Christian Thoughts

LXXIV. Who Do You Say I AM? Part 3

2012-01-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

He was a man. He was born into this world just like everyone else. He was not hatched. He did not just appear. He did not float down to the earth full grown. He was born into flesh and blood by ways of the natural world. His mother was a real woman. She may have been quite young, no one really knows, but nevertheless she was a real woman. His adoptive father was real. He was faced with the problem that he was engaged to a woman who was pregnant with a child that was not his. Jesus' life started out with controversy. One of the worst things a child has to hear is that parents really are not his own. We have certain derogatory names for children in that situation. Even before Jesus was born He was facing the trials and tribulations of the flesh.

He grew up just like any other child. He cried as a baby. He fell down during playtime. He enjoyed all the things that children enjoy. His parents weren't perfect. When He became a teenager He was left in the synagogue by His family and they didn't even know He was gone. He was HOME ALONE. But He didn't panic. He was in His Father's house. He had come into age. This was His bar mitzvah if you will. He was now responsible for His own actions. From here on out life must have been difficult. The temptations of this life became even more real since now His fate was in His own hands.

When He became an adult, we see even more humanity come out in Him. His mother told Him what to do at a wedding, and He listened to her just like any other 30 year old still living at home. But then He started His ministry. During these three years, He showed all kinds of human traits. He cried when one of His friends died. He became angry when people were doing wrong. He felt compassion for those who had infirmities. His heart longed for humanity to be better. He feared death. He did not fear the afterlife, but death in the physical realm. He laughed. He told stories. He got tired. He got lonely. He felt burdened. He felt humiliated. He was bruised. He bled. He felt betrayed.

In the end, His death was not due to the Crucifixion. His death was not due to any human action save for sin. In the end, He died because He gave up His spirit. He was done. All He could do for humanity was done except for this one last thing; giving up His life for us. When the soldiers went to break His legs since they didn't want anyone hanging there on Sabbath, His were not. His body was already just a shell. When the soldiers checked on Him they stabbed Him in the side with a spear. Blood and water flowed from the wound. In the end, He died of a broken heart.

He was man. But, He raised from the dead. He was God too.

LXXIII. Who Do You Say I AM? Part 2

2011-12-28T09:15:00.001-05:00

If you have come to this point you are now willing to accept Jesus was real or you still are open to the idea He might be. Many Christians still have a hard time understanding these because they do not believe that Jesus did the things that the Bible says He did. Without these things happening, Jesus would be no different than Buddha, Vishnu, Confucius, Mohammad, Joseph Smith, and others who had what they considered ways to enlightenment or spiritual greatness. If these things did not happen historically then Jesus is no better than Harry Potter, Gandolf, Merlin, and others who fairy tale like performed magic. Rest assured Jesus did these things. Below is a list of things Jesus did.

Miracles by Jesus. These are real. Not one is symbolic, yet they all have a lesson with them.

healings of sickness, infirmities, and deformities
resurrections
demonic deliverance
transfiguration
prophecies
defying natural laws (water to wine, walking on water, feeding of multitudes, calming storms)

Lessons (short version). These (and more) are real life lessons and have obvious meanings. He really said them.

born again
the sabbath
divorce
sexual relations
personal relations
attitudes
money

Parables (short version). These (and more) are life lessons but have a deeper meaning. He really said them.

talents
wedding banquet
treasure
lost sheep
lost coin
rich man and Lazarus
good Samaritan
prodigal son
mustard seed

Things He did as God. These things made Him man and God simultaneously.

forgave sins
gave up His own spirit
took sins upon Himself
Resurrected
freed those in captivity

In essence, the Bible states things are real, things can be used as lessons, and that Jesus was fully God and fully man. If there is any doubt about any of these things then calling yourself a Christian needs to be redefined and you need to reevaluate your relationship with God. But these are just the tip of the iceberg. Jesus did so much more than what we have in writing. Main is point is He was a real man, doing real things, but doing them with the authority of God.

LXXII. Who Do You Say I AM? Part 1

2011-12-27T14:55:00.001-05:00

This is a question we all will have to answer one day. Whether we want to admit it or not we already have asked ourselves this question because we all have an answer. But is it the right answer? Matthew 16:13-17

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; some Elijah; others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."
15 He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 And Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
17 And Jesus responded, "Simon, son of Jonah, blessed are you, for flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but My Father which is in heaven."

What are some of the answer we would get in today's time? Most Christians would repeat what Peter said and think they know it all. Many on the fence would say He was a great teacher with a lot of wisdom. Those on the other side of the fence would say He was just a man. Even yet, others would say He was not even real.

Was He real? Scholars will note that the only major writings we have of Him are from accounts dating after His death. No one in the history of mankind has changed shaped the human race, not even Rome itself. Never has there been so many writings to prove anyone else' existence or non-existence in this case in all history. But why not contemporaries? They did not write about Him. But the same could be said of other figures like Muhammad, Buddha, and many others in history. It does not make them unreal.

First of all, how many people could write in 30 AD to begin with? None of His disciples were schooled men, except for maybe Levi (Matthew), and he did write a book. Others like Peter had friends to do some of the writing like Silas and Mark who only learned of Jesus after His death. The only ones who would have had the schooling in that area would have been Jewish Torah students. They would not have included something that they felt was blasphemous. Such as Saul. But when Saul converted to following Christ then even He started to write things down at a later date. Luke, a doctor, historian and friend of Paul investigated all circumstances. Roman scholars would not written of such events because it was only a three year period of which they considered no threat to their authority. And if it was a threat to their authority do we think Rome would have included it? But later once Christianity became a force inside Rome writers started to investigate. But of course, they have been disregarded or "debunked" by anti-theists. And yet, when Homer writes about history (one account) it is accepted as fact by the same people. So, He was real. Most historians (subjectively) would agree.

Then who was He? Born sometime around 4 BC in the land of the Roman province of Judea to a woman named Mary and a man named Joseph, who was a carpenter by trade. By tradition, Joseph would have trained him to be a carpenter as well. As He grew He claimed to be more than just the son of the carpenter. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be God. He taught in the streets of Judea. He performed miracles. He forgave sins. He was tried by Judeans as blasphemous. He was executed by Rome. He was raised again by His Father. He became the sacrificial lamb that took away our sins. He now sits on His kingly throne, Ruler of the universe.

One day you will be asked, who do you say I AM? The answer is what Peter said. One day, At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Some will do it voluntarily because they know who Jesus is, others will be forced to do it because they have denied the truth

LXXI. The Gifts that Never Keep on Giving

2011-12-04T09:45:00.001-05:00

Out of all the commercials for Christmas this year the worst by far are the Best Buy commericals; the ones where individuals are competing against Santa Claus. They are even worse than Walmart and the over playing of AC/DC's Back in Black (imagine why they chose that song...cha-ching) every commercial break. Best Buy is not the place where Christmas gifts should be purchased from. There are no items in that store that promote anything but materialistic relationships that never amount to anything.

When people give gifts it is usually because they want to show someone how much they care. Most gifts are of course given around Christmas and birthdays. But when are real gifts given? Anytime. It's not when you give the gift it is why you give the gift. Gifts should be from the heart not the pocket book. Especially this time of the year when we do focus on what people mean to us.

Buying iPads, iPods, iPhones, cameras, Playstations, Xbox, certain jewelry, and even to the point of some clothes are some items that seriously are a waste of money during the Christmas Season. Nothing says "I love you" like a iPhone, right?. "Merry Christmas sweetie, here is an iPad because when I saw it, I immediately thought of you". These kind of gifts are for people who feel like they have to buy relationships or they feel like they didn't accomplish anything. No, gifts should be more sentimental. Pictures of landscapes that remind you of a certain place or time , certain CDs that have that special song on it, other certain jewelry that will remind you of your relationship, these are gifts that we need to be giving.

Sure, this is also a time of celebration. And certain gifts can show that feeling. It is also a time when you can give things that people need. But the reason why you are doing it is because you are sacrificing your own materialism for someone else's needs. And that is a true gift as well. We all have done it and will always do it. Giving material gifts are okay to do, of course. But too many times all we do is focus on that one big gift, the one that everyone will say, "Wow!", and that usually is something electronic. But if you look back on your life you will notice that the best gifts you have ever gotten were the small items that no one paid attention to.

This is sort of like the gift God gave us. God did not shout to the world, "here is something you all want". But it was something we all needed. And it was something that was from His heart. His gift was given in the quiet little village of Bethlehem. No banners. No gimmicks. No sales. No competition. But this gift, unlike what Best Buy can do, is the gift that will keep on giving. Jesus Christ.

LXX. Proverbs for the 21st Century

2011-11-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

Sent by a former student and close friend. A little bit of the lighter side:

A day without sunshine is like.... night.
On the other hand, you have different fingers.
42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
Remember, half the people you know are below average.
He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
Support bacteria. They're the only culture most people have.
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
OK, so what's the speed of dark?
When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
Why do psychics have to ask you your name?
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'
Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Thanks to Amber.

LXIX. From Penn State to the State Pen

2011-11-13T09:15:00.003-05:00

Yes. Joe Paterno was a great coach. He may be a great man. He may be a humanitarian, an animal rights advocate, a priest, a boy scout, _________(insert any term of endearment). But, none of these excuse what has happened under his watch. Even if he did not know anything about it, he picked his coaches. He knew the people that he chose and what they were like. It goes under his reputation and his staff and team are reflections of who he is. Paterno got fired. Sandusky is being indicted. McQueary is on administrative leave. But this isn't the worst part of the story. The worst part of this whole story is the way Penn State's fans are. Shame on them. Why? Because they are more worried about their football team and Joe Paterno than what had happened to these young people. Where is the outrage against what these children have gone through? Both teams gathered together on the field and knelt. People wore blue in the stands as a symbol of anti-child molestation. But after the way these fans are you can't seem to think that perhaps the prayer on the field was for Joe and the blue was for Penn State.

http://news.yahoo.com/somber-mood-penn-state-week-turmoil-000612939.html.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view/20111110tv_van_tipped_as_rally_for_joe_paterno_gets_violent/

But this is the way our generation is today. It shows how our moral system has changed. We will support people like this and forget the victim. Forgiving them is one thing, but supporting the wrong person and letting things continue the way they are is another. Bottom line is Paterno needed to resign. At Ohio State Jim Tressel was let go and all he did was know about how his players were selling their own items. Which is worse?

LXVIII. To Be or Not To Be

2011-11-04T18:07:00.000-04:00

Here are the results from last month's poll: What are your feelings about euthanasia? Totals were added from two different sites. Comments to follow soon.

It should only be used on animals (34.6%)
It should never be used (23.1%)
It is a humane way of letting someone go (15.4%)
Should be done if there is no chance of survival (5.8%)
Other (21.2%)

LXVII. Technocracy

2011-09-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

No, not technology. You read it right. Technocracy. We live in a world that is driven by technology therfore making it a technocracy. But what has this kind of life gotten us? Locked into a world that is dependent on machines and cyber space. How pathetic! We are one generation away from the reality of the movie WALL-E. Look at the last 5 years of what we have created for ourselves.

Myspace
Facebook
Google
Ipods
Ipads
Iphones
Wii
Playstations
Netflix streaming

There is a commercial that is airing right now that is about a computer. The ad goes on to talk about how great the speakers are. They have surround sound good for movies, streaming, and gaming. Now, what it does for Excel or presentations for work, no one apparently knows or cares. When did play become more important than work? Actually, that is the wrong question. Play has always been equally important to the human race in terms of keeping sane. But when did play become what we do? When did work become something we don't want to do? Too much play and we have become insane.

When we shop for new computers, phones, or any other electrical gadget, we don't look at the hard drives and see how much memory these things have in order for us to get things accomplished. We look at the hard drives to see how much games and applications that "connect" us to the world can be done on it. People spend hours on that asenine (yes, asenine) facebook. They spend more time with that than spening real time with real people. People exercise today while sitting in front of a TV hitting a "tennis raquet" in the air. Instead of talking to someone face to face with a problem, we text them. People are losing relationships via text messages. They break up and post it everywhere. Aren't some things supposed to be private and kept between two people? Instead of opening up a quiet book and relaxing we're pulling out the Ipad due to convenience. Everything is for entertainment and nothing is for progress.

Why does any of this matter? Who cares that we have become this way? Because we are the human race. We were created to be with each other. We were created to connect with each other, not "connect" with each other. We were made to be there for each other and walk with each other and talk with each other. We were created to desire for relationship because in the end that is what we are supposed to have with God. If we can't take the time out to spend real quality time with those we are supposed to beloving then how are we going to find the one perfect love from above?

There's an app for that seems to be the most over used phrase going on in today's world. Can any of this be actually good or used for the good of everyone? Sure. A little play is good and healthy. But we live in a totally different world. A selfish little world.

LXVI. The Addict

2011-08-20T13:59:00.075-04:00

Why do people allow substances, feelings, actions, thoughts, or desires to overtake them? What causes people to turn to lifestyles they would not have normally turned to given any other circumstances?

Here is an interesting article, http://www.hbo.com/addiction/understanding_addiction/index.html?current=0. Perhaps the answers can only be answered by those who have had addictions. But here are the results from last month's poll: Which of the following causes more people to have addictions than the rest?

37% said Emotional instability.

37% said Spiritual weakness

25% said Bad decisions.

0% said Physical illness, a disease.

0% said Genetics

0% said Bad childhood.

0% said Other.

First if all what needs to be remembered as you read is that addictions are not just about drugs. There are plenty of forms of addictions. There are drugs, alcohol, work, sex, money, power, crime, and others. All of the above cause pain in our lives, even the ones that no one voted for. The problem is not in the circumstances that shape our lives of pain. The problem is in the reaction to that pain. Some choose to seek new relationships. Some seek a higher power. Some seek medicinal treatments. Some seek physical pleasures or mutilation. These actions can cause addictions and could put many people on a path to destruction. We all have some sort of circumstance in our lives that could or have formed into some sort of addiction, so we all can have opinions on this topic.

Those who have emotion instability are usually ones that have had some sort of relational problem in their life. They have been hurt by someone in their life. Betrayal, abuse, and neglect (traumas) are usually not absent in cases like these. This one could be added to the choice of bad childhood and perhaps that is why no one chose the answer. They move on from relation to relation. They can't seem to find that someone who will take them away from all of the pain they have suffered in their own mind. When that person can't take the pain away they move to another person. This relation does not necessarily mean one that involves sexual action. This could be friends. They can't seem to keep the same friends over time. It could be parents. Children start to look for other father or mother figures to have someone in their life. If they can not find the "perfect" relationship they look for a way to cope with that relationship by finding an outlet. That outlet becomes the addiction.

Oddly enough, no one said that genetics are a leading cause of addiction. But as stated in the article posted here 60% of alcoholics have had alcoholism in their family history. But maybe we recognize that even though our family has had problems it doesn't mean that we will. And it definitely doesn't mean that we have to follow those footsteps. But you can see this as being true. If babies can be born addicted to crack they can be born addicted to other things as well, or at least predisposed.

No one said physical illness or bad choices either. Physical illness can cause addiction by either someone trying to relieve the pain they have in their live. They over use the prescriptions such as many celebrities do. Or they are being so stressed out by some situation they feel like they have nothing else to lose.

Probably the reason why no one said bad choices is because it would be a redundant statement. Starting down that road had plenty of bad decisions and you probably can not pinpoint where it all started. Those who make bad decisions in their lives probably have a combination of some or all of the above.

The article has another page that talks about myths of addictions. Two of the myths are myths, in a way, that is. Science treats addiction as a disease. It's not a disease, but a sickness. But a sickness of what? The mind. The substance or action plays on the mind of the individual and the individual can not break free from this thought and thereby causing the person to make irrational decisions, changing the individual into someone they are not. The doctors try and treat the disease by using other forms of medicine. This is the myth that is a myth. The article said that many (when appropriate) are given medicine to curb their instincts, their brain functions back to normality. But then that means they will have to rely on the new medicine to stay functioning. That is better than the alternative but it doesn't cure the problem. The other myth-myth is that addicts are not addicted to all drugs. That is true for the most but there is an underlying factor here that is not mentioned. During an AA meeting at a rehabilitation center, after the prayer of serenity was said and all formalities out of the way, one patient said that he was glad he didn't escalate into other drugs and that he didn't start to substitute one drug for another. Meanwhile the room was getting foggier and foggier because everyone in the room had an average of about nine cigarettes in the hour meeting that was observed. Nicotine is a drug too. The man was substituting one for another but didn't realize it. That could be an example of how addictions are treated with other "medicines". The other myths seem highly accurate.

But the over all problem that causes addictions is the over all worldly problem of having spiritual weakness.

People turn to physical solutions when the real solution lies in the spiritual world. Places like AA, thank God for AA, even acknowledge that people have to recognize there is a higher power. But even as great as AA and other rehab centers are, there still needs that openness to not just accepting a higher power but embracing a higher power. Accepting a higher power is fine, but what is needed is a full surrendering to the higher power, because if you don't then you are still fighting the sickness. And yes, the higher power is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

LXV. Grace

2011-08-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

One great thought was raised at http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/2011/07/49-galatians.html in the comment section. The thought was "define: saved by grace". The thought was very provoking and makes one think, what is Grace anyway? This question was taken to a couple of Christian websites and shared to see what their respected opinions would be on the subject. Below you will find what a consensus of many of the answers. Names and/or avatars are not posted for rules of forums do not permit it.

The basic definition for grace has always been "unmerited favor." In other words, it is a gift of love and acceptance which has not been earned or deserved.
How about, "God doesn't have to love or forgive us because we sure don't deserve it. But He chooses see us as clean again if we're willing to acknowledge that His Son Jesus is the only way of salvation, and Lord of all, and if we're willing to submit to Him in obedience."
"Favor bestowed when wrath is owed".
Grace is favor extended to someone out of the goodness of the givers heart. In this case God graced us with the opportunity for eternal salvation by providing the sacrifice for our sins in Jesus Christ.
Grace is when we receive what we do not deserve and we do not receive what we do deserve.
Grace means unmerited favor. You can't earn it for then it wouldn't be grace it would be wage. You can't deserve it for then it would be merit. Grace is God giving you that which you have no right to, no claim on and no reason to expect.
Grace is what God freely and kindly adds when I am lacking to make me whole. So this "new, improved and complete" me in actuality is a very tiny bit of me but a lot of Grace through faith.

In all, grace then seems to be something that God gives His creation. That gift is not earned nor deserved but God chooses still to give it anyway. But one point that was missed by all of the contributors (assuming they still meant this though). Even though this gift is for everybody, not everybody will accept it. But that is just the definition of grace. More importantly, what would be the result of grace? The result of grace is to be covered and made innocent by the blood of Christ. Those who accept this gift remain covered. But those who do not accept, figuratively speaking, wipe themselves off.

Ephesians 2:4-9 says

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This basically restates what has already been stated but nicely adds something that was missed by the contributors. Grace saves you, THROUGH faith. This faith is in Christ Jesus. This is what is meant by not everybody accepts grace. Some do not have faith, thereby grace will not give you eternal life. The gift of God will save you but only with faith. If you lose your faith, you lose your salvation. Therefore once saved, always saved is not accurate in the full sense of the concept. You are saved by God's grace (gift). But that does not mean all go to heaven. Even though there are many rooms in His mansion, scripture does not say that all will see that mansion. The first part of Ephesians 2:1-3 explains why.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

We all have lived in sin. We all are disobedient. If we follow the desires of our flesh then we deserve the wrath of God. Then the rest of Ephesians says that our faith in grace gets rid of the wrath. Those who remain following their flesh do not receive eternal life and still receive the wrath of God.

LXIV. The State of Morality

2011-07-14T17:49:00.000-04:00

When a Christian tries to talk about morality the question always comes up, "what makes your morality system better than others?". Or at least something close to that. Usually the answer, by the Christian, given is "we were founded upon Christianity and those are the morals that made this country". Whether one believes it or not, does not matter. Whether this is factually correct or not, does not matter. Although, one would be wrong to not believe those things, but that is a different argument.

The real question should be, "why does having a moral system be important?".

There was a radio broadcast that was asking its viewers why things were getting so bad. No one had a real answer. Most answers conflicted with the ones before it. The reason why is because we have all strayed from a central morality system and have branched off into other directions to the point that no one can see eye to eye anymore. Even Christians who say that have a morality system do not follow it like they should or churches have watered down the importance of Biblical teaching so much that Christians have become lackadaisical in their lifestyles.

Anyway, the radio topic opens a whole world that needs to be explored. Why is the culture of America breaking down? Why is the view that most Americans have on their own country is that we are going in the wrong direction? http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html Politicians can't help. Ideologies can't solve anything. "Religious" experiences, like Madonna's or Tom Cruise's, aren't for real. They are placing band-aids on wide open wounds.

The real problem is that we have a morality crisis in this country. It has been in Europe for decades. But many will agree with these statements because their morality system is being questioned.

The answer to why have a morality system is easy to give. It sets standards for people to live by. If there are no standards, there is no order. If there is no order, there is chaos. If there is chaos, there is no purpose in life. So people understand that morality systems are needed. One reason why we all argue is that we have our own morality standards. But these standards are coming from the flawed minds of men. This cause too many differences thereby causing too many arguments.

Now, comes back the question everyone turns this into, what makes Christian morality system "better"? Do not get Christianity and Christians mixed up. Although they should be the same, they are not. Christianity was founded up the actions and mind of Christ. Christians are imperfect and based their lives on actions and minds of men. Before you read this list below, read the following post http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/08/perfection-of-christians.html. Anyway, Christianity is a morality system that is needed and best because:

It is based in love for God and people.
It supplies wisdom to live a life that is beneficial for the one living the life and for those that life is surrounded by.
It supplies guidelines to keep society moving forward in a positive direction.
It allows for unity.
It calls for peace.
It supplies a pathway to a higher power.
It leads to discipline that helps one deal with problems.

Now some people would say that this could be said about all or at least other religions, even non-religious thinking. But that is not true. They may fulfill 6 of these points. But nothing else can fill all 7. Some would say that not all 7 are needed. But that is rationalization for people to keep living their lives the way they want to. And that leads to no consequences which of course leads to the way society is today. No morals.

LXIII. Public or Private?

2011-05-31T21:32:00.001-04:00

A big difference between the to political parties today is about choice when it comes to schooling. The GOP argues that parents should have a choice on where to send their kids to school while most DEM say that would cause some schools to be less productive. The GOP would like to give out vouchers to those parents since most of these schools that would take these vouchers are private schools and cost a lot of money. What's the problem with people wanting to send their kids somewhere to get a better education? Nothing. But who says that just because they are private that they would automatically be better? Here are the results of last month's poll: Is public education good enough?

Yes. I send my child or would send my child to public schools. 3 (15%)
No. But I still send or would send my child to public schools. 11 (57%)
No. I send or would send my child to a private school. 3 (15%)
No. I home school or would home school my child. 2 (10%)

Bottom line is you can get an education anywhere. On the streets, in church, by conversation, and in any school setting.

LXII. Whip it. Whip it good.

2011-04-16T09:22:00.003-04:00

How do you teach someone to do the right thing? The best way is to BE the example not just set and example, which usually only involves the now overused term "teaching moments". Instead of just telling someone how to do things in the right (moral) way, one should ALWAYS be DOING the right thing to show someone how to do the right thing. But, alas, no one in perfect so other methods are needed to intervene, and that would include discipline.

Discipline needs to start at an early age. From the day that you become a parent, or guardian, is the day that you need to live your example. Too many times parents want to be friends with their children, or they just want their children to like them. They want to be the cool parent that their child will want to hang out with and will want to tell their own friends about how cool they are. Of course that is part of the times we live in. People are more worried about their reputation than they are about character. Then when the child starts to make their own decisions and they make one the parent really doesn't agree with, and the parent tries to intervene but the child rebels, the parent wonders what happened and why they can't control the child anymore. Well, here is a secret. If this is the way they raised their child, they never had control to begin with. If you have not established that you are the parent by the time they are 10 years old, forget it, you lost this battle. One of the greatest things you can do with a child is to give them some kind of morality system to live by. Make friends of your own age. Be the parent.

Discipline allows a young child to understand that we all have consequences in our lives. Everything we do has either a positive and/or negative impact on our own lives and on the lives that surround us, either directly or indirectly. Sometimes things we do cause pain in other's lives. If we understand what pain is then we will be less likely to inflict it upon others. This is not to say we automatically cause pain in a child's life to teach them. But they need to understand that we do not get away with everything pain-free. Wrong actions deserve punishment.

Proverbs 22:6 says, Train a child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Discipline comes in many forms. Some only need a stern lecture (not many by the way) and they will not doing anything else. Some need limitations set in their life. Some need physical intervention. Some need all three. Spanking a child is a legitimate way of disciplining a child.

Here are the results of the last poll: Should parents spank their children?

(35%) Said Yes. It is very effective and there is nothing wrong with it. However, keep in mind that spanking is not beating a child. The butt is soft for a reason. It is meant to absorb a spanking. The face was not. The face was meant to absorb affection. The hand was meant to absorb the pain of helping others. The feet were meant to absorb the pain of going the extra mile. But the butt was meant to absorb the pain of being disciplined, not beaten!
(30%) Said yes. But only as a last resort. Perhaps this is the best answer. Other methods should be used first. This allows the child to understand that violence should never be the first step to any situation. It allows the child to know that you are a person that can reason through a situation. This is not to be confused with "reasoning with a child" to allow them to get their way. It also allows the child to understand that some things can be carried out too far.
(10%) Said no. But the threat should be there. What good is a threat if you are not willing to use it. Wishy-washy. This sends the wrong signal.
(15%) Said no. It may send too many mixed signals about violence. Only if you hit on areas besides the butt. Only if you do it out of anger. Only if you do it excessively. Only if you do it in a way that isn't needed.
(10%) Said no. It is abusive. Then you get what you deserve. If your child disobeys you and you can't do a thing about it, tough luck. If they are perfect in this way, be thankful.
(0%) Said other. Again, what does this mean?

PRAYERS TO JAPAN

2011-03-14T09:31:00.001-04:00

No posts...

Just thoughts and prayers to our allies, friends, and brothers!

LXI. Behind the Eyes

2011-02-25T17:32:00.000-05:00

Challenge

Find someone you know that will be willing to do the following: Stare into their eyes without saying a word for two minutes. Try not to let any thought go through your mind, at least anything judgemental. It's okay to blink but every time you are done blinking remain focused on the person you are staring at. Then stop for a little bit and this time stare at them for two minutes and think of the person they are. Think of what they like to do. Think of what makes them who they are. Do not focus on their attractiveness or any bodily features. Then stop for a while. This time stare at them and only have thoughts about things you want to tell them. Think of things that you want to share with them about your feelings, desires, and dreams.

Here is the problem. You won't be able to get through the first two minutes and that is a shame. Why? Your mind will start to wonder because two minutes will become a very long time just to stare at someone. Or you may start to laugh because you think the exercise is silly. Or you just can't do it because it makes you nervous. You will never get to the second set of minutes. You will never get to ask yourself if you know the person in front of you. Or if you actually get to this point you will come to find out you don't know that much about them anyway. Why? Because we are too self-involved. We only care about what we see and feel, not what other's see and feel.

The point is we don't know how to look into each other's eyes and understand who the person is we are looking at. We don't know how to take the time to get to know them because we are too focused on ourselves. We have become so cold in the way we treat each other it's all we know how to do. All the texting, twittering, and facebooking we do waters down our relationships. We take short cuts to say I love you. We post private things thinking public expression will solve or enhance these issues. We hide behind the ICON or avatar thinking there are no consequences by what we say if we don't say them directly to a real person. We have lost the art of empathy. And then when we try and have a relationship with something or someone we are not ready for the reality of life. When someone is hurting we don't see the scars life has given them because we can't look at them.

Plumb, Cut:

I'm not a stranger. No, I am yours.
With crippled anger and tears that still drip sore
I may seem crazy or painfully shy and these scars wouldn't be so hidden if you would just look me in the eye

Too many of those around us who are close to us are hurting and we are too busy being electronically gratified to notice. Take the time to look behind the eyes.

LX. Ozzy Chewed Off Bat Heads

2011-02-13T09:33:00.001-05:00

Ozzy Osbourne used to bite off the heads of doves or bats. KISS wore make up. Bill Clinton said he was black and played the sax on the Arsenio Hall show. McDonald's has Monopoly. Geico has that stupid little gecko and thise even more inanely Twilight Zonish excerpts on saving money in only 15 minutes. And then you have those free credit reports that make you pay a fee to actually get the free report. Or electronic stores saying that they are having a 25% off sale only to come find out that they had raised the prices 26% before the sale event happened. What is it about gimmicks, limericks, dumb hicks, and risky shticks? Well, they work! But how long does the effect last? Eventually the person falling for these things has to find out one day if the product that suckered them in was worth anything or if it was just all hype. Sure word of mouth is good for business and it brings people in but if your product is lousy you can have all the Hollywood endorsements you can get, all the catchy jingles you can think of, and all the funniest commercials one can come up with and it will still be lousy, like anything David Hasslehoff sings or acts in. On the other hand, does McDonald's really need monopoly to get people to eat there? Uh, no, as long as their fries are cooked correctly and not limp then they will always be at the top. So if what you are selling is good and/or even perfect then why do you need a gimmick? So if that is the case then why do churches feel the need to do things like businesses?

That brings us to the poll from last month: Should Churches use gimmicks to bring people into the doors?

50% said No. There are more important things for the church to be doing.
22% said It doesn't matter if they do or not.
13% said Yes. But only to get people to hear the word of God.
9% said No. It is very un-Biblical.
4% said Yes. It is a good technique.
0% said Other.

If you add these together, 59% said something is wrong with this type of activity. 22% said it didn't matter, and only 17% said it was okay to do and more than half of those said only to get people in the doors.

First of all what kind of gimmicks would churches use?

"Come on in and get a free sin". Well, probably not, although that is what the Catholic Church did for a long time with the idea of indulgences.
"Come on in and play pin the tail on the devil. Have some fun while you put the blame on where it belongs". Sounds good but what does it prove?
"Come on in or we will come to you". Enough said?

But there are some real ones and some quite serious ones that are being used in the Church today. It used to be free concerts and/or festivals. But now it is free donuts and coffee. Charity funds with membership. Win a car (seriously!). Silent auctions. Passion plays. Some churches have even gone the casino route if you will, making bets but calling them challenges instead so as not to confuse or offend those who think betting is a sin.

Where is the line that is drawn? There isn't anything dramatically wrong with a friendly bet but when you use to it promote your church or to raise funds in a non-steward way, wouldn't it become wrong? Just because the money may be used to help certain groups of people, it should not be the focus. If we really wanted to help people then why doesn't the church staffs take pay freezes, or have messages from the pulpit be more about giving from the heart! Is there something fundamentally wrong here or is this making it into something larger than it is? The problem is the 17% who believe nothing is really wrong with this type of activity is the leadership. A great person once said, the church is only as strong as its leaders. If the leaders think that the Word of God has to be watered down to gimmicks then it is no wonder why atheism is growing faster than Christianity.

Now, it is really isn't anti-scriptural as 9% said. There is nothing in the Bible that says we can't do these things. Paul even states that he didn't care how the message was brought to the people as long as they heard it. But, he probably didn't mean that we should offer free coffee and donuts as a substantial gospel message segway. Wow, donuts and salvation. How could you lose?

Why not have something called "split the pot"? You go to church buy a ticket for $5 and get a chance to get half the tithes and offerings. That would really bring people into church. A chance to win money and be saved! Even better than donuts.

All Jesus told us to do was basically lift Him up. So maybe gimmicks aren't all that bad.

LIX. The Antitheory of Evolution

2011-02-01T15:12:00.001-05:00

A thesis is a statement that needs to be proven. An antithesis is a word or phrase that shows a negative connection between two things, to err is human. A theory is an explanation that has been tested and has shown a connection between facts and guesses. If these are all true then that means evolution is an antitheory; an explanation that needs to be proven but contradicts its guesses and facts, or the lack of facts to be more exact. Now this (antitheory) of course is not a real word (anti theory of something though is real) but nevertheless is a real concept.

Here is a little math lesson for you to help explain the whole concept.

1+1=2 and 2+1=3 and 3+1=4 and 4+1=5 and 5+1=6

And so on. One should get the picture. There is a progression, a natural progression, to get from one number to the next by adding the same element. You can not get from 1 to 6 in progression by going straight from 1 to 6. There are steps in between. Evolutionists find 1 and they find 6 very easily. They may even find 2, 3, 4, and 5 as well with research and artifacts. But they forget there may be infinite rational numbers in between 1 and 2, such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3678, and 1.976544324565. All fall in between the two whole numbers of 1 and 2. Evolutionists find the whole numbers only and say that the theory of evolution is the only reliable collection of facts there are.

In other words, they have been searching for the "missing link" or should we say "links" since the study began. They think they have found all they need because they have 1-6.

Here is the problem in reality: they may have found different species that look like they were once related, but they didn't. They have only found the "whole numbers". For evolution to work and become a law of nature each stage of evolution has to be found. Each and every minute mutation has to be found. And they are not. There are only bits and pieces of one species and bits and pieces of another completely different species and then they try and connect them.

If evolution was real here is what it means. Two species have an offspring. The offspring either picks up a recessive gene or for some unknown reason has a brand new gene, a mutation, that no other specie has had before. Now this offspring will find a mate and have an offspring of its own. Somehow this recessive/mutated gene gets passed on to where it eventually becomes the dominant gene or the mutation becomes the norm, not only in its own family line but apparently other family lines. This single mutation, which is now a common characteristic, makes a new species and the process starts all over.

Over after millions of years and mutations do we finally get modern man. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. But where is the 3.2? Evolutionists have only found the "complete" stages of the process. They have not found all the intermediate stages to fill the gaps. Oh, some will say they have by claiming they have transitional fossils with the truth etched in them. Or they will state that they have found groups of species with the same mutation to prove that communities of these species flourished and not just a fluke, thereby proving the evolution process. They will usually tend to leave out that there are still way too many gaps. Donald Prothero, professor of Geology at Occidental College, said that the total number of species of all kinds known through the fossil record was less than 5% of the number of known living species. 95% is of unknown origin. (http://www.evolutionnews.org/2009/12/donald_protheros_imaginary_evi029041.html) And by the theory of Darwinism, as defined by http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/darwinism.html, Multiply by "budding" into new species. Budding of course meaning one species splitting into a new species by retaining as many characteristics as the original species while developing something different to make a new species (1, 1.1, 1.2...). However, is there evidence that shows how an amoeba became a man with every step of mutation/evolution accounted for by budding? No. Why? Because it isn't the answer.

Multiplication of species. This theory explains the origin of the enormous organic diversity. It postulates that species multiply, either by splitting into daughter species or by "budding", that is, by the establishment of geographically isloated founder populations that evolve into new species.

Now none of this is saying that two people with blond hair as a dominant gene can not have a baby with dark hair to where eventual dark hair will become dominant. But they are still people, not another species.

Evolution is a antitheory, an explanation that needs to be proven but contradicts its guesses and facts, or the lack of facts to be more exact.

LVIII. Stinkin Thinkin

2011-01-30T16:02:00.001-05:00

Dr. Phil McGraw, made famous by appearing on Oprah, has a saying he uses when he hears someone not making rational decisions. The decisions people make may allow them to get what they want but in the end it has negative results. He calls it "stinkin thinkin". The following is pretty much a real conversation. It may not be verbatim but the idea is still easy to grasp onto. There is a little bit of stinkin thinkin, but the lesson comes from what you may not hear at first.

Teen: I am going to get my ears gauged.

Adult: Why?

Teen: So I can stand out and tell the world it is wrong to judge me.

Adult: (sarcastically) So you want to do this to get back at the world?

Teen: Yeah, in a way.

Adult: Why do you want to get back at the world?

Teen: I want to send a message to some people. People judge and it's all wrong to do so I want to do this to show they are wrong. I would like to get some tattoos too.

Adult: What did the world do to you that you want to get back at it?

Teen: Well, I just want to show that all people are different and that no one should judge anybody.

Adult: But if you do this on purpose, you force people into judging you. When you walk in for a job interview looking like that (with gauges) you already forced someone into making a judgement.

Teen: But that is what I am trying to show them.

Adult: You realize it is mutilation.

Teen: No it's not. It's just a way of showing who you are.

Adult: So when does piercing become mutilation, instead of decoration? What about piercing the tongue?

Teen: No. If they want to do it, it's okay.

Adult: What about splitting the tongue like a snake, like that one guy?

Teen: That's weird though.

Adult: So would you ever date a girl who split her tongue?

Teen: No I don't want to go that far.

Adult: Isn't that judging?

Stinkin thinkin. He couldn't hear or see that he was splitting hairs and doing the same thing that he didn't want people to do to him. Why would he do that to himself to begin with? Why would a child feel the need to "stand out" the way he wants to?

After hearing this conversation you learn it is not about decoration like just the piercing of an ear that has no feeling. You learn it is not about judging as the teen tries to say it is. You learn it is not about being your own individual. If you really listened to the teen you would hear what the teen is really trying to say. He said it right up front but tried to mask it as something else. It is about getting back at the world. Not the whole world, but his part of it. And the question then rises, what is so strange about his world that makes him want to mutilate himself? One place being pierced may be adornment. Two places may be individuality. But when you get multiple piercings then it deals with your mind set. The same with tattoos. Nothing is wrong with getting something that says who you are. If you get a tiger on your chest, okay. Mother on your arm. A rose on your derriere. Big deal. But when it starts to become an addiction, or when it starts to become an outlet for life, or to "show the world" something, then it is more about a problem in your mind or heart rather than art.

The problem is many people use these things as an outlet for pain in their life. They realize the pain they have inside will not heal with the life they have to live. So they hurt themselves on the outside because they know those will heal. And if they don't then they can always look at the scar and know that at least it's not on the inside. One of these actions leads to another. And many teens start to do other things besides piercing or inking. They turn to cutting. That is stinkin thinkin.

Take a look at the following video. Don't just watch. Listen. http://vodpod.com/watch/1527797-cut-by-plumb

We hear but we do not listen to those who hurt. We see but do not act. We watch but we do not learn. We are afraid to do anything because of the times we live in for fear of judging.

LVII. No More Heroes

2011-01-01T08:16:00.038-05:00

Definition of Hero: a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities.

But that definition still leaves a very important thing out of what a hero is. That just explains what they do. The Man of Steel, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America, and Spider Man. What do they all have in common? They are known comic heroes in American culture. They all have special powers and/or abilities beyond normal capacity of a human being (flying, speed, suits of armor, climbing walls). They all have gadgets that they have created or that were made specially for them (fortress of fortitude, bat belt, lasso of truth). But these are not what makes them heroes. All of this just explains the first part of the definition. The second part is perhaps the more important.

All of the above did (and do) brave deeds. They have enough courage to stand up to those who are defiant. Their brave deeds cause stories about them to spread. Fables, folklore, and legends are born with stories of great deeds. But sometimes brave deeds are only brought on by the situation. Not taking away from the bravery but there is even more to the definition of hero that needs expansion.

Noble qualities. All of the above had something about their character that makes them heroes more than their special abilities, or even their brave deeds. They all showed character above reputation. They showed moral standard is more important than instant gratification. There was something about them that made them put themselves last. They chose to help others. They chose to stand up. They chose to be committed to their cause. They chose to do what is right!

We don't have any more heroes in this world. That does not mean that policemen, firemen, or soldiers are not of this nature. They need to be respected, cheered, and helped in any way. This is referring to the ordinary person. The average person doesn't know how to be heroes anymore. They don't know how because they don't know how to be unselfish. They don't know about commitment. We don't know how to do what is right. Actually, that is not accurate. We choose not to do what is right. We choose to do the easy things. We choose to do the thing that will benefit us the most.

The worst thing about all of this is we live as though there is no consequence. We live without regard to anyone around us. We think nothing we do affects anyone around us and that is the complete falsehood or rationalization of our actions. Everything we do affects others. If you physically interact with people, that is obvious you have affected them. If you verbally interact with people, you have affected them. We know this and we still choose to hurt others with our actions and/or words. And by the way, words sometimes hurt worse. Sticks and stones may break my bones but your words cut right through me.

But what people do not understand is that the things we do to ourselves, even though there is no interaction with others, still affects those around us. You do drugs? You just hurt someone. You neglect you children by not paying support? You just hurt someone. You are full of hate? You just hurt someone. You can't handle commitment? You just hurt someone. No matter what we do our action whether done by commission or omission affect ourselves and others. Everything we do has a consequence. And here is the most important part of this whole thought. Our actions are our own responsibility. Stop blaming others for your whole life.

Anything that takes actual commitment and/or guts to follow through with has an easy way out. Or at least people take the easy way out. No one wants to fight for what is right anymore. If the Batman was real in today's time, he would have been sued by the ACLU. There is no such things as heroes today because we have wimped out of everyday life.

LVI. Misery Loves Company

2010-12-22T17:17:00.001-05:00

Why do people update their status on atrocities like Facebook? Even a better question is why do people feel the need to update their status on Facebook? Have you ever noticed that these status changes are more negatively charged than positively?

The trend for the last two years just to name a few are phrases like HMU (Hit me up) and FML (F*** my life). Both are used most frequently by teens. But they are both signs of a culture that is fixed on pain. Hit Me Up: a term to have people call them or get in touch with them or to somehow communicate with the one who is posting that message. Why are they doing it? Because they are lonely individuals. It actually is a cry for help: please someone talk to me. Why isn't anyone talking to this person? Because they are all too busy texting others and/or IM everyone else in their stupid address book. The lonely heart cries for someone to communicate with. But what they are not realizing is that even if someone does text them in one way or another that they aren't really communicating. The personalization or intimacy of relationship is lost. No matter what stuff.com.nz says, "In fact, we believe there is sufficient evidence that social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community." These are the wrong rationalizations for Facebook. Most of these new expressions only tend to hurt people. Intimacy with a computer...hello...phone sex. Community???? Since when do people work together to get things done in the real world on Facebook? No, HMU means people are hurting.

So what about FML? Do we have to even go there?

The main question is why do people post these things if they are hurting? Why do we feel the need to tell the world how much pain we are suffering? Human interaction has changed but the old adage misery loves company remains true. It used to be we would call our best friend and unload on them but now we see we have a bigger audience and it tends to feed people off their anger. They can now express to the world how angry they are all at once. But since they can hide behind the impersonal avatar they can say anything they want and feel no consequences. This allows stronger feelings to be expressed and terms of hatred are filtered through our minds. But little do they care that they hurt others in this way. Some people aren't happy unless others are hurting. It doesn't make you any better than those who hurt you if hurt people too.

LESSON TO BE LEARNED: No one else needs to actually feel the pain in order to have sympathy for you. No one needs to actually feel the pain to understand that people need healing.

No it's just not Facebook, it's our culture. We are spoiled. We think we deserve it all and that the world owes us. We feel we are the stars of the world and the population is our audience. Listen, when given a lemon, make lemonade, don't just spit out the seeds at everyone.

The culture is hurting. The culture is crying out for help. The culture needs healing.

People are hurting. People are crying out. People need healing.

Church, where are you? Probably texting...

Only God can heal, people have to learn how to forgive.

What do you think? HMU...

LV. Political Activists

2010-12-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

The two things they say you are not supposed to discuss with friends and family are religion and politics. But this thought (and site) brings them together into one. Here are the results to last month's poll: Should Churches be politically active?

(27%) No. Because our battle is not with flesh and blood. This is the most important thing to remember. No matter what happens in this world the most powerful force is to go to God with any and every issue. But God does not say that this is where it should stop. Many Christians wimp out by saying the above. Actually in all reality those who answer this are probably Christians who have a hard time dealing with the fact that there thoughts do not coincide with Biblical views. It is their way of reconciling their own thoughts with their spiritual life. Hint: it doesn't always work, nor is it always correct.
(27%) Yes. But only on certain issues. This is probably the best non-biblical answer. See next answer for explanation.
(22%) Yes. No matter what. Perhaps this one needs to be looked at a little more. Some issues that do not deal with any spirituality are not needed to be endorsed or opposed by the Church, such as gun control. This is not an issue that deals with the Church so why get involved as an organization? Abortion? Yes. Marriage laws? Yes. Taxes? Sometimes. Freedoms of individual liberties? Sometimes. Religious freedom? Definitely. Candidates? Yes. Judges and certain laws? Yes.
(18%) No. Because it would violate "separation of church and state". This one is controversial because no matter what you say someone always misinterprets the issue and the amendment to the Constitution. See http://ideasoftim.blogspot.com/2010/08/67-life-liberty-and-pursuit-of.html and the see the comment section as well.
(4%) No. Because then they would have to pay taxes. This has to be the answer that people picked because they are trying to be sarcastic or are angry with the Church. Churches should not have to worry about paying taxes. Even Jesus said that we need to pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar. They are a non-profit organization and should be treated like any other non-profit organization. But since when does profit making constitute if you can be political or not? Private homes are non-profit (most of them). Are they not allowed to be political? Boy Scouts, YMCA, Salvation Army, and other organizations should be allowed to be political. The old saying goes that if you don't like something you don't have to do it. If these groups become political then you do not have to support it.

The Church whether people like it or not has been, is, and always will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to politics. Those who are Christian need to embrace this fact. Not to abuse the power of the Church such as what was done by the Catholic Church during the age of feudalism, and not to force others into becoming all conformed like the practice of russification by Czar Nicolas I of Russia but to be the driving force of the culture so that the country can return to God and a higher morality system.

LIV. The Wages of Pascal

2010-12-12T14:58:00.003-05:00

Blaise Pascal, a famous mathematician and scientist who lived in the mid 1600's, came up with a philosophical puzzle about God. He basically claimed that if you are to argue either for or against the existence of God it is better to error on the side that there is one so that one can reap the benefits and not suffer the consequence. Even if then there is no God and you lived life according to scripture then you wouldn't have lost anything anyway. This is now known as Pascal's Wager. This is also a huge argument that atheists will use to say that there is no God. How? Because the argument can go as far as: well who is to say which God this argument is referring to?. What if Allah is the one true God, then shouldn't it be beneficial for all of us to live according to the writings of Mohammed? Or what about Buddha? Confucius or any other known deity? So if the wager can be used on any religion and if there can be only one of them right then how can the same be said about all of them? Therefore all religions must be wrong. Therefore since all claim to worship a deity then there must be no deity.

Probably one thing the atheist has a problem with is the fact that during Pascal's life a new way of thinking called Enlightenment was taking hold. One idea of the Enlightenment was that God may exist but He doesn't intervene. Many of the Enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Rousseau, Voltaire, Montesquieu and some even say the likes of Jefferson and Franklin) thought that it may be a waste of time worrying about the afterlife and that you should seek happiness in this one. Pascal did not hold onto these theories and yet remained "enlightened", helping lead the way to discoveries about number probabilities and space theories.

So here is the question: is Pascal's Wager valid for Christianity only, open the door for all religions, or doesn't matter anyway?

The answer: It doesn't matter anyway. Whether we want to believe in God or not does not take away the fact that He does exist. He is there whether we live by His rules or our own. If we believe in Islam, so what. God still exists. If we choose not to believe in any deity, so what. God will still exist.

The more important question is: Why is Christ the one True God and not the others?

The answer: Here is the view of the writer.

Being raised in a family that believed in God was a starting point. There was a foundation built on Christian principles. But that is not where it had been left. Journeys in life are not just about what one has been taught but what one can learn.
One can get a lot from reading the Bible. It is filled with relevant information that can calm, encouragement, and lead people onto the right paths and can make people think of what they want to be like in terms of what they are now.
Even if one was born to different parents than the ones they have now with different ideas, they could still think for themselves as an adult. One can get the same rendering. There are other self-help books and religious ideas that may do the same thing.
There is a book you may want to read. It is short and simple to read. It is by Josh McDowell called, More Than a Carpenter. McDowell says that there are only three things you can think about Christ. You either think He was a liar, a lunatic, or He was in fact the Lord. In short, if He was a liar, why would he tell others to tell the truth? If He was a liar why would he ultimately go to the cross and be executed for his ideas? Maybe He was a lunatic. But He didn’t do any pathological activity that would classify him as one. Unlike David Koresh, He didn’t make people live in communes locked away. He didn’t have a harem for his own benefits. Everything recorded by Christ has beneficial consequences and not one thing contradicts anything else He said. If He was not a liar or a lunatic then He must be what He said He was: God.
Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius. What do they all have in common? They all are “founders” of a religion. They all teach about how to live a life that will bring you peace. They all have left a book for others to read and learn. What is the main difference? Only one claimed to be God. The others only claimed to either be a messenger of God or not even that. Jesus said He was God. Liar? Lunatic? Or Lord? Some other differences: Buddha said there is a harmony in this world. If there is good there is an equal amount of bad. In other words, there is no reward for doing good because it causes someone else to do bad. Mohammed tells people to kill the infidel and claims that we all will get 72 virgins in the afterlife in we do such an act. Confucius was just a poet. Christ had life lessons. We actually read about his life and not just thoughts of one person.
Nothing else makes sense. Primordial soup? An accident that created life as delicate, complicated and sophisticated as we know it…an accident? If you look to the vastness of creation and you can see too much beauty and too many intricacies of every day life to think it was all an accident. http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2009/12/xlv-dark-side.html
People have life experiences. They have seen miracles. They have witnessed the power of God in their own lives. They feel a presence of a the Spirit. Now, that may sound strange to you. But until you have been in their shoes then that will have to do. And yes, this is where faith comes in. The thing that all atheists have a problem with is faith. If you see something, hear something, feel something but you can’t explain why, then faith has to start to take over. We all have faith whether you believe it or not. Each time you drive a car you faith in your abilities to get out of an accident. You have faith in the brake you step on, even without thinking about it.

There is 7 reasons right now, but all the atheist can say is: Prove God exists. And that is enough for them to not believe. Well, the actual burden is on disproving God. Science can’t do it. Just ask Josh McDowell, CS Lewis, Lee Strobl, and Blaise Pascal who all had problems believing and tried to disprove God. But all came to the conclusion, there is a God and Christ is He.

LIII. Existence is Fragile

2010-10-08T17:30:00.009-04:00

Summary of thought #52:

God did not put us here to be alone. We are here for each other.
God did not put us here and leave us alone. We will exist even after this life.
God did not put us here for Him to be alone. We will be called home.
God did not put us here to feel like we're all alone. He came down to be with us.
Existence is not futile it has a purpose.

But if that is the case then why do all of us hurt? Starvation happens all around the world. People can't afford their bills. People cheat on each other and get divorced. Men abuse women. Adults abuse children. People rot away with alcohol or drugs. Depression sets in to millions. Parents get old and become helpless. Children catch diseases that they do not deserve and we have to sit back and watch these things. And then after all that, people die. What is the purpose of us going through all kinds of hell. Why does God allow these things to happen to good people? Before you read on take time to read thought #11. http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/09/xi-death-becomes-us.html.

God does not allow things to happen that are bad to punish us. He allows things to happen to prune us. In the book of John, Jesus talks about pruning the branches that do not yield fruit. Even though the tree has a purpose, it goes through some hard times. Its branches are pruned through those rough times so that it can grow back better and more fruitful than before. Pruning helps the plant be revitalized. Although sometimes cutting the plant seems futile and perhaps fatal, it actually helps the plant for the future. Pain may be part of our pruning. So though you may go through times you feel like you won't get through, the pain has a purpose. Life is fragile but it doesn't mean it has to break you.

God knows what pain is. His creation hates Him. His creation turned their backs on Him. His creation tried to execute Him. But He turned it around and sacrificed Himself for us. Take a look at the video below. Maybe it will help you understand.

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/bridge/all

LII. Existence is Futile

2010-10-04T22:24:00.015-04:00

Age old question: Why are we here?

Why do we exist? Are we doomed to death? If God knew we were going to sin then why did He create us? And if sin sends us to hell then does that mean God created us to be doomed?

This is a huge argument that the atheist will use. They claim that if God is a loving God like Christians claim He is and since He is supposedly all-knowing then how could He create someone He will eventually condemn to hell? Apparently, He isn't as loving as Christians claim He is. And if one aspect of God that Christians claim isn't true then how can any of His aspects be true? Therefore there is no God.

First of all read this post: http://ideasoftim.blogspot.com/2010/03/64-rationalize-liberal-thinking.html and then read the rest of this thought. To the atheist there is no answer that will suffice but for the rest of us here is a shot at it.

Why were we created? We were created for multiple purposes. The biggest reason is to one day be a companion with God. But while we are on earth we are here to worship and love God. We are here to help one another because we are not perfect beings. We all hurt and need to be companions for each other as well. But if we aren't perfect then why didn't God just create us perfect or create us to be placed in heaven to begin with and not here first? To put it into human analogy, have you ever painted, sculpted, baked or done anything that involved creating something? What you have created is from you, of you, by you and mostly for you. But it can never be you. It takes on your personality. It takes on your essence. Those who see your creation know that it came from you because it is a reflection of you. But it is still not you. The artist loves his creation. The writer would love to become part of his book and react with his characters that he created, even though he may know the disposition and fate of his characters.

God did not create us perfect beings because there would have been no real love or relationship between Him and His creation. He gave us a free will to choose to have that relationship or not. Yes, God knows what your future is. But fore-knowledge is not predestination. Fore-knowledge means you allow things to happen which means real love has a chance to happen. Predestination means He caused it to happen. (It is in the opinion of this writer that predestination is not accuracte) Predestination takes away the feeling of real love or the choice to have real love. This idea causes the atheist to hate God. The feeling of predestination causes despair.

Remember the artist can not become part of his creation but God can and did. He chose to become one of His own and lived among us. He felt the same things we do. He hurt and loved the same things we do. He witnessed the same joy and atrocities we do. He became part of us to show His creation He understands who we are and why we are the way we are. Even better He made a way for us to become part of Him.

LI. Divorce

2010-05-05T08:34:00.005-04:00

Some famous quotes about marriage were meant to be a joke but some really tell how we feel about it in today's world.

Marriage is a three ring circus, engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering.
Marriage is an institution. Who wants to be institutionalized?
The woman cries before the wedding; the man afterward.
Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory.- Abe Lincoln
Bigamy is having one husband too many. Monogamy is the same.
Marriage is not a word. It is a sentence..A life sentence.
Marriage means commitment...but so does insanity.

But perhaps the most famous is a line by Red Skelton: "marriage is the number one cause of divorce" Why do people feel this way? Here are the results of last month's poll: How do you feel about divorce?

(28%) It's bad but I can think of worse things. Maybe there are worse things but sometimes tragedies are caused by the smallest of events. It only takes a spark to get a fire going. Explosives come in small packages. The Grand Canyon was supposedly carved by the Colorado River. Obama was elected as president. All of these started out as small things but grew into rather large objects or obstacles. It may not be the worse thing but it causes all kinds of havoc on our culture and lives.
(28%) If it is needed then do it. Sometimes you can't help it. The question is, "why is it needed?". If it is for marital unfaithfulness people have the right, even biblical right, to do it. Unfaithfulness comes in more than just sexual outbounds. You promise to love, honor, and cherish. Abusing your partner is a breaking of this vowel. The one who is being abused has every right to walk away. The one doing the abusing has every obligation to change and heal the marriage before the other does walk away. Disagreeing with someone, economic problems, children, and/or boredom are not reasons to get divorced. They would be excuses, or shall we say rationalization!
(25%) It's one of the worse problems we face today. Very accurate.
(10%) Other. Please someone explain.
(7%) Marriage is the main cause of divorce. Those who answered this one are mostly joking. It's those who do not say these things but show them are the ones who are in jeopardy.

When did divorce become so rampant? It has always been around but when did it become so accepted as a part of society? Another quote about divorce is that 50% of marriages end up in divorce. That number is actually now lower this decade than last. Divorce started to rise in this country back in the 1970's. Perhaps it was because in the 60's people were more worried about free love than true love. Songs and slogans of the time really show what we thought. "If you can't be with the one you love then honey love the one you're with" (Nice message). Make love, not war. Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll. These are just to name a few. The problem is the one they were loving at the time was one they fell in love with while they were stoned. Then when they had to come down off that high in the 70's they realized the one they loved wasn't the one they were with. So by the time they hit 30 years of age they got divorced. Hence the divorce rate sky rocketed in the 80's. And those who got married in the 90's saw the examples their parents gave them and decided divorce wasn't that big of a deal. And now that they are having kids in the 21st century, marriage isn't that important because 50% get divorced anyway so they don't even bother getting married. Results? Children born out of wedlock and hurt because they want both of their parents in their life. Men run away from their responsibility since they didn't make any commitment. Hearts are left broken and lying on the ground only to be trampled by the next one who promises (empty) to fix it. People are left economically ruined due to all the lawyers, foreclosures, abandonment of children. The Heritage Foundation says: "Married families play an important part in promoting economic opportunity: children raised by never-married mothers are seven times more likely to be poor when compared to children raised in intact married families." Divorce kills.

Where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage- Ben Franklin.

L. Are you Lukewarm?

2010-03-26T11:22:00.004-04:00

Sent from a friend via email. Thought it was good. From a book called Crazy Love. It describes what a Lukewarm Christian is and signs of being one. This of course is something that Christ told us not to be.

Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly; it's what is expected of them to be "good Christians."
Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church... as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living.
Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
Lukewarm people don't really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don't genuinely hate sin.
Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for the "extreme" Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call "radical" what Jesus expected of all His followers.
Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, friends, or coworkers. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about "private" issues like religion.
Lukewarm people gauge their morality or "goodness" by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren't as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street.
Lukewarm people say they love Jesus and He is indeed a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money and their thoughts, but He isn't allowed to control their lives.
Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their heart, soul and strength. They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion really isn't possible for the average person; it's only for pastors and missionaries and radicals.
Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends and other people they know and connect with. There is little love leftover for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached.
Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money and energy they are willing to give.
Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.
Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum to be "good enough."
Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.
Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, came from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.
Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don't have to trust God if something unexpected happens - they have their savings acct. They don't need God to help them - they have their retirement plan. They don't genuinely seek out what life God would have them live - they have it mapped out. The truth is, their lives wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God!
Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren't very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn't be more wrong.

Thank you for sending this our way.

XLIX. My Show Place

2010-03-06T17:06:00.006-05:00

It's the rage of the whole country and culture. It's man's new best friend. It's America's new national past time. It is social networking at it's greatest achievement. It is neo-voyeurism. And we're hooked on it. And it is quite disgusting that it has done these things to us. Yet, we let it go on because we have become so complacent with the things we do, nothing disturbs us and nothing we do (especially on a personal basis) seems to be wrong. Facebook. Myspace. Twitter. Even blogs. The desocialization of society has begun. Maybe Wall*E isn't that far fetched from reality. Here are the results from last month's poll: How do you view things like Facebook and MySpace?

3% said these things are great. How in the world are these things great? Because they get info out to people? So can a TV, radio, newspaper, and hmmm... a phone. Because it can get a lot of information fast to a lot of people? So what?
53% said these things can be great but can be abused. "Can be" is the most important phrase of this choice. Anything has the potential to be a good thing.
32% said these things are abused more than being used for beneficial reasons and need to be monitored. More than not. Don't people know that most sex crimes start with the smallest of imagery and then lead up to worse things? Ask NBC when they do their Dateline episodes on Internet stings and pedophiles.
10% said these things are detestable and need to be abolished. Well at least some people know how to think.

It may be a passing phase that the world is going through but it doesn't seem like this type of community service is going away anytime soon. In fact it looks like it may usher in a whole new way of life; the kind of life where no one really has to deal with anyone else except through their avatars. TRUE STORY: There was a young child who was addicted to this stuff. The parents decided they had to ban their child from using it and they felt like it was a bear trying to get the child to understand why it was not needed. But the parent was doing the same thing. It is kind of hard to teach a child these things when so many adults are doing it and the adults are thinking they need to do it too. It's just another thing in this life that says "look how important I am. I have a Facebook account".

Cell phones, blue tooth ear pieces are the same way. Sure they can be used for positive things but in reality they are something to showcase who we are, hmmm...something prideful maybe. Something that takes us away from important things in life. If they are used as a witnessing tool fine, but that is not what we (99.99%) do it for and we know it. It's not just Facebook. It's our whole culture. You walk into Walmart and see people with blue tooth in their ears. And you think to yourself, "how important do you think you are that you have to answer that thing in Walmart? I mean if it was Macy's or something, okay, but you're in Walmart". Now that is kind of facetious but when you look deeper at the person, watch how they hold themselves when they have this thing on. They seriously take on a superiority complex attitude. Why can't they just have a phone? And of course they have to have it on "ring" so people can hear them when they get a call instead of vibrate. This is a pet peeve. But it does remind us of the culture we live in. Anything to bring attention to ourselves. But the Facebook thing...some will say it's a way to keep in touch with friends. That's why there are phones. If it's a friend from high school, and if you don't have their phone then apparently they weren't that close to them anyway.

Posting things twitter-like? Who cares if someone is eating at that time? And then the teenager way of doing it...posting things they don't think anyone will see. They hide their parents from seeing by hitting the hide button on their personal settings page. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Parents don't know what their own child is saying, or worse yet, they do know and don't care.

There is an addiction to these things. This following commercial seems harmless and is trying to be humorous but in reality is it really portraying how pathetic we have become?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQR67HXVt14. Notice everyone has their phone out while they are supposed to be in communication with the one they are with. This is actually quite sickening if you think about it. Our society has deteriorated because no one knows how to talk to each other. Could it be this bad as the commercial shows? have we gotten that dependant upon this little thing called the cell phone (mini-macro-world-communicator-entertainer)? Students in school don't know how to handle each other anymore when they walk down the halls together because they don't know how to actually talk in a correct way. Conversations are shortened to IDK, LOL, ROFL, NVM, BTW, WTF, OMG. So when real crisis happen, no one knows how to deal with it, because typing something won't cause the problem to go away. Students don't do homework anymore because they are talking on Facebook all night long.

It causes impatience, neglect, disappointment and even bullying and sexting. Nicely done. Parents don't even listen to their kids anymore, they're too busy downloading pictures and playing with apps.

BTW, Blogs? Same thing. Get a life. Those who blog must have nothing else to do with their life. That is why this writer has three. See the point?

It' not the technology that makes these things bad. It's the availability for anyone of any background to use that makes these things bad. Even Christians who have problems dealing with addictions can make these things have a negative impact on their witnessing. Some people may celebrate the name of Christ on their site and then in their photo sections have a picture of people in compromising and promiscuous positions. If you are a Christian and are not using it for real witnessing but for your own pleasure then you have lost all credibility to being a witness. And if you are one of those people, then shame on you.

XLVIII. Three Nails, Not Two

2010-01-24T11:54:00.008-05:00

One of the greatest beliefs in Christianity is that Jesus Christ died on a cross, to shed His own blood so that people would and could have hope. For more on the sacrifice of Jesus read the following: http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/2009/07/22-tabernacle-part-1-exodus-25-31.html.

The cross is a symbol of freedom from sin. It stands for a whole belief system that God Himself loved us so much that He would do such a thing. But there is more to the cross than just the beams of wood. With running the risk of taking away the sentimentality, we have placed too much emphasis on the cross as a whole, for the cross was just the vessel of His actions. We wear it around our necks and hang one in our houses to show we are Christians and that we believe He died on a cross for our sins. But in reality the cross should not be used as a symbol of the death that Jesus had but as a symbol of the freedom of man that Jesus gave to us. The cross today is empty just as the tomb is. Is there something else about the crucifixion that we need to look at and understand? Perhaps.

Some artists works show the crucifixion with all three "criminals" being tied to the cross. But those would not be accurate. The Roman way of crucifying would not have been that forgiving as just being tied up would be. Tying someone to a piece of wood with rope may have taken a long time to die but would not have been as painful. Rope can be cut too easily and so forth. Rope may burn but if you could stay in the same place you wouldn't feel it that much. Rope would keep you in place, thereby giving you time to relax. No, it took nails to put someone on a cross. Nails that were as a thick as tent pegs going through nerves in your hands and feet that were more painful than going through any other part of your body. The actual placement of the nails in the hands would not be in the palms. The weight of your own body would tear the hands away from the nails. The nails would have gone through the wrists where your hands meet your forearms. The nerve ending there would be so sensitive causing more pain than you can imagine. People who suffer from carpal tunnel don't even know the half of it but can at least start to appreciate the pain. The point is being crucified was not something that people could live through or want to live through. It is painful. To have one nail go through your nerves would be too much for someone to think that they could get through it. But yet one nail is not strong enough to keep the body on the cross. Jesus was not crucified with only one nail. He wasn't crucified with two nails. He had three.

But what does it mean when Jesus told us, His followers, to take up our cross? Consider Matthew 16:24-25:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Most people think it means that we have to take on burdens of this life. We have to be good witnesses. If persecuted, we laugh in glory. If hurt, we turn the other cheek and pray for those who hurt us. When called on to give testimony we are supposed to be ready for answers. But there is more to it than just these things.

When you follow Christ you have to be willing to lose your own life. That just doesn't mean dying physically. Losing your life is about placing others before yourself, making a sacrifice that may not be easy (hence that is what a sacrifice is). It means to become totally crucified and not tod things half way.

Sometimes people when they follow Christ only get crucified with one nail. And when that one nail gets too painful they pull the nail out themselves and they fall away from the cross. WHen they remember their walk with Christ all they can remember is the pain. Some even go as far as getting the second nail but waste away on the cross without much produce. They just hang there taking the pain and never fully understand that it takes a little more. They feel that they have done what they were supposed to do and wonder why they feel the pain without any healing. But to fully follow Christ we need to have all three nails. We need to go through whatever we need to go through to see the glory of God. To be resurrected with Him we need to go through death. One nail hurts. Two nails makes us waste away. Three nails kill us. But thanks be to God above with the blood of Christ we are resurrected and death can not touch us.

XLVII. Demons

2010-01-08T19:22:00.024-05:00

What are demons? When asked this question the ordinary person will say that it is a small red spirit with a pitch fork sitting on your shoulder causing you to do the wrong things, like your evil side of your conscience. Others might take it to another fantasy extreme and say that they are dark creatures that can cause destruction wherever they go. Still others may even say that they are beings who can take on human form and travel through space and dimensions and can be defeated by some spell or magical act. But that is only in fantasy land, which unfortunately many people choose to live in. But this is not what demons are in the real world (reality). In reality demons are spiritual beings who have been cast down from heaven such as satan. They are not "satan helpers". That term implies that satan has power on his own and that they take orders from him like he is a god. Angels are messengers of God. Demons are not messengers of satan. They are his fellowship, if you will. They are of one accord, trying to get God's people against Him. They will suffer the same fate as satan. Satan is technically bound and at the mercy of God. http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/search/label/Satan. There are two parts to that thought so read both to get an understanding of who he is. Once you know what a demon is then you can start to understand what a demon can do. Here are the results from last month's poll: What can demons do today?

72% said that people can be possessed by demons. What is possession? Possession is when one object owns or occupies another object. Can a demon though possess someone? Biblically speaking, yes. It happened throughout the Bible. Most Christians would be able to cite the story of a man who became possessed by many demons at once who called themselves Legion in the book of Luke chapter 8. From the stories recorded in the Bible it seems like the person who has become possessed has no control over their own actions. Possessed people will not be themselves either in action or thought. In other words it should be quite easy to see if someone has been possessed or not. Can you say, Charles Manson? Who can be possessed? Many will say that anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ can not be possessed since those who have accepted Christ have also been given the Holy Spirit and if the Spirit is in you then an evil spirit can not be there as well. However, being filled with the Holy Spirit and having the Holy Spirit unfortunately is not the same thing. And if we do not put on the full armor of God as Ephesians 6 tells us then our defenses are down. When evil comes we need to protect ourselves. That can mean that if we allow evil into our lives then a door has been open, whether symbolically or literally, we need to be on the defense.
70% say that people can be oppressed by demons. Oppression is when someone can control another by outside influences. For example if you have an addiction to something, you would be constantly bombarded with images or suggestions that would lead you down the path to satisfying your addiction. If we feed the thought of a sinful act it will breed and produce actions. Satan and demons are aware of this. But they would not know it if we did not show what our weaknesses are. Once we show these things demons are on the move. They will provide any distraction and place as many obstacles in our way as much as possible. If we do not take thoughts into captivity and train those thoughts then we become slaves to sin, hence oppressed. This is why it is so hard for addicts to get rid of their addiction. They are constantly bombarded with images and feelings that cause them to return to their own vomit, biblically speaking (Proverbs 26:11). Any one can be oppressed. Christians though when they get oppressed by evil thoughts and demonic forces appear to be hypocrites. They know what to do. They know how to make things better but they are bombarded by worldly desires and they fall. And most of the time it is a harder fall because the world is watching them. Another reason why you need to be on the defense.
82% say that demons can harass people. Harassment is when someone is constantly bugging you about things you don't want to be bothered with. This type of activity plays more with your emotions than any physical aspect. This was perhaps the story of King Saul. An evil spirit would come and make Saul depressed and even angry. Only the playing of David and his harp would sooth his spirit. Guilt would probably be the biggest harassment that all face. But most keep this guilt inside and let it fester into something worse. Harassment can easily become oppression if you do not take care of it by getting help, spiritual help.
55% said that demons can physically hurt people. Self-defined, physical pain being caused by something. The only evidence of this happening is by complete possession. There is no Biblical story that says a demon can just start hitting you and scarring you for life. However, it does say that a young boy was possessed by a demon and threw himself down many times. This may of course cause physical problems. But to actually able to touch and hurt someone like they would on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Charmed or even Ghost Whisperer is completely false and all Hollywood. You will not be able to choose the demon to fight and destroy it. People probably believe this because we are living in the time of Hollywood.
7% say that demons are powerless today. In a way this is correct. The only way that demons have any power is if we let them into our world.
7% say that demons aren't real. With all the pains of society, hatred of mankind, sickness of humanity, and all the like, this can't possibly be a choice.
27% say that demons can and/or will do other things. Please explain to the rest what other things they may do if you answered this way.

There may be a fine line between natural causes of sickness and demonic forces. However, some sicknesses that are brought on by our own thoughts and actions can be considered demonic in nature. And most people who need psychiatric help are not sick in the head but sick in the spirit. This is why many sicknesses of the mind can not be healed because they are treating the wrong symptom. You wouldn't give a person suffering from asthma some lamisil. Too many times people try to get help with their minds when they do not understand that it is a problem with their spirirt. Maybe they are oppressed or at least harrassed and they turn to help but in the wrong direction. They may treat a symptom but not the disease.

Are sicknesses demonic? That is hard to say. However, sickness was introduced into this world by sin. Man now has to die a physical death. So you can make a correlation between them. God gave us medicine to heal our bodies but there is no greater doctor than Christ Himself.

XLVI. To Error...to Forgive

2009-12-27T14:53:00.007-05:00

A question was asked one time on a trivia game: "are there more people dead or alive?". Since there are over 6 billion people on the earth as we speak and growing it seemed that the obvious answer would be "alive". (http://www.poodwaddle.com/worldclock.swf for an unofficial count) But, with more thought comes more wisdom. Six billion today, but there were 4 billion 50 years ago and many of them have since passed on. So the actual answer would be "dead". Think about that. Billions and billions and billions of people have already come and gone since the creation of man. And it all started with two people. Two individuals who by their own desires became two flawed individuals. And since we all came from these two people we carried their flawed genes into our existence.

We are human. We are flawed. None of us are perfect. Could we have actually lived a perfect life? Yes. But, since we are made of earthly flesh which is not spiritual, we have the ability to sin. And we all do. Not one of us will be able to stand in front of God the Father and say, "I have lived a perfect life. I have never hurt anyone. I have never lied. I have never cheated. I have never done anything wrong in any such way or form." No one can say that. If they do then they lie to themselves thereby making them flawed as they speak.

We are human. We have errors. We make mistakes. Even if our actions were not of intent, we still can end up making a mistake that consequences must make amends. Again, no one can stand in front of God the Father and claim they do not make mistakes. For that matter no one can stand in front of any other man and make that claim.

The point is humans will always be a disappointment. None of us will ever be able to live the perfect standard. Billions upon billions of people and only one who was perfect. And what did we do with him? We nailed him to a tree. We all need forgiveness. Forgiveness is a key to the healing process. It's not the only key. But it is needed. Without forgiveness, the ability to forget is never possible. Without being able to forget memories will haunt us. Without forgiveness, the ability to be open and honest can not be achieved. Without honesty trust in others is useless and relationships can not be built. Without forgiveness, wounds can never heal. If wounds can't heal they will kill. Without forgiveness, hope is lost. Without hope...there is no hope. Alexander Pope is quoted as saying to err is human, to forgive is divine. But he is a little misguided. Forgiveness is Divine, but since we are made in the image of God, to forgive is human as well.

We are human. We can error but can we forgive? Are you nailing others to a tree or are you forgiving them? And not only forgive, can we build back up the man who falls? Yes.

XLV. The Dark Side

2009-12-13T17:35:00.009-05:00

Close your eyes for 5 seconds and reopen them. Go ahead, no one is watching. What did you see? Nothing right? But was there really nothing there? No. There was something. There was still a thought going through your mind somehow. There may have been a memory flashing in. There may have been sound on the outside that you could hear. The wind was blowing somewhere. Electricity was flowing from one place to another. Your blood was still pumping. There is more than just darkness. Even though you shut your eyes and saw nothing there were things still going on around because in this universe there is no such thing as nothing!

Have you ever thought about what nothing (real nothing) is? It is void of all known things. Time, space, dimensions, laws are all void in a real nothing. It is something we really can not comprehend because we are in existence. But where did we come from? How did we come into existence? You know the answer. Just say it. God. What did He create us (the universe) out of? Nothing!!

But, some who read this may answer about where we come from as:

primordial soup
from something else
it doesn't matter, it is nonsensical
i don't know

Well, there are some problems with these answer. Let's take them one by one:

Primordial soup-Everything that was made is a huge accident. The laws of the universe just by happen chance formed into consistency and never contradict each other. Out of chaos came harmony. We are here because for some reason an accident happened and we are now caught in this vast experience of existence created by...nothing. How can something so extensive in time, distance, and mass come out of nothing? It can't. There had to be something before something. Of course the atheist will cry foul here. Wait and listen for it. "who then made God?", "infinite regression", "the chicken or the egg?" To understand where the designer came from is not in the capability of the creation itself. A car can not understand the mechanic. A piece of art can not understand the artist. They are two totally different dimensional beings. Convenient isn't it, atheists, non-theists? But it is the truth. God was never designed. Again he is in a higher dimension we can not know until we are with him (or not). Time is a figment of man's imagination. It was made by man to separate days and nights, years and decades, to count his own days. God does not have time. He was always here and always will be. That is why he is called the great "I AM". Time does not really exist. We made it up.
From something else-Humans came from a lower form of primate which came from a lower form of mammal which came from reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish...the amoeba. With each new species of development cam a higher form of intelligence and complexity. If we are so advanced then why all of the mutations that destroy people? Is that a higher form of species? No. Where is the newest form of primate? The only thing we keep finding are primates of the past. When will we see that next evolutionary process starting to take place? Plus, even if evolutionary process is accurate, then where did the first species come from? Oh yeah...see point #1.
It doesn't matter. It is nonsensical. There was a big bang and that is it. Everything before this bang is irrelevant. Irrelevant to what? The beginning of our existence answers all the questions we have. If there is a God that created then we can trust the Bible and what it says. Jesus is LORD, Savior and will return. If there isn't a God then our whole lives are nonsensical. Why are we here? And if there isn't a God, how did we get here? Oh yeah...see point #2.
I don't know. The best answer out of the four. At least it's something to work with and not argue about. It has no wrong conclusion and perhaps has an open ended process of learning about all of it.

Here is the point: those who do not believe in the existence of God are saying whether they admit it or not that this "something" we know as our entire existence, i.e.; time, life, space, etc., came out of nothing. Not the concept we know as nothing with our eyes shut but out of complete nothing, void of all things possible. Some will say that is not what they believe but there will not be another answer given. Now how is that saner than believing in a loving Creator who wanted us to love for Him and gave us a free will. This is where the "prove God exists" argument comes in. Read the following then: http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2009/06/xxxiv-atheist.html

XLIV. You're Okay

2009-11-28T14:37:00.009-05:00

Have you ever heard the expression: "You're okay, I'm okay, we're all okay"? Or what about this one: "there are no absolute truths in the universe"? These are two ways humans have tried to justify how we are. In other words they are two excuses for being corrupted and ways to blame others for who we are.

If we're all okay, then why do we argue about being okay? If we're all okay then why do we hurt people? Why do we lie, cheat, steal, murder, hate, abuse, neglect, slander, have jealousy and greed? It's because none of us are okay. Even if we have been the victims of some of the things mentioned we still have a sinful nature. None of us are innocent if we know the difference between right and wrong. We all need help in this world to cope and understand. We all need a savior for the next world so none of us have to die a second time.

If there are no absolute truths in this world then the statement alone is a contradiction in terms. How can there be no absolute truths if that statement itself is supposed to be the truth? It isn't! There are truths, there are half-truths, there are partial truths, and then there are lies. But do you want to know something? The statement above can be shortened to: There are truths and there are lies. Because there are no such things as half-truths or partial truths. There are only truths and lies and both of them are complete. If any statement has a lie in it then it is a lie. That was even learned in math class. If "p" then "q". Remember? If "p" has any false statement within it then "q" can not happen. Or language arts class that got us to realize if any statement has any thing in it that is false then the whole statement is false. Hence, there ARE ABSOLUTE TRUTHS because there ARE ABSOLUTE LIES! The question though is, where does truth come from? Only one place can truth come from...the beginning.

When someone is trying to tell the truth, if they start from the middle of the story then odds are the story is not accurate. This is why evolution can not be completely accurate. It starts at what is found and works its way backwards to explain the present. Creationism and Christianity starts from the beginning and keeps moving forward. This concept is lost on those who are non-believers. But that just holds truth to scripture. 1 Corinthians 1:18-30:

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,
29 so that no one may boast before him.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Today, the ones who look for wisdom in this world and make up their own truth is what this piece of scripture calls "Greek". And what Paul calls "the Jew" is what we could say today are those who know the truth yet refuse to obey it.

Why is this important? Because without the absolute truth in our life we can never be okay. If we all live by our own personal truths and not the standards of God then our lives, experiences, values, ideologies and what have you collide. This is when all of the aforementioned problems come into existence.

Atheism, Humanism, Liberalism, and other "isms" that might be out there start to destroy these standards. Even though these groups can not always be grouped together nor be used interchangeably they still end up doing the same thing. They will try and take the value of truth, real truth, and distort it. Some do it out of ignorance, some for spite.

You're not okay. None of us are until we get back to the Absolute Truth: John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Yes, it seems unfortunate, but sometimes, the truth hurts.

XLIII. Influences

2009-11-15T18:45:00.005-05:00

People come into our lives for one reason: to influence it. Whether we want them to or not they do. With each new face we see either in passing or in acquaintance we are changed. But which ones change us the most? Here are the results from last month's poll: "What influences the most?"

(51%) Church/Religion.
(22%) Family.
(14%) Friends.
(5%) Music/Art/Reading.
(2%) Personal interests.
(2%) Something else.
(0%) Politics/Government.
(0%) Celebrities (all kinds).
(0%) World Issues.

It seems the ones that influence us the most are the ones that shape our beliefs. Things that go on around us such as those in our environment apparently really do not influence us as much as we say. If we are upset with the way things are going on in the world it won't change who we are. And there is a biblical concept with that. Happiness is external. Joy is internal. We may not like the way things are going but if we have the right belief system then those things can not harm us. Zero in this poll back that up by saying world issues, although may bother us when we here it, do not change who we are. Neither do politicians nor celebrities as well. Which is kind of strange because who do politicians get to endorse them thinking that it will change who votes for them? Celebrities! And the pomposity of some celebs who think if they say something then others will follow. Take Alec Baldwin who said if George Bush won in 2004 then he would move to Canada. The only good thing that Alec Baldwin has ever done was play in Betelgeuse, and even in that role he played a dead man. No one cares what you say Alec, or you Susan, or you Barbara. All of these said similar things during the 2000 campaign as well. And unfortunately, they are still American citizens living in the US. I guess they are just as much as liars filled with empty promises as liberal politicians.

Eighty-seven percent are influenced by those we grow up with or shape our beliefs. This is why it is so important to fill your minds with positive thoughts and beliefs. This is why a morality system is needed. Not one that changes with every new world issue or newly elected leader who promises change, but one that is solid and never bends or breaks, one that stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.

Sorry atheists, church is still one of the biggest influences in our lives. You can keep your personal interests (2%) and teach your own children but stay out of the rest of our lives.

XLII. Types of Church Goers

2009-11-15T14:51:00.003-05:00

From one man's perspective in the last ten years, subject to change:

On each given Sunday there are 7 types of people who attend church. Each person will have their own personal reason to be there such as to learn, or lead, or listen, or even be cynical. But each of the seven groups will also have their own characteristics and needs as a whole that will differ from the other six. Here are the 7 groups:

The Leader (The Minister/Elders)
The Teacher (The "Scholar"/Advice giver)
The Mature (The Worker)
The Newbie (New Babies in Christ)
The Rider of the fence (The Hurting)
The Non-believer (The Skeptic)
The Visitor (The Out of towner)

In a small church, let's say 100 people, there is usually only one leader, the senior minister or as many will call the pastor. What the pastor is,is another post and will not be the focus on this thought. This is the main visionary and will do much of the work that deals with spiritual matters. At this point there will usually be two or so teachers, hopefully elders, that will take some of the duties when the minister needs a break. They will probably be elderly gentlemen who are set in their ways but would like for more people to get involved. The ones who will get involved at this stage are the mature Christians who have been around for a long time. This will almost be half the church. Most of them will be either from the same family or close-knitted friends. Because of this group, they will invite other friends they wish to be a part of the church, and some will come from their invitation. This is the Newbie, which will be a small percentage, maybe 10% of the attendance. The Newbie does not know how to get involved and feels out of place. This group will be your revolving door group. Many will stay for a while, many will leave due to this out of place feeling. Then there will be those who are riding the fence each week. Another 40% or so will be there because they are seekers. They don't know why they are being called to church but they are hurting and are looking for shelter from this world. This will be the largest group who will become of course the next "Newbies". This is the group that can make a church look like they are growing or dying. The you have the non-believer. There will usually be a small number who show up just to see how skeptical they can be of church. They are dragged in by a spouse, or child. They will sit quietly in the back pew and wait for someone not to greet them so they have an excuse of not to come back and say that Christians are not that friendly. And then as always you will have a visitor or two you hope to give inspiration to so they can take something back to their home church. However, being a small church will not really give them much to take since they will be closely arranged, cliquish if you will.

If this church survives and grows to about 200 what happens to these groups? The numbers and their feelings will change. Some of the elders will become younger and start to become leaders and share responsibility with the minister. They will start to have visions of their own about what the church can be and will really get things going. They will train others into the teacher position so more classes can be taught. At this point there will be 3-5 leaders instead of 1. There will be now around 5 teachers to take on classes while the leaders are getting programs that are needed to start. The mature Christian group will not grow that much since they are still the workers and some will see what it takes to be committed to the church and keep it going and will not want to move forward with their faith. The Newbies will have almost tripled because family members have invited other family members and more friends but will stop not want to get completely involved. Those riding the fence will not grow in percent but will in numbers and be the largest group you have. They will have shown up in numbers because they start to hear what the church is doing around the community and will want to check it out. And of course that will bring even more non-believers just by pure natural growth of all the other groups. And since the reputation of the church is starting to spread more visitors will tend to go to your church than somewhere else. This will be your thriving church. Once you hit the 200 mark, the church starts to change.

What happens if this church keeps growing and hits maybe 500? The leadership starts to stop growing. There are plans to start programs but some will not see that as part of the original plan and will leave or step down because of that. Some may stay and remain teachers because they still feel a connection to the people. But now some of the teachers start to feel overwhelmed due to all the programs/lessons that need to be explained to the people. The mature group may grow in numbers but the percentage is becoming smaller and smaller, again because these are the workers and the field is ripe for harvest but the workers are few! At this point, the Newbies is your largest grower of the groups. They are riding the highs from the thriving church and are desiring to learn more, another reason why the teacher becomes overwhelmed. At this point many of the elders will not do the teaching since they are too busy starting programs and trying to figure out budget needs. But if they do not stay teaching then you will lose many of those who are new and they will become a revolving door (in and out of the church or go somewhere else feeling the same out of place feeling as before). And now that you have a growing reputation many non-believers will be at your door wondering what the big deal is. At this point, visitors start to become part of the furniture, no one really notices them anymore.

MEGA CHURCH! Your church hits or is close to 1000. The new creature of creation, the thing God created on the 8th day. A whole new mentality sets in. The leadership still hasn't grown that much, but now due to because they are afraid someone will change their vision. Egos may have already set in and that is not good for spiritual growth. You now may have plenty of teachers but some will be outside the vision (even perhaps outside the "denomination" and will not be allowed to teach because will teach others something differently than what the leaders want. The mature Christian at this point can't take it anymore and will start to leave. They are tired of the leadership not doing things for spiritual growth. And at this point the Newbie group is so large that the leadership thinks they are doing all the right things so they will turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the Mature Christian. They will focus on this group for all of their programs. But they will not get them to the next point of growth. The vision is tunnel. Those riding the fence in a mega church feel comfortable because they are lost in the crowd. No one really goes after them because the closeness of the groups is not that tight. They do not feel pressured and so will never know that they need to get more involved and learn more about who Christ is. Where are the teachers? They are out-numbered because many of the Mature who could be teachers are gone due to frustration of the leadership. Still growing though in numbers are the non-believers. They finally become friends and regular attenders but have no clue what the story of Christ still is about because all of the programs are about finding yourself in today's world. To them these lessons make sense so they stay. But they never will know. And visitors? Who?

The point is: church needs something for everyone. Leaders need to get away and reflect. Teachers need help and support from the leaders and perhaps need to be the same people. Mature Christians are the core and need to be fed and not forgotten about their needs too. The Newbie needs guidance and something will get them to go deeper into the word. The rider needs something that makes them want to be a part of something but with substance. And the non-believer needs something to believe in. Stop watering down the Gospel of Christ, it's for everyone.

All sizes of churches can work. But you have to look out for the warning signs and deal with them. Too many time churches focus on the Newbie and leave nothing else for the rest. The leaders think they are doing right because their numbers keep growing. They forgot it's not about the numbers. It's about a spiritual warfare. If all you do is worry about the Newbie then the Mature Core of believers will fall away and all you have left are babies who can't take care of themselves.

XLI. The Beginning of Man

2009-10-31T12:55:00.008-04:00

Were we as humans part of an accident waiting to happen? After the accident occurred were we as humans waiting for our existence to appear after billions of years of evolutionary change? Did we have to wait our turn to become the dominant species or were we always here, in one shape or form? With some exceptions, the following generalization should be pretty accurate. The pure Creationist will tell you that man has always been here since day 6 of God's creation. The Christian scientist may add that man has always been man but it did take billions of years for him to exist. The pure Scientist will tell you that man as we know today had to wait his turn but may have had ancestors being the dominant species for millions of years. The non-believer, non-scientist will not have any idea anyway. What was the beginning of man?

Could man just be an ape like creature that has developed into an intellectual monster over years of genetic change and mutations? Why is man and ape so similar to each other? There has to be a connection. Perhaps there is.

Man is animal-like. But by scientific definition, man is an animal. He belongs to the animal kingdom. He belongs to the primate family. But he does not belong to the same genus and species as with other primates. Here, he is on his own. There must be a reason why we are not closer to each other. Even science claims there is a difference at this point.

Evolutionists claim that we have many ancestors but can not really find that "missing link". Each new find they will use as part of their evolutionary thought process which they will claim makes them right. But with each new discovery there usually is something just not making the complete connection. Evolution means small changes over a long period of time. Most species that have been found are still too far apart in their genetic make up from each other to be that last link. Why? Probably because there is no final link. Usually, when they find a "link" they only find one of its kind. Maybe this one just happened to be the malformed creature of its genus. Sometimes there have been more than one of that link found in one place or even spread out in the world but if you look at the species they claim to be humanoid, homind, or man-like you can judge for yourselves. The following website has concept drawings of what some feel these creatures would look like: http://www.archaeologyinfo.com/species.htm. Perhaps they are just apes that have been extinct. We have killed off many of species of primates already. The mountain gorilla could be one of the next ones to go.

Man may be animal but only because God made man from the same material that he made animals; flesh. But there is a huge difference. Man may be the same on the outside but on the inside, not organs and things but deeper than that, man is completely different.

Life itself varies from its makeup from life forms to life forms. Plants are alive. They reproduce. They have "blood" in them. They "breathe". But they can not think. They do not reason. They are not animals. Fish, birds, Amphibians and reptiles are alive. They are animals but they are cold blooded animals. Their instincts rely on their environment. They migrate due to weather patterns. They feed off each other. They do not reason and therefore are dependent upon their surroundings for survival. Mammals are alive. They are warm blooded. Many can reason and can survive outside their environmental settings. Their brains are larger than the rest and therefore can not only react in a flight or fight mode but can investigate the situation. Man however is beyond all of this. Plants are monochotomous. They have physical reaction but that is it. Animals besides man are dichotomous. They react physically and mentally to its surroundings. But man is trichotomous. We not only have physical bodies for reaction to our environment and mental capabilities to reason and investigate but we have a spirit within us given by God. We have compassion, we can predict outcomes because we have a conscience and can learn from our mistakes. We have a morality system. The problem is many think we are just animals and so we act like animals. We act on instinct instead of values. When we fall on desperate times we act like animals. We fight or fly. When we rely upon God we remain different from the rest of creation. We are not animals in this instance. We are spirits with flesh. Our beginning came from a Creator. Our beginning starts with our Creator. The beginning of man is in God's image.

XL. Nature of Man

2009-10-14T19:04:00.004-04:00

The time period known as the Enlightenment was technically started by the scientific revolution and the likes of Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes. But there were others of this time period who thought of human nature not just science and math which those who are mentioned were. These people were called Philosophes and one of the most influential and first of these thinkers was an an Englishman, Thomas Hobbes. He believed that man is naturally selfish. And because of this selfishness man could not be trusted with certain things, so a strict government was needed to ensure man would not destroy himself due to his evil nature. But another Englishman, a little time after Hobbes, was John Locke who said man is naturally free and this is why man has war. He is searching for the solution to stay free. Both had lived through the English Civil War and saw things they never wanted to see again. But are either one of these men right in their final assumptions? Here are the results from last month's poll: What is human nature like? (Note: this poll had been somewhat manipulated by certain atheists who read this blog. Which is fine, the results of this poll do not make any one right or wrong)

50% We are neutral with the ability to be either good or bad.
26% We are naturally bad since we are born into sin.
10% We are naturally good since we are born innocent and can only sin when we reach the age of accountability.
8% We are naturally good since God created us.
4% We are naturally bad since we have the ability to sin.

To answer this question we have to take it with different views.

Let's start with physical evidence. How do we enter this world? Do we live like Orkans (Mork and Mindy)? Do we start by being hatched, fully grown with the potential to do harm to half the population because we are large creatures? No. We are born small. We are born with no protection. We are born naked and vulnerable. We are helpless human beings who need nurturing and discipline. We are born innocent, free of the world's troubles until we hear, see, touch, smell, and feel what the world offers us.

Mental evidence. Do we know what we want when we are born? Do we know what we want when we get older? Do we ever know what we really want? If we had everything we needed would we still try after certain things? Or do we only want these certain things because the world puts it in our minds that we need them? Go back about 100 years ago. What would be considered needed? A stove, a house or roof over our heads (which would include bed and all household items), perhaps some mode of transportation. But now what do we consider needed? A cell phone! Not just one that calls people, but one that can take pictures, maybe even video. One that can hook you up with the Internet, watch movies, play games, and have "apps" for everything you can think of. A house! Not just one with beds and a roof, but one that no one can afford because that is what is being built everywhere so someone can make money. And since we have to keep up with the Jones' then a two bedroom house won't do. A car! For the same reason as the house. And for all of these things we are willing to go into debt beyond our own means of paying any of it back.

Emotional evidence: We all need some sort of love. The original account of love is between man and God. God also created an earthly love between man and woman. But when people can't find love in either of these two ways they have to start creating different kinds of love to fulfill their emotional needs, thereby creating different lifestyles.

Spiritual evidence: Going back to the original relationship, man and God. Of course the more appropriate way is to say God and man. But over time man has decided he doesn't need God and has tried to force Him out of every aspect of life and then wonders why He never helps in times of need.

What does any of this mean? We are born innocent. We are born with the ability to do right and wrong. We have the ability to live a perfect life as in the example that Jesus gave. But since we are flesh, we are imperfect beings and that allows sin to enter. Do we have to choose sin? No, but we do. Why? Because of the things around us that tempt us and we try to push away God and Godly things.

We are born naturally good and innocent (keep reading)! God created us and He creates nothing evil. Yes, He gave us flesh, to interact with the physical world; to allow us to have pleasure in this life with all five senses. But our true identity is not of this world. We are spiritual beings first! We are good! If we were born neutral then we are born without the Spirit of God and that is not what happens. God has given each and everyone of us a spirit to live our lives by. But we choose the easier route; the one that our minds and bodies can get pleasure out of the most (Pleasure is not the problem, desire for the wrong type of pleasure is). If we are born bad, then we are saying that God created all of us to die in hell first, and then only sent Jesus to save us. And that is not the case. We were created innocent. We were created to live for Him. We have the ability to sin because of free will, something He gave us to show how much He loves us. This free will has been tainted by those who do not live by their spirit but by the flesh. This caused the world to die, Genesis 2-3.

We are innocent until we take the first step in the wrong direction and disobey God with our own desire, hence the age of accountability. We all reach this age and it is at this moment we die. Paul said all fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn't mean man is naturally evil, but that God knows man needs help. So, He sent Jesus Christ to help. Sorry atheists, the evidence speaks for itself.

XXXIX. I'm Sorry.

2009-10-11T21:55:00.009-04:00

I usually do not personalize my postings. But I need to tonight. Thinking of you...

There is a tragedy that is happening in our country; our own genocide that we keep failing to address. Our children are growing up in a way they were never meant to grow up. Why? One word.

Men.

The species that God told to be in charge of the family, to make sure that the bond of love stays strong in his household and to watch over each one in his care so that the devil will not snatch them. We have failed. We have walked away from our responsibility. We have ran when blame came our way. We call children hurtful names. We put them down. We abuse them. We neglect them. What have we done? We need to fall on our knees and ask forgiveness from God and them.

Young men do not have the examples of what they are supposed to be in their lives and they become over-bearing monsters to the women they marry and to the children they conceive. They follow in the footsteps of the jerks who left them alone and become hateful maniacs willing to hurt those around them because they don't know how to love anyone.

Young women do not have the love from a man who should be there to protect them from men who are not worthy of their daughters. They "fall in love" with the first man who pays them a compliment because they don't know what love from a man really is. They become lonely people who think no one cares about them and feel like they have no where to turn.

Good job men. What you have done is turn these beautiful innocent little children into waifs. What you have done is turn these pure little lambs into beasts who want to destroy themselves. They drink to forget what has happened. They get high to live in a fantasy away from what has been done to them. They cut themselves thinking the pain they cause themselves is easier to take than the pain that we have caused them because they trusted us and we have let them down. The physical pain will heal but the emotional scars will not. When the cutting isn't enough they feel like they have to do something else. And then the genocide begins...

Young men, young ladies, it's not much but I am sorry. I am sorry for what has happened to you. I am sorry that someone you loved has abandoned you to the life you have. I am sorry that the man who is supposed to be there as daddy is not there for you or has done things to you that a daddy should not have done.

(Personal) For those who know what I am talking about, I love you. I wish I could help your daddy be a daddy. I can't take their place but you can always use me if they can not be around. But even more importantly, always remember there is a Father in Heaven who will always love you and wants to be your daddy (Abba) as well. I pray for you.

XXXVIII. Obama Nation, Part II

2009-10-09T16:08:00.006-04:00

The following is of course a play on words from "Abomination" of desolation, which is a term the Bible uses to describe the ultimate evil.

Before you go on please reread the following post from October, 2008

http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/10/xv-obama-nation.html

The man who sets himself up as God and desecrates the temple is supposed to be a man of peace. What man is more about peace than the man who wins the peace prize? Hmm????? If the first posting is anywhere accurate then what we are looking at is the opening of the seals. He is supposed to be a man who promises peace yet decieves the world with his lies. And apparently the world has been decieved by him. A man who has done nothing but "campaign" for his own benefit is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Did he get rid of nuclear weapons? Did he solve the Mid-East problem? Did he end any wars? Did he get 50 million people the right to vote? Did he keep our current allies happy by maintaining their security, i.e.; Poland? Did he solve the world economic problem? Heck, has he fixed anything in his own country yet? All of the answers to the questions above is "NO!". This is the same man who campaigned on the promise that he would withdraw our troops from Iraq the same day he would take office and has failed to do so. Which smart Americans knew was a promise that could not and should not be kept. Only stupid Amerikans were duped by that one. This is the same man who right now has no exit strategy for Afghanistan. The same man who criticized President Bush for not having one, is now sitting on his hind end not listening to military leaders about needs to be done (troop surge) and is allowing more and more military to die without cause. And this is the man who gets a peace prize. By the way, no one who has been in leadership of any country should be awarded any kind of distinction of this caliber in only 9 months of work. This is not a political ideolgical argument. This is a common sense fact. But the world has been duped by this man. If those who awarded him this prized did so on account of his dreams and speeches on peace then the world should get a peace prize as well. No one wakes up and says "I sure hope we have war today, it's too peaceful". We all want peace. We all want a better world. Just because one "hopes" for it and promises "change" does not make him the one we all should bow down to. Can any one answer: What has the man accomplished?

In the first posting is a list of a small timeline of events that may happen with Anti-Christ.

a leader who rises up and becomes a world leader
miracle performer
will deceive the world
will get rid of religion so he can be worshiped
will have a false prophet go before him
will come back from a fatal head wound
pretends to be a man of peace and prosperity
rules for 7 years, 3 1/2 of peace, 3 1/2 of war

Well, when the first posting was written only one of these steps were fulfilled. If he won the peace prize for nothing then he has done three of these steps. In less than a year he is on his way. Watch out Isra'el. Could Joe Biden be the false prophet? He might as well be. He's been a false lawmaker for decades. And he's not good at anything else, so why not?

XXXVII. Go out into All the World

2009-09-05T10:25:00.004-04:00

One of the biggest commandments we are given in the NT is found in Matthew 28:19-20. Most people would know these verses as the Great Commission. Now Jesus said that the two Commandments that are most important are Love God and your neighbor, which are summaries of the Ten Commandments found in the OT. But how do we show love for our neighbor? Sure, don't lie about them, don't covet what they have, don't murder them or steal from them. But what is the greatest thing you can do for them? Show them Christ. How? The following is a result from the latest poll, "How Should We Witness?""

71% said our lifestyles should be an example
65% said in everything we do should be a witness
60% said through charity
40% said through sermons and church
37% said something else besides the choices
31% said by mail
28% said through politics
17% said through church activities only
14% said door to door
2% said we shouldn't try and leave them alone

This was actually quite sad to see these results. At least 4 of the choices should have been 100% with maybe even one more. If you are a Christian, you are called to live a life that is an example. Be holy for He is holy, 1 Peter 1:16. If your life is not an example of what Christ called you to be then you are NOT witnessing. You are destroying. This goes for choice #2 as well. In everything you are to be witnesses. This goes beyond just your reputation. This is about your character. The difference is this: Your reputation is about what people think about you when they are around you. Your character is what you do even when they are not around. Are you still the same person? In everything be a witness. If you can't witness to yourself how are you supposed to witness for Him? Of course we will all fall short. We will all sin and not be perfect but that doesn't mean we have the freedom to not care and not try. We are called to give to charity. We are supposed to be good stewards of our money and one of those ways is to care for others. This is different than being forced into charity. We are supposed to give with a cheerful heart out of our own discord. Only 40% said be witnesses through sermons. Yet, most of the church today is focused on seekers. How can you focus on those who are wanting to know more about Christ if you do not have a sermon that tells about Christ? Now church is more than just the sermon and the sermon should have something in it that makes even the mature Christian think and want more. But too many sermons and programs deal with "40 days of purpose" and "how to be a better person". If you teach about Christ these points will be hit anyway. Why have a six week program called "if you only had 30 days to live"? Last time this was checked, 30 days is shorter than six weeks. Teach Christ and the rest will follow. These are the ones that should have been 100%. Ashamed.

Mail, politics, and door to door. Three things that probably bug people to either see or talk about or have happen to them. But are they witnessing tools? Yes! However, if you get something in the mail that does not spark your interest or seems like it is just junk mail, do you actually read it or throw it away in the nearest recycle bin? Exactly. Are churches spending way too much money on mailing and advertisement through the mail? Perhaps not because a life is worth it, but maybe create something more readable and interesting to the public. People can't stand politics in discussion and many think it should not be used with religious ideas. But we are also called to a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Now this is not exactly what this verse means but it still can be used as an example. We are a "nation", a universal nation of believers. We need to take a stand against the ideologies that take a stand against Godly values. We need to be active and vote for those who lift up Christian morals as well as a sound policy, not just for those who give empty promises of change and economic prosperity. What is wrong with door to door evangelism? People are always going door to door trying to sell things such as window replacement, newspaper circulation, lawn care and stuff. They have a product they believe in and want to show people. What happened to this idea in witnessing? We are too complacent in our own homes and think all of that should happen in the church. If we can't get them into church then that idea will not work.

Who knows what the 37% of other would be so if you have an idea let all of us know. And the 2% who said leave them alone are probably my friends who do not believe in God yet still go to all of the Christian blogs and websites to argue their case. Which actually is a good thing because maybe we are all they have which is another reason why we have to be a good witness.

XXXVI. Pastorized

2009-08-02T08:40:00.007-04:00

(Some confusion of my statements caused others not to understand, so this has been edited. Hopefully it makes better sense. If not, I have two watching over my words and will guide me more. Some of the comments now may seem like they don't belong, but I used them in my editing)

There are four characteristics of a good pastor. To understand how these four describe a pastor we need to know what a pastor really is. The word that is used in the New Testament we get pastor from is the Greek word "poimen", which means to shepherd. However, there is a more direct translation into English from Latin (spelled the same way). To put it into clarification, it is one chosen by God to guide His people and watch over them spiritually, such as a shepherd does with sheep.

There are two types of pastors or shepherds. There is the preacher/teacher who is hired as the giver of the Word every Sunday morning to a local congregation. He is a spiritual leader. He feeds the sheep the Word of God. And there is an elder. An elder is also a spiritual leader but also needs to run the affairs of the church. He sheperds by making sure things going on in the congregation is sound, biblical, and correct in doctrine. An elder also has different titles that he can go by: bishop, overseer, episkopo, presbyter, even congregational leader. They all mean the same thing, i.e., shepherd.

A common mistake by too many churches is that they say the preacher is an elder. And that is not necessarily accurate. A preacher can be an elder but doesn't have to be one and is not automatically one. Or to sum it up: an elder is a always a preacher, but a preacher is not always an elder. The scripture that people will distort for this view is 1 Timothy 5:17

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Somehow the words pastor and preacher became the same word and excluded elder and that would not be completely accurate. That is not what this passage is saying. It is saying that some preachers will come from the eldership. Not all elders preach. But one who does preaching is especially worthy of a high honor. Too many times churches that are small or ones with weak leadership allow the "pastor" or even claim the "pastor" to be the chairman of the elders when in actuality the "pastor" is only the preacher and is also under the authority of the elders.

Pastors (both types) are visionaries. They see the way a church can grow and be lead. But they present their ideas to the eldership. The eldership should pray about it and see if the vision is from God or from man. Too many times the visions come from man and his own ideas and that causes pride. It becomes his project instead of God's. So with this in mind let's look at what a good pastor does (in this case, this is referring to both types of pastors).

Preaches Christ-centered sermons. 2 Corinthians 4:5 says that when we preach so to speak, we should do so not to uplift ourselves but to spread the word that Jesus is the Christ. If a pastor preaches about how well the church does all the time and what it stands for then that pastor is not fulfilling his job. If a church is doing well, it doesn't needed to be patted on the back. It is supposed to be doing good things. What the pastor should do is always have a sermon that makes Christ the center of all things. That doesn't mean that once on a while they can talk about problems we all face but they still need to make sure that Christ is somewhere in the lesson. Some pastors (preachers, ministers) spend too much time on just prophetic messages or financial freedom. These are fine to talk about but too many focus on those things.
Shepherds the flock with a tender heart. If you take Jeremiah 3:15, Ezekiel 34:23 and Acts 20:28 it is easy to understand this. Acts says it clearly that we need to watch out for ourselves and for all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has placed us over as overseer. Be shepherds. But when they do lead as Jeremiah says, they should do so with understanding and knowledge. In other words they shouldn't be judgemental and/or harsh when they are pastoring. They need to lead such as a shepherd does with his flock. He doesn't whip the sheep, he gently nudges them back into the herd.
Watches over people and keeps them accountable. Hebrews 13:17 says that leaders need to be obeyed because they watch over us in a spiritual way. And we need to be careful for them as well because they will be held accountable for us. Too many times people leave the church due to some situation, whether it be a physical, emotional, or spiritual problem that has risen. But even worse, when a spiritual matter arises and the pastor does nothing about it and the person leaves then bad blood, if you will, has been spilled and no one cleaned it up. If it is a spiritual matter then it is the job of a pastor to clean it up. If it is a emotional problem, then it is someone with the gift of counseling to intervene. If it is a physical problem, then most of the time it is the problem of that individual and nothing really can be done.
Teaches and gently instructs. 2 Timothy 2:25 says that if someone is hurt or needs help that we should teach them (or oppose them) gently. Because the person may have gone through a lot to get to where they are at and if they see a spiritual leader take them down just like the world did then what separates us from the rest of the world? A pastor needs to be able to take some of the heat yet not dish any of the heat out.

So in essence a pastor needs to be a spiritual example that leads with compassion, understanding and knowledge. He needs to be tough yet gentle in his ways. The ego needs to be checked yet the vision needs to be explored. He does not have to come from a Bible Seminary but has to be God-lead. He is a spiritual leader but not the spiritual leader.

XXXV. The Tithe

2009-07-13T08:43:00.006-04:00

Last months poll asked: What effects your attitude the most about giving to the church financially? Most churches like all of the other institutions dependent upon finances are hurting economically. But the church should be different. First of all it is not an organization like so many leaders try and make it. It is an organism! It lives and breathes. Secondly, the church is not dependent on the product. It doesn't have to sell anything to survive. Third the church is also not dependent upon any advertising. All of these of course financially speaking. The church is commanded to give as an Old Testament law. One tenth of all we own is supposed to go right back to God. Abraham set up this action in Genesis 14:20 before it became a law.

20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Abraham did it out of faith. Then when the Israelites left Egypt, many had no clue what faith really was so God put into law for them to understand. And from here on is was etched in stone.

30 A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

Remember a tithe is a tenth of what you have. But there are other references needed to understand what the tithe really means. It's not only a tenth of what we own, but it's the first tenth of what we own. We are given examples of what this means when we see Cain and Abel. Cain gave his portions to the Lord, but Abel gave his first portions and the Lord blessed him.

We are also given a promise of what happens when we tithe. Malachi 3:8-12

8 Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.
9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

If we do what we are supposed to do then the body of God (Christ) will flourish. So why is the church in economic problems like the rest of the world? Here is the result of the poll:

35% say that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Nothing hinders them. They give their tithe.
30% say that something is getting in the way but it was not a choice given.
20% say they do not like the programs that are going on with their local congregation.
5% say the church is only worried about money.
5% say giving isn't just about finances.
5% say they can't afford it.

All of the above are either misinformed about what they do or are excuses not to give. Even if 35% do what they are supposed to do and the rest only do half then the church wouldn't be in the economic situation it is in. God has promised this! So, there must be more to it. The New Testament also talks about giving. But it goes into more detail in a way. The Old law also in Deuteronomy tells us we need to give according to the portions the Lord has blessed us. So if we make a lot then we should give a lot. But the New "law" says we need to give so much that our left hand doesn't know what our right hand has done. And since we have freely received stuff then we should freely give. Jesus also says that even though money is not the most important part of giving in Matthew 23, He says that we should not forget the law about it. Paul later tells that we should give according to our hearts. But our hearts are supposed to be filled with compassion for others. So why is the church still in economic despair? How about those excuses? The 20% who say that they do not like the way the church is running programs is not a valid reason. If they do not the way that local congregation is running then they need to give it somewhere else. The 5% that say the church is only worried about money is only showing selfishness and the fact that they do not know what the church actually does. This type of person is the one on the fence who wants to believe but can not find it within themselves to do so. So, they look for an excuse of not to give. This is also why some will fall from the curch because they get focused on the the money over the substance of what church is really about. The 5% that say giving is not only about finances is true but do not miss the law of giving! Give with a cheerful heart, money is part of the "game of life".

But even if these would be valid excuses the leadership needs to take these things into account. If 20% are not giving due to the fact that the church is not doing what it is supposed to be doing. Then why not look at that and see if changes are needed? Sometimes leadership gets bogged down with treating the church as an organization. But as it has been said before, the church is NOT an organization, it is an organism! If 65% are not giving or doing what they are supposed to be doing then maybe the leadership needs to look into that and be more open about the finances and how we are supposed to treat it. The 5% that say they can't afford it do not know what they actually can or can not afford. Maybe they have never tried it. These are also the ones who are young in their faith.

Ahh...faith. It comes back to this again as it started with Abraham. Giving is about faith. When you give have faith in what is done. Have faith that God will keep His promise.

XXXIV. The Atheist

2009-06-24T16:36:00.007-04:00

When you talk to an atheist it seems like the conversation always goes back to a couple of things. So this posting is to any person who calls themselves an atheist. The main question is just out of curiosity so please do not think this is coming at you with a curled fist. But when you talk to atheists who pride themselves with science and the intellect, they all say the same thing:

Prove God exists.

So here is the question: What proof do you want? Let's see if the answer can be guessed of what you want.

You want DNA proof. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. We can't get DNA from anyone born 4000 years ago unless they have been mummified. And even today according to Maury Povich, DNA is only 99% accurate with all the science we have. So how do you expect to get this?
You want physical proof besides DNA. Be honest how can you prove anything physical? Touch, smell, taste, hear, sight. You can find millions of people who say that the life of Christ was real and that the events in the Bible are real. The Bible is considered a history book. It's funny how some will take one author such as Homer and believe his stories and say that he dipicted his time period perfectly or at least close. Yet, the Bible through the NT had four views (eye witnesses) to the life of Christ and not one of them contradict each other and still people claim it's not real. So if they don't beleive that then how can you prove Jesus Christ lived? We can't find Jimmy Hoffa and he lived in our time. Does that mean he didn't live?
You want to able to add him up and find him mathematically. Are you 2+2? No one can be added up and say ahhh, you live because math says so.
You want to define him grammatically. There are too many words that can describe him as there can be for you and everyone else as well.

These are the proofs demanded from those of the science age. But even science hasn’t caught up to what we want to know about our own world let alone a God who created everything. So no matter what, the answer isn’t going to be satisfying to someone who is not open minded about it.

So when the conversation and the intellect is shut down and you get no answer the atheist always turns to “well, if God exist then why all of the death and destruction”. And there is no great answer for that because we will never understand why anything happens. Sometimes we can’t even understand why we do the things we do when we don’t want to do them. It may not be the best answer but a starting point is found here at an older posting on this site: http://ideasoftimreligion.blogspot.com/2008/09/xi-death-becomes-us.html. Again, it will not suffice the close-minded but it’s a start.

Then it seems when that answer doesn’t help, the atheist always starts to reveal something wrong in their life. A father left. A mother died. A child is sick. They were abused when they were younger. It always ends up with experiences in their own life. So they start to question WHY?! That is when they all turn to intellectualism, because they are trying to find the answers to their own life. And when they can’t find it on their own they blame God for all of the problems and decide there must not be a God.

And for some reason many decide to get involved with Christians in discussion groups to try and prove them wrong. Why? Why can’t you just let someone who believes in Christ just believe in him and let them go? Do you go to Muslim sites and argue with them? Do you go to satanic sites, Buddhists sites, or any other and argue? The best guess is no. If this is wrong then let us know.

Here is the actual answer to the last question: It’s a cry for help. Otherwise why waste all of your valuable time arguing about something that does not exist? Do you go to fairy tale sites and take all that time to argue if pixies do not exist? If God doesn't exist then there is nothing to argue about is there?

You are looking for answers. And that is great. You are intellectuals. That is great. But sometimes God is simple. Sometimes God is not in the earthquake, he is in the whisper. Sometimes he is not in the sky with a lightening bolt waiting to throw it, but he is in your deepest, darkest room, in the loneliest of spots waiting for you to ask to show who he really is. If this is wrong, then tell us why are all of you on these sites? If this is right then why not just leave these sites and comment on your own and invite people to read. It is understandable that some want discussion but when it comes down to this topic, it becomes words of insult and brutality. It no longer becomes a discussion.

Ahh...but you won't answer the question anyway.

XXXIII. What are we up against?

2009-06-23T14:38:00.011-04:00

Do you know what you are up against in this world? First of all, 2000 years ago Jesus said that the world will hate you because of Him. Two thousand years have passed and His words ring true.

If you are a Christian, you are hated!

If you talk about God in public, it has to be a generic god. It can be a supreme being. It can be an intelligent designer. It can even be a creator in a sense. You can mention Mohammed. You can give facts about Buddha. You can quote Confucius. But mention Christ and you are an idiot.

You can become a Muslim terrorist and you are separated from other Muslims. But if an abortion clinic bomber happens to be "Christian" then all of a sudden we are thrown into the same bunch as that one person.

You can be a liberal and you are considered passionate. You can be a moderate and you are considered mainstreamed. You can be a conservative and just be considered old. But if you are a Christian conservative then you are a right-winged fanatic.

You can teach science and you are allowed to because you are helping someone learn fact. You can teach language arts to help develop some one's speaking abilities. You can teach history because you are using the past to explain the present and future. You can teach all of these because you are teaching someone how to better themselves. But if you use this education to teach about Christ then you are "preaching" and forcing it down other's throats.

You can send someone to a psychologist because they need help with their mind. You can send someone to a physical therapist because they need help with their body. You can send someone to see a psychiatrist because they help with their feelings. But you can not send someone to see a minister, even though they need spiritual help (and they usually need spiritual help first) because apparently God doesn't intervene or the problem is with our surroundings and has nothing to do with spirituality.

Have you ever tried to surf the net for blogs and/or discussion groups? The following is not an endorsement: but there are mock presidential election sites that let you run for president by allowing you to develop your own platform, debate, and run against others. Blog sites are filled with angry people who are missing life. Many are those who have become atheists in their walks of life. If you take time to read some of these people's ideas, you would realize how sick of a human race we have become. You would learn how distorted true relationships with the eternal God are. You would see hatred come across in so many ways and you feel so alone with your thoughts because once someone finds out that you are a Christian, you become a target for their hostilities.

Stand strong. Keep your faith. Learn what you can and do not become content with where you are. Be passionate and show compassion. Be encouraged and be encouraging. Live to learn. Love to live. Learn to love. Because you may not know what you are up against.

XXXII. Only Mature Christians Read

2009-06-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

Not many people did the poll this time around (lowest in site's history). But what was told was that most people who read this site has been a Christian for quite some time. Everyone who answered has been a believer for at least 10 years. That is okay but if you know someone who has questions, steer them this way. If you read this site then please take 5 seconds to do the poll.

XXXI. Simple Complexity #3

2009-05-31T08:44:00.009-04:00

The Bible

The Complexity:
Did you know?

It was written by men and women, giving us views from both angles.
Many of the books actually may have been one at one time but were separated by man due to the subject matter (Ex: Luke and Acts).
There is not one contradiction in all of its verses.
The OT is about God's people who strayed so far they needed rules written down for them to follow (the Ten Commandments). The NT is about God's people who had strayed so far they needed a savior to help them (Jesus Christ).
It's also a history book.
It's also a psychology book.
There were 66 writings found and kept and put together that gives us a complete story on how to live our lives.
It is separated into two main parts, an Old and New Testament, each having its own purpose.
It spans about 2000 years but talks about roughly 6000 years of man's existence.
It is the best selling book of all time.

But did you also know?

The people in the OT at first did not have to live by the Ten Commandments. They lived by faith. But since they lost their faith God gave them a second chance and allowed them to see how He wanted us to live so He wrote down ten righteous acts to live by.
The people in the NT did not live by the ten rules anymore, so God knew the only way to save His people was to send a savior, and so today we are living by faith once again. There will not be another second chance.
Some of those who wrote the bible or were bible heroes were uneducated, had speech impediments, were murderers, cheaters of money, even prostitutes, yet God used them to tell us what life is all about and changed them as well.
Each book represents Christ in its own unique way. So no matter what book in it you read, it's about Christ.

The Simple:
Did You know?

It has never lost its relevancy, each subject is still for today's person with problems.

XXX. What do you want?

2009-05-16T07:54:00.005-04:00

Here are the results of the latest poll; What would you like to learn more about from your studies?

(61%) More about the deep stuff no one ever teaches about. People want more. There is so much more to the Christian life that we do not know. There is so much more that God wants us to know that we do not explore. There is so much in the Bible that we do not comprehend. There is so much more that we can learn that we do teach. Why are we not there? It could be the culture we are in. We are bombarded with anti-Christian issues and ideas that turn people off. We are lazy. We are selfish. And there are a slew of other reasons. But the main reason here is church leadership. Too many places have leaders that don't teach. Their focus is more on getting programs going that will bring people into the church. There is a problem with that. See Thought XXVIII for that explanation. The people who said this answer are the core of the church. They are done with the milk. They want substance but the church leaders aren't giving it to them. And when asked why they aren't getting it, the answer from the leaders is usually along the lines of "well, you should be teaching others yourself". That is true but then there is no growth for them.
(55%) More about why we believe what we believe. This goes to show that no one knows what their faith is all about. They believe things about the Bible and church and all of the things that go with being a Christian. But, they have no idea how they got there. Why do they actually believe in something? They were either raised that way or had a mentor that didn't explain everything to them. The person who answered this is probably someone ready to become part of the core of the church but feels inadequate in their beliefs to become it. Another failure of leadership. Equip the new Christian with some background. Let them know how to defend their faith. Scripture tells us we need to be ready in and out of season.
(44%) More about Christ and his relationship with us. This should have been higher. This is the backbone of your faith. This is the treasure that we seek, or should seek. Maybe those who didn't answered this are satisfied with their faith. Never become complacent with your faith. Always grow. Or maybe those who did answer this are the new Christians who want to know more. But then that means 56% need to step up and teach. Either way this number does not show a positive side except that there are some who want to know Christ deeper.
(33%) More about the history and books of the Bible. This is probably the more mature Christian. They want to know the background of what they are studying to try and put things into a different perspective.
(22%) More about getting through life's trials. Although we need to know these things it doesn't look like many want to keep talking about this subject. Then why do we keep having sermons and Bible studies in our small group settings based on this?
(11%) More about Church related issues. This is probably answered by someone who has an issue with the way things are ran at their church. They want to see if things are Biblically sound in their actions.
(5%) More about the end times. Maybe this issue has been beaten to death and people are tired of it so no one wants to discuss this anymore. And then again it could be a plot of satan to get the Church unprepared for what's coming. You be the judge.
(5%) Something else. Let us know what that something else is. Maybe this number will raise. You answered it now respond to it.
(0%) More about the beginning of time. Is it that unimportant? Is Genesis not important?

Now you see the results. It's time for you to comment. Are these correct assumptions and observations?

XXIX. Simple Complexity #2

2009-05-02T08:29:00.006-04:00

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Complexity:

Did you know?

The term Gospel means "good news". The good news is about how God came down from His throne to live among us to show us the right path to salvation.
There are many "gospels" that were written but there are only 4 credited accounts of the life of Christ. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels of Thomas and Judas ARE NOT credible, no matter what Dan Brown says.
The earliest one written was about 20 years after the resurrection of Christ; Mark.
There were numerous miracles in the Bible however the first miracle of Christ is recorded in only one of them; John.
There are 238 separate accounts of the life of Christ in the Gospels.
There are no written records of Christ's life from his ages 13-29.

But did you also know?

Out of the 238 accounts only 19 are found in all four books. And most of these are about Christ's last week on earth.
Every prophecy written in the OT about Christ can be found in the four books.
Only one book talks about Christ as an infant; Luke.
These words were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Since man can see things in the wrong way the Spirit inspired these men to write down the story of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
There are four books written to show you four different viewpoints; one is for the Jew who can not believe in the Messiah (Matthew), one is for those living in the Roman Empire who need to know Rome was not the only authority (Mark), one is for the Gentile leaning towards earthly ways (Luke), and the other is to show the personal relationship with Christ for all (John).

The Simple:

Did you know?

There is one theme in all four: Repent and believe. Matthew 28 16-20, Mark 1:15, Luke 19:10, John 3:16

XXVIII. What's a good size for a church?

2009-04-13T11:23:00.006-04:00

What is the perfect size for a church? Keep in mind this is not referring to the Spiritual temple, which is you! It is referring to a physical building of worship.

Here are the results of the latest poll conducted from February 28 to April 10 which asked, "What is the perfect size for a church?".

48% said 100-500 people
36% said it doesn't matter
8% said 0-100 people
8% said 1000 or more people
0% said 500-1000 people

Assumptions and observations:

Those who picked 0-100 are the traditionalist Christian. Someone who likes small groups in order to get to know all the people. They are afraid of growth because it disrupts the flow of familiarity. It could also be because these people are control freaks who like to maintain control over situations. If the church congregation gets too big they lose control over certain issues. And that really frightens them. The pros for a small church: some have already been mentioned. There is the familiarity and closeness of people. Everybody knows everybody else. There is a sense of comfort. Nothing really changes so you know what to expect. You can see when things start to get out of hand. The pastor of the church can deal with everyone. This is his flock and he can take care of 100 people or less. The cons of this size are: No growth. people become complacent with what they have become. There is no movement in the community. They tend to stay in their own doors. The leaders become almost dictatorial. Too many of them are related which can cause bickering. Sometimes the church from the outside looks unfriendly. Those who attend have been there forever with very few new Christians.
Those who picked 100-500 are your suburban mainstream congregations with city influence. They are more open to change. They are a little more laid back than the traditionalist. They see the necessities of what has always been done but they are willing to incorporate new ideas to keep it growing. Pros: It's still small enough for a comfort zone. You can get into small groups yet still feel like you are part of the church as a whole. If there are any changes you feel a part of it. People need you to do your part. It is still small enough to where elders can function and help the pastor without stepping into his visionary gift. Cons: changes mean people changes as well. It becomes a revolving door for Christians. They like it at first but can't grasp on to the changes as they happen so many tend to leave and come back only to leave again. Only the core will stay with some new Christians in attendance. But that means you have a mature congregation.
Those who would have picked 500-1000 are your suburban non mainstream congregation. This church is all about change. Pros: They are on the verge of doing something drastic. They are well respected and have made a name for themselves. People hear about the great things that are happening at the place. Small groups take and form their own ministries because there are enough people of similar interests to make an impact. Cons: There is nothing really stable about this church. The constant change forces people to make a decision, either stay and wait it out or leave. Most who stay are either in leadership or they are new Christians who like the fast pace environment. But this leaves an immature congregation. You tend to lose your identity in the church. Yes you are apart of a small group but you seem less valuable as a whole. And many types of people start to feel segregated against. This is probably why no one picked this size.
Those who picked 1000 + are those who apparently are leaders of their congregation. They want to see numbers. Not so they can get a reputation but so they feel they are doing what they are called to do. They feel more like an evangelist instead of a pastor. They want to feed a community not just a flock. Pros: You have mass tons of people who can work. The money that comes in to these places can change the world. They have programs for everybody. Cons: The megachurch mentality. A feeling of superiority, like everything they do must be right since they are so large. The leadership gets lost into the crowd. No one knows who is making the decisions about the church. All identity is lost.
Those who picked it doesn't matter are probably those who aren't leadership per se but are still close to where all the action is. They are the ones who do the ministries or are really involved with them. They get angry or at least depressed when people don't follow their ideas. They don't understand why people argue about issues. They just want to see action and be a part of it.

Keep in mind, the size of the church probably doesn't really matter. What matters is, are you impacting your community? Maybe a church of 100 is a good thing because the community is only 1000 people in size anyway. But then again maybe a large church is good because it's a place where anyone can go and get some kind of program for them. Then again maybe 100-500 is best because you have the best of both worlds. If you grow too fast then start more sister churches in other communities. If you don't grow so fast then stay around and learn.

XXVII. Simple Complexity #1

2009-04-11T22:01:00.009-04:00

You.

The Complexity:

Did you know?

There are 206 bones in the human body. Each bones has its own shape. Each bone has its purpose.
In one day, your blood travels nearly 12,000 miles. Your heart beats around 35 million times per year. Your heart pumps a million barrels of blood during the average lifetime -- enough to fill three supertankers.
Your fingerprints are like no one else on this earth...ever!
You have anywhere between 50,000,000,000 to 100,000,000,000 cells in your body, all functioning by themselves yet working together to create different parts of your body. Some form bone. Some form skin. Some form organs. And some form blood.
Your body has a temperature ranging 97 degrees to 99 degrees. Too cold and you get hypothermia. Too hot and you have a fever.
Your brain can remember every second of your life and still have room for more memories for the future. (Now accessing it takes time :) )
You are the most complex yet most efficient "machine" on this earth. You run for 70 or 80 years with more parts to keep working on than any other machine that could ever be created.
And that is to just name a few.

But did you also know?

You are made up of a trichotomy. You are not only a body, i.e., you can interact physically with your surroundings. You are also soul, i.e., you can comprehend and reason around the physical objects and have feelings about things. But you are also spirit, i.e., you have something special from God that separates us from the rest of creation. You are made in His image. You were created to be with Him. Hebrews 4
You are the only creature in all of creation to have a relationship with Him. There are no other alien being in all the universe. There is nothing else created like you. You are created in the image of God. You bear His likeness. Genesis 1
Your home is not here on the earth. Even though we have the physical on the outside, we are spiritual beings. John 14

The Simple:

Did you know?

You are valuable to God. Romans 5

XXVI. Christianity: A Simple Complexity

2009-03-30T08:29:00.010-04:00

Hebrews 5:12-13

12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.

Why do we make something out of nothing at times and leave out something to make nothing at other times? Christianity is simple, but it is also full complexities. The term here is not referring to being complexed, rather it is referring to being full of vastness. We live a simple life but there is so much of it we can learn from it. Simple, yet complexed.

Here are some simple things:

Without Christ, there is no hope. We think we can do things on our own. We can succeed in this life with our own physical strength, intelligence, or even luck. But in the end what does it get us? The same as everyone else. He who dies with the most amount of toys...still dies. Without Christ, there is no hope.
No one is perfect. We are made of flesh with desires. Desires uncontrolled cause sin. We all do it. No one is perfect.
We all need forgiveness. Since we are not perfect, we need something to transform us into perfectness. God's forgiveness is what transforms us.
We all need a relationship with God (the Trinity); as a father/child, as a brother/savior, and as a guide/counselor.

But, with these four simple ideas comes a world of abundances that few ever try and achieve. Many go through life using ignorance as blissfulness when we are not supposed to be that way. Have you ever thought about why the Bible was written the way it was? Or why the men who wrote it were picked to write it? Have you ever thought about why there are so many stories about man's character and flaws? Have you ever wondered why we need to go to church, pray, worship and read our Bible? Has it ever occurred to you that we are more than physical beings and was meant to search for your spiritual nature? Those four simple ideas of who we are as stated above can open up a whole new world to you.

Milk is good. It does a body good. But with the milk, we need a little substance. Let's go get some substance. Stay tuned for more.

XXV. The Christian Politician

2009-02-23T08:41:00.006-05:00

Can you mix religion and politics? Yes. Should a Christian really worry about the political world if they have the promise of being taken care of by the Father? Yes. God does not want apathic workers. Here are some clarifications of Christians and politics:

Politics, although nowhere near the top priority of a Christian, should still not be neglected.
Although God is not a democrat or republican there is still a better choice when it comes to upholding Christian values.
a. Voting for a candidate that stands for non-Christian values is not proper for a Christian
b. There is no valid rationalization behind the thinking process of voting for a person standing for non-Christian values. It is still improper. Voting for Obama was wrong. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_abortion_ban
c. Not voting is inaction and we are always called to action and thereby not the proper thing to do.
d. The economy does not match morals. Voting due to the economy is okay when all things are constant, but not okay when values such as homosexuality, abortion and civil rights are on the list.
Setting high moral standards is a duty of Christians and politics can be used in that manner.
a. "Forcing" people into our values is better than having them force theirs upon us!
b. Yes, although moral standards have to be changed at the source before anything really happens, but having laws helping with that tasks is better.
High-moral leaders have always set the standard for countries, very biblical.
No matter who the leaders is, hopefully everyone prays that they make wise and moral decisions.
The US may not be God's gift to the world but it is by far the closest than any other in history.
The founding fathers may not have had complete Christian values set for this country but they by far closer than what we have today.

This should help all to understand and no one should put politics above faith.

XXIV. The Literal Bible

2009-02-08T17:49:00.006-05:00

The Bible should be taken as literal, but not always literally taken. Everything in the Bible is truth. Nothing is false, contradictory, or fabricated. It is infallible. But not everything in the Bible could be verbatim to our lives. Yet everything is vital to our lives.

Some scripture is story telling. Y'shua (Jesus) used stories to tell his followers so we can relate and learn what He meant. The meaning behind the scripture in this case is accurate. The history behind the event is true. But the imagery is used for the weak human mind.

Some scripture is history telling. Mattiyahu (Matthew), Luke, Moshe (Moses), and others outline events that really happened. They are witnesses. They tell accurate events of history as told to them or as witnessed by themselves.

Some scripture is poetic. Shlomo (Solomon) and David write songs and their feelings down on parchment. These words help describe their feelings. Sometimes feelings use words we normally do not use in everyday life. However, what they write about is real. Their feelings are real. Their God is real. The event they describe is real.

Some scripture is futuristic. Yochanan (John), Dani'el, and others write what they saw in visions. Some visions were not of this world. They could not be described in their own words. But the visions are real. The prophecy is real. The event they speak about is real.

Some scripture is personal accounts for others to understand how to live. All of the books by Paul have a little bit of everything. The events of life are real. The imagery is meant for teaching. The point blank in your face accusations and encouragements are for us to be taken whole-hearted.

Scoffers do not understand this. They take one verse and misconstrue it to try and prove that the Bible is invalid. They try to lump all the imagery together and say that none of the Bible can be taken literally. They take the literal parts and twist them into words of hatred. They do not read the whole text. They do not know the story behind the story. They are the ones who spread falsehoods, make contradictions and fabricate what the Bible says. This is what children of the Adversary do. Don't believe? Read the Bible yourself.

XXIII. Why Church Anyway?

2009-02-05T18:09:00.005-05:00

This is the result of last month's poll.

100% Church is for worship
100% Church is for learning
66% Church is a place to get re-energized spiritually
25% Church is a place to get saved
25% Church has some other reason as well
8% Church is a place to get financial help

It was good to see that not many said the Church was a place to get financial help. This idea has beaten the Church to a pulp. Need a place to stay? Go to the Church. Need food on your table? Go to the Church. Need bills to be paid? Go to the Church. Need morals to go out into the world? Nah...keep them in the Church. To say that the Church is a financial institution like a bank is to abuse what the Church is. Now that is not to say that the Church is not to go out and help financially. Because the Church is called to do that and it should help financially whenever they can. But the Church should not be a place where people should take advantage of others which is what happens in today's world. The Church should be out in the world helping others anyway before they have to come to the Church for help.

What is the 25% that said it is for other uses? What are those uses? Help if any has an answer.

It is a place to get spiritually energized. This should have been 100%, not just 66%. No one goes to church to get depressed. People go to get uplifted. People go to help others, which can energize you. People go because they are hurting and need someone to help them. Sometimes worship is not on the mind of some when they walk into the doors. Hopefully by the time they leave it will be because they have been re-energized. Worship teams...remember that! You have been given a huge load of burden.

Two things are for sure. Church is a place of worship and learning. The building, although not the Temple itself, is a place where people can come together and worship Christ. It is also a place to learn about Christ and His life, His love and mercy, His desires for us and His commands. It's not the only place but it is one of them. Why was the original "temple" built? It was so man, who although should be a spiritual being, could worship in a physical capacity. It was a place where man could meet with God. God did not need the building, man did. A true church will have so much geared towards these two things that people will be begging for more because it will light the Spirit's fire within them.

Notice the last piece here. Only 25% said it was a place to get saved. Here's a hint: IT'S NOT! The Church was built for believers. The church building was built for believers as well, as a place to go to again to meet WITH God, not to MEET God. Can it happen there? Yes. Sure. Was it made for that reason? No. Sidebar: This is one reason why scripture says that speaking in tongues when done around non-believers should not really be done. They will not understand it. It will be out of their element. It edifies the believer as a believer. Edify means to instruct.

Too many times churches become "seeker" churches. They focus on the non-believer during the service and only them. The church is not for the non-believer. It is no THEE place to get saved. The real saving comes when the Church goes out its doors and spreads the Word. This is not to say that some programs or sermons or lessons or anything of the sort can not be geared towards those of little or no faith, but there definitely needs to be something for those who are there for pure worship and learning deeper stuff.

XXII. Communion

2009-01-18T08:54:00.004-05:00

What are your thoughts about communion? Why do you take it? What is the true significance behind it? Do we have to take it? How often should you take it? Sounds like a poll question for the future.

Communion: Take it apart... Common union. It is something that all people who believe in Jesus Christ can share together. It is something that binds us in common action. And whether we believe in a physical blood and body or a symbolic blood and body we still take the action as one of the most serious things we do in our lifetime. And we should.

Check out 1 Corinthians 11:24-30

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread
24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.”
25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”
26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.
29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

Communion is a vital part of the Christian walk

It is commanded to do
It is a symbol of what Christ did for us
It is a time for examination
It is a time of proclammation

This is still not done so keep coming back.

XXI. Eleven O'Clock and all is...

2009-01-01T19:03:00.003-05:00

Results of December's poll:

16% think that the end of the world is within ten years. Hmmm...a president's term is 8 years. Oh, well. Is the world that bad that God will say He has had enough of what we are doing to His creation? Is it 11:00 PM? Thank God we're not on daylight savings time yet. There may be still time for some redemption and repentance.

66% think we're not going down that path yet but we're getting closer. Is this the last generation? Maybe we're not dead yet but have we shot ourselves in the foot.

16% think we're still quite a way's off. The next 200 years will be the tell tale.

0% think though we have more than 200 years. Any atheists here?

Could it be that we have ran ourselves out of existence? Are we the next major species that will become extinct due to our lifestyles? Time is ticking.

XX. Happy Holi...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008-12-16T08:47:00.005-05:00

No matter what twists and turns society has put on this time of the year such as characters and sales and entertainment and controversy, one thing remains constant: it is still Christmas. And Christmas has always had the same meaning. This holiday (holy day) has been set by man but had been instituted by God.

The true date of Christ's birthday is still a mystery but the meaning behind the event is the clearest thing ever. God came down from His throne in heaven and placed Himself into our lives. He came from Paradise to come to a world hurting and dying to save it.

Why have we, as Christians especially, allowed the world to demean what the day stands for? Why do we constantly give up ground on this issue? It doesn't matter if Kwanzaa is celebrated. It doesn't matter if Hanukkah is celebrated. It doesn't matter if there is a Festivus for the rest of us. This time of the year is still set apart for the savior of the world. And if you are a Christian, then celebrate Christmas not the holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

XIX. Let Me Entertain You

2008-12-02T18:33:00.006-05:00

Results from the last poll on what do you want to see more of at church?

68% more worship. The Church needs to set more time for worship. Worship is the first defense against the worldly pressures. When the Israelites were going to war God told them to put the singers first and lead them into battle. 2 Chronicles chapter 13 tells us that when Judah was being surrounded in battle those with trumpets blew their horns, the men cried out to God and Judah was triumphant that day. This is why worship is so important to the lives of Christians. We're are living in a world that hates us; in a world that will tear us down. Worship lifts us up again because it brings true hope and change. Not like those who only promise hope and change. The question is...how are we worshiping? In truth? For show? For time allotment? Too many churches have a set number of songs they sing each week thereby taking emphasis away from this crucial part of the Christian's life.
57% wanted more small group studies at the church. There is a major push to having home studies only. This is not a bad idea but sometimes Sundays are the only day that people have to set aside for studies in this world of go go go. Too many times we forget how important this is. More in depth studies to understand the life God has planned for us are needed.
52% say more missions are needed. This is saying that the Church focuses too much time on itself. This may be due to the fact that many churches have been "sub-urbanized" to the core. This cold hearted fact of the suburb mentality may be killing some churches spiritually. The mentality of "keeping up with the Jones'" means people are more self-centered and holding back tithes and offerings to fulfill their own personal mission: Being fulfilled in life by being richly blessed i.e. money!
Not surprisingly 0% said more entertainment was needed. The big question here is why are churches then focusing on being a form of entertainment? They all will say that is not what they are doing but in reality...yes, they are. Movies, plays, concerts, and all the like are good ways of bringing people in to the church. And they are a great form of communication when used correctly. But why is it every Sunday? Why is it every event? Is the Church located in Los Angeles (Hollywood)? Are we all Clinton and Obama followers? Do we all need to be entertained each week? What happens when the entertainment isn't so entertaining? Will we turn in off just like a bad TV show? Churches need more substance. Even 42% said the sermons need to be more in depth.

A true growing church needs balance. Something for all. But it also needs to get real. Many people who go to church will walk away feeling good but will never hear what the message is all about because they had to run back out into the lobby to refill their coffee cup. Gimmicks are not a correct way of teaching people about Christ. There is a church that actually had auctioned off a car to get people to come to the church. Why wasn't the money spent on the car used to fulfill a mission?

XVIII. God is in Control

2008-11-17T08:31:00.004-05:00

Now that Barack Obama is the president-elect what do we do? Do we panic as Christians? Do we take action? Or do we simply let things be? Why did Barack Obama get elected and what do we do about it since, he is a man who is part of a political movement that allows abortions to go unchecked and opening the door for homosexual marriages and we should not endorse such an action? The first thing we need to remember is God is in control. God puts authority into government positions. The following are some points about the election, response to the election and what the Bible says about such things.

Throughout the Bible God has allowed certain leaders to rise up and lead. If they were lousy or unGodly leaders then the Bible is pretty clear on why it happens. One reason is that God allowed it to happen because we deserve it. We have become apathetic in our faith and actions. Or two God did it to make His people become aware of the problems and make us more active. We see this time and time again. The Israelites went into captivity in Egypt. God heard their plea and they were delivered. Did they stay faithful? No. So God allowed the Philistines to enslave them time and time again. Each time a Godly leader would rise up and bring them back out of captivity. Were they satisfied with Godly ways? No. So God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to enslave the Israelites for 70 years. But due to the faithfulness of Daniel, Zerubbabel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the like He heard their cries and rescued them again.
We need to listen to man's laws. But some laws are not based on commission (action) but omission (inaction). When our government allows things to happen, it doesn't mean we have to practice the same detestable things. But when the government stops us from being Godly then we have the right and obligation to correct them and not listen to their laws. Either way we need to pray for our government to make wise decisions so the wrath of God does not effect us.
Barack Obama was elected because Christians became apathetic! We have let the laws walk all over us without doing anything about it. This however was not omission but commission. When they take Christmas away that is an action. When they allow homosexual marriages to be part of our culture that is omission. But when they say we are not allowed to say anything about it then it is commission and we have to make a stand. Allowing abortion to go on is omission. But when they say we have to pay taxes for it then it is commission and we have to take a stand against it. But 30% of Christians voted for a man who allows the commission to go on. Go back to point #1- we deserve what we get.
Do not put your faith in any president. The Bible warns us not to put faith in any man. No matter what the promises are. Promises are words. Principles are action and that is what we should vote on.
The Church allowed the man to be elected because we have become part of the culture. You can't tell the difference between the Church and the Culture anymore. 2 Timothy chapter 3 says that in the end times people will be lovers of their own selves, boasters, unGodly, disobedient, lovers of money, to say the least. Most would think Paul was talking about the world. But this is the Church as well. Shame on us! We have let the culture drive us when we should be the drivers of the culture. We let it into the pews and there are no more barriers. It is like when the Israelites put up the Asherah Poles. We say we are Godly but then walk around the poles as well. Uhhh, the poles are destestable!
Each church should take one person either in government or an influential person to pray for.
God is not GOP or DEM. But He still has principles for us to abide by. Supporting a side that says these are not problems is a PROBLEM!

Pray for the country. Pray for our leaders. Pray for those who will fall by the way side listening to lies. Pray for the morality of this country to return.

XVII. Problems of the Church

2008-11-06T11:46:00.009-05:00

Here are the results from last months poll: How do you view the Church today?

It is more about show and entertainment (58%)
The programs are shallow and have no real substance (58%)
The leadership is not concerned with the right issues (41%)
No one knows what the Church is supposed to be like (25%)
It seems like it has no compassion (16%)
It has lost all tradition and meaning (8%)
It is too much involved with the culture (8%)
There aren't enough mature Christians in the WORD (8%)
The Church is fine and better than ever (0%)

Let's take the top two. Fifty eight percent said both were problems of the Church. It seems like people who are in the Church are tired of programs that seem to be just for show. Maybe too many times the Church is focusing on its reputation than its character. The difference between these two things is reputation is what people think of you on the surface. You react to the way you are perceived. Character is about what you do even though no one else is around. If your character is good then who cares about your reputation. Many churches get stuck on what society thinks of them. Many churches are afraid of offending people. They tend to bend when it comes to standing up to the culture. What they fail to see is that they break when the culture actually takes over.

The next two may go hand in hand as well. Maybe no one knows what the Church is supposed to be anymore because the leadership doesn't even know. The leadership isn't concerned with the right issues. Some focus on money. Some focus on numbers. Some focus on reputation. Real leadership knows what they are doing. Real leadership makes it known to the people what they are doing. Real leadership follows through with the right ideas. Real leadership foresees possibilities of problems and deals with them before it happens. It has been said that an organization is only as strong as its leadership. First of all, the Church is not an organization. It is an organism. A live, breathing, heart-beating organism. It is not a place full of paperwork created by Robert's rules of order.

It was nice to hear that many people don't think the Church has lost its compassion. However, maybe this is an area though we need to stress more. Maybe the Church is compassionate. But are they truly showing it? This might be one of the biggest failures of the Church today; following through on its compassion. Get out of the pew. Go into the world (even those "dark city" places...sarcasm...) and work with them. The Church isn't just for the suburbs.

XVI. Final Election Thoughts

2008-11-01T19:54:00.007-04:00

From a distant friend:

Hello Tim. This 'Obama' thing has me confused. Unless the polls are being manipulated, nothing that matters, MATTERS. I keep scratching my head, thinking that God is surely going to place the right people before us.

...I find it incredible, but I fear MONEY has become the 'moral code of ethics' for a large number of Americans. Whether or not Obama can 'deliver the bucks' he has made the promise to 'fill your pockets' for the lazy and sleazy of our nation.

...I'm gritting my teeth. I'm going to the 'private' booth to vote my conscience. I'm praying for some of my own church members to 'get a conscience' in their voting practices.And I'm asking God to help me 'cope' with an America I never imagined.

It is confusing, my friend. Many who claim to be Christian will vote for a man who does not stand up for Christians values like he should. And they will claim that God is neither DEM or GOP so they can vote with a clear conscience. This is a horrible rationalization. They say since it is not them who are doing the abortions or marrying of homosexual couples then it's not their fault it happens. Well, Jesus said if you are not for me then you are against me. If you support someone who supports these actions then you are guilty by association.

I don't care about politicians being black, white, purple. I don't care if they are male or female. I don't care if they are 35 or 75. Short or tall. Urban or rural. What I care about is their stance on how to solve the morality and the sliding of American values.

We are in a war. Yes, it was a Republican president who "finalized" the deal. But, we are in it now. We have to succeed. If we acted on the first couple of terrorists attacks back in the 90's we wouldn't be in this mess.

We never found WMD's. But we removed a dictator forever. They say we were lied to so we would go to war, but that means we were lied to by our whole government! Not just one man.

We have an economic crisis. Yes, a Republican president is in the White House during this time but it didn't start in October, or 2008, or the 21st Century even. No one seems to understand that. No one knows their history. We have had thousands of jobs lost since 2001. But many were lost forever due to 9-11. Many were only short termed jobs created in the 1990's that were expiring due to policies of a former president.

Gas prices were high. But we got through it. And now they are on the low side.

The only thing that bothers me about the last eight years is that we have gotten worse in our morality. And that is our own fault. We let it all happen. And now we want to blame the Republicans for all the mess that has happened. We fell asleep. And come Wednesday morning our lives will change. We will have elected the most liberal person of all time as a leader into the most important position in the world.

Confusing? No, Condemning! We have condemned ourselves. America as a nation might be lost. Search your history. When change occurs to this multitude, countries fall. Democrats promise change and never have fulfilled that promise. This man might. Maybe the Reverend Wright was right. Maybe God is damning us. Maybe He is allowing this man to become our leader due to our apathy.

Good luck my friends. Hope we make it.

BTW, this will be the only time I personalize my message as a post.

Tim

XV. Obama Nation

2008-10-24T20:01:00.018-04:00

Could he or couldn't he be? Is he or is he not? Many Christians are starting to think it but not many are saying it. Is this the Man of Lawlessness? Is he the one who the Bible warns us about? Could he be the one who leads the nations astray with the lie? Is the he the one who causes the abomination of desolation?

Hmmm...abomination...obamanation. Coincidence? Of course, this is because it is just a play on words. So remember this when you read this post.

But...

The Bible says or at least hints at:

a leader who rises up and becomes a world leader
miracle performer
will deceive the world
will get rid of religion so he can be worshiped
will have a false prophet go before him
will come back from a fatal head wound
pretends to be a man of peace and prosperity
rules for 7 years, 3 1/2 of peace, 3 1/2 of war

The Bible also tells us signs of the time

wars and rumors of wars
changing of the seasons will be weird
earth will go through pangs
people will be lovers of their own selves
people will be disobedient
people will listen to lies and not the truth
economic prosperity then economic hardships

Back to the point.

Do we have wars and rumors of wars? Uh...Iraq, Iran (Babylon and Persia). Do we have a weird changing of the seasons? Uh...global warming. Is the earth going through pangs? Uh...earthquakes, more hurricanes. Are people loving their own selves? Uh...yeah... Are they disobedient? Uh...duh... Are they listening to lies? Hello...LA Times, CNN, Michael Moore. Do we have economic troubles? Wake up America!

But that doesn't mean Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.

Is he a leader who rises up? Community Organizer, State Senator, US Senator, President? Check. Is he a miracle performer? None so far. Is he a deceiver? Well, he is leading people into believing his plan of socialism will work. He is leading people into believing he is a Christian. Has he gotten rid of religion? He has denounced his church. Does he have a false prophet? Biden-Vice President. Has he come back from a head wound? No. Is he a man of peace? Says he is. 100,000 Germans believe so. Liberals believe so. Is he a man of prosperity? Hollywood says so. Liberals say so. Will he rule for 7 years? Well, presidents can go 8.

Obamanation? Maybe not but boy is he close. People have flocked to him like he is the savior. Actor George Clooney said that when he met him he just wanted to follow him around and listen to him. Halle Berry claims she would lay down palm branches in front of him everywhere he went. People follow him and almost worship him because he says he is a man of change, a man of peace and a man to get our economy going again. Go to Youtube and you will see the craze that is over taking the world with him.

Predictions? If these all happen then you might want to start walking on your knees. Obama becomes president, which will happen. Obama has already denounced his church. He will then try to embrace other religions as a sign of peace such as bringing Christians and Muslims together. Biden will go out before him claiming how great the man is. He will go to other nations to try and put an end to world problems. He said he would meet with leaders by himself to talk about peaceful endings. In March, 2009 Israel will attack Iran because the US will have not done anything to subside the havoc Iran is threatening to do. In June Obama will go to the Middle East where he will have a peace summit and talk about a new peace treaty that he himself has negotiated. It will be signed on June 6. It will be backed by Russia. Peace will seem right around the corner. It will be "iffy" for a couple of years. In March/April (Easter time) 2012, right before he starts campaigning for his second term he will be assassinated, but comes back to life more powerful than ever. This time all religions will be forced into worshiping him. This will end the 3 1/2 years of peace. He will turn his attentions to those who now follow Christ. He will be re-elected by lies since the Christian vote will be dwindled. He will become THE world leader and have war for the other 3 1/2 years. But, Christ will return and the rest is history...or the future.

Now of course many of this probably will not happen but just in case it does, remember where you heard it first. Just a prediction, not truth.

???

XIV. Who's in Heaven

2008-10-23T17:35:00.004-04:00

Who is going to go to Heaven? Will there be any athiests there? Will any Buddhist or Muslem be there? Will the Jewish believer make it?

People are scared of this question because it makes people point fingers and say they are judging others. But the question is still legitimate. Some of us will not see the face of God after Judgement. There has to be an answer to this question because not everyone can be right.

The answer is: It is up to God.

We can not possibly know what is in the hearts of all mankind nor (especially nor) the heart of God. Scripture does say that He wants all man to be saved. However, more importantly scripture also says that only those who call on the name of Jesus Christ will be saved. If we say then that the Muslem will not go to Heaven because he believes in Allah and Mohammed as his messenger and refuses to take Christ as his savior then it is not we who are judging, it would be the Word of God. God's Word is truth. We can not fight that. We can not change that.

We are here not to judge but to tell the truth. We can not make the final decision for any individual but we can let the message out that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

XIII. The Church of Culture

2008-10-02T18:27:00.004-04:00

This is time for your feedback...

Fifty two percent of those who voted in the poll here said that the Church should be in the culture but not of it.
Twenty one percent said the Church should be the culture.
Fifteen percent said we should be completely involved in the culture.
Ten percent say we should stay completely out of the culture.

How much can the Church be involved with the culture and still remain what the church is all about? Does the Church remain apart from the world so it doesn't become worldy? Do we need to change with the culture to remain relevant to a world that seems to scoff at Christianity? Do we run the risk of losing our identity as Christ followers if we try and fit in with the culture?

The Church in Europe is virtually dead. They have let go of God and have lost their hold on society. Thank God for the our Catholic brothers and sisters in Africa, Australia, and Latin America or it would be dead there too. We need to pray for those in Asia and the Middle East who are by far out numbered. The Church in the United States is losing its grip. Why? Maybe it is because we feel compelled to be like the world.

Maybe, just maybe we have become too complacent and have been assimilated into the world. Doesn't scripture tell us to not be a part of the world? Did Jesus become part of the culture or did He try and change it? Paul warns us not go after worldly desires. Jude tells us that in the last days there will be those who cause divisions becasue they are worldly minded.

So many questions and no real answers. This next question has never been answered: how much can the Church change and still be the Church?

Now is your opportunity. You voted for one of the above. Why?

XII. Election Thoughts

2008-09-29T17:12:00.004-04:00

Saw this at http://www.str8heartphil.blogspot.com/ It is something to think about while you are at the polls.

Both presidential candidates have proclaimed this year’s Presidential Election as a time of change! As Christians we need to participate in this atmosphere of change and vote for candidates that agree with what we believe is right, with what the Bible says, and what our Lord God Almighty says is right. Let’s look what God has to say about four issues of this election in which we can choose to change America.

1. Abortion. Psalm 139: 13 & 14—You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Not only does God orchestrate life, He respects it. Can we afford not to respect life? Do we continue to abort babies God is knitting together at the rate of 4000 a day, minds that would create new knowledge, consumers, workers, and taxpayers?

2. Homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22—Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.
Our country is dangerously coming close to accepting and legalizing homosexual marriages. The economic and moral consequences will be great if we legitimize this sin caused by a lack of self-control. The only choice of lifestyle God encourages is for us to choose the kingdom lifestyle, the Christian lifestyle.

3. Family Values. Hebrews 13:4—Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
We cannot choose to allow our society to crumble any further. Let’s choose to keep the family operating under God’s values and not the "whatever feels good" humanistic values.

4. Economics. 2 Chronicles 7:14—Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
As a nation that claims to be under God, we need to humble ourselves, pray, turn from our sins of abortions, homosexuality, and lack of family values—then God will heal our economics.

These are the important issues of change this election year. These changes will affect our nation in terms of economics, morality, and our quality of life. These issues transcend party loyalties, personalities, and ideologies.

My prayer is that Christians will band together for change in America so that God’s principles will prevail over politics and our values will prevail over the promise of a quick extra few bucks.

May God bless you and our great nation,

Phil

Phil has some good points. And what it all comes down to is: Vote for the candidate who best mirrors the image of Christ and not for what may be popular. These scriptures are promises for those who trust in ADONAI. Thank you, Phil.

XI. Death Becomes Us

2008-09-28T15:28:00.002-04:00

Why is there death? Why do we have to suffer in this world? Especially, if there is a God out there who watches over us? Where is He when tragedy strikes?

These are questions that have been asked many times. And unfortunately, we can not answer it in a way that would satisfy the masses.

This life we live is not permanent. It is temporary. This life is a test. We are not meant to live forever here anymore. Unfortunately, the only way to go to the eternal life is by death. We can not enter into God's presence in our flesh because it is corrupted by our sinful nature. Our flesh has to be shed. Sometimes moving on to the next life will be painful. The pain is caused by our own sinful desires and actions. But if we have accepted that a sacrifice has been made for us then we only have to suffer a little while. Our 70-75 years of existence is short compared to eternity.

Tragedies happen such as an earthquake like the one in China that killed nearly 70,000 people. We all have often wondered sometimes why things like this happen. Where was God while this tragedy happened? Did He cause the destruction? God was not in the earthquake or the destruction. God is in the healing. When something like this happens, look for the healing.

We don't see the logic in letting these things happen. We question God in times like these. We shouldn't question His existence but we do wonder why He lets things happen. And that is okay. As long as we don't come up with all the answers ourselves. We need to trust in God and lean on Him during these times.

This will not soothe any anxieties but when these things happen people tend to pull together. They tend to love each other more. They tend to hold on to each other more closely. When 9-11 happened, our country was pulled together. We hurt but we felt each other's pain. It's not the stupidity of God that causes problems in the world, it's the stupidity of man. For some reason after a tragedy is over we tend to go back to hating each other. Sometimes even before it's over.

The question about suffering is a good question. All people struggle with this, including Christians. Even our faith struggles with this. Science can't help explain Him. There is no proof, so to speak, in getting anyone to understand Him.

Suffering isn't useless. No one can stand to suffer. We get angry with God many times for things we feel He could get us out of. But it comes down to the fact that we need to learn to understand how fragile life is. That we could be here one minute and not the next. It should make us appreciate that those around us are important and that we need to be the best we can be. We need to be an example for those around us. We need to be strong because if they have suffering in their lives then we can go to them and try and comfort them, for God has given us the experience, but even better the perseverance to get through those times.

A great marriage isn't about how you get along with your mate everyday but how you get along with them in times of trouble. Many marriages break up in times of trouble but a great marriage can withstand the test of time. Suffering makes us feel horrible but maybe there is a purpose in it. Yes, 70,000 people have been killed by nature, but maybe, just maybe 70,000 other lives can be touched and changed because they will now hold on to life more preciously.

Death is not the end. It is only the beginning.

X. The Satanic Verses Part II

2008-09-18T18:02:00.001-04:00

Some new information on satan has been noted. In Hebrew, there is a name for satan; heylel. This is translated as "to shine as God". However this name is not a proper noun. It is more of a description in the Hebrew language. This has been translated into English and Latin as a proper noun and it probably should not have been. So the question remains , why did he lose his real name? To understand this we have to look at the history of his creation and purpose. Read Ezekiel 28:12-19.

Ezekiel says these things about him:

compares him to the King of Tyre
was a model of perfection
was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty
was in Eden
was created
was an anointed cherub
was blameless until wickedness set in
became filled with violence
heart became proud because of his beauty
wisdom became corrupted because of his splendor

Ezekiel compares satan with the king of Tyre. No one really knows who this king is but most who have studied this claim that it is talking about Hiram I. If this is the case it is an analogy that works. Tyre was a prosperous city. Hiram I allied himself with David and Solomon and even helped Israel build the Temple by supplying the cedar and pine. The city of Tyre was destroyed by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. The city came to an abrupt end. If this is supposed to be Hiram then the analogy could be that satan was allied with God but will his existence will come to an abrupt end as well.

He was a model of perfection. He was perfect in beauty and was full of wisdom. Perhaps it would have been better for him if he was full of beauty and perfect in wisdom. It was not due to his wisdom that he fell. He cherished his own beauty over his wisdom and became prideful.

He was a cherub of God, not only an angel but an anointed angel. He had a very special place in heaven. Isaiah claims he was the brightest of all stars. Job 38:4-6 gives an analogy of angels being stars. Maybe he was the highest of all angels; higher than Michael and Gabriel. Maybe he would have been considered the highest in heaven 2nd only to the Trinity of God. Maybe all of the other angels were under him in the hierarchy. He was able to bring 1/3 of the angels with him in his fall.

His beauty and pride caused him to think he could be better than God. He became prideful due to his beauty and this corrupted his wisdom. Until this happened he was blameless. His pride made him wicked. His wickedness caused him to fall from God's grace.

He said he could be like God and tried to exalt himself over God. His throne is here on earth. God gave him the world. He is the "god" of this world. He is the prince of this world. This is why he could offer Christ all the kingdoms of the earth if He would have bowed to him because they were his to give. But greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Satan wants to destroy all of those who are not of this world, those who are born into Christ.

He was in Eden. He roamed the earth. God allowed him in Paradise. There is a neat study that says satan may have been a feminine figure since there is so much reference to beauty. This would make sense of why he (or she in this case) went to Eve first. They would have had something in common. Of course this is not the most popular of views.

His fall probably would have occurred sometime between creation and the first 100 years after creation. If he was in the Garden then he was already part of this world. We don't exactly know when the fall of man happened but when it did man had to procreate to keep mankind alive. Scripture says that Adam was 130 years old when he had Seth. Seth was born to replace the son that he had lost due to Cain murdering Abel. These two were probably grown men since both of them already had a trade of their own. Speculation says then they were nearing 30. If Adam was 130 when he had Seth then he was probably somewhere around 100 when he had Cain and Abel. This means the fall of man was before this and the fall of satan was before even this event. He has been trying to get others to fall ever since.

But satan still has to serve God, Job 2:6. His end is near, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 12:9, 20:10, Matthew 25:41. He has become corrupted. He has become a liar. He has become a murderer. He has become worthless in God's eyes. His name is no more.

When scripture tells us that pride comes before destruction we have the greatest of examples of what happens.

IX. The Satanic Verses

2008-09-13T18:05:00.001-04:00

This is not a reference to Salman Rushdie. Here is a short lesson on who satan is.

Who was satan in the beginning? To understand this we must first know what he was. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says that he is "an angel of light". Was he an angel? We get the word angel from the Greeks; angelos, meaning messenger of God. If satan was an angel then he would be some kind of messenger. Examine more evidence of what angels are. Please remember to read more of the passages than just the one verse cited.

Colossians 1:16 says that angels are created beings.
Luke 1:19, 1:28, 2:10 give examples of angels bringing messages to people on the earth.
Luke 2:13-14, 15:10, 22:43, Revelation 5:12 are some scriptures that show angels worshiping God and rejoicing in His presence.
Hebrews 1:14 says that angels minister to God's people.
Acts 12:23 shows how angels are to carry out God's wrath upon the earth.

If satan was an angel he was supposed to be from the time he was created, a being who brought messages of hope, praised and worshiped God, ministered to the rest of creation and would one day help carry out God's wrath. However, the last one was only due to his own doing.

Maybe he was an angel, but why was he called satan then? The angels that we have in scripture (canon and non-canon) all have angelic names ending with the name of God. MichaEL. GabriEL. RaphaEL. UriEL. RemiEL. RaguEL. SariEL. Why if satan was an angel is his name different?

IT'S NOT HIS NAME! No where in the Bible is his name actually mentioned. The word satan comes the Hebrew word meaning "accuser". "Lucifer" as in the KJV in Isaiah 14:12 means "light bearer", or "morning star", i.e. Venus, the brightest of stars. Stars is a biblical analogy of angels in Revelation. "Devil" means slanderer. The Serpent, the Dragon, Beelzebub (lord of the flies) and Belial (worthless) are other names used for satan.

So working on these items, satan if he was an angel was the brightest of them all. He may have been the leader of all the angels as Isaiah put it (also Matthew 25:41). But somehow he lost his namesake. God somewhere wiped his name from existence. His name became worthless. He became no better than lord of the flies.

The greatest thing about this part of the story is he still has to serve God! Job 1:6, 2:1 say that satan comes before God and has to present himself. His authority is not his own. It is from God and God alone.

The question remains: Why did he lose his name? Stay tuned...

VIII. Christian Democrats?

2008-09-06T17:43:00.003-04:00

Can you be a Christian and a Democrat? Well you have to weigh the evidence yourself. If you go to the Democratic Party website and start reading their platform, you can easily say yes you can. But platforms are sometimes disguises.

Two of the planks are called Advancing Democracy, Development, and Respect for Human Rights and Renewing the American Community. These on the surface sound like the right things to do, and they would be the right things to do. However, under the surface one human right that they forget is the natural right of LIFE. A baby even in the womb has life yet they do not recognize it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who claims to practice Catholicism, can not even admit that the Catholic faith recognizes the child from conception. She made up a lie that says the Catholic Church hasn't made a decision about when life starts. The Catholic Church is now up in arms over this comment by her and states the official comment on life is that it begins at conception and has said so for 2000 years. Go RCC!!!!! http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=29033. A direct quote from the platform says: "The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right,". If there is a democrat who says otherwise then they are out casted.

A question they do not ask themselves is who deserves these rights? The correct answer should be: every living soul. Yet, if there is a dictator who is killing people by the masses, they will be the ones who refuse to help them out. Bosnia...nothing, Rwanda...nothing, Iraq...nothing.

They claim to be a party for the people. On the surface, this is a fantastic idea. Yet, when it comes to pick their choice as leader, they feel they do not have to listen to their constituency. They have something called "Super Delegates" that are not bound by any accountability. If Hillary Clinton would have won the most delegates during the primaries, these 823 special people (25% of total count) can basically overrule them. This is called cheating the people.

They believe in stem cells being used as a form of medicine. This may start out as fine but there are those who want to start to clone, seriously! This is where it becomes morally and ethically wrong. God is the only one who can create life. He puts the souls into mankind. If we grow people then we become God-like. This has had disastrous results when men have tried these things in the past.

Their platform claims that they want to have faith based programs. But in reality they have joined with groups that try and destroy the Christian faith, i.e. the ACLU. They do not admit this. But there are too many overwhelming facts that say the opposite. Taking the 10 Commandments out of every public building. First of all, the 1st Amendment doesn't even mention separation of Church and State. And the part they claim it does say it, it is talking about government places not public places. Taking "Under God" out of the pledge, taking "In God We Trust" off the money. Taking away prayers in school, bible readings from all public arenas. This is the hidden agenda of the DNC, hence Barak Obama and Joe Biden.

They want to destroy traditional values of the family. They support homosexually active people and want to change the definition of marriage. This is one of the first commands given by God.

You can try to be a democrat and uphold a Christian lifestyle, but it may be too difficult in reality. Do not kid yourself. Do not try and rationalize it. You will lead yourself right into a lie.

Can you be a Christian and a Democrat? Not really. But you be the judge.

By the way, the Republican Party is not the saving grace either, but it's better than the alternative.

VII. Poor Adam

2008-08-31T19:57:00.001-04:00

Can you imagine being the beginning of something perfect and everything you did would cause the universe to spin in one direction or another? Can you imagine being the one who got to name all of the known universe? Can you imagine being in control of everything on the earth? Can you imagine living forever in God's Paradise made just for you? Can you imagine being the cause of death of each and every thing on the earth?

For 6000 years Adam has had to have this over his head. He has had the sentence of death for every human placed upon him since the day he sinned. Can you imagine living 900 years and seeing the destruction that one action of yours caused? He witnessed Paradise lost as he was banished from it. He witnessed animals who were once his companion turn on him in fear. He witnessed innocence being lost when Eve had to cover up. He witnessed the earth decay and now he had to toil to keep it alive. He witnessed pain caused by childbirth. He witnessed his own son murder another son. All he had to do was listen to one command. He was allowed to do anything he wanted except one thing. Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This one disobedience sent the rest of the human race spiraling downward to hell. What kind of life could Adam have lived with all of this on his shoulder? A redemptive one!

Just like all Christians and those who believe in the Almighty El Elyon, he has a redeemer. He was given the promise that there would be a seed that would crush the serpent's head. Adam knew that one day he would be redeemed. We may sin. We are no better than Adam. We may fall away everyday. But, there is a redeemer! There is one who has paid the price for our sin. We are His. We have been paid for. The second Adam has come and has restored Paradise. If you are eating from the wrong tree then put down the fruit and eat from the Tree of Life.

VI. Milk Money

2008-08-24T16:01:00.002-04:00

When we are first born we get nurtured on Mother's milk. As we grow mother's milk will no longer sustain us. It will not nourish us enough to grow. If we stay on mother's milk, we tend to rely upon mother and never gain our full independence. We become lazy. We become unhealthy. We become dependent. We can not function. If we somehow manage to function, we become lame, i.e. blind or deaf or crippled. The same for the Church.

Too many times the Church in today's world is focused on numbers and not real growth where it counts: spiritual growth. Churches are filled with what has been labeled as "seekers". First, a church filled with seekers is fantastic. It shows that a church has programs (for lack of a better word) in order that bring people in, or it shows that a church can show love to those who normally do not see it anywhere else. Or just as important, it may show that people are doing exactly what we have labeled them. They are seeking. As scripture says, seek and you shall find. But what happens when you find it? We have to bring in the seeker by finding what they seek for them. We have to have programs for the seeker. The world needs to be told what Christ is all about. The seeker needs to know. No one should turn away the seeker. But no one should leave a seeker seeking. All parts of the Church are important. The Church should be seeker friendly but not seeker oriented. Even mature Christians need a place to keep growing and mentored. Sometimes mature Christians hurt and need uplifting. If the Church is seeker oriented only, where is the mature Christian going to go got help?

Too many times the Church in today's world is focused on seekers only and not anyone else in the Church. This sounds like a negative thing to say but listen to the rest of the story. Babies need parents. Babies need those who can nurture the young. Seekers need mature Christians who can lead them. But Churches are unfilled by those who should be leaders. Why? Because they are all babes in Christ. No one is left in the Church to lead because there is nothing in place for them to keep growing. Churches do not have the right leadership due to the infancy of the people. The writer of Hebrews tells us:

"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good and evil."

Too many times the Church of today's world leaves the seeker seeking. They leave them on milk. You know what happens when you have too much milk? You vomit. The Church today is sick. It is falling ill. It's leaders are still on milk. It's seekers are relying on milk. They can not distinguish right from wrong. Churches are dying because not enough solid food is on the table. The Church needs to provide a balanced meal. If you the same meal over and over and over and over and over and over again, you get sick of the meal. You don't want it anymore. There has to be a time when seekers need to grow as well. If a church does have anything in place the seeker loses the want to stay. Glamor only goes so far before it wears off.

This posting may change with more information and scripture from both sides of this situation. It could possibly even be deleted given correction of views.

V. Evolution is a Joke

2008-08-21T17:16:00.001-04:00

Evolution is only a theory yet we treat it as if it were a fact. Science and evolution actually are not the same. Science uses the scientific method to prove things. Real science will not or can not be disputed. Real science uses a step of the scientific method called "observation" to prove things. The actual steps that they still teach are:

Observation---We say we have observed this. We say we have seen animals turn into another species. But evolution is supposed to take millions of years. There has also never been a fossil found in any "transitional" state. Evolution can not be observed.
Hypothesis---We have made an hypothesis (evolution). Life started from a big bang and a primordial soup.
Data Collecting---We have collected data but the data is only based on assumptions, i.e., big bang, meteor strikes, etc. We try and place variables into the equation. But we don't know if the variables are the absolute truth and facts can only stand if everything is a constant, no variation in the outcomes. Such as a dinosaur is lying by a crater, so therefore this dinosaur was killed by a meteor. But what if the dinosaur was old and fell into the crater and then died? There was a variable there that was not considered.
Test---We have tested it. We have stated that the universe started from one point and life eventually expanded from this point. Real science has found that non-living matter can not produce living matter; biogenesis. Life can not come from things that are not living. Life always come from life. Oxygen can not produce a lung. Louis Pasteur was one of the first to acknowledge this.
Conclusion---We have made a conclusion. And that conclusion is that evolution is the truth.

Now how can evolution be the truth when one step can not be done (#1), one step is flawed information (#3), and one step has been proven wrong (#4)? And since three of the steps are now invalid, evolution can not be considered a science. Evolution can never be proven because the first theory of evolution is proven to be wrong. Hence, it is a joke. Worse yet, a lie.

IV. A Gift of Gifts

2008-08-20T18:52:00.002-04:00

Some believe that the gifts of the Spirit have died out when the "apostolic age" ended, claiming we don’t need them since we have the scriptures and the early church didn’t. Based on that assumption answer the questions to yourself or comment on them later if you wish. Remember all opinions are respected.

Would the gifts be only for the early church or would they be for all Christians?
Are God’s promises in the scripture for the early church only or are they for us as well?

But here are some things to remember as you answer the questions:

Through the Holy Spirit we have access to the gifts (Acts 2). God has set the gifts that each of us has and are distributed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). 1 Corinthians chapters 13-14 says the gifts must be exercised in love. Focusing on 1 Corinthians 13:8-14, some gifts will pass that are done in partial until the perfect comes. This passage can not stand alone because it will be taken out of text. Here is where people say that the gifts will die out. But they do not use the whole text, just this small passage. They will not "die out" as some have claimed. They will pass due to us not being perfect and not using them. They are temporary. However, no matter what, three things will never pass away. They are eternal. Faith, Hope and Love. Love is not only eternal on the inside but is also an action on the external. This is why it is the greatest of all. It neither passes nor is it limited. This is why the gifts must be exercised in love.
Gifts are not for competition but for edification. Read James 5:12-17, prayer is the key to unlocking the gifts.
Gifts will overlap. There is no clear cut vision of how one gift differs from another. Think of a baseball illustration. An outfielder may play left field. However he may also play first base when needed. He has the qualities of both but "excels" in one more than the other.
There is a big difference between gifts, talents and fruit. Talent is natural. Anyone can have a talent, which is something someone is good at doing by natural abilities. Fruit is what is produced from a Christian’s life. Gifts are Spirit-given. They go beyond someone’s natural abilities.
Read Romans 12, Gifts come in variations and degrees. You may not have "as much" in a certain gift area as someone else. But this does not mean you are less important. You have a specific role, a responsibility. You have a specific passion, a ministry to serve in. And you have a measure of faith that is yours specifically. You do what God has called YOU to do.

We are the body. (Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 12:14-26) Paul always equates the use of gifts with that of the body of Christ. The church will not hold together without all the body parts working together as they were meant to do. We can function just like someone who is missing a foot or an arm, but it will not be doing what is could be doing.

Definitions:Gift- something given to someone for free. Greek word is "charis".Grace- something given to someone to get through a situation, protection. Greek word is "mata".So God’s grace is what God gives you to get through situations. His grace is sufficient. He will get you through.God’s gift of course is eternal life but that kind of gift is different. We are talking about a spiritual gift. If you put the two words above together you get "charismata" which is what the Bible calls these things. A grace gift. Charisma. Something for free to get you through a spiritual situation.

Conclusion: If the promises of God are for us as well then the promise of Act 2:38 is for us as well. Because if the promises are not for us there is no hope for us, but alas hope is forever! The gifts are for us. All of them! And they are meant to be used, Ephesians 4:16, Matthew 25:14-30.

III. Worship

2008-08-18T22:35:00.003-04:00

There are steps to worship. As illustrated in the OT (TaNaK), worship begins in the outer courts.

The outer courts was a place anyone could go. People met here all the time. Priests gave sermons. People did business. Yet it was still part of the worship center. It was open to all. But once you got to a certain point called the Sacred Enclosure only Jews could enter. So to enter to the next part you had to be of the right physical culture (BODY).
The next part was called the inner courts. This is where the praising of Adonai started to take place. Specific prayers were offered. Each went to their own place, men to men, women to women. A focus on Adonai ELOHIM was apparent. Your mind was set upon God. So to enter the next part you had to have the right focus (MIND).
The next part was called the Holy Place. Here only the Priests of El Shaddai were allowed to enter. These were the descendants of Levi. They were the only ones allowed because Levites stood behind Moses and followed his leadership during the Golden Calf incident. They stayed close to God and listened to their heart, not their head. God gave them a special place. One that was close to His heart. So to enter the next part one had to be of the right character (HEART).
The last step is only for the strongest of hearts, the Holy of Holies. Only the Chief Priest could enter this place. He entered once a year to make atonement for all. He had to be clean in all ways. If he was not found to be cleaned he could die at the altar. This altar was the Ark of the Covenant. The place where God comes down to meet His people. The highest of all worship is when God comes to meet you.

What does this mean for us? It is an illustration of what worship is. Each worship time we have should follow these steps. We start with a call to worship. Kenaniah and all of the worship leaders blew the shofar to let the people know it was time to worship. It doesn't necessarily mean it is time for a song or music but it is a time for fellowship. A time for our BODIES to wake up. Once we are awake we are ready to move into the inner courts. This is a time of praise! Songs should be sung at this point. They should be uplifting and praising God. This sets our MINDS for the next step. Real worship. Getting our hearts ready for the Lord's presence. This is a time to slow down. It is a to get deep with your worship. Ultimate praise becomes a personal issue. You are no longer using your mind you are using your HEART. Once your heart is prepared is when you can meet God.

Here is the problem. Too many churches do not know what worship really is. They think it is a program. They want to put on a show. They don't know how to lead people to the next step in worship. They think all they have to do is practice and put on a presentation. It is not about presentation. It is about participation. People need to participate. They need leaders to get them to the next step. Many people say worship is individualized. Worship is up to each person. Then why have a worship time in church? Worship leaders need to do exactly what their title is: LEAD WORSHIP. The leader has to understand people each week come with baggage. You can't just present something and leave it up to the people. People are hurting. Their bodies are drained. If their bodies are drained then their minds are not thinking right, which means their hearts are not in the right place.

There should be no "worship bands". Technically there should be no "worship teams". There should be a worship ministry! These people are more than just musicians. They reach out to people. They are examples. All should be involved.
There should be a balance of music played. Not everyone is in the same place. The people who say it is not about the style will be the same people who will refuse to change the style.
There should be a time set for praise and a time set for worship. Songs should change from words of praise to words of personalization. All songs should focus on God not on people.
Distractions should be kept to a minimal. Remember people have to worship in steps. No one can get to the Holy Place without going through the courts first!

The greatest story of what worship is, is the Menorah. A lamp with seven places. Each place is dedicated to a day of the week. The middle place is "worship" time. There are three places before the middle. This is a symbol of preparation for worship. There are three places after the middle. This is a symbol recovering from worship. Can you imagine worship being taken that seriously? Instead, in today's churches it's all about the production and not what should be produced. What a shame.

II. Judge Not

2008-08-17T15:38:00.002-04:00

The first argument non-believers will give a Christian when trying to reach them about Christ is Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, lest you be judged". First problem is they only know this verse by the King James Version. They have no idea what it means anyway. For all purposes The Complete Jewish Bible or the NIV will be used in all scripture references.

There is a huge difference between what "judging" means in Matthew 7:1 and what the world thinks it is. First of all you need to read the rest of the story. Matthew 7:2-5 says:

2 For the way you judge others is how you will be judged. The measure with which you measure out will be used to measure you.
3 Why do you see the splinter in your brother's eye but not notice the log in your own eye?
4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let's take out the splinter in your own eye', when all the time you have a log in your own?
5 You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, then you will see clearly, so that you can remove the splinter from your brother's eye!

The verse, when read by itself, tells us not to judge, but in reality the whole passage is telling us be careful how we see and view others because we have problems of our own and it wouldn't be right for us to question others if we ourselves are not following what we preach. It doesn't really have anything to do with actual "JUDGEMENT". Because if that is the case then wouldn't praising someone for a good deed that they have done be judgement too? Even so, we can "judge" if what we are doing is calling out to people the change they need in their life. Nathan "judged" David. Paul "judged" Peter. What you have to be careful about is not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

If we do not call out to people what sin really is then we are ignoring what the truth is. People in today's world do not know what truth is. But, unfortunately sometimes neither does the church. We are called to tell the world the truth.

I. Perfection of Christians

2008-08-16T18:53:00.004-04:00

Christians are not perfect. They are not hypocrites. They are humans who make mistakes just like everyone else. They come in all shapes and sizes. They come in all personalities. Many are jerks. But that doesn't mean they should be blamed or hated because of the way the world is going. The world is down the drain due to our own (all humans) self-absorbant minds. We want things now and in our way. If we are not satisfied with our hamburger, we sue people. We quit trying things because it didn't work the first time. We hate because we are different and scared of the difference. We hide behind alcohol and drugs because we don't know how to cope with the world. And we go on rampages because we aren't accepted. None of these things are because of Christians. None of us know how to be patient with ideas and/or people. We are too busy trying to have self-gratification in all aspects and are not willing to deal with the rest of humanity. Dave Thomas (late beloved owner of Wendy's) never went to college yet became a multi-millionaire. Someone asked him one time how he got this far without an education. He said he didn't look at it that way. He said imagine what he could have been with one. The world is in shambles but imagine what the world would be like without Christians. Charities would not make it. Christians are the biggest starters and supporters of charities. You can't judge Christ based on some Christians. Just like you can't judge your family based on you. Or you can't judge your profession based on a few loose nuts.

It's not fair to be harsher on Christians than the rest of the world but we are. If a construction worker gets sued by a woman for sexual harrassment people can accept it. If it was a CEO of a company many expect it. But if a minister has this happen to them then he is sexual preditor, pervert, someone not to be trusted, proof that Christians are the worst, etc. But in reality, they are all human. We all have temptation and we all fall short of the glory of God. Every one mentioned above were wrong. And they all are equal in its abhorance. But who will get more ridicule by mankind? The minister. Sure they should hold themselves to a high standard but do you know what? We all should. The problem is we hold everyone else to a lower standard and expect the minister to be all high and mighty and if/when he falls we attack him to no end. This is not to excuse any minister, just used as an example for this situation.

Christianity is a work in progress and it gets harder to live like one when the rest of the world treats you like hell. If you blame Christianity for your problems, then apparently you have more problems than you know.