Religion, Relationship, Or Reality?

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
God making his appeal through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:20 ~

Many have said, myself included, that Christianity is a "relationship, not a religion." What do you think about this statement?

I believe it comes down to Columbo Tactic #1, which would ask, "What do you mean by religion?...What do you mean by relationship?"

Wanting to clarify this topic, I would say that Christianity is Reality...

If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend checking into one or all of these links...here, here, and here.

Here is an excerpt from Wintery Knight:

My concern with the notion of Christianity as a relationship is that people will cash it out as a subjective thing that they do for fun privately and that it is never the basis of public actions or words. And my fear is that without theology, people just project their own character onto God and discern his character through their feelings and intuitions, instead of through a study of the Bible and theology (emphasis added).

How Champions Think

Good quote I learned from a tennis mentor, and it is a great philosophy that helps us to see how Champions think:

"Your next shot is more important than your last mistake” ~ Tom Veneziano

How can you apply this to your life? Have you made the wrong career choice? Bad decision making in a relationship? Did you double fault on 30-40? Maybe you did not speak up when you should have?

In terms of human history, we made a bad decision in the garden, but God, through Jesus of Nazareth, has given us our next shot in life...What will you do with it?

Evidence? It Goes Both Ways!

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas Day, we can't help but think and ponder about one of the greatest miracles of all-time...The Virgin Birth, God entering the world in human flesh...which leads me to then meditate upon The Resurrection Of Christ...God redeeming all of humanity.

...but what about those who don't believe? I often hear the atheistic theme song of "evidence, I need more evidence." Or if it's not their theme song, perhaps it's the famous sound bite that says, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

...Well, to the atheist, the game goes both ways...you state that "God does not exist" and that "miracles are not possible," so I would like to say to you, "prove it!" You make an extraordinary claim so you better give me some extraordinary evidence!

So what will the atheist do? Here are some attempts:

1. Only science can show us what is true. Oh really? This statement is one that is philosophical in nature, and itself is not testable by the scientific method.

2. Macro-evolution is true and Darwin is god...Oh really? Give me some extraordinary evidence that shows this extraordinary claim to be the case. How does a Darwinian mechanism create the first replicator? Where are all the fossils showing transitions between species? How do you explain the Cambrian explosion? Please show me evidence how random mutation and natural selection gets around the problem of irreducibly complex mechanisms such as the human eye, ATP Synthase, and Bacteria Flagella. Please show me evidence on how disorder can create order and how time and chance can create the detailed code and the specified complexity of DNA language. In short, why is there something rather than nothing?

3. You can't prove a universal negative. Oh really? You think you are going to escape the burden of proof do you? There are no zebras who play for the New England Patriots. There are no married bachelors. There is no water molecule made of CO2...how is that for proving universal negatives!

I will conclude with a dialogue from William Lane Craig:

The claim on the lips of today’s New Atheists, "We have been given the tools of reason, inquiring minds and a good education and we judge religion as we judge everything else" now appears to be empty posturing. If this assertion is really true, then when you say, "As an atheist I assert that God, and your God in particular does not exist," you’d better be prepared to respond when I ask, “Really? What proof, evidence, or argument can you provide to convince me?”

Praise Be To God who provides more than enough evidence for His existence and for His Love...demonstrated as He entered into time, space, matter, and energy...stepping into our lives through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures speak of it, creation concludes it, and reality reflects it! Victory IN Christ and Merry Christmas!

Koukl: "100% God - 100% Man"

In the last post, I mentioned how Wintery Knight discussed the importance of an accurate understanding of Christianity...I want to follow that post with the following link to an article written by Greg Koukl, another great thinker...

It's called "100% God - 100% Man," and to summarize, Koukl states:

"There's is not a sharp dichotomy between God working and our working.
They go hand in hand. God works through our initiative."

...how God uses our wills and our actions to accomplish His ends..."

• • •

"Pray toward Heaven. Row toward shore." ~ Lee Ezell

The Brilliance of Wintery Knight

Here is a link to a brilliant blog, written by a favorite thinker, Wintery Knight...most Christians have a misunderstanding of God, and it leads many of them to "de-convert"...they are simply misinformed...so WK hits on key elements to show how Christianity truly relates to our lives, and why it is so important that our understanding of correct Christian Theology and Doctrine, be accurate, instead of some superstitious nonsense...

...here are few excerpts:

"This is why accurate theology matters. No serious Christian thinks that you stop sinning after you become a Christian, and no serious Christian thinks that prayer alone is a solution to sin. To stop sinning, you need to engage more than the spirit, you need to engage the mind. Most people want to spiritualize things because prayer is easier than study. But if you want to stop sinning, the best way is a combination of prayer and study."

"Some people want to dumb Christianity down to the level of superstition then they complain that it doesn't work. But Christianity is better when you learn more and work harder..."

...People become Christians because they want to be like Jesus, and they understand that Jesus was not having fun. He was doing a job, and he wasn't happy or appreciated."

"It's so strange to me that people think that the best way to see God interfere is to pray. The way I see God working in my life is when I go home and listen to some debate about the problem of evil, and then the next day some atheist asks me out to lunch to talk about why God allows evil. Maybe instead of doing easy things, we should actually invest in our relationship with God and then see if he responds by giving us work to do. Maybe a relationship with God is about serving him, and the joy is about seeing him reward those efforts by working with us and through us. Maybe God has more for us than just entertainment."

Unfolding Patterns Of God's Plans

Good thought I heard from Wayne Grudem the other day...he was talking about the way that God unfolds His purposes and reveals His Glory gradually over time, for instance:

Creation Of The World - Whether you hold a "Day-Age" view or a "Literal" view, etc, God gradually created and sculpted the world over time.

The Calling Of The Jews - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Twelve tribes...

The Sending Of The Messiah - centuries passed before Jesus was incarnated.

Spreading Of The Gospel - gradually over centuries, we are seeing God's Purposes unfolding.

The more I think about it, the more all of life is like this. There is a development process to all things that have life, meaning, value, and purpose. The only things that are really made in an instance are material and expendable.

So this gradual revealing of God's purpose certainly has personal application to us as well. He wants our lives to have meaning, value, and purpose, and the only way to do that is through a gradual development via a daily relationship with Christ.

In fact, Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon delivered on the Sabbath Morning, January 7th, 1855, stated the following: "Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity."

I think that God unfolds His purposes gradually, so that we can "continually investigate" His greatness...Allow me to draw a parallel from the outstanding Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century, Saint Anselm, who coined the phrase, fides quaerens intellectum...translated to mean, “faith seeking understanding”...Perhaps God has so arranged life that our faith seeks an understanding, and then our understanding leads to a revealing...then purpose...

Faith --> Understanding --> Revealing --> Purpose

For Anselm, "faith seeking understanding" was “an active love of God seeking a deeper knowledge of God.” He believed that true faith is a love for God and a drive to act as God wills...Ultimately, our purpose is to become Christ-like...Jesus was everything God is, and He was everything that we were meant to be...so what happened was that sin entered the world, we became separated from God, and our image became distorted...man has been on a search for purpose ever since...a search for God through Christ...a desire beyond all desires in which C.S. Lewis beautifully summarized in the following quote:

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy,
the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

...God, through His gradual unfolding of meaning, value, and purpose, wants us to first have a "deeper knowledge" of Him...and a deeper understanding of Him...a desire to become Sanctified and Christ-like...so that when God unfolds our meaning, value, and purpose in life, we see Him as the architect, the composer, and the designer of it all.

4th Of July Challenge

Abraham Lincoln once observed, “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.”

G. K.Chesterton’s observation about Russia has come true here, “Once abolish the God, and the government becomes the God.”

• • •

Great article by Frank Turek, titled Country a Mess? Blame the Church...

I have been very motivated and challenged by this article, and I believe you will be as well. So I would like to issue a 4th of July challenge to all Followers of Jesus Christ...we need to transform culture and society by infiltrating it instead of avoiding it...so...

Let's put an end to the anti-intellectual movement that leads believers to separate from society rather than reform it. Let's reform society by thinking, writing, influencing, and creating.

Let's stop bifurcating life into two separate spheres—the sacred and secular. We need to saturate society with the Truth of Christ, morality, and ethics...not separate from it. And forget about being PC and non-offensive. Our softness is allowing culture to spit on The Cross of Christ.

Let's stop substituting Reason for emotionalism, and thinking that only activities that directly save souls are deemed sacred. A saved soul is wonderful, but we must make the connection that a saved soul is a transformed person...and transformed people lead to a transformed culture.

Eternity is at stake, but so is our present day...May God's Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven...

**Bold captions are derived from Frank Turek's article, Country A Mess, Blame The Church

Men - wear the pants - be a pillar

"Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz."

Men, wear the pants. Be worthy of being called a "man."

Skirts
We've got a lot of men today wearing skirts. Not to be inappropriate but truthful, if there not wearing one, their lusting over woman who are in one...acting like a bunch of chauvinists pigs.

I'm all for the metro-man and using as much hair paste as possible...being aware of boot cut or straight leg jeans...what I'm not for are those who don't know how to put on the work jeans...what I'm not for, are the boys who think they are men - pleasing themselves instead protecting woman - God's daughters.

Ford Truck Man
If we are going to be men who protect our ladies in holy, Jesus-like love, and shape our children in the power and might of God's Holy Spirit, we need to beat our chest and give out a war cry when a ford truck commercial comes on while we're on our way to bring our wife a cold glass of iced tea! That's a "worthy man"! Ladies, can I get an "Amen!"

Worthy Man

Let's get a sense what it means that Boaz is a "worthy man". As one preacher puts it, and I paraphrase, you're not a man just because you can shave - that's not what makes you worthy. According to a commentary I read, where the ESV says, "a worthy man", the Hebrew literally reads, "a man mighty in substance."

• The Orthodox Jewish Bible reads, "an ish gibbor chayil."

Let's look at these two Hebrew words: gibbor chayil.

Gibbor

When you think "gibbor", think "champion," "valiant men", "helper", and "hero". Picture in your mind the "Mighty Thor". Whoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor. Had to put that in there!

Gibbor refers to the vitality and strength of a victorious warrior...excellence.**(see resource notes for this at double asterisks below).

Men, you got any "gibbor" in you? Do you "help" your wife? Stop sitting there expecting her to do the "woman's" job. Be a man. Help her with the kids. Are you a "hero" to your kids? Are you "victorious" over sin? Man up!

Chayil

This is the word for "wealth." It can mean valiant, power, strength, might, power, virtuous, riches, and of course, wealth. Interesting enough, it is the exact word chapter 3:11 of Ruth uses to characterize Ruth as an "excellent" woman.**

Men, are you "wealthy" - not just talking financial stuff here - are you "rich and mighty" in the Word of God and prayer for your wife and kids? Are you "rich and mighty" in your witness at the workplace and in the gym? If single, are you "rich" and "mighty" in holy living, prayer, church life, "water cooler discussions"?

This is where it gets cool

Another interesting word concerning Boaz being a "worthy man" is the Greek word, ischus - it means "strength" or "ability".

The name "Boaz" means, "In Him (the Lord) is strength". If you have read Boaz chapter 4:17, you know that Boaz is King David's great-granddad. If you know the Bible, you know that David is Solomon's dad...making Boaz King Solomon's great-great granddad. 2 Chronicles 3:17 and 1 Kings 7:21 tells us that King Solomon built God's Temple in Jerusalem. Now, watch this - watch what Solomon, great-great grandson of Boaz named one of the pillars of the temple:

"He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz." (2Chr 3:17, 1Ki 7:21)

Could it be that Solomon's great-great granddad left a lasting generational impression on his family?

Even More Cool

The Septuagint LXX, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, could give some insight to the meaning of Boaz here in 2 Chronicles. Here is how the English translation of the Septuagint reads:

"He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left: and he called the name of the one on the right hand 'Stability,' and the name of the one on the left Strength."

Do you remember our greek word, "ischus"? It is the word in 2 Chronicles for "strength." Have you ever read Mark 12:30? Love the Lord your God with all your what? Heart, soul, mind, and "ischus" - strength.

Stand Strong - be a pillar

As one person has said, we need to be careful with interpreting the significance of Solomon naming the north pillar, "Boaz"; however, it is insightful. According to one commentary, a pillar was an ancient symbol of strength and security. When destruction would come about and everything else had fallen, the pillar would often still stand - strong and tall.

Leave a mark

Also in ancient times, someone of great worth is society, would have a pillar erected in their honor and their name would be etched in the pillar - it would "leave a mark" - recognizing the impact they had on their and all future generations.

Build a legacy

I wonder what our actions as men are "etching" into the hearts of those we love? I wonder what kind of "mark" we are leaving for our children - what kind of legacy? I've heard one preacher say, and he's right, that too many men today want a good time or a good weekend - not of a good legacy. God forgive us.

Jesus

Jesus, the most worthy Man of all time, says in the Book of Revelation, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God..." (Rev 3:12). Men, your faithfulness to Jesus, to your wife, your kids, your church, your country, your neighbors, will not be forgotten.

Boaz is a pillar in the temple of Jesus' God. He was a pillar for Ruth, Noami, and his boy Obed. - grandfather of David. From his line, came Jesus.

What is coming from you as man? Anything worthy?

Next time - Boaz as a man who fights for those he loves...a man who takes action - quickly

**RESOURCES FROM http://www.preceptaustin.org/ruth_21-7.htm#2:1

T-Time..."Going Boaz"

Men. It's "T-time".

"Testosterone" time. I'm NOT talking about being an idiot...acting like a CHAUVINIST or a COWARD. I'm talking about "HOLY Testosterone; Sanctified Testosterone." I'm talking about being a MAN like CHRIST. Men, we have 3 options, as one pastor says...to be a Chauvinist, a Coward, or Christ like.

"T-time" is about being Christ like.

There was and is NO greater MAN than Jesus Christ. Of course, He was and is the "GOD-MAN". 100% GOD. 100% MAN. Other great men in the historical, accurate, and reliable documents of the Bible were John the Baptist and Boaz.

GOING BOAZ
Boaz is one of my heroes. He is a great picture of Jesus Christ. His name means, "strength, mighty man". In other words, he didn't drink "decaf" and drive a mini van (just kidding - driving a mini van actually shows you are more of a man because you are laying your life down for your wife and kids, you're willing to bleed; seriously - that's my view on mini vans). "BOAZ" is where we get the term, "BO-UP". Not really; but it sounds good!

A WORTHY MAN
Boaz's story is interesting. He's a man's man; a dude's dude, according to one preacher; yet his story is found in an Old Testament Scripture with a woman's name as the title, the book of Ruth. Chapter 2 verse 1 of Ruth tells the Boaz's story and it begins by describing him as "a worthy man".

WORTHY or WIMPY?
That's the FIRST things said of this guy. I don't know what the first thing that would be said or thought of me...or you...I hope it would be something like that. Men, what is the FIRST thing your wife or the those closet to you would say about you and me? I hope it's a "worthy man and not wimpy man." Are we "worthy men"? Does the church have any "worthy men"?

BLOG SERIES - going Boaz
I'm starting a blog series of what a "worthy man" is. We'll look at the life of Boaz and see how he is a picture of Jesus Christ, the WORTHIEST MAN OF ALL TIME! We'll look at the characteristics that the Book of Ruth lay out for us. Just to give you a sneak peek: Boaz was a:

• "Fighter",
  
• "Lover",
  
• "Redeemer",
  
• "Protector",
  
• "Planner",
  
• "Leader"
• "Bless-er"
  
• AND MANY MORE!
  

GOING TONKA
In other words, when he was a little boy, he was "bi-lingual". He could speak English and "Tonka"..."vrummm, vrumm'. If he was alive today, he would work out to "insanity workout videos"; he would have loved Chuck Norris movies; he would watch WWE on Monday nights and College Gameday ESPN on Saturday mornings; he most likely would have had lots of camouflage in his closet; and because he was the kind of MAN we need today; he would have fought for sexual purity/holiness. That's a real man.We don't have enough "real men; worthy men" in the church today. Sure, we have some. Not enough. I want to be a "worthy man." I want to be a picture of Jesus. Dude, do you?

CASTRATION
I recently came upon an article written by Brian Mavis on how to reach men in the church...how to "fix" men (it gave me the vrumm, vrumm illustration idea by the way). The article talked about how the church is failing in this endeavor. The following paragraph is an INCREDIBLE - and I think, ACCURATE explanation of what the church has done to MEN...PLEASE READ...

"In many cases the church hasn’t done much better than the world at “fixing men.” They’ve put a 21st century spin on a similar first-century problem. Two thousand years ago, there was some confusion about what it took to become a Christian man. Some people believed that Gentile men had to be circumcised to be real Christians. Today the church has moved the knife a few inches, no longer performing a circumcision but a castration. I’m speaking metaphorically of course. But the problem is real. Just like the world, the church often tries to take the “manliness” out of a man instead of taking his God-given strengths and finding their rightful use in the kingdom. God wants man as He made him. Man isn’t meant to chase skirts, but he’s not meant to be in one either (unless you’re Scottish—and it still looks weird)."

NO SKIRTS ALLOWED
I believe all churches should post a sign outside it's doors for men: MEN, NO SKIRTS ALLOWED. I'm all for the "metro-man". I'm one myself. Metro does not mean you wear skirts though. It simply means you have enough fashion sense to stop tight rolling your jeans. You can be a metro man and still drive a GMC Sierra.

In the next couple of posts, we'll begin to look at "going Boaz." I hope you'll check in. It's "T-time."

Love Wins? No, Jesus Saves!

I just watched the promo video for Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, a title he chose because he states that the Good News is that "Love Wins." It's a hidden message that takes Scripture out of context and leads certain people down a road to destruction...

...The Good News of The Bible is not that "Love Wins," but rather, "Jesus Saves." What does Jesus save us from? He saves us from the "disease" of humanity known as sin. Bell has it all wrong...another blasphemous statement he makes in the video is that Jesus is saving us from a wrathful God, as though it is God versus Jesus instead of God versus satan.

Jesus is not saving us from God...Jesus is bringing us to God...Jesus is the path to God, and the only path at that! Jesus brings us to God by saving us from sin and death and a life of eternal torment. We are on a sailboat to hell and Jesus thankfully was sent on a rescue mission by God The Father to reverse our direction and redeem humanity back to Himself, restoring the image that sin tarnished...this is the core message of Christianity...one look at John 3.16 shows this to be true, and you don't have to have a Ph.D. in Theology to understand it!

Bell's message is basically saying to do whatever the hell you want because everyone ends up in Heaven...

That would be like a doctor who knows his patient is sick, yet tells them to go ahead and live on without worry, because in the end everything works out...

Let me conclude with one final thought. If a diabetic needs insulin to live yet chooses not to take it, they would not die just because they refused insulin. They would die because they refused to receive what insulin and only insulin can do. To an even stronger extent, people do not go to hell simply because of a refusal to believe in Jesus, as though He was some pride and joy trophy that satisfies God's ego...no, they end up in hell because Jesus not only sustains life, He restores the life God desires for us to live...Jesus is Salvation...He is THE cure to the disease...Jesus gives us victory over sin and death...

Love wins because Jesus Saves. Jesus diagnoses the problem and offers the solution. I pray for Rob Bell and his followers to come to this understanding...

God, Gekko, and Greed:Discerning Truth From Superstition

Christmas night 2010...1930 hours...as things were settling down we had decided on how to wrap up the day (pun intended)...and as huge movie fans, what better way to do it than by inviting Gordon Gekko into the living room! So I gathered together with the fam, sat by the Christmas tree, sipped on hot organic apple cider, and watched Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps.

One of my favorite things to do as I watch movies or read books is to evaluate the writing and the characterization from a world view perspective. I was pleasantly surprised tonight, because one can not watch more than a few minutes of this movie before they are rushed into worldview content!

The movie starts out with Gekko being released from prison, and as he is walking out to freedom, we hear Shia LaBeouf's character, Jake Moore, narrating about the Cambrian Explosion (mentioned at least twice in the movie) and then whether or not the human race is a product of evolution or design. I will paraphrase his narration, as he says something to the effect of, "There was a single event in history, The Cambrian Explosion, where we all evolved at once...some say we are here by evolution, some say it's by design...no one can explain it, but now we are all here."

Now, I will not go into depth about the Cambrian Explosion and evolution vs design, but suffice it to say, the Cambrian Explosion poses serious problems for those who try to defend Darwinian Macro Evolution, and there is overwhelming evidence for Intelligent Design overthrowing evolution as the origin of life.

So to move on, I want to get into a thought experiment. The movie is plastered with stereotypical Wall Street persona...the cut throat, stab-in-the-back, 'eat your own,' strategies of big business, where personal worth is defined by net worth and egos are measured by the size of one's bank account. Thus, we see an evolutionary theme peppered through out the movie...characteristics of social Darwinism, where Wall Street traders and corporate raiders are on the prowl in a contest of 'survival of the fittest.'

So here is the thought: If Darwinian evolution is true and we do live in a survival of the fittest environment, then why would it matter if people used insider information and spread false rumors in order to make personal gain? Why do we see pain and suffering in the characters of this movie who get wronged? Why did Gekko ever go to prison in the first place in the original movie? If evolution is true, then this is how things should work, and those who get destroyed in the process simply are not fit to survive and the evolution mechanism continues to do its thing...

...but those who are intellectually honest know why. It's because man is made "Imago Dei"...in the Image of God...we are created in God's image and therefore have inherent value independent of our utility or function.

Unlike animals in the wild, we have a moral code, a moral law, and a moral law needs a moral law giver = God of The Bible. Even those who believe in evolution know it. They just simply deny it. They may, in theory, believe in evolution, but in reality, they live in God's world.

We know this is true because as the people of Wall Street are cheating and scheming, those who believe in evolution say that it is wrong and that those guilty should be punished. But on what grounds do those who believe in the origins of life happening via chance, have to call something right or wrong?

Even Gekko's famous quote, "Greed is good," has implications. When it comes to cheating and lying, or whether greed is good or bad, if evolution is true, how do we know how to categorize lying vs honesty or good vs bad. Dishonest actions and evil scheming should simply be strategies for survival and greed should simply be a technique used by the fittest of all...but anyone who actually thinks about life and is aware of truth, knows deep down inside that explanation of life outside of God is mere superstition.

We even see this in the movie, as Jake Moore goes onto say, "It's funny. The more we found ourselves as the slaves of chance... the more superstitious we become."

Superstition sums up evolutionary theory. It's nothing more than a way to rationalize one's denial of a Creator God. And as Moore's character at the beginning of the movie says, "...no one can explain it, but now we are all here," I want to say that it's not a matter of explaining, it's a matter of accepting...

The explanation comes via accurate historical documents contained in The Holy Bible as well as Jesus of Nazareth, The One who was sent on a rescue mission for all of humanity. The Bible teaches it and reality confirms it. All one has to do is observe life and accept the reality of truth.

Greed is not defined by what something costs, but by what it costs you.

If anything costs your faith or your family, the price is too high. ~Max Lucado~

Losing For A Purpose

...Just read the latest question of the day over at Jesus.org, called, A Gospel for Losers? It really made me think that we need to put such a topic in the proper perspective and in the proper context.

In the article, the author speaks of truth, but does not contextualize it...not to do so is a major weak point of any type of teaching. He states the following:"Jesus came to show us that the gospel explains success in terms of giving, not taking; self-sacrifice, not self-protection; going to the back, not getting to the front. The gospel shows that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, we achieve power through service, and we become rich by giving ourselves away."

But what does all of this mean? When do we do this? Why do we do this? We must qualify statements such as this by looking at WHY Jesus taught these amazing principles. Statements like this that are isolated from a proper perspective simply sound like feel-good slogans or cheesy bumper stickers.

Jesus does not want bumper stickers, He wants bold servants. He wants people that serve while leading, not those who serve simply to lose. I am seeing a lack of leadership in the Christian community (which includes myself) to take a stand against all the moral filth and secularism that is infecting our country. Moral relativism and religious pluralism have invaded every area of life like a bad virus. And one of the reasons this is occurring is because Christians are saying, "well, I need to just stay quiet and triumph through defeat."

Let me digress for a moment and qualify where I am coming from on this issue and state what I am for and what I am against so that my statements are not taken out of context...

What I am in favor of: I am all for The Gospel and believe in everything Jesus said. I firmly believe in Classical Christianity because I am a firm believer in objective truth. I am in favor of the proper Exegesis of Scripture (explanation of then and there) and the proper use of Hermeneutics of Scripture (interpreting for the here and now).

What I am against: I am totally against Eisegesis (interpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one's own ideas)... I despise relativism and the claim that all truth is subjective truth...

...so to get back to my main point, Jesus tells us such counter-intuitive teachings not so that we can look all humble and sweet, but so that we can live for a higher purpose...His purpose. He exhibited this in His own life. He did not simply take a punishment or die on the cross so that we could say, "Wow, what a nice man." Instead, He willingly laid down His life for a purpose. He came on a rescue mission to save all of humanity from eternal torture in order that we could be justified, sanctified, and glorified.

So could it be that all the secularism that has taken over our planet, the removal of school prayer, the corrupt politics and political correctness, the immoral lifestyles, the pro-choice movement, the double standards, and all the filth that we see in the media is because as Christians, we see it happening, but we are too soft to stand up and do anything about it? Is it because we have an improper view of the definition of humbleness? An improper view of what it means to save our lives by losing them?

There could be other reasons of course, apathy for example, or wanting to take a stand but not knowing how...but when it comes to giving and not taking, self-sacrifice instead of self-protection, and winning by losing, it must be in the context of purpose...If we "lose" then we "lose" in order to assure a greater victory...we need to have a context for our convictions instead of a cop-out for our cowardice...

Do Christians and Muslims Worship The Same God?

If someone were to ask you, "Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?" what would you say?

There are some great discussions going on at Stand To Reason and the Denver Seminary on this specific topic, but I think the best way to answer this question is not necessarily if it is The same God, but rather what are the paths taken to get to such a God...

...I must preface by saying that the identity of God is of utmost importance because Christians believe in the Trinity yet Muslims do not, so we need a way to help deduce the identity of The Christian God and the Islamic God, and this deduction comes through the path...the path in which we get to God...

For instance, John 14.6 states, "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father." So let's say, for arguments sake, that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, then we must focus on how to get to Him...

Imagine you and your friend want go to the moon one day. You decide to take NASA's path and head up through the earth's atmosphere, but your friend thinks he can get there by heading East on Interstate 10...You both want to go the same place, but only one of you has the correct path...

...therefore, since Christians believe that Jesus is The One and Only Son of God, and Jesus claims that He is the only way to God, then Christians and Muslims definitely worship a different God...how do I know this? Because if you believe that there is more than one path to the same God, then you now believe in religious pluralism, and this goes against one of the fundamental laws of logic, the law of non-contradiction: something can not be true and not true at the same time...for example, Jesus can't be The only way to God, and not the only way to God at the same time and in the same context.

Bottom line: you can accept the Christian view of The Trinity and that Jesus is The Only Way to God, or you can reject it, but you must understand one MAIN issue that separates all beliefs... Jesus Christ changes everything...Lee Strobel puts it this way:

"In short, if the Resurrection is false, then Christianity is refuted. But if it's true, then regardless of what any world religion teaches, Jesus is the one-and only Son of God. And that changes everything." (see 1 Corinthians 15)

Pray Like Jesus

"Preaching a pagan-style gospel teaches that as long as we
have enough faith in Jesus, then we don't have to be like Jesus."
...a paraphrase from Mark Driscoll,
~ Pray Like Jesus:The Gethsemane Prayer ~

Tired of hearing the pagan practice of the prosperity gospel?...the prosperity gospel is when we use Prayer, Scripture, and experience to try and align God to our will. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is when God utilizes Prayer, Scripture, and experience to align us to His Will.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect,
the prosperity gospel is pagan...

...Mark Driscoll, in his sermon called, Pray Like Jesus: The Gethsemane Prayer, explains (and I paraphrase) that "so much of what we hear today is a brand of theology that will not be strong enough for us when we need it the most."

Christianity is a belief in a person (Jesus Christ)...it is not a coping mechanism or some magic trick for material wealth and prosperous gain...it is a relationship based on a theology that will be everything for us when we need it the most...Driscoll goes on to say, "being a follower of Jesus Christ may not get us around the obstacles of life, but it will get us through the obstacles of life."

At the end of the sermon, Driscoll outlines and speaks briefly on eleven questions about prayer... questions that challenge us to see if our prayer life is in line with God's plan...Below, I have included the eleven questions...but along with those questions, I highly encourage you to either watch Driscoll's sermon or listen to it on the Mars Hill App or via podcast.

01. Do you pray to get from God or to get God?
02. Do you pray to move God or for God to move you?
03. Do you pray to get around pain or through pain?
04. Do you courageously punctuate your prayers with "Your - Will - Be - Done...?"
• We do present our requests to God, but we should always end with, "Your Will Be Done..."
05. Do you pray out of Holy or unholy depression?
• Holy despair/depression = due to sin and its effects
• unholy despair/depression = not getting our way
06. Do you pray in faith knowing that God is not the author of sin, but is the author over sin?
07. Do you ask your friends to pray for you even if you know they will fail to do so?
08. Do you pray to both hear and accept God's will for your life?
09. Do you accept that God will answer your prayers with a "yes, no, or later?"
10. Do you know that knowing God's Will is far easier than walking in it? (Hebrews 5.7-8)
11. Do you know a godly wife who lived like Jesus Prayed? (1 Corinthians 11.3)
• You have to listen to his explanation to understand this question...

"God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. It's who you become."
~ John Ortberg ~

Evil via Subtraction, God via Sanctification

I was listening to John MacArthur this morning, in his sermon about The Origin of Evil, and he said something that really grips what evil is and how it exists...MacArthur states,

"Evil is not the presence of something, evil is the absence of righteousness."

Very interesting...evil is a negative...it results due to a subtraction. MacArthur goes on to say, "God created absolute perfection. Wherever a lack of that exists, sin exists. And that cannot exist in the nature of God or in anything that God makes.

This confirms what my Preacher Bro informed me of the other day...we need a Jesus Culture...A Culture of Christ...if we object to that, it is probably because our idol is standing in the way...you see, if our culture, our lives, our homes, our families, our computers, our iPhones, our video games, our social outings, our thoughts, our actions, our words, etc, were saturated in Jesus, in Prayer, in Praise, then evil would have no place. But what do we do...we push God out of every area of our lives and then we wonder why people are addicted, lost, and messed up.

Joshua 3.5 gives us a great look at ridding ourselves of evil, becoming Sanctified so that God can work miracles into our lives:

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

And then in The New Testament, James 1:21 tells us, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

...sin can not exist in The Presence of God...Fill yourselves with Christ and evil will flee.

The Responsibility of The Revelation

Albert Einstein was once asked what he would do if he had sixty minutes to save the world...I love his response, "I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution."

One of the problems I seek a solution for is the origin of sin. I desperately want to know everything in the realms of origin, purpose, morality, and destiny, but I especially want to know the nature of satan and the origin of sin. The reason is because life does not have to be as hard as we make it out to be, and if we would simply become aware of satan's strategy of deception and doubt, we can get on with God's purpose and plans...

I understand Genesis 3 and the fall of man, but I want to go farther back...satan was created before the creation of man, he was cast out of heaven because he desired to be God. We can read accounts of who he was and how this happened in certain areas of Scripture, and even Jesus stated in Luke 10.18, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." But we don't know exactly why satan was so unsatisfied despite his perfection, and if satisfied, why would he rebel? Why would satan desire to be the king of hell instead of a servant in Heaven? One reason is due to the sin of pride, but I still wonder why satan has this internal pride?

So in my "fifty-five" minute search, God thankfully cuts to the chase and leads me to the "five minute" finding of the solution:

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." ~ Deuteronomy 29:29 ~

...so what it boils down to is this: We have questions and we want answers, but our responsibility relies in God's Revelation. Forget about the secret things...leave those to God...

...God wants us to take care of the business we do know, and trust Him with the business only He knows..."Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD." ~Jeremiah 17.7~

So what do we do? We Trust God and we take initiative to do something with our lives. I like how Erwin McManus puts it:

"We must do something to seize divine moments
as opposed to sitting back and watching life happen."

"We have defined holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to. I am convinced the great tragedy is not the sins we commit, but the life that we fail to live...this requires initiative...

...those who change the world, who make a difference in history, who live life rather than simply watch it, have at least one common characteristic among them:

...they do something."

This is so rich because it points straight to the life of Jesus...look at what Jesus says in John 10:37-38 about the importance of what we do...

"Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (emphasis added).

Let's not focus on what we don't know to interfere with what we do know. Jesus said we will do "greater things" as we follow Him and believe. Plus, doing, as opposed to not doing, not only brings glory to God, but it makes satan cringe...

• satan does not necessarily care if we don't drink alcohol, but he hates it if we feed the hungry
• satan could care less if we don't cuss, but he hates if we Praise God
• satan yawns at the fact that we don't smoke or if we don't lie, etc,
but he hates it when we serve the poor and minister to the lost.
• satan could even care less if we read The Bible just as long as we don't live it...

So let's stop worrying about being perfect and knowing all the answers. Let's stop "defining holiness through what we separate ourselves from rather than what we give ourselves to." Let's stop tucking in our shirts, brushing our hair and putting on an image of being Mr. or Ms. Nice who do not offend...

Let's start doing "greater things" and take responsibility for what God has revealed to us!

For a great read on doing "greater things" and taking responsibility from God's Revelations, take a look at the awesome post,
Does Jesus know you?

Seeking Jesus

Thoughts about seeking Jesus...

> We don't seek Him for His sake...I have heard that we can't search for Jesus because He is not lost...True, Jesus is not lost, but this does not mean that we can't seek after or look for Jesus...it's the frame of reference that defines what it means to seek or search for Christ...we look, not to find Jesus, but instead to find ourselves clothed in Christ.

The way The Scriptures speak of seeking Jesus is for our sake, not His...we are the one's who are lost without Him...

So it's not that Jesus needs us to find Him, it's that He provides what we are looking for...

There are loads of Scripture that speak of our necessity to seek Christ...but here are three great ones for reference:

* Psalm 34:10

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

* Jeremiah 29.13-14

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.

* Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple

Supernatural Explanation

*I find it interesting that when creationists start talking about God's supernatural creation, evolutionists usually counter by saying that everything must be explained by natural science and divine intervention is not science. I find this remark extremely amusing. When we show them that the laws of natural science cannot explain the existence of chirality, evolutionists say that the process happened a long time ago by some unknown method that they cannot explain. Now who's relying on a supernatural explanation? Although they would never call it divine intervention, they certainly are relying on faith and not on scientific facts. Evolution just hopes you don't know chemistry. ~ Charles McCombs, Ph.D ~

Evolution Hopes You Don't Know Chemistry: The Problem with Chirality by Charles McCombs, Ph.D.

Creator, Chance, And Chirality

The Infinite Creator
God is The Infinite Creator. By that I mean that He is the infinite spirit who created the finite being. The word infinite comes from the Latin infinitas or "unboundedness." Finite is defined as having bounds or limits.

Any time you talk with a skeptic or an evolutionary scientist, they resort to the same old question..."Well if God created life, who created God?" To put an end to this irrational and ridiculous question lets look at it like this...All things created, all things finite, and that is to say all things with a purpose, have a creator. God, being The Creator, The infinite spirit, does not need a creator because He is infinite and boundless.

Chance
The difference between infinite and finite leads us to Intelligent Design versus chance. Those who are anti-God say that we exist because of chance...a cosmic accident. What is even worse is when scientist say that the complex human can be created via chance. Scientist who study the laws of the universe and the forces of nature go totally against such knowledge when they believe that chance created us instead of God. Chance, as John MacArthur puts it, is not a force. Chance can not create anything. Chance in essence is nothing. The only thing chance can demonstrate is probability or outcome...for instance, if I flip a quarter there is a 50/50 chance of landing on heads. But it still requires an outside force to create that chance.

Chance Accident
If we are created via chance, that means that humans and all of life are an accident...a random cause floating around with out purpose...do they really believe this insanity, that life has no purpose? Our lives only have purpose if we have been created on purpose, for a purpose, and that comes through the Intelligent Design of God The Father Almighty.

Design Destroys Chance...The Problem With Chirality
Speaking of chance, what would you say the chance would be if I flipped multiple quarters, that every single one of them would land on heads? Not very good. Well the human body is made up of protein & protein is made up of amino acids. Amino Acids come in two forms L and R, known in Organic Chemistry as "Chirality"...(more detail can be read in the awesome article entitled Evolution Hopes You Don't Know Chemistry: The Problem with Chirality)...

...So what would you say the chances are that every single amino acid in the human body is in the L form? Not good? Maybe 50/50 if the mix is L and R?...Well EVERY SINGLE Amino Acid in the human body is in the L form...so much for chance...Every single amino acid in the human body being in the L form screams of Intelligent Design...there is no way that any skeptic or any evolutionary believer can argue this, especially by leaning on their so called "logic" argument...like the author of the aforementioned article says, "Evolution hopes you don't know chemistry."

Understanding
If we want Understanding and how we came into existence, we have to connect to The One who created us, The Carpenter of Creation:

Job 32.8 says, "But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding."

Psalm 111.10 states, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."

The reason people argue about God being the creator is not because their so called theories are correct, it is because they simply do not want God to exist. It's called rationalizing. Humans rationalize because of irrationality. We talk our selves into things. Evolution is an escape, some way to try and avoid the unavoidable.

Evolution Is A Belief, Not a Fact, Not even a Theory
To conclude, here is a nice concise statement from ICR founder Dr. Henry Morris who concluded long ago:

Evolution is, therefore, neither fact, theory, nor hypothesis. It is a belief--and nothing more.⁷

7. Morris, H. 1973. Evolution, Creation, and the Public Schools. Acts & Facts. 2 (3).

The Cross of Christ vs Darwinism's Rubber Ruler

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
~ Hebrews 13.8 ~

An article by The Institute For Creation Research, entitled, Darwin's Rubber Ruler, made me think about our existence and how life began. Followers of Darwin or believers in evolution constantly keep changing their theories, altering their beliefs to "fit" whatever it is that will make their irrational minds sleep better at night.

The main problem I have with these so called "intellectuals" who follow Darwin, evolution, naturalism, or whatever crazy idea it is that they can use to rationalize their irrationality, is that they believe that they are the only ones who 'think' and that it is their thinking that leads to truth, whereas Christians on the other hand do not think because we only rely on faith.

Faith is a key player as followers of Jesus Christ, but God also blessed us with minds to think and He allows our logic to lead us closer to His love. I like how Steve Blakemore, Executive Director of The Institute for Third Millennium Faith puts it:

"Even if the grandeur and scope of our faith transcends the limits of human reason, we still recognize that belief in God is logical. This was certainly the case for the earliest Fathers of the Church, who understood the importance of right reason in the service of our faith. They often speak of our experience of Christ as fides quaestio intellectum — "faith in search of understanding."

See, as Christ Followers, we have a Faith that leads to an understanding. Evolutionist's and skeptics want an understanding that will then lead to faith. The problem is that evolutionist's do have faith, but it's faith in the wrong thing, that thing being chance and random accidents (more on this in the next post).

Evolutionist's and non-believing scientist's want an understanding that is derived from hard facts. They want a measure that proves that something exist. The problem with this is that the very thing they pride themselves on is their major contradiction. They claim precision, validity, reliability, yet when it comes to their beliefs, instead of pulling out a hard standard of measurement, they pull out their flexible rubber ruler that changes based on what they want the outcome to be. Their convictions are their contradictions.

Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The Cross of Christ does not contradict, and it allows the logical mind that God created us with to lead us to the logical reasoning, and the faith, that He is The Creator of all life.