the red pill forum

valentine's day: a pile of dung by any other name would still stink

2012-02-13T13:26:00.001-06:00

for years, during my single days, i had my own moniker for valentine's day: v.d. day. for those of you wondering what v.d. is, go ask your mother. there were many that said my attitude was only that way out of my disdain for my perpetual singleness. however, with almost ten years experience as a married man, i can tell you, my view towards it has changed very little. as a matter of fact, i would say that it has actually made me view it in a far more negative light. i have actually become borderline "anti-valentine's day". now, i know all the ladies out there are grabbing their spikes and hammers and are poised to crucify me, but before you go pick out a tree, please hear me out.

every year at this time, we are bombarded with commercials commanding us as men to go out and spend money on our wives/girlfriends/significant others. comedian ron white had a story on truth in advertising, and he said that he had witnessed for the first time what he would classify as truth in advertising in a diamond commercial. the slogan was, "diamonds, render her speechless". white's comment was, "why don't they just come out and say it? 'diamonds, that'll shut her up!'" i actually laughed quite a bit at that one, but this year, i have witnessed what i classify as the most blatant truth in advertising i believe i have ever witnessed. in the commercial, and frankly i don't remember what product they were advertising, there was a very attractive female who said, and i quote, "guys, valentine's day is not that complicated: give, and you shall receive." lori and i laughed at it when we first saw it, but then as i have sat here and listened to marines' plans for valentine's day, and what they hoped to get out of it (yes, marines can be very blunt), it really solidified the point that i have said for years: valentine's day is nothing more than prostitution.

yes, ladies, i know that is a pretty tree that you have now picked out to nail me to, but please, bear with me for a moment more. let's remove the emotion and look at the logical inferment surrounding this. prostitution, by definition, is defined as the act of trading sexual favors for material compensation. how does the average prostitution encounter take place? a guy goes up to a girl he suspects will entertain him, and offers her money, drugs, etc. in exchange for sexual favors. how is this different from valentine's day? a man buys his wife or girlfriend gifts (someone he knows will entertain him), with the secret desire that it will gain him favor and hopefully reap other benefits from it. if anything, women should not be flattered by this, but insulted.

now, there are some that will say that for them, it's romantic. let me go on the record and say, romance is good, and necessary. also, valentine's day, in its original intent, is good. however, retailers took it and did with it the same thing that they have done with every other holiday: twisted it to fatten their pockets. i hold no ill will toward them, any more than i do toward the wolf for killing for its food, for they are acting according to their nature. however, in recent years, our society has become so selfish that everything we do is in anticipation of what we will get out of it. thus valentine's day has become nothing more than a holiday with selfish motives, and subsequently has tried to corner the market on romance. well, i, for one, refuse to let anyone dictate how, when, and why i choose to love my bride.

let's think about this for a second. if a man only chooses one day a year to show you that he loves you, then how much does he really love you, and how much does he really mean it? if you love someone, then your entire life, your every day, is affected by that person. but the problem is, we have such a skewed idea of what love is today, that most people wouldn't know it if the mythical cupid actually materialized and started firing tangible arrows at people. in fact, most would turn and run. we have a hollywood notion of love today that has doomed marriages and ended relationships on an epic scale. i actually attended a wedding while in seminary, and instead of "till death do us part", the bride and groom said, "for as long as love shall last". the problem today is that society as a whole sees love as a feeling you get in your stomach whenever a certain someone is around, and when that feeling goes away, then love is gone. newsflash: that feeling, is not love, it is infatuation. to find a true definition of love, we must go to the Author of Love, and to the instruction manual He left us on how to love. we can look at passages such as 1 corinthians 13, aka "the love chapter", or john 15:13, or ephesians 5:25.

what is the one common thread in all of these passages? sacrifice. true love is sacrificial. it is the giving of oneself to another without any expectation of repayment. is this the message that we are getting at valentine's day? i postulate the answer is "no". the message that we get is twofold: 1) give, and you shall receive, and 2) this is your one day a year to make up for not showing love for the rest of the year. if someone only told you that they loved you once a year, or only gave you a hug or kiss once a year, or only bought you flowers once a year, could you confidently say that they loved you? moreover, if someone only did something for you out of obligation, would you consider it a true sacrifice? if CHRIST only died for you out of some misguided self-righteous sense of duty to you, would it carry the same weight? absolutely not! the sad thing is, we apply the same principles we have in marriage to our CHRISTian lives. we only show our love, devotion, and level of sacrifice to God one day a week by "sacrificing" and giving up an hour or so out of our week to go to church, out of some misguided, self-righteous sense of duty, and then claim to love CHRIST.

here is the take-away: love is a verb. it is an action. it is intentional. it is unselfish. and most importantly, it is not confined to one day a year. am i against doing something nice for your wife on valentine's day? no. but check your motivation. is it because of what you will get out of the deal? if so, it is selfish. is it so you won't look bad to all of your wive's friends? if so, it is prideful. is it because you think your wife expects it? if so, it is forced. is it because you haven't done the like during the rest of the year and you are making up for it? if so, it is inconsiderate. all of these are antithetical of love.

p.s. - i know that this was primarily geared towards the males, (because let's face it, valentine's day is marketed towards the males' pocketbooks) but it applies to females as well. ladies, if you are rewarding valentine's gifts with pleasure, you are prostituting yourselves. if you expect your husband to buy you something just because it is a certain day, you are forcing love, which is servitude, in effect making you a slave master. and if you allow him to make up for the past by buying gifts, then you have cheapened love and romance and reduced it to a commodity that can be bought and sold.

this year, ladies and gentlemen, look at this as a learning exercise and take the time to communicate the things that make you feel loved. if you don't communicate that, then your partner may never know. take time to find out what the Bible says about love, and once you learn how CHRIST loves us, then you can effectively love your spouse the way CHRIST loves us, and all year long, i might add! i admit i'm far from perfect when it comes to loving my bride, and for that i continually ask hers and God's forgiveness. but if i, or you, ever get complacent in striving, then we will miss out on the immense joy God meant for us when He designed marriage. i hope you have put the hammer and nails down by now. if not, oh well. i hear body piercing is in these days!

happy saint valentine's day!
c.

politics, ethics, and religion

2012-01-26T12:48:00.001-06:00

for those of you who know me, you are probably familiar with my love/hate relationship with politics. i tend to have very strong political views (which actually are just extensions of my worldview, but since they are intertwined, i will for now refer to them in the realm of politics), but at the same time i despise politics, and more specifically politicians. there is an old saying that the way to tell a politician is lying is their lips move. that being said, i do believe that most politicians have the best of intentions when it comes to the office that they are trying to obtain, with a few having political aspirations for their own gain. however, the nature of politics does lend itself to distortions of facts and figures, misrepresentations of quotes, and sometimes blatant lying, so for that reason, i trust very little of what i hear a politician saying while on the campaign trail.

that being said, there is a very big election coming up later in the year. the gop has not even settled on a candidate yet, and the mudslinging political ads have already started, along with the rebuttals by the other side. so, with so much mistruth out there, what is a person to do when it comes to deciding on whom to elect? before i continue, let me say that this post is not to persuade you to vote for one side or another, but rather to be a frank discussion on what should be considered when deciding upon a candidate to back. this will be geared towards those who refer to themselves as followers of CHRIST, but it's practical aspects can be embraced by all people of all faiths.

there has been a lot of discussion recently about the personal lives of politicians when it comes to their ability to lead. many have postulated that a person's personal life does not affect their ability to lead, while others counter that it directly affects their leadership abilities. the truth is, a person's personal life only affects their ability to lead when they are unable to separate their personal stress from their job. as with any job, a large part of succeeding involves being able to keep your personal problems out of the workplace. this is also reciprocated when discussing the home life. one of the keys to a successful marriage is being able to leave work and the stress of work at work. my bride and i have an unwritten agreement that the first thing i do when i get home is go upstairs and remove my uniform and change into civilian clothes. the reason for this is two-fold: first, it gets me out of "military" or "officer" mode. when i come home, after dealing with marines and sailors all day, it can be very tempting to interact with my family in that short, gruff manner, which makes for a tense evening. second, it helps me to leave at work the stress of dealing with everyone else's problems all day. granted, there are times i have to pick that back up if i get called, but otherwise i choose to focus on my family and not the marine or sailor that is having marital difficulties. this principle is especially important at work. many of the marines and sailors i deal with are sent to me because they are unable to leave their home problems at home, and as a result their job performance suffers. politics is a particularly stressful profession, and a person inept at managing their own personal life could potentially make poor choices, which could have disastrous consequences because their decisions affect not just them, but those that they are leading. however, there are those who are able to manage both their personal and professional lives and are able to keep them separate very effectively. in this case, a person's personal life does not affect their ability to lead. however, what their personal life does affect, is how they lead.

a person's personal life is made up of two key elements: circumstances and responses. throughout a person's life, a variety of circumstances, both positive and negative, happen every second of every day. it is not the circumstances that are the key defining character of a person's life, but rather the response that is initiated by the circumstances that determines the substance of the person. what guides how a person responds to their circumstances? that person's morals, which are a direct reflection of their ethical framework. now, morals and ethics are subjects that one can spend years studying and still not exhaust all of the information throughout history pertaining to the two. so to give you a short definition of the two, morals are a person's sense of right and wrong. your morals will determine whether or not you will steal that candy bar when no one is looking, or whether you will point a rifle at someone who has wronged you and pull the trigger, or whether you will invite that young lady you met in a bar on a business trip back to your hotel room. your morals are determined by your ethics. ethics is how a person determines right from wrong. ethics is applied to all sorts of fields, such as military ethics, medical ethics, business ethics, etc. these fields lay out specific guidelines as to what makes a decision right or wrong within that given field. but they all fall under what is called normative ethics. normative ethics is our philosophy of what makes things right or wrong. our normative ethics are based on things such as our religious background, family background, cultural backgroud, etc. for instance, a CHRISTian's normative ethics should come from the Bible. notice i said should, because not all CHRISTians follow this practice. moreover, a person from a culture of racism may not see the evil of racism, and may even use the same Scriptures that condemn it, to support it (always out of context, i might add!). while this is not meant to be a class on ethics and morals, i wanted to clarify what the two were, and to differentiate between the two, so that you have a better working knowledge of the subject for the next portion.

back to the topic at hand. as stated before, a person's personal life (made up of their circumstances and responses, which are a direct reflection of their morals and ethical framework) does not affect their ability to lead. adolph hitler was a phenomenal leader, in the strictest sense of the word. he led people to follow him whole-heartedly and to condone the slaughter of millions of innocent people. cult leaders have been very effective leaders, even leading people to their death. but there is a difference between being an effective leader (sometimes called a good leader, which really is an improper use of the word), and being a righteous, just, and fair leader (which more appropriately could be called a good leader). so while a person's personal life does not affect their ability to lead, it will affect the direction in which they lead.

a person's leadership is not independent of their moral and ethical framework, instead, it is dependent on it. a person's sense of right and wrong will determine the decisions they make in their personal life, and consequently, their political life. if a person has shown the lack of commitment in being married to the person they are supposed to be the closest to, that lack of commitment will carry over to other areas. we live in a society today where the idea of commitment and dedication are foreign, outdated at best. if we have a leader that models that same lack of commitment, you can rest assured it will be reflected in other commitments. if a person has shown lack of regard for the sanctity of human life, it will be reflected in their decisions on abortion, euthanasia, etc. if a person demonstrates an attitude of using truth when it's convenient, it follows that one will find it hard to believe them whenever they are questioned about a stance, policy, etc. many politicians today live more in the area of situational ethics and moral relativism. situational ethics states that the ends justify the means. for example, it is ok if you cheat this group just so long as you are using it to benefit another less fortunate group (the robin hood principle). this is particularly dangerous when a person uses situational ethics in areas such as warfare and medicine. a scenario that might play out to where a government finds it okay to drop a bomb leveling an entire village, killing innocents, just so long as the intended target is killed. a medical example could play out to where prisoners are used as test subjects for disease cures, because after all, they are bad people so they don't deserve the same ethical treatment as the general population. moral relativism is similar in theory to situational ethics, but it is on a more personal level. a moral relativist says, "what's right for me may not be right for you", and vice versa. the problem with this is it is devoid of any sort of absolute authority. this is dangerous when applied to areas such as finance and family.

why is this important? history has shown that in every great and mighty civilization, regardless of the religion of the civilization, their downfall was always immediately preceded by an ethical and moral degradation within that society. this is true for the greeks, the romans, the turks, and various other groups. the united states has been one of the great civilizations of the last 200 years, but is on the verge of a downfall. europe is a perfect example of what happens when a society gravitates towards moral bankruptcy. at one time, europe was the center of CHRISTianity, but now is anything but, and is facing economic and societal collapse. lawlessness is starting to manifest itself in some of the bigger cities, and will increasingly grow worse as time goes on. we are seeing tremors of this in the united states today. the occupy movements are just foreshadows of the times to come, unless a change is made. politicians would like for you to believe that the change needed is a fiscal one, but the real change needed is a paradigm shift in the ethics and morals that have taken root in the past 40-50 years. we must elect leaders who have a strong sense of ethics and morals. this business of shifting your position based on your numbers in the polls or who is funding your office will only produce leaders who will lead our country into ruin. george washington said, "america is great, because she is good. when america ceases to be good, she will cease to be great."

this year, as election season approaches, pay no attention to frightening images being portrayed in front of us on the television, and instead, do pay attention to the man behind the curtain. look not only at a politician's stances, but look at their voting records in the past. do your research. don't choose a candidate because they are of a certain party, or because they are of a certain race, religion, economic group, etc. choose a candidate that has a proven record of consistent and ethical decision making. but most importantly, for CHRISTians, choose a candidate based on how they line up with Scripture and only after much prayer and fasting. and remember the example of the israelites: they wanted a king. they did not seek God's face on whether or not they needed a king. they wanted a king. so God gave them what they wanted, and Scripture tells us that Saul was a ruthless and evil king that led them into ruin. ask God who HE would have you vote for, then follow. He is one leader that will never lead you wrong!

te-bow, or not te-bow. . .

2012-01-12T21:07:00.002-06:00

so there seems to be a lot of controversy about a particular football player named tim tebow, particularly about his faith, more specifically about his perceived over-zealousness for that faith. now, it was just a matter of time before i had to interject my own take on the issue, especially when it's considered a controversial topic.

the first point of contention with mr. tebow is with a particular atheist group, saying that he is using his faith for publicity. while i will say that his faith seems to have taken the spotlight as of recently, i do not believe it to be solely his own doing. many players have been known for being devoutly CHRISTian, and have also been known for outward expressions of faith, particularly when accomplishing some feat, such as scoring touchdowns. this is not purely a football phenomena, either. we can see examples of the devout engaging in public displays of faith (pdf's) in baseball, basketball, and even golf! so what makes mr. tebow any different than any of the other players engaging in pdf's? to accurately examine this, we need only reference the question, "does man make history, or does history make the man?" to break it down more, is mr. tebow the football player popular because he is a CHRISTian, or is mr. tebow the CHRISTian popular because he is a football player? while you can argue both, i believe the correct answer lies in the second question.

mr. tebow has accomplished a significant amount during his career as a football player. he currently holds records in his school, the sec, and the ncaa, along with being the first sophomore to win the prestigious heisman trophy. he was a heisman finalist his junior and senior years in college as well. it was there that he gained his notoriety for his faith when a reporter asked him about his sex life and mr. tebow replied that he was a virgin. from there, the ncaa decided to ban writing on the eye-black that the players wore under their eyes, which became known as the "tebow rule", because he regularly had Bible verse references written on his. there were other players that engaged in this as well, but tim tebow had been thrust to the forefront of the sports faith heroes category due to that earlier interview. however, if mr. tebow had been a mediocre player or a 3rd string benchwarmer, there would have been no interview, and some other player would have been singled out for the eye-black controversy. this principle carries over to today, with the current trend of "tebowing", that resulted from a picture taken of mr. tebow bowing in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. this inspired people , both of faith and not of faith, to imitate the position, and became the craze of the week. again, many players have bowed and pointed to heaven and carried out other gestures of faith when scoring touchdowns, but none have gained the notoriety that mr. tebow has. was it because of the particular knee he used? maybe if he would have bowed on his other knee, then it wouldn't have become such an issue? no! it is because he is a rookie quarterback, starting the year as back-up quarterback for the denver broncos, and has helped gain his team a spot in the playoffs. i can guarantee you, if i was to walk up to a news camera and kneel down in front of it with my hands together in front of my chest, people would label me as a nutjob. i can also guarantee you that it would go no further, and that the news station would not air it, other than for a good joke, and there sure wouldn't be any national craze called "westing"! the simple fact is, mr. tebow is an accomplished football player, and that has been the spring board that has caused his faith to take center stage.

another recent article was written by none other than mr. big mouth, charles barkley, referring to tim tebow as a "national nightmare", because of the focus on his faith. in a day when professional sports players regularly make headlines due to their many indiscretions (michael vick's electric dog salon, the michael irving cuff-em and stuff-em shuffle, or the brett favre greeting picturegram), the media has been waiting for someone like mr. tebow. you can rest assured that the motivation there is not a pure one. the same media that is focusing so hard on a rising star that is rooted in his faith, is licking their chops waiting to be the first one to get the scoop if he is caught in some compromising situation. he is simply the flavor of the month for the news media. if you notice, the sports media does not focus so much on his faith, but instead on the game winning touchdown he threw against the steelers. rather, it is the news media that focuses on mr. tebow, the CHRISTian, and not mr. tebow the football player.

all that being said, i have to say that i admire tim tebow, although i personally do not care for the denver broncos. whether he is genuine in his faith (which i believe he is), or whether it is all just a big publicity stunt, he is getting the gospel out there to people who might otherwise never hear it. the Bible says that to whom much is given, much is required, and that it is required of a steward to be found faithful. mr. tebow is using his notoriety to give glory to God, and we know that God will honor that, regardless of mr. tebow's motives. after mr. tebow wrote "john 3:16" on his eye-black during the 2009 bcs championship game, the verse became the top search on google for the next 24 hours, racking up over 90 million searches! subsequently, when he changed the verse to proverbs 3:5-6, it garnered 3.43 million searches. mr. tebow is using the talent and resulting fame that God has blessed him with to reach untold millions for CHRIST. next year, some other player will take the spotlight, and the controversy surrounding tim tebow will have died down. the liberal media and the atheist community that want to strip CHRISTianity from society will find a new target to go after, and mr. tebow will become another quarterback like all the rest, that will finish out his career, and continue to inspire the faithful. in the meantime, we as CHRISTians need to applaud people like mr. tebow and continue to lift him up in prayer. pray that pride does not take root in his life as a result of the publicity, and pray that God places people in his life to keep him grounded in his faith, because you can bet that he is on the top ten list for satan and his minions. they are going to try and place temptations in front of him, and to bring him down for the whole world to see. so pray. and follow tim tebow's example, and use whatever influence you may have, no matter how broad or how limited, to reach those around you for CHRIST. be a faithful steward.

the most loved woman in Scripture

2011-12-23T22:23:00.000-06:00

now that we've discussed joseph, it's time to get to the other member of the "holy couple". throughout Scripture, few women are revered and loved to the extent that mary, the mother of CHRIST, was and is. there are churches named for her, she is worshipped in some sects of CHRISTianity, and songs have been written about her. she is considered the model of piety for women, and yet, very few truly understand this remarkable young woman.

as i have stated in many of my previous posts, i believe that the romanticism of CHRISTmas has greatly diminished our understanding of the reality of the birth narratives of CHRIST that we celebrate each year on december 25th. in my last post, i burst the bubble of misconception surround joseph, and i intend to pull back the curtain and show you the mary behind the curtain of romanticism that she is hidden by today. when you go into churches, regardless of the denomination, any statues or pictures of mary usually portray her as a woman in her late 20's to early 30's, dressed in beautiful, long flowing robes. when we see her in the nativity scenes, she is a beautiful, fair-skinned young woman, looking as if she just got back from the beautician, her make-up flawless, and her kneeling by the manger looking peacefully at her Son lying there, and sometimes having a glowing aura around her head. so go ahead, take our your metaphorical mental eraser, and wipe that picture from your minds whilst i grab my metaphorical mental paint brushes and prepare to paint you a new picture of mary. ready?

for starters, i want to correct any misconceptions that we have of mary's age. mary, was not a woman in her 20's, or even late teens. she was more than likely in her early teens when she found out that she was pregnant with Jesus. how do we know this? in biblical times, betrothal usually took place when a woman reached her 13th birthday. even today, in the middle east, girls are still betrothed as young as 8 or 9 years old. the betrothal period lasted for one year, and during that time, the bride to be lived in the house with her parents while her groom spent time preparing for their marriage by securing a house, furniture, and beginning work in his occupation to establish a business capable of supporting a family. the couple was considered married, and a divorce had to be granted in order to break a betrothal, which was only allowed in the case of adultery. during the betrothal, the couple would spend time together in the house of the husband's family, to allow for the bride to get to know her in-laws, because once the marriage was complete, she would be a part of that family, no longer belonging to her old family. the marriage was not complete until it was consummated, which took place after the marriage ceremony, which was when the groom finished establishing a home and gathered the wedding party and traveled in processional to claim his bride and take her into his tent to consummate the marriage and make it complete (with everyone outside waiting anxiously for him to come out with the tell-tale proof of his bride's virginity! talk about pressure!). so we know that mary would have been living with joseph's family during their betrothal, when she found out she was pregnant. this means that she was a very young girl when the angel first came to her and told her that she had found favor with God and was to be pregnant. when mary asked, very innocently, how that was possible, considering that she had not known a man (that is Bible speak for not having been sexually intimate with a man), the angel basically told her that God would make it happen, to not worry about it. so while mary was young, in those days, she would have known enough about basic biology to know how things worked. young people in those days were expected to much more mature at a younger age than young people are today.

the second picture i would like to correct is how refreshed and well-kept mary looks in the nativity scenes. keep in mind that she had just finished a three to four day journey either on foot, or on the back of some animal such as a donkey or a camel, across mountains and desert, being in her third trimester of pregnancy. we like to think that she was probably in her ninth month, but it is possible that she was earlier along and the stress of the trip on her body caused her to go into labor prematurely. as stated before, in those days there were no hospitals or neonatal care units to take care of newborns. she was having to rely on an inexperienced, young, scared husband to help her through a very difficult delivery process. she had just witnessed this process a few months back with her cousin elizabeth as elizabeth gave birth to john the baptist, so she knew a little about what to expect. so now, she is having to coach her husband through assisting her with delivering the Baby, with the added stress of the baby possibly coming earlier than expected and having to give birth in such squalid conditions. we know that mary appeared to be a strong young woman, despite her age, but this was physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing for her. so after this ordeal, she was anything but the picture of beauty and energy that we see in the nativity scenes. for anyone that has ever seen pictures of mothers in the hours after they gave birth, you know that one, most women are appalled for people to even see the pictures of them looking their worst, and two, the women are definitely not ready to be entered in the miss usa pageant! so if you want an accurate picture of mary at the nativity, picture a young, middle eastern woman, hair frazzled, face dirty from sweat and the dust of traveling, facial features sunken in from dehydration, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation. add to that the frustration of having to sleep on the hard, cold ground, navigating the difficulties of the first few times at breastfeeding, and a group of social outcasts being the only ones to welcome her newborn Child into the world, and you have the makings of a very irritable woman that you probably would not want to spend much time around! the only buffer for her would have been the joy of having a newborn Baby, which any mother will tell you is a joy like no other!

imagine what must have been going through mary's head. here she was, a young woman, having to endure the whispers and the shuns of those around her for something that only she understood and only God had control over. now, for all of her faithfulness, she was rewarded by not having a decent place to have the Child that she had put up with so much for, and the welcoming party was not royalty or even the religious leaders, but rather a scraggly group of homeless shepherds. she had a very uncertain future ahead, but would have been convinced that it was not going to be an easy future.

today, as we look around us, there are those that are like mary. they have found favor with God and have been chosen to be used by God to accomplish His will. they are the lottie moons, the corrie ten booms, the mother theresas of our generation. there are those that God is using despite their age. there are those that are suffering tremendous heartache and ridicule for their commitment to God's call on their life.

this CHRISTmas, are you a mary? has God called you to do something that you know is going to be hard, you know is going to be rife with heartache and suffering? when you wonder how you could possibly endure such hardship if you answer God's call, take a look at mary. very few have had to risk more than she. she knew what it could possibly mean for her when people found out about her pregnancy. in her society, it meant that she would have been ushered by crowd into a corner, and large stones weighing anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds would have been thrown on top of her until she was dead. when you try and rationalize and say, "well, she was chosen by God, so God was looking out for her," you have to remember that if God is calling you to do anything, He is going to give you the strength to accomplish it. mary was human, and was no different than anyone else. we see her flaws later in a few instances in Jesus' life, all earning His rebuke: when she was upset about Him being at the temple at 12, and when she tried with His brothers to pull Him out of a house because of doubt. we do know that in place of her difficulties, she had the greatest gift perhaps any person in the world has ever been blessed with: she was able to spend more one on one physical time with the Creator of the universe. while you may not get that level of blessing, rest assured that if you are following God's calling, you will experience a greater happiness and peace than any this world can ever offer. in every case, the blessings outweigh the hardships.

or perhaps you are young, as i know many that read these posts are. remember that mary was a young woman herself when she was asked to take on an extraordinary calling. remember that paul told timothy to not let anyone look down on him simply because he was young, and the same goes for the young people today. having spent time as a youth pastor, i can honestly say that i have seen more spiritual maturity in some of my middle schoolers than in most adults i have met in the church. when you are young, you have more freedom to serve God than you will when you become an adult and have the pressures of life demanding your time and attention. remember, mary could have politely declined the angel's offer, but she didn't. she actually responded by saying she was God's doulos, meaning His bondservant. a bondservant was a freed slave that willingly bound themselves to a master as a voluntary servant, which is what God asks of us. we should have the same attitude as mary. when God calls us, we, like mary, should respond with a whole-hearted "yes!" because of mary's obedience, she is one of the most remembered women in history, coming in a close second behind eve. who knows, God may have a tremendous blessing waiting for you, if you will just become His doulos!

do i look like i have "stupid" written on my forehead?

2011-12-22T13:38:00.003-06:00

one of my favorite characters in the CHRISTmas story is joseph. i really am amused at how he is portrayed in the nativity scenes on everyone's coffee tables, mantles, church altars, etc. the scene is set. a nice, clean, stable. animals surrounding the baby Jesus, resting peacefully. well dressed shepherds, usually holding a lamb in their arms. and the blessed couple, sitting by the caucasian, blonde haired, blue eyed baby Jesus, lying in a crib, er manger with clean, golden hay spilling over (that usually looks more like a crib than a feeding trough), and making the peace sign with His holy little baby fingers! but the most striking of them all is joseph. standing slightly behind and to the right of mary, hands at his chest, gazing on the infant CHRIST, a picture of strength and confidence! well, i'm here today with my big, sharp pin, ready to burst that bubble of a utopian nativity, especially when it comes to joseph!

okay, use your imagination with me for a second (that's the thing that used to make you believe you were superman when you were a kid with a towel around your neck about to jump off the back of the couch and fly! dig deep, it's still in there somewhere!), and forget you are in the year 2011, with all of your creature comforts: specifically the health department, the hospital, automobiles, serta posturpedic mattress,  central heat, and paternity tests (sorry maury povich, you wouldn't have had a good show back then!). now, your fiance', whom you do not know that well, and more than likely is your fiance' because your parents made an arrangement with her family, (and is probably only 13 or 14 to boot!) comes to you and tells you that she is pregnant. keep in mind that you know that you have not touched her, for fear of the repercussions if you did (which usually meant death by stoning, or at minimum shame for your family and loss of dowry for you and death for her). you have been spending the last months getting your house ready for her to move into with you upon your marriage, as was required by jewish law, and are apprenticed to a carpenter making very little money, if any, to support a family. your world goes into a tailspin. as a very young man, you are now being forced to make decisions that not only affect your life, but the life of your fiance', your fiance's family, her unborn child, and your family as well. then, to throw even more confusion into your life, your fiance' tells you that she has not had sex with anyone, and that the Baby was put there by God. when you tell your family, they tell you that you are a fool if you believe such a story, and you should make sure that the little tramp is punished for her adultery and shaming of you. when you finally get over your initial shock, you decide to show compassion and break up with her privately rather than make a public example of her. you go to tell her the bad news, and she is gone! you find out that she has left and traveled to her cousin's house in another town miles away, making her story look all the more suspect!

while she's gone, you have plenty of time to portray scenarios in your mind. you start picturing her with every guy you have ever seen her talk to. you go to work each day and wonder who all knows. during the midst of this confusion, you have a dream at night and an angel appears to you in that dream and tells you that your wife's story is true, and that her Child is of God. you are to marry her and be a father to that Child. what's more, this Child will be the Messiah, the CHRIST that all of israel has been hoping for, and you are to name him Immanuel, which means "God with us"!

after your fiance' returns, you talk with her and take her as your wife, and everyone can now see the tell-tale bump of a pregnancy. you know that they are doing the math in their heads and counting the number of months you have been married along with how far along she obviously is, and the whispers and accusing glances start. your business as a carpenter suffers because of your reputation, so it makes it difficult to get by financially. then, just as you are finally getting used to the idea, you get word that you now have to travel a three to four day journey with your wife, who is in her ninth month of pregnancy, because of a census that caesar has mandated. you now have to deal with a pregnant, uncomfortable wife, having to stop every couple of hours for her to go to the bathroom. you have to listen to a teenager, already going nuts hormonally, magnified by the pregnancy, complain about being hot, tired, ready to get "this Baby out of her", and you are only 20 years old at the oldest (more than likely he was probably around 16)!

you finally get to bethlehem, and you know very few people there. your family is from there, so there has to be some relatives that you can maybe stay with, but you honestly do not know most of them (kind of like going to a family reunion today!). while you are looking for a place to stay, everyone notices the late stage of pregnancy that your wife is in, and they begin to do the math and ask the questions: "now how long have you two been married? ahh, i see." you are shunned by your family, and your wife goes into labor. you have never experienced a childbirth, and there is no midwife there to help you with her. you are scared witless. you have probably never seen your wife without her clothes on, and now, you are about to help deliver a Baby and see your wife in ways you are not prepared to! to top it off, there is nowhere to deliver the Baby! there are no hospitals, and bethlehem is a small farming community, unaccustomed to tourists, so there are no hotels, save maybe one or two, and they are full as well. you find an out of the way place, because you do not want everyone to see all of "her business" as she has the Baby, which just happens to be a cave out on the outskirts of town. it is smelly, damp, cool, and moldy, and there are possibly a few sweaty animals tied in there while their owners are in town. you hold your wife's arms up while she squats over a hole that you managed to lay a camel-hair blanket in to catch the Baby. after what is probably hours of labor (but you can rest assured the familiar "you did this to me!" was never directed at joseph, so that's one positive!) the Baby comes out, and is not the perfect newborn that you have been used to seeing. He is gray, covered with blood and amniotic fluid, and still attached by an umbilical cord. you know that people don't have those things hanging from their belly anymore, so you obviously have to cut it off. you get your knife, and cut the cord, but it bleeds profusely. you manage to get some twine and tie it off, and you have to lay your wife on the ground and tend to the Baby. you get Him wrapped up in the only semi-clean thing you can find, which are long strips of cloth that were laying in the corner, the kind that were used to bind a corpse before burying it. your wife is exhausted, you are exhausted, and you can't just lay the Child on the ground. one of the animals could possibly step on Him, and it's very cold and drafty on the ground, so you lay Him in the hollowed out area in the wall that is used to hold feed for the animals. you try to wife away the filth as best you can, and you grab some hay to make it a little more comfortable for Him and lay Him in it. you help tend to your wife, and get her cleaned up as best you can, and you rest your back against the wall and your wife lays her head in your lap and falls asleep. after a little while, the Baby is hungry and crying, so you give Him to His exhausted mother and she breastfeeds Him, which you are again being forced to witness firsthand for the first time. just as you think everything is calm for the moment (maybe this is the "all is calm, all is bright" moment in the song, but i doubt it!), a group of smelly shepherds come into the cave being very loud rambling about an angel appearing to them and wanting to see the CHRIST-Child! at this point, you have had enough, and most normal guys would have snapped by now and started throwing things, but you are too exhausted to put up a fight, so you say sure. one of the shepherds wants to hold Him, but you manage to convince him that the Baby just finished feeding and needs to rest so you win that battle. they leave, and you and your wife, and your newborn Son, are left in peace for the moment.

okay, you can come back to reality! i'm serious, breathe. it was all just your imagination! calm down! still think joseph was the calm, picture of strength that we see in the nativity scenes? if so, you are either in a severe state of denial, or you weren't paying attention! but you know what? i admire joseph. and i think that he is a good example for us today as we go into this CHRISTmas season.

there are two main things we can learn from joseph. first, was his compassion. how many of us, when we feel wronged, want revenge? we want to somehow get our version of justice. most of us can agree, that there is nothing more hurtful than unfaithfulness. whether it's a girlfriend, boyfriend, fiance', or spouse, betrayal on that level hurts more than most things you can think of. joseph would have been well within his rights if mary was indeed unfaithful to have her exposed as an adulteress (in those days, when you were betrothed, you were considered married, the marriage just was not consummated yet, so it would have been considered adultery). he believed her to be one, so for him to show compassion and end the relationship privately and quietly says a lot for his character.

the second character trait we can learn from joseph is his obedience. he could have given up and walked away and gave mary a bill of divorce at any time. but he didn't, no matter how hard it got. he obeyed God's command and took her as his wife, despite the impact it had on his reputation (Jesus was later referred to as the Son of mary, indicating that everyone considered Him a bastard child, which would have started at Jesus' birth). we know that he was poor by the animals he brought to the temple. two turtle doves was the minimum sacrifice for the poor who couldn't afford a lamb. carpenters typically made a decent living, so for joseph to be poor as a carpenter, it was an indication that his business suffered either from lack of time to establish it, or his reputation, or both.  either way, he took on the awesome responsibility of raising the Messiah as his own, providing for Him and mary as best he could.

we do not hear any more of joseph except when Jesus was 12 at the temple. after that, Joseph is never referenced again in Scripture.  Jesus' brothers and His mother were mentioned again, but not joseph. most scholars believe that this was because joseph died shortly after the time at the temple. this would have been an historical reason for Jesus' having never been married. it was the father's responsibility to find a wife for his son, which usually occurred in the mid-teen years.  we do not know how he died, but we do know that he lived long enough to instill the trade of carpentry to his Son.

this year, are you being a joseph? are you extending mercy to those whom you feel do not warrant it? this is the time when God sent His Son to earth to extend that same mercy to us, so we should be especially astute to it this time of year. and are you being obedient, even in the midst of adversity?  have you been tempted to throw in the towel? there are times i have looked around at the difficulties i have went through as a CHRISTian, and notice all of those out there who are anything but and are prospering, and i was tempted to say, "forget it. i'm done with the ministry. i'm going to use my biology degree and forget this whole ministry thing!" living the CHRISTian life is tough. CHRIST never promised us a bed of roses. in fact, He promised us the exact opposite. He said that we will be hated for His name's sake. so when you feel you are going through a difficult time or dealing with a difficult person, remember joseph, know that you are not the first to experience it, and you definitely won't be the last, and model joseph's mercy and obedience!

i just wanna be a sheep!

2011-12-21T10:13:00.004-06:00

whenever i watch a CHRISTmas pageant at a church, i am always amused by the characters that are portrayed by the children. there's always the marys and the josephs, the magi, the shepherds and angels. sometimes there is usually a live baby to portray Jesus if the child's parents are particularly brave and trusting. although, the child playing Jesus, in my experience, does not have to be a boy (i have seen girls, even ones in little CHRISTmas dresses), and does not necessarily have to be a newborn (i have seen toddlers in the manger! i never knew hebrew women gave birth to 20 lb babies!). however, one of the most memorable characters i have seen was a child at a church in the town where i attended in seminary who was playing a sheep. the usual practice is to give the more talkative ones (like i used to be) the parts with the most speaking such as an angel, a shepherd, etc., and the more shy ones were given the parts that required no speaking. well this particular year, in an effort to include everyone, the children's director felt the need to even give children the roles of farm animals. maybe the director misjudged this young boy's shyness, or perhaps acting was his way of expressing himself, but for whatever reason this particular sheep must have missed the memo that he was a sheep for a reason, and was less than content to stay in the background unnoticed. throughout the production, about every minute or so, you would hear a loud "baaaaaaaaa" coming from this sheep. the crowd would snicker, the actors would look over at the over-amorous sheep in annoyment at first, and eventually would end up giggling with the crowd as the production waxed on. this only further encouraged the sheep-who-would-not-be-ignored. by the time it was over, very few people remembered much about the play, save that little 3 year old boy and his heralding sheep!

as mentioned in my last post, there were two characters in the CHRISTmas story that always get looked over, but deserve their own chance in the spotlight of CHRISTmas. the first was simeon. simeon was of the tribe and house of judah, being a representative of CHRIST's hope for the jews located in israel. the second person in the story is anna, the prophetess. she is mentioned in luke's gospel right after simeon's story is told, and her portion of the story is smaller than simeon's, yet contains just as much relevance then, as it does now. like that little sheep, her story is crying out from the background, refusing to be ignored (which is why luke included her).

as we get into her story, we always need to remember that every story, every person, and every event from the Bible is included for a reason (even the genealogies of the old testament). God clearly wants to communicate some truth to us, and we simply need to dig a little bit (after all, treasure is not always left in the open!) to find that truth!

the first thing that we see in anna's story is that she was a prophetess. in those days, women were considered lower than men, and held to tighter scrutiny, so for her to be recognized as a prophetess, she would have needed to have an impeccable reputation (a prophet during that day would have been stoned if even one of their prophecies proved wrong), especially if she was to be respected by the men.

the second thing that we see is that she was of the tribe of asher. now, at face value, this does not seem like much, but when you do some research, you will find that there is a whole book's worth of information in that small statement. in a short summary, the tribe of asher was one of the northern tribes of israel, and were dispelled to the country of media (modern day iran) during the babylonian diaspora referenced in 2 Kings. we can tell this from the name of her father, phanuel (meaning "face of God"), and her name anna (another form of hannah). these were two names that were not popular in judea at the time of CHRIST's birth, but were popular among the diaspora because of their fondness of the book of tobit, which frequently referred to the "face of God", thus increasing the use of the name phanuel. this was a book that called for the hope of the return of the jews in the diaspora to jerusalem. subsequently, tobit's wife was named hannah, which led to the name's popularity among the eastern diaspora.

a third important fact was that she was an aged widow. there were two expressions of loyalty to jerusalem among the diaspora. the first was paying the annual half shekel temple tax, that was collected among the diaspora and then taken to the temple in jerusalem by a representative. the second way of showing loyalty was a pilgrimage to jerusalem during the key festivals associated with the temple such as passover, pentecost, or the feast of tabernacles. it is quite possible, and actually very likely, that anna made that pilgrimage when her husband died, and out of her love for jerusalem and the temple that was instilled by her father, committed herself to serving in the temple. she would have known about the prophecy of the Messiah that would reclaim the glory of israel, and would have, like many others of the period, been anxiously awaiting the Messiah's coming.

the fourth thing we see about her is that when she saw mary and joseph come in with the infant CHRIST, she immediately recognized Him as the promised Messiah through the revelation of God and began to thank God and to spread the good news of His birth to all of those who, like her, were anxiously anticipating the redemption of jerusalem. luke intended for his readers to see that just as God chose simeon to represent the hope of the Messiah to the jews settled in israel, He also chose anna to represent that same hope to those who were still dispelled throughout the world.

today, we can see the annas among the faithful in His church, if we will just look. there are many, like anna, that society views as lower class citizens. even churches today tend to look down in pity on those who are maybe from a lower socioeconomic group, and some churches in sin even look down on those who are of what they consider an inferior race. however, we see from anna's story that no matter what their standing in society is, they can be, and are, used by God. we can also see her faithfulness despite her circumstances. there are many that find it a hassle to drive 15 minutes to church each week, yet she was willing to make the long pilgrimage to jerusalem, braving scorching heat, wild animals, and thieves along the way. i can remember my dad telling me how he used to walk to church every sunday morning, which was a considerable distance from his house, and unless he caught a ride with someone, it would take him a couple of hours to get there. he would leave early in the morning, get to church and stay there all day until after the evening service, and then walk back. very few of us have that level of commitment today. but still, there are those in parts of the world, that brave arrest, death, and all sorts of other dangers, just to go to church each week.

there are also those, like anna, that have chosen to take their tragedies and use them to minister to others. steven curtis chapman's family lost a child due to a tragic automobile accident in their driveway a few years back. statisticians will tell you that a marriage that loses a child has a very high probability of ending in divorce. yet, the chapmans have turned their tragedy into a ministry to others who have gone through the loss of a child. and finally, God chose anna to reveal His promise to a group that was for all practical purposes an afterthought. we know from josephus, the jewish historian of that time, that jews in jerusalem still held the jews of the diaspora in high regard, but for the most part, the diaspora was disconnected. had it not been for a few faithful like anna, they might have been totally absorbed into the pagan cultures of the babylonians. there are those out there today that feel disconnected for whatever reason or another. they are the neighborhoods that are avoided. they are the countries that are closed to the gospel. they are the CHRISTians that feel abandoned by the church (many rightfully so). but among those, there are the faithful, staying hopeful, and telling everyone who needs hope, like them, about the Messiah and the hope He brings.

are there any of you out there that feel like you are disconnected? or maybe that God can't use you because of your particular circumstances? perhaps a tragedy has struck you and you have lost hope. take heart, and learn from anna. God can still use you, and wants to use you, if you just make yourself available to Him. if you are out there and you are an anna, keeping the faith, always hoping and telling others about Him, stay strong. finish the race. you may be the only representative of the one Hope that those around you will ever see! be that sheep, never settling for a lesser part, but doing all that you can to be the best sheep, the best anna, that you possibly can!

why is that weird old guy following us around the temple?

2011-12-19T12:39:00.000-06:00

in the song "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer", it starts "you know dasher and dancer and prancer and vixen, comet and cupid and donder and blitzen". in the true CHRISTmas story, we can begin it the same way, "you know mary and joseph and caesar and herod, the wise men, elizabeth, the angels and shepherds." however, just like in "rudolph", there are two commonly overlooked characters in the CHRISTmas story. some will say that they came into the story a month after Jesus was born, so technically they aren't part of the CHRISTmas story, but yet they feel it acceptable to include the magi, arriving some two years after CHRIST's birth, in their nativity scenes. by comparison, these two belong more in the CHRISTmas story than the magi or herod. so the person that i will focus on first is a man named simeon.

simeon, according to ancient history, was one of the 70 elders commissioned by the Egyption pharoah ptolemy II philadelphus to translate the holy scriptures into greek to be included in the great library of alexandria. according to tradition, during this task that simeon was assigned the book of isaiah to translate, and when he came to the passage, "behold, a virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Son", he felt that it should be translated "young woman" instead of "virgin". it was at that point that an angel intervened and revealed to him that a pure and spotless virgin would indeed conceive and give birth to the Lord's CHRIST, and furthermore, it was revealed that simeon would not see death until he had seen the Lord's CHRIST with his own eyes. now granted, this is what tradition says, and did not make it into the Bible, so we cannot place much authority on the accuracy of what transpired (after all, according to tradition, simeon was 376 years old when he died). however, we can learn a very valuable lesson from this seemingly minor character of the CHRISTmas story.

what we do have in the Bible, is that simeon was a devout and righteous man, and that it was indeed revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's CHRIST. we also know that the Holy Spirit was upon him, and that he was led by the Spirit into the temple on the very day that mary and joseph brought the infant Jesus in to be presented to the Lord, along with a sacrifice of two turtle doves (this is where the gift of the second day of CHRISTmas comes from), as was required by jewish law. while there, we can imagine the young mary and joseph, already frazzled from the journey to jerusalem from bethlehem with an infant, wondering about this old man that was following them around the temple. you can also imagine their surprise and apprehension when the old man came over and was probably overcome with joy and emotion as he took the infant CHRIST from His mother's arms and began praising God and saying, "Lord, let your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word, for my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which you have prepared before all people; a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of my people israel!" the Bible wraps it up nice and neat and says that mary and joseph "marvelled" at what he said, which is probably better translated, "either this guy is a few shekels short of a denari or God keeps making this weirder and weirder for us!" we know that he also spoke to mary, telling her that Jesus was to bring about the fall and rising again of many in israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against, and that a sword would pierce through her soul as well. keep in mind that mary and joseph knew that Jesus was special, and that He was sent from God, but even they did not know what fate awaited him in 33 years, nor the extent of His impact on the world.

so how, knowing what we know about simeon, does that translate to us today? what does one promise made to a very old man 2000 years ago mean for us?

first, we can see that God keeps His promises. there are different levels of promises for us. there are general promises, that apply to all people. there are specific promises, that apply to certain groups of people. and there are personal promises that God makes to us individually either through His Word, or through His speaking to our hearts. if you ever want to be encouraged, start studying the promises in Scripture that we can hold on to for hope. just as God kept His promise to simeon (perhaps he did live to be 376, making that promise all the more true), He keeps His promises to us. perhaps God has promised something to you, and right now, it just doesn't seem probable that God is coming through on His end. we need to remember that God's timing is not ours, and in our microwave-fast food society of getting what we want when we want it, that can be difficult. remember that it took over 400 years for the prophecy of isaiah to come to pass, so God will hold true to His Word, just on His time, not ours.

finally, we see simeon's faithfulness. if he had not been faithful to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he would have missed seeing the Lord's CHRIST. had he not been righteous and devout, he might not have heard the Spirit's prompting. the Bible tells us that God speaks to us through His Holy Spirit, and that we can muffle the Spirit's voice by allowing sin in our lives. this year, perhaps the Spirit is telling you to do something in particular. i spoke with a fellow chaplain earlier that is serving meals this year at a soup kitchen on CHRISTmas because he felt that was what the Holy Spirit was leading him and his wife to do. if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, can you hear Him? or are your spiritual ears deafened by the loudness of life or clogged by unrepentant sin? maybe you do hear Him, but are choosing to either ignore Him or blatantly disobey Him? have you decided that something else in your life is more important than what He is calling you to do? if so, you may just miss the blessing of a lifetime. don't believe me? if you could ask simeon, i'm sure he would tell you the same!

and you thought the grinch was bad!

2011-12-16T12:16:00.000-06:00

whenever people try and romanticize CHRISTmas and make it seem like a story that you might see on the lifetime or hallmark channel, it would behoove them to read "the rest of the story". most people stop at the leaving of the magi, and they miss the portion of the story that sets the pace for the rest of Jesus's life here on earth. the story briefly touches on this next character up until this point, but we do not see the true depth of who he was until we read on. the person is herod the great.

herod the great, though not to be confused with his son herod antipas, whom Jesus would interact with during His trial before crucifixion, was the ruling tetrarch of galilee. herod was put in place during the reign of mark antony, and caused much dischord among the jews, being that he was not a pure blood, his mother being arabian. herod also knew who his source of authority was, and catered to the romans. once he took the throne, herod stripped power from the jewish aristocracy, although claiming to follow the jewish faith. he was repeatedly accused of being "too greek", in his architecture choices and behaviour, which further irritated the jews. he was very ambitious, building whole cities, including caesarea, which was a play to the new roman emperor caesar augustus. one of his crowning achievements was rebuilding the temple in jerusalem as well as the amphitheatre where the sanhedrin would meet, but he also built many temples to the pantheon of gods, including the temple to the roman emperor.

herod's thirst for power and continual challenges to his authority resulted in his becoming paranoid, eventually having two of his sons executed. even caesar rhetorted, "it is better to be a pig in herod's house, than to be one of his sons!" this thirst for power caused him to become very intrigued when a group of foreigners with a large procession asking about the birth place of the new king of the jews caused a stir in jerusalem. we know from matthew's gospel that herod immediately had the magi brought before him and asked about this new king they were seeking. he sought the help of the scribes who informed him that the Messiah was to be born in bethlehem, and then shrewdly ascertained from the magi's story that it was approximately two years earlier that the star first appeared signifying the Messiah's birth.

here's where it gets interesting. this is where we see the shift from a lifetime movie to something that you would find on cinemax. herod, in an effort to protect his throne from anyone that could usurp him, had his soldiers go to bethlehem and slaughter every male child two years old and younger. this has been referred to by ancient historians as the slaughter of the innocents. imagine you are sitting in your home, watching your 11 month old son crawl around on the floor, as my wife and i do on a daily basis, and a soldier opens your door, walks in, draws his sword, and beheads your son right in front of you, then walks out. this is the atrocity that herod ordered. there was no room in his life for any king but him.

many are like that today. sure, there are those that are like caesar: oblivious to the birth of the CHRIST, and happy to stay that way. but there are others that are adamant on destroying the influence of CHRIST in theirs or anyone else's lives. they are the ones that are fighting today to scrub the season of any reference to the birth of CHRIST. they are the ones that file lawsuits against towns to remove their nativity scenes. they are the minority, yet they act like everyone else should bow to them as supreme ruler. so how do we as CHRISTians handle those people?

there are those that will tell you that we must stand up and fight them. but history has shown that this is usually futile. while you might win a battle, by yourself you will lose the war with them. the answer lies in Scripture (novel idea, huh?) the Bible says that vengeance is the Lord's, not ours. the Bible even tells us that when we are persecuted for our faith, we are to turn the other cheek. this is not a popular answer among CHRISTians today, but never the less, it is the Biblical answer. does this mean that we are not to take a stand for CHRIST? absolutely not! we are commanded to stand for CHRIST, and we are to share that faith with the world. but it does mean that we should not be surprised when we face adversity for it. Jesus even said that He came not to bring peace, but to bring a sword. the peace that the angels spoke of was not the world peace that all the pageant models long for, but rather peace between God and man through His Son's sacrifice.

the jewish historian josephus tells us that in his last days, herod grew increasingly paranoid due to an illness (many believe it to be syphillis based on the description given) and in the end, went completely mad. he would scream and cover his ears, saying that he could not get the screams of children out of his head. he died a howling, tortured madman. today, it is probably not much different for him. he is probably still in torment, never finding the peace that we can know if we take ourselves off the throne of our lives and yield the seat to the CHRIST of CHRISTmas!

ummm, excuse me, but who are you and why are you giving my baby embalming fluid?

2011-12-14T22:48:00.002-06:00

there are a few pet peeves i have when it comes to CHRISTmas: martha stewart "themed" CHRISTmas trees, stores that put up their decorations right afer labor day, 80 degree weather in december (you know you hate that one, too!), and nativity scenes with the "wise men" at the stable in bethlehem. i'll tell you why later. but the "wise men", or "magi", seem to intrigue us more than any other part of the CHRISTmas story. songs have been written about them, they are in every CHRISTmas pageant, and their giving of gifts to the CHRIST-child is celebrated every year as we give gifts to each other. last year, i received a book for CHRISTmas entitled, "the revelation of the magi", which is the translation of an ancient manuscript that lied tucked away in the vatican library for centuries until a doctoral student dug it up and did his thesis on it. the manuscript was written in the early days of CHRISTianity and claimed to be written by the magi that came to visit the CHRIST-child. while i do not hold this manuscript on the same level of authority as the Bible, it is a very interesting read. it states that the magi were actually a sect of silent ascetic worshippers, descended from seth, the son of adam, who were handed down a prophecy from adam through seth partaining to the birth of the CHRIST. the prophecy contained who the CHRIST was, the star that would announce His coming, and the purpose of His coming. the magi (according to "the revelation of the magi" from the ancient word magoi, meaning silent) were from the land in the east by the great sea, meaning china. the star that they saw was actually an angelic being, appearing to them in the cave where they lived, and announced the birth of the CHRIST, and they rejoiced and set out to worship Him following the angelic "star-child" as it went before them. we all know the rest of the story from Matthew: they followed the star until it led them to the house where He was, and they presented Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

now, as said before, i have a big problem with the magi being in nativity scenes. not so much with the number, even though nowhere does the Bible say that there were only three, just three types of gifts. it must have been more than three for a significant portion of jerusalem and even the king to notice their arrival. but my hang-up comes with them being there when CHRIST was a baby. if the star appeared when He was born, it would have taken them years to reach Him, not hours. when herod asked them about when the star appeared, he had every baby 2 years old and under in bethlehem slaughtered. we also see the magi visiting Him in "the house", meaning that He was no longer at the stable. it is yet another one of the aspects of the CHRISTmas story that has been romanticized into a falsehood.

however, what is most intriguing about the magi was not when they got there, or where they were from, but the gifts that they brought. the gifts were (say them with me) gold, frankincense, and myrhh. gold was a gift given to a king, thus they recognized CHRIST as king (they even asked herod where the king of the jews was born). frankincense was a gift given to a priest or a deity, thus they recognized CHRIST as not just a priest, but as God. and the final gift mentioned is myrrh. this one is prophetic in nature. myrrh was used as an analgesic, or pain reliever, and also as a spice used in burial for preserving corpses. so they recognized CHRIST's purpose for being born. an interesting side note is that out of all the gifts, CHRIST would only be offered one again while He was on earth: myrrh. He was offered myrrh mixed with vinegar to dull His pain while on the cross, which He refused. the women coming to His tomb to prepare His body also would no doubt have had myrrh with them.

whether you call them magi, kings, wise men, or astrologers, one thing is certain: we can see their parallels in society as well as in our own lives this CHRISTmas. there are people today who are anxiously watching the signs and waiting for CHRIST to return. no one knows when that will be, but there are CHRISTians who are like the magi, watching and waiting. they are faithful, no matter the cost. there are those that, like the magi, have left their homes and their comfort zones to worship CHRIST in another land as missionaries. in "the revelation of the magi", we know that many generations lived and died, all the while remaining faithful to the promise and prophecy of CHRIST's coming. there are those that will die anxiously awaiting His return, and even as year after year passed, they never gave up hope, never stopped watching and preparing themselves.

another parallel is in how we see CHRIST. many of us are like ricky bobby, and like the CHRISTmas Jesus. we pray to the "dear baby Jesus in the golden diaper". it's far more peaceful to think about that than it is to think about the reason He came. there was a man in a CHRISTmas parade about 10 or 15 years ago, i forget where, but entered himself as "the reason for the season". when it came parade day, most figured that he would show up as something relating to the nativity, but he shocked them all when he showed up in very elaborate theatre make-up as CHRIST during His walk up the via de la rosa. he had a crown of thorns on his head, blood everywhere, and was carrying a large wooden cross. according to the news article, the people from the town were very upset at the violence portrayed in his entry, and that it was a CHRISTmas parade, and not a haunted house. they lambasted the man for ruining their parade. but you know, he got it right! that's why Jesus came. He came to die on that cross.

so this year, let us all keep the spirit of CHRISTmas as displayed in the magi. let us always be prepared for His coming, after all, the Bible says that no one knows the hour of His return. and most importantly, let us always remember the real reason for the season. the apostle paul said, "we preach CHRIST, and Him crucified." nothing in there that says, "we preach CHRIST, and His being born in a stable." every day of the year should be focused on remembering His death, burial, and resurrection. the birth is important, for it fulfilled a plethora of prophecies, adding validity to His claim to be who He said He was. but it is the milk. the meat is the reason He came!

here's to the rejects!

2011-12-12T12:49:00.000-06:00

perhaps of all the characters of the original CHRISTmas story i identify with most, the shepherds are the ones that seem to fit the bill on a consistent basis. in order to fully appreciate the role of the shepherds in the birth of CHRIST, you have to know a little about shepherds during that day.

in biblical times, few people were despised as much as shepherds. the shepherds were the outcasts of society. they spent most of their days out in the fields, and reeked of the outdoors, sweat, and animal musk. they were viewed as outlaws and thieves, and whenever they came into town, items would conveniently come up missing and fingers would easily point to the shepherds. we see shepherds getting into fights with other farmers in the Bible, mainly because of the destruction shepherds would leave in their wake. shepherds cared for sheep, hence the name "shepherd", short for "sheep herder". shepherds were nomadic, always having to move their sheep from one location to another. this was because of the grazing method that sheep use. most grazing animals only bite off the visible portion of the grass, and in contrast, sheep pull the entire plant up by the roots. by the time a heard of sheep had finished grazing an area, the field would have been reduced to a large dirt plot, making it unusable for anyone else. this was why other farmers hated shepherds. this was also the reason for the shepherd having to take the sheep through the "valley of the shadow of death", as the grass grew in the higher locations and as one was cleared, the sheep would have to be led to another one. a shepherd's only friends were the sheep that he cared for, and sometimes other shepherds that worked the herd with him. kind of paints a different picture than the fair-skinned, clean and pressed boyish shepherds we see in the paintings, huh?

now, imagine for a moment that you are a shepherd. or let's compare it to a modern day example. say for a moment that you are a paroled convict working out of a halfway house as a member of a road crew clearing overpasses. everywhere you go, people know that you are a thief, and you reek of the outdoors, sweat, and a mixture of grass, onion, and 2 stroke engine exhaust. you are unkempt, and have no home to officially speak of. your family barely speaks to you, and the only friends you have are of like backgrounds. even then, they are not what you would call "real" friends, more just temporary alliances. you can't go anywhere without suspicion, and one day while working on a ditchbank somewhere an angel appears to you and tells you that the Messiah is born in the small town down the road. this is no booming metropolis, just a little community with two working traffic lights, a post office, and a small downtown area. you were just there working and even then the townspeople all but ran you off with their accusing looks and general avoidance. do you go back and see this Child for yourself and then go and tell everyone about it? they will think even worse of you, and probably have you run out of town by the local barney fife. moreover, you probably will not be allowed back, limiting where you can go for supplies even further.

well, this is exactly what the shepherds did. they went in the middle of the night into a town that did not welcome them to witness the Messiah firsthand, and then went out after they had seen Him, rejoicing and telling everyone they saw about it! these shepherds were outcasts, considered unclean and unworthy. they were not royalty. they had little money or possessions to speak of. they were dirty. they were sinners. yet, they were exactly the type of people that CHRIST came for!

as i said before, this group is the one i identify with more than any other, and on a regular basis. the Bible is full of unworthy people that God chose to use, but these guys would make the top ten list. all of us were like that in God's eyes. we were unclean and unworthy, sinners, and as revelation 3 says: "poor, wretched, and blind". yet God saw fit to announce to us on a personal level the revelation of CHRIST. if God can use a group of outcasts such as the shepherds, and have them immortalized throughout time (many of you have already seen them portrayed in CHRISTmas programs across the globe!), then imagine how He can use you! remember, CHRIST chose to compare Himself to a shepherd as well. He was an outcast from the beginning, so it is only fitting that He would announce His birth to outcasts, and use outcasts like us to spread His gospel!

this year, what will you do with the gospel of CHRIST? will you make excuses about how you aren't good at speaking, or you don't have time, money, status, ___________ (fill in your own excuse here)? the shepherds left their whole livelihood to go, see, and tell of the Messiah's birth. or will you go out and let the Holy Spirit who lives within you guide you as you go and tell other outcasts that CHRIST was born on CHRISTmas to die and rise again to save rejects such as us?

sorry, all we have are no birthing rooms left

2011-12-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

we've all seen the CHRISTmas pageants at churches and schools. we see the little girl playing mary and the little boy reluctantly playing joseph knock on the door of the inn and the boy with the fake beard playing the innkeeper tells them to go away, that there are no rooms left. the innkeeper then offers them the stable out back and the young duo says ok without an argument and they go to the other side of the stage where a quaint little stable with a wooden feeding troth is waiting on them. by this point, mary has already had her baby boy, usually a baby doll, because nobody wants to see a 5 or 6 year old girl pretending to give birth on stage! it's all cute, and we love them, but if you go back and read the story, you will find something interesting. there is no innkeeper in the story! one can infer that there must have been an innkeeper, being that there was an inn, but the elusive innkeeper is not explicitly mentioned in any part of the story.  you ask the average person, though, and they will tell you that there is one in the Bible. it becomes like the little kid who shows up at his CHRISTmas pageant with a pillow under his shirt and when his teacher asks him who he is supposed to be, he matter-of-factly tells her that he is "round john virgin"! we end up adding more to the story than is there, much of our misinformation coming from things like children's plays and CHRISTmas carols.

while the innkeeper is not specifically mentioned by name, we can see a lot of what an innkeeper's characteristics would have been like in society today, especially at CHRISTmas time. the town of bethlehem was a small town geographically isolated from much of the surrounding area, and the census implemented by caesar augustus would have brought a tremendous amount of commerce to the local merchants for the weeks and months during the census. this was primarily an agricultural town, so business was limited to goods bought and sold by the local community and the occasional traveler stopping through on the way to other larger cities within palestine. with this booming influx of business, the inns would have been full, and the last thing that an innkeeper would want was a screaming early teenage girl giving birth in one of his rooms, and making the room unclean as well as scaring off all of his guests. so it would have been convenient for all of the rooms to be taken. there is no validity to the misconstrued notion of mary and joseph going from inn to inn trying to find a room, since her delivery would have occurred just as they got to bethlehem (probably from either walking or riding on the back of an animal during the journey there).  so if we acknowledge that little fact, then we can reasonably assume that there was no time to go door to door.

let me throw another proverbial monkey wrench into the story here and point out that the word used for "inn" is kataluma, which could also be translated "guestroom". it is quite possible, and actually more probable, that mary and joseph sought lodging at a relative's house, since that was the town of joseph's family.  however, being that everyone else from his lineage would have been there, and being that mary was late in pregnancy, their journey would have been slow and they would have been the last ones to arrive, only to find all of the guest rooms with family occupied. however, most families had a stable behind the house where they kept their most prized livestock, which mainly would have been oxen. the family probably would have considered that to be a more suitable place for giving birth, due to the tremendous mess it caused, and allowed joseph and mary to use it for that purpose.  also, it is quite possible that the reputation of mary's unwed pregnancy would have preceded them there, so there may have been an element of keeping them out of sight, out of mind.

regardless, the overwhelming attitudes we see in either the innkeeper or the family are quite prevalent today. the innkeeper would have had the birth of the Messiah right at their back door, and he missed it. he was so busy with business that he had no time for someone who interfered with his making money.  we see that today beginning at halloween and even earlier. many businesses fall prey to seeing CHRISTmas through money colored glasses and are too busy with the commerce of the season to actually recognize what truly is being celebrated. we see workers being forced to work long hours, and now even working on thanksgiving, to stay ahead of the competition and bring in the most capital. especially in the united states, where CHRISTianity is the predominant religion, people are so busy with the rush of CHRISTmas that they miss the CHRIST of CHRISTmas. so they are in effect, just like the assumed innkeeper, having CHRIST right outside their door, and they miss Him.

still others are like joseph's family. this attitude is the most prevalent in churches. CHRIST is just outside, but nobody bothers to make room for Him. He is an inconvenience. i'm sure the family went out to check on them, and possibly even went out to see the baby Jesus, but she had to lay him in a feeding troth filled with hay and ox saliva because the family did not make room for Him in the house. Jesus even referenced this attitude in revelation 3, when He said that He stands at the door and knocks. the sad thing is, the door He is knocking on is the door of the church! His own church, His own family if you will, has no room for Him! they have been doing things their own way, and for Him to come in would be a huge inconvenience because they might have to change how they are doing things.

this year, is CHRIST in your CHRISTmas?  or are you so busy with the rush that you miss Him? or maybe you no longer have room for Him because of all of the "tradition" and "religion" that has taken His place. it's never too late to repent and to make room for Him. after all, He also promises in revelation 3 that if anyone opens the door to Him, He will come in and restore the relationship.

but i'm the emperor! i can name a salad after me if i want to!

2011-12-07T12:15:00.000-06:00

whenever i read about julius caesar or caesar augustus, the line from "bill and ted's excellent adventure" comes to mind: "so what you're telling me, is that caesar was the 'salad dressing dude'". by now, you've probably figured out who the next character is. most already know this part of the story. this is how the most commonly known portion of the CHRISTmas story begins: "in those days, a decree went out from caesar augustus that all the world should be taxed (registered), each to his own city." this is the census that the caesar implemented that forced mary and joseph to make the journey to bethlehem, with mary being in her last months of pregnancy. so who was this "caesar augustus" guy?

history tells us that he was born gaius octavius thurinus, the great nephew of julius caesar. he was part of the ruling party of rome, along with mark antony and marcus lepidus. however, unlike his great uncle, octavius was far more ambitious, and a conflict grew with the other members of the triumverate over who held power, and octavius self-assumed the name "caesar" from his great uncle and like the rock star "sting" changed his name to augustus, thereby becoming known as caesar augustus, the first emperor of rome. augustus seized power from mark antony, which led to cleopatra's and subsequently mark antony's suicides that have now become infamous. augustus was a very ambitious emperor, choosing to focus heavily on religion and reestabilshed the pantheon of gods that had been all but forgotten in the empire and also declared himself a god in the process. he expanded the roman empire to include much of europe and the near east, which leads us up to the passage in the CHRISTmas story. augustus grew increasingly frustrated with the decline in numbers in his empire, so he enacted laws to benefit the married and specifically the married with children. he lambasted the single men for the "murder" of the empire for their refusal to marry and have children. some years after the laws were in place, he ordered a census be taken of the entire roman world. there were three done under his rule, each around 20 years apart. the first one was around 28 b.c., the second around 8 b.c., and the final one around 14 a.d. the census involving mary and joseph would have been the one around 8 b.c., but it would have taken a couple of years for news of the census to reach palestine, so that is where we get our approximate birth date of 6 b.c. for CHRIST.

so how does this translate to today? what parallels can we see of caesar augustus in today's society? well, first, we know that augustus saw himself as god, and was completely oblivious to the birth of the CHRIST in bethlehem. many today are what i call "functioning atheists", choosing to see themselves as god of their own lives and destinies. they are religious relativists, saying that it is ok for you to believe in whatever god you want to believe in, as long as it is personal and not forced on others. many professing CHRISTians (notice i said "professing") actually fall under this category as well. the ones who only choose to acknowledge the lordship of CHRIST on two days a year, are in essence acting as their own gods. many people today are actually oblivious to the true meaning of CHRISTmas. sure, most know the story, but the actual implications of the story are unknown to them. you may doubt me on that, considering that we live in a nation where churches are very much in abundance, but i can assure you, this sadly is the case. it is because churches today have become so stagnant and internal, that there is very little new growth or evangelism, and the church has become sick with inbreeding. most new members are transfers from another church, and very few new converts. this has led to an ignorance of the gospel in society as a whole. it is because of this disobedience that society has shunned CHRISTianity as just another of many world religions.

this leads us to the second parallel. augustus was in a sense a pluralist. he chose not to force one particular god on the people, but instead, set up a whole pantheon of gods for them to choose from. with america being already an extremely diverse society, most today that have the attitude of caesar choose to stay neutral on the topic of religious belief, stating that you can believe whatever you want as long as it works for you. there are even professing CHRISTians who have fallen into this mindset. there are those in our churches today, of every denomination and background, that say that CHRIST is not the only way to heaven. they have fallen prey to the "false prophets" who "tickle their ears" and have adopted a moralistic gospel and a form of deism rather than biblical CHRISTianity. they have stopped seeing God as the supreme, righteous, holy, and jealous Deity that He is, and have instead taken the view of "grandfather God", who loves everyone and won't send anyone to hell, because that's not politically correct and causes division and hurt feelings. so when it comes to CHRISTmas, they choose to focus on everything but CHRIST. they have their pantheon of gods in the form of material goods, nostalgia, santa claus, trees, etc. these are not bad things in and of themselves, but when they become the focus, they in essence become gods.

finally, you can see a parallel in caesar's ambition. he was a narcissist, who wanted absolute control of his life and everyone around him, regardless of how much it inconvenienced them. there are people just like that everywhere at CHRISTmas! they are the ones who stress out every year at CHRISTmas and become the CHRISTmas nazis. everything around them has to be perfect, from the tree (they usually have the designer tree with a set theme every year), to the dinner, to the family coming over, etc. they are the clark w. griswolds trying have that "good old fashioned family CHRISTmas", much to the chagrin of those around them. i had a friend in seminary that used to tell me that he hated CHRISTmas because of the memories he had associated with it. his memories consisted of stressed out parents, arguments, and general high tension around the house. for him, he echoed the sentiment of clark's wife in CHRISTmas vacation when she said, "it's CHRISTmas, and we are all in misery!"

so this year, don't be a caesar. keep your name. realize that you are not God. there are no vacancies in the trinity. no need for you to apply. and keep CHRIST the focus, and if you can do that, then peace on earth and good will can be yours. "seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be given to you!"

but she's so old...she's just so....old!

2011-12-05T12:10:00.000-06:00

in college, when i first started getting into martial arts, i participated in a regional competition. at the time, i was only a green belt in traditional shotokan, which basically means i would have gotten my tail handed to me against pretty much anyone i went up against. at this particular competition, there were different competitions one could enter, such as kata, hand to hand, and breaking. since i was put out fairly early in the hand to hand, i decided to go over and observe the breaking competition. one particular participant caught my eye, and i remember thinking that he would be put out fairly early. the reason was, the participant was an 8 year old boy, maybe 80 lbs worth, and that was a liberal estimate. here he was, against full grown men that had 100 lbs on him, about to break boards and cinder blocks. but this kid never wavered in his determination, and was fairly impressive in his ability to break boards. perhaps it was the black belt around his waist, or the fact that he had broken everything they had put in front of him so far, but whatever the reason, he was not detracted at all when they placed a stack of 7 1x8 pine boards in front of him. they actually had to bring a stool for him to stand on because he was not tall enough to reach the top board with enough force to break the stack. needless to say, he went through the stack like it was made of toilet paper, and ended up winning the competition.

i imagine that was how people looked at elizabeth, zechariah's wife when they first saw her with the tell-tale bump of her baby boy growing inside of her. in contrast with her husband, elizabeth actually believed God when she was told that she would have a baby, even in her post-menopausal state. however, to take away fodder from her possible detractors, she went into seclusion upon learning that she was pregnant. while in seclusion, she received a visitor, her cousin mary. mary's story is one we will get to later, but mary was there from her home town to possibly avoid a stoning sentence for the child also growing inside of her. we know that mary stayed for about three months, probably until the delivery of the baby was accomplished. in that time, women would give birth to a baby by hollowing out a hole in the ground, placing bricks on each side of the hole and then squatting on the bricks over the hole with women helping to hold them up by the arms during the process. so it would have been normal for mary to help with the delivery.

what is striking about elizabeth is her tremendous amount of faith. we never see her questioning in the way that her ancestor sarah did. perhaps it was because of her husband's plight with muteness that convinced her, but for whatever reason we know that elizabeth kept faith. she also removed herself from temptations to doubt her cridibility, validating her pregnancy as being from the Lord, and setting the stage not only for herself, but for her cousin mary as well. we know that she firmly believed mary's story when she came to visit, and provided a safe place for her to stay. having witnessed her own pregnancy, perhaps it was not hard for her to believe mary's story about the immaculate conception. but regardless, she took a risk to her own reputation and welcomed mary into her home.

there are people like that today. we all know them. they are the ones that have the faith that the Bible says could move mountains. they are also the ones who reach out to others, choosing to share that faith with everyone they come in contact with. granted, there are those that believe something blindly and without merit to their belief, which is very dangerous. that is how we end up with cult leaders like david koresh and jim jones. but when a belief comes from spending time with a living Saviour, and studying His Word, then it is a belief that has merit and can be counted on.

as we look around at this time of year, we see those like elizabeth. we see the champions of the faith in our churches and in our lives. they are the ones who are not detracted by the naysayers around them. they are the ones who guard their faith, and choose not to get into pointless debates with others about their belief, but rather stand firm as an example and a testament to those around them. they help others when the world around them writes the afflicted off. they are obedient to God despite their circumstances. but most importantly, they don't make excuses as to why they can't do something. when God commands, they obey. they walk up to the stack of boards that God has placed in front of them, they look at the black belt God has placed around their spiritual waist, and they proceed to accomplish the task for no other reason than because God has told them to. they are the missionaries going to the closed countries, despite the objections from family members. they are the ones who are obedient to God with their money, even when their own pocketbooks are light. they are the ones that listen to the Holy Spirit's leading and take the time to share Christ with someone they meet in the store, even though they may not be very good at communicating. the ladies that defy gender barriers to share Christ to a culture that looks down on them, the youth that defy age boundaries to minister to an elderly nursing home patient, the churches that defy color boundaries and open their doors to all races, the suburbanite that defies their fear to minister in the inner cities, and the CHRISTians that defy death on a daily basis to hold secret church meetings in a home in a foreign country that outlaws CHRISTianity; all of these are in the spirit of elizabeth.

so this year, will you be a person of faith? or will you be the voice of "reason", detracting from what God has called someone to do in obedience? will you be a safe haven for someone, whether it means being someone that is willing to listen, or taking a needy family under your care for the CHRISTmas season, or even welcoming a single mother into your home who has nowhere else to go? today, more than ever, we need people of faith. the question is, if not us, then who will fill that role?

characters of CHRISTmas: zechariah

2011-12-01T22:08:00.001-06:00

as promised, so begins my journey into the exploration of the characters of CHRISTmas, and going one step further and drawing parallels to character types we see today.

have you ever just sat and read the whole CHRISTmas story? if not, then i encourage you to sit down and read it this year. most people know the luke 2 story, and even the matthew 1-2 portion, but the story actually begins back in luke 1. it begins when the angel gabriel appears to zechariah, who was an elderly priest serving in the temple of the Lord. the angel informs him that his elderly wife elizabeth (we'll get to her later), is going to have a son who will pave the way for CHRIST, and that zechariah is to name him john.

now, i don't know about you, but if an angel ever just appeared to me, and then told me something, i think i might be inclined to believe him. but what does zechariah do? he questions gabriel, and says something along the lines of him and his wife being old (sound familiar? read the story of abraham in case you have forgotten). as his punishment, gabriel renders zechariah mute until the baby is born.

have you ever been asked to believe the unbelievable? what was your response? caedmon's call has a song called "there you go", and there is an excellent rephrasing of john 3:16 within the lyrics: "for You so loved the unlovable, that You gave the ineffable, that who so believes the unbelievable, will attain the unattainable." every year at CHRISTmas, we are called by God to believe and outrageous story of a young girl who miraculously becomes pregnant, yet claims to never have had sex, and that baby is born into poverty to become Immanuel, God with us on earth. some religions deny this, and say that mary was a liar and a fornicator. yet we are called to believe it based on some words that were written over 1900 years ago. you say you believe that, but what do you do when God calls you to believe a promise He has made to you?

i can remember a time in my own life, when i, like zechariah, had my faith tested. God has promised in His Word, that He will supply all my needs, yet when i was without a job, i began to do like zechariah and look around me at my circumstances and say, "but God. . ." the Bible is filled with those who doubted God's promises. so why should it be any easier for us today? i mean, if zechariah actually saw an angel, and still didn't believe, then how much harder is it for us to believe without a personal visit from an angelic being? it becomes that much harder when God actually asks something of us in the midst of our crisis of faith. i can remember when God told me to move back to mississippi (even after i said i would never go back there). i had no place to live there, no job, and a pregnant wife and son to move with me. i remember praying, "God, if you want us to move there, you have to tell my wife that, too, because she is going to flip when i tell her that You want us to move to mississippi!" the very next day, while talking to my wife on the phone, she asked me had i been praying about where we were to move, and i told her that i had, but that she was not going to believe me when i told her. she said, "it's tupelo, mississippi, isn't it?" keep in mind, i had not talked to her at all about this. i was in rhode island at training and she was in texas at her mom's house at the time. she said that God had told her that as well. long story short, we obeyed God, took a huge leap of faith, and God was faithful to provide jobs for both of us while there. now, before you start saying, "wow, chris, i wish i had that kind of faith!", let me confess. after about a year and a half, God began telling us it was time to move on from tupelo to my ultimate calling as a navy chaplain. however, i used my own logic again, like zechariah, and saw the super nice salary i was bringing in, no offers of active duty, and refused God's offer. since i ignored God's gentle prodding, He decided to give me a violent shove in the right direction, which was not a fun time for my family or me. i, like zechariah, was rendered powerless.

but if you read the rest of the story of zechariah, you will find out that he was faithful in spite of his unbelief and silent punishment, and when the baby was born, he wrote that he was to be named john as gabriel had instructed. after that, his voice returned, and he began to praise God and to prophecy about his son. the prophecy came true, and his son john, would become the man known to the world as john the baptist, the forerunner of CHRIST.

perhaps this CHRISTmas, you find yourself like zechariah. maybe God has called you to do something out of the ordinary such as provide a meal or CHRISTmas gifts for a needy family, serve in a soup kitchen on CHRISTmas day, step out of your comfort zone and do something that otherwise would seem outlandish. or maybe it's the commands already revealed to you through Scripture: attend church on sunday even if it is CHRISTmas (i know, novel idea, right?), actually spend this CHRISTmas focusing on CHRIST instead of presents and the rush, or be the voice of the angels proclaiming the good news of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of CHRIST to someone who desperately needs to hear it this year. it could be that you have not believed God on something He has told you, and you are suffering in silence as a result. as in the case of zechariah, God can still use you despite your unbelief, provided you obey Him despite your lack of faith. and i know that there are some, that have found this whole CHRISTmas business nothing more than a fairy tale, a children's story in the same vein as santa claus. my prayer for you this year is that God sends someone to reveal the truth to you. who knows, somebody's obedience and belief may give the world its next billy graham or martin luther.

happy CHRISTmas, merry hanukkah, or season's holidays?

2011-11-29T22:29:00.002-06:00

a few years back, when i was still but a young, aspiring seminary student, i had an encounter with a store clerk that stuck with me, yet i had all but forgotten about it until recently. one day during the CHRISTmas shopping season, i begrudgingly went out into the chaos that is the CHRISTmas rush to purchase a present for someone at work whose name i had drawn in the secret santa game. while standing patiently, but teetering on the edge of madness, i found myself two shoppers back from the register, and i began to see light at the end of the tunnel that i would make it out of the store with my sanity somewhat still intact (for those of you that know me, you will know that is relatively speaking, of course!). when what to my wandering eyes should appear? a very well dressed lady, who took it upon herself to break into full three points and a poem sermon right there in the line, with her congregation being the unsuspecting clerk. i can almost still hear her treacly inane tone as she smugly commented, "i know you can't say it anymore, but i can, so merry CHRISTmas!" her tone then descended into one that can only be considered toxic as she berated the current state of society and the materialism that it had degraded into (nevermind the hundreds of dollars of presents that she herself had just paid for with her visa gold card) and that the stores were trying to persecute CHRISTians by saying "happy holidays" and "season's greetings".

i say this, because i recently received an email from afa (american family activists, er, association) with their latest cause they were championing and calling CHRISTians to action on, which happened to be the saying of "merry CHRISTmas". as i thought about it, i began to get angry. ghandi once said, "i like your Christ. i do not like your CHRISTians. they are so unlike your Christ." who are we to try and force our religion down others' throats? this does not lead to converts. it leads to opposition. we have seen what happens when a religion is forced on people, from examples of theocracies forcing subjects to choose between conversion or death, to religious extremism we currently see today in many of the muslim nations around the world. it does not lead to greater support of, nor eager disciples of, your particular flavor of religion. it only creates disdain and animosity towards religion and anyone who practices it. so what shall we make of the "say merry CHRISTmas" campaign?

first off, let me say, that i absolutely love CHRISTmas. i am not some scrooge who just can't wait for it to go away. i look forward to it every year, and i enjoy saying "merry CHRISTmas" to those that i meet. however, there are those today that somehow believe that our very existence as CHRISTians is threatened if we do not say "merry CHRISTmas" and force others to do the same. after all, "america is a CHRISTian nation and blahbitty blah blah". those people end up sounding like ricky bobby in talladega nights when he stated, "this is america! we speak american here!" ok, for those folks, newsflash: america is NOT a CHRISTian nation founded on CHRISTian principles! read your history books! i know carman has the song that says otherwise, but it's just a song. can't place much historical value on it! truth is, america is a moral nation founded on masonic principles, as most of our founding fathers were masons. true, many of them were CHRISTians, and each lodge within the masonic rite usually takes on the religious principles of its populus. so yes, many of our laws were founded upon CHRISTian principles, filtered through the religion of morality practiced by the masons! true, america was settled originally by those seeking freedom to worship Christ as they saw fit, but when it came down to establishing our country as a sovereign nation, that was only a part of the equation. not all the founding fathers who wrote the original documents that defined our nation, such as the declaration of independence and the constitution, were CHRISTians. so when they said, "freedom of religion", they meant just that: freedom of religion, not freedom of religion as long as that religion was CHRISTianity.

now that our history lesson is over, let us return to the subject at hand: CHRISTmas and the holiday season. first off, Christ is still Lord, whether we pray in His name, or whether we say "merry CHRISTmas", or not! as CHRISTians, we should not feel threatened that the mall has signs that say "happy holidays". we should not feel like our faith is collapsing around us if we see a menorah next to a CHRISTmas tree (oh, and by the way, that tree, that everyone has their little CHRISTian parallels to its aspects, is pagan! that's right, it's a carry over from the days of the festival of yule, the worship of the tree gods, and was assimilated into CHRISTianity during the missions to northern europe!) the simple truth is, the retailers are catering to their greater population! there are many other holidays (holidays=holy+days, present in all religions) that take place during december, and many of which involve gift giving (another pagan practice at its source, no matter how much you dress it in the story of the magi) such as hanukkah, kwanzaa (yes, i know it's a made up holiday), winter solstice (from wicca, where we get our practice of gift giving in december), etc. so it behooves retailers to try and capitalize on the month and peddle their wares to everyone of every religion that shops in their stores. so happy holidays (and since it starts well before thanksgiving, we can include it in the said greeting as well) is a very encompassing approach.

i will admit, that i do have a problem with the ones that go uber-pc and try and label things that are blatantly CHRISTian as "holiday", such as a "holiday nativity setting", etc. of the holidays, CHRISTmas is one of them, and let's face it, is the major one of the month, no matter that 90% of those celebrating it have little to do with Christ or His Church. so i say to them, "get over yourselves, acknowledge that CHRISTmas is there, and label things correctly!"

so what should we as CHRISTians do? first off, say "merry CHRISTmas" to as many people as is prudent. but do it with a smile! show people that Christ who lives within you is the most important part of your life, and not just in december! actually look like you mean it when you say it. penn, the atheist from the popular magician duo penn and teller, made the statement that he has no respect for a CHRISTian who does not share his faith, as he had just had a "delightful" encounter with a gentleman who in a very polite, but non-pushy way, gave him a Bible. he said, if you truly believe what you say you do, and people are going to an eternal hell, you would be arrogant and selfish if you kept the way out to yourself. but you have to show that the Christ who lives within you is greater than anything this world has to offer. however, if you know someone is a different faith, try and show some couth and greet them with the appropriate greeting for their faith! for example, whenever i see rabbi sherwin on base, i will say "shalom" to him, and at hanukkah, i do not say "merry CHRISTmas" to him, but rather, a cheerful "happy hanukkah"! it's not because i am ashamed of my faith, but rather that i am respectful of his. and i have found that if you treat people with dignity and respect, and acknowledge that they are of a different faith than you, as paul did at mars hill, you open the door for future dialogues with those people where you can possibly show them what you have in your faith that is worth their pursuing!

as i approached the counter of the clerk, i first apologized. i apologized if i had a look of disdain on my face as i do not enjoy the shopping experience at the height of the CHRISTmas rush. i then apologized for the rude customer who just launched into a verbal tirade on her. after she rang my purchase and i paid, i told her that my Christ was about more than just a simple collection of words. she was not a CHRISTian, but she told me that she would entertain coming to a church that i attended, but would no way in a hot place go near the church that the self-proclaimed "CHRISTmas greeting police" attended. i then gave her my email address and told her that if there was anything i could ever pray on her behalf, or if she ever had any questions about CHRISTianity, that she could email me. you know what? she did! we exchanged a few emails, and her and her husband actually visited our church a few times, but i lost track of her when she moved out of state for her husband's job. i'm not sure if she ever became a CHRISTian, but i do know that she was exposed to the gospel and had a much better chance than if i had not been there to counter "sister bertha, better-than-you's" attack.

this year, be true to your convictions. say "merry CHRISTmas" with all your heart! but do not try and force your convictions on others. a good friend once told me, "expect lost people to act like lost people". that includes during the holiday season. but be that light that draws others to the "peace on earth, good will toward men in His favor!"

please, no cutting allowed in the holiday line

2011-11-21T20:48:00.000-06:00

wow. my lovely bride pointed out that it has been almost a year since i posted on here! looking back, i have no good excuse. i have plenty of excuses such as no time, can't access my blog at work, etc., but no good ones! well, there've been a few things bugging me here in the last weeks, so i decided to dust the old soapbox off and get a few things off my cyber-cyber chest, so to speak.

my first post of the group is on the holidays. many of you who have spent any time around me know that i have a strict policy concerning thanksgiving. while it may be popular for retailers to decorate for CHRISTmas immediately following the fourth of july, and our neighbors may already have their lights and trees up, i remain adamant: one holiday at a time! much to the chagrin of my bride, who would love to follow suit and have our CHRISTmas decorations up (after all, we are only allowed to keep them up until january 15th, according to our housing agreement), i remain steadfast on my commitment to observe one holiday at a time. i have been called scrooge, old-fashioned, and even silly, but until today, i was never questioned as to the reasoning for my stand, and i had never really had to answer it.

so, what was my answer? i know that is what you are thinking as you shiver with antici..........pation.

while at first, my resistance was simply out of nostalgia for the past that i remembered as a kid, the magic in the air following thanksgiving and leading up to CHRISTmas day, but now, there is far more substance to my resistance than mere memories. before i state my case, let me first say that i am not against CHRISTmas. i believe as scrooge said in his tale, that CHRISTmas should be kept in our hearts all the year long. what i am against, is the CHRISTmas rush that is forced upon us by over-amorous retailers trying to make money. why am i against the rush? it has to do with two principles that are in direct conflict with each other: thankfulness and greed.

the problem with the current relationship of thanksgiving and CHRISTmas is that the rush starts earlier and earlier and thanksgiving becomes nothing more than a speed bump on the way to CHRISTmas. in today's society of greed and entitlement, thanksgiving is not something that should be neglected or taken for granted. yet every year, we are faced with a barrage of commercials and advertisements designed to initiate want and desire in us for things that we don't have, and usually don't need. by the time the retailers are done, our desire for "stuff" gets misconstrued in our minds into need. so instead of focusing on what we have and what we should be thankful for, we focus on what we don't have and become materialistic and selfish. the stores know this, and throw their materialistic gasoline on the public's fire of desire for stuff, to the point that many stores now are opening at noon on thanksgiving for black friday sales. thanksgiving has become nothing more than another shopping day.

in the 1800s, the average kid received one, maybe two presents, which were usually something useful, such as new clothes for school. today, we have families calling our marines working "toys for tots" with a list of extravagant items their kids want, and even have the audacity to get upset when they don't receive what they want! we have truly become what the apostle paul prophecies, when he says in the last days, that men will be selfish, loving themselves more than God. we have stripped what should be one of the most sacred holidays in the christian calendar and turned it into an occasion for one of the seven deadly sins: greed.

i admire nordstrom for taking a stand and saying that they will not begin their CHRISTmas rush until after thanksgiving. i had a friend from overseas tell me upon driving past a mini-storage facility, "americans have so much stuff they have to rent extra space to hold it all. they have no idea of what it means to be in need!"

so i choose not to focus on all of the propaganda and the allure of the lights and the decorations that serve as distractions from a time that should be focused on being thankful for the sometimes countless blessings that we have been given by God. so this year, at thanksgiving, enjoy your turkey and football, and the time with family, and take a moment to take inventory of all of the things you have to be thankful for. and especially be thankful for Christ, who was sent at CHRISTmas (which, by the way, was more than likely in the spring rather than in the winter, and sure not december 25th!), to die on good friday, and rise again, so that we could experience true freedom.

lessons learned in childbirth

2011-01-08T21:44:00.000-06:00

as most of you know by now, we are now the new parents of our third baby boy, logan jeremiah. and if there is one thing that i have learned in life, it's that God can teach you anything, anytime, anywhere. all you have to do is look around (and having a decent working knowledge of His Word doesn't hurt either).

while watching my little baby be born, i was taken aback by the miracle of it all. but the thing that struck me most is how being a father is an idea that originates with God, and His relationship with us as His children. when Jesus was talking to nicodemus in john, He told nicodemus that unless a person is born again, they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. watching my son, and being overjoyed, i could not wait to tell everyone i saw. i even made up birth announcements in the form of candy bar wrappers that i spent hours creating, just to tell everyone everything about logan's arrival. the nurses in the mother-baby ward commented that i was "bouncing" around the hall. it then hit me how God must feel when He sees a person being born into the kingdom. stop for a minute and imagine the celebration that must take place in heaven. can you imagine the conversations? how Jesus might go around and tell everyone that another new birth happened and a new babe in Christ has arrived into the kingdom! this may seem ludicrous to most, but God mentions being a father more than a few times in Scripture, and if God is our model for fatherhood, then He must have put in us the same emotions and feelings He feels as well.

the other thing i learned was while watching two of my family suffer. after a cesarean, lori was naturally very sore, and even in what i would call excruciating pain. and the first few hours after logan was born, he was having serious breathing difficulties and had to spend the day in the level 2 nursery hooked up to a cpap. the common sentiment i felt in seeing both of my loved ones in that condition was one of helplessness. while God is not helpless, He must feel some sort of grief in seeing His children suffering the consequences of a fallen world and being unable to stop it and still be true to His holiness and justness. but the thing that struck me most is that if i could have, i would have gladly taken the place of my wife and son to ease their suffering. the difference between God and myself, is that not only was God able to, He actually came down and took our place, so that we could escape the eternal suffering we would have experienced otherwise.

so the next time you look around you, think about what God could possibly teach you through whatever circumstance you find yourself in. you might just be surprised at how God reveals Himself through that still, small voice. we just have to learn to be quiet to hear it.

east side wise guys

2010-12-30T20:16:00.000-06:00

this year for CHRISTmas, i received a gift from my two boys (as well as my third one, who was unable to participate on account of he hasn't arrived yet!). it was a book entitled "the revelation of the magi". in this book, the author translates as well as provides commentary on an ancient manuscript, dated somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century after Christ's birth, that goes into more detail concerning the magi from a mystical eastern land that are talked about in matthew 2. it has been a fascinating read, and while i would not hold it anywhere near as authoritative as the Bible, it is interesting to get a glimpse into what might have been the untold story of the magi. matthew's gospel is very cryptic concerning the magi, or wise men, as some call them. all we know, from matthew's account, is that they came from the east, following a star that led them to Jesus' house, and caused quite a stir in jerusalem, especially among the ruling authority, herod the great. we also know that they brought gifts: gold, frankinscence, and myrrh. that is as far as the story goes. many have speculated as to where they were from, some saying persia, others babylon, and some even saying the far east. many also like to say that there were three of them, hence the three gifts. however, we do not know how many there were. although, for them to cause such a stir in jerusalem, there must have been more than three, for a small band of three travelers would hardly have been noticed. however cryptic the story may be, the truth is in the details.

first, we know that they left everything to follow a star for years that was to lead them to the Christ. whether or not they knew his name, we do not know. we do know that they had faith in Him before they had even met Him. as Jesus once said, those who believe without seeing are more blessed than those who have seen and believe. in "revelation of the magi", the magi were not astrologers or kings, as many hymns and CHRISTmas pageants make them out to be. instead, they are direct descendents of seth, adam's and eve's son, who are watchers for the prophecy that was given adam when he was expelled from the garden. they go on to say that there was another prophecy, not mentioned in the biblical account, given to seth by adam, to look for a star signifying God's birth in human form. whether or not this is true, is for an outside discussion. however, we can look at the faith of these men who made an extraordinary long journey just to worship the King of Kings, born to a teenage girl and a middle class carpenter. many of us could do well to learn from them. we find it a burden (and yes, i myself sometimes fall into this category) to get up and get our households dressed and out the door and drive in traffic 15 minutes to church.

another detail is in the gifts given by the magi. first, is gold. gold was a gift that was given to a king. they recognized this Baby they had never met as King, regardless of how he appeared to them in His infancy. second, is frankincense. this was a gift given to a deity. in the holy of holies, the priest would burn frankincense as a scent offering to Yahweh on yom kippur, the day of atonement. these first two gifts, gold and frankincense, He had been offered before. gold was used in the construction of the ark of the covenant, as well as in the construction of solomon's temple. however, the third gift, myrrh, is the most intriguing. myrrh was a spice, and had two purposes. the first was in burial. they recognized the purpose of this Baby was to die. today, we have turned Jesus' cross into an accident, pitying Jesus suffering and dying on it. we view it as a cruel punishment brought on by the corrupt Jews and the power hungry Romans, and "poor Jesus" was murdered on it. however, this is as far from the truth as it can be. the devil and the world WANT us to pity Jesus. for when we pity Him, we deny His power and His purpose. He came FOR the cross, the cross didn't come for Him. was it horrible? yes! was it torment? yes! was it injustice? absolutely! but was it avoidable? NO! interesting that of all trades, Jesus was fathered by a carpenter! He knew of His destiny, long before crosses were even used. there are countless prophecies of the cross, hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. He came to die. which brings us to the second use of myrrh: analgesic.

out of the three gifts Jesus was offered, only one would be offered again to Him during His time on earth: myrrh. when He was dying on the cross, myrrh was put on a sponge and offered to Him to dull His pain. the romans liked to keep their victims alive and alert and did not want them passing out in shock from pain. myrrh was used in His burial.

one day, He will be offered gold and frankincense again. we can see that in the book of revelation. however, today, most of the world would rather deny His deity and His royalty, in the same way that herod did. herod the great was known for his ruthlessness, even going so far as to having his wife and sons killed so that no one could lay claim to his throne. he feared this little Baby so much, that he had every child two and under in his kingdom murdered. imagine laying in your bed, and soldiers coming to your door demanding your 18 month old son, and them taking him out into the street and beheading him right in front of you. many today are just as threatened by this Baby that was born 2000 years ago. amazing that people aren't threatened by any other ancient religious leader. oh sure, people are threatened by mohammed, but not so much the man himself, but his evil murdering followers. why the fuss over a peasant Baby? it's because if He truly was who He said He was, then they know that they have a lot to answer for. they also know that He threatens their rule over their own respective worlds. but mostly, they know that the day is coming that they will stand before Him and then they will know that He truly is King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty God.

what is your view of Jesus? is He a threat to your world? is He still in the manger? as a popular movie once said, "i like the CHRISTmas Jesus! little baby Jesus in the gold diaper. . ." is He still on the cross? do you still feel sorry for Him when you look at a crucifix or watch "the passion of the Christ"? or is He the RISEN Jesus, who is sitting on His throne in heaven and will one day come back as the Conquering King, with fire in His eyes, and a double-edged sword in His mouth? choose well, for the difference between the choices is eternity!

xmas and Christmas

2010-12-09T18:39:00.000-06:00

normally i like to post entries of my own authorship, but being that c.s. lewis is my favourite author, and this essay by him is very appropriate for the season, i give you "xmas and Christmas". it is a fictional account of the island of niatrib (britain spelled backwards), written from the point of an outside person observing their culture during the holidays.

“Xmas and Christmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus,” by C.S. Lewis
And beyond this there lies in the ocean, turned towards the west and north, the island of Niatirb which Hecataeus indeed declares to be the same size and shape as Sicily, but it is larger, though in calling it triangular a man would not miss the mark. It is densely inhabited by men who wear clothes not very different from the other barbarians who occupy the north western parts of Europe though they do not agree with them in language. These islanders, surpassing all the men of whom we know in patience and endurance, use the following customs.

In the middle of winter when fogs and rains most abound they have a great festival which they call Exmas and for fifty days they prepare for it in the fashion I shall describe. First of all, every citizen is obliged to send to each of his friends and relations a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech is called an Exmas-card. But the pictures represent birds sitting on branches, or trees with a dark green prickly leaf, or else men in such garments as the Niatirbians believe that their ancestors wore two hundred years ago riding in coaches such as their ancestors used, or houses with snow on their roofs. And the Niatirbians are unwilling to say what these pictures have to do with the festival; guarding (as I suppose) some sacred mystery. And because all men must send these cards the marketplace is filled with the crowd of those buying them, so that there is great labour and weariness.

But having bought as many as they suppose to be sufficient, they return to their houses and find there the like cards which others have sent to them. And when they find cards from any to whom they also have sent cards, they throw them away and give thanks to the gods that this labour at least is over for another year. But when they find cards from any to whom they have not sent, then they beat their breasts and wail and utter curses against the sender; and, having sufficiently lamented their misfortune, they put on their boots again and go out into the fog and rain and buy a card for him also. And let this account suffice about Exmas-cards.
They also send gifts to one another, suffering the same things about the gifts as about the cards, or even worse. For every citizen has to guess the value of the gift which every friend will send to him so that he may send one of equal value, whether he can afford it or not. And they buy as gifts for one another such things as no man ever bought for himself. For the sellers, understanding the custom, put forth all kinds of trumpery, and whatever, being useless and ridiculous, they have been unable to sell throughout the year they now sell as an Exmas gift. And though the Niatirbians profess themselves to lack sufficient necessary things, such as metal, leather, wood and paper, yet an incredible quantity of these things is wasted every year, being made into the gifts.

But during these fifty days the oldest, poorest, and most miserable of the citizens put on false beards and red robes and walk about the market-place; being disguised (in my opinion) as Cronos. And the sellers of gifts no less than the purchaser’s become pale and weary, because of the crowds and the fog, so that any man who came into a Niatirbian city at this season would think some great public calamity had fallen on Niatirb. This fifty days of preparation is called in their barbarian speech the Exmas Rush.
But when the day of the festival comes, then most of the citizens, being exhausted with the Rush, lie in bed till noon. But in the evening they eat five times as much supper as on other days and, crowning themselves with crowns of paper, they become intoxicated. And on the day after Exmas they are very grave, being internally disordered by the supper and the drinking and reckoning how much they have spent on gifts and on the wine. For wine is so dear among the Niatirbians that a man must swallow the worth of a talent before he is well intoxicated.

Such, then, are their customs about the Exmas. But the few among the Niatirbians have also a festival, separate and to themselves, called Crissmas, which is on the same day as Exmas. And those who keep Crissmas, doing the opposite to the majority of the Niatirbians, rise early on that day with shining faces and go before sunrise to certain temples where they partake of a sacred feast. And in most of the temples they set out images of a fair woman with a new-born Child on her knees and certain animals and shepherds adoring the Child. (The reason of these images is given in a certain sacred story which I know but do not repeat.)
But I myself conversed with a priest in one of these temples and asked him why they kept Crissmas on the same day as Exmas; for it appeared to me inconvenient. But the priest replied, “It is not lawful, O stranger, for us to change the date of Chrissmas, but would that Zeus would put it into the minds of the Niatirbians to keep Exmas at some other time or not to keep it at all. For Exmas and the Rush distract the minds even of the few from sacred things. And we indeed are glad that men should make merry at Crissmas; but in Exmas there is no merriment left.” And when I asked him why they endured the Rush, he replied, “It is, O Stranger, a racket”; using (as I suppose) the words of some oracle and speaking unintelligibly to me (for a racket is an instrument which the barbarians use in a game called tennis).

But what Hecataeus says, that Exmas and Crissmas are the same, is not credible. For first, the pictures which are stamped on the Exmas-cards have nothing to do with the sacred story which the priests tell about Crissmas. And secondly, the most part of the Niatirbians, not believing the religion of the few, nevertheless send the gifts and cards and participate in the Rush and drink, wearing paper caps. But it is not likely that men, even being barbarians, should suffer so many and great things in honour of a god they do not believe in. And now, enough about Niatirb.

as they shouted out with "glee"

2010-10-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

in a recent episode of "glee", the show tackled the subject of "religion" and how each of the members of the glee club viewed it. there has been a lot of talk about the episode and many christians have publicly denounced the episode, crying blasphemy and the like. while i do agree that the episode teetered on the edge, and even crossed over in a few instances into the land of blasphemy, my concern is that those who watched it, or didn't watch it, but rather went on what someone else said about it, and missed a valuable glimpse into our society.

to get a feel on the pulse of a society on any particular subject, a good lithmus test is to look at the entertainment that is valued by that society. the artists that are usually the most popular are the ones that society as a whole identify with most. if we look back through history, we can see that even as far back as ancient greece, the theatre was a political commentary on the times in which they were living. shakespeare was so popular because he reflected the views of the common people. today is no different. glee has grown from an obscure late night "dramedy" to one of the most popular shows on television. musicians are scrambling to get their songs performed on the show, and celebrities are clammering for a guest spot in an episode. and considering the recent news pieces on the religious illiteracy of society, it is no surprise that the writers of the show chose this subject to focus on.

but what of the content? for those of you that missed the episode, the synopsis is basically two different story lines. finn, the former quarterback of the football team, has a religious experience when he sees the face of Jesus in the burn marks on his grilled cheese, that he refers to as his "grilled cheesus", and begins asking for trivial prayer requests that seem to be answered. meanwhile, kurt, the homosexual member of the glee club, has a dad that has a major heart attack and is in a coma. the rest of the club attempts to reach out to him and pray for his dad, which only angers him because he doesn't believe in a "god that would take his mother away (she died when he was young) and would now do this to his dad. besides, what kind of god would "make him gay" and then have his followers tell him he was going to hell for something he "had no control over".

so, i challenge you to step back away from your holy blessed assurance and look at the characters in this episode and get a snapshot of society's various views of god.

first, there's kurt. we all know someone like him. they claim a disbelief in god because of all of the bad things that have happened in their lives, their families' lives, their friends' lives, the world, etc. in a sense, they are blaming a god they claim to not believe in, for their misfortunes. and they see those who do believe in god as judgemental and more evil than they because of the way that the believers treat them. what do you say when you are confronted with a kurt? do you ostracize them and call them a sinner? do you try and give them a theology lesson explaining why they are wrong?

next, there's puck. puck is the high school jock that is mr. popular. he responds to the question of religion by saying that he is a total "jew for Jesus" and that Jesus is his favorite "heb". yet, his life is one that could hardly be classified as the embodiment of christian morals. our youth groups are filled with pucks. do we disciple them and lovingly point them to the truth? or do we ignore their behaviours and hope that they figure it out through osmosis?

look at finn. he has a religious experience (can anyone say "youth camp"?) and begins asking for things that are trivial and even unbiblical, praying to his triangle of grilled cheese with Jesus' face on it as if it were a golden buddah. our youth groups are also filled with finns. they have a religious experience and they build a faith around that experience, and when it's challenged like finn's was by the guidance counselor, it crumbles, leaving us singing the familiar bars of "losing my religion" like finn at the end of the show. that's just it, he did lose his "religion". that's because there is no validity in religion. but so many in our society treat God as if He was a magic genie that is there solely to answer our petty requests, thus centering their religion on themselves as opposed to God, and falling flat and feeling empty and hopeless in the end. do we encourage this behaviour by relying on a big event such as a youth camp to lift us or our youth up, but neglecting solid biblical teaching and discipleship throughout the rest of the year?

and sue sylvester. who could forget sue sylvester? she is the acid-tongued cheerleading coach who has it in for the glee club, and sees the club's new musical numbers on religion as a chance to jump in and slam the club for violating separation of church and state. as the show goes on, she is much like kurt, in that she prayed and prayed to God to heal her sister who has down's syndrome, only to see her prayers go unanswered and her sister mocked and ridiculed by the bullies of society, leaving her jaded and bitter and denying the existence of any sort of God. but she takes hers one step further. she tries to force her nonbelief on everyone else around her. she says at one point that in a public school students are not allowed to express their religious beliefs, which is completely untrue. when we are faced with a sue, do we stand up and refuse to back down? or do we withdraw our kids from the school and quickly retreat from confrontation and shuffle them into a "christian" school (which, by the way, are usually filled with the same sorts of kids that are in the public schools, they just have their names on a church roll somewhere).

as we are bombarded in the episode with this barrage of negativity towards religion, there is the one small candlelight that breaks up the darkness, and from the most unexpected place: sue's older sister with down's syndrome. at the end of the show, sue is playing checkers with her sister and asks her if she believes in God, to which her sister responds "yes!" when sue protests about her profession and reminds her about her condition, her sister replies, "sue, God doesn't make mistakes!" sue, then replies in a moment of near realization, "would you pray for me?" and her sister replies "yes!" in the midst of adversity, do we shine bright for the Saviour? do others see a peace in us that they want?

as the debate continues about the religious overtones of glee, we as christians can either step up and take notice, and then develop a gameplan of how we are to engage the culture that is reflected in the episode, or do we bury our heads in the sand? the thing about burying our head in the sand, the danger is still there, and everyone around us can see our cowardice exposed, leaving us looking ridiculous and portraying nothing that the world sees as remotely attractive. ever wonder why Jesus chose a party with drinking to start His earthly ministry?

the writing in the sky

2010-09-23T21:20:00.001-05:00

to the pastor or church responsible for the sky writing plane over disney: while visiting the magic kingdom, my wife and i, along with my two sons, noticed the writing. at first, we thought it was part of the "disney experience", but as the writing spelled out "g..o..t..o.." we figured it to be some sort of advertisement. then the "j..e..s..u..s.." appeared. aside from it not really making that much sense, we also noticed the reactions of many of the people around us. they ranged everywhere from rolling eyes to indifference. the following messages of "u..+..God..=..:)" and "t..r..u..s..t..j..e..s..u..s.." went largely unnoticed. while your intentions may have been good, your methodology was significantly flawed. i can imagine God saying to you when you get to heaven, "i give you an 'a' for effort, but next time, use that thing i put between your ears and be a wiser steward of the money that i have given you." i think about the hundreds or even more that you spent on that plane and pilot to write ignored messages to uninterested patrons, and ways of how that money could have been better spent. for all practical purposes, you would have done better to stand in the bell tower of your church and ring the bell for everyone to come, and you would have gotten the same effect, at a much cheaper price. instead, you could have used that money to feed the hungry in your town (there are plenty), to buy bibles to give to those without, to fund a missionary to go on a mission trip, etc. the point is, Jesus said that whatever we do to the most lowly of people, we do to Him.

if you could have seen the looks of the people that were turned off by your message, you would have deeply regretted your attempt. you essentially became one of the priests that ignored the man beaten and bleeding in the street that the good samaritan stopped and helped. you took the easy way out, as so many churches do today, and avoided getting your hands dirty, and tried to proselytize from afar. have you not heard the adage, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care"?

next time, think about your investments. choose to love people in person rather than saying "we love you, but not enough to actually do something that would benefit you." follow the example set by our Saviour, who chose to come to us, suffer alongside us, and die for us, rather than writing "God loves you" in the sky with the endless natural resources at His disposal.

look! it's . . .

2010-09-21T20:51:00.004-05:00

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it." Mark 10:15

like a little child. such a foreign concept to most people. and rightfully so. we are told from the time we are old enough to understand, that we are to strive for adulthood. we tell our kids to be "big boys and girls". teachers tell elementary students to think about what they want to be when they "grow up". we tell teenagers that they are to act like "young adults". and then when we finally make it to adulthood, we are constantly bombarded with phrases such as "immature", "childish", and "act your age". being child-like is a taboo. so for us to become like a little child is hard, and often times impossible. if we do venture into the realm of immaturity, it usually either takes the form of pettiness or silliness, and definitely a far cry from what Jesus was trying to communicate to His disciples. one of the best ways to understand the point Jesus was trying to make is to actually observe little children.

on a recent trip to the magical kingdom of walt disney world, i was given a lesson in becoming like a little child. aside from my own trip back down memory lane, the most memorable part of the trip was watching my two boys, ages 6 and 3, as they were completely overwhelmed by the characters, buildings, rides, and music. everywhere we went, the amazement at witnessing the world that they had only encountered through books, movies, and television, was evident on their glowing faces, fixed into a smile that i began to think would have to be removed with plastic surgery. enthusiastic waves to characters on floats at the parades, entranced smiles while watching the shows, and looks of awe at the fireworks display over cinderella's castle will be captured forever in the hundreds of pictures that we took. every day brought a new surprise. the culmination of the trip was on the last day, when the boys finally got to meet their hero: buzz lightyear! this was the moment they had been waiting for, and one that they will never forget! the other characters were exciting, but none held the esteem that buzz carried. it was a moment that none of us will forget any time soon.

on the last night, while watching "fantasmic", the water, laser, and fireworks show at hollywood studios, it occurred to me what Jesus meant by entering the kingdom like a little child. as the boats came by carrying all of the major disney characters, i looked over at my two boys, who were waving enthusiastically at the characters that were waving "back at them", and it clicked. to them, the characters were no longer just images on a screen or in a book. they were now living, breathing personalities that "knew" my sons (at least to them) and were waving to them. we are to have that same sense of excitement when it comes to the things of God. while disney was something that was tangible to my kids, the kingdom of heaven is a little harder for us. my sons knew that disney existed. they had seen cinderella's castle at the beginning of every disney movie that they watched, but they had never been to disney. in the same way, they know that heaven exists. why? because they trust that if God says it's real, then it must be. but not for us. we need something tangible. our logical and scientific minds have rationalized away the concept of an unseen world somewhere. most of us believe in heaven to some extent, but if we are truly honest with ourselves, then we must admit that it's a little hard to grasp. but we must become like little children, and again somehow recapture that amazement at the things around us. when we look at creation, or when we think about grace and mercy, our faces should light up. when we think about the opportunity we have every day to not only talk to the creator of the universe, but to actually have a relationship with Him, our eyes should fill with joy, and smiles should cross our faces. one day, heaven will be tangible. and we will be like my two sons at disney. close your eyes and picture it. forget who's watching you. let go, and be a kid again. can you hear the exclamations of sheer excitement at the characters? "look! there's adam! and there's peter! king solomon!" what about the amazement in the voices of those around you as they walk the streets of heaven? "wow! the streets sparkle! feel of this! it's real gold! look at the mansions! did you see how big the gates were? and they were really made of pearl! can you imagine the size of the oyster that it took to make that?" and the speechlessness of the crowds as they witness the angelic choirs and orchestras playing the music that is the foundation for all music ever played. "how beautiful! i just got goosebumps hearing them sing! have you ever heard such perfect harmony?" but the culmination of heaven, will be that moment, the moment that will pass all others. listen. you can hear the excited whispers and see the people pointing. "it's Him! it's really Him! it's JESUS! wait! He sees me! He is motioning for me to come over to Him! what to i do? what do i say? i just have to go!" followed by a running sprint, like a child running to his dad when he comes home from work, as one by one, Jesus welcomes all of us into His arms!

on the last night, as we waited on the bus to take us back to the resort, my oldest started crying. not a fit throwing cry, or a tired cry, but a genuine, sad, cry. i asked him what was wrong, and he responded, "i don't want to go! i want to come back tomorrow!" when i informed him that our tickets ended that day, he cried that much more. for him, it was a world of happiness, of magic. one that he never wanted to leave. the beauty of heaven, is that we will never have to experience that sadness of having to leave! we will have every day to discover new things, to meet new people, and to live in child-like wonder at the new world around us. and who knows, you may even overhear someone saying as they point at you, "it's him/her! i heard about them! they are the one that told my great-grandfather about Jesus! they are the one that . . ."

forget finding your inner child. let go, and be a child!

i am a c. . .i am a c-h. . .

2010-02-18T20:41:00.004-06:00

christian. the term is used with such flippancy today that it is almost nullifying. frankly, i have heard it so much, that when someone tells me that they are a christian, i think no more of it than if they were to tell me that they were say, a republican. the terms are almost synonymous in nature. both today have come to refer to ideologies and political stances, as opposed to the true meaning of the word "christian".

the term christian was first used during the early days of Christianity, while it was still considered a sect of judaism. in the book of Acts, we see that the disciples were first called "Christians" at antioch. at the time, the term was derogatory in the eyes of the public. they were in essence, mocking the disciples. the term Christ, was recognized to mean "saviour" to the people of the day, and by calling them "christians", they were calling them "little Christs". however, this was the ultimate compliment. the disciples were acting enough like Christ that they were being compared to Him. today, we could hardly compare to those heroes of the early church. yet, everyone who says that they believe that God exists are now labeled "christians." i have a tremendous problem with this. first, let us look at the aspects of those early christians that qualified them as earning the label "christian". they were known as those who hung out with Christ. they lived lives of sacrifice, forsaking all, including their freedom and safety, to spread the gospel. they performed miracles. all of these are mirror images of the example Christ set for them. it was only natural for them to be compared to the Saviour Himself.

now, let us look at those today who would so boldly dare to even place themselves in the same category as those early disciples and call themselves "christian". how many self-labeled "christians" today can honestly say that they "hang out" with Christ everyday? many don't even crack open their Bible once a week, let alone every day. and as for prayer, saying grace before meals is a stretch, and is the closest they get to communicating with Christ. how many of them even know what the word sacrifice means, much less practice it? for many, even opening their mouth at work to share the gospel with a co-worker is not an option out of fear of rejection or embarrassment. and finally, other than the charlatans such as benny hinn who claim to perform miracles, i do not see any of those persons who refer to themselves as "christian" claiming to perform miracles.

what can we take from this? one, none of us deserves the title "little Christ." it is said that the thing a person speaks the loudest against is the vice they are the most susceptible to. i cannot deny this. i am one of those who does not deserve the title of "christian". i tend to refer to myself as a "Christ-follower", but even that is a stretch sometimes. i echo the sentiment of the apostle paul, when he said that he "does the things which he does not want to do, and does not do the things he should do." in thomas a' kempis' imitatio a Christi, he discusses how we are to be like those early disciples, imitating Christ to the point that others cannot help but comparing us to our Saviour. this is the ultimate goal for a true follower of Christ: to become like the Saviour, to be molded in the likeness of Christ. this is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a true Christ-follower. however, we must not get in the way and sacrifice ourselves, our lives, and our pride in order to be moldable. if we go on claiming a status that we have not yet achieved, we see no need in working toward that status.

and second, in order to imitate Christ, we must be a student of Christ. He tells us in Matthew to take His yoke upon us and learn of Him. one cannot learn from someone with whom they do not spend countless hours observing, studying, and talking. i have been teaching my son gavin, to play golf. it was amazing to see how i could show him how to hold his club, how to swing it, and where to hit the ball, yet it wasn't until he stepped back and watched me swing, that he actually figured it out and hit the ball surprisingly well! it must be the same way with Christ. we must both learn of Him, as well as spend time with Him, to truly start imitating Him, and therefore begin working toward the title of "little Christ."

do you live up to the title you are claiming?

ashes, ashes, we all fall down

2010-02-16T22:09:00.003-06:00

today is fat tuesday, the day of gluttony observed by those of the catholic faith, as well as anyone else looking for an excuse to binge on anything, whether it be red meat, alcohol, tobacco, etc., on the day before ash wednesday, the start of the lenten season. during lent, a person is asked to give up something that is dear to them for the 40 day period before crucifixion friday. i used to be amused by my classmates that would say "i'm giving up broccoli!", or "i'm giving up homework!" not being catholic, even i knew there was something hokey about that! i remember thinking, "i'm not sure that is how it works," but i always held my tongue. hollywood took a jab at the observance a few years back with the movie "40 days and 40 nights", starring josh hartnett, about a young man who gave up sex for lent, and all of the struggles, hijinx, and temptations that went along with that decision. tonight in new orleans, bourbon street (or rue bourbon for you "saints") is crawling with people partying and binging. how many of them will actually observe lent in the morning, is yet to be seen. having personally been to french quarter during mardi gras, as much as everyone was drinking, i don't imagine they would even want to look at an alcoholic beverage for 40 days!

every year, my wife and i give up something for lent. our church back home in tupelo, ms is also having an ash wednesday service tomorrow. they also observe the advent season, the period leading up to CHRISTmas. "but chris, aren't you baptist?" you ask. the answer is yes. have i given up my baptist doctrine? have i been voted out of the convention? no! absolutely not! as a matter of fact, our church back home is a baptist church. "so why are you observing catholic rituals?" i assume is the next question. if you will give me a second, and not begin the gathering of the deacons to revoke my ordination, i shall explain.

first of all, let me say that i am not one of these people who say that the baptists are right and everyone else is wrong and bound for hell. i just line up with the baptist doctrine more than any other faith. that being said, let me also say that in practice, baptists have a lot of things right, but sometimes we steer so clear of anything related to liturgy and catholicism, that we throw the baby out with the bathwater.

while in rhode island, there were no baptist churches to attend. let me rephrase that, there were no southern baptist churches. there were plenty of american baptists, but those churches in the area have a very bad reputation of corruptness and liberalism. so, while there i attended st. john the evangelist anglican church, and i gained a new appreciation for the reverance paid to the sacred. but going back to the subject of lent, i must explain why i observe it. i must issue a disclaimer in that i do not believe that there is anything salvific in the observance of lent. however, there is a biblical principle that permeates the season of lent: fasting. donald s. whitney, in his book "spiritual disciplines for the christian life" (a must-read for every Christ-follower) lists fasting as one of the most powerful discipline for strengthening your walk with Christ. i observe lent as a reminder and as a preparation of my heart for crucifixion friday (i never understood why they call it good friday) and the subsequent resurrection sunday. (i also do not like the term easter as it is a modification of the word ishtar, a pagan festival of fertility) during this time, i give up something that is a daily part of my life, so that whenever i am tempted to partake in the given up item, i am reminded of the sacrifice Christ made for me in leaving His throne in Heaven to become a ridiculed, poverty-stricken, unpopular, unattractive man in an oppressive government with an ultimate end of torture and abandon, all so i could have a daily relationship with Him. i have given up things such as cheeseburgers (you laugh, but ask my wife how much i love a good cheeseburger), sodas (another hard one, dr. pepper anyone?), and even television one year. did it grant me favor with God? no. did it earn me a spot in Heaven? no. did it mean i was better than others who did not observe it? absolutely not. i am just a sinner, undeserving, saved by grace. however, it did cause me to focus more on Christ and His love for me.

so what am i giving up for lent this year? i respond by saying that i choose to keep that between myself and God, as well as my wife to help keep me accountable. in the Bible, we are told not to broadcast our sacrifices, but to put on a spirit of humility when we fast. this year, even if you are not catholic, or any of the other "catholic-light" versions of Christendom, i encourage you to consider a fast for the season of lent. if you desire a deeper walk with God, i know of no better way. many think of a fast as giving up food and going hungry. that is an extreme version, but there are all kinds of fasts. the point of a fast is to give up something that you will miss, so that during the times that those cravings or longings come up, you can instead turn your focus on God and pray. (an important note: if you are married, and you choose the abstinence route for lent, remember that the Bible says that it must be done in agreement with your spouse. sorry if you thought you suddenly had a better excuse than "i have a headache"!) during the times of longing, instead pray, read scripture, memorize scripture, or sing praises to God (as we see the disciples doing during their many imprisonments). I pray that this lent season will draw you closer to our Saviour and strengthen your relationship with the One who owns everything and gives and takes away! aei pistos!
-C.

love...twue love

2010-02-09T18:53:00.002-06:00

for those of you that follow this blog, a lot has happened since i last posted. i am now on active duty with the navy as deputy chaplain for mag-31 at the marine corps air station in beaufort, sc. a majority of my work so far involves trying to fix marriages that are on the verge of calling it quits. the command sergeant major came and talked to me and asked me what i thought the problem might be. i told him that i believed a lot had to do with immaturity. however, last night, my prognosis was called into question.

while sitting down with my bride and watching one of our favorite guilty pleasures, "the bachelor", jake, this season's bachelor, was talking about his decision to eliminate one of the four remaining girls. in his many interviews, he kept repeating the phrase, "i am falling in love with her", referring to the four girls in question. i began thinking about that phrase, "falling in love". i myself have used it many times. however, i believe this is a large part of the problem with marriages today. we have a very skewed idea of what love actually is. hence the phrase, "falling in love".

think about that phrase for a second. what is love? a ditch? a grave? it must be if it's something you can fall into. i think a more proper phrasing would be "falling in lust". after all, that's what it is a majority of the time. and lust is definitely a rut, or a grave. and you can definitely fall into it. but isn't that the picture that is painted for us on the tv and in the movies? love is shown as a trivial feeling that is usually based on a sexual attraction or intimacy. love has been trivialized down to nothing more than a feeling. and marriages built on the shallowness of this viewpoint sprout quickly, like a seed that falls on the patch of dirt on top of a rock, but as soon as adversity hits, the "love" that bloomed so quickly withers and fades and the marriage ends.

so the question that is left is "what is true love?" one definition we can find is in 1 corinthians 13. in the list that is presented there, nowhere do we see that love is a feeling. nowhere do we see that love is based on physical attraction. instead, love is portrayed a very selfless action. i used to say that love is a decision. however, in recent days i have realized something. love is more than a decision. in order to truly define love, we need only to look to the One who personified love. Christ. He came to this earth out of love for us, denied everything that was rightfully His, and sacrificed Himself out of love for us. in that portrait of love, we do not see in any way that Christ's love for us was based on anything about us. in fact, we give Him every day reason after reason NOT to love us. yet He loves us still. in corinthians, husbands are told to love their wives the way that Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. so the answer: love is CHRIST.

if love is Christ, then we are to look to His example of love. even in the face of infidelity, Christ's love for us remains true. why? because His love is not based on trivial and shallow ideals. it is pure love, the love that we are to have for our neighbor. if we are to have it for our neighbor, it is reasonable to expect that we have it that much more for our spouse. if we seek to love as Christ loves us, then it will not matter how mad our spouse makes us, nor how many pounds they put on in that third or fourth year of marriage. it will not matter if they return our love, or if they give it to someone else. we will still love them because we are modeling Christ.

this valentine's day, remember what love really is. it isn't flowers or candy or romance or candlelight dinners. those are all expressions of love. but they are not love. flowers wilt, chocolate gets eaten, candles go out, and romance comes and goes. love, Christ-like love, lasts forever.

compassion or condemnation?

2009-06-20T19:44:00.002-05:00

in the book of matthew, chapter 9, we see Jesus looking at the crowds out of jerusalem and the Bible says that He was moved with compassion, because they were like "sheep without a shepherd." i recently went on a trip to the decadent city of new orleans, one of many that i have made in my lifetime, and was dismayed to learn that despite recent hurricane activity, the city was still as evil as ever. however, i was able to make a trip down to the french quarter and even on bourbon street (gasp)! while some may find this disturbing, i invite them to remember the people that Jesus associated with were anything but upstanding members of their local church. during the course of the night, i did not drink anything stronger than pepsi (dr. pepper was hard to find there and sweet tea was even harder, and i thought it was a southern city!) and struck up conversations with quite a few people there on the street and was able to share Christ with them. at one point, i was relaxing in the jacuzzi in the hotel courtyard after a physical training session and a couple came over and we started making the usual small-talk, where everyone was from, why we were there, etc. i was surprised to learn that they lived only a couple of miles from the hotel and they also worked in french quarter on bourbon street in one of the topless bars. he was the dj, and she was the bartender. i was able to have a very meaningful conversation with them about Christ and what the Bible said about their relationship and a variety of other things. i ended up getting to see them again before i left and was able to talk some more with them about salvation. what struck me as odd was that this couple lived in the south, where there is a church in practically every square mile of every city and town, and had never heard the gospel. this is a reproach on the church. we had the same problem in seminary. we began to learn that there were people who lived only a few hundred yards of the seminary that had never heard the gospel. all of them had heard about Jesus, but never about sin and the separation it created between God and us and the need for a Saviour! i'm sure that this can be said about countless churches throughout our country and the world today. so where are we going wrong?

i believe the first place we have missed the mark is in our view of the lost. notice that Jesus was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. not because they were sick, or poor, or destitute, or repressed. He hurt because they had no idea of the fate that awaited them, and they had no hope without Him. we as a church collectively have made great strides over the last few years in getting the gospel out. however, i believe we are still missing the mark. here is the lithmus test: when you go out on missions, are you going because you feel like you need to, or are you going because you truly hurt for those you are ministering to? when you give your money to missions, are you giving out of obligation or guilt, or are you giving because you lose sleep at night thinking about those who die each day and go to an eternal hell?

the second place we have missed the mark is in our view of the sinner. we seem to think, again as a church collectively, that we are better than those out there who don't go to church and who participate in sinful activities. we condemningly refer to them as drunkards, homosexuals, abortionists, drug addicts, etc. nowhere in the Bible are we listed as qualified to judge the sinner. we are told to judge each other as Christians and to hold each other accountable, but the only person qualified to judge the sinner is Christ, and the Bible says that He will one day. the reason we are not qualified to judge them, is because we are in the same boat they are. the only difference is that we have had our penalty paid for our sin. that makes us no less sinners as it does the homosexual or the child molester or the murderer. if we break part of the law, then we are guilty of the whole of the law. we are all lawbreakers. the next time you think that you are better than those "sinners" around you, try and go a day without sinning. good luck. however, if you can accept the fact that we are just as depraved and deserving of the same punishment as everyone else, then you can get past your self-righteousness and go into the less-than-desirable places and reach out to others who are lost just as you were once. there is a group of ladies that go into the strip clubs and witness to the dancers there to teach them about the glory of their created bodies and to show them a better way than exploiting themselves.

i must say, that i am guilty of this very thing. i tend to think of it in terms of "us and them." however, this past week in new orleans reminded me that the place we are going to find the lost is not in our churches. so instead of hiding our light under the bushel of the church, we need to carry it out into the darkest places of our worlds, however big or small, comfortable or not, and let it shine brightly. a lost sinner is far more likely to respect someone who comes into their world to reach out a hand, rather than standing in the church doors pointing at the cross on their steeple. a good friend of mine told me something a while back that changed my whole perspective on missions: expect lost people to act like lost people. (thanks jason!) only when we can stop looking down our noses at those participating in activities that we find reprehensible, only then can we be truly effective witnesses for our Saviour! remember, there but for the grace of God go we! aei pistos!
-C.

talkin bout my generation

2009-03-11T09:53:00.003-05:00

we are failing. the price is going to be great, perhaps more than we are willing to bear. what are we failing? we are failing our kids. our youth are being thrown to the wolves with no weapons with which to defend themselves. what wolves? the wolves of the secular society. we are becoming a society that is increasingly less godly and more secular humanistic.

what are we doing to combat this? the same thing we have done since the 1950s. and we stand back with our chests puffed out and rest on our "blessed assurance" thinking that we are preparing them for the world. after all, we send them to church, and to youth camps, and teach them to have a "quiet time". the problem is, it's not working. let me say that again, it's not working!

why isn't it working? because we have dumbed down kids and give them fluffed up Bible stories that are so shallow they make a bathtub look deep. the Bible says to "train up a child in the way he should go." it does not say to tell them a bunch of stories with morals to them. those are called fables people. aesop has some very good ones. and consequently, when our youth stand before a humanistic professor demanding to hear proof in the existence of God or that the Bible is true, all they can do is spout Bible stories.

we teach kids to compartmentalize their lives, where church and God fits in one, school fits in another, family fits in another, etc. or to "prioritize" their lives. you know, God first, family second, school third, etc. these are both flawed ways of thinking. we should teach them that Christ permeates and should be the center of all we do, not sitting at the top of our priority list. when we do that, He is excluded from the other areas of our life.

we are even failing in our so-called Christian schools. they come out with an education that is comparable to a public school, but with a Christian spin on things, and they have no depth, no change in thinking, no worldview perspective. just a trumped up religious private school education, where we can all feel good about ourselves and say "i sent my kid to Christian school!" in the end, it's all about appearances and feelings.

make no mistake, unless we abandon the kumbaya mentality of the 1950s and start preparing kids to face the challenges of today's intellectual and secular society, our churches will dwindle. the numbers of professing Christians will diminish. and it may just be a precursor to the prophecy in the New Testament concerning the many that will leave the faith. the book of James is very specific. those who teach will be held to a stricter judgment. that goes not only for pastors and youth pastors, it also goes for parents, teachers, grandparents. i think i may have to go and cover up my mirror, because the finger i'm pointing ends up pointing back at me.

can your mirror remain uncovered?

socialism, nostradamus, and asteroids

2009-03-03T23:29:00.002-06:00

in case anyone was paying attention, an asteroid the size of a 10 story building buzzed past earth, missing us by only 40,000 miles the other day. while this may seem like a long way off, it is only 1/7 of the way to the moon, and only 2x as high as our highest satellite. if it would have hit the earth, scientists predict it would have been the equivalent of a large nuclear blast. what's even more interesting is that it is within the earth's orbit, which means we will have plenty of near misses from this thing in the future.

also, if you are into that sort of thing, the mayan calendar runs out in the year 2012. why is this significant, you ask? well, up until now, the mayan calendar has been the most accurate of any calendar ever devised by man, partly due to the mayan's advanced astronomy. many believe that the mayans believed this date to be the end of time. nostradamus, while normally a quack, has had some interesting predictions that make eyebrows raise in terms of how accurate they are, and he states that we will have a major celestial upheaval in our solar system when our sun travels through a cosmic disturbance, producing three different eclipses in the same day. interesting.

then there's obama. our immensely popular president, seemingly loved by all worldwide. he is ushering in a new era of socialism in our country. a totalitarian regime where the government owns all and controls all, including our finances. one major economist is predicting that the u.s. economy will collapse by 2012, due to the over-spending of our government.

interesting stuff. the Bible says that no man will know when Christ will return, and people have been predicting it ever since the disciples' time. however, the year 2012 seems to possibly have some major omens attached to it. what if there were only 3 years left on earth? how would you spend them? what changes, if any, would you make to your life knowing that you would stand face to face with the Creator, the Christ, to account for your life? make no mistake, every day we are living on borrowed time. what will you say when you are asked to give a report of how you spent and invested the time that was entrusted to you?

sleep well, friends. for tomorrow may not come for many or all.

i'm dreaming of a "Christ" Christmas

2008-12-10T23:36:00.002-06:00

how many "shopping days" are left till Christmas? my response? who cares! every year i rant and rave about the commercialism of Christmas, and this year, i have really been tested on my sincerity. i heard it said once that a person often speaks loudest against the thing that they do not want people to know about themselves. while that may be true in many instances, it made me stop and look at myself. i realized that while watching an old classic at my job at blockbuster. what classic, you ask? why "a charlie brown Christmas", of course! in it, charlie is fed up with the commercial "racket" that Christmas has become. and in exasperation, he throws up his hands and asks if anyone can tell him the true meaning of Christmas. there sits linus, trust blanket in hand, and tells charlie that he knows the true meaning of Christmas and proceeds to quote from Luke 2 the very familiar passage of the shepherds and the birth of the Christ-child.

now, it must be noted that it did not hit me until later, that i am a hypocrite. this year has been a particularly tough Christmas financially for my familiy. we have struggled to buy presents for the boys, and have opted out of buying gifts for each other so that we can provide Christmas for them. well, one particular day i was throwing a pity party for myself, complete with music, over our financial situation and it not seeming like Christmas because we weren't hanging out at the malls (too much temptation to spend money we don't have) and being so busy we didn't have time to put the tree up as a family, i went to work begrudgingly in a meager attempt to keep our family afloat financially. while there, the aforementioned movie was on, and i found myself halfway paying attention to it while attending to the duties of my job. the movie went off, was replaced by another, which carried us to quitting time. this morning, i awoke and had to, rather got to spend the day with my sick 4 year old. we had a great time, putting up the tree, and watching a movie and building a train set. that's when it hit me. i had fallen victim to advertising brainwash! while it may have been on the subconscious level, it was still there, none the less. i was thinking Christmas was about buying, decorating, and carols. while these are not bad things in and of themselves, they become idols when they take our affections off of our Saviour! my Christmas idol was set up in my mind, and left me empty. i then turned back to Christ and asked for forgiveness and vowed in my mind to make this year's Christmas the best one yet, even if i don't receive a single gift!

what is your idol this Christmas? what are you looking for to make this a perfect Christmas? are you looking for snow? i just spent the weekend in rochester, ny with the marines of alpha company, and there was snow. it was nice, and i found myself dreaming of a white Christmas. are you banking on getting or receiving that perfect gift? is it dreams of the american nostalgic Christmas complete with parties, dinners, and caroling filling your mind? is it the decorating and enjoyment of the lights filling the neighborhood lawns? or maybe it is something a little more religious. is it the Christmas cantada at your church? or the Christmas eve mass or service? is it december 25th, the day itself? what happens when it is over? i always used to love the "spirit" in the air in the weeks leading up to Christmas morning, and then it was over, and i was left feeling empty and disappointed in the days following. the newness of "stuff" wore off and it became something else to pick up while cleaning my room.

this year, my prayer for myself and my family is that in our time of want, maybe we can focus a little more on the true meaning of Christmas: Emmanuel. God with us. Christ laying His glory aside to become a human being to live and die for us, so that we might have the ultimate gift of all: eternal life with Him in Heaven!

jim jones jungle juice anyone?

2008-11-17T23:54:00.004-06:00

on a morbid, but interesting note: tomorrow is the 30th anniversary of the jim jones massacre that took place in guana. for those of you not familiar with the story, jim jones was a pastor-turned-cult-leader that led a group of some 400 followers to the jungles of guana where he convinced them to take place in a ritual murder-suicide. those who refused or survived were chased down and shot by his "temple guards". they were told that guana was to be the promised land, but when they arrived, they found a place that was far from paradise, but were told they could not leave. these were intelligent people, too. they were not some kooks with iq's of 50. they were bankers, lawyers, company presidents, men, women, and children. jim jones was so convincing that he even met with president jimmy carter at one point. (and given president carter's latest meetings, it now comes as no surprise!) what happened? how could one man, lead so many seemingly intelligent people astray?

the Bible is very clear about those whom God places in positions of leadership. He says in the book of James, that leaders will be held to a far stricter judgment. Jesus said that if a person was to lead a "little one" astray, it would be better for a large stone to be tied to that person's neck and cast into the sea. God takes the role of pastor very seriously.

however, as we have seen throughout history, whenever a person who is in leadership goes astray, the results are usually catastrophic, whether that be in a church, an organization, or a country. a historian made the observation that every leader in history who was prideful, and claimed to have the answers to problems, ultimately led their followers to ruin (hitler, nero, napolean, etc.) that is one of the things that scared me about the past election. neither candidate had a sense of humility about them, but rather both were very adamant in their claims to have the answers to america's problems. it is said that pride goes before a fall, and i worry about the fall to come.

however, no other place do we see disasterous results of leadership gone awry than we do in the pastorate. wars have started because of divisions within the body of Christ. the name of Christ has been blasphemed among the people because of haughty preachers, building their towers of babel just to climb to the top and come crashing down in glorious spectacle in front of every news camera in the world. whenever a preacher starts to rely on himself and not on God, then we see destruction awaiting ahead, and the enemy blinding the eyes so as to not see the warning signs. the apostle paul said that if anyone, be it man or angel, preaches a different gospel than the one he taught, then let that man or angel be cursed. i look around, and i see many preachers that would be listed as cursed in paul's opinion.

i take this very seriously, as i am currently awaiting where God will call me, along with my famliy, to serve Him. the idea of being that leader who leads to destruction, literally frightens me to no end. and so, i have resolved that no matter where i go, or what i do, i will do my best to seek his face. i try and always remember that i am nothing special. there is no difference between me and the person sitting in the pew. we are both called to serve and to minister. the only difference is in the expectations. my standard is higher. whenever we as pastors tend to think to highly of ourselves, or of our wisdom, let us remember jim jones and the legacy he left. it is said that "there but for the grace of God, go I". that is very true. we all have the capacity in us to be a jim jones, because of our sinful nature. let us stay subject to God and His laws, and always rely on His wisdom, not ours!

falling away

2008-11-11T23:24:00.004-06:00

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron
1 Tim 4:1-2 (NASB)

i know it has been a while since i posted, so i thought that i would spend some time and comment on the latest goings-on in our great u.s. of a. as a Christian, i have often wondered about what paul said in 1 Tim. 4:1-2 (see above) about many falling away from the faith. many times, i find myself with a bit of arrogance like peter, saying i would never fall away. moreover, it completely perplexes me how anyone could follow the beast that is mentioned in Revelation. however, in light of the recent election, it has become more apparent to me of the superficiality of many professing Christians.

when we read the Bible, we can see throughout time how God's children always seem to turn their back on Him and follow other gods whenever things did not seem to be going their way. we can see it in the wilderness with the israelites making the golden calf. we can see it when the israelites were exiled to babylon and many of them bowing down to baal or to nebuchadnezzar. in Jesus' time, we see His own disciples fleeing at His arrest. it seems the Bible is full of people running when things get tough. why should today be any different?

in the recent election, we saw americans come out to cast their votes for their candidate. i realized by talking to many professing Christians how easy it is for those who say that they love Christ to "fall away". the choice between the two main candidates seemed to be an easy one for those who professed to believe God's Word. one candidate was in opposition to the widespread slaughtering of innocent babies through the means of abortion, and one candidate was not only in favor of abortion, but also the reprehensible practice of partial birth abortion as well as letting a baby who survived an abortion die in the delivery room by denying him/her care. one candidate was in favor of limiting marriage to be between one man and one woman, another candidate not only favored taking away states' rights to make their own legislation concerning marriage definitions, but also favored federal legislation legalizing gay marriage as well as a new hate speech law making it illegal to say anything negative about homosexuality. while these two items by themselves should be enough for any Christian to make a well-informed, biblical decision, thousands upon thousands of professing Bible-believing Christians voted for the pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality candidate.

why would they do this? two main reasons can be noted. one, was his skin color. a large majority of the black vote went to obama simply because he was black. while it is also true that a lot of white voters did NOT vote for him because he was black, who is to say which form or racism is worst? the second reason, as many have noted, was the condition of the economy. they looked to obama to rescue them from their financial woes as some sort of pseudo-financial savior. excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but since when do we look to the government for our provision and for our financial stability? i thought God was our supply. i thought that the Bible said that our GOD shall supply all our needs? could this mean that those that voted for obama to fix the economy are looking to him to supply their needs?

this nails home one of the biggest reasons that those in Revelation will support the beast: he will hit them where their hearts are, their pocketbooks. it says very clearly that no man may buy or sell unless he receives the mark of the beast. this is why many will fall away. their precious money will be gone. it rings true, the love of money is the root of all evil. for money, many threw away any sense of loyalty to biblical teaching. please do not get me wrong. i am not saying that obama is the anti-Christ, as many have been. i say that the recent events are evidence supporting that the events in Revelation and 1 Timothy could actually happen.

so what are we as Christians to do? my pastor said it best the sunday before the election. we are to pray for our new president, and we are to yield to his authority as being given by God. the israelites wanted a king, even though they were warned what it would be like, so God gave them saul. maybe He has given america obama, because they thought that was what they wanted. when the apostle paul wrote about supporting the government, nero was caesar of the roman empire. this same nero was responsible for the widespread torture, persecution, and torture of Christians during that time. yet paul was saying that he was to be supported! if that was the case then, it is surely the case now, no matter whether we agree with our new leader or not. God knows the heart, and God can change the heart. so we must pray. we must lift our new president up on a daily basis to make decisions based on what God wants. finally, obama will answer to God one day for his sins, as we know from james that those who lead are held to a stricter judgment. at the same time, we will give an account to God on our obedience to His Word as well. "choose this day america, whom you will serve. as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!"

and thus ends my diatribe on the election.

a midnight prayer . . .

2008-09-25T23:39:00.005-05:00

my cries in the night seem to fall on deaf ears. God, are you there? are You listening? i know You must be. your Word promises that You are. but day by day goes by without answers. the more i try and listen, the louder life becomes. the thorns are surrounding me, choking and tearing me, stealing my source of sustainment. the sun is not a comfort. it is a thing to fear, in a dry and thirsty land.

man overboard. i am bobbing in the waves, watching the ship as it seems to sail away, leaving me adrift. but i'm a good swimmer. i can tread water. i have mastered the survival float. the irony of being destroyed by the very element that is needed for life is a daily reality. just floating, waiting for a lifeline. wondering what lies beneath the water, waiting for the chance to pull me under.

i am the shepherd of my home. i have been given the task of guiding them. protecting them. but protecting them from whom? from the world? from hunger? from the wilderness? from me? i will protect them, if it takes my last breath. i must press on. i must continue to look for safe pastures. failure is not an option.

the enemy surrounds me on all sides, licking his lips, savoring the taste of my downfall. will You continue to protect me? my family? yes, i know You will. You are faithful, when even we are not. as i walk through strange lands, with no map or knowledge of the territory, will You be my guide? the roads are strange, new to me. they are dark, i cannot see down them. where do they lead? which is a road, and which is a dead end? which one do i dare venture down? if i take the wrong one, will i be able to regress?

and so i cry. my tears form trails on my aging face, cascading to a salty end at the corners of my mouth. i look to the heavens, but right now, all i see is the cold, white ceiling. please allow the scales to fall from my eyes to see Your face. i seek You. not money, not renown, not comfort. only You. your wisdom is a treasure, buried deep, waiting to be discovered. will You reveal it to me? i know You are listening. i know You are calling. turn down the noise of life, so that my ears may clearly hear you. i need You.

grey, the color of time

2008-09-10T20:50:00.003-05:00

as some of you know, yesterday was my birthday. another year older, another year (ahem) wiser. i don't know about all that, but i do know that my grey hair keeps multiplying like rabbits. my wife tells me that grey is sexy on a man, so i guess i'll take it. i look in the mirror each day and see my wrinkles getting deeper, my hair getting grey, and while some may view this as a malady and spend hundreds upon thousands of dollars each year trying to hide them, i wear them with a sense of pride and thankfulness. every birthday tells me two things: 1) i didn't die last year, and 2) God still has a purpose for me here on earth. one day i will stop having birthdays. but for the time being, i intend on being all that God would have me to be, and to try not to get in the way of His plan for my life too much.

i seriously wonder about these people that curse getting older. the way i see it, they have an improper view of life. the Bible tells us that our days are numbered, and that life is a gift from God, however good or bad we may view it. i think the negative feelings come in when we start looking back on our lives with regret for our past mistakes and failings. it is then that birthdays become something to lament rather than celebrate. my goal in life is to hopefully have to never look back on my life with regret of things that i could or should have done. if we live with the goal of hearing, "well done my good and faithful servant", then we will never look back with regret.

all i know is that i am blessed beyond measure. God sees fit to allow me to wake up each day and serve Him, no matter how much i may fail at it. so the way i see it, is, to quote a friend, "everyday above ground is a good day." so bring on the birthdays. bring on the top of that hill i'll be going over in a few short years. and bring on life. and for those of you who don't like getting older, i'll take those years you don't want! that gives me plenty more time with my wonderful family and to serve my God! thank You, Lord, for 34 years!

the mouths of babes

2008-09-08T21:53:00.005-05:00

one thing that i've learned in my life, is that children are a blessing. this is not just when they are sweet, angelic little bundles of joy that bring happiness and hilarity into our lives. i've learned this through my little ones. the little darlings just bless my life every day. especially today. and, they teach me more and more about humanity and human nature, as well as myself.

as i type this, i am still somewhat fuming over something my oldest decided to "bless" me with this morning. after a weekend of visiting family over in the delta, and the subsequent spoiling of my two sons by both sets of grandparents, we arrived home at a very late hour last night. so, being the good and conscientious father that i am, i decided to let them sleep in today and keep them home from school and daycare (actually, it was my wife's idea, i just agreed with her). now, upon waking around 10 am, my oldest came walking out of his room and said that he was hungry, which was usual. being in a particularly generous mood, i offered to make him bacon and eggs for breakfast, to which he replied that he wanted corn pops instead. no harm, no foul. no feelings hurt. i said, "sure!" and whipped him up a big bowl of corn pops. i then let him go outside and play while it was still relatively cool, and even went outside with him and played for a little while. i did all the things a good dad should do. and then . . .

about 30 minutes later, my wife called and informed me that she had forgot to bring a lunch and asked would i bring her something from subway. i said i would, and loaded the two little ones into their respective car seats and we started down the road for subway. we got to subway, and i ordered my wife and myself a sandwich, thinking that the boys should not be hungry, after two bowls of cereal each only 30 minutes prior, with the intent of feeding them a late lunch. gavin, my oldest, never mentioned wanting food, never said he was hungry, never even paid attention to the food being freshly prepared in front of us, but instead was playing with his cars on the guide rail. we got in the car, and halfway back to the school, he informed me, "daddy, i want subway." i replied, "but you just ate breakfast 3o minutes ago." he said, "but i'm hungry." i said, "ok, i'll get you something a little later, i have to get mama's food back to her so she can eat it before her lunch is over." he said, "can i have subway?" and i said, "yes, but not right now. we'll go in a little while." he responded, "ok." and that was it. no more was said about the subway.

five minutes go by and we arrive at the school. lori walks out to get her food from me and greets the boys. gavin does not respond. lori asks gavin what's wrong. gavin STARTS TO CRY and tells lori that he was hungry and wanted subway and daddy wouldn't get him any! the little "angel" lied on me and made me look like a mean father who has refused to provide for the needs of his children! and then, my wife responds by saying, "chris, why didn't you get him subway? he's hungry!" the little manipulator conned my wife into chastising me for neglecting our children's needs! never once did he mention that i had told him that i would take him to subway to get lunch. never once did he sing my praises for being such a good dad all morning. instead, he betrayed me and accused me of not caring!

now, remember that part about them being a "blessing"? well, while i was fuming as i was driving back to subway per my wife's instructions to get my "blessing" some food, God, in His subtle way, said to me, "it's tough to look in the mirror sometimes, huh?" because what do i do? God can give me two wonderful, healthy children. a beautiful wife that loves me and is faithful to me. a roof over my head. a car that gets me from point a to point b without worry. a family that supports me. blessings out the ears, day after day. and i complain and cry that God isn't taking care of me, simply because i presently am jobless. nevermind the fact that i got an opportunity to spend a wonderful morning with my children that i wouldn't have otherwise got to do had i been at a job. nevermind that His Word promises that He will supply ALL my NEEDS (as mentioned in an earlier post). i betray God in my attitude. it is tough to look in the mirror, but thank God for the blessing of correcting me and keeping me in check, for His Word also says that He corrects those that He loves. now, if you'll excuse me, i'm going to kiss my little blessing goodnight.

my two blessings, gavin (left) and nathan (right)

semper fidelis

2008-08-25T10:38:00.010-05:00

well, it's been a while since i posted last. that is because i have been gone on my annual training with the reserves and am now back and halfway settled. i was in quantico, va with alpha company of the 4th marine division, anti-terrorism batallion, who are based out of rochester, ny. there were a couple of other platoons with us from other companies out of chicopee, ma, erie, pa, and lafayette, la. all told, there were approximately 160 personnel there. needless to say, i had a very good time while there. the training started with an exercise called mout, which stands for military operations in urban terrain. this training gets the marines used to patrolling and staging assaults within general urban environments. i was one of the opfors (opposing forces) that were there to do everything we could to throw their patrol into chaos. we had a variety of tools at our disposal, including grenades (dummies with charges in them), m-16s (with training rounds), and artysims (artillery simuators to represent ied's). the next part of the training was time on the various rifle ranges, where marines spend a lot of time (which, by the way, is why all marines are riflemen and thus chaplains cannot be marines b/c we are non-combatants). from there, we ran the new cft, or combat fitness test, which is a brutal new fitness routine designed to get the marines' bodies conditioned to the physical demands of combat. finally, our training finished with us running the stamina course. this is a combination of a 5 mile run on a trail through the woods, with various obstacles to traverse or go under along the way. needless to say, after running, climbing, crawling, and hurling, i was extremely tired by the time i was done.

while there, i can honestly say that i saw more porn in those two weeks than in my whole life combined. i also heard more language than can possibly be described. the marines are known for using the f-word quite frequently. all of this made me realize a few things. in aligning myself with the mission of Christ, i remembered that He came to seek and save that which was lost. that means getting out of the church, going to people whose habits and language may or may not be something that you are comfortable with, and showing them the love of Christ. i had everything from professing Christians, to agnostics, to atheists, and even a muslim that i had the responsibility of ministering to. it took a lot to gain their trust, like sleeping on the ground in the rain alongside them, eating mre's instead of hopping in my rental car and driving to the chow hall, training with them instead of sitting back and watching, and even crawling through a trench filled with stagnant, putrid water. those things, while not always pleasant, paid off. after a couple of days there, i had marines from all walks of life coming to me to ask me very hard questions about life, marriage, religion, and the ethics of war. there also was the element of being in the world and not of it. i made a point not to "preach" to them whenever they displayed behaviour that would make the average church member turn on their heels and walk away. instead, i showed them that Christ loves them despite who they are, and that i was no better than them. this opened up the path for later discussions on the detriments of pornography, etc.

this is a mission field in the most critical sense. alpha company is getting ready to mobilize to the middle east later this year. many of them will be placed in harm's way on a daily basis while there. and there is a possibility that some of them may not come back. i tell you this so that i can request your prayers for these marines. hopefully i will have a chance to see them again one more time before they deploy. in the meantime, join me as i pray that our Father will place other Christians in their paths to continue the work that i started. pray the He will keep them safe and bring them back home. but most of all, pray that those who do not know Christ, will have the opportunity to accept Him before they leave. here are a few pics for you to enjoy.

when donkeys talk

2008-07-21T00:41:00.002-05:00

in Numbers 22, there is a rather amusing story of balaam and his donkey. God used the donkey to get balaam's attention in a quite unusual way: talking. this is one of the 2 instances in the Bible where we see animals conversing with humans. the other was the serpent in the garden. as a minister, i am very humbled by the fact that God chooses to use me as a means of communicating His Word to His people. today, i had the honor and privilege of preaching at a local baptist church here in tupelo. this morning, i had clear direction from God concerning the message He would have me preach. i followed His direction and God blessed. however, tonight was a completely different story. 30 minutes before the evening service was to begin, my wife asked me what i was preaching on, to which i responded, "i haven't the foggiest." as i was driving to the church, praying for direction, i was beginning to get nervous. i had received numerous accolades from the members of the church as well as my wife on the sermon i delivered in the morning service. while all the glory goes to God, and i truly praise Him for using me this morning, i did not want the opposite to happen tonight. i have said it many times before, that chris west has nothing to offer in terms of spiritual wisdom or intellectual scholarship, and this echoed true tonight. as i was pulling up into the parking space in front of the church, God made it clear to me that i was to give my testimony. i at first balked at the idea, as i had already made up my mind that i was going to preach on a passage that i was familiar with, which made for a "good sermon". but He didn't let up. so my testimony it was going to be.

to make a long story short, God used the mouth of a donkey to speak to balaam, and he used the mouth of another kind of donkey tonight to purvey the truth to three people that were playing the religion game the same way that i did for so many years. tears welled up in my eyes as those three stood and yielded to the Lordship of Christ and subsequently had their names written in the Lamb's book of life! praise God that He still speaks to us, and pray that we will still have the sense to listen!

marines of God

2008-07-11T12:37:00.003-05:00

it's been said by someone i know very well, "the reason the Bible says the army of God, is because the marines weren't here yet." (sorry jerms, but you know it's true!) i start my new unit with the 4th marine division, 4th anti-terrorism unit tomorrow in bessemer, al. i'll be leaving for there tonight. be in prayer as i attempt minister to my new command. marines are known for being able to take the "f" word and use it as an adjective, adverb, noun, pronoun, gerund, participle, and any other component of the english language. the marines have been my heart since i joined the chaplain corps, so i'm excited about this opportunity. not sure though, if i'm walking into jeremiah's jerusalem, or jonah's nineveh. i just hope and pray that Christ will use me to make an impact for the kingdom while i am there. oh, and as for an update on the church situation, i've been approached by two churches so far. i met with one earlier this week, and i am meeting with another next week. God is blessing. again, be in prayer for me to wait for the best, not the first or the best paying, etc. praise Him! He is in control, and i want to keep it that way, because when i am in control, i do a fairly sufficient job of royally jacking things up. so, in honor of my new position, i'd like to share with you the following poem that was on sam shaw's (my pastor) website.

I am a Soldier

author unknown

I am a soldier in the army of God.The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer, and the Word are my weapons of Warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.

I will either retire in this Army or die in this Army; but, I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there.
I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up,pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.

I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.

I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this Army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even. I will win. My God will supply all my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me, and hell cannot handle me!

I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to a captain. I am a soldier, in the Army, I’m marching, claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching Heaven bound.

Aei Pistos!

who told you that you were naked?

2008-07-06T16:38:00.006-05:00

being a parent is very rewarding. for those of you who have kids, you will understand what i am about to say. for those of you who don't, i hope you get the pleasure one day. one very important aspect of being a parent is that it teaches you about God's relationship with us on a daily basis. i'm just glad God is patient with us because i know how frustrated my sons make me.

while spending the fourth of july at my aunt's house and swimming in her pool, my oldest son, 4 year old Gavin, decided that he needed to go "tee-tee", so right there, in front of God and everybody, he drops his shorts to his ankles and procedes to water a shrub. while we all laughed at his innocence (and i took an opportunity to have a daddy-son moment of instruction on the wheres and where-nots of urination) it reminded me of the innocence that was lost at eden. adam and eve, if you recall the story, disobeyed God, ate the fruit, and saw their nakedness. they then proceded to cover themselves with the latest in fig-leaf fashions. when they ran into God that day, He asked them, "who told you that you were naked?" don't get me wrong here, it's not as if God didn't already know, but they gave themselves away with the fig leaves. but i love the way they start making excuses as soon as God asks them the question. "the woman YOU gave me" and "the serpent said". for those of you with kids, does that not sound familiar? they give themselves away by doing dumb things and saying dumb things, and when they are called on it, they begin to back-pedal. this turns into excuses. Gavin's excuses usually start with "but", usually followed by a person. for example, "but Nathan took my monster truck", or my favorite, "but mommy said". it's no wonder God calls us His children. we act just like children.

as for Gavin, i admire his innocence and his naivete' to the world. while his choice of bathrooms may not be socially adept, he knows no difference. maybe some of that innocence that was present in the garden, was given as a gift to us when we were children. as we get older, we lose it. perhaps that's why Jesus said that the attitude of little children was necessary to enter the kingdom of Heaven. once adam knew his sin, he was also told of the consequences of that sin. i heard it said once, that childhood's over the moment you know you are going to die. adam's innocence lost turned to the foreknowledge of physical death, and the impending doom of spiritual death. however, when we are born again, as the Bible calls it, we become as innocent as little children again. oh, to one day regain the innocence permanently and no longer remember what it is like to be separated from God! i look forward to it! so for now, i shall be watching out for Gavin's or Nathan's next reflection of my own relationship with my Heavenly Father!

they are so unlike your Christ

2008-07-06T15:46:00.004-05:00

(note: this post was written earlier this week, but forgot to post it. better late than never)
not long ago, i saw a bumper sticker on a car that read, "i like your Christ. i do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ." this sticker at first angered me, as i saw it as another piece of propaganda designed to bash Christianity. however, as i have thought about that sticker over the last months, it has really challenged me more than it has angered me. in my recent bout with joblessness, i have been going through the routine of updating my resume' and beginning to seek out a ministry position that God has for me. i have a few leads on churches that i will be submitting my resume' to, as well as supply preaching at a local baptist church that recently lost their pastor. as of now, my search continues. in doing so, i have talked with many ministers that have been in my position. as i have talked with them, they have all told me of negative experiences that they have been through with churches. this honestly frightens me as i am possibly going from a non-traditional ministry position to a church position.

it is amazing to me how we as Christians can treat our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. most of the adverse treatment is due to our own selfishness and pride and the attitude that we deserve to have our desires fulfilled, even at the expense of others. countless pastors have been asked to resign over trivial issues such as the way he preaches, or because he decided to stop preaching in a tie. numerous other reasons, all equally as trivial, have been the cause of many pastors being forced out of their churches and out of their homes. all done by those who call themselves followers of Christ. i have heard of pastors chasing down youth ministers on their day off and finding them at a friend's house and yelling at them in the yard over a disagreement. this is the environment i find possibly awaiting me, and that makes me nervous. i can name one church right now that has gone through a pastor a year for the last decade. this is all because of a select family that rules that church.

in my own church, i have heard members, commenting on the current changes that the church was undergoing, say, "i feel like we are losing our church." our church? what happened to God's church? if it's our church, then it's not God's church, and i want no part of a church that is not God's as it is no different from the pagan temples in the ancient roman empire, set up to worship the god-emperor. after all, if it is our church, then we are worshipping ourselves, are we not?

i see Christians treating each other worse than sworn enemies on the battlefield. churches have split, relationships ruined, and lives even ended, all because of disagreements between professing Christians. are they Christians? i seriously doubt it. the Bible says that "by their fruits, you shall know them." if the fruit displayed is hate, anger, selfishness, and the like, then i question what kind of tree it is. an apple tree does not grow oranges, nor does a Christian produce these kinds of fruits. this does not mean that a Christian will not stumble occasionally and give in to anger, but it is not a pattern that is habitually repeated.

ghandi spent a year living with a Christian family. while there, the behaviour that he witnessed there repulsed him so much that he made the following statement: i would become a Christian, if it weren't for Christians. how reprehensible. pray for grace in dealing with church folk, should God call me to that arena. i'd almost rather take my chances with al qaeda.

prophets? today? hmmm. . .

2008-06-26T11:45:00.002-05:00

i would like to comment on a topic that is widely debated among us fellow baptists. did you know that if you put 3 baptists in a room and asked them to discuss a topic, you would get 8 different views? crazy, huh? but i digress. somebody once told me that certain gifts of the apostles are no longer valid, or to put it bluntly, have gone away. one of these is the gift of prophecy. now, there are two different meanings to the word prophecy, both relating to the root definition of "telling". one is forth-telling, meaning that the prophet conveys a message from God. this one is generally accepted, but only in limited circumstances. the other is fore-telling. this is the definition we see evidence of in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament and the gospels. this literally means to tell of things to come. this one is the one that is specifically debated the most as being strictly a gift for biblical times. i, like many theologians, am not quite sure how i sit on this issue, and am convinced that it's not a hill worth dying on. however, i believe i recently saw evidence of both definitions of the gift of prophecy in two of my close friends.

ever since my recent job loss, i have talked with a few of my close friends about the situation and have gotten some wonderful support from them, for which i am extremely grateful. i mentioned one in my last post, who told me that he was praying for me that morning that i lost my job. thanks again, taz. moreover, he also told me that day after i called him and informed him of my job loss that i needed to wait on God and not jump on the first thing that came my way just because of the perceived need for a job and money. then, i talked with another very close friend in south carolina. mike told me that i did not need to put God in a box. he told me that he didn't know why, but God was saying to him to tell me to be open. he said if someone asks for your resume, give it to them. if you hear about a job, talk to them. "you can always come back and say, 'no!'"

"okay, chris," you're saying, "what's so odd about that?" well, if any of you were with me about 2 years ago when i was looking for a job in this area, you will remember that there was not much to be found. so i was expecting much of the same this time around. however, here are just a few of the things that have come my way since monday. i was offered active duty with the navy as a recruiter during my reserve weekend. this is very much a possibility. i was told about a youth pastor position at the big church down the road from us that recently came open. i was informed about another youth pastor position that is open at another church here in town. then, this morning, i was called by the chief of chaplains at comnavresforcom (military alphabet soup meaning reserve headquarters) and i am being offered two months active duty in yokusuka, japan. while this is not permanent, it would be a significant amount of money that would help take care of us while i look.

so i said all that to say this, i haven't even finished updating my resume yet and already, my prophets', er friends', words are already coming true. this means that i really need prayer as to where God is wanting me to go. the navy is VERY tempting, especially looking at the financial side of it and my enjoyment while serving. the negative is that with the two month stent, that's two months away from my family. for those of you who know me, that is very difficult. my family is a top priority in my life, and being without them is like having to go without water. there are positives and negatives on each one. so your prayers for discernment are especially needed right now. i want the best, not just the good, as i said before. i will keep you posted on any new developments.

along came chris walking on the . . . glub. . . glub

2008-06-23T13:58:00.003-05:00

ever tried walking on water? i did one time. i was fishing with my uncle in one of the many backwaters of the mississippi river in the delta and hooked a good sized bass. when i got it close to the boat, i leaned over the side to grab him and unbeknownst to me, my uncle also leaned with me to look. and then, as i went headfirst out of the boat and into the water, i happened to catch out of the corner of my eye, the sight of a six foot gator gliding into the water from the bank. not eagerly wanting to stick around and find out where that gator was going, i made for the bank, which was about 15 yards away. i made it to the bank, pole in one hand, fish in other, and was dry from the waist up! this wouldn't seem too amazing except that we were fishing in about 7-8 feet of water! that was my only experience in walking on water, except for this weekend.

i know in my last post, it sounded like i was mr super-Christian, completely trusting in God and not being phased by the circumstances at hand. well, to tell the truth, it has been far from that this weekend. while making my two and a half hour trek to drill in meridian, ms, i found my mind wandering quite a bit. it typically followed this path: lori brings home x-amount of money on her check, we have bills a, b, c, d, e which total y. y is greater than x. panic. worry. knot in my stomach and lump in my throat. then, God would remind me that He's in control. this scenario played itself out numerous times throughout the weekend. it also did not help that i was alone in the evenings most of the time so i would have plenty of time to just think. my water walking quickly turned to water treading.

it reminds me of peter. peter is personally one of my heroes of the faith. perhaps because i relate to him the most. when we read the story of peter walking on the water, we tend to piously think, "come on, peter. how could you lose faith? you were on the water walking!" however, being a sailor, i have learned a few things about the sea. one, you get out to sea, and you can't see land, no matter how high you are. that can be unnerving in and of itself. two, the waves out at sea can get pretty large. our carriers' flight decks sit anywhere from 11-17 stories off of the water, depending on the size of the carrier. there are waves at sea that are higher than the flight deck when you sail into high seas. these weren't little choppy waves that peter was walking on. these were waves like you see in the movie "the perfect storm". monstrous walls of water that would capsize a small boat in no time. so before you start thinking that you would be dancing on the waves like gene kelly in "singing in the rain", ponder peter's predicament. he's not walking on a glass surfaced sea, he's climbing waves. it's no wonder he looked around and panicked. that's what i found myself doing this past weekend. i looked around at the seemingly insurmountable waves cresting over me, threatening to pound me to davy jones's locker, i got scared.

that leads me to my favorite part of the story. peter called out to Jesus to save him, and the Bible says that Jesus reached out and grabbed peter. it didn't say that Jesus "ran over, jumping waves, to get to peter just before he went under for the last time. it said that Jesus was already right there. he knew that peter would sink. i personally do not believe peter even got his neck wet, much less went under. it says he began to sink. Jesus caught him before he even was in imminent danger. and every time i started to go under this weekend, God would speak to me in that still small voice, saying "I gotcha." He would sometimes use a fellow brother or sister in Christ that would call me or text me during a low time to encourage me. what a wonderful God we serve! so thanks to all of you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your calls! God has used you in ways that you never realized! i thought back to friday morning, when my friend taz called and left a voice mail on my phone telling me that he was praying for me, because God had placed me heavy on his heart that day. even before i knew what was awaiting me at 1500 that day, God was already activating His prayer warriors to lift me up! thank you!

finally, to my amazing, beautiful, loving wife. you are my best friend. your support during these last few days has meant more and done more than you could ever know! i used to hear stories at behavioural health from men whose wives had left them because they had lost a job. you have shown amazing strength and have been an inspiration to me! i am truly blessed to have a wife as wonderful as you! thank you!

so to everyone out there who is venturing out over the side of the boat, remember to keep your eyes on Christ. do not rely on your own strength, for it will leave you sinking. speaking of which, does anyone have a life-jacket i can borrow for the next little while?

Going, going, gone . . .

2008-06-20T20:40:00.002-05:00

time to put my money where my mouth, er fingers, are. in a previous post, i talked about trusting God. well, turns out life has a sense of irony, or God has a sense of humor, or maybe a little of both. either way, i am now without a job. i have done my grieving this afternoon, and the numbness has worn off, and now i am staring down reality barrelling down the tracks at me and wondering how God is going to derail that train before it hits me full force. regardless, God is in control and is sovereign, and He is going to provide for me. as i said before, my supply is God, not north mississippi medical center (all our best, right?) and He knows my situation even before it happened today and already has a plan in place. just wish i could get in on the joke.

the cherokee indians had a very interesting ritual of a boy becoming a man that comes to mind right now. when the time came for a boy to make the transition into a man, his father would take him out deep into the woods and would sit him on a stump blindfolded. the boy's instructions were simple: do not take the blindfold off, do not call out, and do not get off of the stump until morning, at which time his father would return. he then was left by his father to spend the night on that stump blindfolded. while there, he would hear all kind of sounds that were terrifying to the young boy away from the safety of his village. his mind would be filled with the images of wild animals surrounding him, savoring the easy meal to come. every ounce of his being wanted to take the blindfold off, get off of the stump, and run. but run where? it was dark and he had no idea where he was or how to get back. so he sat. by the time morning came, his skin was so sensitive to the atmosphere around him, that the warmth of the sun's rays could be felt, alerting him that morning had arrived. when he took the blindfold off, he would find that his father was sitting just behind him, having spent the entire night there. even though he felt as if he had been abandoned to the beasts of the forest, reality proved to be that he was being protected from them by a warrior far more skilled than he, one that loved him and would give his life to protect him. God is the same way.

right now i am being marched into the forest, blindfolded. i can already hear the strange sounds of unfamiliar territory. i know the one secret that the young cherokee lad did not, however: that my Father is there with me, protecting me, and has already given His life for me. i can only imagine what kind of warrior God is preparing me to be at the end of this test. what a wonderful God we serve!

Happy Daddy's Day!

2008-06-15T12:38:00.003-05:00

i was awakened from my migraine this morning by my two young sons, Gavin and Nathan, who came in saying "Happy Daddy's Day!", beaming and grinning from ear to ear with a present in their hands. as much as everything in me wanted to pull the covers back up over my head and black out the light and sound, i wouldn't have missed this wonderful God-given opportunity to love on my boys. they got me a cool "life is good" shirt with a guitar player on the front! while my migraine prevented me from exiting my bed and going to worship with my sons, it is still a day of worshipping the God who has so graciously blessed me with two of the best sons a dad can have! now, most dad's say that, i know. but the reason that every dad can say that is because their sons are the best, specifically tailored for them by our heavenly Father, whom the Bible says knows how to give us good gifts! He has given me the best daddy's day gifts in my two bestest buddies! now, if you will excuse me, i'm going to take some more migraine medicine and find a dark place in hopes that i can knock this thing out so i can hopefully take my oldest fishin' this afternoon! happy daddy's day!

Father knows best . . .

2008-06-14T14:16:00.007-05:00

as i spend a lazy saturday trying not to fall asleep on my couch, i ponder on the topic of fatherhood. one of my favorite channels on tv to watch is tvland. this is mainly because it is one of the few channels that i can watch and not be overly concerned about the content my young boys are being exposed to. i bring this up for the purpose of contrasting the view of fatherhood from days past to the view of fatherhood prevalent today. our entertainment is a direct reflection of the values held by the society that creates it, as has been the case throughout history. therefore, if we were to look at some of the shows that are on television today, what would we learn about fathers? the simpsons portray the father, aka homer simpson, as nothing more than a blithering idiot who has no control over, not to mention little respect from his children. compare this to the fathers on tvland from past shows such as leave it to beaver, and like shows, and you'll see my point. the same dismal view of fathers is present on the radio as well. there is currently a commercial for a cell phone company that portrays fathers as clueless, loveable guys that should be appreciated as such. while some may find this trend amusing, i for one find it disturbing. what does it say about us as fathers? it says that we have abandoned our calling as a whole. working at the hospital, i see a flood of babies being born to mothers without a father around. to add to that number, i have youth from past and present groups whose fathers have left them. it's no surprise that fathers have become the laughing-stock and much lamented group of human beings among today's generations. this has astounding implications not only for today's family, but for today's churches and theology as well.

how does this impact us today, you ask? in quite a few profound ways. one, is in the survival of the nuclear family. many young adults have become so disillusioned with the family that they grew up in that they have abandoned the traditional marriage commitment and have instead opted for living together. this inevitably results in a chain reaction effect on fathers abandoning their children because there is no longer a strong commitment to an institution greater than the two entities to hold a couple together. so it's very easy for men to go around to different places fathering children by different women in different areas, as if they were setting up franchises. they have become nothing more than glorified sperm donors. also, if fathers are shirking their role, then the cycle continues as our young men have no one to mentor them as to what it means to be a father. they are merely acting upon the ideologies that their experiences have taught them.

this leads to another problem perpetuated by our dwindling fatherly responsibilities. our young men have become a generation of men raised by women. i know this will spark some controversy, but i will bear saying it anyway. i will then open my arms to make it easier for those in disagreement to crucify me. psychological studies have shown that men who fail to make a connection with their fathers or another strong male role model have a greater propensity for homosexuality and gender identity issues. with absentee and derelict fathers, it's no surprise that the homosexual lifestyle is increasingly growing in exponential rates. the women of today's generations are not immune to this growing cancer. girls who do not have the love and affection of a father are more likely to seek it in other places. to quote buckwheat, eddie murphy's character for snl, they are "wootin por nub in aw da wong paces." this has contributed to our teen pregnancy and std rates growing to record numbers. while i know that the fatherhood crisis is not the sole cause of these calamities, it is a major player.

however, the most important effect that our fatherhood crisis has on today's generations is in terms of our theology. there is a growing trend that doesn not like to refer to God as a Father. and why should they? their fathers have been so useless and detrimental in their own lives that the idea of an all powerful father is not comforting by any means. a good picture of today's attitude towards God is the following quote from the movie fight club:

our fathers were our models for God. if our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God? you have to consider the possibility that God does not like you, He never wanted you, in all probability He hates you. it's not the worse thing that can happen [cause] we don't need Him. [forget] damnation, [forget] redemption. we are God's unwanted children? so be it!

it is this attitude that i believe has led to the rise of feminist theology, perpetuating the notion that God is a female. this is blasphemy and a direct contridiction of Scripture. but this is the bed we have made, and unless we strip it and remake it, we must continue to lie in it.
fathers, we have to reclaim our roles. we have to start living up to the blessed position that God has graced us with if we are to ever salvage future generations of fathers!

Gas, Groceries, and God

2008-06-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

yet another day has gone by and i have once again been approached by numerous people complaining about the high prices of food and gas. while listening to one such person, it suddenly occurred to me that i had seen this very attitude within myself as of recently. i also realized that it is something that is discussed frequently from the pulpits of countless churches across our land. now, this entry is not to support the many theories out there about the possibility that we are in the end times as talked about in St. John's Revelation (as opposed to the much mispronounced "Revelations", a pet-peave of mine!), rather it is to discuss the unbibilical attitudes that are plaguing our churches. many have resorted to avoiding the news stations because they get depressed after a 15 minute session of news reports. the problem that hit me today is our reliance on everything but G-d.

Phillippians 4:19 says that G-d shall supply ALL your NEEDS. first, our supply comes from G-d. not from the government's tax rebate incentive bone that they threw us last month. yet the government acts as if we should all be lifting our hands and singing its praises for giving us back some of the money that we gave them. moreover, many Christians have been duped into doing just that. if we would take our eyes off of others for our provision, others who are limited even in what they can provide, we would be able to focus on G-d's provision and rest in Him.
second, the verse says that G-d will supply ALL. not some. ALL. that means G-d knows about (gasp) the price of gas. and He knows about the price of (gasp) food as well! He also knows what our income is. hold on to your hats here, folks. he knows how much your taxes and other deductions are and the difference between your net and gross income! i know, that's just too much, right? what's really going to bake your noodle is that He knows EXACTLY how much money you need to make it to the next pay day. so, if G-d knows all of this, do you not think that He can provide the money for the gas in your car? what about food? is He not the one who created the organisms that our food comes from? so is He not able to make sure that you have food? and even if He does not provide for you in the way you expect, is He not able to give you the grace needed to make it through hard times?

that brings us to the final thing that His Word says: all your NEEDS. that does not mean all your wants. sorry joel osteeen, but G-d is not obligated to give us a 6 bedroom mansion, nor is He obligated to give us prime rib from the choicest black angus cattle at every meal. no. He says He will meet our NEEDS. the problem is that we don't know what our needs are. we think we know. moreover, too many times the line between needs and wants becomes muddied. however, Almighty G-d, who created our bodies and our minds, knows exactly what our bodies need to function to carry out His will for our lives. He promises that He will take care of us. period.

so, the next time you watch the news, throw your head back and laugh at satan as he pitifully attempts to discourage us to take our eyes off of G-d for our provision. after all, even if we lose wealth, health, and body, if we are in Christ, then we are still better than we deserve! Aei Pistos.

Puppies Vs. Toddlers

2008-05-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

where does true happiness lie? in knowing the truth, or in denying it and living in the faux peace of denial? many of us can echo the words of zach de la rocha, lead singer for the now defunct "rage against the machine", who states: if ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face!
the truth, while not always pleasant, is liberating. that is the motivation behind this blog. i hope to challenge others to seek the truth, and to look inside themselves and determine if they are voluntary blind men, or are they seeing the world through the eyes of the enlightened.

that being said, the topic for my first post has to do with a disturbing trend that i have witnessed over the last week in my own hometown paper in tupelo, ms. a home on a rural county road was raided last week by law enforcement. this raid was spurned by the death of a two year old boy, who was essentially starved to death. however, the death of the two year old was not the main story that was reported from the raid. the main headline in the paper the following day had to do with a "puppy mill" that was found on the property. some 150 dogs were taken from the property that were diseased and malnourished. the story about the abused and neglected two year old who died? one column off to the right side of the paper. i am an animal lover as much as the next person, however, when exactly did the lives of animals take precedence over the lives of children? this is evident in the movies, as well. a movie can show humans of any age, gender, or race being tortured, murdered, or any other gruesome fate that man in his depravity can imagine. however, at the end of the movies, there is always the disclaimer that no animals were harmed during the making of this film. there is no disclaimer about people, even when filming documentaries. i do not hear a public outcry. i hear silence. why? because human life is trivialized. this disturbing trend began with the introduction of evolutionary teaching into the schools in the 50s. if humans are nothing more than glorified animals, then we are worth no more than that. from that came roe v. wade, allowing the further trivialization of the lives of the unborn, based on their inabiltiy to contribute to society and their subsequent burden on society. i forsee this trend to soon be transferred to other groups, such as the mentally and physically handicapped, the elderly, the homeless. "never," you say? many germans said "never" when first told about the atrocities that were being committed by their own government. in reference to the aforementioned article, other articles have graced the front page of the paper in the days following the raid, all having to do with the puppies. nothing more was said about the unfortunate two year old except that the parents were being charged for his death. like an ostrich, we bury our heads in the sand. this way we do not shatter our utopian view of man's "inherent goodness". if man is not inherently good, then we have to admit that there must be something wrong with us. but we judge ourselves based on others, and not on the standard Almighty G-d has set for us. in response to the puppies, G-d's Word says that we are of more value than many sparrows. puppies as well. if only we all held to that view, maybe our world would be a better place.