Peace Has Come!

I received my church newspaper the other day. The newspaper includes a portion by conference. This week's conference section had a layout designed from the United Methodist Reporter. One page of this layout had scripture from Romans 15:13, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peaceas you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, reminding us of the peace that is granted to us by God from trusting in God. However, the other page had the lyrics from John Lennon's song Imagine. The lyrics at face value seemed appropriate, "Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one."




However, when one knows that these words come from the song Imagine, they take on an entirely new meaning.

When looking at the lyrics to the song Imagine, it is hard to believe that this song would be chosen to be used in a United Methodist publication. The verses which describe the people "living life in peace" read:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...


I can not believe that the United Methodist church would support such statements.

John Lennon has described this song as "anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-conventional, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted." He called the song "virtually the Communist Manifesto." Why would the Northwest Texas Conference wish to spread these messages at the Christmas season, the time when we celebrate the coming of our Savior? The United Methodist Church believes that our peace comes not from giving up material goods, dissolving nations, or removing religion, but as Paul wrote in Romans 15:13, from our belief in God and allowing the Holy Spirit to overfill us with God's joy and peace. We spread God's peace through out the world by sharing God's love, not erasing God and religion. The oneness described by Lennon does not seem to be the oneness we have in the Body of Christ.

John Lennon said that he learned from writing Imagine, "Now I understand what you have to do: Put your political message across with a little honey." Apparently a little honey was all the United Methodist church needed to accept such political rhetoric.

Christmas Gift

This Christmas, I received presents like usual. However, one in particular stood out. It was a card from a friend of mine. Inside the card, she included a poem she had written for Christmas. It was the first time I have ever received poetry as a gift and really liked the poem. To top it off, when she wrote my name on the card, she wrote it the same way I wrote my name when I was a kid, capitalizing the first two letters of my fist name. The gift of the card and poem were the best gift I received. I would like to share the poem with you.

Special Glimpse

I made
A special request
For the night of
Christmas Eve.

So set the milk out
And the cookies
And don't
Be so naive!

Santa's coming
With his reindeer,
Eight in total
One can see,

To give
This poem
To my special
Friends and family!

If you're quick
And you tiptoe
You might just
Catch a glimpse

At the long white beart
And rosy face,
That never looks
Too tense!

Don't wait too long
You'll miss him
For he's fast
And he must leave,

But I gave
You this hint
For tonight is
Christmas Eve!


Now the poem does raise a question. How am I suppose to know to go look at Santa if I don't receive the poem until he delivers it?

I Wonder as I Wander

I first heard this song when I played it in my middle school band. I had no idea that it was a Christmas carol, I just thought it was a really cool song. In fact, I didn't know it was a Christmas carol until Christmas this year. I was listening to the radio when this song came on. I finally heard the song. What a great song, both lyrics and tune it is!

Written in 1933 by John Jacob Niles, it is based on part of an Appalachian song he heard. The lyrics are as follows:

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky
How Jesus the savior, did come for die
For poor ornry people like you and like i
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus, twas in a cow stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
And high from gods heaven a starlight did fall
And the promise of ages, it then did recall

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of gods angels in heaven to sing
He surely could've had it, cause he was the king

I like the melody of the tune. It has a haunted feel to it, as if this phenomenon being discussed it really weird. And weird it is! That God, would come to be born, in a barn, and die so that I, a person full of mistakes, could be with him. What a weird thing indeed!

Christmas Day Service

Why do so few churches offer services on Christmas Day?

Why I Don't Say Merry Christmas at the Retail Store

As we have seen in other posts, many people are quite upset about retail stores not saying Merry Christmas or using Christmas in there advertisements. I am not one of those. I usually do not say Merry Christmas at the retail store. Here's why.

First, the goal of the retail store is to make money. This is not bad, I have no problem with them wanting to make money. This however is not the reason for Christmas. The reason for Christmas is to remember to coming of our Savior. I am not reminded of it when I am given a new shirt wrapped in pretty paper.

Second, I love Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. I hear it in just about every store. However, it does not remind me of the coming of Jesus. It reminds me of what an awesome piece of music it is, or perhaps how someday I too would like to go for a sleigh ride. I do not like the song Santa Baby. I find it weird. It also doesn't remind me of the coming of Christ. Songs like Joy to the World, or Hark! the Herald Angels Sing do remind me of Christmas. But I rarely hear those songs.

Third, I am not really that big on the presents. Maybe I am just a scrooge about it. I enjoy giving presents, but not so much the receiving. I do it because I care for the people, but find that giving to charities or the needy to be a much better endeavor.

Many people say Merry Christmas at the retail stores. That's great! I will say "thank you" when you give me my receipt instead. I am not trying to keep Christ out of Christmas, just the opposite, I am trying to keep him in it.

A New Adventure Beings!

I have been accepted into the US Navy. I begin training in a few weeks. I am very excited!

A poem!

A walking contradiction.
A dreamer without reality.
A doer with nothing to do.
An Indian with out a tribe.
A 19th Century cowboy without a horse or cow.
A drifter who is tied down to nothing.
A romantic in philosophy,
lacking in life.
Stand up! Go out and live!
Bring your dreams to life!
The past is history,
so make it become the present.
Release yourself from nothing,
to be who you want to be.
To no longer be
a walking contradition.

He was knocking on the door, but I answered the phone

Samuel was born to Hannah. Hannah had tried to conceive before, but was barren. She prayed fervently before the Lord and she was granted her petition and she had a son. Because the Lord granted her request, she offered Samuel to the service of the Lord. She took him to the temple to be raised and serve the Lord.

One night, Samuel was lying down in the temple near the ark of God. The ark represented God's dwelling place on earth. While Samuel is laying there, he hears "Samuel!" Thinking it was Eli, the priest, he gets up and walks to Eli and says "here I am." Eli sends him away, saying he didn't call him. A little bit later, Samuel hears "Samuel!" and once again goes to Eli. Eli sends him away, saying that he didn't call him. A third time, Samuel hears "Samuel!" and gets up again and goes to Eli. Realizing that it is God who is calling Samuel, Eli sends him away and tells him that next time he hears the voice, to say "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears." God calls out to Samuel again and Samuel responds appropriately. God then speaks to Samuel, giving him a message of what is to come.

Samuel heard from God because he listened to God. Have we taken the time to listen to God? When we want to listen to someone, do we remain distracted and ignore them or do we turn off distractions and focus solely on that person and their message? Why should we do differently when God talks? Have we taken the time to listen to God?

Maybe it DOES matter!

I sometimes refer to myself as non-materialistic. That is a poor description.

A few weeks ago, my truck was hit by another driver. Since then, it has been in the shop being repaired. The insurance company has placed me in a rental car until the truck is fixed. The rental car is a PT Cruiser. I do not like the car.

Now not liking the car doesn’t make me materialistic. There could be lots of reasons to not like a car. Perhaps it handles poorly, gets bad gas mileage, doesn’t perform the way the driver needs it to or get to places you need to go. Several of these reasons exist for me. One of the reasons I got my truck was for its four-wheel drive capabilities. Because I do not have the truck right now, I am unable to use go to some places I want to go. For example, this week I had planned on going to Big Bend and hiking Mariscal Canyon. In order to get there, it requires driving a couple of hours down the 4x4 river road. The PT Cruiser wouldn’t make it. I do not particularly like the way the PT Cruiser handles. Of particular complaint is I do not like how it handles tight curves. This though could be because I am not use to it and not a flaw in the design. But what does make me material is the biggest reason I do not like the car, its looks.

I think the PT Cruiser is just ugly.

On the Road with a Friend

This past weekend, I went on a trip with a friend of mine. The trip was a day trip, or perhaps I should say night trip. We left about noon and got back at 2AM.

The trip was a lot of fun. We first went to the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis. There we toured the facilities and saw the telescopes. That evening, we participated in their Star Party. We learned how to use star charts, the constellations, the stories told about the constellations, and got to use telescopes to see objects in the sky such as planets, craters on the moon, and nebulas.

After we finished at the observatory, we went to Marfa and saw the Marfa Lights. We spent about an hour there and watched the lights as they came and went, changed colors, and moved.

The best part of the trip though was being with my friend.

Persecuted for Christ

I have recently been reading a book called Hearts of Fire: Eight Women in the Underground Church and Their Stories of Costly Faith.

The book, as evident by the title, is about Christians who are persecuted for their faith. It ranges from villagers who are attacked and killed for being Christians, to Christians who are missionaries in their own lands, to international missionaries.

I recently heard someone say that one of the best things that could happen to Christianity in the US would be for us to be persecuted for our faith. While reading this book, while it isn't a desire of mine, I understand his point. Though we are not persecuted in the US by our government, we can be encouraged by the faith of those who are and seek to encourage them.

Though I am not finished with the book yet, I have half a chapter to go, I feel a response is necessary on my part. So as part of that response, I want to share with you what is going on in the persecuted Church and how we can respond. Remember that we are one in the Body of Christ and when one member suffers, we all suffer. As individuals we are not persecuted, but as the Body of Christ, we are.

What is happening to the persecuted church?

Most experts suggest there are about 200 million Christians worldwide who suffer persecution for their faith, with another 200 million to 400 million who face discrimination in some form simply for being a Christian.

Columbia: One pastor missing, three others reported killed in past month.

Christians in Colombia are anxious to learn the fate of pastor William Reyes, missing since Sept. 25, even as three other pastors have gone missing in the past month. Reyes, a minister of the Light and Truth Inter-American Church and member of the Fraternity of Evangelical Pastors of Maicao (FRAMEN, Fraternidad de Ministros Evangélicos de Maicao), left a meeting in Valledupar, Cesar, at 10 a.m. that morning heading home to Maicao, La Guajira. He never arrived. Family members and fellow ministers fear that Reyes may have been murdered by illegal armed groups operating in northern Colombia. Since March of this year, FRAMEN has received repeated threats from both the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and right-wing paramilitary units. In the past month three other Christian pastors were reportedly killed in separate incidents across the country.

SOMALIA: CHRISTIAN AID WORKER BEHEADED FOR CONVERTING FROM ISLAM

Among at least 24 aid workers killed in Somalia this year was one who was beheaded last month specifically for converting from Islam to Christianity, among other charges, according to an eyewitness. Muslim extremists from the al Shabab group fighting the transitional government on Sept. 23 sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, 25, a humanitarian aid worker, before horrified onlookers of Manyafulka village. [Mohammed] converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005. One recited the Quran as he proclaimed that Mohammed was a “murtid,” an Arabic term for one who converts from Islam to Christianity. Mohammed remained calm with an expressionless face, never uttering a word, said the eyewitness.

KENYA: ISLAMISTS ATTACK CHURCH IN NORTHERN TOWN

A longstanding effort to replace a church with a mosque in Kenya’s northern town of Garissa culminated in an attack by 50 Muslim youths this month that left the worship building in ruins. The gang stormed the building of Redeemed Gospel Church on Sept. 14 and pelted the congregation with stones, sending many Christians fleeing while others became embroiled in fistfights. Ten Christians received hospital treatment for minor injuries and were released. Church leaders said the Muslim mob also destroyed pews, damaged the church building’s walls of corrugated iron, smashed the glass-mounted pulpit and burned the church banner with its stand. Government security intelligence had reported that Muslims planned to destroy the church if it continued to operate within the residential area. A missionary said that Muslims have distributed leaflets threatening to destroy all churches in Garissa.

Christian Persecution Intensifies Across China

CAA has received reports of intensified religious persecution in Beijing, Heilongjiang, Yunnan and Shangdong provinces. In Beijing, Pastor "Bike" Zhang Mingxuan and his family members have been evicted from their home, beaten and arrested. In Heliongjiang province, one city called Yichun recently banned all house churches, CAA reported. In Yunnan province, some house church members were attacked right after the Olympics. In Shandong province, Pastor Zhang Zhongxin was sentenced to two years of re-education through labor, and after the Olympics his appeal was denied, according to CAA.

Meanwhile, CAA has learned that 29 house church leaders have been serving time in labor camps and prisons in Henan province since July 2007. They are accused of being "evil cult" members.

What can we do?

Letter Writing

Hundreds of men and women are in prison serving sentences that range from a few months to life. They are not criminals who have robbed or murdered other citizens but Christians who were put on trial for their faith in Christ and found guilty. They could have avoided prison by simply denying allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, they are literally “doing time for God.”

You can be an encouragement to many of these prisoners by writing letters to them and to government officials on their behalf. The VOM Prisoner List, called “Doing Time for God,” will give you instructions and addresses for a ministry to Christian prisoners in restricted countries. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time praying, writing and entering into the fellowship of sufferings with these Christian prisoners. You will be “doing time for God” by sharing His burden for those who suffer for His sake.

“I was in prison, and you came to me”
---Jesus (Matthew 25:36)

http://www.prisoneralert.com

Prayer

(2 Th 3:1-2) "Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith."
(Luke 6:28) "bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

Learn More

Learn about groups such as Voice of the Martyrs, a non-profit, interdenominational organization with a vision for aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted.

http://www.persecution.com

Listening to John Mayer, Again

In 2006, John Mayer came out with the album Continuum. The first single off the album released was Waiting on the World to Change. When I first heard this song, I liked it. The music was good and the words seemed catchy. You can read all of the lyrics of the song here. You can hear the song here. But after a few times of listening to it, I realized that the song's message was about doing nothing when faced with adversity.

The opening verse says

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So he describes his generation, of which I am apart of, as seeing all that is going wrong in the world. This is certainly true, there is much wrong in the world. Wars, poverty, terrorism, abuse, starvation, disease, etc... We have corrupt leaders of both parties and in many countries. However, Mayer says that his generation feels powerless, that they cannot do better for themselves and not be a victim.

The first chorus says

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Instead of taking action, Mayer and his friends choose to do nothing and wait for everything else to fix itself. They do not want to become involved and have to work for what is right, they prefer to let someone else do it.

The rest of the song continues with this theme or seeing corruption, but not having the power to fix it, so they choose to take no action and wait for the "world to change." One verse even says

And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want

Perhaps Mayer has not heard of the internet which allows us to access media world wide instantaneously. We have access to more information now from more sources at a faster rate, than at any moment in history.

This is a horrible message.

When asked in The Advocate what the song meant, Mayer said "It’s saying, ‘Well, I’ll just watch American Idol because I know that if I were engaged in changing anything for the better, or the better as I see it, it would go unnoticed or be completely ineffective. A lot of people have that feeling." This is the message he is telling the world. Do not work to correct wrong doings. You might fail and you may not get attention brought to yourself.

Where would America be if this was the attitude of all Americans? Where would we be if our fore fathers had decided to just wait for the world to change and not great a new country of free people? Where would we be if Abraham Lincoln had decided to just wait for the world to change and not free the slaves? Where would we be if Susan B. Anthony and countless other women had just waited for the world to change and not fought for the right of women to vote? Where would we be in countless millions of men and women had chosen to just wait for the world to change and hadn't taken up arms against the enemies of our country? Where would we be if Martin Luther King Jr. and countless other men and women of all races had just waited for the world to change and hadn't fought for equality of all men and women, no matter their color?

These people fought not for recognition, not because they knew they would win, not for money, but because they knew what was right. They knew what was right and fought for it. Many gave all they had. Many people fought to change the world whose names are not remembered. They became involved. They got up off their couches and turned off the TV. They fought the fight, no matter how unfair. They fought to see that the American ideals of justice and liberty for all people were upheld.

America was founded by people who refused to wait for the world to change. They changed the world. The change they started has inspired people world wide to change their world and not wait for someone else to do it. Mayer's message is to just stay home and watch TV.

Which America do you want to live in? One that stands up and changes the world, no matter how hard the struggle because we know what is right, or one that just stays home and watches American Idol and wait for someone else to come and fix things?

I choose to stand up and change the world. What will you do? Will you stand up or will you wait?

What is Church?

Many of us learned the song as a youngster in Sunday school.

The Church is not a building, the Church is not a steeple
The Church is not a resting place, the Church is the people.
I am the Church, you are the Church, we are the Church together!
All who follow Jesus, all around the world, Yes We're the Church together!

That is probably a pretty good explanation of what The Church is, a community of believers who follow Jesus. Then why do we always think of church as a building or a worship service? Why do we leave the people out of it?

Think of a normal church service at your church. If it is like most I have attended, it consists of some songs, passing the offering plate, a reading from the scripture, a prayer lead by someone, and a sermon from the pastor. This is how we most often experience church, sitting in the pew, listening to someone else, barely participating. If you were not there one Sunday, would "church" still happen?

To me, most churches seem almost like you are just attending a play or listening to a lecture. Surely we can do better than this.

I feel that Church should be more communal. We often find this in either small groups or Sunday school. At the church I am currently attending, I am not finding community through these things. I attended Sunday school for a short while, but stopped because the group I was with wasn't communal. Members came irregularly, the teachings wasn't very strong, the group was made up mainly of married couples with children and the social activities reflected that, and I wasn't been spiritually fed. For about 9 months, we had a bible study made up of people in my "social" group, young single adults. We met and had fellowship and bible study. We struggled in finding more fellowship activities, but we never had a staff member to help us and we were disbanded for being "too small." The small group had great potential, even if we were small, but unfortunately we didn't receive the support we needed from the church. The only place I have found community in the church is in singing in the church choir. However, our purpose is to sing. This is a good thing, but it does not develop me in the same way that a bible study would. It isn't wrong, just different.

In Sunday worship, I do not find fellowship or community. I find myself sitting with people, but not knowing them. Hearing a message, but not having it delivered by someone who knows me and knows how it would apply to me. I want to be with people who are of a similar mind, growing together. I don't want to be passive! I want to be part of the Church, not just meeting in a church.

Putting it to the Test

A few posts ago, I wrote about wanting to yell really loud and see if it would cause everything to fix its self.

I tried this over the weekend. I was leaving a wedding and had had a bad day and had kind of ignored some friends. I wasn't mad at them, just in a bad mood. They probably didn't even notice. Anyway, I left the wedding and the entire time this was on my mind. I was frustrated with myself for ignoring my friends and for being in a bad mood and decided to try to yell to see if it would all be fixed. And yell I did. When I finished, nothing changed except the soreness of my throat. So I did the only thing to fix it, I turned around and spent some time with my friends.

Don't Stop at the Beginning of the Race!

This week, Donald Haynes has a column in the United Methodist Reporter. You can read the entire article here.

The article is titled, Reclaiming the experience of 'being saved.' It begins with a look at the growth of the early Methodist church. The growth was because Methodist focused on being saved! As Haynes writes, they learned that Christ was their savior from sins and were discipled in the ordering of their lives by following Jesus.

This pattern was important to John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. Wesley believed that all people could come to know God. A Calvanistic view point would be that only the elect are able to be saved. On the other end of the spectrum is Arminianism which states that all people can be saved. All people sin and are in need of a savior. However, because of our state, we cannot come to God. However, as we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and God's grace is freely given to us. In Methodist theology, this is called prevenient grace, sometimes described as the hound of heaven, from a poem of the same name. John Wesley was big on all being able to come to God and began his ministry preaching to the lowest of the low, the miners in England.

Another element of Methodistism is what happens after you are "saved." Salvation is a process, not just a moment of conversion. The moment of conversion would be when we find we have faith. Paul called this being justified. Arminius and Wesley called it prevenient grace. But that isn't the end, just the beginning! We must persevere and not let our faith be in vain.

This is where a lot of debate in Christianity occurs, the relationship between faith and works. I do not think it should be. I think first and foremost, we must agree that it isn't humans who have to judge who gets into heaven and who doesn't. The Bible is quite clear that we are saved by faith. Reading Romans 4 or Hebrews 11 will show you this. However, we will also see that the story of salvation doesn't end there. We see in Romans 5 & 6 and Hebrews 11 that action follows. By faith, Abraham left his home. By faith, Abraham offered up his only son to God. By faith, Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell. By faith, the prostitute in Jericho protected the spies and was not killed. By faith, Peter walked on the water. By faith, Paul was able to see again. By faith, he was delivered from those who sought to kill him and lowered by basket. James tells us that works shows us our faith is genuine. God's gift to us is so great, it requires us to give it away.

There can be no set number of "works" that must be required in order to "earn" salvation. Salvation is not earned. It is a gift of God. But if we have received God's grace, we will respond and act. The adulterous woman is told by Jesus to go and sin no more. He tells another to sell his belongings and follow him. We will respond when we have received God's grace.

I have often told people that the bible talks about two things, how to become a Christian, and what to do once you become one. I think a better description would be: 1) God loves you. 2)How to love. We love because God loved us first.

Another portion of Arminianism and Methodism (though most pry don't know it) is that salvation can be lost. I do not believe this to be true. I think it is more an issue of just saying you believe and then not changing anything is a sign that your faith was not true.

Arminius and Wesley believed that if we do not act on our faith, we could lose it. An example of this would be found in a parable of Jesus.
Matthew 12: 43-45:

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.

If we purify ourselves of sin but do not fill it with anything, sin will fall right back in and we will be worse off than before.

In my life, I have been in dozens of United Methodist churches and heard dozens of United Methodist pastors preach. I have been actively involved in 3 UM churches, the others were just a Sunday service. Rarely have I seen both of these issues addressed by the church.

The first UM church I was actively involved in had these elements, but not in the Sunday service. I had these two elements in the youth group. It was there I learned about God, faith, how to study the bible, and how to live it out. Rarely in the Sunday service did I hear about these things.

The second UM church I was involved in had these elements. They were in the Sunday service and in small groups, bible studies, etc...

The third UM church I was involved in did not have these elements. I rarely heard them in the Sunday service and haven't found small group or bible study. I helped to start a small bible study group, but we were disbanded by the church because we were "too small."

In the majority of other UM churches that I have attended services in, I have rarely heard these elements. I rarely hear the gospel. I rarely hear the need of continuing in our faith. I often leave not really sure what I heard. When was the last time that I heard sin was bad? In the third UM church I was involved in, I heard it once. And the pastor even said he didn't like talking about sin. Those who are not sick are not in need of a physician!

God changes lives. God rescues of from the bottom of the pit we have thrown ourselves into and dusts of off and gives us a new chance. This new chance comes with his help and his guidance. How will we know we are even in the pit if noone tells us? As John wrote in chapter 1 of his gospel, the Light shined in the world but the dark did not recognize it. God has decided to allow us to play a roll in spreading the Gospel. When Phillip, as described in the 8th chapter of Acts, came across the eunuch reading from the prophets, the eunuch said that he couldn't understand unless someone helped him. We all play a roll in this, the church plays a huge roll as well.

When I leave church and have not heard the gospel, what did I attend it for? When I can sit in a church for years and never hear how to be saved or what I should do once I am saved, why am I in the church? Is it any wonder why the population of the United Methodist Church is shrinking?

We must return to our roots. We must return to talking about sin and that it is bad! We must return to talking about Jesus and his love for us! We must return to talking about salvation and accepting the free gift of God. We must return to to talking about how to live as a Christian, and not letting the evil spirits return and find an empty house.

Don't stop at the beginning. Having faith is just the beginning of living by faith.

Stranger in a Strange Land in the Midst of Strangers

This past Sunday, I attended church at Grace Bible Church in College Station at the Southwood Campus. The entire service was really good, I drew a lot out of all of it. However, here we will focus on one portion of the message.

Blake Jennings gave the message on being in the world, not of the world. The text was John 17:11-18.

11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

This reminded me of one of my favorite songs, which I have shared before, Leon Russel's Stranger in a Strange Land. This looked like a good opportunity to once again share the song!


For one portion of the sermon, Blake focused on verse 16, saying that this world is not our home. We are strangers here.

This world, in the beginning, was created as our home. We see that in Genesis 1. However, because of human's choosing to sin, the devil was allowed to take control of this world. Jesus calls the devil the prince of this world in John 14:30.

For the time being, this world is not our home. We are made to be with God, which means that as long as the world is broken with sin, we are designed to be with God in his house. Jesus tells us this in John 14: 2,3: 

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Jesus tells us two important things in these verses. One, we have a place in God's house prepared for us. Two, he is coming back.

Until the time of his return, we are strangers in a strange land. We are to follow His authority in how we live our life, not the authority of society. I will live my life differently than many. I will not look like everyone else. I will live for God in preparation for His return. I will be a stranger in this strange land.

Trials and Tribulations

Yesterday I attended church at Central Baptist in Bryan, TX. It was my first time to attend services there. A friend of mine had invited me to go.

The church is a huge church. Services meet in a large auditorium with theater seats. The praise portion of the service was led by a full choir and band, with songs sung by the congregation and a few solos, including one done on a harp.

The message was taken from 2nd Timothy, 1:3 "I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day." The message was about how knowing if a trial is because of sin we committed or something God is allowing me to go through for another reason. An example of each type would be, am I going through something because I deserved it like Ananias and his wife because of sin, or because God is allowing me to go through it like Job.

Ananias and his wife’s story is recorded in Acts 5.

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

This is certainly a strange story to us, but illustrates the point quite vividly that sin has consequences! It seems that Ananias may have been told by the Holy Spirit to give the money to the church, but decided with his wife to only give a portion. As a result of this, they both lost their lives.

Job’s story is recorded in the Old Testament book, Job. At the beginning of the story, God is telling the devil about how righteous Job is. The devil says that he can cause Job to curse God, so God allows the devil to tempt Job. All of Job’s possession are destroyed. His family is killed, and he is left alone. He sits in ash and sackcloth mourning, but does not accuse God of wrong doing. Job has three friends who come to visit him after these tragedies. Each friend takes a turn speaking to Job, trying to convince him that these tragedies had to occur because of something that he did. Job continues to say that he has lived how God has wanted him to live. At the end of the story, God speaks to Job and his friends, reminding them that He is God and they are not. He has sovereignty and rewards Job for his faithfulness by restoring his wealth two fold. Job’s friends are condemned and saved by the prayers and sacrifice of Job.

Both people went through trials, but both had different reasons for entering the trials.

The pastor started the message with a story of John the Baptist. John of course preached about Jesus, pointed him out when he was in the crowd as the lamb of God, called out the Pharisees, and baptized Christ. However, when he was in prison, he sent a message to Jesus asking if he was indeed the Christ. Christ responds to tell John what his followers have seen, and then continues to praise John before the crowd. The point was the show that when we go through trials, we need, and it is OK to ask, for assurance from God.

He said that the scripture verse showed 3 things we can look at to see what is the cause of our trial. Now at first glance, well, anytime I read the scripture until after the sermon, I didn't see these 3 points at all. But sure enough, they were there. Now 2nd Timothy is Paul's last letter. He is in prison in Rome for the 2nd time. As he writes in the letter, he is alone except for Luke. The pastor pointed out that Paul had a good relationship with the church in Rome, yet none of them seem to want, or are able, to come to him during his 2nd and final imprisonment. Shortly after the letter is sent, Paul is beheaded by the orders of Nero, emperor of Rome.

The first thing we can observe from the verse is from the portion that reads "I thank God whom I serve”. Paul uses the word charis for thanks, which means grace and that which affords joy. So Paul is saying he has grace in God, that he has joy in God, things are good between him and God. So the first thing we need to look at is our relationship with God. Is it OK? Are we having a good relationship with God? Are we spending time with Him? Is he a priority in our life?

2nd, "as did my ancestors." The pastor said we should ask if we are living a Christian life like those who have gone before us? Paul is saying that he is serving God the same way as Moses and Aaron, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, David and Solomon, served God. Now of course we are all unique and will serve in different ways, but will have similar characteristics. He mentioned as an example, when he was a young pastor, he looked at older pastors who had gone before and tried to model his walk after their walk. We can look to others that have gone before as an example of people who have successfully run the race. Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 11:1 to “follow me as I follow the example of Christ.”

3rd, "with a clear conscience." Do we have a clear conscience? Is the Spirit telling us that there is something in our life that we need to change? The Holy Spirit is promised to all believers and serves to convict, teach, and encourage us. Often when we find ourselves in sin, even though we may try to rationalize it in our mind, the spirit will convict us.

If we can answer these things and say that our relationship with God is good, we are following in the footsteps of those who have gone before, and the Spirit is not convicting us of sin, then we can know that the trial is not caused by our sin. Job's friends told him that his trial was his fault. When he looked at his life, he knew he hadn't done anything to bring this upon himself and God responded that he hadn't and judgment was brought upon the friends for accusing Job of having brought the trial on his life.

And if we are right with God, we will overcome our trial. Either God will see us through the trial, or he will redeem us in the trial. Job was seen through his trial and his holdings were restored to twice as before. Stephen was redeemed through his trial. The pastor gave imagery of Stephen's death and Paul's death, saying they went from seeing the face of their oppressors in one instance, to the next seeing the face of Christ receiving them. Stephen was stoned because of his faith and testimony of God. In the audience, was a young man named Saul who gave his approval of the stoning. A man who would later see the risen Christ, who would later be known as Paul, and would himself be killed because of his faith and testimony of Christ.

Jesus promises that as we go through life, we will have trials because we follow him. We can know that these trials are not from our sin by looking at our life and listening to the Spirit. We can then take comfort in the knowledge that God will deliver.

Care of the Body

Recently, I have begun changing my diet and increasing my exercise. These changes were made mainly in preparation for the military, but has had added benefit. Since changing my diet, I have been able to handle foods that I haven't been able to eat in the past. I have increased the amount of fruits and vegetables and limited the amount of meat and fats in my diet. Since increasing my exercises, I have made my body stronger. I have felt better and been able to do more with my body.

Many people do not take care of their bodies. It is hard to define how one takes care of their body. Take for example me. I say that I do because I eat healthy, and exercise regularly. Someone else might say I do not, because I drink coffee and many consider caffeine to be a drug and bad for the body. However, we can look at some statistics to get an idea of how many people appear to be taking care of their body.

This statistics are from Obesity in America.

• Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
• Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are extremely obese.
• Currently, an estimated 65.2 percent of U.S. adults, age 20 years and older, and 15 percent of children and adolescents are overweight and 30.5 percent are obese.
• Approximately 62 percent of female Americans are considered overweight.
• Approximately 67 percent of male Americans are considered overweight.
• An estimated 400,000 deaths per year may be attributable to poor diet and low physical activity.

These numbers do not look very promising.

So why take care of yourself? Well, the most obvious is the prevention of the health risks that come with obesity. By losing weight, a person can help keep off heart disease, type 2 diabetes, joint problems, and a host of other medical conditions.

But taking care of the body is more than just not wanting to having medical problems. There are benefits in being able to do more. Being healthier has allowed me run farther and ride my bike more. It allows me to hike more without being as tired. It allows me to be able to do more than I could have done before. This is a major benefit to me.

There are also psychological benefits to being healthy. A person who is healthy both in diet and exercise is better able to handle stress in their life. They are able to work better under certain conditions than those who are not in shape. They are often more relaxed in life. Endorphins and other chemicals are released by the body when exercising which increase the feeling of pleasure.

In Daniel chapter 1, Daniel becomes a member of the king's court. As a member of the king's court, he is to be given the choicest of food and wine. However, because of his commitment to God, Daniel and three other members chose to not defile their bodies with this food. They instead eat vegetables. After 10 days, the four of them are the healthiest and strongest of the court. This helped him to become more powerful in the court.

In 1 Corinthians, 6:19, 20, Paul writes "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." Now when I was a youth growing up, people often pointed at this verse as why tattoos were bad. That isn't what Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about this in reference to sexual immorality. He is saying that since Christians are saved at the cost of Christ's death, they nolonger are the sole-owner of the body. Therefore, they should honor God by their actions. We know he is talking about actions because of his reference to sexual immorality in the previous verses. This is a poor verse to use for advocating against obesity and tattoos as it is taking it out of context.

Ultimately, it is a choice that the person must make. Noone can make someone stay in shape, exercise, or eat healthy. However, the benefits of it greatly outweigh the pleasure of that extra bite of brownie!

What is a friend?

What does it mean to be a friend? The dictionary defines it as

1.	a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2.	a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.

3.	a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

4.	a member of the same nation, party, etc.

5.	(initial capital letter) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

The term we will be looking at is the first definition.
My friends are people I enjoy being around. Some are male, some are female. Some friends I see regularly, some I see rarely. Some I get to see in person, some I only talk to on the phone or over the internet. For my friends, I like to think that I would do anything for them. I like to think that if they needed me day or night, I would be there for them. While this is rarely put to the test, I like to think that I pass when it is. I do not think that I would be the judge of that though.

But what does it mean to be a friend? How should we handle our relationships? Should friends just be people we hang out with and have fun with? Should we invest in our relationships or view them as disposable? How "deep" does a friendship relationship go?

The bible has several verses that deal with friendships.

Proverbs 27:10 has an interesting note about friends. "Your own friend and your father's friend forsake not; but if ruin befalls you, enter not a kinsman's house. Better is a neighbor near at hand than a brother far away." A neighbor who is near is better than family who is far away in time of need. Now the term for neighbor here does mean neighbor, not friend, but the application is important. It is important that we be available for those who are near us. This of course raises the question of "who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered the question with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. To be neighborly is to show mercy. How much better for the certain man who was robbed and beaten was the Samaritan who was near than family who was far away!

So if we our to love our neighbor and to show mercy to them, how much more should we give to our friends?

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity."

In this verse, the Hebrew uses the term Rea` for friend, which means friend or companion. This term is also used to describe how Moses and God would talk. Exodus 33:11 "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his" For love, it uses the term 'ahab. This is the same word used to describe the love between Abraham and his son Isaac, the love between Jacob and Rachel, the love between God and His people, the love we are to have for our neighbor.

Now I do not consider myself a Bible scholar. I read regularly but all is for not without the understanding provided by the Holy Spirit. God certainly wants us reading and exploring the Bible. So I use Greek and Hebrew dictionaries when appropriate, read commentaries, and other sources to help explain scripture. I did the same for friends.

I turned to the Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology and its write up on friends.As we saw with the English dictionary, friends can mean a lot of different relationships. We will focus on the relationships between friends. The article points to the relationship between Jonathan and David as an example of a relationship having all three qualities of friendship: association, loyalty, and affection. This story is broken into a couple of parts in the book of 1st Samuel. 1st Samuel 18:1-4 & 1st Samuel 20: 14-17. A friend gives in time of need. Luke 11:5-8. A friend consoles. 2nd Samuel 19:31-39. A friend rebukes in love. Proverbs 27:6. A friend provides strength. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. A friend will give their life. John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

What will you do for your friends?

Lie for my benefit, tell the truth for His

I really like the music of Ross King. I first heard him in high school as his music was often played by others in my youth group. One of the albums of his I had was Sullivan's Flaw. I loved the entire album except song number 10, Up To Me. I tried finding the lyrics online but came up empty. The song talks about how he comes in contact with lost people everyday, people in need of Christ, but doesn't tell them. He instead tells God that He shouldn't leave that up to him because it isn't the best use of his gifts.

I didn't like this song because it seemed to call me out! To me it was saying, "Go tell others about me!" I certainly didn't like the tone of that.

But then I found the answer! The answer was in the words of St. Francis of Assisi. "Always preach the gospel, use words if necessary." That was the answer! I didn't HAVE to tell anyone! After all, I am preaching it without words! Yes! This will save the lost and free the pressure God was putting on me to go and actually tell others about him.

Now granted the words of Francis of Assis required that you were actually living a life of righteousness. I was doing that, after all I went to church every Sunday and often times went to Wednesday night bible study. Sometimes I even wore a Christian shirt to school! Surely this was living the gospel with life! You didn't have to do anything, just look the part, right?

The song finally made sense. It wasn't wrong for the guy to tell God to not leave the task of telling others about Jesus up to him. In fact, it was a prayer! God, you see, I am not good at this. Find someone else. I will just "live it." I am not good with "words."

Well that worked well until the next time I heard the song. So I started programming my CD player to play all the songs on the album except song #10. This worked well until song #9 ended. Unfortunately, I had heard the album in its entirety enough times that my mind would automatically go to song #10 after #9.

Well surely there has to be some Biblical support for my stance. Surely God understood when others said "Hey, I will do anything you want, but I won't do that." Oh here it is, Moses! In Exodus 4:10, Moses speaks to God after God calls him to go and tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go and worship in the desert for 3 days. Moses says "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." Yes! A great example for me to use before God. You see God, I am just not a good talked. Remember when I was a kid, I couldn't even say my R's! How am I suppose to talk about Christ when I use to say "Chwist" as a kid! Well, God responds to Moses' plea in verse 11 and 12. "The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Well, the only solace I could find was that at least he was talking to Moses and not me. But Moses doesn't give up. Moses begs God again in verse 13, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Surely God will understand Moses and my's plea! Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth." OK, so God got pretty upset with Moses, but at least he got out of having to talk, right? Well, no. As we read Exodus, we see that both Moses and Aaron have to do quite a bit of talking and a lot of work. That isn't important when I was 16 years old. I had the example I needed. I don't have to preach the Gospel, it's not my gift! Find someone else!

Then in Mexico, I talked. I had gone to Tuxpan, Mexico on a trip with my church to work on building a church and to operate a vacation bible school for the neighborhood. One night, after we had finished our work for the day, I was walking the streets around the hotel with a friend. Two Mexicans walked up asking if we were Americans. We said yes and one of them proceeded to tell us that he worked oil rigs out of Galveston and was back home on leave. He wanted to talk to us to practice his English. We visited with them on the street just outside our hotel for a few minutes before one of the adults on the trip came out to let us know it was time for evening devotion. She saw the men and told them we were Christians. They responded that they understood and oddly enough, I invited them to join us for evening devotion in the hotel. Afterwards, we invited the two men to have cokes in the hotel restaurant. I was visitng with one of the Mexicans while my friend visited with the other. I pulled out a bible track I had in my pocket (afterall, just carrying it is preaching the gospel without having to talk, right?) and shared it with the man. After we talked about, he said he wanted to take it with him so he could check a few words in the dictionary. The next day, while walking the streets, the Mexican and I crossed paths. He thanked me for sharing the gospel with him and that he really appriciated it.

So I did it! I spoke! I did it once I can do it again, right?

Well, that was that for the next 7 or 8 years. Silence returned to my mouth. I continued to skip over track #10. I have just recently begun openly speaking the gospel. I am not sure what caused me to finally start talking all the time. Perhaps God's spirit finally urged me enough to follow God. Perhaps I was tired of never hearing the gospel preached in public and in church that the Spirit used the opportunity to get me to begin talking. I am no longer afraid of opening my mouth and letting the gospel come out.

The words God told Moses still ring true. He will be our words. It is He who speaks. It is He that allows His word to go out to the masses like a sword. It is He who will teach us what we should say at that time. All we must do is trust and open our mouths.

Have you opened your mouth or is it not your gift?

Listening to John Mayer

Continuing with the music theme!

OK, I actually do not listen to John Mayer and can only name one of his songs, No Such Thing. The only part of the song I even know is "I want to run through the halls of my high school, I want to scream at the top of my lungs." I don't even know what the song means. But have you ever wanted to do this?

I really want to just run around outside screaming. I think if I scream loud enough, it will cause all the pieces to fall back into place. I think people will then understand me.

Itching the Scrath

So do you scratch an itch or itch a scratch? Maybe you scratch scratches and itch itches?

This was a question posed to me by a friend of mine. I will defer to the dictionary.

When I was teaching school, anytime my students asked me what a word meant (or I asked them and they didn't know) we got on the computer and looked on the internet. I wanted them to not only learn that they can find this information on their own, but also where to find it. By the end of the 1st six weeks, they knew exactly where on the internet to go.

I think the power of the internet is really neat. It isn't necessarily the power of the internet as it is the access to so much information. Take for example the USS Grunion (SS 216). This information is taken from an article in the Science Daily. The Grunion was reported lost on 16 August 1942 after she failed to return to Dutch Harbor. She had not had contact since 30 July. 60 years later, the submarine had never been found nor the disappearance of the Grunion explained. That is when the sons of the commanding officer of the Grunion, Lt Cmdr Abele, began a search. I will quote directly from the article.

"After discovering information on the internet in 2002 that helped pinpoint USS Grunion's possible location, the sons of Grunion's commanding officer, Bruce, Brad, and John Abele, began working on a plan to find the submarine. In August 2006, a team of side scan sonar experts hired by the brothers located a target near Kiska almost a mile below the ocean's surface. A second expedition in August 2007 using a high definition camera on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) yielded video footage and high resolution photos of the wreckage of a U.S. fleet submarine."

Did you notice where they found some probable spots? "After discovering information on the internet in 2002 that helped pinpoint USS Grunion's possible location," The internet! You can find submarines 60 years after they sank on the internet!

They then compared to wreckage to another submarine of the same class and confirmed it was the Grunion.

The internet is extremely powerful because of the access of information. However, this comes at a consequence. As my high school english teachers use to always say, anyone can put whatever they want on the internet. True they are! I can write anything I want in this blog and post it on the net. Google webcrawlers would then scan my blog, and people searching on the internet can find whatever I write. There are no editors, no teachers, no one confirming my writings before it is published.

Because of that, it is the responsibility of the reader to evaluate the authenticity of the website. The reader must determine if the online news source is a legitamate news source. The reader must decide if the website providing the information has alternative motives they are trying to promote. Before the internet, this background check was often done by the editor of a book or a news editor at the tv station or newspaper. In absence of an editor, the reader must always be mindful of ethics when reading and reporting information from the internet.

Information from around the world can be collected in seconds. Want information on the 1956 Hungarian Revolution? In 0.15 seconds, google found about 185,000 results. Want to know how many people are killed annually by kangaroos? In 0.19 seconds, google found 206,000 results. The answer is 100, by the way. So much information is out there!

So do you scratch or itch scratches or itches? My students would know how to find out. Do you?

Missing the Train

Walt Wilkins and the Mytiqueros have a song called Trains I Missed. Part of the song is:

It's a big old world but I've found my way
And the hell and the hurt lead me straight to it
Here's to the trains I missed

Here's to this place I've found
The love I've known
The earth and the sky
That I call home
Here's to the things I need
Bigger than me
And the moments I find myself right where I'm suppose to be

(You can click here to see the entire lyrics.)

The point of the song is that our lives our guided by our past. We have ended up where we are today because of the path of yesterday. Sometimes we see things in our lives that we desire or think is good for us, but in the end, we do not capture them. We miss them. In looking in our past, we see that missing those things was exactly what we needed and we ended up just where we were suppose to be.

Here's to the trains I've missed. The relationships that didn't work out. The opportunities that didn't occur. The times I didn't take a chance. The times I trusted my gut instead of my desire. The times things went completely wrong.

Here's to the place I've found. The relationships that did work out. The opportunities that did occur. The times I did take a chance. The times my mind was right. The times things went completely right.

I do not understand why somethings in my life do not work out. Perhaps in the future I will toast this moment. Perhaps I will not! One thing is for certain, the train is past and I am on another track.

Things are not as they appear

My grandma tells the true story of an east Texas pastor who is stopped at a check point on the highway while on his way to church. The pastor tells the trooper that he is running late to church. The trooper apologizes and says they will make the stop quick, but he would like to look in the trunk. When the pastor opens the trunk, the trooper notices that it is fully of empty glass beer bottles. The trooper closes the trunk and before sending the pastor on his way says “yall must have a lot of communion.”

Things do not always appear to be what they really are. What looks like an alcoholic pastor was really a pastor who picked up glass bottles for a disabled man who made art out of them. What appeared to be a crazy man in the desert turned out to be the one prophesized about, preparing the way of the Lord. What appeared to be a carpenter turned out to be the Son of God, the messiah.

I would say that I am not normal. Not that everyone else is the same, but that I am different than most people. I view certain things differently, live my life differently, and desire different things. However, because the difference is often not physical or tangible, things do not appear to be what they are. Words are misinterpreted, actions are not understood, intentions presumed incorrectly.

How does one accurately reflect what things really are? How does one explain to a trooper in a convincing way that all of the bottles are not yours? How do you convince someone of what your true intentions are? How do you tell the world what you mean when you do certain things?

I do not have the answer.

Grass is Growing

One of my favorite Tom Petty songs is Time to Move On. The chorus of the song goes:

Its time to move on, time to get going
What lies ahead I have no way of knowing
But under my feet, baby, grass is growing
Its time to move on, its time to get going

For me, it is time to move on. I have spent the past two years teaching in Midland and am ready for something new. I am still waiting on the new thing to happen, but I am at least picking up my feet from where they have been.

Diversity through design, Unity through God

Last night I attended church at Grace Bible Church in College Station. The head pastor, Brian Fisher, gave the message at the Saturday night service. I really enjoy the Saturday service because it is a smaller group in a smaller venue. It is easy to get lost in the hundreds of people there on a Sunday morning, so it is nice to meet with a small group to worship with.

Ross King led worship. Ross was very popular with the youth group I attended in high school, so I was very familiar with him, though I hadn't heard him in several years. He was leading praise music so I didn't hear the songs of his I knew, but still enjoyed his leadership and music.

The message of the sermon was about the Church being one body. This semester, Grace has focused a lot on this topic as they built a new campus this year and are focusing being on one church with two locations. The text was taken from 1st Corinthians chapter 12, and Ephesians chapter 4 along with a few other various verses. This post will be taken from Brian Fisher's sermon.

First, unity in the church is to reflect unity in God. God is made up of three unique individual parts, that are all equally God and all one. The church is to reflect that.

Unity isn't uniformaty. Just becuase we call ourselves Christians doesn't mean that we all dress alike and act alike. We are all different. In 1st Corinthians, Paull writes about the Spirit of God giving each believer receiving gifts from God as the spirit chooses. In the psalms, which Paul quotes from in a different letter on the same subject, God gives gifts to all people, even nonbelievers, as he sees fit. God gives all of us gifts. We are to use those gifts for His kingdom, though we often do not.

Though unity isn't uniformaty, we must have certain similarities. In Christianity, our similarities are what are commonly referred to as essentials. These are the most basic beliefs in Christianity. These are often found in various creeds and belief statements. They define who God is and how we come to a relationship with him. These must be the same for all Christians. God is One, he is not Many. If we have different core beliefs about God, we are making him Many, not the One he is. All of us are following One Way, though we are Different people. One God, One Spirit, One Jesus, One Way.

If we do not have the same shared truth, we will not be united. I think a good example is the USA. In the United States, we are united with the goal of Democracy. By having the same goal, we have been able to overcome huge obstacles, such as the British in the 1770's, slavery in the 1860's, Nazism in the 1940's, discrimination in the 1960's. However, today, our goal is often 'unity and diversity.' This is often met with staunch resistance. I believe that if we as a country maintain our goal of democracy, unity will occur dispite our diversity. When we make divisions our goal though, we will reap what we desire.

Though it is imperative that we have unity and uniformity in essentials, our relationship with God will look different for each person. Some may find certain types of music styles help them worship more than others. Some may prefer wearing specific clothing to church in order to convey a sense of humbleness before God. Some may find it better to stand or sit or kneel throughout worship. This is OK! In non-essentials, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist faith, says that we have freedom. However, with our freedom comes tolerance. Tolerance means to put up with others. Though we may not like certain things about various Christians, we must still get along with them. We cannot let minor things (non essentials) cause division. This has happened and continues to happen, resulting in the hundreds, if not thousands, and denominations in the Christian church. Oh for the day when unity results in all worship the One together!

Why we must tolerate each other is because of the creativity and soverignty of God. God has made each of us unique, in His image, and the way we are to be. He has distributed gifts upon us as he wills. We must use our gifts to His glory. But none of us have all of the gifts necessary in the Body of Christ. Just as a body cannot survive with just a head or just a foot or just a heart, neither can the Body of Christ function with just certain gifts. It takes all of us combined to form the Body. We must respect each other because God made each of us.

This is something that I need to work on. It is easy for me to say, "that person is so annoying, I cannot stand them." This is certainly not respecting the person. Do I need to become best friends with them? Certainly not, there are some people I get along with some people I do not. However, I can at least respect the person for who God made them. I can still see the value that they bring to the Body.

This unity is the result of Love. John Wesley said that we must have unity in essentials, freedom in non-essentials, charity in all things. Paul mentions, after discussing the gifts that the spririt gives, that he will show us yet a greater way, Love. Paul also writes of fath, hope, and love, love will always remain. Our faith will become sight, our hope will become reality, but love will remain for eternity.

So with this knowledge, how is a Christian to respond? First, be content with how God made you. At the beginning of this blog, I wrote about contentment. Be OK with who God made you. However, do not become complacent. Continue to push farther! God made us how he wanted us, but rarely do we use his gifts and abilities to their fullest. Continue to strive for perfection in Christ and the person God made you to be. And most important, learn to live with one another by love.

Worship One, Love All, Together!

Listening to Ziggy Marley

Earlier today, I wrote about Psalm 90, a psalm written by Moses. This evening, we will look at a Ziggy Marley song.

I am quite a fan of reggae. I love music particularly by Bob Marley and his son Ziggy. It is great music to listen to. I like the sound of the music, the feeling of the music, and the relaxing of the music. However, the philosophy is certainly not always in agreement with me!

Reggae music is associated with the Rastafari movement. Therefore, a lot of the music is quite religious. The music was born out of Trenchtown in Jamaica, and deals with topics like spirituality, relationships, love, poverty, injustice, and other social issues. The Rastafari movement has some basic familiarities to Christianity, but is quite different, which explains the difference in philosophy. I am no expert on the Rastafari movement and would recommend that you look for other sources if you are interested in more information.

The song we will look at is Ziggy Marley's True to Myself.

The lyrics:

life has come a long way since yesterday I say
and its not the same old thing over again I say
just do what you feel and don't you fool yourself I say
cause I can't make you happy unless I am I say I say I

got to be true to myself got to be true to myself

day in day out I've asked many questions I say
only to find the truth it never changes I say
if you don't deal with it it keeps killing you a little by little I say
call me selfish if you will my life I alone can live I say I say I

got to be true to myself got to be true to myself

I don't care if it hurts I'm tired of lies and all these games
I've reached a point in life no longer can I be this way
don't come crying to me I too have shed my share of tears
I'm moving on yes I'm grooving on well I'm finally free I've

got to be true to myself got to be true to myself
got to be true to myself got to be true to myself

The message in the song is that you have to be who you really are before you can be a part of the greater society. If you are not who you really are, you will not be happy, and as he says "I can't make you happy unless I am"
I think this is certainly an interesting, important, and partially true statement. If our life isn't in order, how can we be with others or impact others? The difference though, is who are we true to?

We live in a fallen state. We live with wrong doings. We do not do the things we want to do or are suppose to do. I think Paul says it best when he writes in Romans "For I don't do the good I want to do, but instead do the evil that I don't want to do." It is easy to live true to ourselves in our fallen life, it is what our body and mind want to do.
But that is not who we are called to be! Jesus says in John 10:10 "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." This abundant life comes when we trust God and receive His Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us the strength to live the life He desires for us. To do the good we desire to do, instead of the evil.

God gives us plenty of reason to be happy, to want to be with him. Just one example is found in Psalm 92.
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

5 How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!

6 The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,

7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

God's works are great! The ones that I see some of my greatest joy is in His creation. I love hiking and enjoying the beauty of his world. I am being myself by enjoying something that he gave me. But I am being true to God.

Living for ones self seems to often times be associated with doing whatever you want, no matter what others think or how it harms others. However, we are made for human relationships. We are not made to be by ourselves, though I often enjoy time by myself. The writer of Ecclesiastics tells us,

Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

Friends are important in our life. If we do not care about our friends and do what we want without regard for them, who would want to be our friend?

Diversity is certainly important! What a boring world this would be if everyone was like me. I hardly think I do things right and would certainly not want a world full of people like me. The Bible is full of diverse people. God values all people, from the greatest of the kings to the lowest of the sheppards. He loves all of us and wants all of us involved in his kingdom here on earth.

Be true to yourself, but only with the spirits guiding. God has a great plan for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Now this is a quote from a letter written by Jeremiah to those in exile. He is reminding them why they are in exile (for following false prophets instead of God) and that after their time in exile, they will return to God. But are we not also following false prophets and false leaders when we are true to ourselves instead of God? By living our life following God and living the life God wants us to live, we are being true to ourselves, the self God desires us to be.

Listening to the words of Moses

In the book of Psalms, there is one psalm that is attributed to Moses, Psalm 90. God spoke to me through this psalm this morning as I contemplated people who come into your life for just a fleeting moment.

You can read Psalm 90 in its entirety at this website, or by googling Psalm 90. We will take a look at a few passages from the psalm.

First, my contemplation on people who are briefly in your life. There have been many people who I have met once or spent a short amount of time with, only to never see or talk to them again. People who you meet and have a short conversation with or do something with. People who you wouldn't mind spending more time with, but never do. For whatever reason, we often come across people like this. We look back at the short time with them and remember it fondly or at least not being a bad time and wish it could have been longer.

3 You turn men back to dust,
saying, "Return to dust, O sons of men."

4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.

5 You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning-

6 though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.

Moses tells us that our lives are fleeting. From dust we came and to dust we shall return.

9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.

10 The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

Moses continues to talk about the shortness of life. 70 years, maybe 80 if we are strong. I find it interesting that this is written thousands of years ago, yet our lives really aren't that much longer. We consider people in their 70s to have lived a long life, if in the 80s or 90s, they have lived a very long life. The few that make it to 100 and considered great people. Thousands of years and all of our knowledge doesn't give us a life too much longer than in Moses' time. Granted he lived 120 years!

How quickly we pass away! One day here on earth, the next dead. Those who know us pass on and all the earth is left with of us is the dirt from our body. Last night at church, the pastor used an illustration of John Lennon. He mentioned that when talking with some of the college students about him, many didn't know who he was or only knew a few songs he wrote. A man as well known as John Lennon, even his memory passes away in only 20-30 years.

12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.

16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.

Moses is constantly reminding us of the wrath of God, rightly being brought on us because of our sins. But at the end of the psalm, he tells us to count our days. Make the best of these days. Be welcoming of the work of the Lord and that he will establish the work of our hands.

We have few years on this earth. Some are given only a few years, some many, but more than 100, very few. Even then , 110 or 115 is the maximum for anyone to live today. We do not have many days. Make the most of them. Make the most of the time you do get to spend with people. That doesn't mean to cram as much into the time as possible, but to make the most of it. When you have to opportunity to spend time with someone who you may never see again, make the most of it. Sprinkle your conversation with grace and mercy. Allow God to work through your time, conversation, and action. Our days may be fleeting, but the work of the Lord echoes through eternity. Don't waste your time!

Make no Mistake About it!

Thomas Edison once said, “I haven't failed, I've found 10000 ways that don't work.” I feel that way about my life. Looking back at my past, I can't say I've done too many things that given a second chance, I would do the same way. But looking toward my future, I know lots of things that I will not do in the future!