Yesterday was thankfully unlike many other days in that I received notice of a very unfortunate event. The announcement was that a couple which my wife and I had counseled in the past, were filing for divorce.
As I have said many times previously, the devil is out to make as many nasty things happen as possible and mankind (often unwittingly) gives him a glad hand in doing so. With regard to the couple mentioned above, they had struggled through many things, some dark and some not so dark, but at one point it looked like the lights were coming on and they had finally resolved that being married to the person with whom you first make a marital commitment is the best thing, (notwithstanding the fact that God says this is the BEST thing.) However, they have thrown in the legal towel.
What I cannot fathom is how humans believe that by simply changing environments and biological partners, everything will be rosy and soon one will find oneself floating in a quiet pool beneath a cabana on Cozumel, sipping Red Bull. If environment were the problem, Sherwin Williams would be the great relationship-saver: all one would need to do is paint their room! But Alas, that won't cut it. You see the problem with changing marriage partners is that we are still involved in the relationship, and more often than not, WE are the problem! (I know, not in your case).
Here's a bit of a wierd analogy that might work if you really use your imagination. You are 20-something, full of energy or ("piss and vinegar" as my grandfather used to say) and you meet the man who looks most like your favorite movie star, but not really and you get married. Well, things go O.K. for about 5 years and then he starts working late to make more money to pay for the larger house you had to have and he isn't paying as much attention to you, and so forth - you get the idea. So you listen to Dr. Laura (Whom you should never listen to) and you decide to get a divorce because "you deserve better". So you divorce. It is painful (Always is) and after about 6 weeks you are starting to recover and you meet someone new at the pet store. He is very nice and so is his dog and so you begin to date and soon, you decide to marry - again. About 3 years pass and then guess what - he isn't paying as much attention to you as he should and the story repeats itself.................................
Now there are tons of variations on this theme, some include violence, some include infidelity, some include laziness and so on. But the general idea is that no matter which relationship you enter into, one thing is certain - YOU are in it. And so are all of your proclivities, and "needs" and desires, etc. which you will carry with you into every relationship , until you get rid of the one thing which keeps recurring in this scenario - YOU!
No, I am not advocating suicide or enlightenment. I am advocating God through Jesus Christ. If you've come this far, don't hang up now - hear me out.
The Bible says that Jesus can and will make us new persons (creatures) and by doing so will get rid of our "old" person and put in its place a "new" person. This in fact does happen - it did in my case and I have seen it countless other times in people in all walks of life, from the boardroom to the penitentiary and everywhere in between. So if you will follow Christ - He can and will remove the one factor which hinders every relationship - US!
I am 39 years old and have been married for nearly 18 years to the same woman. Before we met, I knew her a grand total of 5 months, 4 of which I spent floating in the North Atlantic on a huge, grey chunk of metal, propelled by atoms slamming into each other. Well, how does a 22 year old navy punk marry a 20 year old woman and stay faithfully married for almost 2 decades (having spent less than 2 weeks in the same country)? Because I was not in the equation. I'm not being metaphysical or silly - the only reason my wife and I are still married is that for a large portion of our time together, we have been "new creatures" in Jesus Christ. And these new creatures don't think about proclivities, desires and wants ahead of Him or of serving others. Not a bad recipe for success? Best of all, its free!
Before you call the $69 divorce ad in the back of the Greensheet, try asking God to fix what you can't. You'll save money and I guarantee you'll be much happier.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Friday, October 07, 2005
Sexual Russian Roulette or why there won't be a cure for HIV
Hopefully, most literate persons by now understand that HIV and the fatal disease this virus carries are wholly preventable. The only transmission medium for this virus is body fluids, thus no body fluids - no virus!
What I have had difficulty with is why the virus and its accompanying symptoms are so difficult to figure out. Last night, I was given the answer.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is an incredibly devilish creature. I mean this sincerely - it is my belief that this virus was not created, but engineered by the devil himself.
All living things contain DNA as their basic building block of life. There is a counterfeit if you will to DNA which nature has developed, called RNA.
The HIV-1 virus is a retrovirus. A retrovirus isn't called retro because it like Elvis Presley. A retrovirus uses the counterfeit RNA instead of DNA as its basic genetic material. The HIV virus is one of these viruses. Here's where the devilish part comes in:
The retrovirus (in this case HIV) enters a healthy cell and uses a special enzyme called RT or "Reverse Transcriptase" to switch its RNA into DNA which the healthy cell incorporates into itself. The HIV virus is extremely effective in doing this and may do so very rapidly, multiplying itself by many generations is a very short period of time (perhaps as quickly as 15 minutes). Normally when cells pass on DNA information, the information is read by a "reading frame" and it is passed on in tact or without error. The reading frame catches errors and eliminates them. But a retrovirus such as HIV doesn't have this reading frame and so each time it replicates itself, it may be filled with errors, creating a new mutated offspring.
Here's the plumber's view of what I'm talking about:
Jimmy is single and in college and is fairly attractive and meets Sally at a party. They like each other and after dinner and some drinks a few nights later, they end up in Jimmy's apartment having sex. Jimmy thinks Sally is a pretty nice girl and they agree to date for awhile. What Sally doesn't know is that Jimmy has done this before and 2 times ago, unbeknownst to Jimmy, he became a carrier of the HIV-1 virus. It has not spread throughout Jimmy's body for some reason, but he is still a carrier.
Sally dates Jimmy but she also really likes Mike who plays college volleyball. One night after a tournament she has the "opportunity" to sleep with Mike and she jumps at the chance. Mike has a great car and a terrific apartment. He also has something else which he doesn't know about.
About 2 weeks later, Sally begins to feel lethargic. Her energy is gone and she seems to be losing weight, even though she doesn't do much exercise. She goes to see the doctor who is very busy trying to pump as many patients through his practice as possible and after 1.88 minutes, he tells her that she is probably under alot of stress and prescribes something to help her sleep.
Sally feels much better, after resting and sees Jimmy again. They sleep together.
After another week, Sally feels tired again and this time she thinks she is looking pale. She re-visits her doctor and he suspects anemia so he orders a blood test. Sally is at work when she receives a call from her doctor's receptionist telling her that she must come to the office immediately and he will explain why. Sally is worried and she should be - she is about to learn that because of her behavior, she has just been sentenced to death. So has Jimmy and Mike, although they don't know it yet.
Why doesn't a pharmaceutical company make an inhibitor or an agent which will directly kill the HIV-1 virus which is known?
Because the virus mutates as I described above - sometimes very rapidly and sometimes not for years. Each person's symptoms will be different. And even if a vaccine for the virus itself were given, the offspring's mutations and use of RNA to enter healthy cells means that each succeeding generation could be an entirely different organism. So what entered your body as a single virus may now be millions of unique variations all trying to kill you.
Is sex worth it? If you are single, before you have sex with anyone - marry them. Before you marry them - each of you should get a complete physical including blood screening.
Your life depends upon it.
What I have had difficulty with is why the virus and its accompanying symptoms are so difficult to figure out. Last night, I was given the answer.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is an incredibly devilish creature. I mean this sincerely - it is my belief that this virus was not created, but engineered by the devil himself.
All living things contain DNA as their basic building block of life. There is a counterfeit if you will to DNA which nature has developed, called RNA.
The HIV-1 virus is a retrovirus. A retrovirus isn't called retro because it like Elvis Presley. A retrovirus uses the counterfeit RNA instead of DNA as its basic genetic material. The HIV virus is one of these viruses. Here's where the devilish part comes in:
The retrovirus (in this case HIV) enters a healthy cell and uses a special enzyme called RT or "Reverse Transcriptase" to switch its RNA into DNA which the healthy cell incorporates into itself. The HIV virus is extremely effective in doing this and may do so very rapidly, multiplying itself by many generations is a very short period of time (perhaps as quickly as 15 minutes). Normally when cells pass on DNA information, the information is read by a "reading frame" and it is passed on in tact or without error. The reading frame catches errors and eliminates them. But a retrovirus such as HIV doesn't have this reading frame and so each time it replicates itself, it may be filled with errors, creating a new mutated offspring.
Here's the plumber's view of what I'm talking about:
Jimmy is single and in college and is fairly attractive and meets Sally at a party. They like each other and after dinner and some drinks a few nights later, they end up in Jimmy's apartment having sex. Jimmy thinks Sally is a pretty nice girl and they agree to date for awhile. What Sally doesn't know is that Jimmy has done this before and 2 times ago, unbeknownst to Jimmy, he became a carrier of the HIV-1 virus. It has not spread throughout Jimmy's body for some reason, but he is still a carrier.
Sally dates Jimmy but she also really likes Mike who plays college volleyball. One night after a tournament she has the "opportunity" to sleep with Mike and she jumps at the chance. Mike has a great car and a terrific apartment. He also has something else which he doesn't know about.
About 2 weeks later, Sally begins to feel lethargic. Her energy is gone and she seems to be losing weight, even though she doesn't do much exercise. She goes to see the doctor who is very busy trying to pump as many patients through his practice as possible and after 1.88 minutes, he tells her that she is probably under alot of stress and prescribes something to help her sleep.
Sally feels much better, after resting and sees Jimmy again. They sleep together.
After another week, Sally feels tired again and this time she thinks she is looking pale. She re-visits her doctor and he suspects anemia so he orders a blood test. Sally is at work when she receives a call from her doctor's receptionist telling her that she must come to the office immediately and he will explain why. Sally is worried and she should be - she is about to learn that because of her behavior, she has just been sentenced to death. So has Jimmy and Mike, although they don't know it yet.
Why doesn't a pharmaceutical company make an inhibitor or an agent which will directly kill the HIV-1 virus which is known?
Because the virus mutates as I described above - sometimes very rapidly and sometimes not for years. Each person's symptoms will be different. And even if a vaccine for the virus itself were given, the offspring's mutations and use of RNA to enter healthy cells means that each succeeding generation could be an entirely different organism. So what entered your body as a single virus may now be millions of unique variations all trying to kill you.
Is sex worth it? If you are single, before you have sex with anyone - marry them. Before you marry them - each of you should get a complete physical including blood screening.
Your life depends upon it.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Answered Prayers
The God of the bible is the only true and living God, but he is not the only one who can answer your prayers. For many years I have spoken with persons who claimed gifts from God - gifts which turned out to ruin their lives or cause them great pain. We must remember that there is a mastermind of evil in the world - his name is satan and it is his entire purpose for being to cause you pain and either convince you that you need to spend eternity in torment with him, or if you have already accepted Christ and are free from the possibility of eternal separation from God, that you should forfeit your eternal inheritance (gifts - not salvation) by living a life filled with sin.
Satan, though he is not God, can also answer your prayers. In the 4th chapter of Matthew's gospel, (Vv. 8-10) satan confronted Jesus with desire and the offer of answered prayer. We read that;
"The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
I am reminded of Mr. Walid Shoebat who as a young Palestinian terrorist, traveled into Jerusalem with a huge loaf of bread - ostensibly as a "gift" for visitors to the church of the nativity. This gift contained a large bomb and Mr. Shoebat had been trained his entire life to use it to kill jews and himself in exchange for glory. By God's mercy and grace, Mr. Shoebat flinched - he saw children at the site he intended to bomb and could not carry out his evil plan.
(you can read Walid's story at www.shoebat.com)
I have asked for many things in my life which have harmed me and my family. I asked for riches and when I had them, they nearly destroyed all that was important to me. Not long ago a young woman shared with me her joy at having a brand new car. "It must be a gift from God" she beamed, because: "we prayed about it and after 3 dealers turned me down, this one financed me!".
This young woman made about $25,000 per year, placed her children in daycare (even though she is married and her husband earns a good living) and now had a $600 a month car payment not including insurance - for 6 years. Folks, that is not a gift from God, it was a lie of the devil and she now realizes this every time she has to send her children to daycare so that she can work full-time to support her new $600 per month payment.
Composer Nicolo Paganini asked for something that was given him by the devil - he asked to be the greatest composer in the world. As a young man, he floundered in his art and played the violin poorly. Yet, one day he entered a court-sponsored contest and won. Paganini went on to begin composing pieces for the court of Napoleon's sister. He wrote music that only he could play - he was born with extreme flexibility in his wrist and fingers, giving him an unequaled reach on the violin. Paganini was capable of playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span, an impossible feat even by today's standards.
He sought fame - and achieved it, as well as riches and lust; his home was filled with beautiful young women waiting to spend time with the great composer. He fathered one child by a singer who toured with him, yet whom he never married.
How did Nicolo Paganini go from inept musician to world-class composer in such a short time? His friends claimed he made a deal with the devil. His life seems to back this up. In his portraiture, he looks evil. While playing, his eyes would roll back in his head - exposing the whites of his eyes. Despite earning millions, he would scrounge through the streets of France searching for coins. He once had to pawn his violin, having lost a fortune in gambling.
He died at age 58 of cancer in Nice, France.
So, before one may ask anything of God, one must be a Christian. A real one.
Now, having become a Christian, does God give us everything we ask? Of course not. I know people who ask for amphetamines or Marijuana or crack. God is not in the business of giving His children bad things. (Matthew 7:11) tells us that God wants to give us good things. If this is true, why do people spend so much time asking for things which they seemingly never receive?
Because we ask the wrong way and for the wrong reasons. (James 4:1-5) tells us all about this.
By the way, James 4 defines the source of all human conflict. Anyway, in James we are reminded that "you ask and do not have". What gives? Why not? Because, "You ask and you do not receive, because you ask for the wrong reasons". What are those reasons?
"that you may spend it on your pleasures." (v.3b)
God does want to reward you and give you good things, but He isn't interested in rewarding you for your pleasures. The word used here for "pleasures" is the Greek word "Hedone" which would be better translated as "lust". God isn't going to give you things to fulfill your lusts - lusts are bad for you!
Psalm 37:4 tells us, "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".
If you want answered prayers, then you better delight yourself in the Lord.
Proverbs 10:22 tells us, "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes men rich AND HE ADDS NO SORROW TO IT." (Emphasis mine).
So here's the formula:
If one asks of God, one must:
A. Be a child of God. The only prayer God will hear from non-children is "help, me I need to be saved".
B. Be delighted in God and seeking His purpose.
C. Ask for a reason other than you really want it (lust).
D. Praise Him when you receive it.
E. If it ever comes with sorrow - it ain't from God.
Example:
1. A man asks for riches and starts earning as much as $100,000 per month. But he can't sleep because he is afraid he will be audited or someone will sue him or one of his vendors will rip him off because his product is not collateralized. Is this a reward from God? No, because it fails test #E - it has lots of sorrow. It also failed test #B and C, because even though this man talked about how great God was and gave lots of money to the church, he wasn't helping anyone HIMSELF.
2. A woman asks for a new car, because the preacher at her church told her that if she wanted it badly enough and could emotionally claim it (see it in her mind), then God would have to give it to her. Is this a reward from God? No, because it fails B and C and will at some point fail E.
3. A Christian woman knows of a divorcee who has to find work to support herself. She hasn't worked in many years and has no money. The woman gives her an old car that she has so the divorcee can drive to find work. Some time later, someone gives the Christian woman a car. Is this a reward from God? You bet. It passes every test.
I think you get the idea. God wants to answer your prayers. Just be sure when you get what you asked for that it really came from Him.
Satan, though he is not God, can also answer your prayers. In the 4th chapter of Matthew's gospel, (Vv. 8-10) satan confronted Jesus with desire and the offer of answered prayer. We read that;
"The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus' reply?
"Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
I am reminded of Mr. Walid Shoebat who as a young Palestinian terrorist, traveled into Jerusalem with a huge loaf of bread - ostensibly as a "gift" for visitors to the church of the nativity. This gift contained a large bomb and Mr. Shoebat had been trained his entire life to use it to kill jews and himself in exchange for glory. By God's mercy and grace, Mr. Shoebat flinched - he saw children at the site he intended to bomb and could not carry out his evil plan.
(you can read Walid's story at www.shoebat.com)
I have asked for many things in my life which have harmed me and my family. I asked for riches and when I had them, they nearly destroyed all that was important to me. Not long ago a young woman shared with me her joy at having a brand new car. "It must be a gift from God" she beamed, because: "we prayed about it and after 3 dealers turned me down, this one financed me!".
This young woman made about $25,000 per year, placed her children in daycare (even though she is married and her husband earns a good living) and now had a $600 a month car payment not including insurance - for 6 years. Folks, that is not a gift from God, it was a lie of the devil and she now realizes this every time she has to send her children to daycare so that she can work full-time to support her new $600 per month payment.
Composer Nicolo Paganini asked for something that was given him by the devil - he asked to be the greatest composer in the world. As a young man, he floundered in his art and played the violin poorly. Yet, one day he entered a court-sponsored contest and won. Paganini went on to begin composing pieces for the court of Napoleon's sister. He wrote music that only he could play - he was born with extreme flexibility in his wrist and fingers, giving him an unequaled reach on the violin. Paganini was capable of playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span, an impossible feat even by today's standards.
He sought fame - and achieved it, as well as riches and lust; his home was filled with beautiful young women waiting to spend time with the great composer. He fathered one child by a singer who toured with him, yet whom he never married.
How did Nicolo Paganini go from inept musician to world-class composer in such a short time? His friends claimed he made a deal with the devil. His life seems to back this up. In his portraiture, he looks evil. While playing, his eyes would roll back in his head - exposing the whites of his eyes. Despite earning millions, he would scrounge through the streets of France searching for coins. He once had to pawn his violin, having lost a fortune in gambling.
He died at age 58 of cancer in Nice, France.
How do we know it is God who is answering our prayer?
So, before one may ask anything of God, one must be a Christian. A real one.
Now, having become a Christian, does God give us everything we ask? Of course not. I know people who ask for amphetamines or Marijuana or crack. God is not in the business of giving His children bad things. (Matthew 7:11) tells us that God wants to give us good things. If this is true, why do people spend so much time asking for things which they seemingly never receive?
Because we ask the wrong way and for the wrong reasons. (James 4:1-5) tells us all about this.
By the way, James 4 defines the source of all human conflict. Anyway, in James we are reminded that "you ask and do not have". What gives? Why not? Because, "You ask and you do not receive, because you ask for the wrong reasons". What are those reasons?
"that you may spend it on your pleasures." (v.3b)
God does want to reward you and give you good things, but He isn't interested in rewarding you for your pleasures. The word used here for "pleasures" is the Greek word "Hedone" which would be better translated as "lust". God isn't going to give you things to fulfill your lusts - lusts are bad for you!
Psalm 37:4 tells us, "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart".
If you want answered prayers, then you better delight yourself in the Lord.
Proverbs 10:22 tells us, "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes men rich AND HE ADDS NO SORROW TO IT." (Emphasis mine).
So here's the formula:
If one asks of God, one must:
A. Be a child of God. The only prayer God will hear from non-children is "help, me I need to be saved".
B. Be delighted in God and seeking His purpose.
C. Ask for a reason other than you really want it (lust).
D. Praise Him when you receive it.
E. If it ever comes with sorrow - it ain't from God.
Example:
1. A man asks for riches and starts earning as much as $100,000 per month. But he can't sleep because he is afraid he will be audited or someone will sue him or one of his vendors will rip him off because his product is not collateralized. Is this a reward from God? No, because it fails test #E - it has lots of sorrow. It also failed test #B and C, because even though this man talked about how great God was and gave lots of money to the church, he wasn't helping anyone HIMSELF.
2. A woman asks for a new car, because the preacher at her church told her that if she wanted it badly enough and could emotionally claim it (see it in her mind), then God would have to give it to her. Is this a reward from God? No, because it fails B and C and will at some point fail E.
3. A Christian woman knows of a divorcee who has to find work to support herself. She hasn't worked in many years and has no money. The woman gives her an old car that she has so the divorcee can drive to find work. Some time later, someone gives the Christian woman a car. Is this a reward from God? You bet. It passes every test.
I think you get the idea. God wants to answer your prayers. Just be sure when you get what you asked for that it really came from Him.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Further peanut devastation
Recently a very annoying person happily posted a comment about my peanut anarchy. This person's annoyance-ability initially stems from posting a comment as "anonymous". Unless one is wanted by the FBI for human trafficking it is very silly to write in terms of anonymity on the internet. Blogs are where stupid things are supposed to be said (just read most of my posts).
Now, onto her comments. (How I know it was a female is my little secret. - YEARS of very-expensive government training)
This piece will consist of Ms. Anonymous' quotes followed by my highly evocative and disdainfully sarcastic reply.
"My concern is about some of the unintended misinterpretations that have been made in your piece."
If the interpretation is unintended it is a corollary that it is a misinterpretation. This is a literary error known as a reverse-axiomatic entendre' with a syllogistic falsification. (Please see Jesse Jackson for a detailed explanation of its usage)
"For those who are NOT peanut allergic (a large majority), it is actually very important that they are regularly exposed to peanuts."
I heartily agree. My next proposal would be that all children between the ages of 6 and 11, be buried in peanut butter at least once per week. I am going to assume that "anonymous" is suggesting prolonged exposure to peanuts either to develop in children a system prophylactic against allergens or because she wants them to smell nutty. Not sure which. However, if it is the former, this type of prophylactic measurement does not work with all allergens and may not work with peanuts. For example, all humans are highly allergic to tetrodotoxin, found in highest concentration, I believe in the ovaries of puffer fish. If we were to apply Ms. Anonymous' theory to this substance we would lose large segments of our population. (as long as we started in California or Massachusetts, it really wouldn't be such a big deal).
"On the flip-side, peanuts are one of the single most dangerous allergies known to man. This sounds dramatic right? However, those with severe reactions, can be effected by simply the smell. As you might be aware, smelling a peanut doesn't require that it be actually placed in one's nose."
Actually, it does. When one uses the word "smell" and is not referring to the President, or Charlie Sheen's acting, one is referring to the use of an organ medically referred to as a "nose". The nose is a wonderful thing. It provides a transport pathway from the outside world into your respiratory system. But it does much more. Have you ever seen a Mexican or Latin woman with huge, black hairs growing out of her nose? Didn't it give you the heebee-jeebies? (Just imagine if you were her husband!) Anyway, as unerotic (is that a word) as those hairs may be, they are part of a defensive system which keeps all sorts of nasty creatures from poisoning you. As air enters your nose, the hairs within it, capture foreign particles and screen them out. These particles, some of them known as "airborn pathogens" could be very harmful. The nose also warms the air, etc. But back to peanuts. In order to be physiologically harmed by a substance, said substance must interact with our bodies on at least the tissue level. An allergen which could harm you through your nose must be airborne. Medically this is known as a "aeroallergen". I am not Leonardo DaVinci (you thought I was going to say DiCaprio, didn't you!) but I am pretty certain neither peanuts or peanut butter are airborne unless one throws them. Now, certainly, Ms. Anonymous is correct if someone heaves a honking-sized peanut up your nose. You will be hating life - BIG TIME. But otherwise, it can't harm you physiologically. But Psychologically is another matter. I'm not a psycho so I can't address that.
"Imagine, little Joey sits at his peanut-free table in the school cafeteria. Joey's best friend Matt can't sit with his buddy. This is because he is at the table across the aisle is eating his peanut-butter sandwich. After lunch, Matt says "hhhhi" to Joey. The peanut butter smell from Matt's breath enters Joey's cardiovascular system. Joey's system begins to shut down. His blood vessels throughout his body begin to constrtict. His airways begin to close. Joey can no longer breathe and begins to turn blue. He passes out. If an epipen is not near, he will go into a coma and die. This isn't a hypothetical - this is what happens."
If Matt's saliva, laced with toxic peanuts flies into Joey's mouth or nose (see above), then Joey would need access to vasodilator such as epinephrine. Even the folks who make the "EpiPen" in whose best interest it is to SELL them as often as possible state, "There have even been rare cases documented in which inhalation exposure to a food has triggered an anaphylactic reaction." They cite a parameter from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and immunology, which must provide the most extreme possibility for doctors to be aware of. But Joey cannot have a physiological reaction to something he is not actually exposed to. He can have a psychological reaction to a problem, but that is for the psycho's to comment upon - I am not qualified. So obviously, this is not "what happens". Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah.
"The Food and Allergy network does NOT recommend peanut bans in schools, but instead education. But while you can certainly trust Joey to wash his hands and stay away from peanut products, how do you ensure that Matt washes his hands well enough? That a small amount doesn't get smeared on the monkey bars? That he brush his teeth? Should peanut allergic kids be kept in a bubble?"
How do you know you can trust Joey to wash his hands? The Monkey bars? Joey needs to stop licking them. Brushing his teeth? Tell Joey to stop using Matt's toothbrush!
You may have just stumbled onto a solution for the problem of this generation - stopping radical Islam and extricating the U.S. from Iraq. Peanuts! If we have thousands of Americans brush their teeth after having eaten peanut brittle, we can then partially sterilize the brushes and send them in deceptive packaging to the terrorists who will then use them and die! Or, we can construct hundreds of sets of Monkey bars, laced with peanut butter throughout Baghdad. Either way, we win!
Yea Baby!!!!!!!!!
And some of you want a woman to be President?
Now, onto her comments. (How I know it was a female is my little secret. - YEARS of very-expensive government training)
This piece will consist of Ms. Anonymous' quotes followed by my highly evocative and disdainfully sarcastic reply.
"My concern is about some of the unintended misinterpretations that have been made in your piece."
If the interpretation is unintended it is a corollary that it is a misinterpretation. This is a literary error known as a reverse-axiomatic entendre' with a syllogistic falsification. (Please see Jesse Jackson for a detailed explanation of its usage)
"For those who are NOT peanut allergic (a large majority), it is actually very important that they are regularly exposed to peanuts."
I heartily agree. My next proposal would be that all children between the ages of 6 and 11, be buried in peanut butter at least once per week. I am going to assume that "anonymous" is suggesting prolonged exposure to peanuts either to develop in children a system prophylactic against allergens or because she wants them to smell nutty. Not sure which. However, if it is the former, this type of prophylactic measurement does not work with all allergens and may not work with peanuts. For example, all humans are highly allergic to tetrodotoxin, found in highest concentration, I believe in the ovaries of puffer fish. If we were to apply Ms. Anonymous' theory to this substance we would lose large segments of our population. (as long as we started in California or Massachusetts, it really wouldn't be such a big deal).
"On the flip-side, peanuts are one of the single most dangerous allergies known to man. This sounds dramatic right? However, those with severe reactions, can be effected by simply the smell. As you might be aware, smelling a peanut doesn't require that it be actually placed in one's nose."
Actually, it does. When one uses the word "smell" and is not referring to the President, or Charlie Sheen's acting, one is referring to the use of an organ medically referred to as a "nose". The nose is a wonderful thing. It provides a transport pathway from the outside world into your respiratory system. But it does much more. Have you ever seen a Mexican or Latin woman with huge, black hairs growing out of her nose? Didn't it give you the heebee-jeebies? (Just imagine if you were her husband!) Anyway, as unerotic (is that a word) as those hairs may be, they are part of a defensive system which keeps all sorts of nasty creatures from poisoning you. As air enters your nose, the hairs within it, capture foreign particles and screen them out. These particles, some of them known as "airborn pathogens" could be very harmful. The nose also warms the air, etc. But back to peanuts. In order to be physiologically harmed by a substance, said substance must interact with our bodies on at least the tissue level. An allergen which could harm you through your nose must be airborne. Medically this is known as a "aeroallergen". I am not Leonardo DaVinci (you thought I was going to say DiCaprio, didn't you!) but I am pretty certain neither peanuts or peanut butter are airborne unless one throws them. Now, certainly, Ms. Anonymous is correct if someone heaves a honking-sized peanut up your nose. You will be hating life - BIG TIME. But otherwise, it can't harm you physiologically. But Psychologically is another matter. I'm not a psycho so I can't address that.
"Imagine, little Joey sits at his peanut-free table in the school cafeteria. Joey's best friend Matt can't sit with his buddy. This is because he is at the table across the aisle is eating his peanut-butter sandwich. After lunch, Matt says "hhhhi" to Joey. The peanut butter smell from Matt's breath enters Joey's cardiovascular system. Joey's system begins to shut down. His blood vessels throughout his body begin to constrtict. His airways begin to close. Joey can no longer breathe and begins to turn blue. He passes out. If an epipen is not near, he will go into a coma and die. This isn't a hypothetical - this is what happens."
If Matt's saliva, laced with toxic peanuts flies into Joey's mouth or nose (see above), then Joey would need access to vasodilator such as epinephrine. Even the folks who make the "EpiPen" in whose best interest it is to SELL them as often as possible state, "There have even been rare cases documented in which inhalation exposure to a food has triggered an anaphylactic reaction." They cite a parameter from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and immunology, which must provide the most extreme possibility for doctors to be aware of. But Joey cannot have a physiological reaction to something he is not actually exposed to. He can have a psychological reaction to a problem, but that is for the psycho's to comment upon - I am not qualified. So obviously, this is not "what happens". Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah.
"The Food and Allergy network does NOT recommend peanut bans in schools, but instead education. But while you can certainly trust Joey to wash his hands and stay away from peanut products, how do you ensure that Matt washes his hands well enough? That a small amount doesn't get smeared on the monkey bars? That he brush his teeth? Should peanut allergic kids be kept in a bubble?"
How do you know you can trust Joey to wash his hands? The Monkey bars? Joey needs to stop licking them. Brushing his teeth? Tell Joey to stop using Matt's toothbrush!
You may have just stumbled onto a solution for the problem of this generation - stopping radical Islam and extricating the U.S. from Iraq. Peanuts! If we have thousands of Americans brush their teeth after having eaten peanut brittle, we can then partially sterilize the brushes and send them in deceptive packaging to the terrorists who will then use them and die! Or, we can construct hundreds of sets of Monkey bars, laced with peanut butter throughout Baghdad. Either way, we win!
Yea Baby!!!!!!!!!
And some of you want a woman to be President?
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
The fearsome Peanut
When chemist George Washington Carver began his discovery of the myriad uses of the peanut, little did the unwitting American public understand that Dr. Carver was in fact creating a monster. ( I was tempted to use the term "peanutstein" but that would be going to far. )
Anyway, 100+ years later, Carver's discoveries strike fear in the hearts of frail children and anxiety-ridden mothers from Seattle to Annapolis and all points in between. Peanut Butter - once the staple food of champions (and something I literally lived on for more than 2 months at sea) is now believed to be as deadly as Anthrax and something to be avoided at all costs. The reason? Allergies.
School districts throughout the country are asking parents to rid their children's lunch boxes of this nasty menace. Is this fear unfounded? Or is the sinister peanut biding its time, while hapless children munch blithely away on their modern hemlock?
Today a frantic mom told me that she was asked not to pack peanut butter anymore because the "scent" of it is enought to trigger allergic reactions in some children.
Since I am embarking upon a career in science (well, sort of - medicine is actually a combination of art and science) I thought I would use this time to find out what the skinny is regarding peanut butter.
For the frantic mom, I didn't need to consult the latest scientific journals because I already knew that peanut butter's molecular structure is a SOLID, not a GAS, so unless someone stuffs it up their nose, it would be impossible for the substance of peanut butter to react with one's immune system.
Now, as the Thomas Dolby would say; science!
In the Journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy (Clinical & Experimental Allergy
Volume 35 Issue 7 Page 933 - July 2005), the results of a test conducted by researchers at the Imerial College at St. Mary's London tested 13,638 seven-year old individuals, of which 6,412 yielded results. (I guess the others snuck off for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - ungrateful cretins).
Anyway, the chillins were exposed to MTV, aeroallergens (dust mites, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, and one other thing. Then, as if this weren't cruel enough the children were exposed to peanuts and other nuts as well as more than a few very angry squirrels.)
The result of all of this exposure was that 8.5% of the population demonstrated some reaction to the airborne allergens and 1% demonstrated the same reaction to the evil nuts. Hopefully they were all allergic to MTV.
If this data is to be extrapolated (and it is), this test reveals the following:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are now approximately 72 million persons under the age of 18 living in this country. If 1% of them would suffer an allergic reaction to the peanut or any nut, this amounts to 720,000. If we spread them evenly between states, (which, of course they are not) then we would get 14,400 children per state who demonstrate an allergic reaction to peanuts. In Texas there may be 81 school districts (not sure - couldn't get a definite number from the TEA website) which would mean 177 children per district. The state's largest district is Houston, which has more than 50,000 students. There are at least 300 schools in this district (per the HISD website, not counting charter or magnet schools) which means a bit more than half of all schools could have a child with an allergic reaction to nuts.
But this test was conduct with BRITISH children, not Americans. When a similar test was conducted by the NIH (Prevalences of positive skin test responses to 10 common allergens in the US population: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.) they found that Americans are far more sensitive to allergens than our English counterparts. The NIH study - not nearly as comprehensive, nearly 3% demonstrated a positive reaction to nut allergens.
Even if the results were tripled, this would still mean that each school district in Texas (statstically, very loose, I know) would only have 2 or 3 students who were allergic to peanut allergens. While this seems incredibly inconsequential, it is very symbolic of our nation at this time. We are ruled by minutae. Instead of the minority or aberrant, making their way in society, society must bend to make way for them. This is why the single Epehdra patient who died was allowed to create a huge windfall for the plaintiff's lawyers, and why persons who die from smoking still sue tobacco companies for wrongful death.
And this is why school districts want the thousands of parents with children who don't have allergies to change their lives to accomodate the very few who do.
Children who have allergic reactions to peanuts should not touch them. Such reactions can be anaphylactic or hypotensive, meaning they can bring on very nasty symptoms. If your child has a KNOWN allergy to these substances, then avoid them. But don't try and make all of society accomodate you and your child. Instead send your child to school with chicken salad, or just jelly and train them to avoid the foods which cause problems. There are many more times the number of children in society who suffer from genetic diabetes. Should all sugars be eliminated so that they won't be tempted to risk their lives by eating them? Of course not, and parents of diabetic children DO teach their kids what they can and cannot eat.
Give GW Carver his due and society a break. The peanut is a great thing; so is peanut butter. We ought to be asking ourselves why we are 3 times more allergic that the Brits, but we should also be willing to take responsibility for ourselves, our children and our actions - and hopefully research will soon bring about a prophylactic against peanut allergies.
Meanwhile, if you care to join me, I would be happy to share my peanut butter sandwich with you!
Anyway, 100+ years later, Carver's discoveries strike fear in the hearts of frail children and anxiety-ridden mothers from Seattle to Annapolis and all points in between. Peanut Butter - once the staple food of champions (and something I literally lived on for more than 2 months at sea) is now believed to be as deadly as Anthrax and something to be avoided at all costs. The reason? Allergies.
School districts throughout the country are asking parents to rid their children's lunch boxes of this nasty menace. Is this fear unfounded? Or is the sinister peanut biding its time, while hapless children munch blithely away on their modern hemlock?
Today a frantic mom told me that she was asked not to pack peanut butter anymore because the "scent" of it is enought to trigger allergic reactions in some children.
Since I am embarking upon a career in science (well, sort of - medicine is actually a combination of art and science) I thought I would use this time to find out what the skinny is regarding peanut butter.
For the frantic mom, I didn't need to consult the latest scientific journals because I already knew that peanut butter's molecular structure is a SOLID, not a GAS, so unless someone stuffs it up their nose, it would be impossible for the substance of peanut butter to react with one's immune system.
Now, as the Thomas Dolby would say; science!
In the Journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy (Clinical & Experimental Allergy
Volume 35 Issue 7 Page 933 - July 2005), the results of a test conducted by researchers at the Imerial College at St. Mary's London tested 13,638 seven-year old individuals, of which 6,412 yielded results. (I guess the others snuck off for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - ungrateful cretins).
Anyway, the chillins were exposed to MTV, aeroallergens (dust mites, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, and one other thing. Then, as if this weren't cruel enough the children were exposed to peanuts and other nuts as well as more than a few very angry squirrels.)
The result of all of this exposure was that 8.5% of the population demonstrated some reaction to the airborne allergens and 1% demonstrated the same reaction to the evil nuts. Hopefully they were all allergic to MTV.
If this data is to be extrapolated (and it is), this test reveals the following:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are now approximately 72 million persons under the age of 18 living in this country. If 1% of them would suffer an allergic reaction to the peanut or any nut, this amounts to 720,000. If we spread them evenly between states, (which, of course they are not) then we would get 14,400 children per state who demonstrate an allergic reaction to peanuts. In Texas there may be 81 school districts (not sure - couldn't get a definite number from the TEA website) which would mean 177 children per district. The state's largest district is Houston, which has more than 50,000 students. There are at least 300 schools in this district (per the HISD website, not counting charter or magnet schools) which means a bit more than half of all schools could have a child with an allergic reaction to nuts.
But this test was conduct with BRITISH children, not Americans. When a similar test was conducted by the NIH (Prevalences of positive skin test responses to 10 common allergens in the US population: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.) they found that Americans are far more sensitive to allergens than our English counterparts. The NIH study - not nearly as comprehensive, nearly 3% demonstrated a positive reaction to nut allergens.
Even if the results were tripled, this would still mean that each school district in Texas (statstically, very loose, I know) would only have 2 or 3 students who were allergic to peanut allergens. While this seems incredibly inconsequential, it is very symbolic of our nation at this time. We are ruled by minutae. Instead of the minority or aberrant, making their way in society, society must bend to make way for them. This is why the single Epehdra patient who died was allowed to create a huge windfall for the plaintiff's lawyers, and why persons who die from smoking still sue tobacco companies for wrongful death.
And this is why school districts want the thousands of parents with children who don't have allergies to change their lives to accomodate the very few who do.
Children who have allergic reactions to peanuts should not touch them. Such reactions can be anaphylactic or hypotensive, meaning they can bring on very nasty symptoms. If your child has a KNOWN allergy to these substances, then avoid them. But don't try and make all of society accomodate you and your child. Instead send your child to school with chicken salad, or just jelly and train them to avoid the foods which cause problems. There are many more times the number of children in society who suffer from genetic diabetes. Should all sugars be eliminated so that they won't be tempted to risk their lives by eating them? Of course not, and parents of diabetic children DO teach their kids what they can and cannot eat.
Give GW Carver his due and society a break. The peanut is a great thing; so is peanut butter. We ought to be asking ourselves why we are 3 times more allergic that the Brits, but we should also be willing to take responsibility for ourselves, our children and our actions - and hopefully research will soon bring about a prophylactic against peanut allergies.
Meanwhile, if you care to join me, I would be happy to share my peanut butter sandwich with you!
More tales of the nutty and insane
Today I received an email telling me that someone I know who is a fireman, was being shot at by residents of Beaumont, Texas who wanted their houses to burn so they could get the insurance money. Others were actually setting their houses on fire. I know that stupidity is rampant (always has been), but do these people actually think their insurance company isn't going to ask the local fire inspector who started the blaze that consumed their house?
This is almost as bad as the morons who looted the convenience store here in Houston. After they broke in, the owner went to the store and boarded it up and called the police. The police waited in the parking lot across the street and sure enough, the morons returned to re-loot the store and were arrested. When a local reporter asked one of the world's dumbest people why he did such a stupid thing, his only reply was "I was only inside - that's all". Good thing for him breathing is an automatic reflex.
Filed under the "funny, but kind of wierd" section are the people who are now angry that the Hurricane didn't even bring enough rain to water their lawn or alleviate the 100+ temperatures we are having. I thought not being hit by a hurricane was a GOOD thing? Who knew?
How about the supra-genius mayor of New Orleans, inviting Louisiana residents to return to their flooded, biologically infected disaster area? Does anyone else have qualms about giving this guy and Governor "hold it, I'm weeping", Blanco 50 Billion dollars to rebuild their corrupt state? Am I being to harsh? Well, the 100+ families I interviewed at a relief center here in Houston all told me "We ain't goin' back". They were stunned that somebody like Nagin would receive 50 cents to rebuild the city (er, slum) of New Orleans. The only people I found who really wanted to return were a group of very friendly Rastafarians and in this particular blog I can't tell you why :)
I know there are some folks who think that Christians ought not to label certain acts as "stupid" or the people who do them as "morons", but there is a precedent for doing such things. When Job's wife advised him to curse God and die after he had suffered so much, Job told her "you speak as one of the foolish women". In other words, you are an idiot. (very large paraphrase from the Hebrew). Job then went on to say "are we to accept good from God and not bad"? (Job 2:10). People are always made in the image of God, but when I do something very stupid, I want people to let me know so that I don't continue to do it. If I were going to rob the same convenience store twice in one day, I would hope someone would have sense enough to call me an idiot.
This is almost as bad as the morons who looted the convenience store here in Houston. After they broke in, the owner went to the store and boarded it up and called the police. The police waited in the parking lot across the street and sure enough, the morons returned to re-loot the store and were arrested. When a local reporter asked one of the world's dumbest people why he did such a stupid thing, his only reply was "I was only inside - that's all". Good thing for him breathing is an automatic reflex.
Filed under the "funny, but kind of wierd" section are the people who are now angry that the Hurricane didn't even bring enough rain to water their lawn or alleviate the 100+ temperatures we are having. I thought not being hit by a hurricane was a GOOD thing? Who knew?
How about the supra-genius mayor of New Orleans, inviting Louisiana residents to return to their flooded, biologically infected disaster area? Does anyone else have qualms about giving this guy and Governor "hold it, I'm weeping", Blanco 50 Billion dollars to rebuild their corrupt state? Am I being to harsh? Well, the 100+ families I interviewed at a relief center here in Houston all told me "We ain't goin' back". They were stunned that somebody like Nagin would receive 50 cents to rebuild the city (er, slum) of New Orleans. The only people I found who really wanted to return were a group of very friendly Rastafarians and in this particular blog I can't tell you why :)
I know there are some folks who think that Christians ought not to label certain acts as "stupid" or the people who do them as "morons", but there is a precedent for doing such things. When Job's wife advised him to curse God and die after he had suffered so much, Job told her "you speak as one of the foolish women". In other words, you are an idiot. (very large paraphrase from the Hebrew). Job then went on to say "are we to accept good from God and not bad"? (Job 2:10). People are always made in the image of God, but when I do something very stupid, I want people to let me know so that I don't continue to do it. If I were going to rob the same convenience store twice in one day, I would hope someone would have sense enough to call me an idiot.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Some advice for men and women in marriage
Not that I'm gunning for Dr. Laura or Dr. Phil, but last night I experienced a very sad event and think it needs addressing:
A young minister was buried today, his funeral held last night. He was murdered by an act of sin and killed by a virus designed by the devil, commonly referred to as AIDs. This young man, for some reason, known only to him, decided to have sex with a woman to whom he was not married and it cost him his life. Unfortunately, most of the statistical data tell us that this is not an uncommon occurrance. George Barna, the Christian researcher, has come under fire recently for telling the truth about the hidden sin within the church. Data from the Census and other statistical references point to a behavioral pattern among those calling themselves "Christians" that is very unhealthy at best and deadly at worst. It can properly be said that today more "Christians" are divorced and engage in extramarital affairs than those who do not identify themselves with God.
Why? Well, one reason is that the "church" has been redefined as a building, which is a topic for another conversation, but another more important reason is that most people have placed their trust in a god they neither know, nor obey; not the God of the bible. Many persons living in America today, claiming the Christian faith, simply do not read, understand and follow the bible.
"Wait!" I can hear the cries now. I attend Beth Moore's study every monday! I have read the purpose driven life 3 times! I pray Jabez' prayer every day! Good resources all, but I repeat; most people have no more than a rudimentary understanding of the Bible.
If you have read this blog previously, you may know that the axiom upon which I have built my adult life is, "Reality is the mind of God revealed in the word of God". Dr. Steve Sullivan, Pharmacist, Pastor and Seminary Professor came up with this - and he's correct.
So, what does the word of God (reality) say about the subject of marriage?
1. It says that married people do not belong to themselves. In fact, all people belong to God, but Jesus makes is even clearer in the New Testament when He says that "wives submit to your husbands" and "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church." (1 Cor. 5:22-25).
How in the world can a wife love someone who ignores her, stays gone all the time, never talks to her and isn't interested in her goals, dreams or ideas and instead of having a six-pack stomach now has the whole keg?
or
How in the world can a husband love a wife who nags, sticks plastic cylinders in her hair, appears to have more and more menstrual cycles every month, has decided to start looking more like a man every day and who has exchanged her svelte figure for some new figure consisting of double digits?
How do we as fallen, nasty humans live with someone else for our entire lives?
We cannot - as fallen humans. But as children of the living God, we can put aside our nastiness, our selfishness and our laziness and carve out a life worth living - together.
This is the Bible's secret to lifelong marriage. Living together isn't marriage. Homosexuals live together, as do geese and octopi. Marriage is a man and a woman living in a triune love relationship with Jesus Christ, themselves and one another. How can the Bible help us have marriages that reflect this?
We must read it! But read it carefully!
The bible's wisdom section (Proverbs) tells us "It is better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife." (Proverbs 21:9). This is a truism, but not a recipe for a lasting relationship unless you are a roofing contractor.
The Bible does have an answer for everything. It does not address every situation, but its principles apply to any thing we may face living on this planet.
I recall an exchange between a man who had come for counseling prior to a divorce.
A question was asked of the man, "do you love your wife?"
No! He replied, I can't stand her.
"At this point, would you consider her your enemy?"
"You bet", he replied.
A smile came upon the counselor's face; the sort of smile the Grinch smiles when he has
discovered yet another unsuspecting Who, that has believed in a merry Christmas.
The counselor, casually picked up his bible and asked, "Let's look at what Jesus had to say about our enemies."
He turned to Matthew 5:44 and read, "But I tell you, LOVE your enemies, pray for those who persecute you."
The husband began to squirm.
Was Jesus making up a biblical rule He knew nobody could follow? Was He the greatest practical joker who ever lived?
No, Jesus is God and God's Son and wants only the greatest benefit to accrue to the account of those who worship Him. So why such a demanding doctrine?
It isn't demanding. It only seems so. Satan, or the devil or whatever you want to call him, has deceived our world into thinking that living life together as husband and wife is a demanding, thankless task only to be undertaken for the sake of appearance or as one psychiatrist has written, "for the sake of the kids". Nonsense.
Marriage is hard - if you try to do it on your own. In fact, I believe its impossible without God, which is why so many western "Christians" find it hard to remain faithful to their spouses.
Make no mistake - being a real Christian does not guarantee perpetual happiness and fun in marriage. While the bible tells us very little about Peter's wife, we know that Peter was martyred by crucifixion. His wife must have been devastated by this; it certainly was not a source of fun for her.
But these things are only like shadows on a mirror, not the true reality which are untold treasures promised to believers in Jesus Christ. (See 1 Peter 1 for details)
What the Bible tells us is that by following Jesus Christ and living by adoption into the family of God DOES guarantee us eternal power to overcome the trials, snares and temptations which destroy marriage. If human beings were capable of overcoming these things on their own, this world would be devoid of drug addicts or alcoholics; there would be no need for counselors or detoxification centers. The trials of this life are often not ours to choose.
What is ours to choose is whether we use the power of God as He has intended it to be used in order to overcome them.
Although much of popular psychology and self-improvement is garbage, there is an exercise which I believe has great merit. Anthony Robbins of late-night T.V. fame calls it his, "rocking chair" test. He pictures himself in a rocking chair at the age of 90, looking back over his life. He then asks himself the question, "did I live my life to its fullest?"
I would keep the chair, but swap the question for one more eternal; "did my marriage reflect God?"
If you asked this question regarding your marriage, what would the honest answer be?
A young minister was buried today, his funeral held last night. He was murdered by an act of sin and killed by a virus designed by the devil, commonly referred to as AIDs. This young man, for some reason, known only to him, decided to have sex with a woman to whom he was not married and it cost him his life. Unfortunately, most of the statistical data tell us that this is not an uncommon occurrance. George Barna, the Christian researcher, has come under fire recently for telling the truth about the hidden sin within the church. Data from the Census and other statistical references point to a behavioral pattern among those calling themselves "Christians" that is very unhealthy at best and deadly at worst. It can properly be said that today more "Christians" are divorced and engage in extramarital affairs than those who do not identify themselves with God.
Why? Well, one reason is that the "church" has been redefined as a building, which is a topic for another conversation, but another more important reason is that most people have placed their trust in a god they neither know, nor obey; not the God of the bible. Many persons living in America today, claiming the Christian faith, simply do not read, understand and follow the bible.
"Wait!" I can hear the cries now. I attend Beth Moore's study every monday! I have read the purpose driven life 3 times! I pray Jabez' prayer every day! Good resources all, but I repeat; most people have no more than a rudimentary understanding of the Bible.
If you have read this blog previously, you may know that the axiom upon which I have built my adult life is, "Reality is the mind of God revealed in the word of God". Dr. Steve Sullivan, Pharmacist, Pastor and Seminary Professor came up with this - and he's correct.
So, what does the word of God (reality) say about the subject of marriage?
1. It says that married people do not belong to themselves. In fact, all people belong to God, but Jesus makes is even clearer in the New Testament when He says that "wives submit to your husbands" and "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church." (1 Cor. 5:22-25).
How in the world can a wife love someone who ignores her, stays gone all the time, never talks to her and isn't interested in her goals, dreams or ideas and instead of having a six-pack stomach now has the whole keg?
or
How in the world can a husband love a wife who nags, sticks plastic cylinders in her hair, appears to have more and more menstrual cycles every month, has decided to start looking more like a man every day and who has exchanged her svelte figure for some new figure consisting of double digits?
How do we as fallen, nasty humans live with someone else for our entire lives?
We cannot - as fallen humans. But as children of the living God, we can put aside our nastiness, our selfishness and our laziness and carve out a life worth living - together.
This is the Bible's secret to lifelong marriage. Living together isn't marriage. Homosexuals live together, as do geese and octopi. Marriage is a man and a woman living in a triune love relationship with Jesus Christ, themselves and one another. How can the Bible help us have marriages that reflect this?
We must read it! But read it carefully!
The bible's wisdom section (Proverbs) tells us "It is better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife." (Proverbs 21:9). This is a truism, but not a recipe for a lasting relationship unless you are a roofing contractor.
The Bible does have an answer for everything. It does not address every situation, but its principles apply to any thing we may face living on this planet.
I recall an exchange between a man who had come for counseling prior to a divorce.
A question was asked of the man, "do you love your wife?"
No! He replied, I can't stand her.
"At this point, would you consider her your enemy?"
"You bet", he replied.
A smile came upon the counselor's face; the sort of smile the Grinch smiles when he has
discovered yet another unsuspecting Who, that has believed in a merry Christmas.
The counselor, casually picked up his bible and asked, "Let's look at what Jesus had to say about our enemies."
He turned to Matthew 5:44 and read, "But I tell you, LOVE your enemies, pray for those who persecute you."
The husband began to squirm.
Was Jesus making up a biblical rule He knew nobody could follow? Was He the greatest practical joker who ever lived?
No, Jesus is God and God's Son and wants only the greatest benefit to accrue to the account of those who worship Him. So why such a demanding doctrine?
It isn't demanding. It only seems so. Satan, or the devil or whatever you want to call him, has deceived our world into thinking that living life together as husband and wife is a demanding, thankless task only to be undertaken for the sake of appearance or as one psychiatrist has written, "for the sake of the kids". Nonsense.
Marriage is hard - if you try to do it on your own. In fact, I believe its impossible without God, which is why so many western "Christians" find it hard to remain faithful to their spouses.
Make no mistake - being a real Christian does not guarantee perpetual happiness and fun in marriage. While the bible tells us very little about Peter's wife, we know that Peter was martyred by crucifixion. His wife must have been devastated by this; it certainly was not a source of fun for her.
But these things are only like shadows on a mirror, not the true reality which are untold treasures promised to believers in Jesus Christ. (See 1 Peter 1 for details)
What the Bible tells us is that by following Jesus Christ and living by adoption into the family of God DOES guarantee us eternal power to overcome the trials, snares and temptations which destroy marriage. If human beings were capable of overcoming these things on their own, this world would be devoid of drug addicts or alcoholics; there would be no need for counselors or detoxification centers. The trials of this life are often not ours to choose.
What is ours to choose is whether we use the power of God as He has intended it to be used in order to overcome them.
Although much of popular psychology and self-improvement is garbage, there is an exercise which I believe has great merit. Anthony Robbins of late-night T.V. fame calls it his, "rocking chair" test. He pictures himself in a rocking chair at the age of 90, looking back over his life. He then asks himself the question, "did I live my life to its fullest?"
I would keep the chair, but swap the question for one more eternal; "did my marriage reflect God?"
If you asked this question regarding your marriage, what would the honest answer be?
Monday, September 05, 2005
The good you don't hear about Hurricane Katrina
My friend Rick Leatherwood, who has faithfully served God for many years in very hostile places has a saying with which I heartily agree; "The media is the handmaiden of the devil." It is. There has been a tragedy of immense proportions in the United States; one which in geography, loss of life and economic impact dwarfs 9/11. And true to form, every media outlet and every reporter are salivating at the opportunities for criticism, and the hope that some even greater catastrophe will befall those who have already suffered so much. So, to counteract some of the idiocy of the media, I would like to offer the following:
These comments are derived from counseling sessions with refugees from Louisiana, which I have had over the last five days.
"Thank you so very much for what your city and state are doing".
"I am being treated very well and am so grateful".
"Praise God for Texas".
One family I met with had been robbed 3 times on interstate 10 by roving gangs of armed bandits. Their shoes, money and watches were taken. Having arrived here, they received food, clothing and temporary shelter and a chance to take a deep breath.
Another woman I met lost her 3 children in the flood. Yesterday I received news that they have been found in Mississippi. She last saw them on a bridge in Louisiana. All are safe.
Wal-Mart, Inc. has ordered its Texas store Directors to Lousiana and when all is said and done will have provided at least tens of millions of dollars in aid.
Chili's restaurants has offered to hire any employee of their chains who was displaced by the floods and hurricane.
In the Houston Astrodome, somewhere around 17,000 people are safe, sleeping on clean cots, taking hot showers and eating three square meals a day, plus ice cream. Children have a play center. The Reliant center is now a hospital complete with a 24-hour pharmacy.
At the second mile mission center in Stafford, Texas more than 3,000 refugees have been given food, water, clothing, gasoline and temporary housing since last wednesday. When the churches of Fort Bend County, Texas decided to support the relief effort, 4 - 40 foot trailers were donated to collect goods as well as 2 box trucks to deliver them. Nearly 100,000 sq.ft of warehouse space has been given free of charge.
So far, churches have been helping without trying to take credit for it!
At the Galleria Hampton Inn where I attended a medical missions symposium on satuday night, the hotel hand an excellent command center complete with a job locator and a red cross representative.
At Hope House Houston, nine families have each received a 2-bedroom house rent free for one month.
You have all undoubtedly heard similar reports - these are just the ones I have first-hand experience with. God is blessing the people of New Orleans in incredible ways. This is a great gift to them and to us - another opportunity to serve.
In a strange metaphysical way, it almost seems like God allowed this tragedy so that people who claim to be His could indeed serve. Some of us were getting lazy.
So, turn off your television and read a good book AFTER you return from helping somebody today. Don't pull the old junk out of your closet to give, go buy a package of diapers and some baby food. Better yet, find a place to serve - doesn't have to be all day, even 30 minutes will be welcome. If you see a Louisiana license plate, stop what you are doing and greet the people in the car - share the love of Jesus with them. We have been given a great opportunity to be a light in a very dark world and to help some truly needy people. Good things are being done. Could they be better? Of course - humans are involved. But there must be hosts of people and angels praising God for His goodness and mercy in a time of terrible tragedy - make sure you are one of them!
These comments are derived from counseling sessions with refugees from Louisiana, which I have had over the last five days.
"Thank you so very much for what your city and state are doing".
"I am being treated very well and am so grateful".
"Praise God for Texas".
One family I met with had been robbed 3 times on interstate 10 by roving gangs of armed bandits. Their shoes, money and watches were taken. Having arrived here, they received food, clothing and temporary shelter and a chance to take a deep breath.
Another woman I met lost her 3 children in the flood. Yesterday I received news that they have been found in Mississippi. She last saw them on a bridge in Louisiana. All are safe.
Wal-Mart, Inc. has ordered its Texas store Directors to Lousiana and when all is said and done will have provided at least tens of millions of dollars in aid.
Chili's restaurants has offered to hire any employee of their chains who was displaced by the floods and hurricane.
In the Houston Astrodome, somewhere around 17,000 people are safe, sleeping on clean cots, taking hot showers and eating three square meals a day, plus ice cream. Children have a play center. The Reliant center is now a hospital complete with a 24-hour pharmacy.
At the second mile mission center in Stafford, Texas more than 3,000 refugees have been given food, water, clothing, gasoline and temporary housing since last wednesday. When the churches of Fort Bend County, Texas decided to support the relief effort, 4 - 40 foot trailers were donated to collect goods as well as 2 box trucks to deliver them. Nearly 100,000 sq.ft of warehouse space has been given free of charge.
So far, churches have been helping without trying to take credit for it!
At the Galleria Hampton Inn where I attended a medical missions symposium on satuday night, the hotel hand an excellent command center complete with a job locator and a red cross representative.
At Hope House Houston, nine families have each received a 2-bedroom house rent free for one month.
You have all undoubtedly heard similar reports - these are just the ones I have first-hand experience with. God is blessing the people of New Orleans in incredible ways. This is a great gift to them and to us - another opportunity to serve.
In a strange metaphysical way, it almost seems like God allowed this tragedy so that people who claim to be His could indeed serve. Some of us were getting lazy.
So, turn off your television and read a good book AFTER you return from helping somebody today. Don't pull the old junk out of your closet to give, go buy a package of diapers and some baby food. Better yet, find a place to serve - doesn't have to be all day, even 30 minutes will be welcome. If you see a Louisiana license plate, stop what you are doing and greet the people in the car - share the love of Jesus with them. We have been given a great opportunity to be a light in a very dark world and to help some truly needy people. Good things are being done. Could they be better? Of course - humans are involved. But there must be hosts of people and angels praising God for His goodness and mercy in a time of terrible tragedy - make sure you are one of them!
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Are you really living?
"In 1927, at the age of 32, Buckminster Fuller stood on the shores of Lake Michigan, prepared to throw himself into the freezing waters. His first child had died. He was bankrupt, discredited and jobless, and he had a wife and new-born daughter. "(www.bfi.org)
On the verge of suicide, it suddenly struck him that his life belonged, not to himself, but to God. At that moment, Mr. Fuller decided to embark on what he called “an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity.”
Over the next fifty-four years, he proved, time and again, that his most controversial ideas were practical and workable.
During the course of his remarkable experiment he:
•was awarded 25 U.S. patents
•authored 28 books
•received 47 honorary doctorates in the arts, science, engineering and the humanities
•received dozens of major architectural and design awards including, among many others,
the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the Gold Medal of the Royal
Institute of British Architects
•created work which found itself into the permanent collections of museums around the
world
•circled the globe 57 times, reaching millions through his public lectures and interviews.
•authored 28 books
•received 47 honorary doctorates in the arts, science, engineering and the humanities
•received dozens of major architectural and design awards including, among many others,
the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the Gold Medal of the Royal
Institute of British Architects
•created work which found itself into the permanent collections of museums around the
world
•circled the globe 57 times, reaching millions through his public lectures and interviews.
Was Buckminster Fuller a Christian? Near the end of his life, when speaking to a group of young people about his amazing life, told them that in his lifetime he had earned between 25-30 million dollars, all of which came without plan. He said "You have to live in absolute faith in God - and I have". Sounds like a Christian to me!
So, my question is, why do so many people who claim to be Christians, live defeated, suffering lives filled with self-hate, covetousness and waste?
Because we forget who made us, and why we are here, and we have distorted the teachings of Jesus to fit our modern minds. We fuss and scream when we are denied our "rights". Listen to what Buckminster Fuller said about getting what we want, "The amazing thing is that when I don't get what I thought I wanted, it's because I didn't need it. I was on the wrong track. This way God can steer me."
Now, I am going to share with you a statement which is incredible in its complexity and yet so simple that even a small child can understand it. Yet, most completely miss it. I will preface this statement with the teaching of Jesus as recorded in the book of Matthew, chapter 10, verse 39; "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake, will find it."
Here's what Mr. Fuller said, "If I am going to carry on that way, and if I actually get on, if I really get on, I am going to have to, then, bound to have insights that would not develop if I were trying to earn a living. Can you understand that?"
Buckminster Fuller made such a huge impact on this world precisely because he decided never to make a living, but instead to make a life. He understood his place in this universe and more importantly understood his relationship to God. Having just received the Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States, Mr. Fuller said, "So when things like being given the medal of freedom and things like that occur, I simply do what I do every time I am going to lie down and take even a nap. I try to talk, as best I can, to God and I say, "Yours, dear God, is all the glory! All the glory! I am nothing."
Buckminster Fuller had a right perspective on his life, that even through great achievement, nothing or no one deserves glory but God. The power of this message is so clear, if we will only see it. Mr. Fuller also said, "That's why I am trying to let my audiences know that there is nothing that i've been able to do that they couldn't do, individually, equally well or better if they'd gone down the same circumstances; because I made this experiment, I am actually free from earning a living! And for fifty years I haven't thought about how to earn a living."
Are you bent on earning a living?
I know all the arguments, as I hear them almost daily; "Pastor, you don't know what it costs to feed my family" or "You don't understand what I have been through" or "Have you ever had to raise 3 children on your own?" And though I don't pretend to have the answers to any, let alone all of these questions, I know someone who does. He is the same person who helped Buckminster Fuller not drown himself in lake Michigan, and his name is Jesus. If you are focused on earning a living, you aren't focused on making a life - which is what Jesus wants. When Jesus told us to lose our lives, He really meant it. And we must never forget the second half of his promise which is that we will find a new life in Him. And when we find it, it won't be the same as it was - it will be entirely new - much better than we could have dreamed.
Just because we choose to live for Jesus instead of a paycheck, does that mean each of us will become a Buckminster Fuller? No. Some of us will be Sister Mary's who for 40 years has cared for retarded children in Pakistan. Some of us will be Marshall Rorie's who counsels men, women and children in need of God and direction in their lives. Some of us will be Charles Swindoll's who preach to thousands of people and some of us will be Ted Curby's who quietly and faithfully clean rooms, move tables and chairs and set up a church for people to visit on a sunday. A pastor friend of mine told me this morning about a young man in his first church who had suffered a brain trauma in a motorcycle accident and the only job he was capable of carrying out was to replace the chalk in the various classrooms of the church. Some of us will be like him. in fact, I hope that when I meet Jesus, I am considered 'like him" because this young man was faithful in all that he could do. Are you and I so faithful?
One of my professors, who is also my friend, told me that in his P.hD. program, only 31% of those who began the program completed it 3 years later. When I asked why, he said, "Jeff, they just quit. Earning a doctorate isn't really about being the smartest person in the world, it's about perseverance; about finishing what you start, and starting when others will not."
If you are living to earn a living, may I please urge you to stop. Seek God while He is near and don't put off another day, what He has intended you to do. it may be very hard at first, but as you look back, I promise you it will have been well worth it.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Is Martin Luther Forgotten?
I just finished watching the film "luther" the biographical story of Martin Luther who began his ecumenical life as a Roman monk and ended it as the catalyst used by God to break apart the tyranny of organized religion in the 15th century and to open the door of the gospel to every man, woman and child, first in Germany and then throughout the world.
What I couldn't get out of my mind is how similar the church today seemed to the Roman church in Luther's day. In the 15th century, Pope Leo and the Roman church sold indulgences - the offering of salvation for one's relatives suffering in purgatory; all for the price of a few pennies. For a bit more, one could save several family members or even one's long dead evil friend. Pope Leo took this a step further when he offered salvation for monies given to build St. Peter's Basilica.
Today in any major city are gigantic buildings dedicated to the memory of men, built upon the few pennies of the faithful, with the promise of rewards for those who give freely. These buildings are mistakenly called churches. Not that in some of them, perhaps even many, people are worshipping the One, true, God, it's just that the word we translate church never once applies to a building in sacred scripture.
For hundreds of years in America and certainly with much aplomb and grandeur in the 20th century, Americans have built great buildings to God, each one bigger and brighter than the next. Pass by the former Compaq center in Houston and one now sees "Lakewood Church" in all it's newly remodeled glory, with its benefactor in clear, orange letters "Joel Osteen - Pastor" emblazoned for everyone to see. It isn't hard to find one of these monuments to man, they are in nearly every city, whether one is in Houston, or Atlanta, California or Arkansas - these temples of man are increasing in number and grandeur.
Now wait a minute, some are now saying, "You've gone too far; My church is built out of the desires of the people to honor God and after all shouldn't He have a grand house to live in? "
Did you undergo a "building campaign" to build this magnificent house for God? What were you promised if you freely gave? Or perhaps you were told that "The Lord loves a cheerful giver" while you were made to feel guilty for not supporting the campaign, while the rest of the church kicked in.
What might God say about this? In Isaiah 66:1-3 states, "This is what the Lord says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? My hands have made both heaven and earth and they are mine. I, the Lord have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. Their offerings will not be accepted, when such people sacrifice an ox, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice."
Am I saying it is wrong to build a church? No. But we need to stop kidding ourselves, that the temples we are building for the glory of men are built to serve God. How does burdening people to give money to build something that will burn up one day, honor God? And if you think I have just had too much coffee today, consider this: People who come to the church for help, frequently bring up the fact that "I tithe to the church", as if this entitles them to some special consideration. They are convinced they have stored up for themselves treasures - an indeed they have. Where do they get this idea? From the church! They aren't getting the idea from cereal boxes.
Drive by a Mega church this week. Whose name is on the outside? Is Jesus mentioned anywhere? The very odd thing is - if you drive by a Mormon temple, His name will be prominently displayed.
What do we do? I propose we stop pretending we are glorifying God by building structures for the glory of man. People can worship God under a tent, in a warehouse and in the mall. There are more than enough empty buildings for you to put your church and you'd be doing both the landlord and the local business community a favor. Some might say, "Isn't that what Lakewood did, by renting and remodeling the Compaq center?" Well, did the 90+ million they spent to remodel it and the millions in lease payments they will spend, have any eternal significance? Will anyone get into heaven because of the shiny, new building? Whose name is on the building?
I would very seriously like for you to consider the following question - don't play games with your own mind; consider it truthfully. Picture the follwing person coming to your church - dark skin, thick, black hair, long nose, a fairly well trimmed beard and worn hands. Being poor, and not having bathed in many days, he would stink. His clothes have holes from wear, his shoes also would be worn or perhaps broken. What would happen? At my church, a "campus alert" would be issued in case he were a robber. He would be encouraged to visit our benevolence center - several miles away from our church, at a safe distance. If he asked for water, he might get it, but he would certainly recieve some strange looks and wouldn't be encouraged to sit on our very plush furniture.
The person described above would not be very welcomed at our church - and I suspect at many buildings in our country which are incorrectly named after a group of believers who are to gether to worship Christ, fellowship together and bear one another's burdens. Sadly, the description above is probably a fairly accurate description of a first-century Galileen, who is named Jesus. Jesus said "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country." The people of Jesus own hometown rejected Him. Would the "church" do the same today?
What I couldn't get out of my mind is how similar the church today seemed to the Roman church in Luther's day. In the 15th century, Pope Leo and the Roman church sold indulgences - the offering of salvation for one's relatives suffering in purgatory; all for the price of a few pennies. For a bit more, one could save several family members or even one's long dead evil friend. Pope Leo took this a step further when he offered salvation for monies given to build St. Peter's Basilica.
Today in any major city are gigantic buildings dedicated to the memory of men, built upon the few pennies of the faithful, with the promise of rewards for those who give freely. These buildings are mistakenly called churches. Not that in some of them, perhaps even many, people are worshipping the One, true, God, it's just that the word we translate church never once applies to a building in sacred scripture.
For hundreds of years in America and certainly with much aplomb and grandeur in the 20th century, Americans have built great buildings to God, each one bigger and brighter than the next. Pass by the former Compaq center in Houston and one now sees "Lakewood Church" in all it's newly remodeled glory, with its benefactor in clear, orange letters "Joel Osteen - Pastor" emblazoned for everyone to see. It isn't hard to find one of these monuments to man, they are in nearly every city, whether one is in Houston, or Atlanta, California or Arkansas - these temples of man are increasing in number and grandeur.
Now wait a minute, some are now saying, "You've gone too far; My church is built out of the desires of the people to honor God and after all shouldn't He have a grand house to live in? "
Did you undergo a "building campaign" to build this magnificent house for God? What were you promised if you freely gave? Or perhaps you were told that "The Lord loves a cheerful giver" while you were made to feel guilty for not supporting the campaign, while the rest of the church kicked in.
What might God say about this? In Isaiah 66:1-3 states, "This is what the Lord says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? My hands have made both heaven and earth and they are mine. I, the Lord have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. Their offerings will not be accepted, when such people sacrifice an ox, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice."
Am I saying it is wrong to build a church? No. But we need to stop kidding ourselves, that the temples we are building for the glory of men are built to serve God. How does burdening people to give money to build something that will burn up one day, honor God? And if you think I have just had too much coffee today, consider this: People who come to the church for help, frequently bring up the fact that "I tithe to the church", as if this entitles them to some special consideration. They are convinced they have stored up for themselves treasures - an indeed they have. Where do they get this idea? From the church! They aren't getting the idea from cereal boxes.
Drive by a Mega church this week. Whose name is on the outside? Is Jesus mentioned anywhere? The very odd thing is - if you drive by a Mormon temple, His name will be prominently displayed.
What do we do? I propose we stop pretending we are glorifying God by building structures for the glory of man. People can worship God under a tent, in a warehouse and in the mall. There are more than enough empty buildings for you to put your church and you'd be doing both the landlord and the local business community a favor. Some might say, "Isn't that what Lakewood did, by renting and remodeling the Compaq center?" Well, did the 90+ million they spent to remodel it and the millions in lease payments they will spend, have any eternal significance? Will anyone get into heaven because of the shiny, new building? Whose name is on the building?
I would very seriously like for you to consider the following question - don't play games with your own mind; consider it truthfully. Picture the follwing person coming to your church - dark skin, thick, black hair, long nose, a fairly well trimmed beard and worn hands. Being poor, and not having bathed in many days, he would stink. His clothes have holes from wear, his shoes also would be worn or perhaps broken. What would happen? At my church, a "campus alert" would be issued in case he were a robber. He would be encouraged to visit our benevolence center - several miles away from our church, at a safe distance. If he asked for water, he might get it, but he would certainly recieve some strange looks and wouldn't be encouraged to sit on our very plush furniture.
The person described above would not be very welcomed at our church - and I suspect at many buildings in our country which are incorrectly named after a group of believers who are to gether to worship Christ, fellowship together and bear one another's burdens. Sadly, the description above is probably a fairly accurate description of a first-century Galileen, who is named Jesus. Jesus said "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country." The people of Jesus own hometown rejected Him. Would the "church" do the same today?
Monday, August 08, 2005
The truth about Pakistan
"U.S. drafts war plans in case of terror attack". Reads one headline of a major U.S. Newspaper today. And in every city in the western world, similar headlines attempt to stir people into buying whichever magazine or paper posts such articles. If one should pick up and actually read one of these articles, one would discover that terrorists are lurking at every streetcorner, governments are powerless against them and that Pakistan is a major source of terrorist funding and training. The problem is that all of these ideas are patently untrue.
Having just returned from Pakistan, and having visited the church there, I can tell you that Pakistan is no friend of terrorism. General Musharraf is no friend of radical islamists - in fact, they tried to assasinate him in 2003. Nearly every day while I was in Pakistan, I read local reports of the arrest and conviction of radical clerics calling for Jihadi nonsense. And in the two weeks I spent there, I did not meet a single person who was "anti-U.S." as CNN, the BBC and every other media outlet portrays Pakistan and the Pakistani people. No, I didn't stay in my hotel room, in fact the team I traveled with were invited to speak to more than 1,000 students at a large cultural center and I traveled about the city of Karachi freely. Security was excellent and all those I met wanted to be a friend of the U.S. and couldn't understand why our media were determined to paint their country as anti-american and pro-terrorism.
Are there terrorists in Pakistan? Absolutely. But there are also terrorists in the United States. And in Britain and in every other country in the world. Let us not forget that the second most violent act of terrorism we have ever experienced in the U.S. came about not because of radical muslims, but because of a deranged former U.S. soldier named Tim McVeigh.
What is most encouraging to me about Pakistan is not their pro-American stance or even their willingness to erase terrorism, but the power of the Christian church. While Pakistan is certainly overwhelmingly Islamic, the evangelical, Jesus-following church there is growing and the believers I met there were bold, joyous and filled with a deep longing to know Jesus and serve Him. As human beings, they aren't perfect, but they taught me many things which I hope will serve me as I walk through this life in the service of Jesus Christ. What were some of the things I learned from the Christians in Pakistan?
1. Jesus doesn't give a whit about denominations. Catholics, methodists and perhaps even some Baptists will be in heaven and probably some persons from each and every denomination will be in hell. I already knew that God "is no respecter of persons" but the Christians in Pakistan helped me to remember this important fact.
2. Materialism has blinded the American church. I already knew this also, but I saw first-hand how Jesus wants us to serve Him no matter what our material standing and without regard to buildings, or programs or any other manmade idea. I was reminded of Jesus' admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, that they had left their first love. They didn't repent and Jesus removed their lampstand from its place as He said He would. Today, the church at Ephesus is a swamp filled with the ruins of a pagan temple.
3. The church is not a business. Corporateness has no place in the church. Yet, in America the church has become one of our nations biggest businesses. Pastors earn high salaries while families in their own congregations struggle to provide housing and food for their children. Many large churches spend more on audio/video production than third-world churches will ever take in during the lifetime of their pastor. Yet, churches in the developing world are baptisting hundreds and even thousands of believers a month. Christians in the muslim world are gathering to pray all night simply because they felt called by the Holy Spirit to do so - without a pre-arranged conference or vote. You might want to read John Piper's excellent book "Brothers we are not professionals".
4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). I have prayed for healing for men and women and then sent them to the doctor. Why? Because I didn't really believe that God would heal them. Why? Because I had little faith. In Pakistan, where becoming a Christian can mean very serious persecution (loss of family, job, home, etc.) I saw incredible faith and consternation at my lack thereof. When someone prayed for healing, it was a surprise that the prayee wasn't healed immediately. Kinda like in that strange book the Bible! I had forgotten that Jesus said "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "beginning") and the Omega (Last letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "ending") the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) Jesus doesn't change - people do. And just like those Israelites of old, many of us have either lost our faith or never really had it in the first place.
One study of over 1,000 churches around the world, demonstrated that advanced theological training actually corresponded directly to negative church growth. I wondered about this until I visited Pakistan. When you think you know everything, you don't need God and you can start to rationalize away His sovereignty. "God works in dispensations" we say in theological circles - which really means that God changes His mind and is different today than He was in the past. The problem is that the Bible doesn't say this anywhere. James 1:17-18 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." God doesn't change. I would encourage you to read the account of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu, who died in a car accident and was certifiably (by several major hospitals) dead for nearly 4 days. God raised people from the dead for His purposes in the past, why can He not do so now?
5. It's all about God and nothing about us. I have written before on the subject of money and so won't belabour the point here. But are you sure your giant new house is a gift from God? Does the Bible say that you should store up treasures here on earth and claim them as God's blessings? Read Luke 12:22, Luke 14:25, Luke 16:19 among many other passages and ask yourself "how many glasses of water or how much food or clothing can I not give the poor because of my earthly treasure?" The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 are what they did and did not do. This does NOT mean we can work our way into heaven. It does mean that when Jesus comes back He will not be here to make everyone feel good about how we wasted His resources.
So, the truth about Pakistan is that it is a pro-American nation, struggling to wrest itself from millenia of violence and decades of Islamic oppression. We should pray for the church in Pakistan - believing that God will open the doors of this struggling nation and reveal Himself fully to them, and that they will choose Jesus over anything else. Pakistan is not a breeding ground for terror any more than Los Angeles or Detroit. We can also learn some things from Pakistan - despite the fact that almost all of their marriages are arranged - they have almost no divorce. We claim to be a Christian nation and yet we have almost no lifelong marriage. Today, lift up the people of Pakistan and also ask God to work in your life to bear fruit wherever you are. A Christian life without fruit is like a pizza without cheese - it just doesn't make sense.
Find some people from Pakistan in your area and let them know you are praying for them. You just might see God do something for His glory and your benefit.
Having just returned from Pakistan, and having visited the church there, I can tell you that Pakistan is no friend of terrorism. General Musharraf is no friend of radical islamists - in fact, they tried to assasinate him in 2003. Nearly every day while I was in Pakistan, I read local reports of the arrest and conviction of radical clerics calling for Jihadi nonsense. And in the two weeks I spent there, I did not meet a single person who was "anti-U.S." as CNN, the BBC and every other media outlet portrays Pakistan and the Pakistani people. No, I didn't stay in my hotel room, in fact the team I traveled with were invited to speak to more than 1,000 students at a large cultural center and I traveled about the city of Karachi freely. Security was excellent and all those I met wanted to be a friend of the U.S. and couldn't understand why our media were determined to paint their country as anti-american and pro-terrorism.
Are there terrorists in Pakistan? Absolutely. But there are also terrorists in the United States. And in Britain and in every other country in the world. Let us not forget that the second most violent act of terrorism we have ever experienced in the U.S. came about not because of radical muslims, but because of a deranged former U.S. soldier named Tim McVeigh.
What is most encouraging to me about Pakistan is not their pro-American stance or even their willingness to erase terrorism, but the power of the Christian church. While Pakistan is certainly overwhelmingly Islamic, the evangelical, Jesus-following church there is growing and the believers I met there were bold, joyous and filled with a deep longing to know Jesus and serve Him. As human beings, they aren't perfect, but they taught me many things which I hope will serve me as I walk through this life in the service of Jesus Christ. What were some of the things I learned from the Christians in Pakistan?
1. Jesus doesn't give a whit about denominations. Catholics, methodists and perhaps even some Baptists will be in heaven and probably some persons from each and every denomination will be in hell. I already knew that God "is no respecter of persons" but the Christians in Pakistan helped me to remember this important fact.
2. Materialism has blinded the American church. I already knew this also, but I saw first-hand how Jesus wants us to serve Him no matter what our material standing and without regard to buildings, or programs or any other manmade idea. I was reminded of Jesus' admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, that they had left their first love. They didn't repent and Jesus removed their lampstand from its place as He said He would. Today, the church at Ephesus is a swamp filled with the ruins of a pagan temple.
3. The church is not a business. Corporateness has no place in the church. Yet, in America the church has become one of our nations biggest businesses. Pastors earn high salaries while families in their own congregations struggle to provide housing and food for their children. Many large churches spend more on audio/video production than third-world churches will ever take in during the lifetime of their pastor. Yet, churches in the developing world are baptisting hundreds and even thousands of believers a month. Christians in the muslim world are gathering to pray all night simply because they felt called by the Holy Spirit to do so - without a pre-arranged conference or vote. You might want to read John Piper's excellent book "Brothers we are not professionals".
4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). I have prayed for healing for men and women and then sent them to the doctor. Why? Because I didn't really believe that God would heal them. Why? Because I had little faith. In Pakistan, where becoming a Christian can mean very serious persecution (loss of family, job, home, etc.) I saw incredible faith and consternation at my lack thereof. When someone prayed for healing, it was a surprise that the prayee wasn't healed immediately. Kinda like in that strange book the Bible! I had forgotten that Jesus said "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "beginning") and the Omega (Last letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "ending") the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) Jesus doesn't change - people do. And just like those Israelites of old, many of us have either lost our faith or never really had it in the first place.
One study of over 1,000 churches around the world, demonstrated that advanced theological training actually corresponded directly to negative church growth. I wondered about this until I visited Pakistan. When you think you know everything, you don't need God and you can start to rationalize away His sovereignty. "God works in dispensations" we say in theological circles - which really means that God changes His mind and is different today than He was in the past. The problem is that the Bible doesn't say this anywhere. James 1:17-18 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." God doesn't change. I would encourage you to read the account of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu, who died in a car accident and was certifiably (by several major hospitals) dead for nearly 4 days. God raised people from the dead for His purposes in the past, why can He not do so now?
5. It's all about God and nothing about us. I have written before on the subject of money and so won't belabour the point here. But are you sure your giant new house is a gift from God? Does the Bible say that you should store up treasures here on earth and claim them as God's blessings? Read Luke 12:22, Luke 14:25, Luke 16:19 among many other passages and ask yourself "how many glasses of water or how much food or clothing can I not give the poor because of my earthly treasure?" The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 are what they did and did not do. This does NOT mean we can work our way into heaven. It does mean that when Jesus comes back He will not be here to make everyone feel good about how we wasted His resources.
So, the truth about Pakistan is that it is a pro-American nation, struggling to wrest itself from millenia of violence and decades of Islamic oppression. We should pray for the church in Pakistan - believing that God will open the doors of this struggling nation and reveal Himself fully to them, and that they will choose Jesus over anything else. Pakistan is not a breeding ground for terror any more than Los Angeles or Detroit. We can also learn some things from Pakistan - despite the fact that almost all of their marriages are arranged - they have almost no divorce. We claim to be a Christian nation and yet we have almost no lifelong marriage. Today, lift up the people of Pakistan and also ask God to work in your life to bear fruit wherever you are. A Christian life without fruit is like a pizza without cheese - it just doesn't make sense.
Find some people from Pakistan in your area and let them know you are praying for them. You just might see God do something for His glory and your benefit.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
What will the church of the next century look like?
This is the $1.38 question which is on the minds, not only of the leaders of the church, but also the world. Though each generation asks this very important question, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that the answer to this question for this generation is as once the most difficult in history and as plain as the noses on our faces. Why?
Well, for one thing, the world we live in is experiencing unprecedented change. Our world population changes, requiring only 1 decade to add another BILLION people.
Information changes - think about that slow, annoying desktop PC you bought 2 years ago which is now a paperweight, but was the fastest thing going when you bought it.
Technology changes - do you know that the world now has its first cyborg? Nanotechnology is allowing humans to be fitted with machines to provide new limbs, which can detect pressure and temperature and repair damaged organs. Nasa is crashing probes into comets and Burt Rhutan flew a ship into space twice in less than a month. The FDA has approved ubiquitous cloning of meat-producing animals.
Human emotions change - the overwhelming fear of nuclear holocost in the the 1950's was replaced by a hatred of the status quo in the 60's. Today, "social anxiety disorder" is listed as the greatest fear; people are afraid to be alone, which is pretty ironic on a planet that is rapidly running out of real estate.
Recently, our church conducted a survey through a recognized polling organization. This survey revealed some surprising things, but the most surprising was that the respondants, who intentionally were not a part of our church, said their most pressing desire was to "belong to something meaningful" or to "help others". Man is a very social animal, despite the odd hermit or Howard Hughes.
So, what does a church look like that ministers to the needs of people who see their world flying by them at breakneck speed, cannot manage the overflow of information which bombards them and are afraid of being alone, yet deep down want to help other people?
(Please see Acts 2:40-47)
In a nutshell, the real church will be full of sheep. The bible often refers to humans as sheep and in truth, we are more like them than we care to admit. Sheep can't handle much information, they are definitely afraid of being alone and are extremely social animals. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:14-16 )
The church of the next century may or may not have a building. It may be in the city, or in the country. It will be in every nation on earth, and perhaps every nation will be in it.
If my definition sounds like nothing new; you're right - because the church is nothing new. It is now nearly 2,000 years old. And while the church must be relevant to the culture around it, it will be if we remember that the church is not a building, but an ecclesia - a community of people who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He has saved them from their sin. If we look at history; enormous buildings, huge budgets and a myriad of programs are a new phenomenon, borne out of the wealth and affluence of the 20th century.
Picture if you will, the scene in the George Lucas film, Star Wars: Episode II - attack of the clones, when Anakin Skywalker chases a would-be assassin into a club on a busy thoroughfare. The club is filled with creatures of every shape and size and the boulevard with neon signs and vehicles filling up every inch of available space. Inside the club, Anakin's Master; Obi-Wan kenobi is approached by a young creature trying to sell him something called "death sticks". Obi-Wan uses the force to pursuade this young person to give up selling illegal drugs and to change his life for the better. This is a pretty good picture of the church of the future - active, separate believers intervening in the lives of hurting people no matter where they find themselves. This model, established by Jesus many centuries ago, is a model which will only change when He returns to set up His eternal kingdom on earth.
So, my advice to you, (if you are worried about what the church will look like), is to not be put off by technology, or programs, or the lack thereof - but rather become a faithful sheep. As sheep, we must follow our shepherd, Jesus Christ who tells us that if we really do belong to Him, we will know His voice and follow it as He calls out to us. (John 10:4)
Well, for one thing, the world we live in is experiencing unprecedented change. Our world population changes, requiring only 1 decade to add another BILLION people.
Information changes - think about that slow, annoying desktop PC you bought 2 years ago which is now a paperweight, but was the fastest thing going when you bought it.
Technology changes - do you know that the world now has its first cyborg? Nanotechnology is allowing humans to be fitted with machines to provide new limbs, which can detect pressure and temperature and repair damaged organs. Nasa is crashing probes into comets and Burt Rhutan flew a ship into space twice in less than a month. The FDA has approved ubiquitous cloning of meat-producing animals.
Human emotions change - the overwhelming fear of nuclear holocost in the the 1950's was replaced by a hatred of the status quo in the 60's. Today, "social anxiety disorder" is listed as the greatest fear; people are afraid to be alone, which is pretty ironic on a planet that is rapidly running out of real estate.
Recently, our church conducted a survey through a recognized polling organization. This survey revealed some surprising things, but the most surprising was that the respondants, who intentionally were not a part of our church, said their most pressing desire was to "belong to something meaningful" or to "help others". Man is a very social animal, despite the odd hermit or Howard Hughes.
So, what does a church look like that ministers to the needs of people who see their world flying by them at breakneck speed, cannot manage the overflow of information which bombards them and are afraid of being alone, yet deep down want to help other people?
(Please see Acts 2:40-47)
In a nutshell, the real church will be full of sheep. The bible often refers to humans as sheep and in truth, we are more like them than we care to admit. Sheep can't handle much information, they are definitely afraid of being alone and are extremely social animals. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:14-16 )
The church of the next century may or may not have a building. It may be in the city, or in the country. It will be in every nation on earth, and perhaps every nation will be in it.
If my definition sounds like nothing new; you're right - because the church is nothing new. It is now nearly 2,000 years old. And while the church must be relevant to the culture around it, it will be if we remember that the church is not a building, but an ecclesia - a community of people who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He has saved them from their sin. If we look at history; enormous buildings, huge budgets and a myriad of programs are a new phenomenon, borne out of the wealth and affluence of the 20th century.
Picture if you will, the scene in the George Lucas film, Star Wars: Episode II - attack of the clones, when Anakin Skywalker chases a would-be assassin into a club on a busy thoroughfare. The club is filled with creatures of every shape and size and the boulevard with neon signs and vehicles filling up every inch of available space. Inside the club, Anakin's Master; Obi-Wan kenobi is approached by a young creature trying to sell him something called "death sticks". Obi-Wan uses the force to pursuade this young person to give up selling illegal drugs and to change his life for the better. This is a pretty good picture of the church of the future - active, separate believers intervening in the lives of hurting people no matter where they find themselves. This model, established by Jesus many centuries ago, is a model which will only change when He returns to set up His eternal kingdom on earth.
So, my advice to you, (if you are worried about what the church will look like), is to not be put off by technology, or programs, or the lack thereof - but rather become a faithful sheep. As sheep, we must follow our shepherd, Jesus Christ who tells us that if we really do belong to Him, we will know His voice and follow it as He calls out to us. (John 10:4)
Monday, June 27, 2005
JC's weekly June 27th - Why is the world so afraid of Jesus?
Why is the world so afraid of Jesus?
It is interesting to note the reactions of human beings when the name of Jesus Christ of Natsareth is used. I encourage you to try a short, rather unscientific experiment for yourself: ask three people today what they think about the name, Jesus Christ. The reactions you receive may amaze you. Some will express ambivalence, others, indifference or perhaps a mild curiosity. You will probably run into someone who says "oh, I am a Christian" (which, by the way, doesn't answer the question). Still others will demonstrate stark terror as if you had asked them, "would you mind if I bit you on the neck?"
Why? What is it about the name of someone who died 1,972 years ago that produces such reactions in people today?
It is my assertion, that it isn't he fact that he died 1,972 years ago that scares people - it's the fact that he didn't stay that way, that gives people in 21st Century America, the heebie-jeebies.
P.T. Barnum's statement "there's a sucker born every minute" aside, people really aren't stupid. Yes, there is mass hysteria over seemingly ridiculous things and the public eye is often focused on some absolutely trival nonsense. But meet a normal person on any given day in America and you are likely to find someone who is reasonably intelligent and savvy, at least in their own sphere of influence.
The fear invoked by the name of Jesus Christ upon the seemingly normal people of America occurs, because no other word in our language conjurs up images of truth, accountability and most importantly life and death like his name does. One may have never attended church, and may in fact be of a completely different religion than the followers of Christ, yet upon hearing his name pictures enter into our minds - pictures which most of us would rather avoid.
The most pressing thought that come to mind of course is, "what if he was right?" Surely he wasn't - most believe, but since in today's mind almost everything is possible, there may be a slight chance he was. If so, we had better change some things, hadn't we?
But mention his name and people intuitively know that something is definitely different.
When I go to a public place and people are cursing, drinking or doing things which aren't really good for them, and I mention the name of Jesus, immediately, they say "I'm sorry" or "oh! I didn't realize". Why? What is it about the name of Jesus which invokes such energetic responses among people at large?
The bible tells us. Jesus' name is unique in all of history. The bible says that the name of Jesus is "above all other names" (Philippians 2:9). Certainly, it isn't the spelling of his name, or even its pronounciation, (in Arabic-speaking countries, his name is pronounced "isa"). The name of Jesus is unique because Jesus is unique. No one else in all of recorded history ever got up once they were verifiably dead and buried. Jesus' name, represents Jesus himself - who did something that no one else has ever done. This is another reason why the Bible tells us that one day, "Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." (Philippians 2:10)
Jesus' name is so great and so famous that even those who normally don't pay any attention to him, are disturbed by it. What really muddies up the waters of our normal, workaday lives is the notion that Jesus Christ has declared himself to be the Son of God - which he is, and which also explains why he alone of all the people of the earth didn't stay dead.
Neither Mohammed, Confucious, Buddha, the Dalai Lhama, nor any other figure in history can make this claim and provide the objective, historical evidence to back it up. The historical fact of his resurrection, makes the name of Jesus the only name that can save you. The Apostle Peter as recorded in the book of Acts, Chapter 4 tells us that, "there is no other name under heaven, given to men by which we might be saved". Saved from what? Well, from the very thing that makes Jesus Christ unique - death. When he woke up after having been dead for three days, Jesus had vanquished death; instead of death having power over him, he had power over it and it could no longer operate as if it were invincible. Jesus demonstrated that he alone has the ability to contravene death and he offers this unique power to anyone who will believe in his name.
David Frost, the popular british T.V. journalist has interviewed Billy Graham for many years and in one such interview, told Dr. Graham, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to tell them Billy Graham said I could come in." Dr. Graham's reply? "That won't do you any good, David - you'll have to tell them Jesus said you could come in." The only ticket to heaven bears the name Jesus on it.
Jesus' name is unique and deserves the utmost respect. Even if you don't believe in him, you would be well served to give his name the honor it deserves. Remember, today - anything goes and there just may be a chance that he was right. Picture yourself for one moment having died, and finding yourself standing before Jesus; trying to explain why you only said his name after you had smashed your finger with a hammer or when something shocking happened to you. Wouldn't it be much better if you stood before him and were able to actually thank him for all that he had done on your behalf?
Of course it would, and all you need do to make sure this happens is to follow the advice of St. John. He wrote, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
Believe in Jesus' name. Then try using "darn!" or "crap!" or "beeblebrox!" the next time you hit yourself with a hammer.
It is interesting to note the reactions of human beings when the name of Jesus Christ of Natsareth is used. I encourage you to try a short, rather unscientific experiment for yourself: ask three people today what they think about the name, Jesus Christ. The reactions you receive may amaze you. Some will express ambivalence, others, indifference or perhaps a mild curiosity. You will probably run into someone who says "oh, I am a Christian" (which, by the way, doesn't answer the question). Still others will demonstrate stark terror as if you had asked them, "would you mind if I bit you on the neck?"
Why? What is it about the name of someone who died 1,972 years ago that produces such reactions in people today?
It is my assertion, that it isn't he fact that he died 1,972 years ago that scares people - it's the fact that he didn't stay that way, that gives people in 21st Century America, the heebie-jeebies.
P.T. Barnum's statement "there's a sucker born every minute" aside, people really aren't stupid. Yes, there is mass hysteria over seemingly ridiculous things and the public eye is often focused on some absolutely trival nonsense. But meet a normal person on any given day in America and you are likely to find someone who is reasonably intelligent and savvy, at least in their own sphere of influence.
The fear invoked by the name of Jesus Christ upon the seemingly normal people of America occurs, because no other word in our language conjurs up images of truth, accountability and most importantly life and death like his name does. One may have never attended church, and may in fact be of a completely different religion than the followers of Christ, yet upon hearing his name pictures enter into our minds - pictures which most of us would rather avoid.
The most pressing thought that come to mind of course is, "what if he was right?" Surely he wasn't - most believe, but since in today's mind almost everything is possible, there may be a slight chance he was. If so, we had better change some things, hadn't we?
But mention his name and people intuitively know that something is definitely different.
When I go to a public place and people are cursing, drinking or doing things which aren't really good for them, and I mention the name of Jesus, immediately, they say "I'm sorry" or "oh! I didn't realize". Why? What is it about the name of Jesus which invokes such energetic responses among people at large?
The bible tells us. Jesus' name is unique in all of history. The bible says that the name of Jesus is "above all other names" (Philippians 2:9). Certainly, it isn't the spelling of his name, or even its pronounciation, (in Arabic-speaking countries, his name is pronounced "isa"). The name of Jesus is unique because Jesus is unique. No one else in all of recorded history ever got up once they were verifiably dead and buried. Jesus' name, represents Jesus himself - who did something that no one else has ever done. This is another reason why the Bible tells us that one day, "Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." (Philippians 2:10)
Jesus' name is so great and so famous that even those who normally don't pay any attention to him, are disturbed by it. What really muddies up the waters of our normal, workaday lives is the notion that Jesus Christ has declared himself to be the Son of God - which he is, and which also explains why he alone of all the people of the earth didn't stay dead.
Neither Mohammed, Confucious, Buddha, the Dalai Lhama, nor any other figure in history can make this claim and provide the objective, historical evidence to back it up. The historical fact of his resurrection, makes the name of Jesus the only name that can save you. The Apostle Peter as recorded in the book of Acts, Chapter 4 tells us that, "there is no other name under heaven, given to men by which we might be saved". Saved from what? Well, from the very thing that makes Jesus Christ unique - death. When he woke up after having been dead for three days, Jesus had vanquished death; instead of death having power over him, he had power over it and it could no longer operate as if it were invincible. Jesus demonstrated that he alone has the ability to contravene death and he offers this unique power to anyone who will believe in his name.
David Frost, the popular british T.V. journalist has interviewed Billy Graham for many years and in one such interview, told Dr. Graham, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to tell them Billy Graham said I could come in." Dr. Graham's reply? "That won't do you any good, David - you'll have to tell them Jesus said you could come in." The only ticket to heaven bears the name Jesus on it.
Jesus' name is unique and deserves the utmost respect. Even if you don't believe in him, you would be well served to give his name the honor it deserves. Remember, today - anything goes and there just may be a chance that he was right. Picture yourself for one moment having died, and finding yourself standing before Jesus; trying to explain why you only said his name after you had smashed your finger with a hammer or when something shocking happened to you. Wouldn't it be much better if you stood before him and were able to actually thank him for all that he had done on your behalf?
Of course it would, and all you need do to make sure this happens is to follow the advice of St. John. He wrote, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
Believe in Jesus' name. Then try using "darn!" or "crap!" or "beeblebrox!" the next time you hit yourself with a hammer.
Monday, June 20, 2005
JC's Weekly June 20th 2005
Looking Up?
The race of man is rapidly growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world population is at an all-time high, with 90 million people entering our world each year. It took 123 years for the population of the world to grow from 1 billion to 2 billion, but each successive billion people have arrived in ever-shorter timespans. From 2 to 3 billion took only 33 years, from 3 to 4 fourteen years and it only took 11 years to grow from 5 to the current 6 billion people. The population of the world's most economically developed countries is actually dropping, while 95% of all population growth is taking place in the world's poorest countries.
Coupled with this incredible population explosion, is a dramatic increase in premature death. According to the worldwatch institute (www.worldwatch.org) for the first time since the great famine of China in the 1960's, the world's mortality rate is increasing, despite and perhaps even because of rapid population growth. The main causes of this dramatic calamity? HIV, water depletion and the scarcity of cropland for food.
HIV, which leads to the fatal AIDS Syndrome is wiping out whole cultures on the African and Indian Subcontinents. I have spoken to African pastors who have told me that they fully expect half of their church to die of AIDs in the coming year. One out of every three people on our planet live in Africa or the Indian subcontinent and these are the regions most devastated by thie terrible disease. In Botswana and Zimbabwe, the life expectancy of males has FALLEN from 62 to less than 44 years - primarily because of HIV/AIDS. The saddest fact of these statistics is that this disease is entirely preventable - And only children and rape victims indescriminantly die of AIDS, having inherited it from their sexually promiscuous parents or attackers.
In China, the world's most populist country, despite strict controls on families and forced abortion and sterilization, another kind of epidemic is raging - the lack of women. More than 50 years of the forced abortion of infant girls have created a gender imbalance that will dramatically affect Chinese and perhaps the world's culture. Some statistics I have read state that there are 152 men for every 100 women in China and in rural areas, where boys are needed for work, the figure may be much higher. What happens in a society where there are tens of millions of men with no women to marry?
The shortage of drinking water is something that we cannot imagine in America. One example of the effects of no available water could be seen in the Masai tribesmen of Africa who for generations, drank the blood of their cattle during the dry season because there was simply no water to be found. God has graciously helped in the case of the Masai; Living Water International (www.living-water.org) has provided clean water to this tribe and others, but one organization cannot even begin to address the global water shortage efectively. One film I recently watched from some of our missionaries in Bangladesh showed the condition of water in much of the undeveloped world - in the same river, people bathed, gathered drinking water, dumped their trash and human waste - all at the same time.
Even though there are perhaps millions of American families who struggle with meeting their daily nutritional needs, no one in America really knows what it is like for there to be NO food sources. Rich in farmland, our country pays farmers each year not to grow their crops. But in many parts of the world, there simply isn't any food because there isn't any land on which to grow it, or the population growth is far outpacing the ability of land to produce crops. One cannot feed 10,000 families from a single acre of land, and yet in some parts of Africa and India, this is the demand placed on the earth.
What does this have to do with the church?
In the book of Luke, Chapter 21, Jesus is giving His disciples and vicariously, you and I a picture of what will happen as the end of time draws near. "And He said, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven" (Vv.10-11).
In December of 2004, approximately 280,000 people died within 15 minutes from an earthquake and tsunami in the Indian ocean, which qualifies as a "great earthquake" in my humble opinion. Jesus went on to say "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." (v. 12) The Jewish believers until the time of Constantine (285-337 A.D.) were brought before the synagogues and persecuted in Jerusalem. Many Christians since then have been brought before kings and rulers for naming the name of Jesus' Christ. It is estimated, in fact, that since the Stalinist persecutions in Soviet Russia until the present time, more Christians have died than in all the centuries before combined.
For the last 2000 or so years, this particular prophecy of Jesus has been fulfilled. Further on in this passage (v.20), Jesus provides some startling detail. Jesus says that Jerusalem will be surrounded and that "Jerusalem will be trampled until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled". Jerusalem was crushed by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 70 and not one single Jewish person was left alive inside the city.
Jesus then goes on to talk about His return. He states in (v.28) "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
One doesn't have to be Chicken Little to see that our world is heading for a disaster. Jerusalem has long been considered the "center of the earth" (according to Herod the Great) because on this tiny stretch of land alongside the Mediterranean sea lies the most fertile land in all the earth. Everything grows abundantly there - water is plentiful, the weather is just right and the soil is rich. If you were the dictator of a nation filled with starving, dying people where would you go? If you had an army of trained men, hundreds of millions strong and couldn't feed your people, in what direction would you travel?
That's right - to the most fertile slice of land on earth. This is precisely where these nations will go. When? I don't know. But what I do know is that before these nations of the East march toward this rich source of food and water, Jesus Christ will return. There have been earthquakes and famines on the earth for thousands of years. But there has never before been a time when mankind could no longer find food and water or when millions of men could not find women to take as wives, because these things simply were not there.
When Jesus comes back He is going to quickly leave again, taking with Him all those who have joined with Him in their hearts and minds. Those who do not leave with Him will be left here to watch as the great masses of humanity, driven to seek their basic necessities, march toward that most ancient city of Jerusalem; filled with food and exotic women. The Bible talks about what will happen when they get there. The details can be found in the book of Revelation, Chapter 19.
The Bible asks the question, "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?Or who may stand in His holy place?"(Psalm 24:3)
The answer, "who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:4) In short, only those who have not lifted up their soul to anything else but Jesus Christ. In a world where sex, money, fortune, notoriety and self-indulgence are the loftiest goals one can obtain, it is easy to lift up our lives (our souls) and sell ourselves for these things. Don't do it. Nike is wrong. And when Jesus comes back, he won't be wearing tennis shoes. Set your mind and your life of the things of God. That way, as the end of time approaches, you won't be like Chicken Little, wondering what is going to happen next. Don't guess at the most important thing in your entire life - eternity. Be certain that when Jesus Christ returns, you will go with him. The trip is free; all you have to do is ask.
The race of man is rapidly growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world population is at an all-time high, with 90 million people entering our world each year. It took 123 years for the population of the world to grow from 1 billion to 2 billion, but each successive billion people have arrived in ever-shorter timespans. From 2 to 3 billion took only 33 years, from 3 to 4 fourteen years and it only took 11 years to grow from 5 to the current 6 billion people. The population of the world's most economically developed countries is actually dropping, while 95% of all population growth is taking place in the world's poorest countries.
Coupled with this incredible population explosion, is a dramatic increase in premature death. According to the worldwatch institute (www.worldwatch.org) for the first time since the great famine of China in the 1960's, the world's mortality rate is increasing, despite and perhaps even because of rapid population growth. The main causes of this dramatic calamity? HIV, water depletion and the scarcity of cropland for food.
HIV, which leads to the fatal AIDS Syndrome is wiping out whole cultures on the African and Indian Subcontinents. I have spoken to African pastors who have told me that they fully expect half of their church to die of AIDs in the coming year. One out of every three people on our planet live in Africa or the Indian subcontinent and these are the regions most devastated by thie terrible disease. In Botswana and Zimbabwe, the life expectancy of males has FALLEN from 62 to less than 44 years - primarily because of HIV/AIDS. The saddest fact of these statistics is that this disease is entirely preventable - And only children and rape victims indescriminantly die of AIDS, having inherited it from their sexually promiscuous parents or attackers.
In China, the world's most populist country, despite strict controls on families and forced abortion and sterilization, another kind of epidemic is raging - the lack of women. More than 50 years of the forced abortion of infant girls have created a gender imbalance that will dramatically affect Chinese and perhaps the world's culture. Some statistics I have read state that there are 152 men for every 100 women in China and in rural areas, where boys are needed for work, the figure may be much higher. What happens in a society where there are tens of millions of men with no women to marry?
The shortage of drinking water is something that we cannot imagine in America. One example of the effects of no available water could be seen in the Masai tribesmen of Africa who for generations, drank the blood of their cattle during the dry season because there was simply no water to be found. God has graciously helped in the case of the Masai; Living Water International (www.living-water.org) has provided clean water to this tribe and others, but one organization cannot even begin to address the global water shortage efectively. One film I recently watched from some of our missionaries in Bangladesh showed the condition of water in much of the undeveloped world - in the same river, people bathed, gathered drinking water, dumped their trash and human waste - all at the same time.
Even though there are perhaps millions of American families who struggle with meeting their daily nutritional needs, no one in America really knows what it is like for there to be NO food sources. Rich in farmland, our country pays farmers each year not to grow their crops. But in many parts of the world, there simply isn't any food because there isn't any land on which to grow it, or the population growth is far outpacing the ability of land to produce crops. One cannot feed 10,000 families from a single acre of land, and yet in some parts of Africa and India, this is the demand placed on the earth.
What does this have to do with the church?
In the book of Luke, Chapter 21, Jesus is giving His disciples and vicariously, you and I a picture of what will happen as the end of time draws near. "And He said, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven" (Vv.10-11).
In December of 2004, approximately 280,000 people died within 15 minutes from an earthquake and tsunami in the Indian ocean, which qualifies as a "great earthquake" in my humble opinion. Jesus went on to say "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." (v. 12) The Jewish believers until the time of Constantine (285-337 A.D.) were brought before the synagogues and persecuted in Jerusalem. Many Christians since then have been brought before kings and rulers for naming the name of Jesus' Christ. It is estimated, in fact, that since the Stalinist persecutions in Soviet Russia until the present time, more Christians have died than in all the centuries before combined.
For the last 2000 or so years, this particular prophecy of Jesus has been fulfilled. Further on in this passage (v.20), Jesus provides some startling detail. Jesus says that Jerusalem will be surrounded and that "Jerusalem will be trampled until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled". Jerusalem was crushed by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 70 and not one single Jewish person was left alive inside the city.
Jesus then goes on to talk about His return. He states in (v.28) "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
One doesn't have to be Chicken Little to see that our world is heading for a disaster. Jerusalem has long been considered the "center of the earth" (according to Herod the Great) because on this tiny stretch of land alongside the Mediterranean sea lies the most fertile land in all the earth. Everything grows abundantly there - water is plentiful, the weather is just right and the soil is rich. If you were the dictator of a nation filled with starving, dying people where would you go? If you had an army of trained men, hundreds of millions strong and couldn't feed your people, in what direction would you travel?
That's right - to the most fertile slice of land on earth. This is precisely where these nations will go. When? I don't know. But what I do know is that before these nations of the East march toward this rich source of food and water, Jesus Christ will return. There have been earthquakes and famines on the earth for thousands of years. But there has never before been a time when mankind could no longer find food and water or when millions of men could not find women to take as wives, because these things simply were not there.
When Jesus comes back He is going to quickly leave again, taking with Him all those who have joined with Him in their hearts and minds. Those who do not leave with Him will be left here to watch as the great masses of humanity, driven to seek their basic necessities, march toward that most ancient city of Jerusalem; filled with food and exotic women. The Bible talks about what will happen when they get there. The details can be found in the book of Revelation, Chapter 19.
The Bible asks the question, "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?Or who may stand in His holy place?"(Psalm 24:3)
The answer, "who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:4) In short, only those who have not lifted up their soul to anything else but Jesus Christ. In a world where sex, money, fortune, notoriety and self-indulgence are the loftiest goals one can obtain, it is easy to lift up our lives (our souls) and sell ourselves for these things. Don't do it. Nike is wrong. And when Jesus comes back, he won't be wearing tennis shoes. Set your mind and your life of the things of God. That way, as the end of time approaches, you won't be like Chicken Little, wondering what is going to happen next. Don't guess at the most important thing in your entire life - eternity. Be certain that when Jesus Christ returns, you will go with him. The trip is free; all you have to do is ask.
Monday, June 13, 2005
JC's Weekly June 13th 2005
In a recent interview with British author Joseph Pearce, the great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, spoke about his worldview, having lived much of his life in Soviet prison camps and now watching as Russia struggles to free itself from the grip of communism.
Mr. Solzhenitsyn was asked; "A British journalist recently stated that you believe that Russia has overthrown the evils of communism only to replace them with the evils of capitalism, is that a fair statement of your position and, if so, what do you feel are the worst evils of capitalism?"
To which he replied, "In different places over the years I have had to prove that socialism, which to many western thinkers is a sort of kingdom of justice, was in fact full of coercion, of bureaucratic greed and corruption and avarice, and consistent within itself that socialism cannot be implemented without the aid of coercion. Communist propaganda would sometimes include statements such as "we include almost all the commandments of the Gospel in our ideology". The difference is that the Gospel asks all this to be achieved through love, through self-limitation, but socialism only uses coercion. This is one point.
Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive."
There is a common tendency in the west to equate materialism (capitalism) with Christianity. This is not of God as many in America would claim. And yet, capitalism as an economic system appears to have many benefits. It offers the individual, if properly administered, with the ability to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. However, capitalism is an economic system and not, as we in America have come to understand it - a political one. Neither is it intended to be a religion; yet in America it has become just that.
The Bible speaks a great deal about money. Jesus warned His followers not to seek after financial wealth. Jesus was not an aesthete as some claim, denying all property rights and ordering people to live communal lives of poverty. As I have mentioned before, He and his followers had a bank account and through St. Paul, we learn that money is not the root of all kinds of evil - but the love of it is. The great problem of our generation is that the west is in love with money. Jesus taught a proper perspective for money; a perspective which I believe we have lost.
American life is inseperably intertwined with this natural desire for money. I use natural here in the pejorative, negative sense - as the Bible does. It is a "natural" person who cannot understand the spiritual things of God (1 Corinthans 2:14) and it is this same natural desire for money that permeates American society. But is Solzhenitsyn correct? Is capitalism, bereft of God, repulsive? I believe it is. And stand guilty of having participated in its ugliest aspects.
Capitalism as a system seeks the attainment of capital, for production and profit. In and of itself, this system is neither good nor bad - it, like the money upon which it operates is neutral; purely a system. But nothing in our world is truly neutral when it involves mankind. This principal illustrates the foolishness of much modern thinking ( or rather non-thinking) about government, schools and religion. There are no real atheists and to suggest that someone must remain "neutral" toward all things is idiotic. No one lives life without emotion, desire and will and so no system of man can exist without these things. This is the problem of capitalism. This is also the reason Jesus spoke in such harsh tones about the pursuit of money. He identified the "deceitfulness of riches". (Mark 4:19) and He said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. (Mark 10:25)
Solzhenitsyn did not say capitalism was repulsive. He said capitalism "untouched by the breath of God" is repulsive. My assessment of America is that much of our country is "untouched by the breath of God" and certainly our economic system must be included. For the Christian, our highest aim is always to love God and secondly to love man. One of the ways we demonstrate this love is out of service. No one can seriously suggest that the system of capitalism which we utilize in America serves mankind.
At a recent government hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan said, "The income gap between the rich and the rest of the US population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself." Thus the problem of American capitalism. In a system where each individual seeks his or her own highest good, someone eventually loses, because what may be in my best interest is not necessarily in yours, or anyone else's for that matter. When my own economic benefit is my highest priority, I and those whom I influence will eventually suffer.
Jesus taught that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) If we are honest, we know this to be true. When my aim in life was to become wealthy, my energies, efforts, time and resources were directed to this cause. Which means they were not directed to the love of God and my neighbor. "But can't we do both?" someone has asked. Not according to Jesus. He said "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24)
Communism as a system is of the devil. It operates by force and coercion and Sozhenitsyn knows this well - he suffered by it. Capitalism is not necessarily of the devil - it is a system of economics. But without God as our guide, capitalism quickly becomes a tool of the devil - as does anything mankind uses or develops having left God out of the development.
How can we know where our "heart" is? Ask yourself the question, "If I lost all of my material possessions tomorrow, would I be burdened by this?" If answered honestly, most would say "yes!" If someone were to come to your house and ask for anything in it - could you give it to them? Or is there some cherished possession you must hold on to which is really the repository of your heart? Jesus taught us that no material thing is really worth anything. Sleeping in a bed under a roof with hot food and even transportation is a blessing from God. And so can be other material things. But ultimately, even the most opulent material thing will waste away into nothing. If there is something which you possess which you could not this day give away, then you do not possess the object - it possesses you.
Recently, a friend of mine was awakened by the smell of smoke and jumped out of bed to find his house on fire. He rushed to his children's rooms and woke them and he and his wife and children fled to the safety of the street outside and watched as their house burned. When I called him later that day, and asked how he was doing, he said "fine. My house burned down, but my family is safe and I can always get a new house - but only God can give me a family". His heart is in the right place.
Sozhenitsyn might ask, "is yours?"
Mr. Solzhenitsyn was asked; "A British journalist recently stated that you believe that Russia has overthrown the evils of communism only to replace them with the evils of capitalism, is that a fair statement of your position and, if so, what do you feel are the worst evils of capitalism?"
To which he replied, "In different places over the years I have had to prove that socialism, which to many western thinkers is a sort of kingdom of justice, was in fact full of coercion, of bureaucratic greed and corruption and avarice, and consistent within itself that socialism cannot be implemented without the aid of coercion. Communist propaganda would sometimes include statements such as "we include almost all the commandments of the Gospel in our ideology". The difference is that the Gospel asks all this to be achieved through love, through self-limitation, but socialism only uses coercion. This is one point.
Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive."
There is a common tendency in the west to equate materialism (capitalism) with Christianity. This is not of God as many in America would claim. And yet, capitalism as an economic system appears to have many benefits. It offers the individual, if properly administered, with the ability to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. However, capitalism is an economic system and not, as we in America have come to understand it - a political one. Neither is it intended to be a religion; yet in America it has become just that.
The Bible speaks a great deal about money. Jesus warned His followers not to seek after financial wealth. Jesus was not an aesthete as some claim, denying all property rights and ordering people to live communal lives of poverty. As I have mentioned before, He and his followers had a bank account and through St. Paul, we learn that money is not the root of all kinds of evil - but the love of it is. The great problem of our generation is that the west is in love with money. Jesus taught a proper perspective for money; a perspective which I believe we have lost.
American life is inseperably intertwined with this natural desire for money. I use natural here in the pejorative, negative sense - as the Bible does. It is a "natural" person who cannot understand the spiritual things of God (1 Corinthans 2:14) and it is this same natural desire for money that permeates American society. But is Solzhenitsyn correct? Is capitalism, bereft of God, repulsive? I believe it is. And stand guilty of having participated in its ugliest aspects.
Capitalism as a system seeks the attainment of capital, for production and profit. In and of itself, this system is neither good nor bad - it, like the money upon which it operates is neutral; purely a system. But nothing in our world is truly neutral when it involves mankind. This principal illustrates the foolishness of much modern thinking ( or rather non-thinking) about government, schools and religion. There are no real atheists and to suggest that someone must remain "neutral" toward all things is idiotic. No one lives life without emotion, desire and will and so no system of man can exist without these things. This is the problem of capitalism. This is also the reason Jesus spoke in such harsh tones about the pursuit of money. He identified the "deceitfulness of riches". (Mark 4:19) and He said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. (Mark 10:25)
Solzhenitsyn did not say capitalism was repulsive. He said capitalism "untouched by the breath of God" is repulsive. My assessment of America is that much of our country is "untouched by the breath of God" and certainly our economic system must be included. For the Christian, our highest aim is always to love God and secondly to love man. One of the ways we demonstrate this love is out of service. No one can seriously suggest that the system of capitalism which we utilize in America serves mankind.
At a recent government hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan said, "The income gap between the rich and the rest of the US population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself." Thus the problem of American capitalism. In a system where each individual seeks his or her own highest good, someone eventually loses, because what may be in my best interest is not necessarily in yours, or anyone else's for that matter. When my own economic benefit is my highest priority, I and those whom I influence will eventually suffer.
Jesus taught that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) If we are honest, we know this to be true. When my aim in life was to become wealthy, my energies, efforts, time and resources were directed to this cause. Which means they were not directed to the love of God and my neighbor. "But can't we do both?" someone has asked. Not according to Jesus. He said "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24)
Communism as a system is of the devil. It operates by force and coercion and Sozhenitsyn knows this well - he suffered by it. Capitalism is not necessarily of the devil - it is a system of economics. But without God as our guide, capitalism quickly becomes a tool of the devil - as does anything mankind uses or develops having left God out of the development.
How can we know where our "heart" is? Ask yourself the question, "If I lost all of my material possessions tomorrow, would I be burdened by this?" If answered honestly, most would say "yes!" If someone were to come to your house and ask for anything in it - could you give it to them? Or is there some cherished possession you must hold on to which is really the repository of your heart? Jesus taught us that no material thing is really worth anything. Sleeping in a bed under a roof with hot food and even transportation is a blessing from God. And so can be other material things. But ultimately, even the most opulent material thing will waste away into nothing. If there is something which you possess which you could not this day give away, then you do not possess the object - it possesses you.
Recently, a friend of mine was awakened by the smell of smoke and jumped out of bed to find his house on fire. He rushed to his children's rooms and woke them and he and his wife and children fled to the safety of the street outside and watched as their house burned. When I called him later that day, and asked how he was doing, he said "fine. My house burned down, but my family is safe and I can always get a new house - but only God can give me a family". His heart is in the right place.
Sozhenitsyn might ask, "is yours?"
Monday, June 06, 2005
JC's Weekly June 6th
" The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5)
It is an incredible, awesome fact that one day every living creature will see the openly revealed glory of God. We see His glory today, but we see it through weary, darkened eyes.
Have you ever been in a room filled with smoke from a fire? Not the grey or white smoke caused by burning bisquits in the oven, but the thick, black smoke which rises from intense heat and burning wood, fabric and oil? In this type of environment, one must crawl on the floor in search of oxygen, and if we try very hard, through the choking soot and ash we can make out the faint outline of a door, or window. In my case, having seen the door, every ounce of my being was spent trying to crawl along the floor, reaching it. And once through it, after a fit of coughing, sneezing and hacking, I was finally able (after what seemed forever), to take a deep breath of fresh, clean air. (Thankfully I wasn't in Los Angeles !)
The scenario above aptly describes, I think our lives today. We live in a world filled with the thick, black smoke of sin and evil. We spend our lives gasping for breath, struggling to find a door through which we might escape.
The difference between my experience and our world today, is that God has placed a great, shining door in the room of our world - a door that we can see from anywhere on earth, if we will only lift up our heads and see it. Unfortunately, it appears that many people are focused on the floor and the short gasps of oxygen that can be obtained there. They bump their way around the room we live in and horribly, never reach the door.
It is my job to tap people on the shoulder and point them to the door. This is very easy work for me, because although I have to continue to put up with the wheezing and sneezing of this smoke-filled world, I have been allowed to peek through the door and know what is on the other side.
In contrast to the smoke-filled room where we now find ourselves, on the other side of the door, are enormous, rolling hills, filled with every imaginable flower (and some you cannot even imagine). On these hills live beautiful creatures; there are majestic horses, lions and even some lambs - all of which live in perfect harmony. It is never night there and through all of the hills flows a great river, which is so clear that you cannot even see your reflection in it.
In the world beyond the door, one never has to gasp for breath. In fact, you could run for a thousand years and never even become tired. Beyond the door, there is no sickness, disease or pain. Believe it or not, I even saw a unicorn there.
Sometimes I have to scratch my head and wonder why more people aren't headed for the white door. But this weekend, I met someone who is and I want to introduce him to you. His name is Billy and he is twelve or thirteen years old. Billy doesn't fit into the box that most of us put twelve and thirteen year olds. Billy lives in a foster home far away from where he was born, because his father tried to kill him. He arrived in Texas without any possessions, except the most precious possession any of us can have - a key to the white door. Billy talked to me about his mom, who he prays for because she "lives with lots of men". He prays for his father who is in prison in another state. Billy was very excited this weekend, because the tooth fairy brought him seven dollars for his tooth. (In case you didn't know - the tooth fairy is a Christian).
Billy and I spent three days together and I have to tell you that those three days were some of the most rewarding I have had on this side of the white door. I think that once we pass through the door to that world with rolling hills, I will look up Billy and we will spend a few years talking about the tooth fairy.
In case it's not clear, the dark room in my story is this earth and the white door is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Billy and I would like to encourage you to lift your head from the floor and look up and see Jesus. Yes, the smoke is dark and thick, and yes, we know you sometimes have to cough and sneeze and it is hard to crawl through this dark room, but if you will just look up, you can see Jesus and He really will give you a key to the door and let you briefly look on the other side. Billy and I can tell you that once you have seen what's over there, you will never be the same.
It's awfully hard to be sad once you have seen a unicorn.
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5)
It is an incredible, awesome fact that one day every living creature will see the openly revealed glory of God. We see His glory today, but we see it through weary, darkened eyes.
Have you ever been in a room filled with smoke from a fire? Not the grey or white smoke caused by burning bisquits in the oven, but the thick, black smoke which rises from intense heat and burning wood, fabric and oil? In this type of environment, one must crawl on the floor in search of oxygen, and if we try very hard, through the choking soot and ash we can make out the faint outline of a door, or window. In my case, having seen the door, every ounce of my being was spent trying to crawl along the floor, reaching it. And once through it, after a fit of coughing, sneezing and hacking, I was finally able (after what seemed forever), to take a deep breath of fresh, clean air. (Thankfully I wasn't in Los Angeles !)
The scenario above aptly describes, I think our lives today. We live in a world filled with the thick, black smoke of sin and evil. We spend our lives gasping for breath, struggling to find a door through which we might escape.
The difference between my experience and our world today, is that God has placed a great, shining door in the room of our world - a door that we can see from anywhere on earth, if we will only lift up our heads and see it. Unfortunately, it appears that many people are focused on the floor and the short gasps of oxygen that can be obtained there. They bump their way around the room we live in and horribly, never reach the door.
It is my job to tap people on the shoulder and point them to the door. This is very easy work for me, because although I have to continue to put up with the wheezing and sneezing of this smoke-filled world, I have been allowed to peek through the door and know what is on the other side.
In contrast to the smoke-filled room where we now find ourselves, on the other side of the door, are enormous, rolling hills, filled with every imaginable flower (and some you cannot even imagine). On these hills live beautiful creatures; there are majestic horses, lions and even some lambs - all of which live in perfect harmony. It is never night there and through all of the hills flows a great river, which is so clear that you cannot even see your reflection in it.
In the world beyond the door, one never has to gasp for breath. In fact, you could run for a thousand years and never even become tired. Beyond the door, there is no sickness, disease or pain. Believe it or not, I even saw a unicorn there.
Sometimes I have to scratch my head and wonder why more people aren't headed for the white door. But this weekend, I met someone who is and I want to introduce him to you. His name is Billy and he is twelve or thirteen years old. Billy doesn't fit into the box that most of us put twelve and thirteen year olds. Billy lives in a foster home far away from where he was born, because his father tried to kill him. He arrived in Texas without any possessions, except the most precious possession any of us can have - a key to the white door. Billy talked to me about his mom, who he prays for because she "lives with lots of men". He prays for his father who is in prison in another state. Billy was very excited this weekend, because the tooth fairy brought him seven dollars for his tooth. (In case you didn't know - the tooth fairy is a Christian).
Billy and I spent three days together and I have to tell you that those three days were some of the most rewarding I have had on this side of the white door. I think that once we pass through the door to that world with rolling hills, I will look up Billy and we will spend a few years talking about the tooth fairy.
In case it's not clear, the dark room in my story is this earth and the white door is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Billy and I would like to encourage you to lift your head from the floor and look up and see Jesus. Yes, the smoke is dark and thick, and yes, we know you sometimes have to cough and sneeze and it is hard to crawl through this dark room, but if you will just look up, you can see Jesus and He really will give you a key to the door and let you briefly look on the other side. Billy and I can tell you that once you have seen what's over there, you will never be the same.
It's awfully hard to be sad once you have seen a unicorn.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
JC's Weekly June 1st 2005
I was thinking today about the magnificence of God. Contrast this with the "mannishness of man" as Francis Schaeffer said. In my contemplation, I began thinking about the universe. Because I am not a scientist, I am limited in my ability to understand as much as I'd like to, but fortunately, there are some friendly scientists who have helped me. For example, there is the beautiful whirlpool galaxy pictured on my blog's opening page.
When we think of the universe, we tend to make our observations earth-centric. This is natural, but not a good idea. (When we think of our lives, we often think of them as "me-centric", which is also a bad idea) Perhaps some numbers can help?
According to the Sloan Digital Survey astonomical site, there are approximately 10,000 billion, billion stars in the visible universe. http://cas.sdss.org/dr3/en/proj/advanced/hr/
I have done some rudimentary calculations and if we say that 96 billion people have lived on the earth at some time, this means that each person that has ever lived could have somewhere around ten trillion of their own stars!
Some European fellows have discovered a group of stars called "Redshift 10" which are the farthest known observable objects in space. These stars are 13.2 million light years away. This means that to see them on earth, the light they emit left them 13.2 million years ago!http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-04-04.html
Now the really awesome part of God's universe is that we can only see about 4% of it because most of it is dark! We see stars, because they emit light. But we cannot see most planets, or black holes or other objects because they do not. Now, if we KNOW that there are somewhere around 10,000 billion, billion stars and these represent only about 4% of what there really is, well, you get the idea. God's creation is unimaginably vast.
And it is unimaginably creative and beautiful. If we look on the ocean floor at giant tube worms, we see these worms and some species of shrimp which live in environments that are unbelievably hostile. These creatures live in a solution of hydrogen sulfide which would kill any other living thing. they also live in temperatures which would melt steel. And yet they live and thrive just where God put them.
In the Bible book of Psalms, verse 104, the Psalmist wrote; "Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain."
When we look at the universe we can see the majesty of God, in brief. We could not survive a true glimpse of the full majesty of God. But one day, when Jesus Christ comes to take His followers with Him into His eternal kingdom, we will be able to not only see, but interact with the God who created us and His universe.
I am excited about this coming day. Are you?
When we think of the universe, we tend to make our observations earth-centric. This is natural, but not a good idea. (When we think of our lives, we often think of them as "me-centric", which is also a bad idea) Perhaps some numbers can help?
According to the Sloan Digital Survey astonomical site, there are approximately 10,000 billion, billion stars in the visible universe. http://cas.sdss.org/dr3/en/proj/advanced/hr/
I have done some rudimentary calculations and if we say that 96 billion people have lived on the earth at some time, this means that each person that has ever lived could have somewhere around ten trillion of their own stars!
Some European fellows have discovered a group of stars called "Redshift 10" which are the farthest known observable objects in space. These stars are 13.2 million light years away. This means that to see them on earth, the light they emit left them 13.2 million years ago!http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-04-04.html
Now the really awesome part of God's universe is that we can only see about 4% of it because most of it is dark! We see stars, because they emit light. But we cannot see most planets, or black holes or other objects because they do not. Now, if we KNOW that there are somewhere around 10,000 billion, billion stars and these represent only about 4% of what there really is, well, you get the idea. God's creation is unimaginably vast.
And it is unimaginably creative and beautiful. If we look on the ocean floor at giant tube worms, we see these worms and some species of shrimp which live in environments that are unbelievably hostile. These creatures live in a solution of hydrogen sulfide which would kill any other living thing. they also live in temperatures which would melt steel. And yet they live and thrive just where God put them.
In the Bible book of Psalms, verse 104, the Psalmist wrote; "Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain."
When we look at the universe we can see the majesty of God, in brief. We could not survive a true glimpse of the full majesty of God. But one day, when Jesus Christ comes to take His followers with Him into His eternal kingdom, we will be able to not only see, but interact with the God who created us and His universe.
I am excited about this coming day. Are you?
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