation for the Glory of God.
A Tale Of Two “Holidays”
Yesterday was “Hallowed Evening”, popularly known as “Halloween”. The celebration of this pagan holiday has gotten pretty big down here in Colombia. Last night as I went to pick up my wife from work I was faced with teeming throngs of “trick or treaters” moving through the downtown section. Along with the little kids dressed up as a spiderman or a princess and other such “cute costumes” there were also great numbers of teenagers and adults of varying ages dressed up as everything from “Playboy Bunnies” (better known as shameless hussies) to “cats” (I’m guessing here, a black nose with whiskers painted radially around it with pointy ears on top and often a long tail seemed to be an attempt to be a “cat” and was a very popular costume this year to judge from the sampling on the street) Anyway, I was having “fun” dodging around and trying not to run over any of the revelers, not even the stoned out ones that begged for a trip to the hospital by their imprudent chemically induced behavior. And we managed to make it through with no mishaps and only a slight elevation of the blood pressure. 
I’ve long wondered why Christians would celebrate this “holiday”. The themes that prevail are dark, sinister and devoted to death, corruption and decay. Look at the “monster” masks, the one that glorify deformity and decay. What about the skeletons, those that celebrate death. And then there’s the “cute little witches” – what’s cute about the occult? Yes, I’m a “kill joy” – when it comes to getting joy from joining in with the camp of the enemy. Why should the sons of light pretend to be sons of darkness – even for one night?
You see, I serve a RISEN Savior. He did NOT undergo corruption and decay. He rose on the third day and lives today preparing a place for those who also turn from death, corruption and destruction to walk in a new life with Him. He came to defeat death. He came to bring LIGHT. He is calling us to also pass from death to life and to walk in the light even as He walks in the light. So why would we want to celebrate death, corruption, decay and darkness? This is something I do not understand.
And then comes another “holiday”. “Christ’s Mass” – popularly known as “Chrismas” – is a celebration of the coming of the Christ to bring new life and hope to those who walked in darkness. Yes, we KNOW He was not really born on December 25 but we DO celebrate the birth of a Child Who came to give His life for us so that we can walk in God’s light. And since we do not know what day He was born, December 25 works as well as any other date. I’ve no problem with that, just as I have no problem celebrating my wife’s birthday on October 30. As an adopted child she has no idea what day or hour she came into this world. A judge said “Let’s call it October 30″ and they did. So now each year we celebrate her birthday on October 30 – even though the real day could conceivably be much earlier or even later in the year. What matters is that she WAS born and this celebration is a celebration of her coming into this world – and I especially celebrate because the Lord brought her into this world to serve as my life partner, no matter what day she was born.
Now that the darkness and corruption of Halloween are behind us, let us turn our hearts and minds to the coming popular festival of Christmas. Let us prepare ourselves to put Christ back into the celebration. Why use some fat guy dressed in red as a symbol of the Savior’s coming? Why use a tree covered with baubles and lights? Let’s let folks know the REAL “Reason For The Season” this year. Let’s make sure folks KNOW that we’re celebrating the fact that Jesus the Christ came to earth as a baby and that He grew into a Man who was MORE than a man, ultimately giving His life as a ransom for many. The manger or the empty cross can equally symbolize the coming of the Christ. Yes, He came as a baby – but He came on a mission. He came to live and die and rise again to proclaim His authority and power and ability to help us too overcome the death and corruption brought into this world by the evil one.
In a way we too celebrate death. We celebrate that the “baby of Bethlehem” came to die for us, allowing us to escape the trap of the devil and to walk in the Light of our Creator. Now as we head towards “Thanksgiving” and then on to “Christmas” let us take time to encourage each other to truly walk as children of the Light. We have much to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the opportunity to live as Christ would live in our place. We are not perfect, but we know He Who can help us to throw off the sin that so easily entangles us. We know that He can help us to live according to His will, in spite of our weakness and frailty. He is glorified through our weakness because He uses us for His glory, first by changing our pitiful lives and then by using us to help change others.
Remember during the upcoming holiday season that Christ is not necessarily glorified through the gifts we give, not that giving gifts is wrong. He is not necessarily glorified through the variety and quantity of fine food on our tables, not that preparing feasts and enjoying them with friends and family are wrong. He is not glorified through the parties and the holiday “rush and bustle” as we try to make it to this party or to find that gift. During the upcoming “holiday season” He is glorified when we put off the old man we once were and as we live in the new life to which He has called us. So, let’s not conform ourselves to the image of the worldly season of greed and emptiness, let us be transformed by renewing our minds so that we can live as Christ would live in our place. Let His light shine through us so that those who see us will glorify our Father above.
As the Apostle wrote:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1-17
Thinking about what happened seven years ago…
It’s been a while since I’ve taken time to just write “something”… or anything, for that matter. I guess getting old is tough – it took me a whole month + to do it in. 
Today the topic is due to thoughts generated by the horrific occurrences of September 11, 2001. It is inevitable that our minds should turn to such thoughts on the anniversary of that event. Many are remembering “where I was” when they heard “the news”. Me? I was visiting Deane and Bijie in NE Colorado, getting ready to head out for a speaking date at a Bible college up in Nebraska. I walked upstairs and found them sitting with coffee cups in hand, watching the news. “One of the Twin Towers was hit by a plane!” they informed me. “One of the WHAT?” is the unspoken question the flashed in my brain. I’ve never held NY to be “the center of the universe” as some do, much less put much importance in most of her “landmarks”, so I’d little idea of what they were talking about.
They handed me a cup of coffee and we sat there watching the news unfold. I’d been there just a bit when we saw the second plane strike the second tower. At that point I knew we were at war and that the world would never be the same as it was before. Later that day as I headed north I stopped in most towns along the way to top off the gas tank and saw the prices steadily climbing into regions that would not be normal for several more years. The news kept drifting in via the radio. The President is somewhere unknown. The vice president is also hidden away. All air traffic is shut down over the entire nation. Another plane has hit the Pentagon. Another plane has crashed. The immensity of the event was slowly increasing in the national awareness – but I knew that our lesson was not learned.
That bit of knowledge was confirmed a few days later as I headed back home to Colombia. As I sat in the airport in Miami talking with an elderly couple I found out that my premonition was right. They had confiscated the EMBROIDERY NEEDLE and the 1/2″ SEWING SCISSORS of a white, protestant, grandmother missionary on her way back to her station on Colombia’s Caribbean coast (but ignored the more potentially lethal sharp steel ink pen in her husband’s shirt pocket) . Not only that, they were wanding women’s brassiers and acting as if EVERYONE was a potential terrorist hijacker – ignoring the commonality of ethnic and religious background of the perpetrators – an ethnicity and religion that is foreign to the typical US citizen and not too hard to spot. But as a nation we put our head in the sand and started to play the “I don’t really know who my enemy is” game.
Prior to September 11, 2001 I regularly carried my usual 3″ bladed pocket knife on board airplanes. At no point did I ever feel the urge to cut throats and crash the plane into a towering building, it was just a tool, an instrument for peeling oranges, opening letters, trimming string, cleaning fingernails and myriad other mundane daily tasks. But there is a mentality, Jeff Cooper – deceased – called it “hoplophobia” (the fear of instruments), that believes that inanimate objects cause violence and mayhem. I saw this yesterday as I read an article in a newspaper from Cali about the sport of Olympic Trap shooting. The “reporter” asked “don’t you ever get the feeling that your ‘wires may cross’ when you pick up a weapon?” (referring to “getting the urge” to simply shoot someone) This is the mentality that refuses to accept that some people have a deeply seated problem called sin – that it is the PERSON who makes the decision to do harm, not the inanimate object. As much as some people claim to be “enlightened” and “educated” and “modern” – they still hold a superstitious fear of “talismans” that supposedly by themselves can cause harm. The calm and rational analysis of this situation reveals that the item itself is incapable of doing ANYTHING without the intervention of some person. A knife or a gun or a baseball bat or a chair leg or any other potential weapon will merely lay there until some PERSON picks it up and uses it – for good or for bad. People are the problem, not objects. And learning to discern WHO is probably going to cause harm would do us a lot more good than a bunch of mindless knee jerk rules to prohibit objects.
It has been shown that the majority of crimes are committed by a minority of the criminals. When a house is burglarized or a woman or child is raped you can lay a fairly safe bet that the perpetrator is a prior offender. They may not have been caught before, but the odds are that they have done this crime before. And when it comes to the type of crime that was committed on September 11, 2001 there is yet another factor – that of religiously inspired hatred. It has been shown that there a number of similar atrocities that have been committed over the decades prior to September 11, 2001 that can be linked to people similar to those who committed the acts of terrorism against the United States on that date. They were all committed by Muslim men between 18 and 40 years of age. By pointing out this fact I’m not attempting to engender racial or religious bigotry or hatred, but rather raising a red flag. When you see bombing after bombing committed by the same demographic – does it make sense to stick your head in the sand and pretend that EVERYONE will do the same type of thing? Think back to 1941 to 1945. Who were the “Kamikaze”? They were not white protestant women. They were not italian catholic men. They were not even German Third Reich soldiers – they were Japanese soldiers trained and prepared for this type of attack. Interesting to note – they too were inspired by their religion to give their lives to take out others.
So, seven years later, we are now treating everyone as an enemy when they go through the airport “security system.” We are pretending that the arthritic grandmother from Racine Wisconsin is at least as big of a threat as the young Arab man with a one way ticket and a tourist visa. In fact, our rules and regulations FORBID screeners from noticing that someone is a muslim male and treating them to well deserved scrutiny. Many occurrences have shown that screeners “randomly” choose an obviously NON muslim to fondle while a group of possibly radical extremist muslims waltz through the “security” checkpoint – just to prove that we aren’t “profiling” and are “being fair”.
Along with the varied thoughts on airway travel and taking down buildings with planes come thoughts about the upcoming election. Many are saying “If so and so becomes president the world will end, our nation will be destroyed and all hope is lost!” (Both sides of the political turmoil claim this) But the truth of the matter is – no matter WHO becomes president they will have arrived at that position with the consent and assistance of the general populace. No matter which way the winds blow they will NOT arrive at the White House “from nowhere” nor from another planet – they will have arisen from amongst the entire nation. The problem is not “who’s President” or “who’s going to be President” but rather “who are the people who are choosing their candidates and ushering them into office?” I’m amazed at the general lack of godly characteristics of the majority of the candidates this time around. Is this really “the best” we can do as a nation? If so, we are indeed in deep trouble – because we have allowed our godly principles to sink into virtual oblivion. This year, once more, we will choose from amongst ourselves the person we feel best represents who we are as a nation. Our choice will reflect what we have become – for good or for ill. Our choice will NOT “signal the end of all we are” – it will merely reflect what we have become.
Our only true hope as a nation is to repent from the sin of turning away from our Creator and to turn back to His Paths and His Will in our daily lives. We can not live for the devil and expect God to bless us when we choose a leader. We can only expect our daily life and our daily choices as a nation to be reflected in the leader who is finally chosen to govern over us.
The big question is – what will this year’s election say about what we have become as a nation?
Relevance
There’s a group on the social website “Facebook” that is dedicated to “Independant Christian Church Ministers”. The moderator posted this note on “The Wall” this week.
What does it mean to be relevant?
What is your church or ministry doing to stay relevant to it’s people/ community?
How do you balance being relevant without sacrificiing the message?
The space allowed for Wall posts is limited and I hit the end of my short space before I finished typing – so I’ll just post a link to this note there and answer here. Works for me, hopefully it’ll work for the folks in the group as well.
Relevant – having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand – affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion, having social relevance
OK, now that we’ve got a definition – how does it apply to me as a christian? It is my belief that through a life devoted to following Christ I can demonstrate relevance to those around me by having the answers to the questions that torment them. And not just a “pat answer” but an answer demonstrated through a life changed by God. When I go through the same trials and temptations that they do – but with demonstrably better results, that affords me the opportunity to show them what Christ could do in THEIR life – if they would but let Him.
So, what do I do to maintain relevance? I do my best Monday through Saturday to put into practice that which I teach on Sunday – so to speak. When the church is so busy with their “worship service” and their “praise service” and their “bring a friend Sunday” and other such programs and activities that they don’t take time to live out the Truth in their lives during the week, they lose relevance. They are no longer able to “have significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand” because they are so wrapped up in themselves and their programs that they forget to whom they were sent to minister in the first place.
Our ministry maintains relevance by “the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ”. I do not believe that the Apostle was referring to “full time Christian service” when he mentioned “work of ministry”, but rather he referred to the Church serving (ministering to) the world around her – thereby maintaining relevance and building up the Body through natural means.