Archive for the ‘ Religion ’ Category

Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 08/05/2012

As I do the series on the CORE Facts and Values, it is fitting that the first Weekend Words post would be about believing that what God says is true. The guys and I over at Proverbial Thought help show how trustworthy the Bible is from beginning to end.

We can trust the Bible. We can trust that what Jesus said is true.

a child of God

i want to trust in all You say
my heart tends to walk astray
but i pray to You everyday
to make me a child of God
i try to constantly think and pray
in Your Love is where i want to stay
help me hold my doubt at bay
and make me a child of God
i know my own will i must pay
all my desires must die and decay
Your Will and desires i want today
as You make me a child of God

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 123.

2012
08/05
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The Marriage Month

June is historically the most popular month for weddings. I am not getting into the history or anything like that (here is some interesting history, though). Today is more of a celebration.

My wife and I just had the opportunity to take a month, a holiday, if you will, and visit family and friends. We had a lot of fun, got to meet and know better family members and friends on both sides, and go to places we could enjoy together.

This month was also a celebration of life and love.

Our trip began because friends of mine were getting married. We were able to celebrate the start of a marriage with loved ones.

My parents celebrated 29 years of marriage while my wife and I celebrated three years. We were able to celebrate marriages in the middle together, one couple with grown children and another without children.

We celebrated the loss of a wonderful woman who lived for over 90 years, making a great impact on many lives. The day her life was celebrated in a very beautiful and spirit-filled memorial service, a child was born to a young couple within the family.

On the final weekend of our trip, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of that newborn’s great grandparents surrounded by extended family and friends (her side … but really for both of us), including that newborn baby girl Zoe (which means Life!). We were able to celebrate a marriage that is full and long.

Through all of this, we were able to remember all of the good times and bad times our families have struggled through; we were able to remember all those whom we have lost; and we were able to build and strengthen relationships, new and old.

Treasure the moments you have with family and friends. Enjoy them, as you should, and give praise to God, as you should.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:8

2012
06/26
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Bad Teacher

First of all, do not forget to get some wisdom from Proverbial Thought!

Today’s post is not about a movie starring Cameron Diaz. Rather, true to this blog, today’s post is about theology.

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience(and a sincere faith.Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
1 Timothy 1:5-7

To tell you the truth, this passage scares me.

I am a big believer in God speaking through dreams (but not all dreams). I am big believer in God speaking through visions. I believe prophecy still happens.

I have had dreams and visions in which I speak to a large audience (perhaps blogging will be that realization?). I have had others (both Christians and non-Christians) say or speak over me (either specifically as prophetic or “in passing”) that they see me one day leading ministries and/or a congregation (or congregations) or speaking to large groups.

This scares me simply because I know my past and how I have treated theology and teaching. What if God eventually calls me to be a pastor/priest over First Church of Hometown, USA?

I hate to break it to you (tongue-in-cheek), but there are many teachers and preachers today who simply should not be. These are men and women who replace love of God and/or people with a love of money, power, influence, or popularity. These are men and women who either do not have or have lost a pure heart and good conscience. These are men and women may or may not have a sincere faith, but the question becomes where that sincerity or where that faith truly lies.

I may step on some toes and perhaps offend here, but here are some examples of things people teach and confidently affirm without really knowing what they are talking about:

  • God wants you happy and financially rich in this life. There is never a biblical guarantee that all godly people will have both or either of these in this life. In fact, there are promises of the opposite for the believer in Christ.
  • There is no Trinity. Quite frankly, Christianity falls apart without the Trinity. My Catholic brother Richard has begun covering this over at CatholicBoyRichard.
  • Women have no place in ministry. Let me just say that people who believe this are complete idiots. They may be very intelligent, but they really stupid.
  • Jesus sinned. The faith falls apart if this is true. I cannot express enough how important this is and how false and straight from the pits of Hell this is.
  • God hates ... This one is taken specifically from Westboro Baptist Church, the people who say “God hates fags” along with many other people. It is this kind of “christian” (not just those who blatantly call for the destruction of others, but also those who promote hatred through favoritism, indifference, and bigotry [misunderstanding mixed with fear]) who gives the Church the bad name we seem to see and hear about today.

There is a long, long list, and I know I have been guilty of at least all of these at one time or another. Paul listed a few others to Timothy:

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith.The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk.They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
1 Timothy 1:3-11

How can we – how can I – know we are staying true to good teaching? How can we know our teachers and preachers are staying true to good teaching?

The simple answer:

We must continue studying together. We must not give up on the traditions from Church history (and before some complain, where do you think our Bible and even most of our liturgy, keeping in mind I currently attend and serve in a non-denominational church, came from? Why do we know many of the facts we know about the early Church? From what did Christianity arise?). We must always strive to express the love of God to all people.

2012
06/05
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Useless Studying

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
Titus 3:9

The other day I read this article from ABCnews.com about how the Pentagon had so many studies requested in 2010 that they had to issue a study to how much it was costing, but because they were taking their sweet time with no real results the Government Accountability Office has begun a study of the initial study of the 2010 studies.

In other words, everyone is wasting time and money looking into unnecessary things to see who is guilty of breaking the law or at least of wasting more time and money.

Do we not do this every day in the Western (and often Global) Church?

We get caught up in who was first or the longest.

We get caught up in who said what first or better.

We get caught up in who follows God’s/Jesus’ commandments the right way or the wrong way (usually “not our way”).

We get caught up over carpet color, community placement, ministry ideas, and how many inches are to be used on the weekly bulletin.

In other words, we get into fights and quarrels over who did/said what first, who is wasting more time and money, and who is more guilty of breaking the Law.

There is a better way.

We should start with Paul’s exhortation:

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,to slander no one,to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
Titus 3:1-8

2012
05/15
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“The One Who Bites Your Skin Is Dead”

For more than a week I have been sick with a cold. It is rather miserable, but if this is the biggest of my worries then life is pretty good.

Now for an intimate confession.

In this last week I also had to confess to my wife that in my tiredness and even exhaustion from work, ministry, and school, I have struggled with lust for the past few weeks. This is something that was “defeated” years ago, so you can imagine my surprise to finding it an issue. The thing that usually brought me back to my senses was the thought of my wife.

When I got sick enough to have to miss work last week, I had a lot of time to focus on prayer. One of my prayers was “Lord, there is so much going on in life. I do not need this temptation attacking me again. Take me back to that place of repentance, learning what it really means. Help me daily to defeat this lust.”

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I had trouble sleeping due to my congestion and headaches, but I had a lot of dreams. They were interesting and even silly, and I woke myself (and my wife) up because of acting out the end (running) and talking out loud.

Throughout, however, I kept hearing this one line, kind of like from the movie-voice-over guy:

“The one who bites your skin is dead.”

I did not know what it meant. It made absolutely no sense to me, whatsoever. Simultaneously, I was tired and disoriented from my head cold-induced dream-filled, sleep-deprived night.

It was not until Saturday night (after watching The Avengers!) that it finally occurred to me.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[g]

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[h]

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Firstly, God definitely heard my prayer. My lust has not been a problem since last week.

The initial thought is not a sin. Entertaining the thought and then acting on the thought is a sin. Yes, our thoughts can be a sin, but only when we dwell on them.
God has given me the way out promised, but He has also given me His strength and healing.

Secondly, I was reminded of this passage.

It is through Jesus Christ we have victory! Our Lord and God deserves all the praise.

Also, I have little problem with universalists, but this is one of their prized passages showing all people will enter paradise someday. However, this is written to believers. If I were to write a letter to my youth group saying “we all get to go on a retreat this summer because the fee has been paid,” everyone not in the youth group (children, adults, non-attendees/people from other churches) who read the letter and assumed they were going would be understandably laughed at (in love, of course) as misunderstanding the context. I firmly believe this to be the case.

(I do not “laugh at” universalists because I disagree with them. They are still brothers and sisters in Christ unless God says otherwise or their conduct proves otherwise. In fact, I understand where they are coming from, but I think they are missing the full context. I know there are times I do the same, so I have grace as I know our Lord does.)

However, this is not the point of today’s posting. This is:

We have freedom from sin through our Lord’s sacrifice, and He gives us the strength to endure temptation.

At the end of history we will be free from temptation, and our Lord can help us with temptation during this life. But we must also remember we will have temptation in this life. We were never promised freedom from temptation until Christ Jesus returns in glory.

I am evidence that we still fail. Peter and Paul admitted to failing. This is why we are told to take every thought captive. I failed for a time, but our God is full of grace and mercy.

Do you trust God to help you? Do you believe He has enough grace and forgiveness for you?

He does.

It may be hard to believe at times, but He helps our faith grow through practice and endurance.

Endure, brothers and sisters.

2012
05/08
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Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 04/15/2012

Back in 2007 I spent a lot of time in Pentecostal circles. This poem came out of my experiences. While I have some theological issues (and sometimes moral issues) with some parts of the Charismatic realm of Christendom, I cherish the lessons I learned and the renewed love for Christ I gained during this time. Therefore, I definitely still agree with this poem!

Raise my face

We raise our hands as we sing
We lift our voices up as praise
As I lift up my voice for you
Not my hands are raised, but my face
I raise my face to see Your glory
I want to feel Your love rain down
I raise my face to feel Your grace
I want to be washed by the Son
I raise my head instead of my hands
I want to go in head first to You
I raise my face to You because
I want to submerge in Your Truth

Taken from deeper words for God from a simple man of God by daniel m  klem, page 51.

2012
04/15
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Unrecognized

First of all, do not forget that I contribute to a blog giving commentary on the book of Proverbs, Proverbial Thought. Go check it out. Sign up to receive the updates!

The other day I went to a barbershop and received a shave and a hairscut. My wife watched as the barber worked, yet when I arose from the chair she barely recognized me. This is a woman who has known me for more than three years, yet she still had to do a double-take.

How could a woman who has known me for so long and loves me so dearly not recognize me immediately?

This past Sunday was Resurrection Sunday, or as it is commonly known, Easter. Something similar happened when Jesus arose from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
John 20:10-16

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

. . .

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
Luke 24:13-35

Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
John 21:2-7

Jesus’ disciples, men and women alike, who had spent more than three years spending almost every moment near Jesus, essentially had to do a double-take. They did not recognize the risen Lord.

They had the wrong perspective.

My wife was still thinking of me with a beard. She had to change her thinking to recognize the new me.

These disciples were still thinking about how their Lord had died. They were still thinking in the old way.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
2 Corinthians 5:16

While I am on the subject, Christ’s resurrection gives us a hope of similar un-recognizability.

First spiritually:

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17

Then completely:

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:20-21

When this world is overcome – figuratively, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically (which fully happens when Christ returns) – the world does not recognize the new, the pure, the holy.

The new is not something different. The new is the cleaned up, purified original. All of the clutter and mess is removed (the old is gone), and the power of Christ restores us and perfects us into His likeness.

Are you able to recognize Jesus Christ in this world? Does this world recognize you as another part of this world, or does this world not recognize you at all?

2012
04/10
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Who quotes from Philemon?!

The other day my wife was looking for a card for her Secret Sister at church. They were able to grow a little closer to each other over the months before the big reveal … last night, as of this posting. Her Sister has been through some tough emotional times, as of late, so she wanted the card to express love, joy, and encouragement. I helped her look, and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it had a quote from Philemon. I told her “You have to get that one. Who quotes from Philemon?!” It was also a beautiful card that expressed the intent. But it got me into thinking that perhaps my little series over the previous three weeks is not quite over, so I am going to quote from Philemon.

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.
Philemon 6-11

For starters, how do we understand “every good thing we have in Christ”? It is by actively sharing our faith. I recently re-readTortured for Christby Richard Wurmbrand. People who are persecuted for their faith get caught primarily through witnessing to others. They also understood the peace and joy of Christ in any circumstance.

This leads to the next question: What is the best way to be active in sharing your faith?

See my previous posts (here, here, and here, as well as my re-blog of someone else’s post) for more detail, but I think I can sum it up in a few sentences.

We must live by a standard above that of this world. We must be willing to share in not only the joys of others but also the pains, trials, and difficulties of others. We must be willing to die for others in the hope that they will know the truth. Of course, we must tell others the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and all that this message entails. (Grace, love, forgiveness, and peace indeed are prominent, but there are also commands and warnings)

But I cannot tell you to do this. Christianity is not about just following a bunch of rules. Following Jesus is not about just praying and being nice. “Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do . . .”

It takes a commitment, a desire to know and love and grow in the knowledge of and love of God. “. . . yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.”

I have seen people throughout the church bicker and complain about each other and those outside of the Church. I have seen people throughout the church refuse to forgive and hold grudges. I have seen people throughout the church hate.

What good is using the authority of Christ to command if it could cause more sin and push more people away from God.

I can tell you until I am blue in the face that you need to forgive, love, and help others, but if you do not have that love in you it will never work.

Instead, I plead with you:

Seek God. Ask for the love of Christ to grow within you. Ask for the peace of Christ to grow within you. Ask for the grace of Christ to grow within you.

Only then will you be able to love others as they need. Only then will you be able to bring others to Christ.

2012
03/27
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Weary Rest

I am quite tired.

I have not really had a good break in a while. I have been working in classrooms with autistic children for about six months, and it can be mentally and emotionally exhausting. I only have had four weeks off from school in the last two and a half years. My current class is a true test in patience due to human factors, therefore it is more mentally and emotionally taxing than it needs to be. My wife and I volunteer in many areas of our local church and with friends’ ministries. Also, three weeks ago our car kicked the bucket (stopped working), and we have had to deal with that. (We got a vehicle on Thursday night!) One area of my character God is helping me work on is dealing with (my lack of patience with) stupidity in others. Needless to say, I have plenty of opportunities throughout almost every day to work on this!

I am tired.

I know many people understand. I mean, I do not have children of my own, yet! I can only imagine (though I get some experience with the classrooms in which I have worked)!

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Many teach that this refers to our eternal rest in God, that we will suffer in this world and receive rest from all of our pains and troubles in the next world.

This is certainly true. However, I offer another teaching that is out there.

I am tired. I get up everyday, go to work or church or launch straight into homework. I often finish my days (nights) working on homework. I get between five and seven hours of sleep on a good night.

What gets me up every morning?

There is my beautiful wife. She makes every day worth it!

The children in the classroom have a tendency to bring a smile to my face, even when I have to change a smelly pull-up diaper and deal with spit, snot, and pee. They help keep me young!

I get to share the love of Christ with children, teens, young adults, and many other people throughout my week. My life has some meaning!

I even get to drive around in a new(er) vehicle (at the moment)!

None of these really gets me up every morning, though.

My wife and I finish our nightly prayers the same way each night: “Lord, give us Your rest tonight that we might be ready for whatever You have for us tomorrow.”

We do not just mean “let us sleep well.” We give God all of our worries, fears, drama, joys, laughs, and dreams.

He gladly takes our burdens.

Okay, physically I might be pushing it a little. Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, my God relieves me and restores me.

Do you give God all of your life? (We can discuss the full implications later, but for this context I mean worries, fears, drama, joys, laughs, and dreams.) Can you give God the weight on your shoulders?

2012
02/07
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Praying In Fellowship

How often do you pray with others?

I do not just mean when the pastor or someone in the band or choir prays. How often do you pray with people who are in need, or who are hurting, or who say “pray for me”?

You might say, “Prayer is a private thing! Jesus told us to pray in secret! Besides, I do not want to make someone else feel uncomfortable.” (I have actually heard, almost and if not exactly verbatim, someone say this to me)

A) Prayer is both private and public. We already discussed doing it corporately. Which leads to 2) Jesus and the Apostles prayed with people. See Acts 1:14 and 2:42. Besides, also) it sounds more like you feel uncomfortable praying with people in public.

If you are anything like me, you are probably guilty of saying “I’ll pray for you!” Then you never do, or at best throw up a quick “God, be with that person.” This either makes you a liar or not as loving as you could be.

I must confess that I have gotten out of the habit of praying with people. For a while, I was one of those people who, if you said “Will you pray for me?” I would say, “Of course! Can we pray right now?” I have not done so well, as of late. I do reply to most text message or e-mail requests with a typed prayer, but it is not quite the same as saying it with the person (though, of course there are times it is not feasible).

My conviction level has been high the past few weeks, too. I have realized the number of opportunities I have passed, followed by some messages on the radio discussing it, and having some dear friends pray with me in just the past couple weeks.

I want to be that person again!

Do you?

Besides, perhaps our lack of active and immediate prayers is a major cause of dissension between believers. Perhaps we fail to get along because we fail to love each other enough to pray with each other.

Lord, grant us the capacity to love You and others enough to want to pray openly with others when they ask. Remind us to pray when we have the opportunities. Move in our prayers as we pray in faith, and help us believe that You are answering even though we sometimes fail to believe. Lord, empower us with Your Holy Spirit, and grow Your love in us. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

2012
01/31
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