5 Reasons You May Be Better Than the Rest of Us...

1. You don't need to pray. In Luke, the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. However, it's great that you have  life well under control and don't need much of God's assistance.

2. You don't need to go to church. The rest of the Body of Christ drags you down from your spiritual high. After all, you have missionary work to do at the ski slope. Next week, it is the yard work ministry.

3. You always know more than the Pastor. Every Sunday is an opportunity to critique the delivery, message, and dress of your local servant of God. A career on American Idol as a judge is sure to come your way soon.

4. Certain parts of the Bible just aren't for you. Because of your outstanding negotiation skills, you have made a special deal with God. Parts of the Bible have been ruled "not applicable" to your life.

5. You have the 67th Book of the Bible at home on your laptop. Included in it are all the solutions to the World's problems. If only God would get it in gear and have some knucklehead  publisher agree with you...

If one of the above five reasons has caused you to chuckle at yourself good, I have not wasted my time.  I confess that I have been guilty of most all of them at one point in my life. My hope is that you really are better than the rest of us.

I have lately seen the words pride and legalist bandied about quiet a bit. Most of the time, it appears the victims of these words are those people who are passionate, sometimes overly so, about certain positive aspects of the Christian life. I think pride can sometimes be a little bit more sneaky. It comes when we are tricked into believing special rules apply just to us. In James, we are reminded to work out our salvation with "fear and trembling." But often our own pride can blind us into complacency. Your thoughts?

Ramblings of Encouragement for a Demographic I Love

In the Apostle Paul's famous chapter 13  in the book of Corinthians, Paul wrote about heaven that, "...I shall know just as I also am known."  These words stand against an American  media culture (i.e. reality TV etc...) which says all should clamor for attention. A world that says it is better to be known for something, even if it may be bad, than to live a life of obscurity. It appears from many of our actions that we are easily tricked into thinking that God notices and rewards people in the same way the world does. There is no Biblical proof of this I can find. We are encourage to live quiet lives both in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and 1 Timothy 2:2.

Interestingly, there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that there is such a thing as obscurity for the believer. Paul says we will be known. I believe we will not only be known to God but also to our fellow saints in Heaven. Our enemy, the Devil, would love to discourage us otherwise. He would especially like to discourage what I see as still a small but growing phenomena in American Christianity. Women who put off glitz and glory of our time to live quiet lives for the blessings of our nation's children and for the community.

The hope of American Christianity lies with their work. We all must support them and their families. I have read reports that it takes 40 people in a church to bring one person to Christ. But the average home school mom has a 90% success rate in producing Godly offspring. Do the math. It is no wonder that our enemy would like to trick this demographic into thinking that putting all they have into child raising is misapplied energy. Even near where I live, there is a popular ministry focused on children and young adults started by a women who got tired of being home with her children. Go figure.

Moms: You are the most critically vital and important demographic group in America. Be encouraged. God is not overlooking anyone doing His will. I can tell you even from my business world experience that those who focus their energy on raising children are not missing out.  Most weeks, I would rather spend a week at home with my kids than traveling about the country.

God knows us. And in Heaven, we will be known. We will be rewarded for the small things we have been faithful in (Mathew 25:14-23). How that reward plays out. I do not claim to know. We can only have faith that it will and our work will not be unknown. Not only that, but God says whatever we do for our own glory will be of no importance in Heaven. God is not tricking any of us into giving up anything of value. He saved us from destruction and perdition and is only keeping us from wasting our lives. Even though the work of child raising and daily discipleship can be hard, those doing this are doing a great work!

Your thoughts: How can we encourage families and especially Moms in raising their children for God?

The Pursuit of Happiness

Independence Hall

We are a nation  in which one of our declared purposes is the pursuit of happiness.  I have always thought that this was a bit of a hedonistic statement. Did our founders make an error? Some historians think that the statement was from John Locke and originally read, "life, liberty, and property." It was then improvised by Thomas Jefferson to read, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

But if we truly are or were a Christian nation (which some critics claim we never have been), shouldn't Jefferson have said something a little bit more selfless? Did our brave forefathers goof causing us to veer off course tricking us into building big houses on golf courses instead of more important pursuits?

Of course, happiness is hard to define. In academia, they don't even like the word happiness. They prefer the term "subjective well being" instead. If you think America is the best place for "subjective well being," you may want to check out Eric Weiner's book "The Geography of Bliss." Be prepared to grab your wallet, passport, and plan on moving soon because America may not be the spot you think it is. We are somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to this certain type of "well being."

In ancient Hebrew, the word 'ester' is often translated blessed. But it also translates happy.  Strong's defines 'ester' as "happiness, blessedness." In Psalms 84, the Psalmist puts it plainly. 'Ester' (happy) are those who live at your temple. Happy are those who are always praising you. Happy are those who strength is in you. Happy are people who trust in you. Happy are those who cry out to be with the Living God. In short, happiness is found in the pursuit of God. The pursuit of happiness is actually an ideal goal for a nation founded by various groups of Christians based on Christian ideals.

I pray America's greatest legacy will not be be our riches and the liberty we enjoy at least for the moment. But that we will be forever known as a nation that pursues happiness in pursuing God. The Psalmist implies that in our pursuit of God comes all the things we may long for and desire in our nation. What can we do to change the direction of America and make us a nation chasing happiness in God instead of riches or a socialist utopia?

We Bought our Van from a Christian Punk Band

The car dealer told us the 12 passenger van we had just purchased had been used by a local band previously. As we were test driving the vehicle,  I pictured a bunch of high school kids driving around in the van with tubas packed in back. But when we looked up the band name he had mentioned upon return home, we found that the group was a popular punk band. In their brief bio, they also claimed to be known as unapologetic Christians. Though I praise God for their salvation, the one video I watched didn't seem very "Christian."

Watching the video, brought up a question? Should music like Rap and Punk Rock, which are essentially born out of rebellion and defiance of authority, be used in glorify God? Does using this type of music draw those on the outside into the church as its performers and proponents claim? Or does it draw those on the inside of the church away from God to the world as an unintended consequence? (Right now, some claim 70-80% of youth are separated from the church at the end of college). In other words, does form matter as long as the lyrics say "Praise Jesus?" After all, weren't some of the great hymns of the faith originally viewed with suspicion and written by ex-scoundrels.

What do you think? Is one form of music or style better in the glorification and worship of God?  Or should those who think so be forever banished as a legalists?

Faith, Worry, and Sin

In the middle of the night my wife asked me why I wasn’t able to sleep. I had to confess, “I am just lying here sinning. I can’t keep from worrying.” I thought I had a lot to worry about. We just had a new baby and needed a new car. I was debating on whether or not to take a new job offer, should I let two of our daughters go and tour Europe with a local orchestra they played in, etc... Though none of these things are life and death matters, I did think I had a lot of legitimate things to worry about.

As I was lying there going over the same thoughts, the same scenarios, the same conversations again and again, it struck me that I had been teaching our children that we need to live out our lives as the Word of God instructs. We don’t have to the right to underline the parts of the Bible we like, only living those parts out, and ignore the other parts we don’t like.  The apostle Paul tells us in his 2nd letter to Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

That must include Jesus statement in the Gospel of Matthew to not worry about even the basic things of food, drink, and clothing. I must also follow Paul’s letter to the Philippians, when we are told not to be anxious about anything. When we worry, going over the same things over and over in my mind, we are actually rebelling against God. He does not give us the right to worry.

But here is the rub. Quitting worrying doesn’t seem that easy. Worry just sort of happens. I think it would be easier to quit something more tangible like robbing banks. That would be easy to quit. Bank robbing is dangerous, takes a lot of work, and there is severe consequences for failure, plus it is obvious to everyone that it is wrong. But worrying is easy. And everyone worries. Don't they?

In order to stop worry, we must have faith. A faith that God just might know what he is doing. A faith to trust that even if our worries come true. We can know that even then God never abandons those he has chosen. Even if we have to look to the end of the age for things to be made right.

Though a subject for another day, I also realize that not worrying is not permission to engage in foolishness. But the question of the day is how do we quit worrying? We have to have faith that what God is telling us is correct. But sometimes it is hard to apply that faith. Paul tells us to cast our cares on him with prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving. Here are some suggestions I have found to help stop worry. But feel free to help add to the list?

1)      At night, quit lying in bed worrying,  get up and read your Bible. (This is from Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa fame.)

2)      As soon as worry starts begin going over a memory verse in your mind

3)      If late at night when worry seems to strike with a vengeance, get up and click on the worship network www.worship.net (in my opinion one of the few good Christian TV programs)

4)      Start going through your mind, good things that have happened…(i.e. thanksgivings)

5)      …..

What's Your Sign?

What's does your Church sign say?  There is one down the street from me which says,"Soul Out of Shape, Let God be your Personal Trainer." Another states,"Sorry Looks Back, Worry Looks Forward, Faith Looks Up!"  An hour south from my home, I saw a sign which read, "Every Choice Leads Somewhere."  The quote was even attributed to God himself.

I have become increasingly burdened about how our major media outlets ignore the pain and suffering of people around the world because they are Christians. Five hundred Christians, mostly women and children, in Nigeria murdered and there is barely a word mentioned.  A young poor Pakistani girl attacked then thrown into prison for contacting the police? Nothing on CNN. China repatriating escaped North Korean Christians to almost certain death. You don't read about that on the news flashes when you sign onto your Yahoo email account.  A father of ten and a pastor in the most dangerous place in the world killed for his faith in Christ. That doesn't make the evening news.

We Christians do, however, have tens of thousands of  church sign boards across the USA. What if instead of telling people to "Smile for Jesus Today" we say, "Pastor Thrown in Prison. Wife Hungry " "Korean Girl Thrown in Concentration Camp for having Bible." What if we turned from catchy snippets to telling a blind world about the battle going on with "principalities of darkness." It may get peoples attention; which we don't have now. It might get some to walk back through those church doors because they are looking for something of such value that people are willing to give their lives for it. Let's not let such great promotional real estate go to waste.

Easter Spirit?

I have been driving around town looking for the Easter banners put up by the local civic authorities with the word Believe on them like they did at Christmas. But apparently they had forgotten to put them up.

I was at the mall looking for the mass of shoppers preparing for Easter Day, and thought I would wander through the store looking at and enjoying the Easter decorations. It must have been the economic malaise that has recently hit this country, because except for the Card store it seems everyone forgot to check their calender.

On the drive back to my house, I turned on the radio to listen to some Easter music on the easy listening pop channel that each year plays Holiday music. There wasn't any. I clicked on the Christian radio station to catch a couple of hip versions of "He is Risen." But alas nothing.

I  know that Easter has not been completely forgotten. There was a nice collection of dresses for little girls at the department store. I got an advertisement from a local church on special services. And I did read that the average family spends $200.00 on Easter each year for candy, decoration, and dinner.But lets just be honest here, society just doesn't change like it does at Christmas. There is no Easter Spirit among the community at large.

Like it or not, people have a tendency to be different at Christmas. More prone to be generous, secular musicians sing songs about Christ, and profound atheists have symbols of a Turkish Bishop named St. Nicholas all over their children's rooms. But at Easter...it...well...just doesn't happen.

Is it that  bunny that lays eggs and decorates with pastels? Or is it that secular society says enough is enough. We will go along with you on Christmas and give you the virgin birth. But raised from the dead, that we call a halt on. I just don't know. It is just that, be honest, for most of America Easter doesn't have it.

However, one of the great problems with Christmas is that it doesn't stick around. All those good feelings slide away as the credit card bills come at the end of January. Those who catch the Easter vision. It is more than just catching a wave of societal goodness. The realization that you have been chosen by God for eternal life. That Christ died and rose again for you is permanently life changing, and the spirit doesn't quit two weeks into January.