A Daily Walk

What's in a name?

2008-04-16T05:40:00.005-05:00

A few years ago, while I was working an event out west, I was able to get enough time off to go to church. It seemed to be a church that was in the process of coming back to life. The new pastor was struggling with a decision, the old name had to go. The name of the church carried too much baggage. It also wasn't "hip", nor did it necessarily square with the direction the new pastor wanted to take the church.

I made it back the following year, and the church seemed to be doing well on attendance. Of course, they were hosting a Christian Athlete group associated with the event I was working. He taught a forgettable sermon on something based on a couple of verses.

I actually made back for a third year in a row. Unfortunately, the pastor was off on vacation. The bulletin was full of self-help courses and most of the service was various ministries begging for help. One Sunday a year for three years isn't a fair way to judge a church... is it?

During this process, a local Bible College decided to change its name. It is amoung the oldest, best established Bible Colleges in the area. It decided that using the word Bible in its name failed to emphasize the all important traditions and teaching of the denomination to which it is affiliated...

He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep.
(John 21:17 NKJV)

Giving the Dog a Bath

2008-04-14T05:58:00.002-05:00

When you give a dog a bath, the first thing he does, when you let him loose, is to go find the strongest smelling mess in the area and roll around in it. It's built-in to him, it's the way he's designed. He desires to cover his own clean scent with a strong smell that can hide him from "prey". The good news is that he can be trained out of it.

I remind myself of a dog that's been bathed. It often seems, that no sooner that I have experienced some awesome spiritual experience, but that I find myself wallowing in some old familiar sin. Unlike the dog, this is not how I was originally designed. This is the years of living in sin, and the old bad habits showing through. Perhaps it is an attempt to "blend-in" with the world. The Good News is that I am free to follow a different path.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (Romans 12:1-3 NLT)

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45b)

2008-03-31T20:36:00.003-05:00

Out in western Pennsylvania, the issue of abortion can strike a nerve. Democrats there often describe themselves economic liberals and social conservatives who favor gun rights and oppose abortion rights.

So, it was not unusual to see a woman stand near the end of Barack Obama’s town hall meeting in Johnstown, Penn., and offer a hurried, passionate plea for him to “stop these abortions.”

…The exchange appeared to be prompted by Obama’s earlier comments that he does not favor abstinence-only education, but rather comprehensive sexual education that includes information on abstinence and birth control.

“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”

Is this the heart of someone who America thinks would make a good President? I hope not.

What actually would be a punishment, as opposed to a new life created in the image of God, is a President with such a callus disregard for human life that he considers his own grandchildren a "punishment" for a lapse of moral judgement!

Which Jesus?

2008-03-28T08:05:00.006-05:00

Which "Jesus" does your spiritual advisor preach? What "Gospel" (or Good News), if any, have you been taught?

These questions come to mind because of recent political doings. Senator Obama has famously distanced himself from certain teachings of a man he has called pastor for more than 20 years. That man officiated at the Senators wedding, baptised his children, and led the Senator to Jesus. I'm wondering which Jesus. From what I've researched, Jeremiah Wright preaches a "Social Gospel" and worships Jesus the Social Reformer. That's a very sad thing.

This "Jesus the Social Reformer" was pretty pitiful. He didn't lead any uprisings. He led no hunger strikes, indeed he was accused of being a glutton and a drunk by the religious establishment! (Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:34) He gathered up a large number of loose followers, seventy odd committed followers, a dozen disciples, a core group of three men, and a right-hand man. Of these, the right-hand man denied him three times and ran away, of the twelve one of them turned him into the authorities and then hung himself, rest of the twelve and the seventy all ran away, and the larger group were part in same with the crowd chanting "Crucify Him!".

Further, the "social ill" of his time was the "Roman Oppression". When the people were ready to revolt and make Jesus king, he slipped away. (see John 6:15) When asked if the people should pay taxes to the Roman Oppressor, he said yes! (see Luke 20:22-25) Although the religious authorities accused him of forbidding to pay taxes when they later set him up for execution. (see Luke 23:2) When he was executed, the Romans didn't even know who he was, it was the very people who he supposedly was trying to socially reform that chanted "Crucify him!" to the Roman Governor who would have released him.

No, Jeremiah Wright and his fellow Liberal Church leaders have missed the boat. This "Social Jesus" and "Social Gospel" they teach has no power. The historical and Biblical Jesus is the Son of God, very God of very God, He is the Living Word who spoke the universe into existence. And He didn't come to this Earth to bring social justice; He came to make dead people live. He came, not free men from the bondage of other men, but from the bondage of their own sins. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) He didn't come to put down the despotic human powers that oppress their fellow men, but rather the demonic spiritual powers that oppress our souls. (see Genesis 3:15)

That said, Jesus promised to return. And when He does return, He is coming to take the reigns of His kingdom. Then and only then will there be complete justice (social and other wise), and peace.

Pray for the Liberal Church, that they might come to know the true source of Social Justice, not their "social Jesus" but the scriptural Jesus who gave His life a ransom that many might live. For when the Lord God, brings peace and love for all men to your heart, then you might reach out to affect change for the social good.

The "Social Gospel" is just another, do good and work hard enough, then God will accept you, lie. It specializes in public good works. The Pharisee's would have approved. Make your prayers long, loud, and public so men (both the oppressed and the oppressor) can see your (self) righteousness. Do you works in the sight of men so they can bring glory to you. That is the way of the Social Gospel of the American Liberal Church. It is the opposite of what Jesus taught.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
(Luke 18:9-14 NKJV)

The Pharisee's were the most renowned religious leaders of their day. They taught against the Roman Oppression, but were careful to not provoke the Roman Authorities too much. The tax collectors were fellow members of the oppressed society, but they had sold out to the oppressor for money. The tax collectors accepted government jobs, they were given a quota of money to raise and were to keep any excess that they were able to collect as their wages.

The words of Jeremiah Wright and his fellows are those of bigotry and racism. But are any of us perfectly clean of this stain? Father God in heaven, convict us all (Reverend Wright and his compatriots as well as myself) of the the bigotry and racism in our own hearts. Purge us as individuals and purge your church of this hatred. Ignite in our hearts a true love for you O Lord, and for our neighbors, and especially for our enemies, as you have taught.
In the name (the very nature) of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Amen (Let it be so.)

AT&T CEO would shut down American Education system!

2008-03-27T09:13:00.004-05:00

In a not so stunning indictment of our Education System, Randall Stephenson the CEO of AT&T remarked "If I had a business that half the product we turned out was defective or you couldn't put into the marketplace, I would shut that business down." These comments were caused by the fact that even though they had pledged to return 5,000 customer service jobs to America from India, they have only been able to actually move 1,400 so far, due to AT&T's inability to find enough skilled workers.

Although I'm somewhat dubious of his claim for his company's need for skilled customer service workers; (I mean really, how much skill is involved in answering a phone in pigeon english and frustrating the customer with misunderstandings until they give up and go away?) it is general knowledge that our education system is graduating a lower percentage of students, and the skill level of graduates is lower as well.

It's high time we take the action recommended by Mr. Stephenson and shut down our current Federal Government based education system. The Department of Education has been an abysmal failure since it was made a Cabinet level bureaucracy. It should be scrapped. All federal tax dollars that were funneled through that agency should be returned to the parents of school aged children in the form of vouchers that could be applied to the education system of their choice. It is time we took the power of educating America's children out of the hands of bureaucrats and returned it to the parents, as was envisioned by our Founding Fathers, and Thomas Jefferson in particular.

Instead of being beholden to the Federal Government, local school systems would have to answer to the parents of their students. Schools that do well would be rewarded by increased attendance and monies. Schools that fail could then be shut down to make room for expansion of the ones that work. Local communities could determine the employers that they'd like to lure to town by training their children in the skills needed by those companies (like pigeon english for telecommunications customer service.) Colleges and Universities could establish the type of education they'd like to see in their freshmen class and parents would reward the schools that help their children meet those criteria.

It is radical, but necessary if America is to stay competitive in the increasingly Global Economy. Not only that, but the displaced Department of Education workers could ably fill all of AT&T customer service employee needs, with little or no retraining.

5 years of war every day

2008-03-24T07:46:00.003-05:00

After 5 years in Iraq, 4000 brave American solders, sailors, airmen, guardsmen, and marines have fallen. Today, 4000 innocent lives will be taken here in America.

Over the past 5 years, 4000 of our bravest, volunteers who have chosen to fight there instead of waiting for the Islamist enemy to continue their war on us here, have made the ultimate sacrifice. Our enemy for the most part has slain our finest men and women through the use of remotely detonated bombs and the occasional homicide bomber.

We are involved in another war, a war in which 4000 innocents on average die every day of the year in America alone. It called abortion. Unlike our brave military volunteers, these innocents have no choices. The weapons of their enemy are far more horrifying than roadside bombs and human murder bombers. There are options, murdering an innocent unborn child should not be one of them.

Defunding Planned Parenthood (the nations largest abortion provider) and any other abortion providing institution would be a step in the right direction. There is a bill in the house, "Title X Family Planning Act" (S.351), that would accomplish this. If only our Representatives can stand in the face of the multi-billion dollar abortion industry.

EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-03-12T07:16:00.004-05:00

Finally, a movie to look forward to! Ben Stein interviews scientists and teachers who have been persecuted for their audacity to question Darwinian Evolution. He also interviews adherents to the theory of evolution, and allows them to fully and clearly articulate their point of view... which results in exposing the weakness and the problems of evolution.

The movie opens April 18th. (which, oddly enough is my brother's 39th birtday... enjoy youth while it lasts ~400 days and counting, bro!)

You can view trailers and more detailed information at www.expelledthemovie.com.

Zeal Without Knowledge

2007-11-21T06:27:00.000-05:00

For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
(Romans 10:3)

While Paul is speaking directly concerning the Jews, this applies to all of us who try to meet God on our own, as opposed to His terms.

We can never meet God on our terms. He is the sovereign Lord Creator of the Universe. We are rebels who are defeated and merely await the just execution to come.

But just as the anti-capital punishment crowd currently objects, the death of the guilty is never sufficient to pay for their crimes. The death of the guilty, the highest form of punishment that man can mete out, is unable to restore the damage caused to the victim. (Human justice merely attempts to constrain the future evil of others by demonstrating the consequences of unlawful actions.)

God's justice demands payment. The just payment for our rebellion is death. Not merely physical death, but spiritual (eternal) death. There are two ways to avoid the consequence of God's justice. One is to live perfectly by the Law of God. Only one person has done (or will ever do) this. The other means, and the only way open to us, is to accept the payment made by that person, and in exchange offer Him our lives as His slaves (we are so very dearly purchased!).

Not willing that any should die; God sent His Son to live among us as the lamb without blemish (one who lived a perfect, non-rebellious life (John 8:28)). Being perfectly subject, Jesus willingly chose to pay the price of all our rebellion in exchange for His rightful place at the right-hand of God as our King.

Now a thing even more glorious occurs! We who are rightfully slaves, purchased by the death of the Incarnate God; are made brothers and co-heirs of that perfect man and sons of the Living God!

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
(Romans 11:33-36)

O, foolish Galatian!

2007-10-23T05:54:00.000-05:00

When I mess up and sit convicted of the wrong things I have done, then I feel the love of God, because I cannot hide from myself the fact that I'm so undeserving of His grace.

But the truth is that I'm always undeserving!
I tend to want to forget that fact, when I'm "doing well". I want to help God make me a better person, and I cannot. I pray God will break my heart when I'm doing right and good in my own eyes, to know that it is not me or anything that I've done that can make me in anyway deserving. But only who He is and what He's done.

Are you a Christian?

2007-10-11T06:15:00.000-05:00

Some things bless you so much you feel you should share them.

From the devotions book, Morning and Evening, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Evening
“Whom he did predestinate, them he also called.”
- Rom_8:30
In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words-”Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling.” Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is “an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.” This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ’s, you can say, “Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy.” Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and his divine will? Again, in Philippians, Phi_3:13, Phi_3:14, we are told of “The high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we find in Heb_3:1-”Partakers of the heavenly calling.” Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call his people.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

2007-09-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

Thus says the LORD:

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.

For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

We've Failed New Jersey

2007-04-04T06:17:00.000-05:00

There is a news report, from March 23rd, that the Burlington Township High School held a mock terrorist attack drill for testing the preparedness of the local police and the school's administration and faculty. That this isn't in itself news-worthy, is a sad statement, indictment even, of our culture. However, this little drill did finally receive some interest from the blog world, if not the mainstream media.

The interest was generated because

Investigators described them as members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the “New Crusaders” who don't believe in separation of church and state. The mock gunmen went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class.

I am saddened that there are people who honestly think that followers of Christ would pick up a gun and shoot students to protest school prayer. But I'm not "outraged" at them. They don't know any better, and that is our fault. If there were true Christians in their life, who displayed the sacrificial love that Jesus gave to us, then the concept of Christians taking hostages and gunning down children would be beyond imagination.

Instead, we are treated with a national group callously using this tragedy as fund-raiser fodder. That is how this event came to my knowledge. A nationally syndicated radio show for a Christian organization that does in large measure, good things, took this simple story, and instead of offering to reach out in love, began blasting condemnation. They, in classic mainstream media method, took the few pieces of the story and put the worst face on it; spun the story in order to maximize the outrage and used it as yet another reason to send them money so they can hold back the anti-Christian tide. This is what I find outrageous.

The Burlington Township School administration has released a statement concerning the controversy.

Having a form, but denying the power

2007-01-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked to review a book. However, when I looked at the excerpt available on the website of the publisher; I knew that I would not read it. You see, it was written by a recent convert to christianity. And unfortunately, it seems that she has been ripped off.

The woman who wrote the book, came to see the good things in her christian husband and the church he attended. She made a decision for God. However, this whole blood of Jesus thing seemes "icky" to her. So she has written a book, all about how christianity is good, but just leave out the "icky" blood thing.

Well she is right, of course. The blood of Jesus is "icky". It is offensive. In order to be a child of God we must be washed in the blood of the Lamb. We christians have sanitized and even try to gloss over the offensiveness of this. When, in part, it is the the very offensive nature of the means of salvation that gives it its power!

Our Lord was "hung upon a tree" and crucified! If you are a christian, the very God, very man, that we claim to follow was executed by the cival authorities like a common criminal! He was executed with thieves on either side of Him. He, who rightfully was the King, was brought low. He lowered Himself; concented to humiliation, so that He might rise to the right hand of the Father.

Likewise, we must consent to the humiliation of realizing that there is no innate goodness in us. God did not see something in us that set us above anyone else. Nor is there anything that we can do to save ourselves.

If we can fully understand the humiliation of salvation... I don't know, I'm still working on this myself. :-) But I do know that it is practically the opposite of the culture in which I live. In America the rugged individual, the "self-made" man is lionized. It is almost anti-American to admit weakness, a need for help, or a lack of self-sufficiency.

The Good News of God's Salvation requires that we first admit weakness, a need for help, and that we lack self-sufficiency. Otherwise, it is not Good News! If I am capable of living a life that is acceptable to God, then I don't need an external savior.

What did you wear to Church today?

2006-11-26T07:26:00.000-05:00

If you went to church... Here, in the post-Bible belt, it is traditional to put on one's "Sunday Best" to go to church. It is so strong a tradition, it is not unheard of that people have been turned away at the door for not dressing respectfully enough for God. More commonly, instead of the direct refusal of admittance, people who are unable or unwilling to meet the standards are treated poorly and made to feel unwelcome in order to drive them away.

Mat 25:31-46 KJV When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: ³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: ³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: ³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? ⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ⁴³ I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. ⁴⁴ Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? ⁴⁵ Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. ⁴⁶ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The church of the goats is alive and well, here in the South. But fortunately, God has preserved a remnant, as He always seems to do. If you find yourself turned away from a church, consider that they are in a worse peril for their souls than you are, and go look for another church. And if you find yourself in a church that begins to turn away the lost and needy, speak to it's leaders and if they refuse hear or change then flee that church.

Leave the suit-and-tie of self-righteousness in the closet, and come to church in the blood-washed robes of the Lamb if you have them. Or come to church in the dirty rags of your repentance and the Lord will gladly exchange them for fresh spotless clean robes. As long as you choose to hang on to that suit of self-righteousness then you are refusing to admit your need of the Lord. See that suit for what it is, dirty rags, and let it go.

It's so easy to try and slip back into the suit of self-righteousness. "Really Lord, it's okay, I can take it from here"; I seem to catch myself saying, in deeds, if not in word. But I can't, I slip and fall in the mud, then from the mud I look up and there is Jesus, not ready to berate me, but willing to reach down and take my muddy hand and lift me up and clean me up once again! Why do we choose to keep slogging through the mud; to grab another handful of mud and start trying to wipe ourselves clean?

That is how a church of the Lamb becomes filled with goats. When the lambs all stray after their own ways, what conviction is there for the goats? When christians put on their suits of hypocrisy, then the non-christians are only convinced that the whole thing is worthless talk.

So let's leave the suits of hypocrisy and self-righteousness at home, or bring them in to exchange them for new, blood-washed robes. The only way to take control of the local church back from the goats is for the lambs to truly begin to follow the Shepherd again. This means that all of us need to use our God-given gifts for His cause in His church. Not just the pastors, but all of the people of God. But most of all

1Co 13:1-13 KJV Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. ⁴ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, ⁵ Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; ⁶ Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; ⁷ Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. ⁸ Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. ⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹² For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. ¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

For those not versed in "King James English", the word "charity" is more correctly translated "love" in modern English. In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul teaches that all the gifts are necessary, but here in chapter 13, he shows that all of that is useless without it being done in a spirit of love. That's is where we need the Lord's help more than anywhere else. Whether we preach, teach, or even encourage; we must be filled with and motivated by the Spirit of love or we will fall on our faces.

And, if you find yourself unexpectedly on your face; your best bet is to just go ahead and pray. Then let the Lord lift you up and set you about His business.

Tag(s): fashion; love

Crucify Him!

2006-11-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

I stand in the crowd, surrounded by the religious and the profane, alike. Pointing my finger and yelling at the top of my lungs; "Crucify Him!" With every wilful sin, I add my agreement to the crowd. Another chorus of "Crucify Him", made by voices that were designed to praise God, not curse Him.

As He drags His beaten body, oozing blood from the many whip-made lacerations, up the road toward the "Place of the Skull", we mock and spit on Him. Every action I take, out of my own strength adds to the spittle festooning His shredded skin. Every bit of pride I take in "my good words" is so much more mockery added to the jeers and catcalls.

And as He hangs on the cross, we stand at His feet agreeing on the best ways to divide up the cast-off soiled clothing. He is suffering pain so intense that a new word was coined to bear it's meaning, excruciating (out of, or as if, being crucified). He sees us, there, casting the dice; even actively adding to the burden He was bearing and He pities us. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Finally in that confluence, where ultimate Love met ultimate Justice, the Lord called out "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?) and we think He is calling for Elias the prophet. He hangs, cursed on a tree, paying for every wrong thing we will ever do, say or even think; and yet we miss it. We think that He must be pointing back to the Law and the Prophets. "Yeah, I know Jesus died, but I'm sure that God will accept me if I just go to church more."

His body is taken down and laid in a tomb, and we try to go back to "life as normal", and forget about this whole weird affair; but He won't stay dead! Some actually see Him up and walking around, and they are indeed blessed. But to us He says "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

We are party, with every wrong action, word, and thought, to the most heinous crime ever committed; that of executing a perfectly innocent man in place of ourselves. And yet that man, who is God Himself, freely offered Himself in agreement with the death sentence True Justice demands so we do not have to pay ourselves. Because the debt has been paid, we are offered a pardon. But a pardon cannot be accepted, unless we first admit our guilt. I am guilty, and pardoned. And the only thanks that I can give is to turn my life over to Him. He bought it, it was broken and soiled, yet He bought my life with His own. I'm definitely a fixer-upper. Even though, I stood in the crowd, spit on Him, mocked Him, beat Him and crucified Him, He overcame it all and still wants me. Even though I still spit, and mock, and beat Him, I am forgiven. And you, if you will admit your guilt, and your total inability to pay the price on your own, may be forgiven as well.

Tag(s): Gospel

RC5 for Jesus

2006-11-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

After a period of inactivity, I find that RC5 for Jesus is still going on. RC5 for Jesus is a team participating in the RSA Lab's RC5 Encryption Challenge via distributed.net. The challenge is seeing who can "crack" the encrypted message first. Distributed.net is an organization that figured out how to split up very large tasks among as many computers as will join in. So, what has this to do with Jesus?

Well, directly, nothing. However, some Christian who is technically savvy saw just how popular the Top 100 Teams page is and thought what better way to put his computer to use that by putting Jesus name on that page. The RC5 for Jesus homepage has instructions on how to join, if you have a computer that tends to be left on. The application runs at the lowest priority level so as not to interfere with your normal usage.

Oh and a warning, the distributed.net client will show up as "undesirable" to most anti-virus programs. This is because the desire to be on the Top 100 page is so strong, that some participants had attempted to include the distributed.net client in a Trojan Horse to hijack unwitting computers into participating on their behalf. As long as you download the program directly from distributed.net, then it is safe, no matter what the anti-virus program may say.

Why try to put Jesus name on a page that only gets looked at by computer geeks? Because computer geeks need the Gospel, too.

I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
(1Co 9:22b-23 KJV)

They even (once you've submitted some completed work) give you your own stats page with a convenient place to put your testimony or favorite verse. And the link shows up on your neighbor's pages.

Tag(s): distributed computing, Jesus

In the company of Peter and John

2006-11-12T09:06:00.000-05:00

In September, a United States Navy Chaplin was convicted for praying while in uniform.

You can read the World Net Daily article here.

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."
(Act 4:18-20 ESV)

Congress, considered and then failed to provide the protection for religious free speech which had been added to the Defense Appropriations Act. Currently, while not "against the rules" officially, it is within the ability of Chaplin's superior officers to order them to not pray "in Jesus name" anywhere outside of their Sunday Chapel services. and, as can be seen by the case cited above, there are those in authority who are more than willing to so order.

Missed Opportunities

2006-10-26T07:23:00.000-05:00

Today is a travel day, again. I'm scheduled to fly to Tampa, Florida to work for the weekend. A dear friend offered me the opportunity to buy dinner before I left, and I gladly accepted. :-) Anyway, as we left the restaurant, one of those things I fear most happened.

A man called out for help. My first instinct was to ignore the man. But somehow, I just quite couldn't. So, I took a small loaf of bread (one that my friend had acquired from the restaurant) and offered it to the man. He demanded, "It's cold, go to Marshall's and buy me some thermals." I hesitated. "I'll work; if you have any work." Finally I replied, "I've got bread" and held the small bag up to the man. "That's something, anyway" the man said as he took the bag and turned away. As my friend and I took leave of one another in the restaurant parking lot. I kept looking for and seeing the man. And I was troubled. I knew I should have done more, as I got in my car and drove away. It wasn't the thermals that bothered me, it was chilly and it will so get colder, but the man was better dressed than I was. I could certainly afford the thermals, and would likely not even miss the money it would have taken to purchase them. Likewise, time was not the issue, my friend was leaving and I need just a few minutes to pack for a weekend trip. No, my heart wasn't ready.

The man didn't need the thermals he demanded of me, nor did he need the bread I gave him. What he needed is the True Bread of Life, something that I could have given him. I easily could have take the man to the store, and told him that this was a free gift, just as Jesus had given me a free gift. When I thought I wanted a fire suit to protect me from the flames of God's wrath, but Jesus gave me the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of my sins... not because of me, but because of Him. Likewise I could have gifted the man some thermals and the Gospel. But I wasn't ready.

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
(2Ti 4:2 KJV)

Father, help me to prepared when you next give me a divine appointment. Forgive me my failures and lift me up so that I can try again. In all things, your will be done. Amen

Tag(s): opportunities, Gospel

Love Hurts

2006-09-23T05:35:00.000-05:00

God loves us oh ever so much more than we can even understand. He loves us so much He even allows us to suffer pain, sickness, trials, and temptations here on this earth! If God didn't love His children, He would let them live perfectly happy lives in sin, here on this earth, and we would never understand the need to turn to Him.

The pain and suffering we face after we turn to our Redeemer are, among other things, part of that refining fire that helps us to become more like Christ Jesus. Read the Psalms, in large part written by King David, called "a man after my own heart" by God! The very words most quoted by Lord Jesus during his earthly ministries. Oh, God knows suffering, and He takes no joy from it; but rather from the results.

Give glory to God and be thankful when times are tough. If you are suffering like Job, (and Job was never given an explanation!) then will you not be rewarded like Job? More importantly, if we suffer like Christ, He says to be glad as He has already defeated the enemy that makes us suffer and our rewards will be that much greater!

Superstition

2006-07-17T07:26:00.000-05:00

I've heard it said, that in order to be a Christian (or believe the Bible) one had to turn their brain off. Nothing should be further from the truth. Unfortunately, many of us base our "religious" point of view on superstition; both Christian and non-Christian.

I grew up with a religious background. From my earliest days I was told about God. I had a superstitious belief in God. And while I did believe in God, I also knew that I hadn't met His requirements. In fact, I was rather unsure of His requirements, I only "knew" that I had to give up all of the things that were "fun" in my life. Boy was I surprised to find out that that wasn't quite true. According to my understanding of His own words, I merely had to believe in my heart that Christ died for my sins, and proclaim with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and God would take care of the rest!

After God got a-hold of my heart, I began to be interested in the facts around the Bible. It's truly amazing! As far as I can tell, to not believe that the Bible is supernatural in origin and existence is to be ignorant of quite a number of facts. Likewise, if you hold the Theory of Evolution to the light of truth, you'll find that it is thin and chock full of holes.

Now, I no longer have a superstitious faith, but one based in logic and understanding. I challenge everyone, Christian and non-Christian to push their own belief beyond "believing what you've been told" (superstition) to understanding what you believe and why you believe it. Or as the (rather ironic) tagline of the Da Vinci Code movie states "Seek the Truth"!

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
(2Ti 4:2 ESV)

Tag(s): superstition

Game-a-holic

2006-07-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

"Hi. My name is Bryan, and I'm a game-a-holic."

Like many things in this life, there is no direct Bible command condemning computer video games. But for me, I find it entirely to easy to spend inordinate amounts of time playing games. There are other distractions that I fall prey too, such as surfing the web, or television. But nothing really devours my time the way that video games can. Or, captures my imagination! I find that my earliest waking thoughts are easily bent towards whatever video game I was playing before I go to bed. And, if I awake with thoughts of a computer game, then I tend to go straight back to that game.

Still, I'm not going to condemn computer games. The problem is not the existence of the games, but rather my overindulgence of them.

Heb 12:1-29 ESV Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ⁴ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." ⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸ If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹ Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? ¹⁰ For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. ¹² Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³ and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. ¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; ¹⁶ that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. ¹⁷ For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. ¹⁸ For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest ¹⁹ and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. ²⁰ For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." ²¹ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." ²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. ²⁵ See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ²⁷ This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken--that is, things that have been made--in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire.

Tag(s): distractions

Analogous

2006-05-06T05:44:00.000-05:00

We are all criminals, living on deathrow. We are all inflicted with a dread disease.

As prisoners on deathrow, the Judge has offered us a conditional pardon. You see, another person has already paid the price for our heinous crimes. In order to claim the pardon, we first have to admit we are guilty and accept that there is no other hope of release. If we go on thinking that we can "beat the rap" on our own, we will never see the reason to accept the pardon. If we remain blind to our guilt, we will cling to a hope that the verdict will be rescinded. If we accept the pardon, then we realize that we owe our lives to the one who paid the price. The best way that we could honor that sacrifice is by attempting to live our lives the way He would want us to.

Further, there is a time limit on accepting this pardon. At some point in time, a point that we do not know, that offer of a pardon will be closed. For each of us, that time may be different. But it is inevitable. Accepting the pardon means that many of our fellow inmates will mock us. Some will face far more and be beaten and even killed for accepting the pardon.

This is where the analogy breaks down. The execution is the only true death. Only those who refuse, or fail to accept, the pardon will face the true death of the execution. We have all the way up until our physical death in this world to accept the pardon. A student asked a wise Rabbi, "When should I seek atonement?" The wise Rabbi replied, "The day before you die." He paused for effect before continuing, "Since we do not know if we will die tomorrow or not, then today is the day we should seek atonement." What the student and the wise Rabbi failed to understand was that there is only one way to be forgiven... that is to accept the pardon offered by the sacrifice of the death of Messiah Jesus on the cross at Calvary.

The doctor came into the room, after analyzing the results of the test. "I have very grave news", he said as he sat down. "You have a disease, that is 100% fatal." The doctor paused as the words sank into reality, the mind of the patient whirls as it attempts to understand the implications. The doctor finally breaks the silence, "There is one cure..."

What do you think the patient does at this point? Well, if he is like some of us, he gets mad at the doctor. "What do you mean there is only one cure! That's narrow-minded and bigoted!" When we should be, "Well what are we waiting for, give me the cure!"

The cure to our fatal disease is the same as the pardon for our crimes. Our crimes and our disease is sin. Sin is missing the mark of perfectly following God's Law and Will. The penalty and natural result of sin is death. We are all guilty, we are all infected.

The cure is Jesus Christ. He paid the price so that we might not have to do so. And He arose from the grave to prove that He has the power to give eternal life. The power to pardon us and cure us. Declare Him Lord in your life. Ask Him to give you faith, true saving faith. There are many who have taken the "sinner's prayer" inoculation. The "sinner's prayer" is worthless unless you have true life-changing faith. If you spoke the sinner's prayer in a bout of emotionalism, but your life has not changed, then you need to seek God still. Cry out to Him, He is faithful.

Tag(s): Gospel

Having too little self-esteem is not possible.

2006-05-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

For too long has the old saw been repeated; "today's kids just have too little self-esteem." Well that's just tripe! The problem with all of us (not just any particular generation's children) is that we have too much self-esteem!

Self-esteem is setting our "value" by our own standards. If you set your "value" higher than even the worst criminal, the lowest person you can think of, then you esteem yourself too highly.

The true "worth" of an item is the amount that someone is willing to pay for it. Likewise we should set our own sense of worth on our value; our value to God. The Lord Jesus Christ laid down His perfect life for you and me. Our true worth is based in the value of His sacrifice. We have worth only because of His ultimate worthiness. This is far more than any sense of self-worth that I can imagine. God, from before time began, planned to sacrifice Himself, His only "natural" Son, so that we might be redeemed.

I can esteem myself no higher that I esteem anyone else, if I base my worth on His worthiness. We shouldn't esteem ourselves, but rather we should remember the value of everyone else to God. When asked what is the great commandment of the Law,the Lord Jesus replied that it is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength; but He didn't stop there He continued saying the second is like the first and it is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You cannot love your neighbor as yourself if you esteem yourself more highly than him. You cannot love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength if you believe that you are better than any other person on the planet.

If we base our sense of worth on our selves, then we become overly concerned with what other people think of us. It becomes very easy to fall into the trap of man-pleasing. But, if our sense of worth is based on what God thinks of us...! How freeing, even when I was at my lowest, God loved me more than I can even imagine. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I don't have to earn God's love, it's not even possible to earn God's love, it is given to us as a free gift! Out of a deep sense of gratitude I should try to thank God by trying to be a God-pleaser, doing what He says is right, no matter what my fellow man may think.

Tag(s): self-esteem

God is not an Optimist

2006-04-23T06:20:00.000-05:00

No, God is the ultimate realist. And from this I derive great hope and comfort!

You see, no matter how bad I think I am (or how good) God knows the real truth. I'm much worse than I think I am. That is my natural person, my "flesh" as Paul puts it, is much worse than I even imagine; God only knows how bad! Amazingly, He chose to offer Himself a sacrifice for me, not because of any good thing He saw in me, but for His love. Mercy may be defined as not giving someone what they deserve. God shows mercy every day to me by not striking me dead. (The wages of is death, after all!) Grace is giving something that is not deserved. It is Grace that God extends salvation from His own righteous wrath through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross at Calvary. That Grace should never be a license to continue sinning, because while it is a free gift to me, it cost God more than I can ever imagine.

God is not an optimist because He offered His grace while I was still deep in my own sins. God reached out to me where I was, because He knows that there is nothing that my natural self could do to reach Him. That is the danger of false religion and self-righteousness. (Now there is an oxymoron! God is the only being with true self-righteousness!) False religion tries to claim that if I would only work harder and stop doing wrong things, then God will accept me. That is a lie from Hell. God only accepts perfection. The only way I can be counted perfect is to stand covered by the blood of the perfect sacrifice.

There is a current popular Christian song with lyrics something like "Would you take the place of this man; would you take the nails from his hands". Taken in this out of context form, this is darn near blasphemous. The Messiah, the Christ, was the only one who was able to live a perfect life. I'm not qualified to take His place. The nails weren't the worse part anyway. Other people have been crucified and had nails driven in their hands and feet. Jesus suffered separation from God. That is the final death that our sins demand. And that is the punishment I was facing, until His grace reached me in the mire of my sins. Not because God optimistically hoped that I would reach Him, but because He realistically knew that I could not and would not. I'm very thankful God is not an optimist!

Tag(s): optimism

My next event

2006-04-09T06:09:00.000-05:00

Franklin Graham is preaching at the Easter Sunrise service at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. And I guess he needs a big screen. :-)

The story I linked to goes on to say that Billy Graham preached to 40,000 people there in 1956, 50 years ago. They are expecting 7,500 for Franklin Graham. But to be fair, there are, according to the story, more places for people to go for their Easter Sunrise service now in Washington, DC.

Tag(s): work