benched critic

Just for today

2013-02-08T13:49:00.001-08:00

“You say this prayer, and try to act better, and then you’re a Christian.” A simplified version/perversion of the gospel that I have heard way too many times; I remember sharing something like this to a cabin when I first started counseling at camp MYW. When we become Christians, often times our first priority is to try to modify our behavior. We try our very best not to lie or swear, and we feel despair and hopelessness when we mess up. As I am writing this I can remember a time when I would ask God into my heart at least once a week. My logic was something like: obviously it didn't work last time because I am still sinning. Trying to correct our actions is like lifting a weight into the air, you can do it for a while, but eventually your arms will give out, and you will be left exhausted. The problem with self-modification is that it is impossible, as well as unnecessary. The blood of Christ was sufficient; your sins have been paid for. My distasteful illustration from camp was this: imagine a bucket full of a disgusting substance. The substance is sin, and the bucket is the world. No matter what we do in the bucket, we will never be clean; the only thing we can do is to set our sights on our creator, outside of the bucket.

In many ways our Christian walk is similar to the life of a recovering addict. I believe it was Bill Bright, (founder of campus crusade for Christ) who created the illustration of our life’s throne. Visualize a room confined within your head, in the middle of this room there is a throne. The person who occupies this throne is the person who calls the shots in your life; he decides where you walk, what you do, what you say etc. Before we were saved, we occupied this chair 24/7. When we become Christians, often times we still occupy the throne, but there is one huge difference, Jesus is now inside our “throne room”. So Jesus walks in, and stands there, looking at us expectantly. Eventually he sits down on the floor and waits... One of the most beautiful aspects of Gods plan, as it has been revealed to us, is our free will. Christ is not going to throw you off the throne, though many of us may prefer him to. It is in this way that I believe we have much in common with the struggle of an addict. We are addicted to being on the throne, and it is one of the hardest things in the world, for us to step down and give the throne/control to Christ.

How can we beat our addiction? Well, taking a leaf out of Narcotics anonymous’ program, we do this one day at a time. In a sermon my father once said: “every morning before my feet hit the ground I ask God to be on the throne of my life, however, by noon it often seems like there has been a coup, and I’m back on the throne”. Often times I have tried to give Christ the throne of my life, only to again take control. I am addicted to being in control. People say it takes 30 days to make a habit, while this habit has had years to form. You would have to be a fool to tell a drug addict to stop doing drugs, and expect it to have any lasting effect. The same goes with our addiction to the throne, though we may try, most of us (who aren’t blessed with something like extreme will-power) will fail. I have taken up confronting my throne addiction in the same way that addicts attending NA confront their addictions. One day at a time, or more specifically, “just for today” I know I can’t go a week, but I can go a day, and I can do that 7 times.

Give up control, be patient, and listen for the still small voice.

In a somewhat unrelated thought, how would a new Christian know that they need to give up their life’s throne? God calls us not to convert, but to disciple, often times we forget to follow up.

The Vine

2012-11-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get myself into a place where I am living in sin, and yet, am feeling bad about it. Constantly I come to this place where I am so focused on my sin that I do not focus on the person who has made that sin not count. I try to improve myself, feeling as if I can’t come to Christ until I am more presentable. I miss the whole point. One of the aspects of Christ’s beauty is that he loves us the same no matter how dirty or clean we are. This morning I woke up early, made coffee and a roaring fire- I sat in an old rocking chair staring into the flames and talking to God. A thought came into my head with such a great force that I had to write it down: it’s not whether you sin or not. Whether you sin, or do not sin simply shows where your spirit/relationship is. When I am constantly sinning, I start focusing on that sin, and focusing on ridding the sin from my life. Yes, the sin is a bad thing, but I am not realizing that the source of that sin is the bad status of my relationship with Christ.

John 15:1-8

New International Version (NIV)

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Remain in Christ, and he will remain in you. If Christ is in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from him you can do nothing. When I start to see sin in my life, it is because I have become separate from the gardener- and am starting to wither. No matter how hard I try to produce good fruit, it is impossible apart from the gardener. Therefore I must be constantly working on my relationship with Christ. Like any relationship, I need to read the letters that are sent to me (the bible) along with constantly being in communication (prayer). Just yesterday I told my Sunday school class about a time when I really let the spirit reign in my life, I saw enough “coincidences” to know that Christ was showing me something beautiful. Something that I will strive to have for the rest of my life: being connected to the vine, under the full care of the gardener.

Relationship

2012-10-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

This summer I worked as a cabin leader at camp Mini-Yo-We, a Christian camp in Huntsville, Ontario. Halfway through the summer I received a letter from a girl at Girls camp... How would my relationship with this girl have developed if I had:

1...thought "oh that's nice, I'l carry the letter with me everywhere", but never actually read the letter = the relationship would have been simply a memento, something I would show off, but ultimately it would be meaningless.

2....read the letter, but never talk to this girl, or reply in any way = the relationship would be based on information, and however hard I try to be in love with this girl-without interaction, it would be impossible.

How often is our faith simply an add-on to our lives? a memento, a part of our facebook information page?

Or how often are we stuck trying to love God because we know it's the right thing to do? This was the trap I found myself in, a meaningless faith- trying my best to truly love God- only to fail repeatedly. Eventually I gave up, this "faith" was leaving me with a constant feeling of failure, in no way did I get any "living water"/never thirsting sensation. I now believe whole heartedly that my relationship had been purely option number 2, without interaction, meaningless. I had read the letter (The bible), I had read it a lot, and developed a lopsided relationship with Christ. Going back to the start, the only way I could have developed a strong relationship with that girl, would have been to read the letter, but also to talk to her, to listen to her. Likewise, the only way for me to build a strong relationship with Christ, is through talking with him in prayer, along with reading his letter, the bible.

My prayers became more and more candid, more and more personal over the course of the summer. I feel like church can give us this subconscious impression that prayers should be ritualistic and impersonal, I also feel like when Christianity is an add-on in our lives, that prayer becomes nothing more then a "help-line" where we ask God to fix "our" lives.

Romans 8, 31-32
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

God is the creator of the whole Universe, of everything. He is the Being that Satan needed permission from before approaching Job. God owns all the money in the world, and knows all of the people. This all-powerful being, as it says in Romans 8:32, will give us all things. If you don't like praying or reading your bible, bring it to God- ask him to make you like it. this being LOVES us and we can ask him for anything, including all the desires and abilities needed in order to chase after him. Again God is not just a helpline for what we "need", personally I have found myself greatly affected by simply praying that God would do whatever he wants with me, because he knows exactly what I need.

John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it

The American Church

2011-08-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

Today’s American Church is the rotted shell of what church is supposed to be. It’s nothing more than a gas station, where people can show up- crack the good book and be able to maintain their status as a Christian for the upcoming week. As churches grow bigger and bigger and become more and more staffed they become an organisation instead of an organism; People often say that they “attend this church” instead of meet with this church. What used to be a functioning body is now a ritual-fest, like thanksgiving and Christmas- the rituals have survived whereas the reason for their existence has nearly been forgotten.
How often does the American Christian switch professions, or even consider a job change after becoming a Christian? Very seldom does our Christian life interfere with our daily life. The American Christian has become so conformed into thinking that along with giving 10% of their income to Christ, they must also give only 10% of their energy, time and lives to Christ. We group the people who give more than that into special categories, and in doing that we feel less guilt for not giving as much as they do. Really there is no excuse for not giving our all to Christ; it should take priority over everything else, even our basic needs for survival. Mathew 6:25 therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
How many Christians have not read the whole bible, the cornerstone of their life’s sole purpose? It’s often a shelf ornament or a book that is more studied then put into practice. Why are Christians known for being judging and hateful, when one of our most important commandments is to love everyone? Young frightened girls entering abortion clinics are screamed at by us, homosexuals feel like they’re hated by us. As the good shepherd goes out to find the lost sheep, he pulls them back to a flock that is jeering and hating them. Or is it that the shepherd pulls the lost sheep past that flock and into the real flock? Mathew 7:22 many 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?” then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers!”
America is in deep trouble spiritually, and the devils biggest achievement is that while we fall in our downward spiral, he has made it seem like we are doing fine. We don’t need another revolution, we simply need to pick up our bibles, and pray. If as individuals we can develop real relationships with Jesus then the church will follow suit.

Sideline Christianity

2011-06-18T11:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was working out, and before the final set I prayed that God would help me to do the whole thing without giving up, this was my thought process:

me: God please help me to do this
voice in my head: You only talk to him when you need help
me: thats true, I cant think about this while working out
voice in my head: why are you working out when you have to think about this

I shut out the voice and kept working out, but it left me thinking- how much of an add on is christianity in my life. Its a sideling thing that carries huge influence on my actions, or at least it would if I didnt completely shut out the voice that would tell me what to do. Todays culture cators to shuting out that voice: tv, laptop, music- tons of things to drown out that tiny voice. It's easier to shut out that voice because the religion christianity claims to be that voice: I think, “screw christianity, a sect of people who pretend to be better, I dont have to listen to them”.

But in reality that voice is Jesus, a man who loves me- whos crying when I ignore him. A lamb that while being spat on by me, gives his life for me. Like an abusive boyfriend I leave Jesus ignored, cheated on, and alone. In the garden the choice was just that, a choice: choose to love God and be faithful to him or choose the fruit. Nowadays the choice is less of a choice and more of a fight, to follow after Jesus one must constantly be chasing after him and blocking out the distractions.

How many of the disciples literally left everything to follow Jesus? Peter, Andrew, James and John left their nets, their profession, on a beach. Levi, left his profession- his tax collector booth in the street. Saul left his position and the mission he was half way through, to follow Jesus. God didnt ask us to give him our thoughts every once and awhile, God asked us to give our lives. when a man becomes a christian he shouldnt just start to go to church, he should change every aspect of his life to bring glory to God. Does God demand less of us now because these are different times, does he only want half or less of our attention now? 1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I'm not saying that every christian should work in “a ministry” but they should be in ministry, a builder who charges the right price and who isnt greedy is a ministry. A post deliverer who is friendly and loving is a ministry, often times christians encourage everyone to “spiritulize” everything.
To me, a heart neckless is just as “christian” as a cross neckless. We christians in an attempt to christianise/ spiritulize everythng have made our own music, our own games, we even have our own guitar hero. We seem to have forgotten that Jesus made this world and everyone/ everything in it- we dont need to go making our own little world of christian things.

Often at church were encouraged to go people hunting, recently the turn or burn mentlity has come back with a new target, the christitians. The message is “if you dont convert everyone you know youv pretty much killed them” so it encourages us to get our picket boards and go out parading. There are programs offered on how to bring someone to christ. Like christian hunters we aquire a target and then try to bring them down, take them over to the “good side”. But we arnt called to be christian hunters, were called to be “fishers of men” fishers offer bait, and wait to be approached. They dont aquire targets, they just display themselves and if someone likes what they have, they come to inquire. there's no need to try to sneak Jesus into a conversation somewhere or invite them to church. show them what you have- not for the purpose of converting them, just live- loving everyone and God.

Love God, and love everyone.

Dont be a believer, be a follower

Conformed/Ritualistic World

2011-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

These Kids were raiseds in the Westboro Baptist Cult. They believe in God but the culture they’ve been raised in has told them that our God is not a loving one. 2 of these signs start with “God hates” in the book I read God hates 7 things, America and homosexuals aren’t on that list. This picture reminds me of Hitler’s Youth. If everyone around you says that Jews are bad and deserve to die, and you’re raised in that culture- I believe that you would grow up never doubting that Jews are bad.
I think that it is very easy to fall into a pattern of just accepting things the way they are:
There once was a lady who would only ever cook half a ham because that was how her mother did it, and her mother only cooked half a ham because that was how her mother did it. That lady’s mother only ever cooked half a ham because the oven was too small for a whole one.

I think that the culture we are raised in as children becomes so imbedded into our minds that we will never question the way certain things are, the rituals that we do every day are so natural to us that even if one tries they may not be able to realise everything they do without thinking about it. If one generation goes off track a little bit, then that will become their children’s default for being “on track”. If that generation continues to go off track then the preceding generation will be “very off track” by default, maybe that’s how cults are created.

Habits are so easy to form, and when a similar habit is acquired by many people, the habit becomes a culture. An easy way for a habit to become acquired by a lot of people is through a group where all the people are presented with the same information, from the same viewpoint. We need to have many different sources of information. Some people go to church but don’t read their bibles, so nothing counters/ challenges what the pastor says. The pastor tries to point you in the right direction but your compass has to always always be the bible.

The bible is our foundation; we must always bring ourselves back to the bible. Often times we look to the bible to support an idea “I want a tattoo so I’ll check if that’s okay” or “War is bad”. We should not be approaching the bible to support the way we want to think. It should be the “default reset” to our brain.

We are being conformed. It’s easy to be conformed. Be vigilant

Conformed Worship

2011-02-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

I just got back from FEB’s “Sno Camp” it’s a Weekend youth retreat that happens every February in Muskoka. There’s always a lot of excitement the first night when the band comes on stage- fireworks, smoke, and light.

Followed by some real worship.

But not always, I think we often get confused between “Christian music” and worship. And I think “Christian music” whatever that stuff is, is possibly detrimental to our already brutally distorted Christian image. Worship music to me is just that, worship- praise, praising God. Not singing about ourselves. The only line from this band’s self-written songs that I remember is “let’s illuminate the world”. It made me want to break into the singer’s cabin at 3 am, and blind him with my flashlight; because that’s the only illuminating that man can do, Annoying and artificial. All of their songs were like that; they mentioned the key words that were required to make them “Christian” but it was not worship.

There were the yuppies singing and jumping at the front, closest thing to a mosh pit that these kids will ever see, and when the band would walk by they’d ask for autographs. It was exactly as if they weren’t a worship band- but it’s made “Christian” because they mentioned Jesus sometimes in their songs. (Getting close to a line here) but Jesus is a word, a five letter word, 2 vowels. Just a word, I think we need a wider classification system for “Christian music” then a couple keywords.

There was one point when the band introduced themselves, “Mr. Whoever on the drums” then he’d do a solo. I nearly threw up. Because really, the band is just an aid, as essential as the chairs we were sitting on. They were there to help us bring glory to God. I don’t care who they are. There’s a girl I know who writes amazing songs; one in particular that is a real glory-to- God worship song, the deepest and most emotional one I’ve heard. I had been trying to convince her to put it on her YouTube channel, and just this weekend to play it for the talent show- she kept telling me that it wouldn’t be right, that it’s not meant for a talent show where it’d bring glory to her. It makes me think that often times we glorify the earthly builder, instead of the creator- (builder because they assemble what’s already created)

Why is the band in church always at the front? we don’t need to see them

Why do the worship leaders talk? It’s not a presentation, no need for a presenter

I think there are a number of rituals that go unnoticed, that need to be noticed and corrected into a way that brings glory to God.

2011-01-22T21:45:00.000-08:00

Kidnapped

2010-12-23T01:58:00.000-08:00

the ultimate con-men, they have access to everything- physical things: internet, money, interactions with people. Access to your mind. They insert a thought or a longing- they attack wielding doctrine, idealism, false solutions, and other alternatives to God that are much more blatant. Funny thing is that the con-men abide by rules, regulations- they needed permission to access Job. The rules were created by the creator- why then are there so many gaps that the con-men use to access, to tempt, to kidnap people. Did God mess up? Is he up there saying “dang I missed that....”? This system, the way it is right now, is no mistake-

this is the way it was designed by a creator who made it the way he wanted it to be.

Trippy? Kinda, we are Christ's bride- we as in the Church. and God wants the Church to grow, so "they" are the ones being wooed, and without temptations there would be no real “wooing” to be done. I've said “There's no love without a choice”, maybe, but that has started sounding wrong to me cuz its really -there is no "like" without a choice- you choose coke over pepsi, its cuz you like it more- no love involved- i think the requirement for love should be more like :no love without a fight, we battle temptations everyday, its not like a man calls every morning and says, "hey so you still choosing God? Yea? Okay talk to you tomorrow." Its more like, something subtly catches you- playing games online, and its subtly becomes a distraction from your family- and then from God. We have to be vigilant- because once we start slipping on one aspect of life we slip in all of them. The con-men are crafty, the day you decide to give up drinking is the day that you'll be given booze as a present.
Don't give them an inch.

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."
C. S. Lewis

Its a love story.

Rituals

2010-10-10T06:44:00.001-07:00

I think that there is a strong relationship between the church today and modern day holidays. In the weeks leading up to Christmas everyone is stressed and busy with gift shopping, tree fetching, card writing.... All traditions that we made to MEAN something; gifts to show love, cards for the same reason, a tree- for fun, to decorate, i don't know. All these traditions that we created for our pleasure are usually burdens in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Thanksgiving is the same deal, everyone needs to get dressed up, visit the cousins, and its all very stressed. Its supposed to mean something- to be thankful, but I think that thanksgiving is more focused on the traditions, the food etc. If it wasn't named thanksgiving, would we still know what its about? I think that religion is like that, we have all these traditions but do they really MEAN what they were meant to when they were created? Does communion mean the same as it did when "the way" was doing it? They say its to remember, like same as remembering your PIN number, because that's how embedded the story of Jesus' death is in our mind. So we remember it.... "Now what? Oh, drink.... They should Make these glasses bigger" maybe "remember" is just part of it, like when you remember that you left your oven on at home, maybe our remembering should be followed by the strong emotion that, he died for me. Didn't Jesus wreck the "religion" the rules and regulations that are religion? I don't think that Christianity is a religion because Buddhism, Islam,and satanism are all religions. How can Christianity be under the same heading as ideas that aren't the way? Actually i do think that sometimes Christianity is a religion, when it is focused on rituals and "rules" (rules based on rules and not on love) and i think that's what we need to escape, being focused on the rules and not being focused on Jesus.
Me and 4 other youth met up the other night and decided that we want to be more then just believers, we want to be followers, we want to go wherever Christ leads, please pray for us.

Charlie

2010-10-03T05:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I met a homeless man named Charlie. He stood outside of the variety store- panhandling in near-destroyed shoes, smoking a cigarette while managing to be polite to everyone who he asked for money.

Charlie told me about a girl he had run into that day, she had overheard him asking someone for money. The girl yelled at him for panhandling, swore at him, embarrassed him.
He explained how it confused him, it wasn't as if he had bothered her- he hadn't talked to her at all.
He was truly hurt: lowered to the level of having to ask others for money, living unmarried, living unremembered by his friends. when he was already destroyed by horrible circumstances, this girl embarrassed him
I told him that i could probably get him some money from my church. He quickly answered "no, they wouldn't like where I'm staying; and they wouldn't approve of this" he said while gesturing to his cigarette.
I think that we have a major reputation problem... Charlie feels as if he'd be judged for living on the street, or for smoking- well, would he be? would we judge him? if not to him would we do it in our heads?
Either we have a reputation problem, or we have a problem that's making a reputation.
the most important commandment is LOVE, love God, and love others- that's the most important commandment so I think it should be what we do, what we are KNOWN for.
Charlie doesn't know us like that...

we study Christianity, we believe it
do we live Christianity? do we follow it?

Pacifism, finally

2010-09-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

A very thought provoking question circulated around spring crew at camp Mini-Yo-We this year: If a person had a gun and was going to kill your family, and you had a gun- would you kill him before he could kill them? The argument was huge, and it was heated, and I don’t think it had a specific outcome or answer.

My answer is, my family members will go to heaven when they die, where as the man with the gun probably won’t. So I would let my family get shot, and die, and go to heaven instead of sending this man to hell. This answer made me start to think that I was a pacifist, which was a major change in my lifestyle. I also was convinced to be a pacifist by Shane Claiborne’s altered point of view after returning from Iraq, Claiborne is a complete pacifist, and I know that he is very wise, so I was prepared to take his word for it.

Bruxy Cavey says that there are only two types of people in the world: those who are saved and those who aren’t. We cannot kill a Christian brother, and we cannot kill a non-Christian. So we should be pacifists. That’s all paraphrasing from one of his sermons in a recent series “inglorious pastors” at his Toronto church “The Meeting House”. I think that Bruxy may be thinking too black and white, the world is pretty grey in my opinion, and I think that single sentence answers are often not capable of answering huge questions.

What if the question at the beginning wasn’t “if a man was about to kill your family” what if the question was: “if a man was about kill your non-Christian friends”, would you kill him- and save their earthly lives and give them more time to save their spiritual lives?

When I wonder “what would Jesus do?”, I ask “what is the most loving thing to do”: in that situation it’s not loving the shooter to kill him, and it’s not loving the victims to let them die. Jesus says “love your neighbour” in Matt 19:19 but Jesus also says “sell your cloak and buy a sword” in Luke 22:36 so I really don’t know if Jesus calls us all to be pacifists.

Say these two words: “sod off”. It may mean nothing to you, but to someone in the UK they may have to sin in their heart to say that- because it’s a swear word in the UK. By “sin in their heart” I mean they may have to hurt their relationship with Jesus to say that, because they may feel convicted to not swear. If you feel convicted to be a pacifist I don’t think that you will have to kill someone.

When Ken Cooper (Ken Cooper Prison Ministries) was in prison he refused to accept a shank (prison knife) from a friend when he knew that he had been “bought” by a sex deprived creep in Florida’s sketchiest prison. He felt convicted to be a pacifist, and when confronted by the rapist, God spoke through Cooper saying: “your mother and grandmother are praying for you” that simple line sent the rapist running. God saved Ken Cooper from needing to use violence.

I don’t know what to think about pacifism so far, still searching. And if I’m ever in a situation where I need to choose to kill or not, I don’t know what I’ll do.

Poor

2010-09-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

There was a pressing need that brought Vijay Babu into ministry.

Vijay Babu is a Dalit in India, Dalits are also sometimes called “the untouchables” because they are not fit to be touched by people in higher casts. The cast system in India is based off of a factor of Buddhism, re-incarnation: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaisays are cast types for supposedly re-incarnated people. Which cast they get to be has to do with how close they got to enlightenment in their “past life”. Enlightenment which basically means ridding “wants” from their lives. Dalits are not the Sudras on the diagram, they are below the sudras, not even on the chart. Even among the Dalits there are different levels, but the lowest of the low are Christian Dalits, Vijay Babu is a Christian Dalit.
For Vijay Babu, the call to “ministry” came naturally, easily. There were orphaned Dalits who would probably die without someone taking them in, its screaming obvious that he should help these dying kids. Vijay runs an orphanage in India with 50 kids, the monthly support provided by American churches does not meet the money that is needed to run the orphan home, but miraculously the money is provided. While Vijay was at my house something came up, $2000 dollars was needed for school tuition for the orphans, while $2000 was needed to pay the pastors who work with them- all they had was $2000, Vijay told his wife “go ahead and pay the pastors, we still have ten days to pay tuition” ten days later, on the day he received $2030 in a love offering in Canada. He lives by faith, God is always providing for him. I don’t think of Vijay’s Dalits as poor, they are seeing Jesus every day! As often as they see a meal, they see a miracle! though im not saying that financial support for Vijay Is a bad idea, this man sold his wedding ring for money for the orphans, God has given us an opportunity to love some of our brothers overseas.

There was a pressing need that brought Vijay into ministry, And I think there is a need calling us to ministry, but it doesn’t press as hard. I’ve been thinking, that people who have not met God in Canada and India, go to the same hell. So why is the “need” more pressing in India? Is it because it is more obvious?

Maybe the poor are not always the people with empty wallets and no homes, I think the poor are the hurting people with no hope, because they are poor in the things that really matter. So I’ve been thinking that maybe the poor are just as likely to be wearing suit jackets as they are to be wearing a dirty coat.

fuel low...Passion

2010-09-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about Christian passion, not the passion of the entire church but the passion of individual followers within the church, what drives them? How do they keep on fighting? More importantly, why is it so common to see their passion fall, along with their lofty hopes and dreams for the world? I always go to an FEB sponsored youth event in the winter, and hundreds of kids fly up to leave their lives at the cross. There are tears and hugs and barriers are broken down, one week later the feeling is gone and fire has burnt out. They are back to their normal selves. I think of that event as musical chairs, everyone is up and dancing but when the music stops they don’t have a chair to sit down on. For passion to remain there must be a foundation, like a purpose, like a chair. (Luke 8:13)

One can get the urge to run- so sometimes they gratify that urge and just run, but not long after starting, the thought pops up, “why am I running? I'm tired" and they turn and walk back. But when you are pursuing someone who has just snatched a ladies purse, then the question “why am I running” is quickly answered. I think Christian passion is like that, at some point they make a mistake and in the low they ask “why am I trying" and they have no answer. I feel that the foundation we need to keep our passion alive, is a love for Jesus Christ.

For some reason… for some stupid reason, “Jesus loves me” is a kid’s song in church’s. Why do we forget that? The most important commandment is “love the Lord your God”. We seem to think that the most important commandment was “recruit more followers for our religion” but when we don’t love Jesus we don’t even have a religion! Well we do, we have a religion but that’s all it is- just a religion and not a way of life. I think, that when you are intimately in love with Jesus, then loving him is a way of life. And there’s no need for religion when you have that.

Sin

2010-09-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

What really is sin, “bad things” but what are bad things, why are they bad? How were the sins selected? I think the only way to see how they were selected is to look for a pattern within the sins that we know- what sins do we know? Well we know the bible’s laws, and they distinguish sins. The Ten Commandments: (paraphrased from Deuteronomy 5)
1. You shall have no gods before me
2. No idols/ in place of God
3. Do not misuse the name of God
4. Keep the Sabbath
5. obey your father and mother
6. Do not murder
7. Do not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour
10. You shall not covet

6,7,8,9, and 10 all relate to living in harmony, 5 is listening to your parents as an authority placed over you by God and 1,2,3 and 4 relate to reverence for God. I think the Ten Commandments are about community, all living in harmony under a reverence for God, and there is a system (parents in authority over their children) to raise the next generation in the same way. It fits with the most important commandments: 1st love God and 2nd Love everyone else. It seems to be all about community.

I think the law has more of a purpose though, more than just as a template for community. This is an analogy of what I think the second purpose for sin is: if you’re alone in the world with one girl and you hook up with them, then it’s not real love, at least it’s not the same as if there were 2 girls and you chose one.
Love involves choice, Coke over Pepsi because you “love” it more.

It’s like if you give commandments to your kids and they choose to obey them, then they have chosen you over whatever else gets in the way. On the other hand if you don’t give any commands to your kids- then they can never be disobedient- but they can never be truly obedient because there is nothing to obey. So I think, that when God put Adam and Eve in the garden he put the apple tree there too, so that they could choose him over the tree and therefore be obedient to him.

I think God allows sin, to let us choose God’s law instead of it, and by that, show love for God. But that really ties back into community, if everyone has a great love for God, they will all be united in it as one. Community.

Pascifism

2010-08-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been thinking about pacifism and wether or not followers of christ are called to be pacifists, im planning a post about it and want some opinions, iv emailed shane claiborne, meeting house, ravi zacharias, and michael coren to get their opinions. if you have any opinions on pacifism for christ followers please email them to me at point.25@live.com

Should Christians be Wealthy?

2010-08-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Christianity, is believing that Jesus was the son of God who came to take away our penalty for sin, but it is more than believing, it’s following him in actions and nature. So while being a Christian should we be poor and homeless as Jesus was? How does that work with the elderly, should they work until they freeze to death sleeping in the street with no food? Of course one thing to remember is John 22 where Peter is told that he’ll die a bad death, after hearing that, he asked about another disciple’s fate, but Jesus said what difference does that make to you, you follow me. This is all paraphrasing of course but the idea is follow your own calling, we all have different roles. So maybe some are called to be loaded, where as some are called to be poor. But in the bible it says that we should love our neighbour, then how could someone be rich while seeing someone who has nothing, without not following the 2nd most important commandment, love your neighbour.
Of course, there is the kind of wealth that cannot be given away- the constant flow that comes from a successful business, well, it can be given away but it will be back again soon, unless they have an equally constant flow flowing out of there account and into the mouths of their neighbours. I think this is the kind of wealth that is the “best” and most righteous, constantly providing for the poor, able to support numerous families at a time. Sharing the blessings God has given with everyone in love.
About non- accumulative wealth though, is it “right” for a Christian to have great wealth stored up? For someone to be a “Christian” they have to stop living for their selves and start living for the messiah- Jesus. So someone’s heart, and along with their heart, their possessions, their hopes and dreams and everything, should be put to following Jesus. So unless your wealth is working for Jesus, how can it be right? We should not be of the world because we have citizenship in heaven. So I think the question should not be “Should Christians be Wealthy” but “how can a Christian hoard monetary blessings when their brothers are hungry” you cannot serve two masters God and the World, Choose one and follow it whole heartedly with your whole estate following you.
Now that a point has been established, if you are reading this on your computer- on your internet connection- in your home, you would be a very wealthy person among the Dalit’s in India.

James Johnson

Christianity

2010-08-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Christianity! The most popular religion since the beginning of religion! And it’s FREE! Absolutely free no strings attached!!! Wanna be a Christian? Huh? Do ya? do ya? Well this is how, its actually quite simple! First Say some words, second go to church on Sunday, and third try your best to follow ten simple rules!! But if you break them it’s absolutely OKAY!
This is the common view of Christianity, well maybe not view although it may be; this is the common lifestyle of Christians. It’s no wonder more than half the church kids going into secondary education lose their “creed” Christianity is boring! There’s no fun in following rules, for no purpose at all! There’s no fun in listening to lectures and having sing alongs with a hundred other people to songs that are out dated and have no beat! Being a Christian is a waste of time. I would know btw I’m a pastor’s kid; I was a Christian for years!
I’m not a Christian anymore; I had to ditch being a Christian to follow Jesus, I am a passionate follower of Jesus, it is difficult to describe what a follower of Christ is, because it’s different for each of us,
…Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which peter would glorify God. Then he said to him “follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:19-23
Jesus is telling Peter to not worry about the other disciples, because his plan for him is different, when we follow Jesus we walk alone, on our own path. John the Baptist had his head chopped off, Peter was hung upside down, and Elijah left earth in a chariot of fire. We who are followers of Jesus walk our own paths.
Jesus doesn’t call us to add him to our lives as if it’s adding a new language to our vocabulary, he calls us to drastically dramatically change our lives for him. Simon, James, and John pulled up their boats on shore and left everything to follow him (Luke 5:11) when Jesus saw Levi in his tax booth he said “follow me” Levi got up left everything, and followed him (Luke 5: 28). Passionately following Jesus is about making Jesus your authentic priority, leaving it all to follow him. He says not to worry about food or clothes (Mathew 6:25-34), so the only reason to get a job would be to glorify God. Our primary purpose is to love God, and to love everyone. Our mission is to bring glory to God.
Being a passionate follower of Jesus means being an outcast like Jesus was, it means living as a barbarian- with raw untamed dangerous faith, and raw untamed dangerous love. That love that will allow you to die for anyone else, the faith that will allow you to give your last scrap of food to the poor, and still thank God for his abundance of blessings. A passionate follower of Christ is when you’re more than just a believer, when you’re a follower: when you will follow Jesus to the prison cell, to the street corner, even to death. It’s when your whole being is focused on its authentic priority, Jesus.

DNA- THE EVIDENCE OF DESIGN

2010-06-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

DNA- stores information in a four part code: AGCT or Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine. Each one of 30 000 genes in each of our 23 pairs of chromosomes can yield 20 500 different kinds of proteins.

Quotes
DNA was “our own instruction book, previously known only to God” Francis S. Collins- head of the human genome project, (which mapped the 3 billion codes of the human genome)

“DNA is like a software program, only much more complex than anything people have ever devised” Bill Gates

“DNA has more organized information then the encyclopedia Britannica, if it were to appear in computer code from space, most people would see it as proof of aliens.” Lea Strobel legal editor of Chicago tribune

Causes DNA stores more organized information then the encyclopedia Britannica, there are 3 billion DNA codes mapped out by Francis S. Collins, and they work to write out the instruction manual for our lives. There are 5 main theories of the creation of DNA

1. In 1871 Charles Darwin wrote in a letter that that life might have originated when a protein compound was chemically formed “in some warm little pond” when all the right components came together

“No evidence” (Lea Strobel) if this pond existed it would be rich in amino acids. therefore, there would have been a lot of nitrogen (because amino acid is nitrogenous). So scientists should find large deposits of nitrogen rich minerals in the earliest sediments of earth,

“the nitrogen content of early organic matter is relatively low, just .015%. from this we can be reasonably certain that there never was any substantial amount of “primitive soup” on Earth when pre-Cambrian sediments were formed;if such a soup ever existed it was only for a brief period of time” Jim Brooks, geochemist

2.Random Chance if you let amino acids sit for millions of years life will somehow emerge.

to create the simplest protein molecule structure you need 75 amino acids, all of them have to be the same version (out of two versions), they have to link up in a specified sequence (like letters in a sequence). The odds of forming a rather short functional protein at random would be 1 chance in a 100 thousand trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion thats a 10 with 125 zeros after it. And thats only one protein molecule- a fairly simple cell would need between 300 and 500 protein molecules.

3. Natural Selection natural selection acting on chance variations.

“You cant have natural selection before you have life”
Lea Strobel
natural selection needs reproduction to work, you need a cell division with information- rich DNA and proteins.

4. Chemical Attraction that proteins and DNA can put themselves together, like salt crystals: Na+ (sodium irons) bonds with Ci (chloride irons) to create NaCi

there is a big problem with this theory DNA is spelled out in
a four letter code (ACGT) what if there were a force that
made A automatically bond with C you'd just have a repetitive sentence of ACACACACACACA the same as salt crystal is in a repetitive sentence NACI over and over again, theres another problem with this theory: in DNA certain bonds are caused by chemical attractions, for instance, there are bonds between the sugar and phosphate molecules that form the two twisting backbones of the DNA molecule. But there are no chemical attractions between the DNA letters ACGT. Picture a fridge with magnetic letters on it spelling INFORMATION, there is an attraction to the fridge but not to each other, you can put the letters in any order

5. Intelligent design an intelligent designer, usually thought of as a God, wrote our DNA. designing us, in the bible its says that God “nits us together in our mothers womb”

Who made God?

MORALS IN THE WORLD

2010-06-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our country has determined not to follow any religion, the question should be raised- then what is right and wrong, why do we follow these laws that say: don’t kill and don't steal.why?. obviously the rule: “do to others as you would have done to you” still works secretly in the background, its actually a bible verse.

The point is that the bible could be implemented into this country as a moral that we could follow. A christian faith lived in accordance with the bible does not persecute other religions, so it could be used as a guide line.

Without a template of morals we are nothing, at present we are living on the fumes of our godly base, but in the next generation it is often- can I get away with it unnoticed- instead of I shouldn’t do that, and really for a non christian there is no point, the only reason I can see that someone would not steal or kill or vandalize in this day and age is because someone will be unhappy.

So we are a loveless nation whose only chance is love, in the race to become people friendly we have kicked our base out from under us and landed in a muddy rut, we've start to sink, some of us have air pockets that may last us until we sink through this filter into the glory land.

The question before us with faith is: should we fight to rebuild a base that will never stay or should we just sink with our own backup air supply?

CENSORSHIP

2010-06-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

CENSOR: to give as ones opinion, one who supervises conduct and morals: as a: an official who examines material (as publications or films for objectional matter b: an official (as in time of war) who reads communications (letters) and deletes material considered sensitive or harmful.

Censorship is to listen to ones opinion and decide that it is too “harmful’ or disruptive for the public.

1. I.e. a government kills a man because he suggest the world is round.

2. there is a plane about to fly in to canada to drop a bomb, the goverement knows wich way it is going and will take it out… but if they tell the country then the owner of the plane will fly it in somewhere else, people will die unless it’s a secret.

Obviusly the more fruitful, productive thing to do in the 2 senerio was to keep it a secret, the first is obviusly less fruitful then to keep the man alive- not only because the world isnt flat- but also because he wouldn’t say such a broad statement he doesn’t truly believe in if he knows it will kill him.

The difference in the two is opinion and fact… thus I introduce a much needed thesus statement- if a claim is an opinion then it is only harmful to society in another opinions view. Or if something isnt proven true it cant be proven harmful or in vice versa if something is proven true it can be proven harmful… depending on the view of society of what is harmful.

emasculating, revolution always goes too far

2009-03-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

the feminist movement... ugh where to start, if you cant castrate your boyfriend might as well turn him into your girlfriend dress him in your jeans like a barbie. listen ladies we're different from you, very different. In your attempt to be equal you have took away all of a gentleman's roles- WE KNOW YOU CAN OPEN YOUR OWN DOOR!!!!!!!! we open a door for you to be nice, to treat you like a queen. now its hard to find a gentleman most men are sissies. fighting for "equality" is stupid we were equals we still are.

"is it oppression for a guitar to be in tune" no, then let men be men.
now off you go, go tell your boyfriend and son to stop wearing your pants

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2001-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

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