Road Trip: Lost before we start

We headed out on our family vacation this morning. We packed up the Excursion with our four kids and luggage and headed for the mountains. We're on a genuine family road trip - 17 hours over 2 days. I'm riding shot gun right now after putting in the first four hours of driving this morning. We have about three more to go for today's leg.

Our trip started a little stressful as we found ourselves lost within 20 minutes of leaving the house. Well, we weren't actually lost. The problem was our GPS was giving us different directions than what we routed via MapQuest and both of these were different than what I was thinking in my head. We knew where we were and where we wanted to go. We just weren't sure of the right way to get there.

Does this sound a little too familiar to real life?

I know where I'm at. I have a job, family, house with a mortgage, etc... I think I have a good idea where I want to go. I want to be able to put my kids through college, finish a successful career and retire comfortably. But do I know how to get there? Just like conflicting information on our road trip, I am flooded with different information on how to get where I think I want to be in life.

How do we get where we want be? Some experts tell you to put x dollars or x percentage into college fund and 401k. Or should you put money into an annuity? How about life insurance? Real-Estate? What happens if the stock-market crashes? What if gas prices never come back down? What if I lose my job?

Directions on a road trip are much simpler. I just enter my destination into the TomTom and it guides me turn by turn. It may not be the way I want to get there but if I have faith, it will eventually get me there. There is one catch with GPS and any other tool you use to find your way. If you put in the wrong destination, you'll never get where you need to be.

This is where we blow it in life. We decide where we think we want or need to go and then try to figure out how to get there. However, what if we pick the wrong destination? Maybe college for my kids and a relaxing retirement are not the right destination? It won't matter what advice we follow or how much faith we have in those directions, we won't end up where we were really meant to be.

Fortunately, I have a much better tool for directions in life than I have for my family road trip. I have God's Word. The Bible not only gives me directions but it also tells me where I need to go - something my TomTom can never do.

The directions may not always seem to make sense to me. They may be counter intuitive to the directions I might normally head on my own. However, I've tried my own routes many times and sure enough, what I thought was right was in the wrong direction. Fortunately, my forgiving God patiently instructs me to U-turn and head in the direction He directs.

Psalms 119:105 (ESV) 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Father Knows Best: Blessed are the poor

I have four awesome kids and I love them beyond words. So when they ask me for their hearts desire and it is something I can afford, how do I say no?

I remember when I was growing up that my Dad said many times that he wanted to give to us boys because his parents could not afford much when he was growing up. I did not get everything, but there was not much I didn't get that I wanted. So what did I get that I just had to have?

I have no idea.

I got lots of stuff and I can remember some of the stuff I had, but I certainly can't remember any gift that made my heart swell and think, "Wow! My mom and dad really do love me!" I'm sure some of the stuff I got really made me happy when I got it but over time, the joy brought by that gift was forgotten. Why is that?

We are basically born selfish and prideful. What is one of the first words we learn? "Mine!"

When parents feed that selfish desire it grows. If we continue to feed this desire it soon becomes almost impossible to turn back. When we do try to say no, we risk being pulled into psychological warfare with our little loved ones and we discover that they are really good at it. (How do they learn to push our buttons like that?)

Before we know it, we are giving to our kids out of guilt or avoidance of conflict rather than out of love.

What if we had no money to give our kids anything? What if the children in the picture above were you're own children? How would you show them that you love them if you can't give them any stuff?

It's really an easy question. We'd hold them. We'd console them. We'd give them our portion of food. We'd pray for them and do whatever we could so they did not have to scrounge for food in the streets. Basically, we'd love them.

The problem we have in America is that even most of our poor are rich. For most of us, we can feed those selfish desires in our kids until they pop. It's an easy way for us as parents to attempt to show love. It's an easy way to keep the peace. What becomes increasingly difficult is saying "no".

However, saying "no" once in awhile may be the greatest gift you can give your children. They will already have more stuff than they will ever really need and any stuff you give them will soon be forgotten. But if you can teach them that the world is not about stuff, then you have given them a great gift that will not only always be remembered, but it may just save their soul.

Matthew 19:21-22 (ESV)
²¹ Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."
²² When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Is Christianity Inclusive or Exclusive?

We Christians claim that there is only one way to heaven. Non-Christians see this as prideful and intolerant. Who are we to claim to have the only true religion? Why am I any better than a Hindu, Muslim, or new age philosopher that I should get to heaven but they are headed to hell?

To make matters worse, we Christians are often guilty of acting like we are in an exclusive club. I can say this because I know I am often guilty of it. I hang out with my church friends, look at the world, and say come quickly Lord Jesus, this world is a lost cause.

It's easy, once you believe that you have the ticket to heaven, to look down on those that you believe do not have it. What we forget is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are not saved because we are better than a Muslim or a Hindu. In fact, even though we are now saved, we're still sinners while Christ completes what he has started in us.

So does Christianity have exclusive rights into heaven and all the other world religions are wrong?

First, we have to define Christianity.

From Webster's Online Dictionary:

1 : the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies 2 : conformity to the Christian religion 3 : the practice of Christianity

Nothing in this definition assures anyone that they will go to heaven. When you speak of Christianity as a "religion" then it is really no different than any other world religion. As a religion, it becomes just a label that we attach to ourselves based on what we do for "religion".

However, Christianity is really not a religion. The best way I've heard it explained, is that religions are are list of "do's". In Chrisitianity everything that needs to be done has already been done. There is nothing left to "do".

Does that mean that's it? We're all in.

Not quite. Jesus has done everything that is needed for you to have eternal life. The only thing for you to do is receive it.

Romans 10:9 (ESV) 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

There is one more piece that is often forgotten nowadays as the church seeks to be more "inclusive". In order for someone to be "saved" they must have some idea that there is something they need to be saved from.

What is it that Jesus actually saves us from? Death? Hell? These are just consequences. What we need to be saved from is our slavery to sin. Sin being - sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.

Yes, Jesus has already died for our sins. However, we have to recognize that sin is a bad thing to begin with and something that needs to change while understanding that you can't change on your own (hence, Romans 10:9).

If you can recognize that you have sin in your life, and want to be free from it, then it is as simple as believing that God has already taken care of it through the death and resurrection of His Son, and you'll be free.

So back to our original questsion, is Christianity inclusive or exclusive?

It's both. It's exclusive in that you must acknowledge that you're a sinner and want to be free form those sins. It's inclusive in that your sex, race, political party and nationality do not matter. Most importantly, it is inclusive because it does not matter what sin has you inslaved, you can be saved from it all.

Still have questions? Try here.

Father Knows Best: Kiss and make it better

We've all been there. A traumatizing moment. Maybe it's caused by fear. Maybe it's caused by someone else hurting you. Maybe it's just an embarrassing moment that you think you'll never survive. There is really nothing anyone else can do to help. Family and friends can put their arms around you and tell you everything will be ok but it's just words. At best, someone can come along beside you and share a similar experience. This may help. However, usually at the time, you can't believe anyone has experienced what you've been through.

What do you do, as a parent, when your son or daughter has one of these moments? If they skin a knee you can kiss it and put a band-aid on it. What do you do when you can't see the boo-boo but you can only see the hurt?

You do what you can. You put your arms around them. You love them. You share similar experiences. However, you've been there. This does not make the hurt go away. So what else can you do? Pray? Does that work?

A couple of weeks ago my 10 year-old son had his first baseball game. He played tee-ball when he was five but baseball had not made the rotation again until now. With four kids all under 10 years of age, you're forced into not playing the "life revolves around your kids' activities" game if you want to keep your sanity (this is another future blog topic in itself). He was excited and nervous. Excited because he loves sports and challenges. Nervous because he'd never played real baseball in a real game.

While playing right field, the traumatizing event occurred. I'm not going to share the particulars with the world but it's enough to know that it wasn't a missed fly ball or an errant throw. He ran off the field and we really only had the option of leaving. There was nothing I could do and nothing I could say. I knew as a grown-up that it was not the end of the world. However, I was also ten once, so I know that it doesn't matter what you'll know someday as a grown-up when your ten right now.

The rest of the story I'll let you read directly from my son. He has his own private blog where he likes to post and journal his life. I won't link you there but I do want to share what he learned.

"Last night I had my first baseball game. It was great, I mean, we were winning 3 to 2, until one moment in the outfield, I got a little sick lets say. I ran to my Dad and told him what happened. We ended up leaving the game early, and we lost. When I got home, I felt really disappointed to not finish my very first game. This is the cool part-When my Mom got home, she told me to pray about it. I went and prayed for at least 15-20 minutes, and next thing I know I feel like nothing happen! I thought I'd just share that with you. It's so awesome to know God's real. Now I can be sure God listens to prayer!"

I hope the lesson our Father taught him that night never leaves him. When mom and dad can't kiss it and make it better, our Father can.

Psalms 147:3 (ESV) 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Father Knows Best: Fragile - Handle with Care

My four year old daughter broke her arm yesterday on Easter Sunday. I'm told the fracture is somewhere in the circled area in the above picture. I'll have to trust the doctors. The accident wasn't the result of an Easter Egg hunt gone crazy. However, it was just as innocent as she fell while playing tag with her brothers and sisters.

We were all enjoying a peaceful Easter afternoon with the laughter of children in the background when suddenly the laughter stopped and the crying started. At first it sounded like any other tumble, a scraped knee or bruised elbow. However, it soon became apparent that this was more serious and we were in for an Easter evening at the emergency room.

Life is fragile. We can go from laughter and playing to pain and crying in an instant. A broken arm is minor compared to other things that can break in our life. A loved one gets cancer or someone we love is hurt or dies in a car wreck. Laughter can turn to tears in an instant. Why is life so fragile?

I could walk you through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and show you how God created a perfect world, how man blew it by believing the devil over God, how God intervened to repair our broken world, and what the future holds when our world is finally restored. However that would be a book, not a blog post. So what's a good blog response?

If you're a father, you know there is only so much you can do to protect your children. What's even harder is that you also know that they often don't want your protection. However, when they break a bone or get a broken heart, they run back to you to help pick up the pieces.

God could certainly keep my life pain free. However, how much faith would I have if I never had to deal with pain? If I manage to take God for granted and ignore his wisdom when I know my life could break apart at any point, how faithless would I be if I never knew what pain was like?

Don't misunderstand my point. God does not put pain in our life in order keep us coming back to Him. We (mankind) brought pain in this world with our own decisions. However, our Father is there to put us back together again, if only we run back to Him.

God loves you

If you've read my other posts on "God loves" then maybe you've figured out where I'm going with this.

I have many more I could write:

God loves the atheist
God loves the terrorist
God loves the thief
God loves the cheating spouse
God loves the hypocrite
God loves the drunk
God loves the drug addict
God loves the gangster
God loves the poor
God loves the rich
God loves prideful
God loves the selfish
God loves jealous and envious
God loves those that are self-centered
God loves those that don't even love themselves

How do I know? I know because he sent His Son to die for me and you, in spite of ourselves. And even better, this Jesus rose again, conquering our inadequacies and giving us a hope if we only let Him.

Romans 3:22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (NLT)

Remember this on this Easter Sunday...

God loves you.

God loves the unborn baby

Pro choice or pro life? Where do you stand? Where do you think God stands? There are two sides of this argument. There is the side that believes that the unborn baby is a live human being and should be protected. There is the other side that believes the mother should have full control over her body, including the unborn baby she is carrying.

The entire topic is a tragedy. Try if you can to separate yourself from the charged up political aspect of this debate. This is much more than a red versus blue state issue.

A baby, a new life, one that would someday laugh, cry, think, dream, and love will never get that chance. Sure, his or her life could be hard and full of challenges. Maybe this child would grow up to be a criminal. Maybe this child would grow up lead our nation. We'll never know.

There is another tragedy. There is the tragedy of the mother. She is a life that laughs, cries, thinks, dreams, and loves. First, she has the emotional nightmare that has her in a position to make her choice. Then, if she chooses against her child, she has to live with that painful choice for the rest of her life.

God loves the unborn baby. God also loves the mother. If your faith calls you to do what you can for the unborn baby, don't forget to start with the support for the mother that is hurting and driven to this decision in the first place.

If a mother chooses to give her child life, despite whatever fears she if facing, God can make a hopeless situation one full of hope. If a mother chose against her child, God can heal her pain.

Share God's love for the unborn child. Share God's love for the hurting mom as well.

God loves gays

(click picture for related post)

You'll need to hang in there with me on this one.

God loves gays and lesbians. Am I saying that God is ok with a homosexual lifestyle? No, quite the contrary. God, through the Bible, clearly states that homosexual behavior is wrong. The Bible also lists quite a few other wrong behaviors those of us non-gay folks are plenty guilty of indulging in.

If homosexual behavior is wrong, then it must be a choice and not just a way someone is born, right? I mean, why would God create someone with a sexual orientation that is contrary to his divine purpose? I don't know the answer to that.

I don't know if sexual orientation is a genetic makeup, a result of psychological damage as a child, or just an choice made for selfish reasons. I'm not gay so I can't relate. If I had to guess, I would guess all three are true.

So lets assume that sexual orientation is sometimes or even often a result of genetic makeup. That does not change the fact that God says very clearly in the Bible that this behavior is wrong. So why would God create a person genetically predisposed to a lifestyle that he opposes? Where's the love in that?

The truth is that we are all predisposed to living a lifestyle that God opposes. We are born wired for greed, jealousy, addictions, fits of anger, etc... Why did God make us this way if he loves us? Let's turn the question around. If God created us with the inability to do anything he opposes, would that be love?

What does this mean to you if you're gay? God loves you. If you want to experience God's love, a love you can't even imagine, seek him. What if you're gay and you say you already know God? I didn't write the book brothers and sisters. Seek him.

What does this mean to you if you're not gay? God loves you even though you too are incapable of living a life on your own that God approves. If you want to experience God's love, a love you can't even imagine, seek him.

God loves the illegal immigrant

Illegal immigration is a hot political issue. This means that there are a variety of opinions on what to do about it, if anything. We're a media driven country, which includes news media and entertainment media. However, all the media has desynthesized us. Illegal immigration is a political issue in our minds but what about the illegal immigrant?

I'm sure there are some illegal immigrants that are criminal in nature and sneaked into our country because of the bounty here for stealing. However, my guess is that the majority of these people are looking for a way to help their families to survive.

I'm not making a political statement one way or another about what we should or should not do about this problem. I just want to make sure we step back and remember, we are not just talking about a political issue. We are talking about real people. Fathers and mothers not knowing if they are going to be able to piece together enough money to feed their family. They are living in a country where the language is foreign to them. There's an obvious hostility towards them from many Americans. Yet many believe this is the only hope they have.

As you think about this problem and vote for your political leader of choice that claims to have the answer, don't forget that the illegal immigrant is a person just like you. If our only answer is to lock down our borders to keep out the poor and oppressed, what is their hope? What would the God of the oppressed want you to do?

Not that there is anything wrong with that

How should I look at our world? Is it "live and let live" and "I'm ok, you're ok". The Bible clearly tells us not to be judgmental.

Judge not, that you not be judged (Matt 7:1-5)

The rest of the world gladly takes up this mantle. As long as what you do in your life does not adversely affect me, then all is good.

Is it all good? Are the problems we have in this world because people are too judgmental or do we have our problems because we have sacrificed truth in order to avoid the appearance of passing judgment?

If I am not supposed to judge people, then how do I respond to world issues that clearly contradict biblical truths, especially in regards to sexual immorality? Romans 1:26-27, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Mark 7:20-23 are just a sampling of many verses that speak of sexual immorality being evil.

Sin hurts not only others but it hurts the sinner even when we think we are just doing our own thing.

1 Corinthians 6:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

As a Christ follower, my reaction to sin in the world should be love. The world in full of sin and we know sin destroys. The world needs God's love and God's hope and we should be the ones telling them of this great hope. We don't need to be standing on a corner at a gay parade telling everyone that they are going to hell. We need to be reaching out to people suffering from AIDS showing them God's love with our service and telling them there is a hope in a God that loves them.

That said, the world needs empathy, not sympathy. You cannot sympathize with sinful behavior, "That's ok, you're not hurting anyone". However, you should be able to empathize with a person indulging in sinful behavior, after all, you're a sinner too.

Show the people around you God's love. Tell them about God's grace. Gently explain why what the world is offering is destroying them but what God offers will save them.

1 Peter 3:15-16
James 3:18

God Loves the Panhandler

If you live in a medium to large city then you are well acquainted with the panhandler. These men and women hang out on our busiest street corners, holding up signs asking for work, food or money. If you're like me you may fluctuate between feelings of guilt and feelings of indignation when you're confronted with one of these folks at a red light. On one hand, there is the guilt, because just by the fact that you do not need to hang out on the street corner, looking for handouts, you are are better off. "Do I deserve what I have?" On the other hand, there is the indignation, because we are sure that they are where they are because of decisions they made and continue to make.

Do you find yourself repeatedly coming to God with your hands out? Do you seem to have the same problems over and over again?

God, please help me get these bills paid off, I need to feed my family (and I need a house in a good neighborhood, a new car and of course HDTV satellite).

God, why is my marriage falling apart? (Maybe I need more time away on the golf course - time for me or I'll explode).

God, help me get get through to my teenage daughter. Why does she insist on wearing such tight pants (Cool, my SI swimsuit edition came in today).

God, keep my children safe as they go off to college. Don't let them forget everything we've tried to teach them by taking them to church every Sunday. (Does the new season of Grey's Anatomy start this week or next?)

Do you get the picture? We ask God for help with our hands out but then we make the same decisions over and over again that send us right back to God to bail us out again and again. God does not mind us coming to him with our hands out. In fact, we can do nothing on our own. However, what is our intention? Do we have our needs and wants all skewed? At least the gentleman in the picture above is being honest with us.

God may not be any more interested in throwing us a couple of blessings that he knows we'll squander, than we are interested in throwing our local panhandler a few bucks we know he'll spend on drugs or alcohol. However, I know God does not look at us and feel guilty and I don't believe he looks at us with indignation either. Fortunately for us, God loves the panhandler.

Do you think the next time you see your local panhandler you can look at him or her through God's eyes? Of course, you'd need to make eye contact to do that.

God loves Hillary and Obama

Anybody that knows me knows that politically, I am a conservative. Will I vote for Hillary or Obama? No. There are personal convictions, particularly on abortion that will prevent me from casting my vote for either of these two candidates. I also have political convictions where I don’t believe their vision is what is needed for our country. I don’t know if John McCain’s vision makes me feel any better but that’s not the point.

The point is not the political ideology of Hillary and Obama. The point is, that no matter what I think or what I believe, God still loves them.

We like to mock and tell jokes about public figures we don’t care for. Why do I feel it is ok to mock and tell jokes about people I don’t know? Is gossip not gossip if you don’t know the person you are gossiping about? Do you think Jesus and his disciples sat around the table and trashed talked about the Jewish and Roman leaders or do you think they sat around the table and prayed for them?

Do I pray for Hillary and Obama? Shouldn’t I, especially since one of them may soon be my president?

If God loves Hillary and Obama, and I claim to have God’s love in me, then shouldn’t I love them?

The emerging church

What is the emerging church? Some friends and I had an interesting email dialog going on this topic a couple of weeks ago. Is it what we see missing in our churches today where it feels like we've lost our first love (Rev 2:4)? Or is it a heretical movement that has joined with the world in denying Truth (John 18:37, James 4:4)?

This weekend we joined many other families, from a variety of churches, to celebrate Easter at a neighbor's house. We told the resurrection egg story to our kids, ran sack races, egg races, played egg baseball and shared good food and then, we worshipped. We sat together on a hill and worshipped our Lord and Savior as families in Christ.

As I sat there on the hill with my arm around my 10 year old son singing praises to Jesus, I thought, "This is the emerging church."

This is not all of it of course. As Christians, we need to not only reconnect with each other in true worship and oneness but we need engage our postmodern world. This postmodern world that believes there is no absolute truth needs to hear the real Truth, the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that died for our sins.

I pray, all of the body of Christ, "emerges" from our sleepwalk and our luke-warm passion for Christ's passion. Life is not about two car garages and little league baseball. The kingdom of God is here and God's judgment is not far behind. However, judgment is not just for the outwardly morally corrupt (Matthew 25:31-46).

Informative article on the emerging church from Christianity Today.

Prowling like a lion

This is not a pretty picture. A helpless animal caught in the jaws of a ruthless lion. I thought about showing a YouTube video of a lion kill to illustrate my point in this post. However, the videos were too brutal.

God warns us that the devil is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He's not looking to hurt, to wound or to make your life uncomfortable. He's looking to tear you from limb to limb and devour you.

Have you had a time in your life where you felt like you were being devoured? Maybe you feel like that now? How do we protect ourselves from the lion's jaws or free ourselves if he has already pounced and has his jaws on our throat?

Humble yourself, so that God may exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6). Pride is a favorite weapon of the devil. Satan fell for this himself and it was the temptation he used first against Adam and Eve - "God knows when you eat of the fruit you will be just like him (Genesis 3:5)."

Cast all of your worries on God because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Worry can destroy us. It can take all of your joy and often turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Be sober-minded and watchful (1 Peter 5:8). This verses goes along with Ephesians 6:10-18. If we are sober-minded and watchful we will wear the armor of God. We have to be aware that Satan is a lion that does want to devour us and we have to protect ourselves with God's truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, Word of God and prayer.

But what if I am in the jaws of the lion right now? What do I do? How can I survive?

I've been there. When I was 12 my best friend drowned while we were all at the pool together. I saw his lifeless body at the bottom of the pool. I felt like I was being ripped limb from limb, devoured alive.

After our fourth child. My wife suffered through postpartum. I saw her enter dark places that people should never have to enter. Satan used this time to attack relentlessly. He did his best to devour her, me and our entire family.

So what do you do in times like this? How do you survive? If you're in the jaws right now, I don't have any magic words of wisdom for you. If you don't know Jesus I can tell you that if you seek him, he will answer and he will deliver you. If you already know Jesus, I can tell you to stand strong and believe, he will deliver you. I know he will because he promises to do so and because he delivered me.

1 Peter 5:10 (ESV) 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Have you built your ark?

When God passed judgment on the earth he found one righteous man, Noah. Have you ever thought about this? In all the earth, there was only one man and his family that God was willing to spare. The intention of everyone else’s heart was only evil (Gen 6:5). The next time you look at the world and can’t believe the evil and violence just imagine if you were the only one that still had faith in God. Fortunately we have millions of other believers that we can pray with, lean on, love and help us reach the rest of the world.

We don’t know what Noah’s neighbors thought about him before he started building a giant boat on dry land. Since he did not partake with them in their evil indulgences they probably already thought he was a bit odd. Once he actually started working on this boat they really must have thought he’d lost it. However this did not seem to bother Noah. In a society devoted completely to evil he remained faithful to God. When God asked him to build a 450 foot boat on dry land, he did all that God commanded him (Gen 6:22).

I don’t know about you but I want people to like me. I’m generally leveled headed and even tempered. I can be a bit quiet but I get along with almost everybody. I like being accepted by fellow Christians but also by co-workers that don’t believe. This has its good and bad points. On the good side, it theoretically opens up plenty of opportunity for me to share my faith. On the other hand, sharing my faith might make me stand out and be unaccepted. It might make me stand out as that church guy.

Noah stood out like a sore thumb. As Christians in an evil world, shouldn’t we stand out? Do your co-workers or fellow students know that you are a Christ follower by your decisions and your actions? Or do you generally manage to fit in and not cause any waves? What if God asked you to build an ark in your back yard? Would you do it?

If you’re invited to a football game on Sunday, assuming this is your normal day of worship, do you accept the invitation or do you turn it down and use it as an opportunity to share your faith and explain why you worship on Sunday?

If office mates are gossiping, or telling off-color jokes, do you snicker along or sit quietly or do you let them know that you do not approve and explain that it is your faith that prevents it?

Do you pray in public before a meal if no other Christians are sitting with you?

Shouldn’t we as Christians take our stand for our faith and build our arks rather than worrying more about how we fit in with the rest of the world (Jas 4:4)? When Noah took his stand it was too late for his neighbors. Judgment had already been passed. It’s not too late for our neighbors. Maybe if we obey God, regardless of what he asks us to do, our ark will be the act of faith that opens their hearts to Jesus before their judgment is passed.

Praying for a miracle

When my dad had leukemia I really struggled with how to pray. At first I prayed for God to heal my dad. However, as the prognosis worsened I struggled with this request. I wanted God to heal my dad but reality was that he was going to die.

My prayers became more limited. I prayed for strength for my mom. I prayed for comfort for my dad as he suffered through treatments and the other ill effects caused by the disease.

These are important things to pray for when a loved one is hurt. However, I still wanted God to heal my dad. Why did I not continue to pray for complete healing?

I've thought a lot about this since my dad's death.

Why do we sometimes hold back from our prayers to ask God for a miracle? In my case, I think I was afraid to put my faith on the line. I was so certain that my dad's time had come. If I prayed for healing and it did not come, what did that say about my faith? What did it say about God?

If I had continued to pray for my dad's complete recovery, I don't think that would have swayed God and brought us the miracle we all wanted.

So why pray for the impossible?

Because God is El Shaddai, Lord Almighty. God spoke and the universe was created. Nothing is impossible for God.

What if God had healed my dad? Because I had stopped praying for the impossible, I would have missed having a miracle answer my prayer.

God knows what you desire and what you need. Why pray for the impossible? Because God is going to do great and impossible things. Don't miss out on the blessing of the impossible prayer being answered when it happens.

Red pill or blue pill?

You want to be a godly man. This means choosing sides, as you are either a godly man or you're not. Once you’ve decided, God has given you the armor you need to withstand the attacks of your enemy (Ephesians 6:11)

The question is do you really believe all this. Is there really a spiritual war out there or is this just church talk?

How can I believe all of this spiritual talk when I have real physical and emotional pain?

I can’t see God, the devil, angels or demons. How can they be real? I can feel pain. I know that’s real.

The pain of this world is real. Sin brought this pain into the world. Jesus is real. He has saved us from the sin and the pain.

God came in the flesh as Jesus to our physical world. He died a physical death in the world for our sins. He physically rose again to conquer death. We all still die (unless Jesus returns before we do), but we can have eternal life if we believe.

We all have the same choice as Neo in the Matrix. We can choose to take the red pill and join the battle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Or you can choose the blue pill and continue to live oblivious to this very real battle.

Believe and join God’s army. Be a godly man.

Religion and Politics

A co-worker made the statement the other day that she was tired of religion having any part of politics and that she wished there was a true separation of church and state. My response was that someone’s morals were more important to me than their religion as to whether or not I would vote for them. As is often the case with table talk and talking without thinking, my response was inaccurate.

Morals are based on what you believe is right and wrong. My morals as a believer in Jesus as my Lord and Savior are going to be different than the morals of someone who believes differently. A person’s religion is also a statement about what they believe. If my morals are based on what I believe and I am qualifying a candidate based on his or her morals then I am qualifying that person based on what they believe and ultimately on their religion.

I am not judging one candidate as a better person than another because of their beliefs. I’m judging if their values are the same as mine which means their decisions will line up more closely with what I believe is best for our country.

Am I wrong to bring my Christian faith into my political decisions? Not if I really believe what I say I believe. If I really believe that Jesus is the only hope for me, my family, my friends, my co-workers, my country, and my world then I am going to choose leaders that believe this as well over leaders that do not.

Everyone votes based on their beliefs. You vote on a candidate because their belief on what is best for the country is the same as yours. If my belief is that the hope I have in Jesus is the only hope for our country then I am going to vote my convictions. If you believe God is not relevant to politics and the most important qualification is a candidate’s belief on economic and environmental issues then you will vote your convictions accordingly.

Do I believe that economics, environmental and foreign policy are important? Absolutely, I should understand a candidate’s beliefs on how to address these issues. However, it is important to me that the thought process on dealing with these issues starts with the candidate’s beliefs in God which shapes their ultimate beliefs on right and wrong.

Do I believe in separation of church and state? Again absolutely, the government should not dictate or pass laws that force a particular religion on anyone. However, religion or church is just a belief system. If someone chooses not to believe in God, that is a belief and their religion of unbelief should not be forced upon me.

As long as we live in a free country, religion will always be part of politics because we will all always vote based on what we truly believe. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “What do I really believe?”

What I learned at kid's camp last summer

Below is a message God laid on my heart to give to my church after I went to Centri Kids with my son Crayton and a couple dozen other 4th through 6th grade students last summer. It was a faith impacting experience in my life.

I had never been to a church camp before, even as a kid, so I asked Pastor John if I could share my experience with our church.

I did not know what to expect. If I had to guess I would have said I expected to be doing a lot of chaperone type work – making sure kids got to all of their activities and stayed out of trouble (especially working with the boys). Maybe have an opportunity to help one or more of the boys out with questions raised at camp.

What I experienced was more than I could have imagined. What I experienced was…

Have you ever had a really great worship experience at church, where after a few songs you really start to feel God’s presence? Then the message hits home and you leave church feeling like you spent time with God?

Well picture that type of experience as slowly wading into a cold pool. First you get your feet wet, then you move down to your waste, then to your shoulders and finally you put your head under the water.

Centri Kids was more like taking the Nestle Tea plunge. Almost immediately I was completely immersed in worship with God like never before and it was really around the clock through the entire week of camp.

I have often felt guilty about there being more passion (including from myself) at an Aggie football game than passion for Jesus at church. There was more passion for Christ at this camp from the kids, the adults and the staff than I have ever experienced at Kyle field.

You cannot be immersed in worship for a week and not have some deep conversations with God.

So here I am, to tell you what God laid on my heart in one of our conversations this week.

I was on a 3-mile run and since my MP3 player was not working (another story) I had time to think.

After the first mile (which was a lap around the camp) God said – why don’t you pray for the camp while you run around it.

Towards the end of my run, I was worn out and I prayed “God what happens to these kids after camp? There is a battle raging and these kids are in the thick of it. God you can protect and keep each child safe for the life you have planned for them. But God, you want the parents to join the battle”.

I immediately realized that those were not my words to God, but God’s Spirit speaking. I also immediately started crying during my last ½ mile.

During the rest of the week I thought about what God had told me. Some verses came to mind to help me think this out and I want to share them with you.

1 Peter 5:7-9 (ESV)
⁷ casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

God says to resist him by standing firm in the faith? How do we do this?

Ephesians 6:10-11 (ESV)
¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

My kids have access to this same armor. However, what kind of parent am I if I expect them to figure out how to use this armor on their own? I struggle figuring it out for myself.

If a physical war was raging around me I would not expect my kids to figure out for themselves how to protect themselves.

Why do I struggle with the spiritual war? The devil is an adversary much worse than the worst terrorist.

How can I ever be too busy or too tired to pray fervently for and with my kids?

How can I ever be too busy of too tired to read God’s word with my family?

Why would I ever not want my kids with me at my side as I worship my God so they can see that their dad loves their God and they should too?

Why do I not act like I fear that Satan might devour my child?

Why am I not doing all I can do to make sure they are fully dressed in the armor of God?

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (ESV)
⁴ "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Because while I know it is true in my head, I fail to believe it in my heart.

What God told me this week is that I better start believing with my heart.

Matthew 18:2-6 (ESV)
² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them
³ and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
⁵ "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,
⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

What judgment awaits me if I neglect my children’s spiritual well being?

Let us believe every little tittle and dot in this Book in our heart.

Let us join the battle.

Did God Really Say That?

Genesis 3:1 (ESV)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

The question you might hear today is, "Did Jesus really say if you are not a Christian you are going to hell?"

John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Notice the similarities. In Genesis 3:1 the devil misquotes God and asks if God really said that. Eve falls for the trap.

New Age thinking wants us to believe that God's kingdom is open to all who seek it, regardless of the path they choose. So the misquoted question asks if Jesus really said you needed to be a Christian to have eternal life rather than is Jesus the only way.

This is a subtle twist to God's word that opens you up for a greater lie that you may want to believe. Eve wanted to believe that she really could eat the fruit because it looked good.

"Christian" is a label and often misused. However, Jesus is not vague when he says He is the only way that we can be saved, regardless of what we really want to believe.

God gave us a mind and wants us to ponder and meditate on his word. However, don't add vagueness where there is clarity.

Before questioning God's word on a passage that is clear on the surface, ask yourself, "Why am I questioning this?" Is it because if it is true, you can't have or do what you want to do?

Saturday, Sunday, any day or no day

Is the fact that most Christian churches recognize the Sabbath on Sunday rather than Saturday a case of Christians ignoring God’s word and just going with our culture? Does God tell us to set aside the Sabbath on the last day of the week (Saturday) and anything else a compromise of God’s word? For that matter, are we still required to recognize the Sabbath at all?

What I will do here is layout various verses that discuss the Sabbath, provide some very layman like commentary and then you decide. As with anything you read in my blogs, always read the scripture yourself. God’s word is not infallible but I am – often.

Genesis 2:2-3

From the beginning God set aside a day for rest. On day seven after six days of creation, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.

Exodus 16:23-29

When I search for “Sabbath” in WORDsearch the first instance I find is God telling the Israelites that the seventh day is a holy day of rest and they are not to gather manna on that day. He will provide enough manna on day six for two days.

Exodus 20:8-11

The Sabbath was important enough to God for him to write it on stone tablets. This was a holy day for God and he wanted the Israelites to honor it.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Moses is again writing about the Ten Commandments. However in this passage he includes additional information about the observance of the Sabbath. He tells the Israelites to remember that the Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt where they were slaves; therefore the Lord commands them to keep the Sabbath day.

So far it is evident that the Sabbath day was given to the Israelites along with all the other laws that God gave them, from the Ten Commandments and from the other laws in the books from Moses.

Do these laws apply to Christians today, and specifically, the law to observe the Sabbath?

It appears from scripture and certainly from the earliest church tradition that the first century Christians met on Sundays (see Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 16:1-2). The first day of the week became known as the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10). However, the Bible does not say that these churches did not meet on Saturday as well. We know that Paul often started his preaching in new cities in the Synagogues on the Sabbath.

The Bible never mentions that anyone other than Israel should observe the Sabbath. In fact, Paul goes out of his way to insist that we are free from the law given to Israel (Romans 7 and Gal. 3:24 – 4:11) and he specifically mentions the Sabbath in Colossians 2:16.

If we are not bound to the Sabbath, what about the rest of the law, including the other nine commandments?

With Christ the whole law is now fulfilled and no longer binds us. Does this mean we are free to sin as we please? “By no means!” (Romans 6)

The bible is clear that I am raised with Christ and no longer under the bondage of the law. While we are not under the law as Christians, all scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16)

God’s word teaches us that God set aside a day of rest for himself and that he instructed the Israelites to do the same so that they would remember who God is and what he has done for them (Exodus and Deuteronomy references above).

Isaiah tells Israel to return to the Sabbath, do it to honor God, do it because it is a delight, and that he will bless them for it (Isa 58:13-14).

Hebrews tells us not to neglect meeting together as is the habit of some (Heb 10:25).

It is clear that God set aside a day of rest as a holy day. It is clear that God wants us to meet together and honor him and to delight in doing so, putting honoring God above our own pleasures and business. This is not a “law” that brings salvation but an act of obedience as we live and walk in the Spirit and seek those things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Gal 5:16-25, Col 3:1-11)

If your church meets on Saturday, then set aside your busy life (rest) that day as your holy day to honor God and if on Sunday then set aside your busy life on Sunday to be your holy day to honor God. The point is - put aside your busy life to honor God, delight in this day and delight in the Lord.