Acceptance VS Belief

Sometimes people will get all riled up over something that they see as a big deal. Some of these things are truly important, others are things they misunderstand. One such important issue that many modern Theologians will talk about it the fact that the phrase "accept Jesus" is not mentioned in the Bible. "Why do we use it then?" they ask.

It's a good question. Why do we use terms like this that aren't found in the Bible? Well, some terms we don't see in the Bible are because they are words we made up to explain an idea. Words like Theology and Trinity are not in the Bible because we created those words to explain truths we see in the Bible that did not have just one word for them before that. Both of those two words are not specifically used in the Bible but the concepts thereof are referenced throughout.

But what about a word as simple as accept? That surely is not used because of a different reason right? Yes. The reason accept is a more common term in Theology than believe in some circles has to do with the language that we used to use in Theology. Much Theology was developed during and right after the Reformation. And what language did many of the Reformers read and write? German, it was one of the dominate languages of high thought. Even many who did not speak it as their mother tongue used it for Theology and Philosophy. And in German 'accept' is written 'annehmen' and it literally means "to take on or to put on, to accept." Alternately in German 'believe' is written 'glauben' and it literally means "to agree to or understand." So as you can see, in German to accept means to apply to life and believe means more along the lines of  merely understanding a concept. Therefore, in German the word annehmen was used to show we needed to apply what we believe, whereas glauben was used to show what we know from an intellectual point of view.

So what does this mean? Well, the reason we started using the word accept is because in the language that was used in the time much of this Theology was put to paper, words meant things differently than we understand them now. In German "accept" (annehmen) is to apply, but in English "accept" means much less. In our modern English we would be more inclined to use the word "believe" for its implications. 

Conclusion

So in the end, when we both mean is the same when we say we need to "accept" or "believe". We need to apply to our hearts the principles that we see in Scripture. We cannot just "know about" Jesus, that does not work for people in English or in German. (or any other language) The Devil knows and trembles. If we do not apply it, whether you use the term believe or annehmen does not matter, as long as you do indeed apply it to your life.

Googling Godliness

Technology is a wonderful tool. We use it all around us every day. I greatly enjoy using all sorts of things that run on electricity in my day to day activities. But sometimes I do believe that we have made our tech toys a little too close to our hearts.

I was preparing for a lesson the other day and needed to find a verse to support my thesis. I was not near a computer and still have a cell phone that cannot actually surf the web. I was stuck. So I did what I used to do when I needed a verse. I read my Bible. I skimmed the Book of Matthew from the middle to the end with no success. Then I started at the beginning of the book. Still couldn't find that verse. But I did find much other wisdom that I had not thought of while preparing that made me rethink my lesson for that day. In fact, in reading some other verses that I was going through brought light to the subject I hadn't even realized that I needed and was lacking.

I think this is a problem in our modern Theology. Probably not the biggest one, but an issue we do need to address. We have such easy access to the Internet we no longer remember things on our own. We just google it. In a great many things this is totally fine, but with our Theology we need to be extra careful how we use technology.

Am I saying that I am going Amish? Well, the fact that I'm typing this is proof that I am not. The technology is not evil. Using it is not wrong either. Depending on it for our Theological basis, however is quite wrong. We need to be able to study the Scriptures without the aid of the internet and grow in God without having to google what our favorite Theologian or Preacher thinks on the matter.

What am I saying then? Well, its fairly simple. We have reached an age where we don't think about the answers to questions anymore. We just google them. Lets not do that with our spiritual lives. Let us instead close our laptops and open our Bibles. After we have studied, then we can see what others also believe.

Conclusion

Let us be like the Bereans. We are told that they went to the Scriptures themselves to see if these things that they heard were true. They didn't just see what the 'in' preacher of their times thought, they checked to make sure that the things they learned were in line with the Bible. If we check the exact verse we find yet another important detail on the Bereans. They checked the Scriptures daily. This is one of the things we lack in modern America. We do not check the Scriptures daily. In fact, we hardly have time to squeeze in both Sunday's service and Bible Study in the same week. Let us fix that in our lives and truly study the Scriptures daily to see if these things are true.

Devil's Decorations

Christmas season is in full swing. Trees are up, carols are playing, the weather is finally winter-like, and stores are stuffed. We often measure the holidays by how busy and festive they are. But American Christmas hasn't always been this way. Let's take a look at Christmas back in the very start of America.
William Bradford, the Governor of Massachusetts  Colony, banned the celebration of Christmas in any festive way. This law was active there for twenty-two years. Here is a transcript of the law, in fact.

“For preventing disorders, arising in several places within this jurisdiction by reason of some still observing such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other communities, to the great dishonor of God and offense of others: it is therefore ordered by this court and the authority thereof that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, upon any such account as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such offence five shilling as a fine to the county.”

From the records of the General Court,
Massachusetts Bay Colony
May 11, 1659

What does this mean? Well that anyone who celebrated Christmas was breaking the law. No one stopped working, no one feasted with family, nor was any form of celebration allowed, including decorations. No trees, no wreaths, no celebration whatsoever.

Why would a Christian Church (the Puritans) ban the celebration of Christmas? What does this imply? Well they felt that some people were celebrating the holiday poorly, and therefore they banned it for everyone. If they didn't celebrate it the same way they 'leaders' did, they were not allowed to celebrate it at all.

The flaw in this plan is the fact that they were trying to produce actions of a contrite heart without changing the heart of the person. We cannot make rules to save people or to change their hearts. If it worked that way then Christ would not have had to die. (Galatians 2:21) We cannot save others by making them look like Christians. They must truly become Christians to be saved.

So not decorating or avoiding celebrating in order to "fix" other people does not work. "But what about the history of some of our decorations?" I also hear people ask, "Are they not of evil origin?" By this people mean that things like the Christmas tree, wreath, and various other decorations. Again let us see what Paul says about things like this. Paul talks about things that others use for evil but we use to glorify God in I Corinthians chapter 8. He is specifically talking about the problem of things that were sacrificed to idols, but the same idea applies. Just because one person uses it for evil does not mean we need to avoid it. If we decorate for Christmas to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of mankind, that is wonderful. If we are not decorating because God convicts us, that is also wonderful. But do not expect every other person to follow our convictions.

As for those who wish to not celebrate Christmas at all (like the Puritans), the Bible has this to say.

^{ROMANS 14:6} The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Here Paul tells us again that it is not what we do but why we do it that matters. He tells us that both ways can honor God if done for the right reason. But both things can also dishonor God if done for the wrong reason. Remember it is the heart that matters, not merely the actions. (Matt. 15:11)

Conclusion

What we can take from this is simple. What we do can honor God if we do it for the right reason. Some people will honor God by celebrating festively, others will do so without decorations or presents.  So instead of arguing the point with those that disagree; (Romans 14:1) thank God for His Saviour and celebrate in a way that glorifies Him. Enjoy the Christmas Season by celebrating God's arrival to take away the sins of the world. May God bless you this Christmas season.

Proper Prayer

One of the most interesting things that I have noticed among Theologians recently is the abandonment of "The Sinner's Prayer." Now, I know why they do this. They firmly believe that there is no "magic password" to Heaven. I agree. But let us not throw out the baby with the bath here. We need to make sure we don't condemn the concept of praying such a prayer completely.

One argument they will throw up is the fact that Jesus never gave us such a prayer. But if we were to apply this criteria to other parts of Theology we would have to throw out everything from the Trinity to Grace. That's a lot of stuff. Jesus Himself never used the words Trinity or grace. But these are still both very important parts of our Theology and should remain so.

Not only that, but those who claim there is no sinner's prayer in the Bible do so a bit quickly. Jesus actually did give us something very similar to this. In fact, this is the prayer our modern one was modeled after.

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his chest, saying, 'God be merciful to me, a sinner!'" LUKE 18:13

Here we find the original sinner's prayer. What is the important part? Is it the words? Maybe it only counts if we say them in the original language, or if we stand where this man did? No. It is neither the words nor style. What mattered here and what matters now is the condition of the person's heart. This tax collector was broken before God. He knew he was not good enough for God. He knew God had the full right to punish him. He admitted this and cried out for mercy. That is the key. It isn't what words we use. It isn't going to help to recite the sinner's prayer a hundred times if you don't mean it. But it also won't help to throw out this prayer just because some people abuse it.

So what do we do? We preach the word. Day in day out; when necessary, use words to do so. Our lives should be an example to others so that we can preach in all situations. We need to show people it is not the words, but the heart and our acknowledgement of our sin and God's holiness that can save us. We have to let God convict people. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict people. (John 16:8) We are called to be faithful. (I Cor. 4:2) That is all. We are not called to convict people. We are called to be faithful in our lives. This means both in earthly things and in spiritual things. Sometimes that will include correction and admonishment, but only at the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

In the end, we cannot determine the thoughts of a person's heart when they pray this prayer. All we can do is be faithful in what God called us to do. May we do so as humble servants.

Faulty Feelings

Sometimes we just don't feel like Christians. It may be we are just low on emotional kindness. Sometimes we just don't feel nice, or patient, or forgiving. As Christians what are we supposed to do? Should we sit around and wait until we feel like loving and forgiving again? Should we fake those emotions? Should we try to will ourselves into feeling that way again? More importantly, what about those time when we don't even feel love for God? Have we grown apostate? Are we fallen?

Actually, Christianity is all about these moments. Those times when we don't feel emotionally drawn to do what we are called to do. What did Jesus say about this? "Take up you cross and follow Me." No one is always comfortable carrying his or her cross, thats just not the way it works. Sometimes we must chose to deny our emotions.

So what do we do? First, we pray. Whatever we may be going through, we should bring it to the Throne of God. Then, we obey. God does not ask us to conjure up feelings and emotions. God never tells us that we are to 'feel like Christians', He tells us to act like them. We will run into unpleasant times, in the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. This is not necessarily a sign of apostasy. It may, in fact, be a sign that one has some growing to do that we did not realize up to this point. God shows us where we need to improve at a rate that we can follow, and He will not ignore a point just because we do so.

God does not use the Irresistible or the Indisputable because they work against the very thing He is working towards. God will not force His Will because He desires us to become like Him by choice, not by force. It is not a question of whether or not He can, but whether or not it is right. God does indeed desire us to become like Him, in both thought and action, but He will not make us do so against our will. God's desire is for us to be His heirs in truth, not as mechanical drones that are forced to be obedient due to lack of choice. We see this choice from Adam and Eve in the Garden, (Genesis 3) down to the Israelites choice in the wilderness, (Joshua 24:15) the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the choices made by those in the New Testament.

Conclusion

So what does that mean for our emotions? Well, that God will not force us to emotionally be 'stuck' in Super-Christian mode. In fact, most of our growing happens in the slumps we face, not in the high points. We find that Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and David all grew through extremely low points in their lives. The key is to continue in obedience to what we know, not what we feel.

Emotional Energy

Recently I have noticed a trend in the thought process of many Christians. Many have started to revert back to the thought process of the Reformers and Protestants of the Church of England in the 18th- 19th centuries. As wonderful as this spiritual awakening is, we need to be careful and wise. Although these times were some of great spiritual movement, there are some parts of that movement and the current, modern iteration that concern me.

One of those things is the assumption of certain hardline doctrinal stances. Often these are only held due to convincing teaching of preachers we consider powerful and important. Tragically, they often have little Scriptural support. We need to be wary of the warning Paul gave Timothy that we are not to allow certain men to teach strange doctrines or to speculate about things for which we have no sure Biblical support. We have a gnostic take on much of Scripture that should not be so.

Another thing that concerns me is the attitude that comes with this. We have an attitude of being unworthy before God. And this is true. We are indeed unworthy before God, we deserve punishment. But after our realization of this, and our obedience to God, we need to mature in our Faith and actions. We are to move from this sense of self-worthlessness to a sense of the worthiness of God.

In the Book of Revelation, we see John in Heaven. What do the angels and beings before the Throne talk about? Their own lack of worth? No, the worthiness of God. (e.g. Rev. 19:6 ff) What is the difference? Is there even one? Have I just become a picky old man who enjoys fruitless discussion?

I do not think so. The difference here is the moving from self obsession to Godly pursuit. We are unworthy. But some people get a spiritual and emotional 'high' from obsessing over this. They enjoy the feeling; they revel in it. And enjoying life in God is wonderful, make no mistake. However, we need to make sure that we are focusing on God, not ourselves. Sometimes we get too caught up in our own emotions.

Conclusion

So what's the point? That we need to focus on God; not our own emotions. We need to make sure that we aren't just trying to fuel an emotional high. We need to make sure our focus is intact. Let us move on toward maturity in Christ.

Ending Evil

Why does a good God allow evil things to happen? Ever have anyone ask you that? Have you ever asked that? I know I have. If God is truly good and all powerful, why does He not stop this evil?

Let's take a look at what we mean when we say that. We usually mean that something terrible has happened; like a mass shooting, (Colorado theater shooting 2012) or terrorist attacks, (2001 attacks) or persecution of Christians; (too many to count) and that these things should not happen. These all result in so many deaths that we feel could have been avoided if the evil party had been stopped. But what does that entail? What do we really expect from God? Should He use His power to stop all murder? Surely we can all see that this is the first thing we would do if we had the power.

So lets say God does that. He uses force to stop every murder. Does that mean that those people who would be kill are instead injured but survive? Is that better? Or would we say God should kill the evil person first? Or should He force us to not think evil thoughts?

If God did, and all murders ended, what would that mean for us? Would only direct murder be stopped? Or would we no longer be able to eat unhealthy foods or have bad habits, as these are also slowly killing us? Where do we draw the line? Can we even be stressed, seeing that it has a bad effect on us? Would we even be able to choose what we did, as some activities may be worse for some people than others? In the end we would only have one choice in front of us all the time. We would only be able to choose the very best choice, the one that leads to the best outcome.

But would that be choice at all? If we can only choose what is very best, do we have choice? If God started to forcibly change our minds to stop evil from occurring where could that line possibly be drawn? Where would an all knowing God draw such a line?

Thankfully, we don't need to debate that point too far. God did choose where to step in. He has chosen to give us true freewill. We can make all our own choices from beginning to end. Does this mean He doesn't care? No, not at all. He cares deeply for us and our pain that we receive from other people's bad choices and from our own.

Are we then free to do whatever we wish without fear of correction? Again, no. God will correct His children, but He will never force them to do something. He will speak with us, plead with us, and warn us. Eventually, those of us who are disobedient will be punished.

But what about those evil men of times gone past that were never punished? Well, that is another question. We assume that because we do not see the punishment of people now, they are never punished. That is the most flawed part of our human reasoning. We will be punished (or rewarded) after our lives here on Earth are done.

Conclusion

So what can we draw from this? Well, that God is good and that bad things to happen to people. That does not mean that God is the guilty party. In fact, if God did force His will upon all without mercy we would not even be able to have a discussion in this manner. God will right the scales, we just see things from a short term point of view. God will repay. Until then, He will rejoice with those who are obedient and mourn for those who are not. Let us not be disobedient. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. God is not mocked.

Spent Spirit

Have you ever wondered if someone who professed to be a Christian, who then turned away from that belief, was ever even saved? I know this subject gets a lot of review and rehashing when people are debating Reformed doctrine versus Remonstrant doctrine. They pull out books like Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews to defend their chosen side. But lets look further back than what most people tend to do.

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is poured out on the entire Church. We see that many people are filled with the Holy Spirit, especially in the book of Acts. But what about before Christ's coming and the official pouring out of the Spirit? What was it like in the Old Testament?

We see that in the Old Testament only a few chosen prophets and such people were filled with God's Spirit. One such case was the first King of Israel. Saul was a tall man, humble and God-fearing, when he was selected by God to rule the nation. He was handsome. So handsome, in fact, that it says there was no man who was better looking than he. However, he was truly humble, willing to serve God.

When he was anointed by Samuel as King of Israel, God gave him a new heart. He became a prophet of God. In fact, it says in I Samuel 10:10 that the Spirit of God rushed upon him. We see as we go further that the Spirit of God was indeed upon Saul and God blessed many things that Saul did.

But wait a minute. Is this not Saul, the evil tempered king, who tried to kill David, the man after God's own heart? Tragically, yes. Then the question arises, why would a man filled with God's Spirit try to kill a man after God's own heart? The answer is all too simple. He wouldn't. Saul did not continue to be filled with God's Spirit. Let's take a look at where this all fell apart.

In the thirteenth chapter of this book, we see where Saul makes a grave error. He was waiting for Samuel, God's prophet, in order to make a sacrifice. He waited awhile; in fact, he waited a whole week for the prophet to show up. But he didn't, so Saul decides to take matters into his own hands. He officiates the sacrifice in place of the prophet. God is not pleased. Samuel tells Saul that and Saul repents and lives happily ever after as a obedient King of Israel.

Sadly, that is not the case. Saul does not repent, he does not obey. He has become proud. No longer humble, no longer feeling the need to obey the call of God. His kingdom is large and prosperous, he is handsome, tall, and King of the country. Life is good. And that is usually when we forget God.

And that is what happened. Saul forgot God. Oh, I'm sure he didn't literally forget the name of God. I'm sure there were still sacrifices made to God; I Samuel 14 shows us this. But God was not Saul's priority any longer. Saul did not care, he was too busy and comfortable. Where did that lead Saul?

Well in chapter 15 we find that Saul had disobeyed God again. When he is found out by the prophet, he asks the prophet to forgive him of his sin. He pleads for forgiveness with Samuel. He is rejected. Saul is told that he has been rejected not only in this regard and on this occasion, but also as King of Israel. Samuel, speaking as God's prophet, does not forgive King Saul for this error. Why?

Well, if we look at the context of the apology we see that Saul only apologizes so he may bow to the Lord before the people with the prophet. We do not have the details here, but it seems as if it is merely a political move, a way to win approval from the people.

God's Spirit left Saul. It fell upon a humble shepherd boy in the wilderness. But that is not all. When the Spirit of God left Saul, he was not left without a spirit. Not at all. Saul might have wished for a lack of spirit after what he received. We are told that a harmful spirit was sent by God to torment Saul. Note that God's Spirit is one thing and a spirit sent by God is quite another. Saul was tortured by this spirit for a long time; in fact, we do not have a record of this spirit ever leaving Saul.

Conclusion

So, what can we draw from this morbid tale? God is not mocked. (Galatians 6:7) Saul was anointed by God, was given the very Spirit of God, yet he was rejected in the end. I will not go into TULIP Theology or such overly debated issues. Instead, let us look at the story we have before us and take only what we have directly from Scripture. Saul was filled with the Spirit but he lost it, due to his disobedience and hardness of heart. So yes, it is possible to be filled with God's Spirit and loose it. But let us not go about and judge other people in our time too quickly. God is the Judge, and He will judge perfectly. After all, it is His Spirit we are talking about isn't it? I'm sure He knows where He is. As for personal application, let us take note that David also sinned, but was forgiven. Why? He was not only sorry he was caught, but truly repented from the heart. Let us do the same.

Forgotten Festival

Christmas is coming. Santa is everywhere. Black Friday sales are up on every site I visit. But what I am interested in most this year is Thanksgiving; or rather the lack thereof. I find the lack of attention Thanksgiving is getting gets greater each holiday season. Black Friday is everywhere, Christmas decorations are up, Eggnog is available. As much as I enjoy the Christmas season, I wonder; have we forgotten to give thanks? The world no longer acknowledges Thanksgiving because our post-Christian world has no One to give thanks to. They have abandoned God in our culture, so they have no reason to be thankful. We do. Let us give thanks and remember to be truly thankful for the gift we received that started the Holiday season (the Holidays being Christmas and Thanksgiving). The gift of Salvation, brought by Christ, who was born those many years ago.

As you walk around and view the blatant greed that replaces Thanksgiving, (both the holiday and the idea of giving thanks) remember that we are to be Christ to the people around us. The holidays are known for the lines and crowds that gather, and those in turn are known for the short tempers and 'look out for number one' attitude they create. Instead of stepping on peoples' toes this year in line, (both literally and figuratively) try to be Christ to them. Smile, be kind, be patient, show a sense of caring.

When we talk to our families, what do we talk about? Gifts? Expenses of the Holidays? Busyness? Have we been thankful? Do we go out of our way to hint at the gifts we are glad we have, or just the ones we want this year?

Conclusion

Short and sweet- here it is. Give thanks. Honor God in our Holidays and in every day. Show how He has blessed us by being giving, not greedy; by being thankful, not thoughtless. Let us be a light in the darkness, not just another bit of darkness that needs light. Giving thanks is a choice, one we must not give up so quickly.

Santa Science

To start this post off, I am going to assume that you don't believe in Santa Clause. (if you do and are reading this blog, feel free to leave a comment) Those of us that do not believe in Santa Clause just assume that everyone else feels the same way because it just makes sense. (and we have Christmas bills to pay). But for the sake of argument, let us say we were trying to determine whether or not Santa Clause exists using scientific reasons for his nonexistence. I found an interesting list of reasons Santa could not exist, here's the link

http://www.daniweb.com/community-center/geeks-lounge/threads/15956/scientists-explain-why-santa-doesnt-exist#

As you can see, being Santa in the modern world is impossible. A myth of man. But wait a second, wouldn't many an atheist say the same thing about God? People have gone to great lengths to prove God doesn't exist, and He is far more impressive than Santa. Should we be worried?

"What's the point?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the point I'm making is this. As funny as the list is that was posted, and as true as it is, scientifically speaking; I don't think anyone was offended by it. We all know Santa doesn't exist, so we wouldn't care if someone else believed it. Do you spend your days complaining about the people who are 'dumb enough' to buy into the Santa schtick? I doubt it. So why are there people who get so upset that we are 'dumb enough' to believe in God? Who spend their lives trying to prove the lack of existence of God? They don't do this with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or the Tooth Fairy. So why do they pick on Christians? If they really believe what they say they believe, (that God is just our imagination, He was the creation of needy people) then why are the kicking the crutches out from under the needy? If God doesn't exist and we need Him to are they not just being cruel? Why does it matter to these people what we believe?

Because, unlike the Tooth Fairy, we are all programmed, deep in our souls, to worship God. They are right, we DO need God. Why? Because we were made that way. Atheists get so upset because in every human there is a need for God. They are trying to deny that need. We don't need the Tooth Fairy. (Santa would be handy though) But God, Eternal and All-Powerful, is the very reason we exist. Try denying something your body needs- water, food, air- soon your body will obsess over nothing but that one item. Our souls work the same basic way. They try to deny God, and the need for Him consumes them and leads them to obsession.

But why do they care what we believe? Isn't it enough for them to be 'above us' that they can just ignore us? Atheists care what we believe because, if (or more correctly since) we are right, there are consequences they will not escape. Their obsession with the lack of God needs to be shared so that we can verify that they are right. They think that if enough people agree with them, that it must be fact. That is very flawed reasoning. If that worked, then Mitt Romney would have won the President Election (at least here in Texas) because that is what people wanted to have happen. They really believed it. But belief in the incorrect does not make it true. Eating a dozen cookies and imagining that they won't have any calories doesn't help, even if all your friends believe it as well.

Conclusion

So what should we take from this? Well, for one, now that we know a bit of what goes on in an atheist's head, we should be able to approach them with love a bit better. If we cannot do so, than it is not worth anything. We should always strive to use our knowledge to better serve God. That applies to this as well as anything else we learn.

Mere Morality

What is the difference between doing what's right and not doing what's wrong? Have you ever asked yourself this question? There are some times in our lives where we have more than one choice. We can openly chose to do wrong, we can chose not to do wrong, or we can chose to do what is right.

But aren't doing what is right and not doing what is wrong the same thing? Well, thats a good question. Let's look at some examples and see what conclusion we come to.

Imagine a dark alley. As you walk through it, you see two men beating up a teenager. Now, if you agree that what they are doing is actively wrong and do not join in with the two men in beating the teenager, you did not choose to do the wrong thing. But if you also chose to  help the teenager get away from this abuse, most likely being beat by these two men in the process, you would actively choose the right thing.

Here's another example. Imagine yourself as a child. You and three other children are picking on another child. Although you really don't mean it in spite, you can see that the other child is not taking this well. If you chose to stop teasing the kid, then you chose to not do what is wrong. You can walk away and no longer be actively doing what is wrong. But if you choose to apologize and ask the other three children to stop as well you have chosen what is right.

What do we call these two things? Well, to not chose wrong is called morality. Moral choices are those that are usually easy to spot when they are made in the wrong way. The other choice is called character. Character is visible when we make an active intentional correct choice. So what is the relationship between character and morality?

We must first make moral choices before we can have character. It sounds obvious, but let's think about this for a minute. So often we want to use a different set of rules for one thing than for another. We try to have morals and character in one field of our lives and then we turn around and make an immoral choice in another part of our lives. We then wonder why it is so hard to have character in the other parts of our life. It is impossible to have consistent character if we still willfully make immoral choices in some part of our lives. The effect is felt in the other parts of our relationship with people, but more importantly, with God.

Here's another example. An art thief manages a bank by day. As an art thief, he has no problem making the immoral choice of stealing from other people. But as a bank manager, he has the opportunity to steal from people in a thousand ways. Do you think he will have character (consistently) in his day job? Whether he steals ten million from a firm, or ten cents off of his employee's check, either way he will make the immoral choice at some point.

Conclusion

In the same way, if we make immoral choices in some aspects of our lives, yet expect to have true Godly character, we deceive ourselves. We need to start with morality, then build up to character. (Romans 5 has more on this subject) This starts with the realization that we are not moral by nature, but fallen. We need to repent of our fallen state, turn around with God's help and grace, and move toward morality and character. May God help us to do so as people, then as a church.

Does God Hate Me?

God is Love. That is one of the first things we teach our children. We have them memorize verses like John 3:16 and I John 4:8b. We simply tell them that God loves all people, everywhere, always. We sing songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children". But are we lying to them? Does God really love all people?

This is a delicate subject within some groups of people. They will point to verses like Romans 9:13

¹³ Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

So what can we take from this verse? Does this mean God hated Esau in all time? What was Esau guilty of in order to be hated by God Himself? Before we assume anything too quickly, let's go to the passage Paul is referencing. He is paraphrasing the book of Obadiah. Edom/Esau was the father of the nation of Edom. The reference here in Obadiah is to Esau's descendants harming the children of Jacob, which would be relatives to Edom. God pronounces judgement on the nation of Edom and on Esau as well for this evil deed. (we find this revisited in Malachi 1)

Jacob and Esau are the symbols used by God for the nations of Israel and Edom (the names of Jacob and Esau). The disobedience of Esau, and later his descendants, was abominable in God's eyes. At their birth it was prophesied that Esau would serve Jacob; but only after Esau sold his entire inheritance for some soup and his descendants were pillaging and destroying the family that God had given them, (the Israelites) do we hear from God that He hated them. So the question remains: Did God hate them (Edom) before or after they disobeyed God? Was it because they were disobedient to the call of submission to Israel that they were cursed? (Genesis 12:3) God does promise to curse those who curse Israel and that is what Edom did when they dishonored their brothers, the Israelites. God's wrath was then poured out upon them with a fierce heat.

But what of the verses before this right there in the book of Romans? Romans 9:11-12 tells us much about God's choice of Israel over his brother. God chose Israel from before his birth and Esau was to serve his brother. Note the change from servitude into condemnation. Paul switches seamlessly between the two without explaining any difference. In fact, it may seem that he sees none. So what do we believe? Or does it even matter?

Conclusion

Well, what do we take from this encounter? Do we say there are people God choses to hate and no matter what they do they cannot come to God? No, what we are saying is that there are those that God will use for His purpose even if that means they will be used in a dishonorable way. (II Tim. 2:20) The very next verse here in Second Timothy tells us what we can do to avoid being such vessels of dishonor. We are to cleanse ourselves from all evil and impurity. We need to take care and be obedient so that we may be vessels of honor in God's house. The important difference we need to note is the active choice to follow God's will or not. (Josh. 24:15) And in John we find this passage.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. -JOHN 1:12-13

So we are indeed first called by God, and when we heed that call and obey the voice of God in our lives we become vessels of honor. If we do not, we cannot be. Remember this simple command of Jesus in Matthew 5:48.

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Calling Concerns

What does God want me to do? That's a question we often ask ourselves. Often we mean in a 'big picture' way, what does He want me to do with my life. Sometimes, though, we mean, "What does He want me to do this week, or today, or this next year?" This question is one we should all ask ourselves often; then bring it to Him to have it answered. God does not call us all to be teachers, or preachers, or missionaries. But God does call us all to do one important thing. -We are to live holy lives before Him.
(I Thes. 4:11, Heb. 12:14, Eph. 1:4, I Peter 1:15, Rom. 12:1, II Peter 3:11)

But what does this mean? How can we do this? Well, for starters we need to remove anything from our lives that takes us away from God's presence and service. Now for different people this can be different things. Some people it may be things like Facebook, video games, certain books, movies, sports, hobbies, or relationships. Often times, these things that we use to remove ourselves from God are not in themselves evil, we just hold them too highly.

After we have removed these things, they also need to be replaced with God-honoring things instead. If we try to remove something without replacing it, we usually end up doing something on the same level as the original problem, maybe even worse. There are many noble, God-honoring pursuits that we can use our time for that we may be skilled at. These things may be direct study of God's Word, taking up a class to teach, or ministering to people around us. Ministering to people does not have to be complex or an official position, it can be deciding to be more available to help out, to share a smile or kind word, or filling some duty that others consider to small to take up their time. Doing these things out of humility for the right reason (to honor and please God) are wonderful ways to fill our time.

But how does this help us fill our calling? Well, thats a good question. Its important to realize that if we are not doing the small things that we can, should, and are called to do, then we will never receive a more specific calling. (Luke 16:10) We should always be wary of desiring more than what we are given; rather we should focus on doing what we are assigned in an excellent manner. (Col. 3:23)

If we are given more, God will require more from us.(Luke 12:48) With this in mind, make sure that what we are already given, whether that that be family, friends, work, or ministry, is being handled in a God-honoring way.

After we have removed those things which hinder us, we need to make sure that we are obeying God's general commands to His people. God will not give us a specific calling if we cannot follow the general calling for all His people.

Sometimes we forget that God is not affected by time. Oh, sure, we know it. But we don't act upon that knowledge. Noah built and labored for 120 years to prepare for a short (but powerful) Flood. Moses prepared for 40 years in Egypt and another 40 in the desert before he was used. Joseph was a servant in a royal house and then a prisoner before he was used to save his people. Jesus was on Earth for 30 years before His public ministry began. God often uses much more time in preparing His people than what the length of the actual ministry is. We need to realize that we may be in our own wilderness or prison experience; or maybe in palace like Moses, learning for the future. We need to trust God and apply ourselves in whatever area He has us in now.

Conclusion

So am I saying we shouldn't desire to have a specific calling? Or that we shouldn't try to have a specific calling? No, what I am saying is that often times we already have a specific calling in our lives we need to improve before we get more responsibilities for the kingdom. May we all work in the calling we already have so that we can improve in the calling that God is also preparing us for.

Teaching Toddlers

Its great fun to watch a toddler walk. They seem to be walking on an invisible deck of a ship as they sway one direction, then the other. They gleefully run as fast as their tottering legs can carry them and end up crashing into some piece of furniture.

In the spiritual world, we also have many toddlers. Often times these are new Christians who also gleefully use their new found faith and enjoy learning and finding out new things. The joy they have as they bounce from one place to another is always fun to watch and join in on.

But sometimes we have spiritual toddlers who are much older. Once they are far enough along that we expect them to be more spiritually discerning, but they are not, we get concerned. So often we assume it is their fault, (and often it may be) but sometimes the fault lies with their teachers. Us.

When you and I see a spiritual toddler who should not be, what do we do? What are we supposed to do? There are those who have been in church for years and don't understand the basic concepts of Christianity any better than the first day the were there. And then there are also those whose lives seem no different now then the day they sought repentance. What is our duty to teach these spiritual toddlers?

Before I get into that, there is an important note we need to make. God, the Holy Spirit, can and does convict people without our help. He convicts of both sin (what to stop doing) and righteousness (what we should do). Only He can change who we are, and who these toddlers are. But in order to understand many concepts we must first learn what they mean. This is where leadership from the Church, (not just the ministerial) becomes important. We are responsible to teach others His ways.

For some toddlers, this means teaching them the meaning of some more complex Theological concepts. Salvation Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification are concepts we should try to have all Christians understand. Take a look at Hebrews 5:12

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Paul laments the fact that some churches in his day were unable to understand these things. We too need to be teachers, ready to teach toddlers so they too can become teachers.

So are we all supposed to have a Theological degree? No, thats not the point. We are to understand what God has done for us so we may stand firm in Him, not in our own knowledge.

But sometimes we come across those who are spiritually weak. We sometimes mistake these for spiritual toddlers, but there are some important differences. Toddlers do not know better for they have not been taught, whereas the weak are those who, though they know many things, seem to stumble easily and often. Sometimes these spiritually weak brothers and sisters need to be reminded of simple concepts over and over. It is easy for those who are strong spiritually to wonder about the weak and even assume it is their own fault, but we cannot know that for sure. Jesus Himself says more is given to some than to others, and more will be required of those than of the weak. Those who are strong need to bear the burdens of those who are weak. This is one of the important duties of the spiritually strong in our midst.

Tragically, instead of carrying part of their burden as we aught, oft times the strong Christians will merely abandon the weak to fend for themselves. This is a great tragedy of our times, and most likely, of Christian-dom in general. We have a habit of assuming weak means unwilling, and we leave them beside the road. We need instead to help them, dress their wounds and carry them along as needed.

So what then? Do we make sure that these weak also have more Theological knowledge? Is that what they need? Should we just send them to Seminary or Bible College? No. In fact, it often seems that these spiritually weak brethren need us to refrain from confusing them. We need to avoid complex Theological concepts when we interact with them. Instead, we need to let them first gather strength in those elementary things BEFORE we bring them up to a higher level. Sadly, we often just feed them complex doctrine and they get so confused their state is only made worse. Paul says we are to abstain from things that bother the weak among us. In First Corinthians 8:11 Paul talks about this very thing:

 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

Conclusion

So how do we tell the difference? Well, sometimes we can't right away. But a few key differences are there. The spiritually weak may be long time Christians, truly sincere, but they struggle with concepts and doctrines. These people we need to give patience and mercy, walking with them as far as they are able, not assuming they want that condition, but also not assuming they will always be in that place. Toddlers are those who do not know because they are either to new to the concept or have not bothered. The truly young toddlers (spiritually speaking) are those who do indeed learn and make progress, they seem to often have the most energetic form of joy.

But those toddlers who seem to not care are those who have just not tried to walk yet. They seem indifferent. These are those that Paul is harsh with. Paul addresses them with strong words, yet when he speaks of the weak brothers spiritually he takes a different tone. May God give us the wisdom to lead and teach properly, whether they be toddlers or weak. May we learn to tell the difference and act accordingly.

Spiritual Silence

In Old Testament times, we see so often that God warned His people before they were punished. They were so often told to repent and turn away or they would have to suffer. Yet, time and time again, they did not heed the prophets.

The last book of the Old Testament is Malachi. After that, Israel suffered 400 years of silence from God. No prophet, no prophecy, no warnings, no comfort. Nothing. God was silent for a period as long as the time of Reformation until now. But then He personally came with the ultimate Good News.

I don't know how you feel, but sometimes I have felt that I have been in a time of spiritual silence in my life. Times where we ask God something and we get no answer. We sometimes beg and plead with Him and He is silent. Why? What's wrong? Have we been abandoned?

While this question and its answer will be different for different people, often this has a common starting point. We usually fall for the errors that the Israelites themselves fell into. There are three types of common errors that I want to look at today.

First, we have the sin of plurality. This is where we worship God, we acknowledge Him and His power, but we also live in the comfort of the society around us. We see this sin of plurality when we have those who claim to be Christians who support gays as morally right, or take evolution as a possibility that God must have forgotten to mention in Genesis, or think that Christ is one of many ways to God. These are grave errors. This is exactly what happened to Israel and Judah. They did not abandon the worship of God. No, they did worse. They added to it. They took things those around them did and added them to what God had commanded. They worshiped in a politically correct way. God cannot tolerate us trying to 'fix' Him. This is one of the most dangerous evils in our day and in theirs.

Second, we often keep other sin and justify it as not a serious problem because it doesn't bother anyone or because other Christians do it too. The Holy Spirit may convict us of something that we should do, or something we should give up. Then, far too often, we find ourselves making excuses for why we are right and God doesn't know what He is talking about. We know deep down that we are wrong, disobedient, but we think if we stay busy, we won't notice. God will not show us a 10 Step Plan if we cannot obey the simple commands and convictions we already have. Often we hear no more from God because what we have already heard we are not obeying.

Third, we often pray in a wrong manner. We go before God and tell Him exactly what we need done, and how He needs to do it. We ignore praying about other things because we are afraid that He will tell us something we don't want to hear. Instead, we need to come before God in a humble fashion and ask Him for His Will. We need to be obedient not only to what He tells us specifically, but also what we already know to do but somehow hope He won't notice that we aren't doing it.

Conclusion

So what do we do? Well, we obey. You know already what the Spirit wants you to do. He will convict you of sin and of righteousness. As God in you, the Holy Spirit will show you what needs to be done. We need to pray to God for forgiveness and understanding if we have fallen into one of these traps or pitfalls. We need to ask Him to fill us and to lead us. Then we need to be faithful stewards and obedient servants.

Breaking the Brotherhood

In our modern world we have so many churches and denominations we can find someone to agree with almost any foolish theory or even downright blasphemy. Some of the ideas out there are just shallow, foolish, or odd; others are truly dangerous. So where do we draw the line?

Well some would say it is at least baptism, that is the breaking point. But then it turns into a debate about what type of baptism is valid. Immersion, infusion, or aspersion? What to do?

Others will say it has to do with more than just the mode of baptism. It is our view on the Trinity and our belief system based on the form of Atonement we believe in.

Still others will go so far as to debate the style of clothing we wear, or the vehicle we drive. In the days of the Church long ago they split the Church over things like whether or not coffee was evil, whether to celebrate Christmas or Epiphany, or what type of hymnbook to use.

Some of the debates of the Church long ago seem foolish to us now. But what about our debates in the modern world? Are they equally foolish? In the perspective of an Eternal God, is our 'church-splitting issue' really that important?

This leads me to the question of today. When is it important to work in unity even if we disagree, and when is it time to remove a brother from our presence, or even excommunicate a brother? Church discipline in our era is incredibly lax. I am sometimes appalled at the issues that churches have considered heretical in the past, and at the extreme measures used to eliminate these things. But in our world we seem to not care what the implication of a doctrine is so long as we don't offend people. Where do we draw the fine line between unity in the body and a member who no longer can be part of the body?

I believe that the first issue we should address in these situations is the attitude of the person in question. Paul tells both Timothy and Titus (his spiritual children or heirs) that those with a quarrelsome attitude should not be tolerated in church. (Titus 3:9-11, I Timothy 6:3-5 & II Timothy 2:16) Paul goes on to give more details about people who will not heed sound teaching (II Timothy chapters 3 & 4) He goes on to tell us that people will willfully ignore the truth they know.

But where is that line in our modern world? Maybe a better question to ask ourselves is this. Are we the ones Paul is talking about in these verses? Could we have become those who are puffed up and proud and understand nothing? Let us turn to God in humility and let Him teach us His way first and then we may carry out His will.

After we have indeed checked ourselves and corrected what needs to be corrected, we are still accountable for our own church and fellowship with believers. It may not be up to us to handle the discipline of the church but we are indeed responsible for our own actions.

A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. -Prov. 18:24

Here we see that having too many friends can cause problems. This I do believe is directly related to our unity in the Brotherhood. Being part of the Church of Christ is more than having a membership at a church building. We should be careful of the company we keep.

So do I mean that we should not associate with non-believers? No, not at all. I think that is the most foolish aspect of the groups of believers that separate themselves so far from this world. They have no one to actually interact and witness to. We cannot remove ourselves from the responsibility of the Great Commission.

Conclusion

So what am I saying then? Well, mainly this: we are to be very careful of the close Christian company we keep. We all have both acquaintances and friends, and to know who is a close friend and to keep watch on our friendships is important. This is most important in the Brotherhood. We need to be an encouragement to our fellow brothers, not a distraction. And we need to make sure that those who claim to be followers of the Way that we name our friends are also walking in unity with God, not just with us. If we find that a brother is not walking as he should, we need to help him if possible. If he refuses help we need to make sure that we do what we can to walk in whatever path God has given us. Sometimes this will even mean that God will ask us to no longer fellowship with that person. But make sure to spend time with God in prayer before making such an important decision.

Simple Shortcuts

I enjoy my job. I like working with students, watching them learn and grow, & building solid relationships that carry throughout life. One of the things that humors me is how students assume they will know more than their teacher. I've been teaching the same English, Math, and Social Studies classes for years by now, and every set of students will challenge the correct answer at some time. Some students will challenge the answers all the time, thinking that they in their dozen of years of life have found some secret answer that will unlock the mysteries of Math and make the standard formula of hard work obsolete. But year in and year out, these "awesome shortcuts" are found to lead to wrong answers. "One day," I always say to myself, "One day, they will see that they don't have any secret answers, and that truth doesn't change because you want it to." Yet every class, year after year, tries the same thing.

But aren't we all like that? We look for shortcuts in life, in our relationship with God, and with people. We try to find a 'new' way to understand God, one that people have never seen before. We love the idea that we know something others don't. If you doubt that; go online and you can see hundreds of ads that talk about 'secret' methods or 'super fruit' or one 'simple trick'. In the end they are only there to convince you that you too can have secret knowledge.

When we look at God, we need to realize that He does not change, He is consistent in all He is and does. We try to find 'secret' ways of understanding Him. The Da Vince Code is an example of this attempt at finding secret knowledge, as are any parts of the early churches' Gnostic movement. In the end what we want is the same thing that Adam and Eve wanted- to have what we cannot have- ultimate knowledge.

So what's the point of all this? Well, good question. We as humans try so hard to look for 'better' routes, an 'ultimate' way of doing things, or 'super' foods we forget that we do indeed have the ultimate answer. We are to follow Christ. We get so caught up in our own understanding and concepts we forget that Christ wasn't just a sacrifice; He was our perfect example of life itself. If we really want to have 'one simple trick' then I propose it be this: Follow Christ.

Conclusion

We humans love seeking information. We have thousands of ways of doing it. We will ask all sorts of theologians, teachers, preachers, doctors, or talk show hosts how to do things. And as helpful as some of them can be, we need to remember to go to the source of all knowledge, God Himself. But just as those students do, we think we can outsmart God. My students get me sometimes, but we will never outsmart God.

Needed Knowledge

If there is one thing in the modern world that we value highly, it would be knowledge. Knowledge is what has brought our era to a place that has never been attained by mankind before. We obsess over so many forms of it in our world it is astounding. Never has man had more knowledge available at a moment's notice than now. It has given us more technical progress in 200 years than the preceding 5,000. More knowledge advancements happen in a single decade now than did in some millenniums previous. We have created much good for man, but also a greater ability to commit evil.

So how important is knowledge to us? Well, maybe I should ask instead; how much does it mean to you? Is knowledge a great factor in your life? Do you care what you know? Not just in the sciences or technology, but sports, vehicles, and popular culture. We judge people by their knowledge in whatever fields interest us.

Now some knowledge can be fairly fun, but useless. For example, I can name dozens of characters from comic books, give you a detailed description of their lives and histories, yet they never lived. Other people can do this with sports. I have friends who can name every single player on the roster of their favorite team, and also give me a detailed rundown of that teams history over the decades, often more than they would know about the nation's history. As entertaining as these may be, are they of any use?

Let's leave that thought for a moment and turn it toward something else. What about our Biblical and Theological knowledge? How much do we value it? Is it important to us? Do we care if we know the difference between Sanctification and Justification? Or Remonstrants and Reformers? How about between Preterists and Pre-Millenialists? Maybe you are a literalist and dispensationalist? Do you know? Do you care?

Knowledge is important. If I didn't believe that I would make a poor educator. However, knowledge does not deserve our worship. We can know much or little about God. The important part is what we do with our knowledge. Knowledge of the fact does not save our souls.

But knowledge is important once we wish to be leaders spiritually. I believe that every husband aught to be the spiritual leader of his home. As leaders, we need to understand as much as we can so we may lead in the right direction. Theological study is an important part of that quest. We need to know what we believe so we may lead properly.

Take a look at these two pictures and tell me which is a picture of the ocean.

There is no question that the first picture is the prettier of the two. It is the one we like to look at, we enjoy the beauty of the ocean. But the second one is important in its own right. A painter would study the first image; a captain, the second. Both would do so for good reason. Which of them would you say knows the ocean better?

The painter would be well acquainted with the ocean's beauty and peace. The captain would be familiar with the direction of the underlying tides and importance of being right in even the smallest areas of knowledge. Both know the ocean well, but only one is qualified to lead us into it. The painter enjoys the ocean as well as the captain, but the captain is the one we would chose to lead us from Alaska to Australia.

In a similar way, we can be painters or captains. We can enjoy the beauty and peace of God, and fellowship with Him. It is a wonderful experience. But as leaders, we must do as a captain does. We must buckle down and study the parts that may not be as instantly rewarding. We must see that a small change off the coast in Alaska will mean we miss Australia entirely if we do not correct it. We see that even though the painter does indeed know the ocean, the captain must know the implications of mistakes and how to correct them.

So is it important for us all to be captains? I think not. We need the painters in this world. But if you intend to lead people, make sure you study your maps. We cannot lead based on the pretty pictures we paint, but by studying the accurate knowledge of what is, not what could be.

Conclusion

So am I saying that we can only serve God if we have a Theological Degree? No, God does not need our knowledge. He has it all. When we increase in knowledge it is only that we are coming closer to God's truth, not that God was now somehow enlightened. That being said, we need to watch that we follow that knowledge. God is indeed all-knowing; we are not. We can be of more use to Him as ignorant, but obedient servants than as arrogant, self-worshiping rogues. We need knowledge only as far as it is a help to us, it should never replace God Himself.

Live Long and Prosper

18,265

 Thats about how many days there are between the ages of 20 and 80. In other words, if you are  in your twenties and intend on living into your eighties thats roughly how many days you have left. Sure isn't as many as I had planned.

So what will you do with your 20 grand? Every four years you take a solid grand away from that number. And remember, this count assumes you will live to a nice old age. The odds are some of us will not live to see our 80's.

Psalm 90:12 reads,

"So teach us to number our days,
 That we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Here we see that it is indeed important to take stock of our days and see what we can do with them.


Psalm 103: 15-16 also says,
"As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶ When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer."


 As important and busy as our current lives seem, we need to realize that what we deem important today may be unimportant by next year, next week, or even tomorrow. We need to readjust our perspective and look at things from a point of view that is aligned with God's. We need a perspective that is focused on the eternal, not the temporal. C.S. Lewis said it well when he said, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

So what is your main goal in life? Graduation? Marriage? Starting a family? Owning a home? Having a 6 figure job? Winning the lottery? A Porche?

While all these things are not inherently evil, making them the main goal of our lives is. If we become too concerned with this world we cannot focus on what really matters in life. If we focus only on our own pleasure we will fail to attain even that.

We've all heard that money doesn't buy happiness. I've heard more then one person say that they would like to test this theory. But why doesn't money buy happiness? Doesn't it feel good to buy stuff?

Yes, it feels great to buy new stuff. And when that fades we buy more right? So money does buy happiness then. Actually, we feel happy because we have something we feel we deserve, or even better, more than we deserve. We love beating the system, winning the lottery, cashing in on a good sale, or getting the better of an insurance company. We like getting stuff because we like being more important than others. But this doesn't last, if you already have a car, you want a newer one. If you have a new one, you soon want the nicer, pricer car. Eventually we run out of things and we still have this need and desire to have more, better, richer. We cannot win the endless circle of stuff. In the end we will have spent all our time on chasing something that wasn't possible to keep. What do we need then?

Well, what do we desire? We desire attention, affection, being given more than we deserve. In short, we want to be special. Can that happen? Lets look.


Psalm 139 addresses our uniqueness before God wonderfully. We were created unique, in God's very image, He breathed life into us, He loves us. This is what can fill our desire for being special. We are unique beings before God. We can come before Him and thank Him for this. We can praise His name for the gifts He has given us.

Ironically, to realize our uniqueness we need to first realize Who God is. Only when we do this can we appreciate the fact that He loves us, created us, and desires us to be His sons and daughters. We need to remember this as we number our days so we use the 18,000-20,000 days we have wisely. Let us turn toward the Author of Life so we may make the short lives we have truly count.

Conclusion

So, let us turn our hearts toward God. Without Him, no matter how many cars, houses, or Swiss bank accounts you hold, you will always be going for more. I don't know about you, but 20,000 days of chasing my own tail seems awfully tiring to me. Let us turn our hearts to him and present hearts of wisdom.

"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" -Luke 17:10

Tickled Theology

Ear Tickling. It always makes me think of a feather in my ear. Which makes my ear itch. But as interesting as this mental picture may be, ear tickling is a serious subject in the modern world. (and always will be) What does this term mean?

Well, lets take a look at what Scripture says on this subject. In Second Timothy 4:3 we find this verse. 

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

One of the first thing that comes to mind when we hear this is the Health and Wealth craze we currently endure. The preachers who tell people God will bless them if only they would smarten up and send in a donation. God will just send you a check for double that amount. Its dangerous teaching that people just like to hear. Then we also have the type who are motivational speakers or comedians who are "preachers". Also dangerous. But is that all?

I don't think so. I think that there is more to this verse than we see at first glance. When Paul wrote this he was waiting execution. (most likely) Paul gives Timothy some sound final advice about preaching. I believe that in this book we have some information that is a tad deeper than some people assume.

I started looking into more ways of "ear tickling" that go on in our modern world. I found another blog (credit where credit is due, the other blog is at  http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/2012/02/14/another-kind-of-ear-tickling/) and it also dealt with this issue. I thought the list of ear tickling warnings was quite interesting. Here it is...

1. When they give the impression their people could never understand the Bible without their help.
2. When they want to dazzle the congregation with their erudite knowledge of the original biblical languages (which they clandestinely learned from a computer program in their office) even though it really has no bearing on that particular passage for the day.
3. When they refuse to use lower shelf terms in order that the message might be more accessible for the hearer instead opting to employ obtuse, technical theo-jargon because not doing so might make them sound too normal.
4. When they’ve obviously exhausted their congregation with 20 weeks of word-by-word (not verse-by-verse) teaching on three chapters in the book of Romans and, even though they’ve run the sermons series into the ground, still continue with the homiletical drudgery because they believe they’ve got the preaching chops to make it happen.
5. When they use their sermons to moralize the Bible in order to moralize their people because it’s easier to work the Law over your congregation than show them their need for the Gospel.
6. When they go over that extra 20 minutes week after week because somehow, it would be a great injustice for all they’ve learned in their study to be constrained in the 45 minutes already allotted in that hour and fifteen minute service.
7. When they walk people through the Scriptures each Sunday showing the Bible to be the best “How To” book of success on the planet but miss the truth that it’s the Story of Redemption telling us the Good News we have failed but One has come and succeeded for us.

I agree with this concept. Jesus condemned the Pharisee, not the Publican in Luke 18:9-14. What I see is many preachers who preach sermons that are taken out of context, or extrapolated to a degree that is unsustainable by any proper form of reason, or that make big, grand statements on complex subjects with far too much authority in their voices.

This last group concerns me most. In the modern world we have few leaders. So those who take a stand are noticed. This is good, to a point. But what I am seeing is too many preachers and teachers who are taking things and making a stand on a subject where they are relying only on their own interpretation of Scripture. That is what caused the Roman Catholic Church to crumble in the Renaissance, and it is happening again before our very eyes. The ironic tragedy is that those who claim to have corrected the R.C. errors are now often falling into the same pit of self-verifying Theology. Things are not true because a great preacher says them. Things are true that are in line with God's point of view. If the preacher has God's view (as far as he can) then praise God. But many preachers want to define truth completely. They cannot.

Why can't we define truth completely? Why can we not say exactly who is a Christian and who is not? Because it is God's to judge. Oh, don't get me wrong, we know it is by Faith Alone. But who has faith? How much is needed? In what? We cannot answer these questions about people completely. Why? Because to understand this completely would mean we understood God completely. We cannot do that. To understand God completely would make us God's equals.  Yes, we can understand as much of God as He shows us, but we cannot assume that only what we have seen is part of God.

This is the error that hurts me the most in the modern world. Passing finite judgement on what is a true and false conversion. Yes, I believe false conversion can exist (to an extent). But it is not ours to judge those things. (Romans 14:10) I'm very alarmed by preachers who believe that they  can judge in five minutes who is saved and who is not. If this prayer is valid but that one is not, where do we end? What "salvation prayer" is listed in the Bible? There isn't any one prayer like that listed. I believe that that is an intentional situation that the Author gave us to deal with. Remember, man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7b) The prayer cannot save, the Faith does. Let us let God judge faith. He'll do His job, let us worry about ours. I Cor. 4:1-5

Predicting Prophecy

My cousin texted me yesterday. She was wondering where in the Bible the Nike sign was mentioned. After telling her that anyone who claimed Nike was in the Bible was pulling her leg, I became intrigued. I asked who had told her that. She replied saying that it had been discussed in a school close by. Someone there was convinced that the mark of the beast in Revelation was associated with the Nike Swoosh.

Well as much as that humored me at first, the more I think about it, the more serious this issue becomes. People often point at new tech or company logos as the mark of the beast. I've heard that it was the bar code, now people claim it will be bio-chip implants. Nope, turns out its the Monster Energy logo, or was it Nike?

As you can see, people like to guess what the mark is going to be. We have several references to the mark in the book of Revelation that people look at for their guesses. Many are listed here.

Rev 13:16 "a mark"
Rev 13:17 " the mark"
Rev 14:9 "his mark"
Rev 14:11 "mark of his name"
Rev 15:2 "his mark"
Rev 16:2 "the mark of the beast"
Rev 19:20 "the mark of the beast"
Rev 20:4 "his mark"

 Most guesses are ridiculous, but some are almost believable. These verses are at the same time both very clear, but also leave a lot of room for interpretation. Predicting prophecy is always dangerous. That being said, I can tell you exactly what the mark of the beast will be. It will be an outward mark of their inward decision. The way some people talk you would think that it is some secret mark you could accidentally get. But I believe it will be a real world way to see a spiritual decision. It won't be one of those things you buy without making quite a few decisions beforehand.

Don't be fooled. The Devil has many ways of confusing people. One is by using a complex prophecy (like Revelation) and getting so many ideas out there that we don't focus on what we do know. We know that we are Christ's body, and as such we should trust Him. So do not worry about the mark, worry about being an obedient, faithful follower of Christ. Christ cannot deny His own. (II Tim. 2:13)

Instead of worrying about a mark you don't want, focus on the marks in your life you do want. We are to be visible Christians. In the book of Acts we see that the people took note that the disciples had been with Jesus. That is the mark we are to strive for. (Acts ch. 2) If we focus on the right answer, we don't have to worry about all the wrong ones we don't want. If x + 4 = 6 we know that x=2. In that problem x cannot be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. In the same way, if we know we are following Christ, we know we will not take on the mark of the beast. Instead of worrying about all the wrong answers, worry about the right answers that you do know.

The mark frightens many people. Part of that is because it is such a clear image. But the choices you and I make are just as important today as the ones those people will be making in the future. Billions of people have died without that mark and will still be judged by God regardless of that physical sign.

But what about the rest of the book of Revelation? Is it going to happen by 2018? (as a well meaning preacher told me this year) Has it already happened? (like the preterits would claim) Will we be raptured? Will we be left behind?

To answer the last two questions. God says He will not pour out His wrath on us as Christians but on the unbelievers (Romans 1:18) We also know that Christ is the head of the Church. I do not believe that Christ would pour out the Wrath of God on His own Body. Will we suffer? Maybe. Will we suffer God's Wrath? I cannot see how. As Christians we are indeed exempt from God's wrath.

Conclussion

What am I driving at? Well, I think we worry far too much about what we don't know and don't want, and not enough about what we do know and do want. We know Christ is victorious, that we are to be His Followers. Prophecy is important, but let us not worry about what is God's business, let us worry about what He has made ours. If we are obedient in what we do know we will be quite busy enough.

Living Love

God loves you. That is the theme of so many songs, sermons, and motivational speeches in the modern world that we start to zone it out. We hear John 3:16 so often we almost forget it's meaning. But God does indeed love us. This point is very important for our understanding of God and Who He is.

But sometimes we feel like God has to love us. Or we feel like even though God loves us, He probably dislikes us. But the truth of the matter is that God not only loves you, He likes you. He made you, and He like the things He makes.

That concept of God not just loving us but liking us, is something we tend to forget. We hear so many Judgement and Wrath sermons at times we forget that God is only punishing us to improve us. He only punishes us because He cares what happens to us. (Heb. 12:6) If God didn't care then we would need no correction.

With that in mind, lets take a look at why God's wrath and judgement are also important. Before we get into it too far, let us ask this question: What is God's Wrath and why is it poured out?

God's wrath is mention often in the Bible. In the New Testament we see it in John 3:36, Romans 1:18, 2:5, 3:5; Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6 and other places. We hear about vessels of wrath that are prepared for destruction, (Romans 9:22) the falling of Wrath upon the sons of disobedience, (Eph. 5:6) and the wrath of God remaining on people (John 3:36). What is His wrath turned upon?


Well, some would say His wrath is upon the person who sins and others would say upon the sin itself. Which is right? If we state that God is wrathful against our nature we must say that those who were born and died before they could realize this and repent (children/infants) would be condemned by their own nature. Either that or God makes exceptions for them and ignores their natures. Both are dangerous in their implications. God does not ignore sin at times and not others. To say he does is to defy His very nature.

So is it then that His wrath is only against sin? If this is the case we run into some other interesting situations. If it is only against sin, then Jesus death should have covered all sins, therefore there should be no more wrath of God. But there continues to be wrath, and will be in the future. (Rev. ch. 16 and 19) And also if Jesus death covered all sin and it is only sin that receives God's wrath, then all sin is covered and no one would be punished. But we see that that is also not the case.

So it is not our nature or sin that is the only recipient of God's wrath. What then? Let's think about this one. God punishes not just sin, but the choice to sin. (Joshua 24:15) So what does that mean? Well this means that God can and does forgive a sinner (like you and me) and that His wrath is poured on those who choose not to follow and obey Him (Eph. 5:6). Therefore, we need to realize that God does not pour out His wrath against those who are unaware, but those who are aware, and have made their choice.

Conclusion

So does this mean once we are forgiven we no longer suffer under our previous sinful choices? No, it does not. What we sow we will reap, even if we are forgiven for the act of sowing. Forgiving a man for breaking your arm will not heal the arm itself. A repentant murder's victims do not rise from the dead. This applies also to our spiritual and emotional sides as well. When we are forgiven by God, we will still live with the consequences of sin. Samson repented, yet his sight was not restored. However his strength was. Whats the difference? His strength was a testament of God's glory, and therefore it was useful to glorify God one last time. We need to have faith that God will glorify His name and take care of us even in the hard times we go through because of our sin.