Saturday, December 27, 2008

Let's get this over with

Okay, by now you know that I think it is stupid (and dangerous for Christians) to read novels about vampires and other similar fare. Yet, millions of people are going to do it anyway. They can think that my hobbies are stupid and we'll be even.

There is one more argument from the Twilight-o-philes that I want to answer. I confess that this is probably the weakest answer I have for you folks, but I'm gonna stick by it at least for now. The argument is, "If its not okay to read/watch Twilight, Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, etc. then why is it okay to read/watch things like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and so forth?

Great question. Obviously, I think that the "bad" ones offer glimpses of, and connections with, the occult that Christians should avoid. As for the "good" literature, my first thought is that these take place in completely fictitious universes. Narnia and Middle Earth are imaginary places, although they contain symbols, types if you will, of things that are real.

That leads to the second point. Narnia and Lord of the Rings were written by Christians who wanted to teach spiritual truths in creative ways. They are parables or allegories that teach real spiritual truth. They bring us in line with scripture rather than out of line with it.

Works for me. That's all I've got to say about that.

Twilight ad nauseum

I'm bored with this Twilight stuff so I can only imagine how bored you must be if you are reading this. However, I need to finish it because I said I would.

I left off with I Timothy 4:7 which says, "...have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales..." However, we need to understand the context. Paul is teaching Timothy his job as a pastor and there were a lot of false doctrines circulating back then. By false doctrine I mean things that people were teaching as truths which scripture would teach us are not. A current example would be the modern practice of feng shui in which people try to arrange things in their home or workplace in such a way as to funnel the energy of the universe in order to benefit them or help them achieve their goals. People practice and teach this as truth.

So Paul starts the chapter by admonishing Timothy:
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
Later in the chapter he tells Timothy what it is he should teach the church. I will readily admit that most stories about vampires and werewolves are not taught as doctrine; they are stories meant to entertain (although, we must be aware that occult practitioners can use these stories to teach their ways). Therefore, they don't really fall within the realm of the strict interpretation of this passage. On the other hand, anytime one dabbles in the occult whether it be ouija boards, seances, horoscopes or whatever, one opens oneself up to the enemy. For that reason, for my own life, I take I Timothy 4:7 at face value and avoid all that stuff including vampire type literature, even for entertainment.

Should all mature adult Christians think the same way? Maybe, maybe not, as Jimmy pointed out in the comments. I surely would urge you not to let your children and teens use this kind of entertainment. Most of them are still working out their world views and still immature in their faith. Reading stuff like that has great potential to harm their relationship with Christ by distorting their views of spiritual reality and opening them up to oppression from demonic forces.

Let me give you a sort of challenge to close this post and then I will just have one post to go to finish out this topic. Someday we will all stand before Christ and our works will be judged (see I Corinthians 3:12-15). This is not where our sins will be judged, they were judged on Calvary and removed when we were born again. This is where God piles up all the time we spent playing Freecell, watching football, reading Twilight, playing golf, hunting, fishing, shopping for frivilous wants, watching worthless TV & movies, worshipping, serving, praying, witnessing, etc., etc., etc. and shoots it with his celestial flamethrower.

In a moment the only things left will be what we did for him. So, what do you want left in your pile? My challenge is, for every hour that you spend reading Twilight (or something similar) this week, spend an hour in prayer, Bible study, worship, or some similar activity. Do that for a couple of weeks and see if that affects your attitude about vampire stories. I'm not making an assertion that it will or will not; I'm just saying give it a try.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A Shepherd's Prayer

We'll return to the Twilight ideas later. For now I want to share this song from Evie. You can hear it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsulPG6dWeM . It is a great reminder of what our goal should be for Christmas and all year. I love her voice too. I first heard this song on the way home from the deer lease about four or five years ago. I always find it touching and helfpul for getting refocused. Hope you enjoy it.

Friday, December 12, 2008

More on the "Twilight" issue

The last post ended with the question, can vampire stories, even when clearly identified as fictitious be harmless entertainment for the Christian? First, it would probably be helpful for Christians to ask themselves a few questions about entertainment in general. When we consider how to spend our discretionary time, energy, and money we need to be sure that our choices will be pleasing to God. So here are a few thoughts that, in my opinion, Christians ought to apply to their recreational choices. Am I wasting God's time right now, is there some Kingdom activityI should be doing, or is this okay for now? Will this activity honor God? Will this activity help me become more Christ-like? Will this activity be a positive witness for Christ to the lost world? Will this activity be a stumbling block to any of my weaker brothers and sisters in Christ? Of course there is also the notion that Wachsman Family brought up in her comment on the last post, i.e., would Jesus participate in this with me?

Assuming you agree that Christians should scrutinize their recreation as outlined above we can now apply those ideas to Twilight (if you already disagree then we're kind of stuck). We have established that the whole vampire thing is demonic in origin so does using them for entertainment honor God?

Does it make us more Christ-like? One argument I have heard from the pro-Twilight side is that Edward exhibits many Christian virtues and so we can learn from him how to live the Christian life. Well, why would we not just learn it from Jesus? Why would we want to learn it from a counterfeit. You know the Bible says that the devil masquerades as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14). Does that mean we should look to him as our example?

Does reading Twilight improve our witness for Christ? Is reading Twilight a stumbling block for weaker saints?

I'm running out of time so I'll leave these questions up to you. Let me just close with I Timothy 4:7 which says, "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly." and which I'll explain a little more next time.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Should we or shouldn't we?

So, I've sort of gotten myself into this debate--imagine that, moi in a debate--and I'm going to use this forum to discuss it. I need to let you know a few things up front. First, I tried to keep my mouth shut about it (I know, it is hard for me to believe too) because this general idea about what is acceptable entertainment for Christians has been beaten to death in cyberspace and other media, but I've heard enough falsehood that I feel the need to respond. Secondly, I'm addressing these thoughts to Christians. Third, its going to take more than one post to explain my position. Fourth, I realize that in some ways parts of this discussion involve gray areas; those things for which we might exercise Christian liberty. I don't want to break fellowship with those of you who disagree with me on this. I don't want us to look down on each other because of our differences.

So, what the poooh am I talking about? Well several of the females in my life have become big fans of the Twilight books. Someone in that population actually questioned whether it was a good thing for Christians to be reading a book about vampires. Naturally, the rest of them are trying to legitimize the books and their infatuation with them. Rather than argue with all of them about it, I've decided to just write my thoughts here and be done with it.

Right off the bat let's establish that the person who said this is not part of the occult is wrong. According to Merriam Webster Online occult is defined as: " matters regarded as involving the action or influence of supernatural or supernormal powers or some secret knowledge of them —used with the ". Clearly, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, witches, fortune tellers, horoscopes, etc. all fall within the realm of the occult.

So, how should we think about such issues? We should go to God and his word for guidance. Deuteronomy 18:10-13 says, "10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God." In this text God is preparing the Israelites to enter the promised land and is giving them a lot of rules and principles to live by. The tribes that would become the Israelites new neighbors were completely pagan and God knew that if his children picked up any of the pagan practices that it would be to their own detriment. He was trying to keep his children pure for their own good and for the good of his larger plan in the world.

Admittedly, vampires are not specifically in that list. However, the vampire legends and occult practices are in the same vein as these things; especially, the idea of consulting the dead. I know people don't consult vampires, but they fall into that idea that if the dead are interacting with the living it must be a demonic deception.

These kinds of things are condemned in the New Testament as well. Revelation 21:8 says, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Many of the things listed in this passage are still practiced today in occult circles. They are essentially ways of investigating the supernatural world or trying to use the supernatural to manipulate the natural. They are all void of God. The only sources available to us regarding the supernatural are God and his angels and Satan and his angels. Since the practices listed here are an abomination to God we must conclude they come from Satan.

The first argument I heard from the Twilight-ophiles was that vampires are not real so this literature cannot be condemned along with the things these verses are condemning. I will admit that is a pretty good argument. Personally, though I don't feel like it works.

First, there might be a sense in which vampires are real. Historians think that the vampire legends got started when people observed corpses that had not decomposed as much as expected. The superstitious people explained this by coming up with ideas about soul-less bodies who had somehow come back to life to torment the living. That may be how the myths came about. But what if there were other cases of demon possession that caused people to behave in ways that we would associate now with "vampire" behavior. After all, Satan is in the business of counterfeiting God. It would be like him to want humans to think he could cause a body to be alive.

Also, we know that there are occult practitioners who have taken the vampire legends and tried to animate them. There are folks who sort of adopt the vampire lifestyle so to speak as part of their spiritual lives. I guarantee you these people are not worshipping God. And as you can see from the verses above, God is not pleased when we substitute other spiritual entities for him because he knows that it will end in our destruction.

So I think that even though vampires are probably not real, the idea of vampires is real. There are people who place vampires above God. In general vampires are representative of evil, they are antithetical to Jesus in most vampire mythology, they represent a demonic rip off of true life and the true God. They are not something to glorify. But can they simply be harmless entertainment? I'll continue rambling about that another day.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Little Help Here, Please

The older I get the less I like cold weather. However, there are some things about the cold that are fun. One of my favorites is making a fire and letting the boys roast and eat marshmallows. The relish with which they eat a toasty marshmallow is a lot of fun to witness.

Now, here's where I need your help. Its always fun to sacrifice a marshmallow just to watch it burn up. Have you ever noticed that it flames up and burns quickly for a few seconds and then there is a little bit of it that stays on the coat hanger and burns for like an hour or something? Why is that?

My hypothesis is that there is a lot of air whipped into those things and the oxygen makes for quick combustion. Once the oxygen is gone you are left with just sugar or starch that takes longer to burn. That's what I think but I really don't know. So if any of you out there understand this phenomenon I'd really like to get your answer. Thanks!

BTW, yes I do have better things to do with my time than wonder about incinerating marshmallows, but being an underachiever I really don't care.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What do you think?

I'd really like to hear y'all's ideas on this. Is medical care a right and privelege that should be available to all? If so, does that include all levels of medical care, primary care, trauma care, advanced life support, advanced therapies, rehabilitation, etc.? Or, is medical care a service that should be availabel based on the laws of economics like many other services?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The good the bad and the ugly

Ugly first: The KKK. Nightline had a report last night on the KKK in America and those people are definitely one of the uglier faces of humanity. How peculiar that humanists/materialists can look at people such as the Klan and still honestly believe that there is no such thing as evil, no such thing as sin, and that people are basically good. How peculiar that anyone could look at the clan and still believe in evolution. I mean, if after 5 billion years of evolution the most advanced species is still producing the likes of the Klan... Can you say "fairy tale"?

One point the report made is that the traditional clan was exclusively "Christian" while the new clan cooperates with atheists, neo-nazies, skinheads, etc. Let's be really clear--no true Christian, no follower of Christ, should be a Klan member. The word of God says that "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." I John 4:20-21.

It might be concievable for a genuine Christian to fall into that kind of sin for a while. But they would be living in direct disobedience to God. They would be under constant conviction from the Holy Spirit. They would be detrimental to the Kingdom of God. I think its much more likely that Klan members who claim to be Christian have never really had an experience with Jesus.

The bad: the more subtle and more common forms of racism. If people voted for a white candidate solely because he was white that would be wrong and the media would condemn it. It was every bit as wrong for people to vote for Obama just because he is black. The nation will not get past racism and heal from its devastation until we admit that prejudice by minorities against whites is as real and as wrong as it is by whites against minorities.

The good: Political talk radio. No seriously, listen to this. Last night Kris was working, so while the boys were doing homework and getting ready for bed I had to go to Wal*mart to get some things for the teacher appreciation luncheon at the school today. On the way I was listening to Hugh Hewitt interview Michael Medved. Apparently, Medved has a new book coming out today which I'm sure is interesting, but he said something really cool; at least I thought it was. He said that America is not sunk yet and he started talking about Great Awakenings and religious revivals. He said we have had them before and it is time for another one.

Don't you think that is cool? Here are some guys who have right wing, political talk radio shows on secular stations and they are talking about America needing a touch from God! I find that very encouraging. Not that it should be (or ever was) mutually exclusive for people who want God to move in America to be involved in the political process, but its great that they recognize the need our country has for God and they are broadcasting that nationwide. I just hope they understand our role in that process and they can broadcast that too (see II Chronicles 7:14).

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A prediction

We're off to family Thanksgiving in Mexia. Which is great, but all the TVs are gone since we emptied the house. Not a good day from a football perspective to be sans TV.

Anyway, Tech seems to be peaking, but I want to go on record as predicting Oklahoma to beat the poooh out of them. I think OU is better overall and I don't think Tech can play at such an emotional level 3 weeks in a row.

Soooo... Boomer Sooner, Hook 'em!, and Sic 'em. (Having a chance to beat the aggies is so cool.)

Later that day... O, btw, yes I am ignorant. I thought OU and Tech played today but they don't. I still think OU will win and I did get turkey and dressing today and Baylor did beat the aggies. So, I'm ignorant but happy.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

good quote

For all you youth leader types out there (ministers, SS teachers, small group leaders, etc.), here's a great quote, that is actually a great idea, that can actually become a great ministry paradigm. It is from JD Tomlin who works for Student Life in an article about the future of youth ministry.

"Youth leaders must ask, 'What will bring glory to God?' rather than 'What will bring students to our church?'"

Isn't that good? Of course the rub is in why does it have to be "rather than"? Why can't it be what will bring glory to God and bring students in? I suppose if it brings glory to God then the elect will be drawn to it. What do you think?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I actually read an entire book

Warning: Long Post Ahead.

In one bite I can pretty much tell whether or not I like a new casserole. That bite is obviously not the whole casserole and it may not have all the casserole ingredients in it. However, it is usually enough to know whether or not the casserole is good. Hold that thought and we'll be back to the casserole analogy in a bit.

I am a very slow reader. Therefore, I seldom tackle a whole book. I read a couple of blogs, I read articles and essays, I read the Bible a few verses or chapters at a time. But I rarely try to read a book. It is even more rare that I finish a book.

So it is that my knowledge of the emergent church movement is like taking one bite of a casserole. I've only read a minuscule bit of its literature and only interacted with a few of its proponents. That was all it took for me to gag. However, even though I don't like it I've tried not to offer criticism of the "conversation" since I don't have a big picture understanding of it. Since I do not have the desire or the time to read enough to get that kind of understanding I have tried not to say much about the movement (or whatever it is). Several weeks ago, however, I saw a review for this book:





Sorry for the terrible picture. The book is Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), co-authored by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. DeYoung is a pastor and Kluck is a writer. The review really piqued my interest and I wanted to read the book, but I'm not in a position right now to spend any non-budgeted funds (either at home or work). Then, thankfully, about four weeks ago I got a card from Mardell's offering free copies of the book to local ministers. How cool is that? God is so good.

I managed to read the whole thing in just a couple of weeks and I enjoyed it immensely. I was impressed by the authors' humor, their research, their theology, and their style. These guys really did their homework. They literally read multiple thousands of pages of material as well as attended conferences, worship services, and did personal interviews to prepare themselves for this book.

DeYoung and Kluck alternate chapters. Along the way they explain various emergent ideas and then compare those ideas to traditional, orthodox, biblical Christianity. Often they also compare emergent culture to the larger culture. They admit that not every emergent notion is bad. In fact I think their overall treatment is quite fair.

Now that I have heard what these well informed guys have to say I feel much better about gagging on the emergent church. In fact, I can see how it would be possible, should the influence of certain emergent proponents continue to grow, for this group's belief system to become so unbiblical that it eventually fits into a category of religions like Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses. These groups want you to think they are included in biblical Christianity, but they do not qualify.

Therefore, this is an important book and I heartily recommend Why We're Not Emergent to most of you. If you have already aligned yourself with the emergent church (or the emerging church if you are someone who makes a distinction between those terms) then don't read this book. The logic will be lost on you and as Kluck admits, "Those who aren't inclined to the emergent/emerging thing will probably support most of what we've written, and those who call themselves emergent will find a million reasons to find fault with it. The idea that people read much of anything and have their minds changed by it is less and less realistic to me. People usually just dig in."

Then who should read this book? If you're an orthodox Christian whose heard of the emergent church and want to begin learning about it this would be a great place to start. If you are interested in theology in general you might like this book. If you know someone who has had their feelings hurt by a Christian and you have concluded that the western church is a monster that needs to be deconstructed you should read this book. If you think evangelism is more about what we do than it is the message of the gospel you should read this book. If you believe that post modernism is so widespread that it has grossly changed the way the average person thinks and functions in the real world, then you probably should read this book (and this article). If you are not sure what you believe about Jesus, then you should definitely read this book, and keep a Bible close by.

So, thumbs up to DeYoung and Kluck. If any of you would like to read the book I'll be glad to loan it to you.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My Fellow Texans

Secession anyone? I'm thinking Dixie would go with us again, and this time we might get the heartland as well. We could make W the president of our new republic...

Okay, on to more realistic thoughts. Read what Dr. Corduan said about the election. He is taking it much better than I. He's pretty mature in Christ.

The rich and famous, the humanists, the liberals, and the president elect want you to believe that America's biggest problems are "two wars", a "planet in peril", and "the economy". O, my friends don't believe the lies. War is terrible but these wars have to be won, not abandoned. The planet is not in peril. The planet has been through a lot and it will be okay. The economy has been bad before and it will get better. Even if it gets worse first and even if it takes a long time, we are still wealthy compared to most of the people in history and in the world today.

No, those are not America's biggest problems. The problems we face are the culture of death, the erosion of the traditional family, greed, the abandonment of traditional Judeo-Christian values, and so forth. These are not post modern issues. These are post Christian issues.

I suppose one comforting thought is that whenever the church is persecuted she grows. But still, I'm not exactly excited about some possibilities of the next four years. Obama said "change is coming". I don't doubt that. I'm afraid, though, that the changes will be for the worse in the lives of those who vote red. Before its all over I have a feeling even the blue voters will realize the changes Obama wants will not be good for America.

Ok, got that off my chest. I'm sure I"ll cheer up in a bit.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

An Historic Election

America is a special place; a place that I love. I have lived here most of my life. However, I am an American citizen by choice. I was not born here. I'm incredibly thankful to be an American and I love the USA. But we have done wrong.

We have decided that it is okay to kill babies. We have decided to call things normal and good that God considers sinful. Other sins we have called diseases. We have decided that humans are not created by God in his image but that we are accidents of the universe, no better than animals. Therefore, we have decided that it is good to teach our children to act like animals. In the same vein we have decided that it is okay to kill someone if it will relieve their suffering. God says to trust him with our suffering.

In the choices we have made as a nation we have devalued human life, we have exalted sin, and we have denied God.

The Bible says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20.

Now, if all the polls are correct, we are about to elect a president who has no problem with killing babies. We are about to elect a president who wants to take away the wealth we have earned and give it to people with less. We are about to elect a president with ties to known terrorists and with sympathies to anti-American nations. We are about to elect a president with an obvious socialist agenda. We are about to elect a president who will not even honor our own flag. How sick is that?

So, what do we get if Obama wins? We get what we deserve!

What do we get if the polls are wrong and McCain wins? I'm not crazy about McCain as president, but compared to Obama I would have to say that a McCain win would be America getting grace, again.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Rerun

At the risk of being redundant and repetitive, let me just restate what I said last year at this time.

This is the eve of a very important national holiday here in Texas. Tomorrow is the opening day of the general whitetail deer hunting season! If you are not a hunter you just can't grasp the excitement and anticipation building in the hearts and minds of those going to the deer woods this weekend.

Here's to all of you who are headed out for a sporting, ethical, legal hunt. May the good Lord bless you with a safe trip. May the beauty and wonder of nature declare to you His glory! May the new season dawn brisk and wondrous. May the game always be upwind. May the snakes and ticks avoid you. May the fellowship in camp be sweet. May you see the antlered one. May your drag be short. May your trip be a success whether you kill anything or not.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Couple Thoughts on Capitalism

A lot of people do some of their best thinking in the shower. Can I get an 'Amen'? So this morning in the shower I was thinking about capitalism. Yes, we've seen some pitfalls in these days. But for crying out loud it is still way better than socialism. I am appalled by people I have heard in the last couple of weeks advocating the abandonment of capitalism. Even more appalled that half the nation wants to elect a president who is going to lead us into socialism. It is disgusting what Obama want to do to America.

God reminded me, however, that even if He uses Barack Hussein to wipe America off the map, Christians still have hope. Listen brothers and sisters, if America is ruined it does not effect your true citizenship at all. You are citizens of a Kingdom that will never end. You are citizens of a Kingdom of total and perfect peace, a Kingdom with no suffering, a Kingdom where we know Jesus even as we are fully known, a Kingdom where we worship a living, loving God in total purity, a Kingdom with no fears, no tears, and no good byes. So vote McCain, but if he doesn't win, relax; God is in control.

My next thought about capitalism is on the lighter side. There is one capitalist practice that is really annoying--selling up. You know, like when you order your Chik Fila sandwich and the clerk says, "Would you like fries with that?". Uhhh, no, if I wanted fries I would have ordered them. Or when you take your car to the shop for a $75 repair and they call you and say, "We fixed your car but we noticed when we test drove it that your engine has an even bigger problem. Not to worry, we can take care of it for a mere seven thousand dollars." I hate that crap.

Can you imagine if the clergy did business that way. So this guy goes to his pastor for counseling because he's addicted to pornography. After a couple of sessions the pastor is like, "Well you're making progress on this addiction but I've noticed something else. Your soteriology is really bad due to your poor hermeneutics of the Johannine literature. Not to worry, if you'll just bump your tithe up about $50 a month I can get you straightened out. Or while a minister is doing a wedding, right before he pronounces the couple he leans over to the bride and says, "Ya know for an extra twenty I can give the people directions to the reception." Imagine the pastor making a hospital visit and stands up to leave, "Well, Joe, would you like me to pray for you before I go, it's only $5 today, I'm running a special." Or when your pastor is talking to you about baptism and he says, "Would you like the water warm today? We start at fifty degrees and you can buy up in ten degree increments for just $5 each."

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Bullfrogs and Butterflies

Anybody remember Barry McGuire? He was one of the earliest artists in what we now know as the contemporary Christian music industry. The only two of his songs that I can remember for sure off the top of my head are Cosmic Cowboy and Bullfrogs and Butterflies. I confess to really liking both of them. What's the cool thing about bullfrogs and butterflies? They've both been born again. I love it.

I hate frogs. I love butterflies though. Those of you who live in Central Texas, have you noticed lately how many monarch butterflies are in the air? I passed three or four of them in a half mile stretch of road Sunday afternoon. Pay attention as you are driving around and you will see them flittering by, especially on days as beautiful as today.

Question: Do you know why your are seeing so many of them this month?

More important question: Have you been born again?

Friday, October 10, 2008

Another question

I was browsing some articles about the campaigns and it reminded me of another question I've had for a while. Who does the politicians' jobs when they are out campaigning? You know, McCain, Biden, & Obama are all senators, Palin is a governor, and they just left their jobs to campaign for the past year. Who's running Alaska? Who's handling senatorial duties in Illinois?

And if their jobs are so easy that they can be left undone or left to subordinates for months on end, it seems to me that they are grossly over compensated for what they do. Don't you think?

No comprendo

I know enough to know that I don't know much. But when it comes to politics and economics I am really stupid. So I have a couple of questions and I'm hoping that some of you who understand these things can explain it to me.

We're in a financial crisis that has become global in scope. I've heard several different reasons for its cause. They seem to boil down to greed in futures trading, greed in the housing market, and stupidity on the part of the government. My question is basically, if the government is largely responsible for this crisis why do we think it is capable of getting us out of this crisis? They weren't diligent enough or altruistic enough or smart enough or something to prevent the crisis. What makes us think they are going to do a better job of solving it?

Secondly, the government keeps promising money; 700 billion for a bailout, raise the FDIC cap, give tax rebates, give tax credits, give health insurance to everyone, buy up all the bad mortgages, blah, blah, blah. I want to know how they can make these promises? Where are they getting this money? They can't balance their own budget. They owe foreign governments tons of money. How can they promise all this and not tax somebody a whole lot more? They would have to slash the federal operating budget by closing thousands of offices and eliminating thousands of jobs. You know that won't happen. So where is the money gonna come from?

Can you help me?

Monday, October 6, 2008

Kids

Question: What do a tattoo pen, a harmonica, a tube of chap stick, and a pair of binoculars have in common?

Answer: These are what Jeremiah takes in his pockets and around his neck to a major college football game. Of course he never even looks towards the field. He writes on himself, writes on the harmonica, smears chap stick on everything, dances, sings, looks through the binoculars, "plays" the harmonica, etc. But he never, never looks at the field or the players, except when he wants to say that he hopes they both lose because he doesn't like either team.

So I ask him, Jeremiah, why do you come to football games if you don't want to watch the game? And of course his answer is that "feetball is my favorite sport." One would never know it.

Baylor football is always frustrating, but Saturday's game was very much so. We had a chance to watch the #1 team in the nation play. I was not even hoping for a Baylor upset; I just wanted them to do well. I was looking forward to a relaxing couple hours and seeing OU play in person. Didn't happen that way at all.

It was already the second quarter when we got to the game and OU was already up 28-0. I tried to watch the game but it was really hot, Jeremiah was hot, he wouldn't sit still, he wouldn't watch the game. Baylor was terrible. Then, with about four minutes left in the half, JT's nose started bleeding.

So, we got it stopped, went down the restroom and cleaned up, and made the long trek back to the truck. We salvaged the day by getting donuts at Wal*mart on the way home. It was a frustrating outing. But it was fun too. I mean you gotta love a kid who gets a major kick out of being able to stop and use the port-a-potty and who can have a great time playing with his little toys and dancing around in the middle of 30 thousand people with absolutely no worry what anyone else is doing or thinking.

Another bright side was that when the nosebleed started some very polite teenagers who were sitting behind us handed me a wad of kleenex to do first aid with. One of them even brought me some extra napkins when he went down to get some half time refreshments. Nice kids. Teenagers really can be good people.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Good stuff

A little while ago the sun came up and the 2008 archery deer season began in most Texas counties. This begins year number three sans hunting in my world. I miss it, but I'm not unhappy. I have plenty to do without it. Besides, its too hot to be out there right now.

Actually life is really good. I turned 45 last week and got to see all my family. I also got a new watch, a new shirt, gift cards for new shoes, a ton of chocolate, two new tires, a new rake, and a repair job for the TV in the living room. Lots of good stuff which we are really enjoying.

The best thing of late though, happened last Sunday. I got to baptize Jonathan. I just can't explain how cool that was.

Thank you Jesus.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

What do you think?

Argghhhh! Kris and her mom spent three straight weekends (including a holiday and several hours of help from me) packing up the house in Mexia. It was a huge job. The garage sale did not go well because the newspaper only ran the ad one day instead of three. Had there been more time we would of had another garage sale and we would have tried to sell some things that they ended up just giving away. They worked doubly hard to empty the house this weekend so they could close Friday. In fact, when they got home Sunday night they both looked like they were about to pass out. After all that, the realtor called yesterday and said the buyers had moved the closing from Sep. 19th to Oct. 3rd. Go figure.

Now, what do you think? When there has been miscommunication and misunderstanding in a relationship, at what point does it become the best thing to bury it? How long do you keep talking and trying to find resolution? What has to happen to make it preferable to just quit?

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Ike leaves his mark

The past week seemed really long for some reason. And then, it was topped off by Ike, the category two hurricane. Ike roared through Texas Friday night and today. It did a good bit of damage and I've heard of at least three deaths related to Ike. My parents and sister live in Houston and spent a sleepless night listening to Ike roar through. They lost electricity and water Friday night. However, there was no damage to their house and the power and water were restored in about 23 hours. Thank you Jesus.

Please pray for the millions of other people who are still without power and/or water and of course for those who lost loved ones and those who lost property.

Meanwhile back at the ranch... Ike stayed farther east then initially predicted. We had very little wind and rain. Honestly, I needed a lot more rain to help my yard out. Now I'm going to have to water this week :-( .

Jeremiah and I went to the first half of the Baylor game last night. Jeremiah is not a sports fan...oi. On the positive side Baylor won and we got to visit with Aaron B. and Paul M., two old Baylor Camp friends. I had not seen either of them in years and it was such a delight to catch up a little. That was another little blessing of the weekend.

Finally, Kris and her mom are back in Mexia packing up the big house. Its ridiculous how many man hours have gone into that task. I think I have to make one more trip over to get the remaining few heavy, bulky items. Hopefully, the closing will proceed on Friday and it will all be over.

Alrighty then, I'm really sleepy. More later...

Thursday, September 4, 2008

What do you think?

When Jesus ascended to heaven, two angels told the disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." See Acts 1:11.

In Acts 7 Deacon Stephen saw heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This seems to have been a brief glimpse from one realm into another. Later, on the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to Saul as a light and spoke audibly to him. See Acts 9. Finally, the apostle John also saw the glorified Christ, but by his own admission he was "in the spirit", Revelation 1:10. In other words he was praying and had some type of spiritual vision or out of body experience. And in that experience Jesus appeared to him in several different forms.

Other scriptures talk about seeing Jesus again. Matthew 24:27 says, "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." I Thessalonians 4:13-18 says that when Jesus comes back all the dead Christians' bodies will rise.

Now here's the what do you think part. Do you think that it is possible for Jesus-in bodily form-to visit people here on earth in these days? Would such an occurence contradict scripture? And for those of you who want to think even deeper, if you accept that Jesus can, in fact, visit people bodily-does that lend credence to the preterist view of prophecy?

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

And so it begins...

Not the beginning of fall, but the beginning of the end of summer. Its still hotter than blazes outside but there are some tell tale signs that summer is winding down. First, football season started. Baylor got stomped in their opener. No surprise but still disappointing. Fortunately UT started off with a big win. Second, I had John Denver songs stuck in my head while I was mowing the yard Friday. Third, I awoke Monday morning to the sound of shotguns in the fields down the street--the opening of dove season! Yay for September and the changes in the air.

On the homefront, Nana finally got a contract on her house, thank God. So, she and Kris spent four bittersweet days packing it up--and that's just the little stuff and the kitchen is still full. Yikes. They are really tuckered.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Out of the mouths of babes

This morning I saw a great bumper sticker. It said, "Stop Gobal WHINING". Isn't that classic? It reminded me of this video sent to me by my fellow former Baylor Camp counselor, Ford B. It is called "Democrats on an Escalator."



Speaking of Baylor Camp. One day I was walking a young camper from the dorms to the buses and talking about what little kids talk about. At one point he said, "When I grow up I'm either gonna be a doctor or a lawyer or a camp counselor." Of course it made me laugh. And later I told my parents and they laughed. However looking back 20 years later I think he had it right. Camp counselors and others in that genre are pretty important--especially in the context of the Christian life.

When I reflect on my adult life--outside my family--I probably feel better about the time I spent as a camp counselor than anything else I've done. Well, maybe helping with Special Olympics is up there too. I don't know if its because those things were just extra fun or if they honestly made a Kingdom difference. Whatever it was they were really good.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Standard of living?

Once again, time has flown. Here's a little summary of what has been going on around here. Three weekends ago we celebrated Granny's 93rd birthday. Its always fun to be with everyone.

I watched as much of the Olympics as I could. Extremely entertaining! I really enjoyed them.

Kris has had three weeks of the medicine I mentioned in my last post and she has tolerated it fairly well. It caused some tough days but she has handled it like a trooper. Hopefully it will start making her feel better soon.

My parents celebrated their 46th anniversary last week.

The boys started back to school today. I don't know if Jeremiah is ready for Kindergarten, but I'm pretty sure that Kindergarten is not ready for him. Although, we are very pleased that he is going to be in Mrs. H's class. Both boys reported having a good day.

Now for my latest random thoughts. As everyone knows our economy is really struggling now. The causes are more complex than I can grasp, but I suppose it was inevitable that the developing world would start catching up to us and compete with us for resources. That surely has a lot to do with some of our current troubles. One thing I have heard people, including Christian leaders, say is that we need the government to do things that will allow us to maintain our American standard of living. And that individuals and business should work to maintain the American standard of living.

Really? Standard of living? I surely do enjoy our standard of living. But, what makes us think that it is a right instead of a privilege? And what makes us think we are more derserving of being well off than any other nation. God certainly never promised that we should be wealthy. And Americans are wealthy. Even many Americans who live below our official poverty level have a lot compared to many people in developing nations. He only promised to meet our daily
needs (Matthew 6:25-34). Plus, I believe He expects his people with means to share with people who have needs (see Luke 3:10-11for example).

Maybe we Chistians should spend less time and energy trying to sustain our standard of living (possessions, diet, recreational indulgences, etc.) and more time and energy and resources trying to raise the standard of living of others?

"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done." Proverbs 19:17

Monday, August 4, 2008

Medicine and Machine Guns

Its been an interesting few days for us. Kris went to the doctor Friday and finally fessed up as to how serious her health problems are. The doctor prescribed a very powerful drug for her arthritis. The good news is that if it doesn't kill her it should make her feel a lot better. We are looking forward to that. And we are sooo thankful to God that this is not an expensive medicine. The bad news is that it will (and is) make her feel worse before it makes her feel better. So she is having a rough few days physically.

Last April I told you about a visit from an old friend. Well Charles stopped by again this weekend. It was great to see him. I know he is a busy man with a very important job, but he took the time to hang out with us and he even arranged for the boys to get to see some way cool stuff at the Marine facility here in town.

I must say that all the marines there were very friendly and went out of their way to make a couple of little boys day something they will never forget. I mean, what little boy would not like to play with a machine gun?




















Seriously, if Lt. Col. Sides and his marines typify the folks protecting our nation then we are in fantastic hands. Thanks to all you who are serving. And thanks to the marines here in Waco who made two little blond boys way happy. And to be honest, their dad got a big kick out of it too, especially the night vision goggles. Thanks!

There are more pictures on Kris's blog.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

What do you think?

This weekend Kris had to go to a PTA leadership training conference. So I took the boys to Houston to see Gran'mom and Gran'dad and Aunt Kerry all three of whom have had a lot of health problems over the past few months. Thankfully, grandchildren seem to be good medicine. I think we all had a really good time. We laughed a lot. I hope the aftershocks of having two busy little boys in the house were worth the fun for Mom, Dad, and Little Sister.

Now for the what do you think question. Consider Genesis 1:28, "
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." I remember hearing a radio show several years ago on which the guests shared his opinion that we have pretty much completed the command to "fill the earth". He was advocating for zero population growth.

Considering the billion people with no access to sanitary water, and the millions of children who die every year from causes related to poor nutrition, and the vastness of our waste stream, and the tons of carbon dioxide we're pumping into the atmosphere, and the number of extinctions we've seen in the past 100 years, I'm inclined to agree with him.

I know it is typical for very conservative Christians to argue for big families. I've even heard some preachers (not mine) imply--just imply mind you, not come right out and say--that people who only had one or two children were less spiritual than those with big families.

Let me be clear, I'm not prepared at this point to say that having a big family is wrong. I'm just saying I think the idea of zero population growth is a good one.

So, what do you think, have we obeyed that command or should we still be trying to fill the earth?

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Camp Update

Ok, we're home from camp. It was a good week. Wanted to let everyone know that despite the very unusual situation with the "preaching" at camp last week God still worked.

Not to be critical of the camp pastor. He worked hard and did a good job, it was just very different than what one expects at youth camp.

Anyway, quite a few teens responded to God by receiving Jesus for salvation. There were also some who rededicated their lives to Christ. A great many others prayed at the altar and got relationships right in within their youth groups. I also know that within our group almost all the teens said they felt that God had worked in their lives during the week.

It was an exciting week from a spiritual standpoint. So, thank you Jesus.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

And now for something completely different...

So I'm at youth camp this week. Those of you who have been to a Baptist youth camp, either as a camper or worker, will totally understand what it is like. It is a lot of fun, but also has a serious side. The goal is for people to really connect with God.

One important part of that is the Camp Pastor. The Camp Pastor is usually a professional "youth communicator" or "youth evangelist". This week, the camp director wanted to try something different, which I admire him for, and he hired a stand up comedian. It is not quite as weird as it sounds. The guy is a media minister at a big church in Colorado Springs, and does stand up comedy too. But I don't think he has a lot of experience preaching at youth camps. His first night was completely a comedy routine. As you can imagine if you are familiar with camp, that really freaked all the leaders out.

Last night he actually used the Bible a little to talk about the Messiahship of Christ. Plus, he gave a personal testimoney so I think folks are feeling a little better. Over all it has been a good camp so far. Our kids are being very good and discussing during church time. I think they are having fun too.

Gotta run, more later, I hope.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Couple things

Here is another interesting article about global warming, http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/ .

Earlier this week I read a great article at Christianity Today by William Lane Craig related to philosophy and the existence of God. Its long but really interesting; I recommend it.

A while back I wrote a little satirical post called "An Emergent Teaches Math". It must have been late at night because it made me laugh at the time. I never really finished it and therefore did not ever publish it. It was not intended to be mean, just a silly little satire to make a point. Some of the things that Craig said in his article seemed to affirm the point I was making and therefore reminded me of the unposted post. So, after you read Craig's article, then just for fun, here is "An Emergent Teaches Math"...

"Good morning fellow travelers. Today I'll be facilitating a conversation about an idea known as the Pythagorean Theorem. I had hoped that we could continue all sharing our stories of how we came to be math students. However, my department head was rather disturbed that no one scored higher than 62% on the last examination.

"Now, now, let's not be judgmental. I tried to tell him that he is just being an old fashioned linear thinker and that he really does not understand how to function in the post-modern world. But for now, he is the boss, so we need to explore this concept.

"The Pythagorean Theorem is a formula that applies to right triangles. A right triangle is a triangle that contains one angle of 90 degrees and two lesser angles that add up to 90 degrees (he displays one on the camera projector). Of course, you might not be comfortable with that. I guess there are a couple of things you might do. You could go down to Starbucks and begin a discourse about what a right triangle ought to be. Or if you don't have that much time, you could just recalibrate your protractor so that you have 90 degrees at any point you are comfortable with.

"The sides of the right triangle that form the 90 degree angle are called legs and the side opposite the 90 degree angle is considered the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse is the longest side. The Pythagorean Theorem gives us a way to find the length of one side if the other two sides are known. Specifically, it says that the sum of the squares of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. We represent it as a2+b2=c2 . Where a and b are the lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse."

The class practices the formula a time or two and then little Johnny has a question. He says, "Mr. Teacher, you said we could recalibrate our protractor to make 90 degrees something we are comfortable with?"

"Yes Johnny."

"So, what if I were, say, I don't know, designing a bridge and I was using triangular shapes to determine various areas under the bridge and then I wanted to use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine the heights of the supports. With me? Good. But if I wasn't comfortable with the constraints of 90 degrees so I changed my protractor to suit me, wouldn't the supports end up being the wrong height? and then the bridge would not connect properly, and there could be a big waste of materials or worse, we could end up with an unstable bridge and people could die?"

"Well Johnny, I suppose that's one scenario. You've obviously only experienced a strictly Euclidean metaphysic. You're being a little arrogant to think that there is only one way of looking at things. You need to open your mind to what others on your journey may be comfortable with...

Monday, July 7, 2008

Quickie

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. I've been meaning to, but tend to fall asleep before I can get on line and write something. So, today I'm cheating and posting at work--so it is going to be really quick.

All two of you who read this know how much I like the Evangelical Outpost . Well, today Joe Carter has really outdone himself. You gotta go check out his list of 33 Things; they're really good. Especially the first one, and I liked the one about English evolving or devolving, and some others too, but I gotta go.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A couple of thoughts related to time

Technically, it is not even summer yet, but today I found myself longing for fall. However, I quickly stopped. You see, I have learned, especially since becoming a parent, not to wish life away. If one is wishing for a future moment to hurry and get here, one tends to miss the blessings of the "now moment".

For example, say one has a child in the diaper stage of life. Changing diapers gets old fast and it is tempting to yearn for that stage to be over with. The problem is that it will go by all too quickly. Once it is gone one can never get it back. To further the illustration, even though I love my boys now, sometimes I miss what it was like when they were babies. Its not that I have regrets from those days, I just want to hold one of them again as a newborn. But I cannot--ever.

Therefore, do not wish too zealously for the future. It will be here soon enough. Enjoy this season.

In Poems and Prayers and Promises, John Denver wrote,
"The days they pass so quickly now,
The nights are seldom long.
Time around me whispers when its cold.
The changes somehow frighten me,
But still I have to smile.
It turns me on to think of growing old."

When I was younger I agreed. I thought that growing old sounded cool. I envisioned myself as successful and wise and enjoying the fruits of a good life. I think I have come to disagree with myself. I see so many people in my life struggling with the problems of "the golden years"; some physical and some otherwise. It is kind of a welcome to reality show.

The Teacher understood this. He wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:
...3 when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; 4 when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; 5 when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags himself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets. 6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, 7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"


Sounds bleak. However, he also knew the solution. He wrote in verse one, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them.'..." We should not long for the future or the past. Neither should we fear the future or the past. We should seize the moment, not in a sense of self gratification or personal fulfillment. Rather, we should seize the moment by "remembering our Creator", that is, living for the glory of God right now, building the Kingdom, right now.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Updates

The mission trip went well. The teenagers did a great job and I think all the campers enjoyed the recreation. Thursday we had a 3% chance of rain, but we beat the odds. I believe that thanks to many prayers we had rain on Thursday. The area is still in a serious drought though, so please keep praying.

It is soooo nice to be back home. I was greeted by squeals of delight from the boys. Of course, five minutes later they were fighting like cats and dogs. But, hey, like the song says, it IS good to be back home again.

A major event happened while I was gone. I am sad that I was not here, but still excited. On Wednesday night at First Baptist, Jonathan made a public profession of faith in Jesus. Many people have prayed for this, even before he was born. So, thank you Jesus. Thanks to all who prayed.

I'm a skeptic by nature, so I am tempted to bug him a lot to find out if he really knows what he is doing. But ya know, Jesus said not to hinder little kids from coming to him. And like I said, many have prayed for this. Therefore, I am trusting that this is real.

He is such a sweet kid. He told our pastor, "Hey, you were there when I was born, and you were there when I was reborn. And maybe you'll be there when I get my new body!" So cute.

So, I've seen a lot of prayers answered this week. Thank you Jesus.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A blog from the road

So I'm in far west Texas on a mission trip of sorts. Specifically, I'm between Alpine and Marfa at Paisano Baptist Encampment. It is remote here and rustic. I suppose there are folks who consider this part of the country to be pretty in a rugged kind of way. Clearly, these are people who have great fondness for the color brown. That's mostly what is here; brown dirt, brown rocks, brown grass, brown trees, etc. What they do not have here is water, brown or otherwise. They are in drought conditions and things are pretty bad.

It really makes me wonder why people settled here in the first place. Water and shade are hard to come by. Farming would be incredibly difficult without modern implements. There is game here but the populations are not dense. Its very hot and dry in the summer and cold in the winter. The wind is tough and it keeps the brown dust in the air so that it coats everything, including the upper respiratory tract. So any kind of life for the first inhabitants-whether agricultural or hunter/gatherer-would have been harsh. Why they would not have moved on to a friendlier environment I have no idea.

Back to the mission trip. I'm here with six teenagers, Alex, Colton, Dustin, Katy, Rachel, & Savannah. We are serving as the recreation team for a Girls Mission Camp. The camp is put on by some of the churches in this sparsley populated area. I think there are four or five churches represented from a radius of over 30 miles. Yet there are only about 45 campers here.
So far the teenagers are doing a great job. My challenge is to try to show them how much better they could be doing if they put more focus and energy into preparation. I have an idea about how to do that. Maybe it will work, but I'm not hodling my breath.

I miss my family soooooo much. Please pray for them while I am gone. Its hard on the boys and because of Kris' arthritis it is really hard on her to have to be the mom and the dad. (My hat's off to you single parents. I don't know how you do it.) Thankfully, Nana is there to help at night. But we know from experience that these weeks are still hard. So any prayers would be appreciated.

TTFN

Friday, May 30, 2008

A lesson from Narnia

First let me say how proud I am of Kris. She has been asked to be a weekly guest blogger on the Scrapping for Inclusion blog, which is affiliated with the Bubel-Aiken Foundation. Yay for Kris!

Now, what to discuss? There is so much going on: social re-engineering in Colorado; the high prices of gasoline, food, and health care are really starting to put the middle class and below in a pinch; my wife is mad at me because she double booked herself; lots of graduations going on this week--makes me nostalgic; the presidential race; movies; etc.

Movies, that reminds me. There was a scene in Prince Caspian that God really used to speak to me. Its early in the movie. The children have started their adventure in Narnia but have yet to meet with Aslan. Lucy, the youngest, dreams of an encounter with him. When she sees Aslan, she runs up to him in great exultation and wraps her arms around him like one would a close loved one that one had not seen in many months.

So, what did God speak to me? He said that I don't long to meet with Jesus like Lucy did to meet with Aslan. I don't joyfully run to him and hug him. Now, before you start to look down on me, examine yourself. Is that how you greet Jesus every morning, or do you ignore him completely until you need his help? Or are you somewhere in between?

Think about it.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Why are we so concerned with why?

Remember when you were a kid and someone asked why and you didn't know and you would say, "Just because."? (O, was that just me?) Well, it might not be such a bad answer.

We Christians like to ask God why when bad things happen. I guess its a natural reaction. However, I don't think knowing the answer would help as much as we'd like to think.

Then, skeptics like to ask why as a challenge to our faith. They like to say things like, "Why would a loving God send people to Hell?" "Why would a God who doesn't need anything make a universe?" "Why would we be required to worship a God who is supposed to be self sufficient?" "If God is real, why doesn't he just show himself to people so they could believe in him?" etc.

If you're ever dealing with someone like that, I think I have a great answer for you. Its short and I suspect that most intellectually oriented skeptics would not find it very satisfying. But I think its right. Its kind of like a kid saying, "just because". The honest answer is--it doesn't matter.

Seriously, first of all, knowing why would not really solve their intellectual problems with God. Secondly, if there is a God (and there is), then by definition he is perfect. Being perfect he gets to do whatever he wants to do. It doesn't matter whether or not we approve or understand. Thirdly, if Isaiah 55:7-8 is true (and it is), then God is so different, so beyond us that we would not understand why he does things even if he told us.

So, why ask why when it probably won't help the situation? I remember my New Testament professor at Baylor, Dr. Hillburn, telling us that our Christian lives would be better spent asking God "what?" and "how?" and then obeying, rather than "why?" Great idea, why not try it?

Monday, May 12, 2008

A little catching up

A belated wish: Happy Birthday Kris! two days late. I love you. We'll have to have another party sans spending all day out in the heat, on your feet.

A prayer request: Please pray for my mother. She has been in the hospital in Houston for 8 days. She is having terrible pain in her right side, down the inside right leg to the knee, where it switches over to the outside of the leg the rest of the way. She has had a bunch of tests and the doctors still do not know what the source of the pain is.

So, yes, we've had better Mother's Day celebrations in our family.

The latest Jeremiah funny: Waiting in line to drop JT off this morning at preschool, I aksed him if he remembered calling me into his room at 3:45 this morning. He said he did and we talked about it for a minute. He was frustrated that I did not stay there after he went back to sleep. So, he tells me that he never really goes to sleep. We argued about that for a minute and he says, "I never really go to sleep. I'm more nocturnal."

I guess you had to be there. Its just funny to hear a five year old use the term nocturnal. He's a trip.

A lesson that: God reminded me of today. I've been pondering Hell lately. I've been thinking that I really don't want anyone to go there. I mean, eternity is a really long time to be punished for 70 or 80 years of rebellion. I've been a little frustrated that God would not find another way to deal with people who reject him (I know in my head that He is only giving them what they want, but it makes my heart sad). I've also, wondered what lengths I would go to, to keep people out of Hell.

So, in the truck this morning with JT, God puts a song on the radio. The main line was something like, "I could never love the world like you do, now that I have a son of my own." Wow, that's good! I mean as much as I don't want people to go to Hell, I wouldn't let them kill either of my boys to set them free. But, God let Jesus die to keep me out of Hell. How much He loves me, and you. How much He loves the whole world, even the ones that reject him. Ya gotta be in awe of that kind of love, that kind of God.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

No one said random thoughts couldn't be stupid

So, this morning, standing in the shower trying to wake up, I'm reading one of the many bottles of feminine beauty & cleaning products that adorn my bathroom. I'm not complaining, because I have to admit, there are not nearly as many of those products as there used to be. Having kids really helped with that. When Kris was pregnant with Jonathan she got to where many, many smells mader her nauseous. So she stopped buying all that crap you get at places like Bath & Body Works, etc. See, God can bring good things out of difficult circumstances. But I digress.

Anyway, you know how often on a sitcom or goofy movie they will get a laugh out of showing a woman in a facial mask? Its usually green and there are often cucumbers involved. It is pretty funny looking. Well, on the back of this particular bottle of cleansing face mask was the statement, "non-comedogenic". Really? Isn't that good to know? Clearly, they've created a facial mask that you can wear and people will not laugh at you. "Non" meaning not, "comedo" as in comedy, laughter, and "genic" from genesis or starting or creating. So wearing this mask will not make people start laughing at you; but it is good for your pores, I suppose.

I'd love to really be able to tell you what comedogenic means, but I couldn't find it at Merriam Webster online. So if anyone knows, please enlighten me.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Worried about your carbon footprint?

"When these activists lobby our denomination and its leaders, we risk a diversion of our attention and resources away from our commissioned purpose toward one based on an uncertain science whose advocates call for actions which inflict suffering on the 'least of these'."

So says John Christy, research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntville, in this week's Baptist Standard . His article is titled "Facing fears & global warming". Its definitely worth reading. As Christians it is important that we teach and preach and apply truth. The agenda of many environmentalists too often plays on fears rather than truth. Information like this can help us teach truth to those whose trust is in the creation rather than the Creator.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Long day

So yesterday I come home from outreach to pick the boys up for AWANA. When I get in the driveway, A, our across the street neighbor, is walking Jeremiah home and they're both holding his right arm. Seems he fell out of the play fort, which is about six or seven feet high. It hasn't been two weeks since he tried to jump of the monkey bars on a school field trip and got hurt pretty badly. His teacher was kind of surprised that nothing was broken. I guess he thought he was invincible.

Anyway, he didn't rebound this time like he usually does. We spent an agonizing couple hours trying to decide whether or not to go to the ER. Finally, we decided to tough it out until morning. It was a really long night. Jonathan is the only one who slept much. Although at some point Kris did find out that the little guy had actually jumped off the fort, not fallen. He wants to be a marine you know.

Kris and Jeremiah were waiting at the doctor's office when they opened at 8:00 this morning. Turns out he broke his radius at the elbow and dislocated his shoulder. He never told us that his shoulder hurt.

Dr. T found an orthopedic guy that could see him at 3:15. Now here's the funny part. She said, "Jeremiah I sure hope you've learned your lesson about jumping off things." And my little genius replied, "Ya, next time I jump off something I'm gonna keep my arm up."

Well, Kris was not too content to spend all day with a 5 year old in extreme pain, plus she didn't want to spend all the gas of driving back and forth. So she took the x-rays and her cell phone and called around until she found a doc that could get them in a little earlier. They went in a did paper work and then went for lunch. When they got back the doctor saw them and splinted the arm which made Jeremiah feel much better. When Kris asked about the shoulder the doctor said that the x-ray did look like it was dislocated but he was feeling it and everything was where it should be.

Turns out Jeremiah said that the last time Kris put him in the carseat he heard his shoulder pop and it felt much better after that. Funny little kid. Apparently the muscles had finally relaxed and he relocated his own shoulder, albeit accidentally. I think he'll make a good marine.

Thankfully there was no damage to the growth plate and he is sleeping peacefully now. Y'all pray for us. We need it. There is never a dull moment around here.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

An Old Friend

What a treat I had Tuesday (CW--not what you're thinking). In 1973 my family moved to Stafford, TX. The first night we were in our new house we met the family across the street. There were three brothers and it so happened that the middle one's birthday was that day. They invited us over to play and shared some birthday cake with us. That began a friendship that still exists. I basically grew up with those guys and have great love and respect for the whole family.

So, back to Tuesday. I got home from a church function and had a message on the answering machine. That middle brother that I mentioned above was in town for a short visit. He is now a lieutenant colonel in the US Marine Corp and one of the units he commands is in Waco. I sort of held him hostage at my house for four hours so we could visit. It was great fun though, to see an old friend. Thanks for stopping by.

Item two for today: Check out this story . Seems that a court is forbidding a football coach in East Brunswick, NJ from kneeling and bowing while his team prays. Makes a lot of sense doesn't it? And I remember more than one of my coaches who actually prayed for us before and/or after games. As far as I know it didn't do any permanent damage to anyone. In my mind it surely didn't constitute the establishment of a state sponsored religion. Wow, our society gets wierder by the day.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A Pet Peeve

I've heard that Christians are not supposed to have pet peeves. I don't know why that is. Maybe I just need to spend more time with God about it because I do have quite a few of them. Here's one for today.

There are a lot of atheists and other skeptics out there. They like to attack Christianity but strangely, many of them don't seem to get too worked up about Judaism, Islam, etc. Anyway, I hesitate to say this because it might come out wrong. But, I have a certain amount of empathy for their skepticism. I mean when they ask good questions I can relate to where they are coming from and feel for them. Of course most of the time they are not really searching for an answer they are just trying to defend their choices. Never the less, I do sort of appreciate their ideas sometimes.

However, there is one skeptic's argument that bugs the hound out of me. You may of heard someone say something like, "I can't believe in a God who would send people to Hell." This is an expression of a belief that because bad things happen then either there is no God or God is not moral. Oooooo, that bugs me. How dare an imperfect human exalt himself/herself to the place of passing judgement on God's morality.

"Can the pot say to the potter, 'He knows nothing' ?" Isaiah 29:16.

Its ironic that most of these folks pride themselves on being thinking people. Think about it then. Even from a strictly theistic point of view, not necessarily just a Christian one, God gets to do what He wants. By definition God is perfect and good. Therefore, his morality is perfect and good whether we like it or not. Who are we too accuse him of being immoral?

All who would accuse God, all who would place their own sense of morality above his, all who would say that He does not do enough to alleviate evil and suffering have but to go to the cross of Calvary. And there find that God himself has done everything, infinitely everything, that could ever be done to prove himself good and moral. There every evil has been overcome. There, and only there, can we find the answers to our questions and the assurance that not only is God good, but his intentions for us are good. There we find that his intentions are good, even for those who, thinking they are better than he, reject him.

How great is our God?

Monday, March 31, 2008

Been Busy

Had Easter get together in Mexia. Had Easter get together in Waco. Granny got sick. Granny got better. The week was full. The weekend was fuller. Kris' business is busy. The boys are busy. Church is busy. The calendar for April is filling up fast.

This is funny. Really funny, check it out.

Monday, March 17, 2008

What do you think?

First, a great big shout out to R and B for letting the boys come over and ride horses. They had so much fun. Thank you very much!

Now for today's question. In the garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. " -Genesis 1:29.

After Noah and his family got off the ark, there were no crops, so God told them, "Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. " -Genesis 9:3.

Many scholars believe that God designed mankind for a vegetarian life in the paradise of Eden. So, my question is, if they are right about God's original intent, and if Jesus' atonement served to restore mankind to a right relationship with God, as in the original state, should people who have recieved Christ now return to a vegetarian diet?

Wanna see something cool?

If so, go to the March 17 post over at Evangelical Outpost. Find the 33 Things list and go to the very last one and watch the video.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Texas weather

Last Friday Jeremiah and I had a snowball fight. Today it was in the 80s with a blazing south wind that made being outside feel like walking around in a convection oven. There's no place like Texas.

So the boys and I went to the park and played and rode bikes. It was a good time. Thank God for spring break.

Now, they are watching Star Wars--Phantom Menace, Kris and Krista are hanging out in the Stamp Therapy room, and I've gotta go study for Sunday School. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Don't forget to go to church on Palm Sunday. Hosanna!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Should Homeschoolers Get A By?

All the homeschoolers are upset because an appellate court in California thinks people there who home school should be trained to teach.

Boo hoo.

We would be all upset if public schools let people without any credentials teach there. Why? Because we want what is best for the children. Why should people who teach their kids at home not have to uphold the same standard?

Sure, there are valid reasons for keeping one's kids home and teaching them one's self. However, I do not believe that should excuse families who choose to do so from paying their share of taxes to support the public educational system. Nor does it excuse them from getting proper training in content and methodology in order to teach.

Homeschooling may be a right. But it seems to me that it comes with the responsibility to be as qualified as any other teacher. This serves the common good of society at large as well as the best interests of the children one teaches.

So, what do you think?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

What do you think?

"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

What exactly did Jesus mean when he said that?

Seems to me like there is a pretty sizeable chunk of the church in the US that views denying themselves in terms of "don't rules". You know, don't be gay, don't have abortions, don't drink, don't smoke, don't cuss, don't fornicate, and don't hang out with anyone who does any of that. These folks have a lot of rules but not much love.

This group seems to have made an idol out of morality and they like to impose morality on the unregenerate population. Isn't this the essence of pharisaism? {Don't misunderstand. I think those rules are pretty important for Christians to live by. Its just that our lifestyle has to be born out of love for God and for others, not for following rules.}

Then there is another pretty big portion of the church in America whose version of denying self (it seems to me anyway) is to "be relevant" to the unregenerate population. This group wants to get everyone saved, which is admirable. However, they're really worried about offending anyone. So they spend their time trying to keep lost folks happy and be their buddies. Unfortunately, I think its all to seldom that they actually get to the gospel with them. They forget that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, not relationships.

Some birds have two retinas in each eye. That way they can focus on multiple obstsacles as they flit through the treetops. Maybe the church needs to do a better job of focusing on more than one thing. Maybe we can take a stand for holiness, be nice to people, and still manage to tell them that Jesus is the only way to God. Maybe? What do you think?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Spring begins

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. While folks up north are still shovelling snow and trying to keep warm, here in Central Texas we are already seeing definite signs of my second favorite time of year, spring. The days are getting longer and quite a bit warmer. The warmth feels good to me after being cold all winter. About three weeks ago the first trees started to bloom. Redbuds will be flowering shortly and a tree in my neighbor's yard has leaf buds on it but I'm not sure what kind it is (I think it is an Ash tree). There are lots of little forbes (weeds) flowering; including dandelion, mint, sheep sorrel, and others. Soon we will see the first robins stopping in the backyard on their way back up north. In another two or three weeks the dewberries will be flowering. I'll spy the little white flowers while driving around town and try to remember where all the patches are so I can pick some when they are ripe. They're great on cereal and make incredible cobbler. And soon the blue bonnet and indian paintbrushes will start blooming, reaching thier zenith some time in April. I'll try to remember to post some pictures then. It really is a thing of incredible beauty to see a roadside or pasture completely painted in the blue and red of these little plants (its not actually the flowers of the indian paintbrushes that give them their great colors, but the bracts).

Spring around here really is nice. There is a problem though. Here, spring starts while it is still winter and lasts about three weeks. That means summer weather starts really early. So summers here are looooong and blazing hot. Thank God for air conditioning. But, its okay, we adapt. I'd rather be a little hot and sweaty than shivering and freezing cold.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Things you'ld just as soon not hear your kids say

-"I ate a cicket leg once."
-"Hey Jeremiah, where's the screwdriver?"
-"Jeremiah's stuck to the tree!"
-"Don't worry about us."
-"We fished with sticks and sometimes we got a drink out of the lake."
-"I'm gonna grow a grape in the microwave."
-"You know that thing you said had snakes under it? We climbed to the top of it."
-"Holy guacamole, all the juice came out."

Lucky me, so far this weekend I've heard all of that. Never a dull moment here. But that's okay. I'm so thankful for my boys.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Just An Old Married Couple

There have been several things floating around in my mind that I have wanted to write about. The changes and beauty of springtime here in Central Texas & public education are the two main ones. However, there just hasn't been enough time.

I'm on vacation today so I finally have a few minutes to write. The aforementioned items notwithstanding, I will devote today to the celebration of our 13th wedding anniversary. Kris and I were lauging this morning that we did not get each other any gifts and the day is so busy we will hardly see each other. I decided we're just an old married couple and Kris decided that was a good thing. And she's right.

Kristin Lea, you really are right that the little things we do for each other every day are much more important than candy, flowers, jewelry, expensive clothing, or anything else that will eventually just be firewood. We have given each other ourselves and two incredible boys. What could be better?

When I think about what I want the boys to remember about us in 50 years I surely would not want them to remember a bunch of stuff. It makes me think of the Rich Mullins song...
"Talk about your miracles,
talk about your faith.
My dad he could make things grow
out of Indiana clay.
Mom could make a gourmet meal
out of just cornbread and beans.
They worked to give faith hands and feet,
but somehow gave it wings."

If we can give faith wings for Jonathan and Jeremiah to see, that's better than all the money in the world--and I know we'll have more fun doing it. Happy Anniversary. I love you!

Monday, January 28, 2008

What do you think?

Here's a good one from my pastor. Concerning the church in America today, so how come we're open on Easter and closed on Christmas?

Good question huh? Kind of makes you wonder what we're really all about.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

If you have any interest in the ongoing battle to credit Intelligent Design as a valid part of scientific inquiry and/or to demonstrate the flaws of Darwinian evolution, then please read Win Corduan's latest blog entry.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Pondering Poultry Preferences

I hope you had a great holiday season and enjoyed all your holiday meals!


Now, if you only eat white meat turkey and chicken stop reading here.


I've heard that Christians shouldn't have pet peeves, but I'm afraid I have some. One of them is listening to people whine about dark meat. Seriously, did you have a holiday meal where someone refused to eat any of the dark meat from the turkey? Seems like there is always at least one poultry snob at a traditional turkey and dressing meal.

Seems to me that the white meat snobs need to grow up and get over it. Like its going to hurt you to eat a different part of the bird. Seriously people, get a grip. The dark meat does taste a little different than the white, but not that much. If anything it is better because of the moisture content.


For crying out loud, how spoiled are we? There are millions of people around the world that would be so incredibly thankful and gracious to get one of our American holiday meals in a lifetime and we're going to act like eating a chicken leg or turkey thigh might ruin the whole month of November. Jeepers.


Okay, well I'm all better now. It's nice to have the internet where I can express my feelings without fear of prosecution knowing that nobody reads this anyway... he, he, he... Along those lines check out my first blog, http://slothsrcool.blogspot.com/2007/10/to-blog-or-not-to-blog.html .

Have a great evening and thank God for turkey legs. And don't get mad or be offended, I know everone has the right to their own personal poultry preferences. I'm just having a little fun.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

The consistent incosistency of liberals

Is a pretty frustrating, albeit entertaining thing. Last week I saw a car in Taos, New Mexico with several bumper stickers. On one side was a sticker which read something like, "The last time we mixed religion and government [or politics], people got burned at the stake." The other side of the car had a sticker that said something about how wonderful the first amendment is (sorry but I have already forgotten the exact phrase).

Isn't that a great illustration of the duplicitous nature of the typical liberal in the US today? They love their freedoms and rights. They love to express them. They just can't stand it for anyone who disagrees with them to express themselves. Free speech is great until a Christian speaks up. Tolerance is the highly cherished virtue, but there is no tolerance for Christianity.

This all becomes so incredibly ironic when we consider the flaw of the first bumper sticker. The last time we mixed religion and government was not the Salem witch trials. Probably the most important time we mixed religion and government we got one of the greatest documents in the history of civilization, i.e., the United States constitution. Our founders took many biblical principles, applied them to government, and codified them in the constitution.

So, yes, the rights, like freedom of speech, freedom to not worship, etc. that liberals cherish so much are a result of government being informed by religion--or actually by the Bible. Don't you love it?

James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."