I also can't help being overly-cynical at the way people go about spending over this season. Now I don't care if people who can afford it spend a million dollars on Christmas, what gets me is those who don't have it who try to make it up by just going into extreme debt this time of year. And the useless gifts people buy...it's that whole philosophy of trying to buy the love of your children. Last year the local newspaper had a debate about whether there whould be a Wal-Mart in one of the smaller cities in the area. One person wrote in and said there should be because every Christmas they had to drive 45 minutes to the next-closest Wal-Mart to buy Christmas presents and couldn't afford to go anywhere else because with the large amount they spend Wal-Mart saved them money. They noted spending well over $1000 dollars. I'm sorry, but if the only place you can afford to shop is Wal Mart and you are spending well over $1000 on Christmas, you need to tone down a little. Or maybe your children really need that "Cow Pie" game of the life-sized Minnie Mouse or every movie you can find to put them in front of the TV all day.

Every year I show the movie "I am Sam" with my students and after the fact ask them if they would rather have a parent like the character played by Michelle Pfeifer in the movie who buys their child everything but doesn't spend any time with him, or the character played by Sean Penn who has no money but spends all the time he can with his daughter. Almost to a person they answer with Sean Penn, and these are spoiled rotten little kids who are as selfish as they come. Need I say more.

Christians really need to give up the idea that Christmas has anything to do with the birth of Christ. It is really void of all meaning anymore, what with the consumerism that drives the culture we live in, we can fight and claw but in reality, we might as well just give it up. Maybe we can create our own alter holiday, the day after or something. Or maybe in October. I would bet a large figure of money that for well less than 10% of American Christians, Christmas is not tainted by consumerism, who are we kidding? Then we use the excuse that we don't want to keep this tradition from our children...yeah, like they aren't spoiled enough the way it is. (Shaq brought a truck load of bikes, PS2's, etc to the children in LA yesterday, how about food for their parents and college scholarships to break the cylce of depravity...forgive my cynicism.) To add to that, this holiday has pagan traditions, as Missler notes the following in his K-House news:

The date of December 25th, which was officially proclaimed by the church fathers in AD 440, was actually a vestige of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia, observed near the winter solstice, which itself was among the many pagan traditions inherited from the earlier Babylonian priesthood.

I'm sorry, I just can't do it, and that is why I have become the Scrooge of Christmas. Yet, as Vox Day points out, it doesn't matter, "For to us a child is born..." and that child would sacrifice Himself on a Roman cross to bring you and me in His Kingdom. Whether we celebrate it or not, it is there and for that I am thankful!

Yoder makes a very intriguing point when he writes:

"The 'original meaning' of a text or its author will not stand still, as an earlier scholasticism assumed, since every reader does something new with it. The 'History' itself 'as it really happened' will not stand still either, since the meaning of events is never free from interpretation."

This may very well be true, yet the goal of every Christian at least should be to interpret the text as it was meant when it was written. We have to read it with neutral eyes. We can't read our life experiences into what God is trying to tell us. I admit that it's almost impossible to pull off, yet that doesn't mean it shouldn't be our goal. Abiding by the law or the "principles of the Kingdom of God" are impossible as well, does that mean we don't seek to obey them? By no means!

Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" is a very interesting novel. It's an anti-war work about a man who fights in WWII and gets his arms and legs blown off and loses his sight, hearing, and smell. Yet he lives, although he wished he were dead. The novel is then basically about his thoughts as he lies in bed and is unable to communicate with the outside world.

In Chapter 17 he writes about Christmas as he finally is able to communicate with a lady nurse who figured out that he understands Morse Code. She wishes him "Merry Christmas" which gets him reflecting on his Christmas traditions of his youth. It's very moving and appropriate to this time of the year. Let me summarize as briefly as I can his reflections on the birth of Christ as he can remember. You really need to read this on your own.

"She (his mother) had a marker in the Bible and she opened it now to the place that was marked and began to read again. She read the story of the Christ-child of the baby Jesus and how he was born in a manger...All the people were going to Bethlehem because it was tax time and they had to appear at the court house and register and pay up...Joseph had to do a lot of chores before he could start out and Mary his wife was pregnant and couldn't help him so they were late...As soon as they got into town Joseph began making the rounds of cheap rooming houses. He wasn't much of a success at making money and they only had enough to pay taxes and one night's rent...Then Joseph began to talk very seriously to the hotel manager. See here he said I've come a long way and I've got my wife with me and she's going to have a baby. Look at her out there on the donkey, you see she's just a kid and she's scared...(Hotel manager talking)It'll be an awful mess if she has a baby on the premises, people who can't afford them shouldn't have babies anyway but what are you going to do about it...I don't mind telling you I hope very much she doesn't have the baby here tonight because it'll upset my guests if she screams and they're all very high class people including three Roman congressmen...Oh I almost forgot, don't light any fires out there in the barn because in my insurance it says they're forbidden...Back in the manger Joseph lighted a lantern and fixed up a nice bed on the hay and Mary lay down on the bed and had her baby...

And so the story of how our Risen Savior was born into the world...

I just finished watching "The Stepford Wives." Terrible movie, totally different than I expected. Basically just man-bashing. The men are the weaker sex so they program their wives to be "perfect." Then the program reverses and the women are "liberated" and the men have to do all the work again. Feminist...

Also finished reading "The United States of Europe." Great book! A few blogs ago I said I had no interest in Europe, since reading this book my mind has changed, if only for curiosity sake. Quite a continent and quite a revolution going on there from the sounds of it.

Just one point to elaborate on. The author talks a lot about their welfare system, high taxes, free health care, etc. He also stresses how much aid they send to foreign nations. It is really intriguing, but I can't let myself buy out to this system. There is no question in my mind that the private sector can do things better and cheaper than the government. There must be some control of course but why not let the people and the supply/demand dictate the prices and services. And with as much as they send in overseas aid, the world is getting worse and worse. That tells me that there is too much beaurocracy in the system and as my book proposal says, more can be done on a one-on-one basis.

Last, I have gotten well into Yoder's "The Politics of Jesus." It looks like his thesis is much different than I had imagined. Instead of pushing for a political Jesus who concerned Himself with government affairs, he is proposing that Jesus was political in the way of a revolutionary that the system of the day had to get rid of in order to maintain their control. That I can buy. Maybe that's why the current religious system had to get rid of Jesus as well, they couldn't control the people who put their hope and faith in Him!

T.R. Reid in "The United States of Europe" writes about the former imperialistic zeal of the European countries from around 1500 to 1900. He notes,
"A more cynical, and probably more accurate, summary of the imperial impulse can be found in the mnemoic device used by generations of freshman cramming for the final in European History 101: the colonists were driven by gold, God, and glory...The missionary impulse was also strong for most of the European colonists; there were few who doubted that spreading the one true faith to 'lesser breeds without the law' was an admirable calling."
I wonder how much of the thrust of imperialism was truly to spread the Gospel. I would bet it was more the other two, gold and glory, and not glory for God but for the Queen. Spreading Christianity was lucrative, what with the broadening of the tax base and with the church being tied to the state, this would have been a great moneymaker. It sickens me to think of those being tortured who would not convert to Christianity, definitely not the Gospel I am familiar with or the Bible I have read.

New Book Idea

The idea of publishing a book has always interested me, even though I have very little writing skills. Nevertheless, while lying awake in bed last night, the idea for a book popped into my head. With extreme poverty and depravity around the world today, many ask what can be done to curb the violence and desperation. I have always belived it would be one at a time. While in Kenya this past summer, with the problem of well over 2 million AIDS orphans looming large, we asked what could be done, and the Africans told us the well-known story of the starfish, where the young boy stands on the shore firing washed-up starfish into the ocean. A man asks him what difference he is making, the boy says it is a difference to this one.

Much the same, I believe the way to make a difference in this world is to help one at a time and hope in turn they help another and so on. I plan to interview various people/organizations and get an idea of what they are doing and simply turn that into a book of stories. It may not make New York Times best sellers but it may be interesting.

You never know...

What I was basically saying in my previous post is that I believe the goal of biblical teaching/obedience is to translate the teachings of Jesus into modern culture and that this can be a very difficult task.

How does one respond to opposition from within? If one is being opposed within a church, how does one handle this? How about within a culture? It seems that this was what Jesus experienced in His time on earth, he was opposed within His culture, religion, even within His family. How did He react?

It appears that He reacted by beginning a new social order, He commissioned twelve men to be leaders of this new social order and He taught them how it would be. Then He went back home and left behind the Church.

Much the same, today when we experience opposition or even apathy either from without or from within, it seems the logical thing to do is start something new. It doesn't have to be bold or radical, just a fresh start. I'm not against churches closing their doors or starting over if what they are doing is not working. The same with businesses or social groups, if what we are doing is not working, if we are not experiencing what we are longing for in a group or in life, and if this is due to dynamics or whatever, we can and I believe must start over. What is the option? Working through the problems sometimes bear fruit, but also frequently cause us to put too much energy into something that doesn't want to budge. Starting over may same time and energy and yield greater fruit.

What I'm saying here I don't really know, but it gets me thinking about my personal life. There are things I would like to change, and in essence it means starting over with quite a few things, like how I spend my time, what I devote myself to, etc. I believe this starting over will yield much greater relationships within my family and the family of God and yield much more fruit.

Now the hard part is actually doing it.

I end by claiming the right, as always, that what I write is by no means binding and I reserve the right to change my mind as soon as this is posted :)

I began reading John Howard Yoder's "The Politics of Jesus" this evening. It had been on my reading list for some time and I finally cracked it open. It may prove to be a little dull and different than expected. It seems to be quite academic. In any case, the following quote caught me:

First there is an enormous distance between past and present to be covered by way of hermeneutics from exegesis to contemporary theology.

I really have no idea what Yoder truly meant here, but what I gathered was that there is long way from the teachings and actions of Jesus and their contemporary relevance today. His purpose is of course politics and ethics, but for our purposes it goes beyond that.

Isn't that truly the problem though with much teaching and interpretation today, what did it mean and what does it mean. How can we translate the teachings in the times of Jesus to today. Some have changed, some still should remain, where are the barriers between the two? That is my struggle right now, and I am hoping to entertain a deeper study of the Gospels to begin to formulate an opinion on this.

It's really weird, I despise the Christmas Holiday, it's just gotten too consumer-oriented and really there is very little "Birth of Christ" meaning left in it. I would like to boycot it totally but with our culture as it is that is really impossible.

But here is the catch. Every year I say I am not going to participate, not going to buy presents (of course I still accept the ones I get even though I tell people not to buy me anything) and so on. Yet when the last week or two before the big day come, I get drawn to buy people presents and I get into the "Christmas spirit." I don't know what it is, it repels me yet I still fall for it. What is it about our psychie (sp?) that draws us to those things we don't want to be associated with? Maybe it's the flesh, maybe it's just that we can't escape it in our culture. I don't know, but it really has me thinking.

I know, I'm becoming nothing more than a quoter of Vox, I've been meaning to write something of my own lately, hopefully this week some time. Until then, here's another good one from the man:

The seed planted in the Sixties, when it became fashionable to be more concerned with passing political fads than any search for the truth, has flowered and found deep root.

This from Vox Day on the culture no longer celebrating Christmas, but choosing instead the "Happy Holidays" path:

Corporations have no conscience. A season or two of holiday sales sans Christmas shoppers and we'll be seeing verses from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on every store front, advertisement and Web page. Christmas survived 70 years of communism, it can conquer politically correct capitalism too.

Now you can get your pet's picture taken with Santa Claus at Pet's Smart for only $9.95.

This has to be one of the best quotes ever, and most appropriate:

Now that the Sox have won the World Series, here's my new sports wish for 2004. And I'm not kidding about this. Just once in my lifetime, when this situation unfolds like with Vince and the Raptors, I want to see the team say, "You know what? Screw you. You signed a contract to become our franchise player, and now you don't want to live up to that obligation? Fine. You're sitting on the bench. Don't worry, we'll pay you. You'll get your checks. You're just getting a DNP for the next five years. We're making an example out of you. You will never play for us again. And you won't play anywhere else, either."
Imagine that. Vince banished to the bench, game after game, month after month, until he shapes up and stops bitching about playing for Toronto. It would be the sports equivalent of sending a prisoner to the hole. Like every NBA fan wouldn't be rooting for the Raptors after that?

Again, from my new good friend Vox Day, as much as I can't believe this, I can if you know what I mean:

290 of the nation's Catholic bishops will meet at the Capitol Hyatt for their yearly business meeting and to tie up loose ends on the massive sexual-abuse crisis that has shaken the U.S. Catholic Church to its core in the past two years. Although it's been less than a year since the church revealed that there were 10,667 cases of abuse committed by 4,392 priests in a 50-year period, the message at the meeting will be that the crisis is under control. But it's far from over, says a local Catholic priest who says the true source of the crisis is a priesthood that is "honeycombed" with homosexual clerics, especially in the Diocese of Arlington.

However, attempts by the Rev. James Haley, 48, to persuade his bishop of the problem have backfired. After hearing from the priest about numerous instances of homosexual activity among diocesan clergy, Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde ordered the priest silenced Oct. 23, 2001. This "precept of silence" — usually only employed during church trial proceedings — is rarely used to silence a whistleblower....

Father Haley says his only crime is his insistence that homosexual priests, not solely pedophiles, are at the root of the sexual-abuse crisis. The Catholic priesthood is demoralized, he says, by groups of homosexual clerics who control who gets admitted to seminary, which men get nominated for bishop and which priests get the plum parishes. Based on his 17 years in the priesthood, he estimates that 60 percent of the Diocese of Arlington's 127 diocesan priests are homosexuals, which is high compared with national estimates of 30 percent to 50 percent from other authorities on the priesthood.

The Following was posted on one of my class discussion boards:



I realize this is an early post ... and the turn of discussion may go an entirely different direction... but, as I think about the Holy Spirit and the church (specifically, the church where I attend), I would like to put on the table these initial thoughts:
1. The Holy Spirit and our relationship with Him is one of the most misunderstood, misunderestimated and misutilized gifts that God has given us in the church. We don't expect God to do anything by His Spirit -- we have learned to rely upon our own self efforts. We don't come to church expecting to meet with God -- we come to judge what others are bringing to the table for us to enjoy ... and thus, God isn't given half of a chance to interrupt our lives by His love, His power, or His life being exhibited by the Holy Spirit. We don't come to church looking for, or expecting God by the Holy Spirit to do anything in our midst!
2. Abuses of "showmanship" by tele-evangelists have caused the church to run away from the very power that is ours as Christians ... so we have learned to be content with a "mental" relationship with God, instead of a heartfelt spiritual relationship with Him.
3. What is Christianity today, isn't at all the Christianity of the Book of Acts and what the church fathers experienced. And the arguments of "well, God needed to do that then, because the church needed to be established" doesn't wash with me ... because if there ever was a time for the church to be established in our world, IT'S TODAY. We need the Holy Spirit to move in our midst today ... and I don't mean in Pentecostal emotionalism, I mean in the reality of where we stop and stand in awe of God because His presence is so real we can hardly stand before Him. Where we have a quiet reverence and expecting of "what is God doing in our midst right now? I don't want to miss it!"... where's that gone?
4. A lot of what we have defined to be "spiritual gifts" in the church today are nothing more than talents and natural abilities ... and this "watered down" Christian life has zapped whatever kind of supernatural expectation of God that He wants us to have. May I dare to say, that if the Holy Spirit lives inside of me (and He does) -- and He is the giver of all the gifts in 1 Cor 12 -- then, if I am yielded to the Holy Spirit, God can manifest whatever gift He want to if I am open to it (regardless of what my natural gifting may be). [With that said, I am not saying that God doesn't use our natural talents and abilities too ... because He does. But, we should take our natural talents and abilities and yield them to the Holy Spirit's use -- and ask, "what is God saying, or wanting to do at this moment, through my talents for His glory, to allow His presence to be manifested to others?'
5. God wants us to live in a "day by day" relationship with Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit that transcends the rational and what we human beings call as "order." Where He can interrupt our schedule with divine appointments and meetings that change lives -- one on one -- for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Where God reminds us of Scriptures for people - or words of comfort - or touches lives with divine healing - or manifests His love to an individual in a real way... Do we expect this?
6. The lack of emphasis in prayer has caused us to not grow in our relationship in "hearing God" and allowing the Holy Spirit to have a part in our lives or the church. We see prayer as just talking to God - or performing worship to God - instead of listening to Him in relationship ... and, if we dared to REALLY listen to Him when we came together, what would He say? Would we obey it?
7. To allow the Holy Spirit to have a place in the organized church is going to require an added dose of humilty (to say, "I don't have all the answers, let's go to God (REALLY) in prayer right now and see what HE HAS to say") and grace (to allow us to try and fail as we learn to listen to God's voice) and some perfect love to accept people where they are and love them where they are at.
Right now, I have a relationship with the Holy Spirit in my prayer closet that the church - corporately where I attend - is clueless to and in its bylaws states, "Doesn't exist today!" UGH!
We have settled for second best. What we are calling "normal Christianity" is far less than God ever intended... We have become so corporate in the way we play church, that we have forgotten it is the people - the relationships - that God is hungering to touch by the power of His Spirit.
And my heart is broken about this issue of the Holy Spirit and the Church, for these very reasons.
We have become so performance oriented in our church and relient upon our own programming and idea factory working that if God didn't show up this Sunday ... would anything change? No. Church would be the same as it is now. THEN, what are the signs that show we are allowing or expecting God to move in our church today? How are we even allowing ourselves, corporately, to rely upon the Holy Spirit and His desire in our times of "coming together" to have His way in our midst?
I suppose this starts by having this expectation individually in our daily lives...
But then we need to cultivate an attitude of when we get together that we are celebrating what God is doing in our midst -- and expecting God to do more -- even at the moment that we come together on Sundays.
Just my thoughts ... and I could be totally off base ... but until God tells me otherwise, my heart expectation and prayer will be:"Holy Spirit, come! Let God's Kingdom come, right now -- doing whatever God needs to be accomplished -- as it is accomplished in heaven."

I've broken blogger rules, it's been over two weeks. Sorry, not much to write about.

Today's version of the Sign of the Apocalypse being upon up:

On Jan. 19th Student Ministries, Children's Ministries and the Special Events team will be sponsoring an all Church Talent show. We would like to invite you to take part in this fun, silly, meaningful night of fellowship. If you would like to share your talent as a individual, family, group, or friends please fill out the form you will find in your bulletin this Sunday or on the information table...please submit this by December 1st.

Do churches do any biblical things any more or is it just all fun?

This from my new friend Vox Day (thanks Adam!):
In my ideal world, there would be a test for an inclination to tell other people what to do. Those who test positive would be sent to Antarctica, where they could spend their lives trying to run each others' lives, leaving the rest of us in peace for a change.
AMEN!

Also, I'm not en ecologist or biologist or any other kind of -gist, but I was reading in National Geographic yesterday that nearly a century ago they (I don't know who they are) removed wolves from Yellowstone National Park. Recently, within the past ten years anyway, they have been reintroduced , which of course was feared to be a death sentence for the elk. Au Contraire Mu Fraire! It seems the elk and other flora are thriving like never before. The wolf are back in their natural habitat and all species are doing just fine. This makes me think, God created the wolf and put them in their natural habitat, we came in and messed it up for some reason but when they returned things returned to normal. I see God so in this, as Paul wrote to the church in Rome, "being understood from what has been made..."
Maybe it's a stretch, but it makes sense to me...

I'm thinking of adding more "Signs of the Apocalypse" much like Sports Illustrated, since the more I am reading the more I am finding. Here is another one from Discovery News:
It seems that Michelangelo's David sculpture is anatomically perfect except for a missing muscle in the back. Michelangelo knew this but sait he couldn't help it due to an imperfection in the marble.
Who in the world has the time and wants to take the time to study these things? And who pays them?

This from rapper KRS-One, who said he and other blacks cheerer when 9-11 happened:
The atrocity of 9-11 "doesn't affect us the hip-hop community," he said. "9-11 happened to them, not us," he added, explaining that by "them" he meant "the rich ... those who are oppressing us. RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations."
Oppressing them, Hmmm... I would like to hear what he means by that.

Another sign that the Apocalypse is upon us:
The Fox Valley Humane Association has raised $1 million dollars since April for a new building, a third of the way to their $3.2 million goal. Donations have come from private individuals and small businesses. "The 17,500 sqare foot building...will have a memorial garden, exercise area, training room, and children's learning room..."
And people around the world and locally are starving and living without basic needs...

I'm a tortured soul, I hate the Miami Hurricanes and the Yankees, and no matter what they scum out and find a way to win. I love Florida State and the Red Sox and no matter what bad things tend to happen to them. Why do I put myself through this?

I'm creating a list of things I want to do before I die, but really sometime in the very near future. Some of them I think are a little weird yet I want to do them anyway.

1) See Alicia Keys in concert (she's my girl)
2) See Sheryl Crow in concert (this one convicts me, but it's true)
3) Learn to surf
4) Drive through Mexico to the Guatemala border
5) Spend a year in a foreign, third world country
6) Hit every continent (really just Asia, Australia, and South America, Antarctica and Europe apart from the Italian coast are of no interest to me)


There's more but that's enough for now.

This from the AP:

A Fox News Channel producer sued Bill O'Reilly for sexual harassment Wednesday, alleging her boss had phone sex with her against her wishes three times. Fox filed a countersuit, saying the complaint was a politically motivated extortion attempt.

How does this happen? Couldn't she just hang up? I'm confused.

I find this quote from Leon Morris in the "Atonement" very pertinent to our world today:

"We are talking about some act we do at cost to ourselves and for the benefit of others (or sometimes for some future good for ourselves). Thus we may speak of the sacrifices some parents make to give their children a good education. Ancients like me remember that during the years of the Second World War we were frequently called upon to make sacrifices to assist our country. That meant forgoing comfort and pay raises and it involved making due with inferior substitutes instead of insisting on the superior article; on occasion it meant going without something altogether." (43)

Very convicting and I ask myself and others, are we willing to give up some luxuries for the benefit of the war on terrorism and some of our brothers and sisters around the world starving and being persecuted for their faith?

Another interesting comment, probably very familiar, same book:

"In every age people have found it easier to perform outward actions that to live pure lives." (51)

I think that is why we are so infatuated with the model of church that we have today.

Finally, this comment from "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth":

"In Matthew 5:29-30 Jesus tells his disciples to gouge out an offending eye or cut off an offending arm. Now we all know that Jesus "did not really mean that."

How do we know that? I think Jesus meant that more literal than we think when we look at it in context. Check it out.

I've never really connected with the Psalms, but I ran across one tonight that really hit me. Some excerpts from Psalm 143:

"O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief...
The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground...
I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my souls thirsts for you like a parched land...
For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life, in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies and destroy all my foes, for I am your servant."

This from the Sports Guy:

"My favorite part of that Cialis commercial: When the announcer quickly voices over near the end, "Erections lasting for more than four hours require immediate medical help." Nurse, can you get me a billy club please? Thanks."

On a different note, I'm coming more and more to the realization that many people (from my vantage point, however, I've experienced this more from teens, but also seen it from adults) don't want to realize that the world we live in is not God's will. They always want to say that their parents getting divorced is God's will, people getting sick is not God's will, when something bad happens, it's God's will, etc. That's just not true, yet they are very sensitive to telling them that it's not. We live in the product of a fallen world that God has and is redeeming, but what we see in most cases day to day is not God's will. The Garden of Eden prior to the fall was God's will and Revelation 21 & 22 lay out the will of God as well. In the meantime, we must pray for God's will to be done, for the world to see Him as Lord and live their lives to glorify Him, and that must be done one person at a time.

This from Ray Buchanan, cornerback for the Raiders:

Favorite off-day activity?

"I love bowling. I average, like, 180. On Tuesdays during the season I get my brothers and go roll."

Bring on Lebowski!

There is this girl that prays with us at school every morning that just makes me laugh. She always gives the group a pep talk while she is praying, and more than the group she'll give other groups a pep talk. This morning she was praying for good weather at the game tonight so the football players, "who have given all their time and effort and dedication can go out there and show what a good team they are..." I just had to laugh. I think her heart is in the right place, but...not necessarily prayer glorifying or praising or seeking wisdom from God.

Talk about nothing being out on the video scene, I was just looking at Family Video online and there has been nothing good released in the last two moths and nothing on the horizon. Ladykillers? Alamo? Makes me sick...I can't wait for Christmas when "Oceans 12" and "Meet the Fochers" comes out.

On another somber note, I see Brett Favre's brother-in-law was killed on an ATV accident. It reminds me of when I was somewhere around 12 and had a nasty crash with one of those and was lucky to walk away. It always reminds me when I hear stories like this how lucky I was to survive adolescence and early adulthood alive and have the chance to get to know Jesus.

Speaking of that, I was asked yesterday if I was a "very religious person?" I hate that term, but never know how to respond. From now on I am going to say, "If you are asking if I love Jesus, yes I do. If you are asking if I am some religious nut, then no." I can't wait to see the reaction on that person's face.

If I was Dick Cheney I would look at John Edwards and ask, "Who let you in?" And then I'd swat him like a little flea.

I like what Cheney said in response to one of Edwards' comments last night, "That's good rhetoric from the Senator but just not true..." and then went on to refute his comments.

There is a haunted house in the Fox Valley called "The Morgue" and is being sponsored by a church. Another sign that the Apocalypse is soon upon us.

A speaker came into school today with a positive message, although I don't think the message was what they were expecting. He talked about excuses and reasons for the first half hour and then spend about 20 minutes on how Jesus changed his life and all the goods. The auditorium was silent. At the beginning I was wondering how he was getting away with this and that he shouldn't be doing then, but then I realized, who cares, these kids need to hear the Gospel and I have just been too brainwashed to realize that this is a free country and this should be allowed in the schools.

Then, this from the Sports Guy today, you may have to be a Red Sox fan to get it:

"Superstars: Vlad vs. Manny. Two streaky, enigmatic guys who can carry a team for weeks at a time. Their stats are almost identical -- Vlad hit 30 points higher (.337 to .308), but their OBP's were the same, plus Manny had more homers and RBI and a higher slugging percentage. Then again, Vlad gives you better defense, a cannon arm and the occasional SB. Then again, Manny has a huge edge in playoff experience: something like 60 playoff games to zero. Then again, we're not even sure Manny realizes that there's a difference between the regular season and the playoffs, or that they're keeping score during games. EDGE: EVEN"

Jesse Jackson Jr. was being interviewed on the radio this morning by Mike North out of Chicago and he asked him what exactly Kerry's plan for Iraq was, since it was laid out so well on Thursday evening but no one still has any idea what it was. He called for a global summit to discuss the exit process, but then also said that wouldn't work so there would have to be an Arab summit to get those countries involved in helping us get out of Iraq. That'll work...

I went to the grocery store last night to pick up some pasta and went through the express lane. I couldn't beleive my eyes when the person two ahead of me paid for Robitussin with a check. Then, the guy in front of me paid for whatever he bought, which came to $7.77 with a check as well! I thought the Lord Himself was coming back...

Tiger Woods needs to understand that no one cares if he is hurting or his game is being "worked on" or anything else. I'm sick of him complaining all the time and giving me that whiny grimmace. Toughen up! No one feels sorry for you. You make more money per day than most people do in a year! Yet your game is going downhill faster than a runaway train. Be a man!

I took this quote from Vox Day's blog:

"I suspect that historians will likely look back on the ascension of the left as the destruction of the academy. It is ironic that they enjoy accusing Christians as anti-intellectual, considering that it was Christians who started nearly every major university. And with the decline of Christianity will come the decline of scholarship, as the cause of truth is rendered secondary to questions of politics and power.It's worth noting that the only new colleges being founded are Christian colleges, as the atheized universities gradually devolve into morasses of plagiarism, political correctness and low-grade minds filled with secular dogma."

I'm going to be honest and I don't want to be misinterpreted, but I am beginning to get very frustrated with our culture. I have so many friends who have time for nothing, no time to meet, no time to return calls or speak on the phone, no time to return an email just to say they received it. It's like everyone is on their own little planet running their own little show. It's getting sickening. What do people do? And this primarily deals with Christians. That's not the way the Universal Chruch should run, and I believe it's one of the primary downfalls of the Christian faith that we are facing at this time.

If you are a baseball fan you have to love what the A's and Twins have been able to do in recent years. They keep losing their best players to richer teams, yet are always still there at the end.

I am still confused as to the meaning of that dream from yesterday, although I do believe there is some strong symbolism in it.

First, I watched the movie "Seven" again last night, a very disturbing movie if I must say...

Second, the Lord has for some time given me a great heart for children, especially those from abused backgrounds. I don't know what He is doing to do with that yet but I'm listening.

Then I had this dream last night that deals with this same thing. I'll try to make it short:

I'm in something like a mall food court area and a little girl (who happens to be my daughter Maiya) is roaming around. I ask her where her family is and she doesn't know so I take her to the security and on the way we meet her father and younger sister (about a year or younger) and the father is paying no attention to her, clearly neglecting both daughters. We then instantly move from the food court to a home in the kitchen where I am now talking with the father and mother and playing with my daughter (their daughter in the dream). I was about to leave but the daughter didn't want me to. I told her she would be fine and I left even though she was screaming. I began to walk out again even though the daughter didn't want me to. I felt that something bad was going to happen but the father was pusing me out and I said to the little girl "I feel something bad is going to happen, there is nothing I can do, I trust there is a God and He will protect you..." But as I walked out I realized I couldn't allow this to happen so I couldn't leave and told the father what I felt. He erupted and I had to hold him back from beating me and the daughter up, while the wife was obviously frightened.

I awoke as I was leaving the house with the daughter (again, my daughter). I then had this very strange feeling that the Lord's Presence was with me at that time, letting me know things were all right. I had this deep peace, yet I didn't get any clear direction. Clearly a crazy dream and even as I write this hours later I am still shaken.

I'm getting old. These crazy hairs have been showing up high on my cheeks and they look terrible so I have to have Lisa pull them out. I don't want to shave them or more will come. OUCH!

I look around school sometimes and wonder what Maiya will be like when she is this age. Will she fit in? Will she be different? Will she live for Jesus? Will she have friends? It's crazy becoming a parent and having all these thoughts go through your head and get worried about them.

I was reading about patience last night and how God is so patient and desires that none should perish... Sometimes I want God's judgment to come right now, "Blow the trumpet and let's get this party started!" But then I remember God's patience and the parable of the weeds where if the weeds were picked some of the wheat may get torn up as well and God doesn't want that.

Then I was thinking about this on my way into work this morning and I was reminded of a time way back when when I had way too much to drink and shouldn't have been driving and very well could have gotten into an accident and died and I know where I would have gone. Praise God for His Patience!

From the list of can you believe this... A South Florida's women's basketball player wanted to wear a scarf, long pants, and a top with long sleeves during competition. They obviously refused so she quit the team and lost her scholarship...what has this world come to. Read the entire story at this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=1882485

On another note, two reflections from my time alone at Copper Rock this evening:
1) This new generation is something. There was this group of teens sitting at a table all playing with their cell phones, not even interacting. Crazy!
2) People just want to belong to something. There was another group interacting and I could tell that one of the members just wanted to be a part of that group and was very happy being allowed in the group. This is quite amazing about the human race, we are made unique yet really rely on others for so much, we want to be independent yet have this need of community. Then we add Christian community the mix and we open up a whole new realm of living.

Another thing, I witnessed two students harrassing an LD student yesterday. In hindsight, I should have stepped in but I really didn't know what was going on until it was too late. That just tears my heart and I need to talk to the young man tomorrow and let him know that he is worthy and has infinite dignity, value and worth just for who he is and that he was created by God.

I blogged thistopic last spring but it is very pertitent here as well. The weather has such a bearing on my state of mind. When I drive to work and the sun is out, my psychie is great. But the opposite is true as well. Winter is coming, can I move to CA?

I ran into these quotes (some rather lengthy) in my study last night:

"True Christians are people that acknowledge and live under the word of God."

That is an intriguing quote, yet one I have to disagree with. While acknowledging and living under the word of God is vital and Christian living and definitely a fruit of our salvation, that does not dictate Christianity. I would say true Christians are those who have accepted the death of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, while those who do the above would definitely lead a very healthy Christian life.

I liked this one:

"Justification is a truly dramatic transition from the status of a condemned criminal awaiting a terrible sentence to that of an heir awaiting a fabulous inheritance."

On the idea of grace, the author writes the following:

"But many church people are not like this. They may pay lip service to the idea of grace, but there they stop. Their conception of grace is not so much debased as nonexistent. The thought means nothing to them; it does not touch their experience at all. Talk to them about the church's heating, or last year's accounts, and they are with you at once. But speak to them about the realities to which the word grace points, and their attitude is one of deferential blankness. They do not accuse you of talking nonsense; they do not doubt that your words have meaning; but they feel that, whatever it is that you are talking about, it is beyond them, and the longer they have lived without it the surer they are that at their stage of life they do not really need it."

I just thought of another reason why when studying the Bible in a group it is important to go verse by verse.

Think of the one person in any Bible study that always causes trouble. Chances are you are thinking of that person that just doesn't get the truths of Scripture and always has other interpretations and always "just wants to love people and accept them where they are at."

There is really no way of refuting them if you are studying a book or just having a discussion, but when you study God's Word verse by verse you can point to Scripture and prove the error of their thoughts. The burden then goes off the facilitator or the group and puts it on God's Word which we can't argue. This won't solve all problems but I think it will help in many circumstances.

Can you imagine being a 49'ers fan at this time and seeing that Ken Dorsey will be starting for you this week? Joe Montana where have you gone?

The more I think and discuss about the traditional way of "doing church" the more frustrated I become and the more I realize that the younger generations want nothing to do with it. I believe the boomers relate well to logical based reasoning and teaching, but younger evangelicals could care less.

For instance, a church in the area has Sunday school class on Creation, biblical and scientific reasons that it was literally 6 24-hour days. That's all fine and very important in my mind, but in reality, so what? What does believing in that get me? How does it affect me?

I don't think these classes go enough into the questions of how that affects our world today and how this gives us a greater appeciation of God. If we focus on the content without the meaning I think we are fighting a losing battle and I think that is how many churches go about this.

Furthermore, I don't think that was how the disciples and early church taught. For instance, let me use an example from Galatians where Paul references the two covenants, one with the bondwoman or Hagar and the other with the freewoman or Sarah. I'll let you read the text for yourself, but the purpose here is that after Paul is done teaching this truth, in 2:28 he writes that "we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise." Notice how he relates it directly to them and how and why this is important to them. Paul taught the church in Galatia an important truth from the OT and then used it to prove a point about this new life and freedom in Christ.

There is much more to be said here, but again the point is that the old method of teaching of Christianity as a "truth to be known" is not working and is not the method Jesus or the disciples used. Rather, let's teach Christianity as "a truth to be followed or lived" and I believe people will respond more appropriately.

A student in one of my classes today starting schooling the rest of the class on religion. (I always find it so interesting when this happens.) Anyway, she starting talking about her church and how it has a mosh pit and a climbing wall, it's lots of fun. Another student said, "It's not really church then, you just have fun." She responded that she's non-denominational so you come and believe whatever you want and everyone is accepted.

How dare anyone hold anyone else to the standards of God, can't we all just get along? I want to be a part of this church! Who wouldn't!

I saw this neat bumper sticker yesterday. It showed a baby in a womb and the caption said, "Mommy, what's a safe abortion?"

I'm still thinking quite a bit on whether the primary focus of Christians is first toward the community of believers, fellow Christians, or to non-believers. My heart right now is saying that if we focus first on our cohorts and encourage and build them up, it might be much easier to reach out to and love non-believers. However, I do not discount the clear biblical purpose of the Church to evangelize and disciple the nations. It's probably not either or, but both. But or now my money says focus on the former without neglecting the latter.

Forgot the web site, here it is:

http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/salaries/default.aspx

I'm still not over this weekend's college football games...

I found this great web site where you can look up any NFL player over the past four years and see what his salary plus bonuses were. Part of me feels this is wrong but it's too tempting.

I love being around Christians who love one another and whose sole purpose is to glorify God and follow Him.

Forgive me for being crass, but I have to laugh when I am watching TV and an actress has had certain surgical enhancements of late. Let's get serious!

I think every Christian should decide in their heart two things. First, what are the essentials that make up the faith, what are those things that are non-negotiable. Second, what then are those things that are preferable, or what do we want to base our fellowship on. The two are different yet each equally important. And then the next step is to decide how to act on each of these things in real life while keeping the focus on love.

I started reading this book today called "A New Kind of Christian" and in one of the stories the author is telling he makes the point how we white people (the author is white as well) think of other cultures as either black or white. We don't take into consideration other cultures or backgrounds, one is either black or white, yet how many people do we know fit into either of those categories.

As with many, but not all, things do not fit into black or white boxes, the world can be very gray.

If I was a drinker I would be drowning my sorrows at this time. I can’t believe it, I really can’t. I ask myself, why do I like the Noles? Why do I like the Red Sox? These teams continue to break my heart. Yet I continue, with the hope that one day all will be all right, one day they will bring my joy. I long for that day.

On a better note, I had a great day at school today after some really trying days with my students. I decided to first pray for them last night, funny how that seems to help. Then I also decided to really pour my energy into them, more than ever, and really focus on the learning and trying to control every minute. It worked, I hope I can continue that for the entire year.

For some reason I was trying to be pc on the last blog even though I know no one reads this. Let me say it again.

I am sick of all of the liberal God-haters hating on God and those who love Him. It really makes me sick to my stomach. I want God to wipe them off the face of the earth. But again, I must love (even though I don't want to) and try to glorify the True God and spread His message and grace. God will repay, I am certain of that.

I'm really fed up with all of the hate going around. Hate, hate, hate, everyone is out to be a hater. It really discourages me and makes me a hater in the same light. I want the judgment of God to come down and take care of business, but then I realize that one day God will judge and He will judge justly, for now I must share His love and not worry about anything else. But that's so hard ):

I'm getting old and with that old age (along with sore bones and muscles) I am getting much more sappy. I want to cry all the time. I can be watching a game and want to cry, a movie, whatever, I feel tears welling up inside of me. Reading Philip Yancey brings me to a total mess. What's going on?

I also came across this paragraph in the book "Every man's battle":

"God forgot what we forgot - namel, the curse of Eden is a grinding curse. Life is a steamroller, making pancakes of conditions and easily mashing the naive contracts we create. In our dreams for marriage, maybe we forgot that we would still have to work long hours by the sweat of our brow to eat, and that we wouldn't always see each other as much as we wish. Maybe we forgot that we will sometimes be beaten up and used by bosses, our minds so numb we just don't want to talk when we get hom. Maybe we forgot that with the pain in childbirth comes bodies that never regain their former shape."

I think every couple thinking of marriage should reflect on this quote. It also wouldn't hurt every couple in general to discuss this.

You have no idea how great it is to be working again and actually have a purpose for every day (not that being a father isn't a purpose, you know what I mean). I even dressed up tonight for a meeting. Not to get psychoanalytical, but there is something tied to one's esteem and their job, at least for me. I don't absolutely I'm-going-to-die-if-I-don't-get-to-work love my job, but I enjoy it and love the people I work with.

I had something else but it slips my mind for now. Later...

You have no idea how great it is to be working again and actually have a purpose for every day (not that being a father isn't a purpose, you know what I mean). I even dressed up tonight for a meeting. Not to get psychoanalytical, but there is something tied to one's esteem and their job, at least for me. I don't absolutely I'm-going-to-die-if-I-don't-get-to-work love my job, but I enjoy it and love the people I work with.

I had something else but it slips my mind for now. Later...

For quite some time, especially since fatherhood but even before that, I have had a huge heart and burden for children who are abused or neglected. Every time I hear a story or see a child who is just not treated properly, I get so mad in the flesh I don't know what to do. Often I just pray. But the thing is that I don't have this same feeling for orphans or foster children who are treated properly, it's just for those, whether from one or two parent families or foster families who are not treated as children should be. It's almost like God is leading me to do something, but what do you do?

Having said that, check out this blog from a guy I check out every once in a while. There's a lot of truth to what he wrote:

"I'm so happy to have my family to come home to. Their unwavering acceptance of me, the constant encouraging of my dreams, the relentless encoure of "Daddy's home!" everytime I walk through the door are more than enough to offset a world of rejection from these countless unknown casting directors."

I blogged the following some time in May:

"Last, I used to think I was high stuff in God's Kingdom. But He is really convicting and humbling me more lately. There are so many people out there who are just spiritual giants compared to me. That's all right, but I just have to remember that the first will be last and vice versa, and instead of building my own Kingdom on this earth I need to build up the Kingdom of God."

It is totally pertinent as I sit here this evening as well. What God humbled me with this evening was that I just have to serve Him. Whether it be in Kenya or America, in a house church or organized church, whatever the case I must serve and glorify Him with my own life and inspire others to do the same. It's that simple. And that's my prayer.

Lisa and I were just at this art shop browsing and there was a bronze sculpture of a naked man for $65,000. That's no misprint. And people think Christians are crazy! The world doesn't exactly make the most sense either.

Another quote, this one from the book "Every Man's Battle": It costs something to learn about Christ. It costs a lot to live like Christ." TRUTH!

Finally, I find that I'm in this mode right now when I'm "against" more than I'm "for," and I don't like that. For instance, I've been too much against the institution of the Church rather than for the egalitarian grass roots way that I enjoy so much. I'm against the clergy-laity division rather than being for the priesthood of all believers. I believe we get further by being "for" something we believe in rather than "against" something we don't believe it. I'm glad I caught this, now I have to change.

One last thing, I'm reading this other book called "The Challenge of Jesus," it's not a bad book, some of it is way over my head, but the author asks a lot of good questions. I'm not totally sure on his answers, but the questions are great, I'll share them in my next blog, I want to get into some more reading first. Maybe then you'll come back anyway.

I'm in this mode again of having so much to say that I have nothing to say. In two weeks I'll be back to updating more frequently, otherwise I'm going to quit.

I just finished a paper on Roman Catholic ecclesiology. As usual I ranted about it the whole time, but I did find a few positives, one being professed unity toward a common goal and another the ability to find purpose and role in the insitution. However, we shouldn't need an intistution for either of those, we have Jesus and the Bible, yet we always want concrete things to worship, just like the Israelites with the calf.

I'm beginning to think more on my exodus from the modern church a year ago. My thinking this week is that I was sick of all of the facades being put up and the way we had to go play softball or golf to fellowship. I like what my favorite friend Jon Setser always tells me, let's just fellowship around Jesus. I like that.

Finally, I just ran into this quote from Richard Niebuhr and like it a lot:

“In his single-minded devotion to God, Christ leads men away from the temporarlity and pluralism of culture. In its concern for the conservation of many values of the past, culture rejects the Christ who bids men rely on grace.” - Richard Niebuhr

Blessings...

It's 2am and I can't sleep.  We went down at around 10, so I don' t know why I am up.  Maybe since my body on got four hours of sleep the past few nights it thinks I am done sleeping.

This computer here is very slow, they can only have dial-up since high-speed is like $600 a month.  It's funny though, I put my wrong password in just a few minutes ago to do this and a second later it told me. 

We found out today that most Kenyans live on around $1.10 a day, that made me sick when I went and exchanged my $400 at the bank today, that is what most people make in a year.  I threw it out like nothing.  Change Please.

A few of us have been playing mental badminton since we left Chicago.  We toss out ideas and throw them back at each other.  No one wins though.  I love that, but I also find that while we sit around and toss these ideas back and forth there are people all around the world dying without ever hearing the Gospel.  I believe, at least for my own life, there needs to be more action and less theological arguing.

 

I am either running on total adrenaline at this point or I will not get jet lag on this trip.  I hope it is the latter but I feel it is the former.  I just hope I don't crash in a few days.

We just got off an intense prayer and share time with about half of our group.  It was great.  I find that in times such as these, with being in a different culture, experiencing fear of the unknown, etc., I am drawn to seek God more.  I wish it were like that all the time.

I am once again, as I knew would happen, feel the extraordinary tug to come and minister here full time.  The funny thing, as I was telling a few people today, is that I have no desire to go anyplace else to minister other than here.  It's quite weird.  Of all the nations in the world, I want to go to Kenya and have great contacts in that nations, and more coming in the next two weeks.  May I just be obedient to the Lord!

Tomorrow is the big day, we press through to Kitale to fulfill a two-year goal of reuniting with Japheth and his family.  He was so excited in the airport that I will be meeting his family just as he has met mine and we will minister together for the work of the Lord.  May we unite in the spreading of the Gospel and the discipling of the nations.

Just a few thoughts while here in Kenya:

It is 8:30 am here, for you folks in the central time zone that is 12:30am.  We are beginning to suffer jet lag but that is why we are taking the day to rest and take in the culture. 

We just spoke with the lady who runs HEART (Health Education for Africa Resource Team) and she just lost her husband to cancer.  Something she said really stuck out to me.  "It comes down to whether we really believe what we teach or not.  We have taught for years the soveriegnty of God and that fact that this earth is not our home, now it comes down to whether we believe it or not, and we do."  That my friends in faith.

This is a beautiful country, and I pray God's blessings over it.

I haven't blogged in forever.  I'd lie and tell you I didn't have time but I'm really just lazy. 

If you are checking this you probably know that I am leaving for Kenya in the morning.  Just one thoughtss:

There is some anxiety on the part of Lisa and I.  It's almost like we won't see each other again.  I have to put it in perspective though.  Three years ago I hurt my knee pretty bad skiing in Colorado the first night I was there.  I had to have someone feel sorry for me so I called my mom and told her what happened and she said just to be thankful that I can walk and ski in the first place.  Perspective.  Japheth, the gentleman we are going to see, left his family for two years to come to the states to gain a Christian education leaving 8 kids behind.  I will be gone for two weeks.  Perspective. 

Hopefully I'll be back soon!

It's been quite a while, I've got so much to say that I really don't have anything to say. It's a weird feeling.

I've started something very interesting with a liberal friend of mine. Through the summer, we have exchanged three books that have had a major effect on our life and our thinking. I think it is going to go a long way in our discussion on economics, religion, and misc. social reforms. One of the books he gave me that I have begun reading is called "Nickel and Dimed" and is about a lady who pretended to be poor and waitressed and housecleaned for some time to see how the "working class" gets by. I have many issues with the concept and things she says, but a few things stick out to me:

First, she mentioned how in her waitressing she gets tables of people who come from Sunday night worship wearing their WWJD shirts who are rude, picky, and leave a $1 tip on a $92 check. Come on people!

Second, it is amazing to read how the "other America" (for lack of a better term) lives. We don't even realize some of the levels of depravity.

Third, she goes back to the Christians when she goes to a tent revivial in Portland, Maine, and all the preacher complains about is that it takes money to put this tent revival on and the people need to give. I find that hilarious!

Fourth, she mentions that the people there should worry less about talking about the dead Jesus and start reading and acting on His words when He was alive. I agree.

Again, I find no validity in her findings in the book as it seems like she wants to reinvent communism all over in America, but some of the things she finds are quite intriguing.

Take a second and think about this question:

If someone were to come up to you today and tell you that your entire belief system was wrong, would you listen to him and try to discern what he was saying?

Two thoughts come to mind when I think of this question. First, that is what we do to others who we seek to lead to Christ, telling them they are wrong instead of leading them to truth. I think there is a big difference in these two methods. Second, I know that if one told me my entire belief system was wrong, I would give him the time of day and listen to what he had to say, if for no other reason than being able to refute what he was saying and seek to lead him to the Lord.

I think my point is this. All too often we get prideful of our existing belief systems and believe in the form and facet of what we beleive and the culture in which we believe it rather than what we actually believe. I think that gets many religious people into trouble and keeps them from truly knowing and loving Jesus Christ.

This world is just such a big place and so diverse, I am continually humbled as to the beauty and diversity of the Creation. I want to see it all, I want to talk with natives in Hanoi, cut firewood in Siberia, view the wildlife in Kenya, see the coastlife in South Africa, attend a wedding in India, all with the people of God's Creation. I want to do so much, and I want all of it to glorify God! My heart yearns to meet others and bring out the glory of our Creator!

I just finished reading this article about the two guys that write the "Left Behind" series. It's funny that you think you know something about someone based on the books they write, the fame they garner, etc. But really after reading this I find that they are just normal humans like you and I, except maybe just a hair richer. They have the same struggles with their faith, some questions for the Lord, etc. They seek to live their life pleasing to Him. Whether I like the books or agree with them is a moot point, they are on this same journey as I as children of the Lord and we are brothers in the Kingdom of God. That is refreshing and very freeing to know.

I don't know why but I have no interest in this homosexual marriage thing. I get all these emails and read all of the articles but I just want to stay totally out of it. It makes me wonder why my heart is like this but it just wants to stay neutral. Crazy...

Just a couple of thoughts on this rainy Friday morning...

The weather does crazy things to one psychy (sp?). Every Friday I have coffee with a friend. Last Friday the weather was great and I left Starbucks feeling great, ready to take on the day. This Friday the weather sucks and I felt like crap when I left, wanting just to go home and go to bed. Every other variable was constant except the weather...

When we read some of Jesus' teachings and that of the entire NT, we find that many of the teachings are radical. But then as we re-read and study and grow in the Lord, we find that living in His Kingdom is something that is very radical and takes a radical commitment, something we in the West have a tough time with...

Along with that, if I were to ask what the essence of Christianity was, I would say the Gospel. What does one do to become saved? Believe the Gospel, which is found in 1 Cor. 15. Yet I know a lot of people who would affirm 1 Cor. 15, yet I would not believe they are saved. Is there more to it then? Doesn't that then make it works? I'm confused by this...

As I said before, God continues to draw me into His Kingdom and the radical living that it requires. My prayer is just that I can live what the Spirit is guiding me into...

Last, I used to think I was high stuff in God's Kingdom. But He is really convicting and humbling me more lately. There are so many people out there who are just spiritual giants compared to me. That's all right, but I just have to remember that the first will be last and vice versa, and instead of building my own Kingdom on this earth I need to build up the Kingdom of God.

God Bless!

I think I finally figured out last night the fulfillment of my heart's desire. It's quite simple, living for Jesus Christ with my entire mind, body, and spirit. Living every single minute of every single day for Him. That is what I desire, that is my understanding of Kingdom living, the problem is what does that mean. That is my question but at least I now know what my heart is longing for. I think I knew it already but not it is in the forefront of my mind.

I continue in my reading to hear how the new wave of thinking focuses so much more on grace rather than legalism. I like to hear this, yet my heart is still struggling to move from one to the other. I totally am in with the grace thing when it deals with others, for instance showing the grace and love of Christ to unwed mothers, to the poor, etc. However, when it comes to my own life I tend to stay on the side of legalism, not wanting to use grace as a license to sin. Right now I am thinking that this is because I know my heart and my ways and know that if I go too far who knows what may happen, and I don't want to fall into sin. I'll stay on the right for now in my personal life and go to the left when dealing with others. We'll see what happens with that.

I messed up on that last one, three thousand weren't saved as a result of that, more were added to the number being saved. Sorry, I think the same point holds true though.

Ditto on that last blog about understanding love more now that I am a father. Maiya never talks on the phone but talked to me for a few minutes today, told me about her day, and told me she loved me. I could hardly understand her but it is the thought that counts. I see her vying for my affection more lately, please pray that I continue to realize this and put her before my other useless hobbies I like to spend my time on.

I didn't mean to go here, but I am thinking right now of how stupid and worthless it is to put one's time, especially if one is a Christian, in the meaningless things of this world. Here I am, a father of a beautiful little girl, I have the power, according to research, to play a large role in how she will grow up, and here I am sitting at the computer in the evening ignoring her as she is trying to get me to play with her. I make myself want to puke.

What I meant to write about today was my struggle trying to balance having non-believers at our Sunday gathering with keeping it just to believers. I see the purpose and believe strongly that believers need time just to hang out by themselves. Yet I also see biblically that Paul told the Christians in Corinth to behave themselves in case non-believers were present (which means they were welcome at the gatherings?) and how in Acts 2 three thousand were saved when they saw how the believers lived.

What really got me thinking on this was Robert E. Webber's comment in his book "Younger Evangelicals" that "Evangelism is not 'come to Christ and then to church' but 'come to church and then to Christ.'"

Like I said, I see both sides, right now I am going to stay with the former but think more on the latter.

I think I have already blogged on the fact that since becoming a father, I have been able to understand the love of God in a better way. Recently though, this has come to the forefront of my mind in an even greater fashion.

For example, my dauther is very shy (I say she is weird but I don't really mean that). Right now, and I hope it is just her age, but it seems like she has trouble fitting in and playing with other children. So when I watch her, my heart just goes out to her, I grieve for her and my entire spirit just feels for her. I want so much for her to be accepted and get along with others and fit in and so on. I get that feeling in my stomach, I think you all know what I mean, that feeling you get when you want something so bad you would do anything for it. It's that feeling.

I think God has that feeling for us all the time. In a different way than I have it for my daughter of course, but that same feeling. He wants so much for us to just love Him, to be in His presence, to sit in His arms and enjoy His company, His Spirit, His love and grace. Of course He wants us to serve Him and others as well, but I think more than that just to be His child. And when we struggle and don't live or love as we should, I think He gets that feeling as well. I could be wrong, but I am finding out more and more how much He loves me and wants me to experience that love.

I wish I could do this more often...

Have you ever said you didn't want to do something but you did it because it was for a member of the clergy or for "the church." Why do we do that? I believe it is because it fits right into our works-based theology, even in the evangelical church. We feel that we can be justified by the clergy or "church" on this earth and God in heaven. We're basically trying to work for our justification on earth and in heaven. But didn't Paul say in the big quote from Eph 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, though this not of yourselves, it is a gift from God, not by works that no man should boast." We know this and we believe this and approve of this teaching but often it does not move into our daily lives. Not that these things are wrong to do, but it's the reason behind them. Am I making any sense?

On another topic, do you ever think how much we do just because it is a lifestyle? For instance, my going to coffee shops, I like coffee and all, but it would be much cheaper to brew some at home and sit at my desk or on the couch? But I choose to go and pay $4 for a "latte" just because it is a lifestyle and I can fit in with a group I enjoy to be around, even though no one talks while we are there.

Crazy...

It's been quite a while since I have updated, sorry to any of you who read this. I come back where I left off, eternal perspective:

"Think of Pastor Kim, the leader of a group of Chinese Christians meeting in
underground tunnels. We complain here in America about uncomfortable seats
and poor lighting, and here are Christians meeting in China under a street
praising God.

The Communists began to build a road and found the Christians at this time.
Immediately they were ordered to deny Christ, yet they would not submit.

They then took the four smallest children, and ordered them prepared to be
hanged. As they tied the noose around their precious little necks, they
again asked the adults to deny Christ, but they wouldn't, telling the
children they would see them soon.

After the children were hanged, the Christians were ordered to lie flat down
as the Communists got a steamroller. One last time they were ordered to
deny Christ, yet they again would not submit, even as the steamroller
flattened them to death as they went home to be with the Lord.

Dwight Moody once said "One day you are going to read in the paper that
Dwight Moody died, don't believe it for a second. At that time, I will be
more alive than ever before."

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing,
yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor.
4:16-18

New Heaven and New Earth:

Those who know me know I am a heaven guy. Those who don't know me, ask me about it sometime.

This latest one comes from CS Lewis' "The Last Battle," the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia. Read Revelation 21-22 before reading on.

"It is hard to explain how this sunlit land was different from the old Narnia, as it would be to tell you how the fruits of that country taste. Perhaps you will get some idea of it, if you think like this. You may have been in a room in which there was a windown that looked out on a lovely bay of the sea or a green valley that wound away among mountains. And in the wall of that room opposite to the window there may have been looking glass. And as you suddenly caught sight of that sea or that valley, all over again, in the looking glass. And the sea in the mirror, or the valley in the mirror, were in the one sense just the same as the real ones: yet at the same time they were somehow different-deeper, more wonderful, more like places in a story: In a story you have never heard but very much want to know. The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can't describe it any better than that: if you ever get there, you will know what I mean.

It was the Unicorn who summoned up what everyone was felling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed and then cried:

"I have come home at last. This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it until now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Breee-heee-heee. Come further up, come further in."

Another quick one:

"No one will be in heaven or hell who didn't choose to be there willingly"

Now that's one to think about...

I'm going to try to throw in some random thoughts, quotes, excerpts in the new few days. Here is the first:

* In 1912, William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, just before his death,wrote that he saw coming to the Church “forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration . . . a heaven without a hell.” How prophetic in our day of Universalism.

* I began reading this book two nights ago, "Young Evangelicals." It seems like a pretty good book. What I have found interesting so far is how the author has broken down the last hundred years of Evangelicalism into three parts, historical (orthodox, fundamentalists), pragmatic (seeker-friendly movement) and emerging or new evangelicals (house churches, simplicity, etc.). It strikes me how most people fit into these three areas. Not just a little, but perfectly. Take me for example, I fit into the new evangelical mold, perfectly. I wasn't taught this, this model has just been "me" since I became a believer. Why? I have no idea, but it does intrigue me. Hopefully I can find this out soon.

* My focus in my study in the near future is going to be on the words and teachings, in context, of Jesus. I'm going to lay off of the Epistles for a while and see what Jesus said, particularly in relation to His Kingdom. Dallas Willard wrote a lot about this in his book "Divine Conspiracy" and I want to see if what he wrote was accurate.

Remember some time ago when I wrote that one of my player's parents, a Christian, was livid at me for various reasons. Well, I received a scathing letter today. I've got mixed emotions and reactions to this. For one, I feel my conscience is clear in this matter (and it is), therefore there is nothing more that I can do. I feel they are totally taking this the wrong way and I am in the right. Also, their accusations of me are clearly not accusations Christians would make, at least in my mind. Also, taking to heart my faith in this manner as they have makes me wonder, what does a Christian (in this case Christian coach) look like? I know what they think it looks like, equality, fair, appeasing to the crowds, giving in to pressure, etc. Does some of that exist? Probably, but like I told Lisa, I don't put myself in this category at all, but the people probably got mad at Paul and Jesus as well. In fact they did, they got so mad at them that they killed them. They did things that made people mad. As Christians, we can't please everyone. As I have said, my conscience is clear in this matter.

But second, it does hurt when another so-called brother and/or sister in Christ feel this way about you. I have already apologized and sought forgiveness, but to no avail. I rethink if I could have done things differently. I want to be a witness for Christ. What is a person to do.

I guess just another day in the life of a human in a fallen world.

For the first four years of my life with Christ, I hadn't thought much on community. Now it has almost dominated my thought for the past year. The thing that gets me is how much I desire community with other believers. There is nothing like it. That bonding in the blood of Christ moves me. Yet there is a catch, it is temporary. I enjoy it while I have it but inevitably it ends. Then I have to wait for some more. It's the consequence of living in a fallen world. So I guess what I have to do is enjoy it while it is there, and when it is not understand there will come a time when it will be eternal.

I went to see "Miss Saigon" last night. It was my first big-time musical production, I enjoyed it, although not the $10 for the useless program (why do they always have to rip you off like that, we Americans just get taken and don't let it bother us). One thing really stuck out at me though:

The basis of the story comes down to the fact that this American GI fathered a child while he was serving in Vietnam for the war. He doesn't realize it until three years later, when he goes back to see the child. (This is a really bad description, I am trying to keep it short.) But the moral that I got out of it was that this was a child, a human being, that needed love and care and support from both parents, not just financial support. He was a human being, created by God, with infinite dignity, value, and worth! I say that again, he was a human being, created by God, with infinite dignity, value, and worth. It got me thinking, how many children are there in this world in this situation? I don't even want to think of the numbers. But God has seriously put two things on my heart in the past few years, one is Kenya and the other is children who are abandoned or neglected. I can't explain the pain I have for them. In "Four Souls" the authors write of being in one of Mother Theresa's orphange's in India. One of the men pick up a baby, who had some disease where she had a huge head but the body was tiny. Just a few months old, the baby clung to the man with affection, not letting go. He literally had to rip this baby away when it was time to go, at that young age she knew there may not be personal affection coming again for some time. I can't imagine this.

Another thing that this reminded me of. In "Night" by Elie Wiesel, he talks in the beginning of one of the most tramatic times of his imprisonment, eight simple words that changed his life forever: "Men to the right, women to the left." He would never see his mother or sisters again.

I guess what I am getting at here is the circumstances our fellow human beings around the world are born into, maybe never to get out of. This pains me, and I pray God gives me the opportunity (which is really there) and then the courage and boldness to help spread the Kingdom of God to these people.

I'm going to go into a time of confession. All too often for me, living the Christian life is a matter of "have to" instead of "get to." Let me explain.

I usually look at the teachings of Jesus, perhaps some from the Sermon on the Mount, as what I must do, asking myself "what does Jesus require" as in a law? Well, he says to pray for thoso who persecute you, turn the other cheek, give to the poor, etc. I then relay this to my daily living as things I "have to do" to be pleasing to God, and I go about my life like that.

What I must do, I believe, instead, is to look at these teachings as not what I "have to do" but what I "get to do" in this life with Jesus. I get to live in His Kingdom, I get to give to the poor, I get to partner with Jesus in reaching this lost world, I get to pray for others, which Willard calls the "highest act of love" in hope that they too will turn to Christ for their salvation and new life in Him.

Are you following me. I continue to learn, although it's hard to get through my thick skull, that they dispositions by Jesus are not laws, they are not things that must be done, for we are already "saved" or "going to heaven." These, rather, are things that God gives us the opportunity to partner with Him in what He is doing in our lives and in this world. I will keep you updated on my struggles with this, as this is a major pardigm shift in my own mind.

I ran across this quote in Dallas Willard's book "Divine Conspiracy":

"...that the aim of the popular teacher in Jesus' time was not to impart information, but to make a significant change in the lives of the hearers...(vs.) a peculiarly modern nation that the aim of teaching is to bring people to know things that may have no effect at all on their lives...to want to merely 'know stuff' such as we usually get today out of a high school and college education would have been thought laughable...the teacher in Jesus' time-and especially the religious teacher-taught in such a way that he would impact the life flow of the hearer, leaving a lasting impression..." (112-113)

What this means to me is that all too often I go about teaching the wrong way. It's not the transfer of information that matters, or the correct interpretation of Scripture or the amount of verses memorized, it's the change of life that really determines what is learned, or the change in my life that the Spirit has enabled. This really speaks to me in how I run my classes at school as well as discussion groups with fellow Christians also how I live my life.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "In him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:24-28

I watched the "Passion" last night. While I was watching it, I couldn't get over the feeling that first, this really happened, and second, did Jesus envision that one day I would be sitting there watching it on a big screen eating popcorn as entertainment? I don't think so, it makes me feel kind of weird.

I also can't get over this feeling I've had lately of how I feel God wants us to enjoy this life, enjoy His Creation, and enjoy fellowship with one another. Too often for me it's going from here to there, meeting to meeting, looking forward to this and that without just enjoying life. I need to chance some things in my life so that I am able to enjoy it more and focus on the things that really matter.

I had this thought today regarding two churches in CA that I visited in each of the past two summers.

The first one we would all recognize by name, professional, large, etc. I didn't like it. We discussed it after the visit in my class. All of the people in my class loved it, said they were friendly, professional, well prepared message, etc. To me it didn't feel like "church" (although my paradigm of what feels like "church" has changed dramatically recently).

The second one no one would know of, store-front church, great people, passionate for the Lord, candles in and around the sanctuary, etc. The class didn't like it, didn't feel like "church." I loved it, people were great, the sermon was passionate although some would say not prepared, they shared what they had done the past day on a mission trip to Mexico. They were meeting around the Lord, not programmed, but passionate.

Here is the moral I am trying to get at. No matter the quality of worship and study, people are willing to give a large, professional church with well-educated clergy more of a chance than a store-front church with not-so-educated servants of the Lord. What does that tell us about our culture.

I need to think more on this.

Is anyone out there? Just checking.

Sorry it's been so long since I have blogged, I've been too busy and too sick. I'm back to normal now.

My basketball season is over, we finished 16-1. Learned more from 1 loss than 16 wins. That's life.

I just saw Leann Rymes (sp?) sing Amazing Grace on TV. WOW! She only sang the first verse, but I like the last one:

When we've been there, ten thousand years
Bring shining as the sun
We've no less days, to sing God's praise
Than when we first believed

SNOW DAY! This is the next best thing to a sunny beach, a distant second.

Remember a while ago I said I was dreaming about a sunny beach. I need to be there now! HELP ME!

Do you ever feel like you are supposed to be doing something else, that your current career/place in life isn't really what God has for you? I feel like that all the time, yet this thought also comes to mind.

I am never going to feel totally at peace with the Lord until heaven. Do you agree? I can have this earthly peace of mind with the Lord, but God has set eternity in my heart and my only true fulfillment will come when I am with Him. 1 Cor. 13 says "Now we see but a poor reflection, as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face." I see that poor reflection every time I look in a mirror, but one day I will see the Lord, and then I will have that fufillment that I am always longing for.

My point is this, I never feel secure or fulfilled in what I am doing, yet I need to do it with all of my heart. I must work as though working for the Lord, that is what the Bible says many times. I can't get caught in looking forward to next year or retirement (I have a long time for that yet) or whatever, just serve the Lord where He has me right now, and if it changes, praise God, if not, praise God, either way, as my good friend always says, either way we will still praise God!

I just hope I can live that on a daily basis.

Sorry about the double post the other day, I was having computer issues.

We won our twelfth game in a row last night, but it was a struggle. But after winning so many games by 40 points, struggling to win one was nice.

I am reading Dallas Williard's book "The Divine Conspiracy" mainly about the Kingdom of God. Some interesting stuff, but a definite deep read. It's for a class I am taking on the Kingdom. Here is my question that I have been grappling with for sometime. Jesus came and said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." I believe that Jesus ushered in the Kingdom or access to the Kingdom of God for us as humans. We now have access to the power of the Kingdom through Jesus. But this is where my questions lies, what about the people in the OT? I know that the Kingdom is eternal, so it wasn't created just when Jesus came, God has always and will always rule or reign, which is what a Kingdom is. Did the OT people not have access to it? That is what it seems like. I'm confused.

If I learn something about this in the class I'll let you know. If you have any wisdom to share please enlighten me on this area.

God Bless you all!

Just a few random thoughts today...

- I hate bumper stickers...
- Do you think if Jesus were alive today he would walk around with a t-shirt that read "I save"...
- Right now I have a fellow Christian (at least I think they are a believer) who hates me because of a way that I handled a situation on my basketball team, yet they are not making basketball a "god" (Hmmmmmmmmm)...
- Do you think we as Christians will ever fully realize that we are all still sinners even after we receive Christ and react to and deal with and still love people accordingly?...
- No wonder the world hates us...
- I am beginning to understand people who say "I like Christianity, but those Christians"...
- I get to take my wife out on a date tonight...

Enough for today, I'm on a soap box and don't want to go any further...

Just some random thoughts today:

- I hate bumper stickers...
- If Jesus were alive today, do you think he would walk around saying "I Save"...
- Right now I have a fellow Christian who hates me due to the way I handled a situation on my basketball team, yet they are not making basketball a "god" (hmmmmmmmm)...
- Do you think Christians will ever realize that we are still sinners even after we receive Christ? If so, should that affect the way we perceive and deal with each other?
- I can see what people mean when they say, "I like Christianity, but those Christians...
- I get to take my wife out on a date tonight...

As you can see, I'm on a soap box today, I'll end there...

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are."
Matthew 23:15

Could these words be spoken to the church today as well?

I read over an article this week entitled "Achieve Your Dreams" which basically said that the ability to succeed in this life depends on your ability to dream. It was a nice little warm and fuzzy article, the kind that can make your spine tingle and inspire you...

It almost made me puke! There is only one way to "acheive your dreams" in this life, and that is through Christ. Anything else is utter heresy. Now, let me also say that I do see the purpose of dreaming and how it can inspire the soul, but what else to dream about than a relationship with Christ? What else can we dream about that serving Christ, loving Him, sharing His love with others, being His hands and feet to a world that so desperately needs Him. That is what I dream about. I dream about eternity with Him, worshipping Him for all time. That's dreaming, not about worldly, but eternal things.

"For our light and our momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:17-18

We need to be careful. It is little stories like this that can get us off track and miss the main focus of this life. They are warm and fuzzy stories that inspire, but the only inspiration I am looking for is from Christ. Let's stay on the straight and narrow path and keep fighting the good fight!