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Practical Tips for Expressing Faith

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Whatever is not of faith is not pleasing to God.

--Hebrews 11:6--

To conclude this series on the psychology of faith, I have some practicable ideas on putting your faith and your life together.

1. Don’t insult God with small requests. God is able to do great things. Ask Him to do great things; expect Him to do amazing things, and He will do things that are much greater than what you ask and much greater even than your wildest imaginings. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

2. Don’t assume without asking. Faith is not the assumption that God will fulill all of your requests. You must understand how God works and seek His will before acting in faith. You must have faith in something, not just faith in the strength of your own faith. (James 4:2)

3. Ask only for things that God can bless. Do not ask selfishly, merely to suit your own convenience and desires. God does not bless your selfish requests, when you ask only to suit yourself. (James 4:3)

4. Believe that God will grant your requests and goals. Do not ask God without believing that He is capable of fulfilling your requests. God hears all that you ask and all that you do not ask. He knows your faith and your unbelief. He hears you. He is capable. (1 John 5:15-15; Matthew 9:27-30a)

5. Ask God to give you greater faith. As the apostles asked of Jesus, God can supernaturally increase your faith in Him. God can work to bring you into greater faith in Him. (Luke 17:5)

I hope this seven week series has helped you to understand faith and the importance of integrating your faith in your mind, your emotions, and your will. Faith doesn’t always work how we’d expect, but God does work and we are to have full faith in Him above all else.

Faith and the Will

2011-08-01T12:52:00.000-05:00

He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

--Matthew 14:29--

Faith involves the entirety of the soul, including the will. We must choose to believe, to have faith. It is an intentional act. You do not passively decide to have faith. You do not passively trust in God’s provision. You must intentionally act in faith.

Faith that influences our wills is not just “any old faith.” It does not come easily and is not present in all Christians. Jesus calls us to have God-sized faith. God wants to deliberate choose to have God-sized faith. God-sized faith exhausts the full resources of the human soul, which is evidence that we expect God to show up. It is deliberately choosing to believe God, and to act in a way that shows that belief. As the old adage says, “actions speak louder than words.” Saying that you believe God, but continuing to act in a way that relies only on you - your time, your money, your abilities - is NOT God-sized.

Jesus says in Matthew 17:20 that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains. A mustard seed, if you don’t know, is tiny. It looks in significant. The mustard plant, however, is a large tree, big enough that many birds will live in its branches. Faith is played in our actions, in what we choose and what we do.

God-sized faith is one’s utter resignation to the fact that, unless supernatural activity takes place, there is no possibility that a given goal could ever be realized. Setting goals that can be accomplished by you alone does not show your faith in a sovereign, omnipotent God. We must choose to rely on God’s provision in our lives and act on that intentional choice. This is the only type of faith that gives God great glory – because only these types of things actually require God to act.

Our choice: DELIBEATE DECISION AND ACTION or INDECISION AND INACTION

WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE TO THINK, TO BELIEVE, TO DO?

Faith and Emotions

2011-07-25T12:51:00.000-05:00

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

--Hebrews 11:6--

Your soul’s emotions aren’t merely feelings. In their fullest sense, human emotions have to do with our feelings, sentiments, affections, attitudes, beliefs, and convictions. Feelings are fleeting and should be limited in their influence on our lives and decisions. Emotions are broader and are instrumental in our lives. Feelings can develop into beliefs and convictions and so influence our soul and our faith, but our emotions are more than feelings.

Before your emotions can help you express Biblical faith, each area must be Spirit-controlled. The Holy Spirit should lead and direct your decisions and your emotions. Take time now to think about how the Spirit can influence and control your feelings, your sentiments, your affections, your attitudes, your beliefs, and your convictions. Think about the role of each of these in your faith. How has or how can the Spirit direct your affections? Do your attitudes come from your flesh or does the Spirit control them? What are your strongest convictions and do they come from God?

As such, what happens in our emotions in the moment of truth dictates whether or not we please God, because feelings and convictions are critical elements of a Biblical psychology of faith. Our faith is firmly rooted in our emotions, in our belief, but faith isn’t only belief alone. Faith has to do with the object of belief or it is merely faith in faith. You must have faith in something. To believe in something, you must understand it. If you really believe something, you will act on that belief. We should seek to increase the degree of our faith, to have enough to step out of a boat and in to the waves.

Our choice: CONVICTION – strong, unshakable belief in God or INDIFFERENCE, APATHY, AND FEAR

Your cry should be the same as the father with a demon-possessed son in Mark 9: “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Faith and the Mind

2011-07-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine [think], according to His power that is at work within us

--Ephesians 3:20--

What happens in your mind is one of the most important factors in your faith capacity. Rational study and understanding is sometimes forgotten in Christianity today. Our focus has been more on connecting our beliefs with the heart and less on discipline and conscientiously studying God’s Word or logically understanding our faith and beliefs.

An important foundation to understanding the role of faith in the mind is realizing the difference between the brain and the mind. The brain is a part of the body. It is physical, material, and visible. It can be seen and touched (although you probably wouldn’t want to!). The brain works through electrical and chemical means, through interactions of chemicals and synapses. It receives information from the physical senses and from your self-embedded memory. The mind, however, is a part of the soul, as we discussed last week. It is immaterial and invisible; it cannot be seen or touched. The mind, contrary to the brain, works through psychic and spiritual means. It receives information from the brain, as well as from the emotions and Spirit.

Faith works in and with the mind and the brain. When you disbelieve or doubt that something is possible, the brain immediately slows its workload and reduces its “firing capacity,” which short-circuits faith. As a result, the mind’s ability to believe is immediately reduced, resulting in unfaithfulness. When your mind is not being controlled by the Spirit, it stops thinking supernaturally and downsizes what God can do. As a result, it begins to be “pressed into the mold” of thinking, which shrinks your capacity to believe God (Romans 12:2).

Our choice: To BELIEVE God – to trust fully in Him, His promises, His ways, and His purposes or DISBELIEF – our refusal to accept something as true.

WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE TO THINK?

Faith: How Does it Work?

2011-07-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week we’ll begin the main discussion on the psychology of faith, the interaction of our faith with our minds and emotions. In discussing this, it’s important to consider three key truths first.

First, faith doesn’t work how we think it works or how we would like it to work. Faith doesn’t work perfectly, as God originally intended, but it does work. It is to have a significant role in our lives. Secondly, faith only works as God ordained it to work. We cannot manipulate how faith works; we cannot manipulate how God works and make things work how we want them to. We must seek to discover how it works. Understanding faith and understanding God are vitally important in our Christian lives. Thirdly, our ignorance of Biblical faith greatly minimizes God’s work in and through our lives. A lack of understanding may limit how God can work in us, to transform us, and through us, to carry out His will in the world.

Forming a psychology of faith first requires that we understand the field of psychology. ‘Psychology’ comes from the Greek word psyche, which means soul. In our Biblical understanding of personhood, the soul is the center of each human being. A person is made up of a body, a spirit, and a soul. The soul itself is then made up of the mind, the will, and emotions. Psychology seeks to study the soul of a person, to understand how the mind, will, and emotions interact and make a person into who they are.

Much psychology is fundamentally flawed and ungodly because it miscalculates human nature and, as a result, the human condition. Those who seek the services of such well-intentioned people tend to fall deeper into the morass of hopelessness and addiction because they are being treated in ways inconsistent with how God made us.

What happens in the soul tells us whether or not faith is Biblical. Biblical faith involves the whole soul and is played out through the mind, will and emotions. Faith must be logically understood, connect with your feelings and your heart, and it must be lived out in your actions. ‘Feeling’ spiritual or connected to God matters little if you do not truly and deeply understand God and faith. Logical study and understanding is insignificant if you don’t connect with your emotional, affective side or show through your actions. In the same way, the right behaviors show nothing without the beliefs and convictions to back them up.

In the next four weeks, we’ll look at how faith plays out in our mind, emotions, and will as well as practical ideas to put together this knowledge with our lives.

Five Facts About Faith

2011-07-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

In seeking to understand faith, which is vital as we discussed last week, there are some foundational ideas to understand and apply. I’m going to introduce and explain five realities of faith which must be understood.

1. Your belief that God will act does not obligate Him to do so. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul describes his affliction, his “thorn in the flesh.” He writes that he asked God three times to remove this hardship, but that God told him instead that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God does hear your prayers and requests, but even a firm belief that God can and does heal, does not mean that He has to because you ask Him to. God’s purposes are not our own and His will may differ from ours.

2. God sometimes acts apart from your exercise of faith. God may act and heal those who do not have faith in Him. As stated in the past point, God’s ways of acting and His purposes may be different than what we expect and different than what we want. In Matthew 8:16 and in many other instances, Jesus healed many who were brought to Him, without considering the faith of those whom He was healing. God can have compassion on those who don’t have faith in Him as well as those who do.

3. Sometimes God does require us to exercise faith before He acts. In other stories in the Gospels, Jesus heals people because of their faith. For example, He heals the woman in Matthew 9:21-22 because she had enough faith to reach out and touch Jesus’ cloak. She believed that touching His cloak would heal her and it did; His power ‘went out’ without Him being aware of it. He knows, of course, but it was her strong faith in the power of Christ that healed her.

4. Sometimes God wants to act, but our lack of faith keeps it from happening. When teaching in His hometown, many people doubted Jesus’ power and saw Him only as a carpenter’s son. Matthew 13:58 says that “he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” While God can act apart from faith, sometimes He does not act because we lack faith.

5. Whether or not God requires us to exercise faith before He acts is His business. How God chooses to act is an essential part of His divine prerogative as God. If God was dependent upon us to have faith, He would not be an omnipotent sovereign God. If He needed us for anything, He would not be our divine Creator. God needs humans for nothing; it is up to Him to choose to act or to choose not to act. We can be sure that His ways and His purposes are above ours, that they are for our best, but we do not dictate the plans of God. Our faith can change God’s mind, as Moses’ plea for the Israelites did in Exodus 3211ff, or allow Him to act in our lives differently than if we did not have faith, but we are not in charge.

Human faith plays a central role in our Christian lives. Understanding these five realities of faith is also vital to a correct understanding of the role of faith. God can act in spite of our lack of faith or He may require our faith in order to act. It’s up to God to act or nor; it’s up to us to have faith and to trust in His ways and His purposes.

Thinking About Faith....

2011-06-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever ‘believed’ God would do something but still been disappointed when you didn’t receive what you hoped for? Have you ever shown half-hearted faith and, somehow, still saw God work? Why did faith work one time and not the other? Is it possible that God’s Will is for something to happen but our lack of faith keeps it from happening? Are there times when God works apart from our faith– meaning, times when our faith isn’t required for God to act? And does that mean that God is completely unpredictable and arbitrary in how He acts? Is the Christian life a complete “wild card?” Does God want us to be completely confused about one of the most important issues in the Christian life or are there things we can know?

It’s not that faith always makes sense, but nor is it that faith never makes sense...it’s that it sometimes makes sense.

Faith in the Christian life requires that we think about these issues. We should live out the Christian life, but we also need to reflect on it, to think deeply about issues of faith. Metacognition is thinking about how you think, the mind reflecting upon itself, being aware of your cognitive processes, and understanding one’s own thought patterns.

As humans, created in God’s image, we are capable of personal reflection and analysis. As Socrates taught, we should know ourselves. Failing to think about faith and about ourselves doesn’t mean that there are not issues we need to understand. Just as being ignorant of scientific laws, like the law of gravity, doesn’t mean that they don’t apply to us. Likewise, failing to understand how the laws of faith work doesn’t exempt us from understanding them either.

Generally, does God want me to understand how He works? Yes! God “made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel” (Psalm 103:7).

God wants you and I to think about our faith, to deeply ponder and contemplate issues and laws of our faith. To better understand the role and importance of faith, I encourage you to read Hebrews 11 this week. Read about faith in the lives of the ‘heroes’ of the Old Testament, and how the law of faith applies to us here and now.

I’m going to spend the next six weeks discussing faith, studying five foundational facts about faith, a psychology of faith, and how faith interacts with our mind and with our emotions. Faith is foundational and vital in our Christian lives and is something that all Christians should take the time to think about.T

Being Conscious of Your Conscience (Part 3 of 3)

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Even after two weeks discussing what the conscience is and how it works, some of you may still not know why understanding your conscience is important. To conclude my series on the conscious, I'll address this issue and how to apply what I've been talking about the past two weeks.

Now, Why Does It Matter?

You might say, “So what?” Who cares? Here’s why it matters how you live. IT’S JUST YOUR LIFE.

You’re either going to be happy in life or you’re not. MOST PEOPLE I KNOW AREN’T VERY HAPPY IN LIFE. They lost the battle of the soul--- they didn’t obey their conscience when they were your age...

Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old & no longer enjoy living.”

The bottom line: There are only two sides to the coin of life: Joy and Joyless. You’ll be one or the other. Joy comes from obedience to God (1 Timothy 6:6). Joylessness comes from disobedience (Psalm 32:1). Which one you’ll be depends on whether or not you obey your conscience.

Let me close with a story that shows how important this is...

Earlier I said that the conscience is your soul’s automatic warning system. Planes have automatic warning systems too.

In 1984 a jet crashed for no apparent reason. The plane was flying in the dark and the pilot was unable to see. That meant he had no sense of where he was and couldn’t get his bearings. But that shouldn’t have mattered, because planes fly in darkness all the time. That’s why they have devices that tell them their altitude: so they don’t fly too low or in the wrong direction.

During the night, air controllers lost contact with the pilot and it was later discovered that the plane had crashed. During the investigation, the cockpit voice recorder was found, and officials made an eerie discovery:

On the recording, they could hear the computerized voice of the airplane, warning him, saying: “Pull Up, Warning... Pull Up.” You see, the pilot was flying too low.

But the pilot, didn’t listen to the voice of warning; he thought the gauges were malfunctioning. On the tape, the pilot is heard several times telling the computer to “Shut up.” Finally, the pilot got tired of listening to the warning and just turned it off.

Minutes later the plane crashed. Everyone died.

What’s the point?

The point is that just like a plane has a warning system that is designed to keep passengers safe, the soul has a warning system designed to keep us safe spiritually, and that system is called the conscience.

But many times, we get tired of listening to our consciences, so we don’t. We tell them to shut up and try to turn them off.

Here’s my challenge: Be conscious of your conscience. It’s something God gave to help you, not to hassle you..

Being Conscious of Your Conscience (Part 2 of 3)

2011-06-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last week, we began our discussion of the conscience with a definition of what the conscience is, its role is and presence in all people. The conscience is different than the Holy Spirit in Christians. This week we'll discuss how the conscience actually works.

How Does Your Conscience Work?

Our conscience works in conjunction with our souls, and I’m going to show you how.

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” --1 Thessalonians 5:23-24--

God’s desire for us as Christians is to be Sanctified or made holy, “through and through” or “in every way.” What does that mean? God wants us to be completely committed to Him in every way... in every part of our humanity: body, soul and spirit.

Here’s how that works: don’t miss this!

We win or lose the battle of holiness in our soul. 1 Peter 2:11 tells us: “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”

The soul is the battlefield of good and evil. Well.... what is your soul? Your soul includes your mind, emotions and will (Deuteronomy 4:29; 6:4; etc.). It consists of what you think, what you feel, and what you do. And if we are going to become holy, we’ve got to win that battle in the soul.

If we THINK like God wants us to, FEEL like God wants us to and DECIDE how God wants us to, then we’ll become holy. If we don’t THINK, FEEL and MAKE DECISIONS like God wants, we’ll stay carnal and live unhappy, defeated Christian lives.

The problem: There’s a war going on inside of us!

In our bodies, bodily appetites want us to sin. Our spirit wants us to be holy. And our souls are trapped in the middle, fighting a battle. Here’s how the Apostle Paul explained it in Romans 7:21-23:“When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind (in the soul) and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

As you know from personal experience, we want to fight the good fight, but sometimes our soul has a hard time doing the right thing without some help. That’s a reason that God gave us a conscience.

When we’re faced with a decision and the battle begins: Thoughts go through your mind. Feelings go through your emotions. And options are presented to your will and your will makes a choice, good or bad. That’s why God gave us a conscience: To help encourage us to do the right thing. As your will is making a decision, your conscience kicks in to help you.

That’s why every decision you make triggers a response from your conscience: When we consistently make good decisions, our conscience defends us— and we feel joy, self-respect, peace, happiness and dignity. It feels good. It’s what the Bible calls a good/clear conscience (Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 3:16-21). When we consistently make bad decisions and violate our internal standard of right and wrong, our conscience accuses us— and we feel a sense of shame, regret, disgrace and fear. Those bad feelings are what God is using to convict us, so we’ll live the way He wants us to. It’s what the Bible calls a guilty conscience (Hebrews 10:22).

That’s how your conscience works.

Being Conscious of Your Conscience (Part 1 of 3)

2011-06-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

Hello. This is your conscience speaking....”

Just kidding. But if your conscience was speaking to you, what would it say?

Over the next three weeks, I’m going to talk to you about being conscious of your conscience. I want you to consciously think about your conscience.

We’re going to talk about three issues: What your conscience is, how it works, and why it matters.

What Is Your Conscience?

Let me begin by telling you what it is and what it isn’t—

1. Conscience is a “human thing,” it’s not something that plants & animals possess

God only gave human beings a conscience. Only people are capable of ‘moral choices’. You can’t sue a kitty cat or execute a gerbil for doing something wrong. Plants never “feel guilty”. They don’t have a conscience, so they don’t “feel” anything. When my wife’s marigolds died this summer, they weren’t depressed... they were just ‘dead.’ Animals can’t sin. Since my dog Hugo doesn’t have a conscience, he doesn’t FEEL BAD when he leaves my carpet a gift from his lower intestines. Plants and animals just don’t have a conscience, it’s a “human” thing.

2. Though the conscience is a “human thing,” it’s not just a “Christian” thing

Romans 2:14-15 tells us that everyone has a conscience, Christian or not. The conscience is a good thing, but it isn’t the best thing. It isn’t the same thing as the Holy Spirit or voice of God. All people have a conscience, but only Christians have the Holy Spirit too. Those who aren’t Christians only have their conscience, which is helpful, but not nearly as helpful in making right decisions as having God Himself living inside of you. The Holy Spirit works in believers by echoing God’s Will and acting as God’s Voice to Christians... but to Christians only.

Let me give you a simple description of the Conscience (mentioned 30 times in NT). It’s your soul’s “automatic warning system,” like a warning light on your car’s dashboard or on the computer. It’s automatic, like your body’s involuntary actions of breathing and blinking. You don’t have to even think about it... it just reacts to the stimuli it encounters.

Do YOU Want to Change the World?

2011-05-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

The one thing that you have to do if you want to change the world is to have ACCOUNTABILITY in your life If you want to attempt great things for God, to give Him great glory, and to be a mighty man or woman of valor, you’ll never do it without accountability in your life. Every great leader has multiple levels of accountability in his or her life. Various Biblical leaders show the importance of accountability. David was accountable to Nathan (2 Samuel 12:7), Paul was accountable to Barnabas (Acts 15:36ff), and Peter was held accountable be Paul (Galatians 2:11-14).

What is accountability?

Accountability is giving other people in your life the right to ask you the hard questions– and them giving you the same right– not for the purpose of tearing one another down, but building one another up. It’s for discouraging each other from harmful patterns of sinful living and encouraging each other toward godliness.

We need it because spiritual growth is often uneven– we win some; we lose some. Together, we can win more. We still have a sin nature, even as believers. But we have power over it through Christ– and that power is greater when Christians unite and encourage one another.

The best way is to have an accountability group is by using what I call the 3 Musketeer Model (All for One and One for all). Ecclesiastes gives us the best advice: "A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." An additional important element of this accountability is to meet regularly, most likely weekly. Accountability groups should also be of the same sex, as spiritual intimacy can often lead to physical intimacy.

Biblical Models of Accountability

Paul– Each of us needs a spiritual mentor (older in the faith, a giant “to us”, a seasoned believer; youth usually need an adult for this role, someone you approach who is willing to help you grow) Think of who it will be for you...Think of 2-3 and pray about it– be very serious before doing it or you’ll crash and burn

Silas– Each of us needs a spiritual equal (someone on our spiritual level) Who might be a good fit?

Timothy– Each of us needs to help disciple someone younger in the faith (2 Timothy 2:2)

Look for those who are more experienced in the faith, who can be your mentors, those who are your spiritual equals, and those whom you can disciple. In order to grow, you need mentors, equals, and others that you can mentor. Accountability is essential and vital in our Christian lives, to be mentored and to mentor others.

Galatians: Chapters 5-6 (Part 6 of 6)

2011-05-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

As we discussed last week, Christian maturity and spirituality isn’t about ‘trying’ but about simply pursuing a love relationship with Jesus. This week, we’ll continue with the message and content of Galatians.

Chapter 5, verse 1 is the key verse of the book of Galatians. The point of the Christian life is freedom/Christian liberty– the freedom to live in ways that position us in blessing, due to what Christ has done for us. Freedom from sin– yes, but freedom from living with the million requirements of the law on your mind 24-7. Even as a Christian, God will let you live in spiritual bondage. If you won’t learn what God says about living the Christian life; He will let you live in bondage... after all, most Christians do, and fail to enjoy what Christ purchased for them by his blood.

Verses 3 and 4 teach that if you’re going to live by the law, legalistically, to prove your self-righteousness, you can’t pick and choose, you’ll have to do it all. Of course, if you do– you’ve taken a lesson in ‘missing the point’ and your ‘circumcision has ‘cut you off’ from Christ (joke by Paul under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration). Falling from grace, here, is not losing your salvation as many believe— but is rather moving from living in the higher state of freedom and liberty, to falling back/down into law and condemnation.

Paul then moves on in verses 6 through 8 to further enforce that externals are not the point... It’s not righteous acts that make you right before God. It’s faith and love for God and others (Great Commandment).

Verses 9 and 10 address spiritual false teaching. It is dangerous because people are gullible. That’s why doctrine is so important. When we fight wrong beliefs, we teach the truth; call out those who teach falsehood; and pray for those in false belief. Verse 11 addresses the essence of the grace of the Gospel message. The former strict regulations are overthrown and we are given grace freely.

Verses 12 through 15 further discuss freedom. Yes, but not the wrong kind... don’t confuse legitimate freedom for ‘license’ (Rom 6, e.g.). The immediately following verses, 16-25, discuss the secret of Christian matuity and power. Life isn’t in Christ that gravitates toward sin and self-destruction. The fruits of the spirit discussed in verses 22-25 are all singular: “Fruit (singular) of the spirit is (singular verb)...”

Chapter 6 concludes the chapter with some final thoughts from Paul. Christians must help and encourage Christians in sin.. How? GENTLY AND HUMBLY (meaning, the exact opposite of how they usually do— which is roughly and arrogantly).

In verse 6, Paul teaches that Christian leaders/teachers deserve to be paid.... it adds accountability and gives the adequate time to study. Why does Paul include this here? If they’d done it right and had that kind of adequate time, they’d stayed out of false teaching in Galatia.

Paul’s closing and concluding teaching is that we bless other people, especially Christians.

Galatians: Chapters 2-4 (Part 5 of 6)

2011-05-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week, we’re going to move on to Paul’s main message in his letter to the Galatians. Because this is such a challenging passage, I decided to just draw out the primary principles— and teach it from those “big ideas” in the text and not try to force you to wade through the very involved sections of scripture here that require you to have a lot of background in the Old Testament— I knew in my heart that most people would get lost, so I believe God wanted me to approach it this way.

And as I say this, I know there are some people who probably can handle it and would be able to follow me... and others who fancy themselves really informed about the Bible but who aren’t and would actually get lost. So I’m going to do us all a favor and go the more practical route, because what’s really important is that people understand what God has said to us in His Word.

In the previous section, recall that Paul is laying the foundation for his authority. He seeks to show Galatian Christians that his message is from God alone, that he has not been taught and influenced by men. On that foundation, he builds the following passages of his letter.

The first of Paul’s big ideas is this: If you’re a true Christian, don’t let the freedom Christ gives you– spiritual liberty, living in freedom and spiritual abandon, be taken away from you by self-righteous people who claim to be (and may be) Christians. Unfortunately, some Christians (or posers) get lost along the way and start having judgmental spirits and live self-righteously and hold other people in contempt for (1) enjoying the amazing spiritual liberty Christ gives a person to live OR (2) for not letting those self-righteous people put you under their thumb in order to control your life and to gain praise and adulation from others because of their high standards.

Paul’s second big idea is: It’s OK, perhaps even necessary at times, to confront self-righteous people who judge you and everyone else, but who are (themselves) hypocrites. God wanted Paul to call out Peter— Peter was in sin.

Paul’s third big idea: Righteousness (peace with God, a right standing with God, being in a right relationship with God where God is pleased with you) does not come as a result of your own good deeds. As good as you may be, it’s not good enough– because God’s standard is perfection, which is something we’re not capable of... only Christ was able to do that (on the cross).

Paul’s fourth big idea is this: The secret to the Christian life... is unexpected. It’s simply letting Christ live in and through you. When a person becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit (God in spiritual form) takes up residence in you and wants to live His very life through you (we become partakers of the divine image). But if you try to impress God with your OWN self-righteous acts and good deeds, your conscience will always accuse you for your inconsistency, and you will forever live feeling condemned.

Christ was perfect, but He died to take on my sin... meaning he died a sacrificial death to pay for the human debt of sin against God.

The Christian life isn’t about ‘playing defense.' In other words... it’s not about trying to QUIT everything— and stopping doing whatever it is that you’ve been doing. That’s no way to live. Self-righteousness is driven by will power, and it always leads to (1) Defeat, because we’re weak and (2) self-righteousness and then, because we’re weak and too proud to admit it, (3) secret sin.

The Solution? Stop playing defense and play offense.... Live in abandon to Jesus. Just love him with all you’ve got and stop trying to impress Him and everybody else.

In chapter 3, verses 1 through 4, Paul asserts that if you’re not careful, you can get so religious and ‘churchy’ that you miss the point of the Christian life. The freedom of the Christian life begins to get cloudy and obscured by religious people and self-righteous people.... to the point that you soon forget that the Christian life isn’t about keeping a bunch of rules and regulations, and about image-management so everyone will be impressed with you, but it’s simply about developing your relationship with Jesus— imagine that!

Spend your time being vulnerable with God and transparent with others about your frailties and insufficiency. The holiest people you’ll ever meet are well aware that they have issues, but know that God is taking care of it— they’re not people who are trying to front with holier-than-thou attitudes.

In verses 8 through 13, Paul’s point is that if you swap “Christian freedom” and working on your relationship with Jesus for “religion” and start playing the “church” game, you may as well be living back in Old Testament times— because when you decide to live by impressing God and people with your own acts of devotion and self-righteousness, God actually expects you to obey the whole Old Testament and its requirements, since you’re clearly no longer allowing Christ to be your righteousness– But unfortunately, this type of living will keep you in spiritual bondage, constant self-condemnation, and you’ll be an unhappy Christian with a critical spirit, always judging others.

The Old Testament Law with all of its restrictions, the dietary regulations, the requirement for men to be circumcised, etc. were certainly there for a reason at one point in history– and were good at that time for that purpose. But now we are in New Testament times— and living under the New Testament means placing our trust in Christ and LETTING HIM LIVE THROUGH US. Good deeds don’t make us righteous— that’s not why we do them... to prove we’re righteous, but because Christ is making us righteous, we consequently do good deeds.

In other words, the self-righteous person believes his own good deeds are the CAUSE of His Righteousness.... whereas the Christian living in God’s grace knows that his good deeds are the EFFECTS or consequences of Christ living through Him... and that they aren’t his own doing.

Paul then moves on, in verses 19 through 29, to state that since Christ is the only righteous one... and only as He lives through us can we live in a way that really pleases God and lives up to His expectations, we don’t’ need to live ‘keeping tallies’ of our self-righteous acts.

Me? I don’t even THINK about TRYING to live the Christian life. I don’t TRY to be holy. I don’t TRY to do anything... I can’t. Instead, all I do is work on spending time with Jesus and being intimate with Him and doing things that move me closer to Him (worship, prayer, giving, serving, confession, studying, etc.) and AS I DO NOTHING MORE THAN WORK ON MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM (just as we work on our relationships with other people)– as I cultivate my love relationship with Jesus, just by spending time with Him, He begins to rub off on me, and I begin to become holy, BY DEFAULT.

I know this next idea is going to frustrate some of you, but— this is the gist of what Paul was talking about in this passage..

I personally SPEND MY TIME cultivating my time with Jesus— not spending my time “observing days and by avoiding festivals”– meaning, I’m more concerned about loving Jesus and being with Him than sitting around thinking of ways to show everyone I don’t celebrate Santa Claus or by preaching against Halloween....

The Christian life isn’t about that stuff— It’s not about EXTERNALS, as if anyone cares whether you dress up in a bozo costume or not (not that, if you did, anyone would think you are a devil worshipper)— it’s not about externals, but INTERNALS– whether you are being TRANSFORMED into the image of Christ because you are so consumed with your love relationship with Him.

Also in Matthew 15:18, Acts 10:14, and 1 Timothy 4:3, it’s taught that it is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." The point is that we should work harder on fixing ourselves from the INSIDE OUT than the OUTSIDE IN. Paul likewise teaches the Galatians that the internal state of a person is more important to address than external behavior.

Galatians: Chapter 2 (Part 4 of 6)

2011-05-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week, we’re going to discuss chapter 2, verses 1 through 10. In this section, Paul is preparing to challenge and fix the Galatian churches’ false teaching about the true message of Christ.

He reminds them he had basically no interaction with any other apostles and was not influenced by their message... the message he was sharing was from God alone.

14 years after Paul first met James and Peter, he went again to Jerusalem, meaning he had preached the same message for 17 years now, without any previous instruction. He told that a message from God alone, received directly from Jesus himself. Paul here is talking here about the Council of Jerusalem that occurred in Acts 15 in AD 50. What was the purpose of that visit and of the Jerusalem Council? To address the current controversy, to address what is required of non-Jewish/Gentile believers. Specifically, he discusses that Gentiles do not have to do extra things to make God happy.

Why did Paul mention Titus? Remember, Paul wrote a letter to Titus (Titus 1:4-5). But why did he mention him? Because Paul had led him to Christ and Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile Christian, which was the very thing the controversy was about. He wanted to show them a real life example of such a believer and that even without doing all the extra things the Jewish self-righteous and legalistic believers expected of him, Titus was clearly godly. His point is that there are Christians who don’t look like you, live completely like you, dress like you, have different cultures than you and express their faith differently than you– but they love Jesus JUST AS MUCH.

In Acts 15:1, Paul mentions Judaizers who came to Antioch, which is in Pisidia or Galatia. These Jewish Christians were coming at that time, teaching that you had to be circumcised in order to be a Christian in good standing with God. Then, at that Council in Jerusalem, after Paul told them what God had done among non-Jewish believers, this group of Judaizers still said (Acts 15:4-5) that it was necessary to circumcise them. Paul said no. We shouldn’t place too much emphasis on externals; even without those things, Titus was actually MORE RIGHTEOUS than these Galatians. So when the Judaizers were confronted with the truth about their legalistic perversions of the gospel, they ‘kept silent.’

In verses 3-5, Paul discusses false brethren who taught that circumcision is necessary. They tried to spy out our freedom, to put us back in religious bondage (religious tyranny), making us and others do more than God required. But, Paul said, we didn’t yield in subjection to them for even an hour. We only cared about the truth. When it comes to impressing people with being overly strict and proving to them that you’re the real thing and accommodating them and their self-righteous, extra-biblical demands on your life– Paul said he wouldn’t deal with it.

That’s why Paul calls them ‘false brethren;’ they knew nothing of the grace of God, they were just religious zealots wanting to control people’s lives for their own power. Those phonies and power mongers had sneaked into the leadership— Paul here is using a type of military language, where people enter a camp by stealth with an objective of sabotage— and they wanted to bring people into bondage (the same word that implies ‘slavery’).

Paul’s point is that these people were more interested in controlling people and performing self-righteous acts to earn favor from God and praise from one another MORE THAN realizing God gives His favor as unmerited and free, without performance. MEANING, anything we do for God should be out of love and devotion for God, not to impress or control others or to gain the praise of other people.

Paul enforces his point through a variety of methods and supports. In doctrinal issues (beliefs), Paul changed nothing– as it says here. He wouldn’t change his beliefs to make them palatable to people, Christian or not. But in ministry matters– to reach people for Christ, he was always being unconventional; 1 Corinthians 9:22 says I ‘became all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Example: Though Paul didn’t have Titus circumcised (a Gentile) he did have Timothy circumcised. Why? Titus wasn’t circumcised because Titus was a Grecian Gentile and had no relationship to Judaism. But because Timothy was half-Jew, without being circumcised, Timothy couldn’t have gone into the synagogue to preach and minister to Jews. Titus, the Greek, had no inroads to the Jews, but Timothy did– but for ministry reasons, not theological reasons, Paul wanted Timothy to be circumcised...not for self-righteous reasons, but because it allowed him to be more effective in ministry with his people.

In closing, Paul said in verses 2:9-10 that, having said all this, Peter, James and John– the BIG THREE during Jesus’ ministry... pillars (a phrase implying ‘great teachers’) of the church gave him the right hand of fellowship, welcoming him into their leadership circle. Right hand meant a solemn vow had been made in trust. Fellowship meant a “partnership.”

Here in our churches we offer the “right hand of fellowship” too. Though it isn’t biblically required for membership, when someone becomes a member, we want to show them that we are now partnering together– and that we trust one another and are working together to advance the Kingdom of God as a team.

Galatians: Chapter 1 (Part 3 of 6)

2011-05-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

e’ll continue our study of Galatians again this week, beginning with chapter 1, verse 11.

Paul begins this passage in verse 11 with “I would have you know,” which is from a strong Greek verb (gnorizo) that means to make known with certainty or to certify. He uses brethren to address all Christians at the churches in Galatia. When he states that “the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man,” he shows that, unlike every other religion in the world in which righteousness comes from human effort and works, in Christianity God’s good news in the Bible is that grace is free.

In verse 12, Paul is taking a stab at the Judaizers, who received their religious instruction from rabbinic tradition and memorization of what others said, rather than studying the scripture directly. He states that he did not receive his knowledge from men and was not taught wisdom by other men. Hearsay is usually heresy. Study the Word for YOURSELF, don’t rely on what you’ve ‘heard’ This is probably a reference to the charge that the Judaizers were making, that Paul had received his teachings from people in Jerusalem and not God. Paul asserts that he received knowledge through revelation from Jesus Christ. He uses apokalupsis, the same word as the name of the book of Revelation, as a revelation. It indicates an uncovering when God removed the lid and unveiled something, though it was previously secret.

This revelation or uncovering was not just FROM JESUS, but it was OF Jesus. (Acts 9). Paul knew some things before his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, since he was an Old Testament scholar, but it was at this time that the information he had studied became living to Him and made spiritual sense (1 Corinthians 2). It is the same with us: when we are saved, we have ‘spiritual eyes,’ which can not discern spiritual truth.

Now, in the next 12 verses, he substantiates the claim that he did in fact have direct revelation from God— anyone could SAY it, now he shows it. Here he gives his autobiographical credentials, and really, what Christians call a “testimony.” Paul tells his testimony in the same way that many Christians now tell. He tells about himself before Christ (verses 13-14), when he encountered Christ (verses 15-16), and after he encountered Jesus (verses 17-24). Paul was transparent about his life.

Paul first tells of his life before Jesus or pre-conversion. The key word in verse 13 is “MY FORMER manner of life when I was in JUDAISM.” Paul was the model Jewish believer (as we see in Philippians 3:5-6) and was so zealous about defending the Jewish faith that he used to persecute the church of God beyond measure. ‘Used to persecute’ in the original language (GK imperfect tense) means a persistent and continued intention to harm. Paul states that he tried to destroy the Christian movement. That’s a big statement. ‘Destroy’ is a military term used to speak of soldiers ravaging a city– and doing so without stopping, a continual action.

Paul had “advanced in Judaism beyond many of his countrymen being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” This translates to Judaizers that: You have NOTHING on me. Your level of expectation and commitment to Jewish tradition is nothing. You’re a wannabe. I was the real deal. I honor my ancestral traditions– they’re my roots, but I was wrong. Those traditions were an exercise in “missing the point.”

Furthermore... watch this: a person like Paul at this time in his life was in no mood to change his mind about how he lived– he was hard core. But he radically changed when he met Christ. Paul’s point? No sinner is outside God’s reach. God takes even murderers— as they are, and can give them spiritual zeal to surpass even lifelong Christians, if there is such a thing.
Secondly, Paul describes his conversion and calling or ordination from God. He states that (verses 15-16). “God had set me apart, even from my mother’s womb.” God is sovereign, even though Paul was going 180° degrees in the wrong direction, God had a plan for Paul all along— just as He has one for you and me. Paul was set apart from his mother’s womb. Paul wasn’t called because he had demonstrated some great quality– he hadn’t even been born! That shows God doesn’t choose us and work in us because of our potential, but because it pleases Him to do so. 2 Peter 3:8 says God wants ALL to come to repentance in this way.

Paul came to God (was called) by His grace or unlimited favor, because it pleased God to reveal His Son through Paul’s life and God wanted Paul to preach to the Gentiles— the very ones these Jews Paul was addressing wanted to keep out of the faith or UNDER the faith.

Paul then concludes this section with a description of his life after his conversion (verses 17-24) He tells that “I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.” Paul, remember, is giving his credentials and the basis for what he is saying in this letter and his overall message. He is telling them that he didn’t talk to anyone else about what to teach, or about what God wanted. He didn’t want anyone’s opinion or clarification to the revelation he had received. God had spoken to him; what clarification did he need?!!

Paul opens his letter to the Galatians with a discussion of the pervasiveness and perseverance of the Gospel and the sovereignty of God (1:6-10) and then discusses His own God-given credentials. He hasn’t gained wisdom and knowledge from men, but from God. He is not called due to his abilities, but because of God’s choice alone.

Next week, we’ll move on to chapter two, in which Paul begins the real ‘meat’ of his message and his ultimate purpose in writing to the Galatians.

Galatians: Introduction (Part 2 of 6)

2011-04-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

After Jesus resurrected from the grave, He gave the Great Commission; part of it came in the form of Acts 1:8. Jesus told His followers to witness in Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), then in Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1-4), to upper Samaria (Acts 10:24-35), and finally to the outermost parts of their known world (Acts 11:19-24). So churches are springing up everywhere at this time— the New Covenant is in effect. God’s people are sharing the message of Christ (forgiveness, hope, abundant life now and eternal life later) to both Jews and Gentiles.

Since most of Christian believers and leaders are scattered, they are going everywhere– especially the Apostles. The Apostle Paul made his primary work reaching out to non-Jewish people with the message of the Jesus because some of the other Apostles were effectively taking care of the Jewish people.

So churches are being established. The Apostle Paul is traveling with a group of friends. Leaders are helping him set up communities of Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire. He takes several such trips, called missionary journeys. The first missionary journey occurred around the late 40s AD. We read about it in Acts 13-14. Some cities mentioned on Paul’s journey are Pisidia, Lystra, and Iconium.

The gospel (the good news of Jesus’ love for all people, his forgiveness, and the possibility of abundant life now and eternal life later) is being taken to the outermost parts of the world– like it was supposed to be. Paul has taken his first missionary journey, and goes to the area of Galatia.

Later on, he hears of some events going on there and writes a letter to those churches– in hopes of clearing up the problems there. The main problem was that, after he left, some people there began to distort the truth of his message. The book of Galatians was written to clarify what the Gospel is about and what it gives believers,

Let’s begin, reading verse 1-5.

Verse 1 clarifies that this book is an epistle, a formal style of letter. Unlike other letters in the New Testament, this one isn’t addressed to a specific person or a specific church– it’s written to a group of churches... all of which were positioned in Galatia (present-day Turkey). The letter went out generally to all of the cities in the region, because they were all dealing with the same issues at that time.

In this verse, Paul notes that he is called “of God.” His authority is from God, not from any denomination or group who thought he was a nice guy or a human organization who gave him ordination papers. God calls— all an organization can do is recognize a man is called.

In verse 2, Paul discusses the fact that he is not alone; there are men and women with him in his missionary travels. Paul refers to them because the Galatians know who some of those are (because these are people who traveled with him in Acts 13-14), and these others have credibility with the Galatians as well. So Paul is saying, “we’re still here— we’re still saying the same thing. We’re of one heart and mind on the issues we’ll discuss in this letter.” Strong Christians add to the credibility of Paul’s message— that was going on here. And the others also cared about the Galatians and wanted to say ‘hi’ as well.

Verse 3 is a typical Pauline greeting, wishing ‘grace and peace’ to the Galatians. Grace ALWAYS precedes peace in his letters. Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Without grace, there can BE no peace.

In verse 4, Paul reiterates that Jesus died for sin. Sin is so vicious that only the sacrifice of Christ could atone for sin. God planned that Jesus would die for sins. WHY? To rescue the world from itself, from self-destruction and from destroying others. Sin includes personal evil, societal wickedness, and territorial and spatial wickedness. Christ died to free people from all types of sin.

In verse 5, Paul breaks out in praise– all glory belongs to God forever and ever. Because God HAS rescued the world from evil through Christ— Christ’s work defeated the cause of evil and broke its power.

For that reason, Amen (true, yes!)

Galatians: Context (Part 1 of 6)

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today I’m beginning a series on a book of the New Testament called Galatians. Each book of the Bible is indispensable and important in its own way and Galatians is no exception.

In fact, Galatians is a very important book for both professing Christians (people who think of themselves as followers of Christ) and for those who are at a point in their lives that they want absolutely nothing to do with self-righteous people, organized religion or the institutional church.

That’s because, in this book, God gives Christians the facts on what the Christian life is really all about—and helps those who aren’t Christians see that a lot of what is sometimes called the Church and that masquerades as Christian Faith actually has nothing to do with Jesus or with biblical Christianity. So, if you’re a Christian, a spiritual seeker or something in between, this study is for you--- and I’m glad you’re reading.

Today, before I really get into the text of the book called Galatians, I want to help you understand the historical background that led to the writing of the book.

WHY? Why spend time on that? Because anytime you study ANY book of the Bible, you need to understand what led to and precipitated the writing of that book. Nothing happens in a vacuum. God doesn’t just inspire Scripture for no reason. There were goings on in the early days of Christianity—things that became of such a critical and serious nature that God Himself intervened and, through the agency and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, guided the Apostle Paul in the writing of this book.

The problem with that is that lots of people feel lost in the Bible, and studies like this often get a little confusing to people. For that reason, as I approach this study, I’m going to break it down into little, bite-sized pieces—and I’m going to explain it bit by bit, piece by piece and morsel by morsel, so nobody feels left in the dark. And I’m going to try to take the complex and sometimes complicated story of the Bible and New Testament and put it in plain language that I hope you can understand. And with that introduction, here we go!

The Old Testament Context

To understand Galatians, you must understand Judaism and the Old Testament. So that’s where I’m going to start, with a brief introduction of how the Bible and the book of Galatians fit together.

Judaism as an organized religion isn’t the first ‘organized’ religion in the history of the world, but the Judeo-Christian God (the God of the Bible) is the only God that Christians believe in and that is the one mentioned throughout the Bible. God is eternal and has always existed. That God created humanity and all that is. God established boundaries and expectations for people, which they broke and violated. God expelled them from His presence because of their disrespect and rebellion—because their actions proved they weren’t interested in having an intimate relationship with Him. Even though God allowed people to rebel, like a loving parent, He still loved them and pursued them with forgiveness and cared for and provided for them.

Fast forward: At a certain time in history (around 1450 BC), God established a holy covenant with a man named Abraham. Abraham had a child, Isaac. Isaac had two sons, one of whom was named Jacob. So the God of the Bible became known as the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Genesis 32:9). Jacob was later renamed Israel after a supernatural experience he had with God. Jacob, now Israel, had twelve sons, each of which had large families that, over time, became clans, then tribes. Generally speaking (and this is oversimplified and not exactly the way it occurred), the dozen sons of Jacob/Israel became the Twelve Tribes of Israel. God wanted to honor the agreement He had with the descendents of His follower, Abraham. They had been enslaved over the centuries that followed by Egypt (Exodus 2:23-25). God then rescued them from Egypt and gave them a parcel of land (called the Holy Land) that He had promised to them hundreds of years earlier.

They later became a nation under God—known as the nation of Israel (comprised of the twelve tribes of Israel)—and they were governed by God’s Law—that is, the Old Covenant, and namely, the Ten Commandments. And when they broke the Law, they had to make blood offerings to God (Leviticus 1-7) to show sorrow for their sins and make restitution to God for what they’d done. Later, the nation had a break up, and what remained were two smaller nations—one named the nation of Judah (which was comprised of the tribe of Judah, namely the Jewish people). God then continued to interact with them, to have His Will done on earth through that Covenant people.

The New Testament Context

Ultimately the Jewish people, as a whole, failed to keep their end of the deal, leading to a New Covenant— meaning God established an additional covenant with a new group of people, in order for His Will to be done on earth. The original people He made this covenant with (John 12) were the Jews—but were told to include all people, particularly Gentiles (Matthew 28). So while the Old Covenant was with the Jewish people as an ethnic group, the New Covenant still honored that covenant (Romans 9-11), but introduced all non-Jews, called Gentiles, into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

How does this work? Well, instead of breaking the Law and making offerings of animals, Christians trust in Jesus Christ who made HIMSELF an offering for sin which is why He died on the cross. After Christ was murdered and then resurrected from the dead, the church sprang into existence. That meant Christians would no longer make offerings and do all of the things written in the Old Testament (like be circumcised as a young child or man, make animal offerings, keep certain dietary or eating regulations, and so on). All of those things became obsolete when Christ did His work (Hebrews 8:8-18).

In Jerusalem, at a Jewish holiday called Pentecost, a few weeks after the resurrection, the Christian movement as we know it today sprang into existence and Christian bodies/churches—groups of Christians meeting together (I’m not talking about churches as-in ‘buildings’) began to be established everywhere. Over time, those churches spread throughout the then-Roman Empire. They first began as Jewish followers of Jesus (in Jerusalem, Samaria and Jewish communities elsewhere), but in time churches were established among Gentiles too—just as Christ had told them to do.

The Pauline Context

The leader who helped Gentiles (non-Jews like many of us) become introduced to Jesus was a Jewish leader named the Apostle Paul. The primary leader who helped Jewish people find Christ was the Apostle Peter as well as James, the half brother of Jesus.

But understand this—because this is part of the key to understanding the Book of Galatians— In some churches, there were both Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. Not only were they different ethnicities and nationalities, but were from totally different cultures, and the Jews were known to have a great sense of pride about their heritage as God’s people. But now, as you know, God was including Gentiles in His plan—like He had ALWAYS wanted to, but the Jews failed to do. Some Jews were jealous that God had included the Gentiles in His New Covenant—and were resistant to non-Jews coming to Jesus in the New Covenant (Acts 14:45-47).This ongoing struggle led to the situation in churches in the area of the world known as Galatia (basically current day Turkey).

In the New Testament, after the life and times of Jesus appears (in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), there is a short history of the early church (Act.s) and then the letters to the churches begin. Those letters are called ‘epistles’ because an epistle was a type of letter writing technique at that time. Paul wrote many epistles—letters—to Christian believers, some Jewish believers and some Gentile believers. Here, in Galatians, we read of a church with both. They were having problems understanding what the New Covenant really meant—and what God expected of people. There was a sharp disagreement about that, and it was confusing people about the truth.

Today, people are also confused about the truth. Why? Because Churches are often confused too. In the next few weeks, we’ll discover the real truth about the Christian message—and it’ll help both Christians and seekers understand what the message of Jesus really was and is.

Live Life as if it Really Mattered

2011-04-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Sometime at the end of high school or the beginning of my college years, I began to understand how important life really is.

What is life? What does your life consist of?

Life is the cumulative effect of every decision you will ever make. We can conclude, if this is true, that decisions are important. And not “just” important... they’re ultimate. Since they’re of ultimate importance, it’s a good idea to learn to make good decisions and every decision begins in the mind.

Because of the centrality of the mind in our decision-making, I want to challenge you to explore your own thought process to see if you can improve your ability to “live as if it really mattered.”

Socrates said that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. Let’s take his advice and examine three things about our minds

Examine Your Decisions: Think about WHAT you DO.

You and I both know lots of people who live their lives as if it’s a game--- like the stakes aren’t that high... never stopping to ask themselves, “WHAT AM I DOING? WHERE IS MY BRAIN?”

The truth is that one decision you make in a moment can have lifelong ramifications--- for good or bad. Those who don’t think about what they do end up making bonehead moves with a high price tag attached to them.

When was the last time you just weren’t thinking about your actions and harmed a relationship? hurt a friend? wounded a family member? violated another person? dishonored your own body? offended God?

Remember the advice of Colossians 4:5, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” 1 Peter 1:13 tells us to “Prepare our minds for action.”

Examine Your Assumptions and Beliefs: Think about WHAT you BELIEVE

Most people’s beliefs are like a patchwork quilt, a family heirloom. Passed down from generation to generation without much thought, they’re a hodge-podge of ideas from all kinds of different places. Without even realizing it, many Christians hold conflicting positions about political, social, moral, legal and spiritual issues. Sometimes the views are so inconsistent it’s absurd, but they don’t realize it because they haven’t really thought about it.

You must have a workable philosophy of life... one that’s consistent with reality-- one that’s in harmony with truth and the way things really are. If you don’t, life will eventually cave in on you because you’re living a lie. That’s why the Apostle Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is within you.”

IF YOUR LIFE IS GOING TO COUNT FOR GOD, YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WHY.

Examine Your Thought Process: Think about HOW you THINK

Most people don’t think much about anything... they live on autopilot. Don’t veg-out and put your mind in neutral. Don’t get so lazy mentally that you don’t think critically

When you don’t think about how you think, before you realize it, instead of your mind being transformed into a powerful tool God can use, it becomes like a lump of clay that is molded and conformed into thinking like everyone else. That’s why the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:2 not to let your mind (your thinking) be conformed to the world, but to be transformed-- to undergo a metamorphosis so you’ll know how to live like God wants.

So that’s my challenge to you today: Live As If Life Really Mattered by:

Thinking about WHAT you DO
Thinking about WHAT you BELIEVE
Thinking about HOW you THINK

Meditation: Gaining the Mind of Christ through Prayer

2011-03-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

Meditation, pondering spiritual themes in reference to God, helps us understand how to apply God’s truths and gain insight into God’s truth.

It helps us understand difficult passages, relate truths to other scripture passages, network doctrines together and come to biblical understandings of doctrinal systems, and helps us distinguish between concepts, among other things. In Joshua 1:8, we are told to meditate on the Law day and night so that we will not depart from the way of God. Because of meditation, God will make our ways prosperous and successful.

Meditation is a part of praying without ceasing. It is pondering, chewing on biblical concepts and going at them in different angles, looking at the supposed contradictions of faith and the Bible only to ultimately crack the shell and find the truth therein. We must work to find it and only when we really intend to obey the principle wrought by that word should we expect to find truth.

God doesn’t intend to impart undiscovered truth on us until we intend to obey it.

Meditation helps us gain and learn the mind of Christ, to be more and more like our Lord.

Because we don’t meditate, thinking clearly and biblically, we have messed up ideas of Scripture and doctrine. We then depend on others thinking. We don’t want to do it ourselves. When asked to justify our beliefs, many say, “That’s what so and so said, I heard it on TV.” We are chronically gullible because we cannot distinguish ideas, due to our lack of meditation.

Meditation yields inner peace, brings greater satisfaction in our devotional lives, and gives us an opportunity to be a more obedient servant. It gives us a divine perspective, that we may see God’s thoughts and God’s ways. Meditation can help us understand life better and make better sense of our circumstances..

The fruit of meditation is insight to truth. Truth liberates and changes things.

Thanking God in Prayer

2011-03-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is related to praise but they are not one and the same. Thanksgiving is to express appreciation for the things that God has done for you, for others, or for any acts He has performed. Praise is to express appreciation for who God is, His Person, His Word, His Attributes.

Thanksgiving is mental or vocal. It is to be specific gratitude. Thanksgiving-- like the whole of prayer itself, is not just an act, but a lifestyle (1 Thess 5:17-18).

It focuses on God’s faithfulness and thereby increases our faith because it reminds our hearts of what He has done. Faith is always trust based on the Lord’s faithfulness of the past. Thanksgiving increases that. It is one of the best cures for depression, pity parties, disappointment.
As I asked readers to practice praise a few weeks ago, I ask you again now to practice thanksgiving. Allow your mind to wander through the days activities. Allow God to direct you toward blessings you overlooked and failed to thank Him for. Don’t just thank Him, “Thanks God,” but thank Him by exploring the goodness of God in those items. Thank God specifically, not just a blanket statement. Thank Him individually and sincerely.

You can thank God for His goodness to you, to your family, to the world.
You an thank God for His blessings in the past, His blessings in the present, and His blessings that will come in the future. God’s blessings can be people, things, ideas, confirmation of His will, and nearly anything else. Blessings can be material, spiritual, relational, physical, and external.

You can thank God for His sovereignty and His ruling over the world. The Bible tells us to be joyful in trials and tribulations, so you can also genuinely thank God for tragedy, for hard times, for persecution. Our trials and tribulations bring about our perseverance and develop our character.

Give thanks to God in all circumstances, unceasingly.

Watching for God's Working though Prayer

2011-03-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

Just before being arrested, Jesus tells His disciples to watch and pray. ‘Watch' comes from a Greek word meaning to be alert, awake or vigilant. Intent, awake in order to guard, close observation. Spiritually speaking it is to be awake and alert spiritually in order to be on guard.

On guard for what? The wiles of the devil and the working of the divine. That’s what was the key issue in the garden of Gethsemane-- discerning where God or satan was at work.

Watching means to develop discernment. Discernment means to separate truth from falsehood; better to detect and understand a distinction from that which is of God and that which is not.

Most Christians are not discerning. Most do not always even understand when God is speaking to them and when He is not. This is due to the neglect of our personal lives. The spirit of God communicates to us through prayer, Bible study, other Christians, and circumstances. Since many neglect most of these we have only a part of what God is saying to us. For this reason, most Christians don’t know how to distinguish, detect or understand anything other than the most obvious things that aren’t of God-- they rely on feelings.

That’s why watching is so important. It is a time of examination, of peering closer and magnifying everything with the Illuminator. Ephesians 6 describes the armor of God and to conclude the passage, Paul commands the Christians in Ephesus to watch and be alert, continuing in prayer always.

Fatigue is often a harm in our prayer, and decreases our ability to watch, because it takes a clarity of mind that is not at our disposal when we are tired and our minds aren’t sharp. It also makes us more susceptible to sin....Why? We are not as discerning and do not recognize satantic snares as quickly. We are reactionary. Watching then is not an idle activity but an active one that requires diligence and vigilance.

To watch, we must make ourselves aware of satan’s work to hinder our prayer. He tries to, through various means, distract us from prayer in the first place. Don’t allow satan to draw you from the important prayer issues. Satan works trough fatigue, though distractions, through anything to keep our minds from being alert.

We should keep from praying using meaningless repetition and many words. This can also be tools of satan and may actually weaken our prayer, because we dilute our request or distort it into uselessness. Take time to be aware of the wiles of the devil throughout your life and the world. Where is he at work in the community, the nation, or the world? Become aware of it. Develop discernment and alertness and pray against such things.

Watching also means to become more aware of God’s working throughout the world. How is He acting and what is He wanting to do?

There are several things we can do to better watch for God’s working, to be aware of His presence and alert to His voice. Read material that aids you in becoming aware of specific global Christian needs, such as mission awareness books and publications, as well as news material. Newspaper, the radio, television, and news magazines can all inform us of what’s going on in the world, where God and satan are working. Merely looking around can also be a powerful way to watch for and discern God’s work. Weather disasters, picket lines, strikes, world crises, church crises, government actions and other things can all reveal God’s work to us.

Finally, ask the Spirit of God to show you how to react to it. James 1:5 tells us to ask the Spirit for wisdom. We need wisdom from on High. If He doesn’t guide our prayer as we watch, we could be misled.

Watching involves God revealing His mind to us, like 1 Corinthians 2 says, and allowing us to see those mysteries, in a spiritual way. As we are allowed into this realm, we begin to really identify with these items, and like Ephesians 6 says, we persevere for the saints with supplication, because God ignites our compassion and spiritual sensitivity.

We must watch to gain this sensitivity and discernment. This will cause us to pray more specifically, clearly, directly and hence, more powerfully and in line with the desires of God.

Praying Through the Scriptures

2011-03-07T09:00:00.002-06:00

The Word is crucial to prayer. The degree to which we believe it and apply it in prayer is the degree that God will pour out His power in our lives. YOU CAN NEVER expect to grow in spiritual confidence (faith) if you spend little or no time in His word, because that’s where you get to know him.

Use the Bible not just to read, but devotionally. See it as God’s daily love letter to you, where you respond to what He says to you that day by praying it back to Him. God’s Word is powerful, “Let there be light”, “peace be still” , “Lazarus, come forth.” It has ability to create ‘ex nihilo,’ out of nothing. When we believe God and pray to Him with His powerful word, He is able through faith in Him to create those things out of nothing, when it seems unlikely, because with God, nothing is impossible.

Not faith in faith or even faith in prayer, but have faith in God and the fact that His Word is a representation of His character. But we don’t just try to have faith in His Word, we have faith in Him-- His Person, from whom His Word emanates. When we read His Word, it is guaranteed to be true, just as a dollar is guaranteed to produce buying power. Just as a savings bond is guaranteed a return. Prayer is nothing more than redeeming God’s Word into God’s actions.

Increasing our faith comes through the Word (Romans 10:17). The Word of God is the Christian’s book of prayer. It is a guide and foundation for all effective praying. Remember that in Luke 11 when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, part of that was ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.’

How do we know what God’s will is and How He wishes to build his kingdom apart from His word?

We can pray Scripture in praise of God, in our confession, and in the context of any devotional passage. Scriptural prayer flows from the Word of God and is alive, just as the Word is.

Confessing Our Sin in Prayer

2011-02-28T09:00:00.001-06:00

Another aspect of prayer to be considered is confession.

Confession, defined as acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, is vital in a Christian’s prayer life.

We confess when we miss the mark of God’s holiness. 1 John 1:9 says that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

But why does this sometimes not seem to work? We confess and are we free? John isn’t just talking about acknowledgment of sin as confession. Confession as agreeing with God regarding our sinfulness and continuing to do the same thing is not the confession God commands. It implies repentance. It’s true repentance that breaks the chain of sin and sets us free. We are to do an about face, to turn away from sin and turn towards God.

Declared admission. Sometimes we don’t want to confess because we feel so bad about our sin. God feels worse. It is pride not to go to Him the umpteenth million time. We must humble ourselves each time. At the same time, it’s not enough to realize we’ve done wrong. Realizing our wrongs without confession leads to spiritual lethargy. When we are aware of sin but do nothing to rid ourselves of it, we are victimized and arrested by sin to inactivity and impotence.

Psalm 66:18 speaks of cherishing sin in your heart. It is one of the many reasons we have unanswered prayer. I’m not discussing how God answers prayer this week, but a lack of confession and repentance often means that God will not listen to our prayers. When we deliberately and knowingly choose sin over God, He does not listen when we pray.

Heartfelt recognition. We take it seriously. He doesn’t need to know, we do... Confession is a time when we ask God to show us what is wrong in our lives and agreeing with Him and placing it under His authority. Sincerity coupled with action and the intent to forsake that sin.

Confession was the primary activity done in the Holy of Holies because that is what required a high priest. Now Christ has become that and His presence is the Holy of Holies and you may enter it with confession on your own behalf as a priest and co-heir with Christ.

Confession properly done. Our effort is not actually confession unless we are sorrowful and have an emotion of regret, (we may not necessarily experience guilt though we usually do) We must agree with God about the sinfulness of the sin and its opposition to His character and person; we must turn from that sin and intend not to commit it again.

The results of unconfessed sin. Unconfessed sin dulls the conscience and extinguishes one’s desire to pursue God. Sin causes spiritual insensitivity, then indifference and leads to blatant apathy. God won’t powerfully use a dirty vessel. He doesn’t need a beautiful one, but He won’t use a dirty one. Isaiah, Daniel and Job were used mightily after confession. (But we don’t use this as a license-- David confessed his sin with Bathsheba and of murder, but never was used as much. Some offenses’ consequences are so great that they cannot ever be fully overcome-- here on earth.)

Confession in prayer leads to confidence in prayer.

Listening in Prayer

2011-02-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

One of the least known elements of prayer is that of listening.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 tells us to “let our words be few”, not to be quick with our mouths of hasty in our hearts. Because God is Lord and King, we are to listen to His Words before seeking to promote our own interests or petitioning for our needs. As Jesus commands His disciples not to pray with useless repetition and meaningless words, we are also to listen first.

Listening is another aspect of the receiving end of our dialogue with God. It is different than waiting, which is preparing for God’s coming and letting Him love you. It is different from meditation, which is pondering spiritual themes and asking God to illuminate them for you.

Listening is to seek to hear God speaking to You, to allow Him to apply Scripture to your life, to allow Him to give you an insight about life issues, and to seek to see what He has laid upon your heart

The person who doesn’t learn to listen is the person who doesn’t really have a clear direction in his life about what God wants him to do and doesn’t pursue aggressive things for God. When we listen, we will hear God’s words, hear His directions, and we can act in obedience to Him.

Worship as Prayer

2011-02-15T09:00:00.001-06:00

Worship isn’t just corporate, it is personal. The choir is meant to lead the congregation in worship, not to perform for them. They direct us. The choir was placed earlier in the loft, but usually stays behind the pulpit (primarily since the Reformation), in order for the larger congregation to see how to respond and, when the special is going on, to participate vicariously through the expressions and feelings of the singers.

Corporate worship is enhanced by personal worship through the week. Singing is a great part of that because sometimes we cannot express the depths of our souls any other way but through song. That’s why God gave it to us. Our souls include our minds, wills and emotions. We can choose to worship God and use our minds to that effect, but sometimes even great truths cannot find their fullest expression in our persons until we express our devotion to our Lord through song. Remember that the Psalms were simply Israel’s Hymnal.

Songs are many times praise. Remember that God inhabits the praise of His people, and songs of praise to the Lord often are a wonderful weapon against depression, spiritual defeat, fatigue, and other Satanic devices. Keneniah led the singers of Israel in their assault on Jericho. It was the singers and not the worldly weapons that caused the walls to fall. Our weapons are not the same as the world, but are strong to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10).

Personal worship through song enhances our relationship with God. Praise and worship of God can take place through song and through prayer, so personal song can be a form of prayer as well. We can pray through music, when we cannot express our thoughts and emotions in another way.

Petitioning God in Prayer

2011-02-07T09:00:00.001-06:00

Petitioning is an additional aspect of prayer that we can consider and practice. Praise and confession are foundational in prayer, but petitioning is also an important piece of praying to our God and Father.

What is petition? Asking God for one’s own behalf. Technically, only yourself-- not your family or anyone else falls into this category. It’s significant that petition falls after many other topics in prayer.

Asking is symbol of our desire, yet sometimes He won’t give that which we want or need until we ask for it. As James 4:2 says, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” God may still answer with a ‘no’ or ask us to wait or tell us ‘later,’ be He cannot answer if we don’t pray and we don’t ask.

Petition is not unbiblical or necessarily selfish. We do rely and depend on God and for that reason, we must ask Him for that which we need. As Jabez cries out in 1 Chronicles 9, who asked with sincerity for God to protect Him. We have but one Father and He must grant our provision. Petition is a confession of our helplessness, reliance, and desperation. When we ask with wrong motives, God does not grant our selfish requests (James 4:1-3).

It is spiritually healthy to take a need apart, piece by piece, during prayer. Analyze it from every angle and express it as a petition. The more specific and complete a petition is, the more faith is generated when the prayer is answered. Specific prayers are also good because you know when they are answered (Matthew 7:7; Mark 11:23). Don’t escape the spiritual tension by asking vaguely and then wondering if your prayers were answered. Sometimes we ask vaguely because we’re so afraid they won’t be answered and that indicts someone-- God or ourselves.

Asking God with faith and with pure motives for ourselves is not selfishness, but is trusting God with all of our needs and with our future.

Prayer begins with praising God for who He is and what He’s done. We must also confess and repent of sin, as unconfessed sin hinders our petitions for ourselves. Waiting for God and watching for His work are also vital to making our own petitions. We must look for where God is working in the world already before making a request for ourselves.

Waiting for God's Presence in Prayer

2011-01-31T09:00:00.000-06:00

An oft-overlooked aspect of prayer is waiting. Without realizing the importance of waiting, much of prayer is useless because we never really enter God’s Holy presence.

In Job 40:4, he speaks of putting his hand over his mouth because he is unworthy to speak to God. This silence helps get our hearts in tune for prayer until we sense His full presence and fellowship.

Madame Guyon, a Catholic mystic writer in the late 17th century said that “There was a period when I chose, A time and place for prayer ... But now I seek that constant prayer, In inward stillness known.” She silently waited in the presence of God, praying unceasingly, as Paul commands us to do.

Prayer needs an early significant spiritual silence. It renews our dependence on God and signifies our submission to Him. Without that consolation of the Spirit and the subsequent renewal, our works become dead and “our message loses the ring which bespeaks its divine origin.”

Waiting places us in submission. It helps free us from being the center of attention and having to get our own way. It strips us of self-importance, and always having to be served or waited on.... It is the freedom to be second place; insignificant, and realize who liberating it is to be a nobody and not have to live up to others expectations. Allow waiting to create in you an inner subordination. Paul called himself a slave of Christ. We often expect our Master to serve us. Waiting breaks us of that.

Through waiting we see the real value of words/speaking/idle words and the idea of coming into the presence of a regent, a King. Waiting is a way to curb our desire for immediate gratification.

It’s when we say, like Thomas a’ Kempis, “As thou wilt, what thou wilt, when thou wilt,” as if we have nothing better to do than sit in the presence of the Lord. It isn’t for God to prepare for our coming, but for us to prepare for His (Psalm 46:10).

Great mens' vision, inner strength and genius is wrought in silence... Gaining it mystically from God himself. It isn’t something taken from God, but given by Him.

Waiting is a discipline, we must become pupils.

We must be constantly renewed by Heavenly communion or our works become dead and powerless. Have you ever felt like that? Do they bespeak their divine origin?

“Amidst the multitude of works, the soul withers.” Too much to do leads to powerless and non-eternal service/ministry. Instead, those we minister to should say, “Didn’t we feel our hearts burn within us?”

Waiting consists of the silent surrender of my soul to God. It is not day dreaming, but concentrating on God’s presence and His approaching. It focuses our attention on His Heavenly voice until it’s as if He says, “OK, you’re ready.” Waiting isn’t a time of listening, trying to say anything, or getting answers. Waiting is simply waiting.

Waiting is silent love. We sit quietly in God’s presence, letting Him love you and minister to you, much like Paul describes the Holy Spirit in Romans 8. Wait until there is peace in your soul, until your spirit is submissive and no longer fluttering. Waiting is for the purpose of getting your heart in tune until you sense His full presence and fellowship.

Praise: the Foundation for Prayer

2011-01-24T09:00:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, we talked about spiritual disciplines. An additional discipline I’d like to discuss is prayer.

Many Christians today have questions about prayer: How should I pray? When should I pray? What should I pray?

The best example of prayer in the Bible is given by Jesus in the New Testament. In the Sermon on the Mount, he preaches regarding prayer. He tells His followers not to seek righteousness through prayer, but that prayer should be between you and God only. He also gives His followers a format to follow for prayer. In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gives us what is known as “The Lord’s Prayer. The beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, our model prayer, is praise for our Lord’s name.

“Hallowed,” comes from the Greek word Hagiazo, which means to revere, set apart, or sanctify God’s name.

It exemplifies vocal adoration

To adore comes from the idea of putting the hand to the mouth or kissing the hand, as a symbol of respect and submission. It recognizes the other’s authority and our servanthood.

That’s what we do when we praise God, we lift Him up and it serves to lower ourselves.

That’s good. Lots of people worry about self esteem. When we realize that we are very small, then our esteem will grow because we can’t live up to the task of being as great as many psychologists want us to be. Self-esteem is healthy, but is paradoxical.

Only praise puts God in rightful position at the beginning of our prayer time. Confession is fine to do first, but putting praise first, further exalts God and makes us more aware of the distance our sin makes us from God’s glory. Only when we see God for who He is can we see ourselves as we really are. And only when we see ourselves as we really are, any confession is still less than it should be (Isaiah 6).

Praise makes our time of petition, listening, intercession, singing, etc. more rich, rewarding, and meaningful because we are more aware of God’s deservedness of such exaltation.

After this blog, I ask you to engage in a time of praising the Lord, exalting His name and recognizing who He is and all that He’s done.

Praise God for His name.

Praise God for His righteousness

Praise God for His infinite creation

Praise God for His Word
Because God is limitless, the potential for praise is also. His person and personality is without bounds.

Praise is to examine and explore the person of God. Uncovering His greatness. Examination like an intense physical examination of a doctor. It is to explore like one looking for Hidden Treasure. Isn’t that what God is?

Getting in the Habit (Part 2)

2011-01-17T15:00:00.001-06:00

Spiritual disciplines are multi-faceted, with internal as well as external disciplines, disciplines to be done alone and to be done corporately. There are disciplines focused on prayer, on service, on worship. With so many avenues available to grow in spiritual maturity, I wanted to focus on one, oft-neglected discipline: that of submission.

Submission is not a popular word or idea in today's society, but it is an important concept to understand and to practice in our Christian lives.

So...what is submission?

Submission is choosing to yield or surrender to the power, will or authority of another as an act of obedience to God. It is to leave or commit to the discretion or judgment of others

So submission is about obedience... and what I’ve found is that it’s a simple choice-- either you do it or you don’t.

What if you don’t?

Well, there was a time when my life was like Frank Sinatra... I did it my way. My wants; my way; my will (not God’s will) and to get those things, you and I manipulate things, events and people to have life the way we want it...on our terms.

When we choose not to submit to authorities in our lives, we are guilty of a kind of “Self-Worship.” If we don’t submit to God and His Will, we have broken the First Commandment. He said “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” But when have been more loyal to ourselves and our wills than God’s, we’re guilty of exalting ourselves... self-worship.

On the other hand, we can choose to submit our wills to God’s Will like Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Have you ever asked yourself, “How could Jesus submit his will to the Father’s when he knew his fate?” Four reasons. The same four reasons we should totally submit ourselves to God’s Will.

1. God’s Omniscience-- He knows everything. He has all the facts
2. God’s Omnipotence-- He’s powerful enough to take care of it
3. God’s Omnipresence-- He’s always there, 24-7-365
4. God’s Omnibenevolence-- He loves us and always wants our best

When I discovered that, I saw that submission meant I had to dethrone myself. Making Christ the Lord of our lives isn’t the end, it’s where life begins. How do we depose or dethrone ourselves and exalt the King of Kings?

It’s a choice. Submission is a choice you make moment by moment to yield or surrender to the power, will or authority of another as an act of obedience to God. It when you choose to leave things to the discretion or judgment of others.

There are two spheres of submission God requires for freedom in our relationships, the vertical and the horizontal.

The vertical is submission in our relationship with God. Choosing to yield or surrender to the power, will or authority of God because of His attributes we just discussed. To leave or commit my life and my will to the discretion or judgment of God (1 Peter 5:6). The horizontal is submission in our relationship with others. Choosing to yield or surrender to the will or authority of other authorities in our lives... why? Because we know that no matter what happens, God is sovereign (Romans 8:28).

God has called us to be disciples and to make disciples. We can’t make disciples if we aren’t disciples. The word “discipline” comes from the same root word as “disciple.” By definition, a disciple should be disciplined.

I challenge you to learn more about the spiritual disciplines by reading Richard Foster’s book and to begin placing them into your life so you will have the spiritual growth God desires and the spiritual intimacy that you desire.

Getting in the Habit (Part 1)

2011-01-10T15:00:00.002-06:00

The postmodern culture we live in is often overly focused on feelings, on making decisions based on instincts rather than rational thought or thorough study.

This is not the way God instructs us to live.

God commands His people to be different from the world, which does whatever feels right. Following God may not be the easiest choice; it may not seem like the most natural thing to do. One thing we can engage in to in spiritual maturity and to seek to know more about God is to practice spiritual disciplines.

So, what are spiritual disciplines? Spiritual disciplines are different ways we place ourselves in the position to grow spiritually (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

Spiritual disciplines include all of the Holy Habits that we do to grow spiritually, including prayer, fasting, praise, meditation, solitude and so many others. Don’t get put off by the phrase “Holy Habits.” Most of the time we think of habits as routine or bad. Habits can be good too. They are refreshing. In the same way, the Spiritual Disciplines are not always something that we are thrilled about, and they may take discipline but spiritual growth can’t take place without them.

Spiritual disciplines put us where God can work within us and transform us. By themselves, the spiritual disciplines can do nothing-- they can only get us to the place where God can work in us.

A spiritual discipline is necessary, but “just doing it” will not make you holy. It is only the means to spiritual growth. The goal of spiritual disciplines is to bring us into spiritual maturity, intimacy, and wholeness. The goal isn’t just to “pray” or to “show up at church;” the goal is intimacy with God.

Praying/Fasting/Worship/Service, etc. for the sake of themselves will not make you spiritually mature. That’s just going through the motions. Those are only means to maturity. You don’t do them for the sake of just doing them, like it’s just some obligation. When you do those things in that way, and your Christian life is nothing more than a Spiritual To-Do List, the Christian life drops into monotony and mediocrity (2 Corinthians 3:6).

In your spiritual pursuit, don’t replace the things of God (the disciplines) for the person of God.

Now, having said all that., let’s ask the question, “So what?” What’s the big deal-- why should I practice the spiritual disciplines?

God has ordained the disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where He can bless us. Doing them does not make us grow-- God does that... but without doing them, we can’t grow. By practicing them we can place ourselves in the position to collide with God’s grace, and it is there that spiritual growth becomes a reality.

I want to underscore something...good intentions aren’t going to make you holy. THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES, and the spiritual disciplines alone are the path to spiritual growth. They are required to grow.

So, what’s the point?

For each spiritual discipline we omit in our lives, we forfeit the corresponding grace; we simply lose out on the benefits produced by the practice of that discipline... and we need them all for spiritual maturity and balance in our lives.

If you’re interested in learning more about spiritual disciplines, I highly recommend Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. If you are interested in deepening your spiritual walk, this is a must read. It was named among the Top 10 Books of the last century by Christianity Today magazine.

Pushing the Envelope

2011-01-03T22:21:00.000-06:00

I want to start this year with something that some of you already know–

I am passionate about life, not passive. AND I MAKE NO APOLOGY FOR THAT. If I could give every person in the world one message— other than urging them to submit to Christ— here’s what I would challenge them to do, and what I challenge you to do: Live Like You Mean It.

I don’t live half way. I don’t play it safe.

I’m not going to end up at the end of life with half a tank of fuel left— it’ll be bone dry. I want to live in the Red Zone. I want to Push The Envelope. I want to be completely authentic– WYSIWYG... what you see is what you get. I want to I want to drink life in and get the best it has to offer. And because I want the best life has to offer, I seek to follow Christ with all of my being– with everything I’ve got.

But some people don’t like that. It makes them uncomfortable. It makes some Christians more uncomfortable to see a Christian living an unbridled life of radical obedience to God than they are around non-Christians living unbridled lives of radical disobedience to God.

I have something to say about that– and I mean this respectfully. The fact is that I really don’t care. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. I’m not going for the “Mr. Nice Guy 2011 Award.” My highest value in life isn’t to make everyone feel comfortable. I have no interest in pleasing men. That’s why the Apostle Paul said what he did in Galatians 1:10. If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

But then, I’m no Super-Christian. I blow it every day. I have a few pockets of unruliness in my life that I have to keep an eye on. I have a wild heart that God has to bridle and put a saddle on sometimes. But one thing I can say that I do, is I live like I mean it.

In other words, Christianity isn’t a joke to me. My faith isn’t something I’m passive about. My commitment to the man who died for me isn’t something I take lightly.

How are you living?

The Influence of Evil (Part 3 of 3)

2010-12-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

After two weeks discussing the presence and the role of evil in our world, it’s time to wrap up. This week I’m going to conclude with a discussion of what God has given us to combat the evil that is present.

Despite the evil that exists in our world, the Bible says that God keeps it from unraveling.

So, for now, God allows evil to be unleashed while keeping it in check so He can fulfill the plan He has for all ages— and until He establishes His eternal reign after the defeat of evil and all evildoers.

Even now, even with free will, God is actively doing something about evil.

He’s given us the church. The presence of believers and churches restrain evil. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus commissions Peter to be the ‘rock’ of the church, a church that will not be overcome by the influence of sin and evil.

We’ve also been given the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:1-6). The Holy Spirit guides us and acts within Christians. We also have our consciences and our concern for our reputation and friendships. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:23-25 to seek the good of others and not only ourselves. God has given us a conscience and a community to restrain the influence of evil in our lives.

We’ve also been given external structures and influences to act against evil. First, God has given us the governmental structures to create laws and regulate people’s actions. God tells us to submit to our governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7). He has also established our family units to bring stability into our communities. Parents discipline their children and promote Godly influences in their lives (Proverbs 22:15; 23:13).

Finally, God has given us His Word (Psalm 119). Studying and learning God’s Word is a shield against the influence of evil and the work of Satan.

Over thee past three weeks, we’ve discussed the influence and spread of evil, how evil exists under the sovereignty of a good and powerful God, and how God works to restrain evil. I hope you have grown in an understanding of evil and its role in our world.

The Influence of Evil (Part 2 of 3)

2010-12-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

We’ve seen a lot of death, pain, suffering, and evil in our world during the last few years, so today I want to address a few questions having to do with evil, pain and suffering— questions that, I believe, all ‘thinking’ people ask.

First, I want to help us understand evil—

The reality of “evil” isn’t something that has its own existence... but it is a corruption of something that already exists. Evil is like rot, decay, or rust. Rot can only exist as long as the rotting thing exists. Rust isn’t something in and of itself– it doesn’t have its own existence... it exists because there is something ‘to’ rust. Decay only occurs ON something.

So evil is like rot, rust, or decay: it feeds on & corrupts that which is good.

So that’s what evil is... and I explained last week that though ‘evil’ lay dormant and latent until it was unleashed at the Fall of Humanity in our world. When humankind made the willful, deliberate and conscious decision to disobey God and His Commands, evil entered real time and was unleashed against all of the created cosmos.

When we discuss evil, there are three issues we must deal with: God’s goodness, God’s power, and evil itself.

When we talk about all the entailments of evil, we begin to ask ourselves about God’s goodness, like “If God is good, why would He let this happen?” But we also begin to ask questions about God’s power. “If God is all-powerful, why won’t He stop this from happening?”

God isn’t finite or powerless against evil.

The fact is that God is able to do something about evil. God is all powerful. But the fact is that God’s timing isn’t always human timing. (As we see when Jesus allowed his friend Lazarus to die, read John 11). The fact that God hasn’t yet defeated evil doesn’t mean He isn’t going to or isn’t able to.

God and the existence of evil is not a contradiction.

Most people either decide, because the world has such problems, that either GOD DOESN’T EXIST or that He can’t do anything about it or isn’t a good God. All of these are wrong answers.

God allows evil and that means that He has allowed it to become a part of His ultimate plan. It wasn’t originally that way, but because of human rebellion, God allows it to exist, as it was ushered into existence through free-will and angelic/human agency (choice). And because God is sovereign, He is able to let it exist and still oversee His purposes and plans for the universe and all its peoples, without contradicting Him.

So the POINT of evil’s existence is that the ONLY WAY for people to have free will or a choice in anything is for people to have the possibility of making a WRONG “choice.” If you don’t have the opportunity to make a ‘wrong’ choice, then it’s not a choice at all, and you aren’t free.

‘Choice’ is a real thing and it has REAL consequences. God didn’t create ‘choice’ and free will and it not MEAN anything. No– when we do something wrong, there are REAL consequences. And real ramifications occur– and that is the tragedy of evil.. That people do it anyway... but free will is the only way that people can show true love– and that goes for human relationships with one another, as well as our relationship with God.

What is God’s ultimate purpose in allowing evil?
C.S. Lewis reminds us that the God-given freedom of choice and human sin didn’t take God by surprise: "And God knew, in His ultimate wisdom, that He could allow a world of free creatures and, even though they fell, He could work out a deeper happiness and fuller splendor than an automatic world would produce."

If God is to preserve freedom and to defeat evil, this is the best way to do it. Free will allows each person to determine his own destiny. But ultimately, God will separate evil from Himself and those who want to do good. That’s when evil will be overcome because God will confine those who choose sin to live in sin, and sin will cease its harm and will be eternally quarantined— unable to upset the perfect world that is to come (heaven).

The result: The goal of a perfect world comes about... and people still had a free will to make their decision and choose their destiny, and those who abused the freedom and harmed people will be cast out of the perfect world they didn’t want to be a part of.

So, it’s not that this current world is a perfect world, but now that we spoiled it, it’s the best way TO a perfect world.

So, one day evil will be done away with— and time continues to unfold until that day.

The Influence of Evil (Part 1 of 3)

2010-11-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Evil is obviously present in the world, seen in murder, child abuse, terrorism, and natural disasters. Many Christians and non-Christians don't understand why evil is present in the world. What's important for Christians to remember is:

None of this was originally supposed to happen.

God created the world ‘good’— everything that was created God considered “good,” and that word actually means ‘perfect’ (Genesis 1:102; 31). The world was a world of goodness, harmony, vitality, hope– even ‘bliss,’

In Genesis 3, we read of the Fall. Adam and Eve were innocent, not perfect, and The Fall was a volitional, willful, deliberate act of Adam and Eve to break God’s command– and to do that which was forbidden. Giving in to temptation, they rationalized their desires, justified their behavior in their own eyes, and did what they wanted to do. The Fall occurred as a result... it set into motion ruin, spoil, contamination, corruption— and every human evil and disposition that there is. Each is cursed for playing a role in what happened (Genesis 3:16ff)

The effects of the Fall were: a broken relationship between God and humanity, strained relationships between human beings, and the injection of evil into the world. This caused disorder, loneliness, heart disease, physical problems, pain, aging, death, corruption.. Entered the cosmos (the world God created and everything in it)

The Fall Resulted in The Curse... which unleashed EVIL on a cosmic/global and a personal scale. The sin of Adam was like turning a lock and opening the door for the spoiling of the universe and all humanity.

Evil had three expressions: bad things or evil as a direct consequence of deliberate human choice (making a decision to do something bad– killing someone), as an indirect consequence of non-deliberate human choice (unintentional killings and lesser situations; things going wrong even though people didn’t mean to do things wrong), and bad things ‘just going wrong’ without any humans being involved (natural disasters).

All of these things are effects/consequences of the Fall or “Expressions of the Curse”

Jesus came to address the problem of Evil. He did so by attacking and defeating ‘sin.’ He did this through giving his life on a hill called Calvary on the cross of crucifixion. When He did that, he won the war, but now all things must unfold to that great end of the age— as He continues to work out His plan on earth. The Bible (end of time/beginning of eternity) ends with the destruction of the Curse— and the resolution of all human pain and suffering forever– UNDOING THE EFFECTS OF SIN.

God does not introduce evil into the world, it entered through the Fall, through our sin. When Jesus returns, the effects of sin will finally end. God will come to judge and to undo the effects of sin.

Why Politics and Economics Are Important: Fo Shizzle

2010-11-25T03:49:00.001-06:00

Ideas as Truth

2010-11-23T09:00:00.002-06:00

Ideas have consequences. The statement seems self-explanatory, but the real and deep impact of ideas reaches into culture, changing the minds of people and the way that they think. Many Christians fail to recognize the impact that secular ideas have had on our own worldviews.

Richard Weaver wrote a book around 1950 entitled "Ideas have Consequences." In 1 Timothy 6:20, Paul urges Timothy to avoid ‘worldly and empty chatter and opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge.’ That implies that whether an idea is true or not is immaterial to the consequences it can have in the world and upon society.

The power of ideas is self-evident:

Thus Spake Zarathustra, by Nietzsche influenced Stalin and Adolph Hitler. Hitler took Neitzche’s book and distributed it to all of his SS brigade and to Benito Mussolini, and it influenced Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf.

Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species influenced all of Western Culture, more perhaps than nearly any book besides the Holy Bible. Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital, which influenced and shaped many of the world’s political systems for nearly a century and he, in turn, was so influenced by the writings of Charles Darwin that he wanted to dedicate the English version of Das Kapital to Darwin, though the offer was rejected
Books written in one century sometimes redefine life in the next.

It’s all about ideas.

The New Testament is certainly an example, but so is Thus Spake Zarathustra, which arguably has influenced our culture and the thinkers of our culture more than virtually any other in the twentieth century, though it was penned during Neitzche’s lifetime of 1844-1900, sometime before his entry into an asylum.

Christians, in our churches, have a great disregard and even distaste for theology and her handmaiden, philosophy– In fact, the very phrase “worldview” is unknown to many pewsitters. Christians in church pews haven’t been taught the importance of ideas and even regard them as irrelevant. All the while, their worldviews are being shaped by everything they see, hear and read– and many of them don’t even know it. Moreover, there is a pervading anti-intellectualism that exists in the church and a resultant dumbing down of believers as most have retreated from the battlefield of ideas– not to mention having long-ago retreated from any serious ventures into the Word of God.

We have a responsibility, as those who have been called out, to be guardians of the truth– contending earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Many of our leaders (in churches, etc.) have not taken seriously or have shirked their own responsibility in this area and the current condition of local church congregations are the result of that irresponsibility.

We must honor the Great Commandment and love God, not only emotively, but with our minds. Romans 12:2 says that the starting point for the believer’s sanctification (of transformation) is to renew his mind.

As Christian educators, we must lead the way and help people recognize the impact of ideas and in doing so, cultivate a hunger for truth in those we teach by engaging both the heart and mind.

God's Modus Operandi (Part 5 of 5)

2010-11-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

God reveals His will to us in several different ways. We need not be confused about hearing His voice, as it comes through several different avenues.

I've spent four weeks building a foundation for how to know God's will, focusing on ten keys to understand how God works in our lives and in the world. This week, I'll conclude this series in talking about how we can hear God's voice.

We must learn how to see God at work if we are to cooperate with His will. God isn't illogical. He generally, most of the time, works within our realm of understanding. When you're trying to discern God's will, use your brain. THINK. Use pro-con lists. Study. Read. Think deeply. Meditate. Put two and two together. God can also speak through your five senses. What you see may be what He wants you to know. What you hear may be what He is telling you to do. The senses send data to the heart and mind and through those stimuli, God often speaks to us by allowing our minds and consciences to react and give us important feedback.

God can also speak through our intuition and instincts. At times, you may just have an inner awareness, an inner knowing, that resonates and gives you the needed impression of what to do. Your intuition and instincts should not be your first consideration. Don't live and make all decisions based on feelings, because they can be unreliable. Your conscience is another internal guiding system Go can speak through. You conscience is not the same as the Holy Spirit's guidance, because it can be corrupted or seared. Still, God can use it in the lives of Christians and non-Christians.

Outside of yourself, God also speaks through other Christians and through His Word. God may send a message through your pastor, the counsel of others, and messages or sermons. Most of us disregard these sources and don't listen very well. Consistent study of the Bible finds its way into our thinking patterns and Truth regenerates and renews he mind day by day. The Bible may not have one specific verse that peaks directly on every issue of life, but over time you will develop Godly wisdom. You must UNDERSTAND His Word properly AND apply it properly. Tagging Bible verses on your decisions and baptizing your actions isn’t what I’m talking about. It’s being responsible with scriptural truth (2 Timothy 3:16).

Finally, God speaks through the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit and can use the consequences of your actions to teach you. The Holy Spirit's voice may not wave a huge banner in your face, but you can still hear it through prayer and through silence. Consequences are the last in this list because they are the method of God speaking to look to last. Satan can also influence circumstances, so looking at these external things can be very unreliable.

So...what do you need to do differently so that God can work greater things in your life?

God's Modus Operandi (Part 4 of 5)

2010-11-09T09:00:00.001-06:00

As we saw last week, sin plays a significant role in our understanding of how God works. While sin does distort our spirit and soul, we are not beyond His will. God does not dismiss you because of your sin or sinful nature.

You can still understand how God works and should see to understand Him and know His will. These last three keys will complete the foundation of understanding how God works.

First, despite even significant errors in judgment and sinful choices on our part, God still isn't finished with you. Look through your Bible and you'll find countless stories of men and women who have sinned significantly and still been used by God, such as Samson, David, and Elijah.

We may have detours and some may limit our overall effectiveness. We may not be as great later as before, but some of these have a greater influence later.

Secondly, God intends for you to learn from your mistakes and may possibly even do greater things through you than you may have done without them. It took Saul's and Moses' murder of others for God to turn them around...and He used them more after the fact than before.

Will you lay aside the past (good OR bad) and press on towards the mark?

Finally, sometimes forfeiting God's will means you must forfeit some thing or freedoms you hold dear. It may cost you dearly to follow God, to seek Him and His will, but the riches are inestimable.

The riches and rewards of following God's will are more than we could imagine, just as Hi will is greater than what we imagine. Sin may derail us from God's will, but it may also be the avenue He uses to turn us towards Him.

These ten keys we've discussed over the past three weeks are the foundation for knowing God's will. They are necessary to understand if one is to know and do God's will.

God's Modus Operandi (Part 3 of 5)

2010-11-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

Last week, we looked at three keys to understanding how God works. We learned that God has a plan for your life and for mine and that He can and wants to work in your life.

This week, we'll discuss four further keys which are also necessary to understand God's will.

First, sin can keep you from discerning God's will for your life. Sin distorts the mind and psyche. It affects all parts of your soul and spirit. Spiritually, your spirit grieves or quenches the Holy Spirit when in sin (Ephesians 4:30).

Your soul, made up of your mind, will, and emotions, is also deeply affected by sin. Your thinking is messed up because it has been conformed to the world and not transformed by the work and will of God (Romans 12:2). Your will is bent on choosing something other than God's will. Your emotions have loyalties to your own will and to your own pleasure and are influenced by the sensations of the body.

Sin keeps you from discernment. Until you get rid of it, you can’t be sure about God’s direction most of the time.

Second, part of God's will is absolute and part of it is conditional. Salvation is absolute. If you're saved, God will keep you and has determined that He will do what's necessary to clean up your life (Romans 8:30; Philippians 1:6). God has open this door which no man can shut. If God wants it to come to pass, Heaven and Hell have to stand down at His authority (Revelation 3:7-8).

You’re not entitled to anything: a great job, a happy marriage, healthy kids, financial independence, etc., none of it is promised to you. Don’t expect a spiritual handout. Work as if it all depends on you; pray as if it all depends on God– and trust Him for the results.

Third, if you don't follow God's will, someone else surely will and they'll receive what God intended for you. Just look at the life of Moses. When Moses disobeyed, Joshua received the blessing of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land. The Parable of the Talents also shows this (Matthew 25:14ff). He who has much, even more will be given.

There are no passes. Obedience is what He blesses. I don’t want the blessings of God to pass me by because of unfaithfulness on my part. That would be too painful.

It’s been said that there are stockpiled riches in Heaven that are unclaimed blessings that are left behind because of Christians’ unfaithfulness. Don’t let it be said of you.

Fourth, those faithful with the opportunities God gives them will receive grater blessings in the future. In Mathew 25, we see that God's blessings pile up, they don't get exhausted. What God is saying about His blessings: “There’s PLENTY more where that came from.”

He who is faithful in little will be made faithful in much… greater responsibilities and greater privileges (Luke 16:10-12). It’s your choice– will you choose to be responsible with what little or much you have? Most people are content to be a daddy’s boy. Don’t live on your parents' prestige.

God intends blessing for you, but sin often distorts our perception of God's working. If we fail to follow God's will, He will bless others instead. Understanding God's good intentions for you as well as His command that you follow His will are mandatory to hearing His voice and hearing His will for your life.

Next week, we'll look at three final keys to understanding how God works. These ten keys total are the foundation to knowing God's will. Grasping these keys will show how God works in your life to reveal His will for you.

Ten Tips on Blogging (or Starting a Blog)

2010-10-31T09:00:00.002-05:00

So, you want to start a blog?

I think that's a great idea-- but make sure you know the basics before you start. You don't want to lose credibility with those who think highly of you and are interested in what's on your mind by making freshman mistakes.

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind about beginning blogging.

1. Start with the right blog provider and the right address and blog name. Create an easy-to-remember web address (name.wordpress.com or similar). Also, keep in mind that the various blog sites all have different styles and probably attract different types of people.

2. Find your voice (you should identify what all you will discuss on your blog, and be diverse enough for it not to be too vanilla and so it also won't be too broad);

3. Provide good content (have something to say) consistently-- without that, you won't have a consistent readership;

4. Map out a blogging strategy (frequency of writing- how often you'll write, a content schedule-- like a preaching calendar... including series and topics scheduled out- mine is currently scheduled weekly through next October already);

5. Always write well, using good grammar, compelling vocabulary, never any type-o's, using catchy images and blog titles;

6. Adjust your writing to hit the target with your readers, while still being true to yourself. Regularly check your viewing stats on Word Press so you can keep track of what's working and what isn't with your readers;

7. Don't start if you won't keep going. I'd suggest doing 5-10 good blogs before you even launch it, to see how serious you are. If you can't do that, you won't continue to do blogs or quality posts in 4 weeks-- begin, schedule future ones you're writing for the weeks to come, then keep writing behind the scenes, so you have a little grace period if you get behind on your writing schedule;

8. Promote your blog using tools you have through social networking;

9. Do a 2 for 1: Blog and Pod the same content-- since the hard work is already done (creating the content). Consider creating a cooresponding podcast that 'speaks' your current blogs on podcast, so you can double your audience-- different groups of people do podcasts v. blogs, so that's two for your time if you do both... I do that sometimes, but plan to ramp it back up and continue;

10. Consider Team Blogging. If you think this could be more of a fad interest than one with staying power, consider team blogging with others. The bad news is that it lessens your personal visibility when on a team, if that's an interest of yours-- but the good news is that the team effort gives synergy. In addition to my personal blog, for example, I'll soon be blogging on my seminary's blog (a new blog being started by Talbot School of Theology). So I'll be on BOTH a team blog and have my own personal blog too.

I hope these ideas are helpful. Treat it like a ministry and not a casual interest, and it'll make waves. But keep in mind that it takes time to reach a readership... Don't expect lots of people to RSS feed it (subscribe) at first, as many readers will visit it when you post and let them know, rather than be groupies.

Best wishes on your blogging. People want to hear what you have to say!

Did Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert "Restore Sanity" on Saturday?

2010-10-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

What a Saturday...

The Mall at Washington became immortalized when MLK Jr. gave his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech decades ago. On Saturday, October 30, another throng of people bunched to be heard, led this time by Comedy Central gagsters Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Far from the dignity of MLK (and even that of the more recent Restore America rally led by conservative icons Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin) was this charade of political concern led by these two adolescent-acting men. At the event on Saturday, Colbert was dressed as a type of Captain America character whose get-up looked more like Evel Knievel than the cartoon hero. Seeing Colbert in the ridiculous costume, one could hardly resist the temptation to imagining the powerful image of Martin Luther King, Jr. who stood and spoke in the same spot. There is absolutely no comparison. The Colbert-Stewart presence was farcical and dumbing-- an irreverent and irrelevant blip on the radar of time that will cause history to castigate them just as they have castigated history.

Colbert. Keep in mind that these are the same two men who continue to lessen and minimize the stature of the federal government and the body politic of the United States. Colbert, on the one hand, sat before Congress recently and rather than reading his presented report, made a mockery of the government by appearing in character and demeaning immigrant workers and scandalizing entire people groups for his own self-esteem. That same act would have one publically shot in some countries-- for simply making a mockery of the government.

Stewart. Then there is Jon Stewart. A populist hero to the hipster crowd of 20 and 30 somethings still living with their parents while working McJobs, he insulted the President and the office the President holds by referring to Mr. Obama as "dude." I'm unsure why Barack Obama would ever lower himself to appear on the Comedy Channel and become the butt of Stewart's jokes, but it was a new low in U.S. Politics- made lower by Stewart's lack of decorum and complete distaste and disregard for the man and the office he holds.

The Rally Itself

At the weekend rally, one saw signs of Stewart appearing in a type of "Uncle Sam" poster where the venerated and sobering figure imposes his will on American would-be recruits, saying "I want you" for U.S. Army. Instead of that stately call to service, Stewart is seen posed with both hands limp and raised in a "Whatever" shrug, simply encouraging Americans to "take it down a notch." Sadly, Stewart misses the point by confusing the high volume of dissent in our nation for 'noise' that should be silenced.

On stage, the two men looked more like the Teller-Penn comic duo than men leading several hundreds of thousands of people in a rally. It was, sort of like the Seinfeld show, a rally about nothing. Rather than rousing the crowd with "shoulds and oughts" concerning citizenship and duty, the reportedly half-drunk/half-stoned crowd offered only occasional chuckles at the men making mockeries of the institution that stood behind them in the image of the U.S. Capital Building. In fact, from news clips seen on national television, the strongest messages sent from members of the crowd seemed to be about the legalization of marijuana-- not the recession, not unemployment, not the broken financial system, not illegal immigration, and not the mortgage crisis. No, the primary and pressing issue on many attendees' minds was their perceived right to possess pot.

So, though there were no clear and scientific bases on which to judge the success of the Stewart-Colbert rally the day before Reformation Sunday, it seems that they feel woefully short of their intent to "restore sanity" as the gig was billed.

God's Modus Operandi (Part 2 of 5)

2010-10-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

Many Christians worry and wonder why they can't discern the Will of God and hear the Voice of God. One of the main reasons Christians can't discern the will of God is because they don't understand how God works-- they don't "get" His M.O., God's mode of operation.

The next three parts of this series will focus on understanding the way that God works before seeking to understand God's will. The reason for thinking this way is that many Christians obsess about God's will without thinking about "how God works" in the first place. Growing in discernment of God's will requires learning more about God and how He works in our lives today.

So, what truths do you need to understand about God's Modus Operandi?

First, recognize that God has an ideal plan for your life. I don’t want to get into the "God's 'perfect, permissible, prohibited' will” kind of talk here, as if God technically has two or three choices for your life (Plan A, B or C), because something strikes me as somewhat unrealistic or at least confusing about that. But, however you slide it, God absolutely has a plan for you and your life.

Read Jer. 29:11-13. This passage tells us that God knows the plan, and that it’s a plan for good, not evil. Plans, that if we participate with them, are to give us a hope and a future. You won’t find His closest intimacy and Will unless you seek Him with your whole heart.

Secondly, God wants to do infinitely more in a person's life than that person will usually allow Him to do. Read Ephesians 3:20; The Apostle Paul makes it clear that God is able do immeasurably more than anything you could ever ask for, more than your wildest imaginations could dream up. It’s not that God doesn’t want to work mightily in your life, it’s that you won’t let Him… or that you’re not doing what is necessary for that to come to pass.

You don’t get put on the spiritual shelf unless you choose to be– I think that, for 15 months as a young Christian, I was "on the shelf." I wouldn’t go forward with Him– so He was finished with me until I gave Him more of me. It’s not that you ever get more of God.. It’s that He gets more of you.

Thirdly, God wants you to know and obey His will for your life. God doesn’t want His Will for you to be a secret. But, then again, He won’t cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). He knows if you’re ready to go to the next level, and He won’t tell you that next step unless you really are. If the answer in your heart is not a constant “yes” then I wouldn’t expect Him to show you His plan… If you aren’t going to obey His Will or want to look it over before doing it, then you’re not ready for prime time.

Keeping these first three keys in mind is vital in understanding God's will for Your own life. First, that God has a plan, an ideal plan, specifically for you. Second, that God can and desires to do more with you than you could dream of. If God's not working with you, examine your own attitudes toward Him; God can work mightily in Your life. And thirdly, God wants you to know His will. He's not trying to keep it a secret, but He does know if you're ready to take the next step and won't let you take it unless you are.

God can and wants to work in your life, in great ways. In our next blog, we'll discuss four more keys to understanding how God works.

God's Modus Operandi (Part 1 of 5)

2010-10-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

A major source of anxiety for many Christians today is how to know and do the will of God.

How can I know what God really wants me to do? How do I seek and follow His will?

Understanding God's Modus Operandi is a vital foundation for discerning His purpose and will for your life. Modus Operandi, Latin for "mode of operation" refers to the way God works; how He operates. When you know the ways of God, meaning the template on which He restricts Himself, you begin to put the pieces of reality together and understand His workings.

Then you can begin to really understand how God works and begin to make serious spiritual impact.

It's been said that the problem with human life isn't that it makes perfect sense or even that it doesn't make sense at all; it's that it almost makes sense. With the conflicting factors of grace and mercy, free will and the effects of the Fall...how life should be and how we think life should be always miss the mark of how life actually is.

Most People Are Confused by God and by Life. Here's Why.

Unless you know the ways of God (Psalm 95:10) and not just see His works or actions– you’ll constantly be confused by life. And... confused by God, too.

God's ways are evidenced by His actions, but His ways are more than merely His actions. God's actions evidence His character and framework of operations, but His actions are not the equivalent of His ways.

God never intended for us to live in fear and doubt, feeling pressured to make a decision or postponing until the moment of opportunity is passed. That's not what He intended... but that's how many people choose to live-- be it due to ignorance or deliberately. In truth, God intended that His followers would be able distinguish between God's voice, their own voice, and the voice of Satan. Discernment in this takes time getting to know God and developing knowledge of God’s Word and how God works.

This series will address God's ways before addressing how to hear and discern God's will. Understanding God's ways and how He works is foundational to being able to discern His will for your life.

Are you ready to better understand God? Good. Let's roll.

"Lifestyle Choice" Is a No-No For Describing the Gay Lifestyle

2010-10-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Valerie Jarrett did it again.
The President's Senior Advisor angered the White House and gay-rights groups by implying that the gay lifestyle was a "lifestyle choice."

Needless to say, she has been excoriated by all left-leaning media outlets and also the LGBT (Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender) community. LGBT devotees argue that those lifestyles are biologically imposed and that human sexuality or at least sexual orientation have no element of volition/choice/will/decision involved.

Gay watchdogs were quick to call her remarks an "obnoxious phrase" and suggested that she had been influenced by right-leaning groups like the Family Research Council that work to resist elements of the gay agenda.

Choice

Though proponents of that ideology have long argued that homosexuality (and transgender identity, bisexuality, and lesbianism) is not based on choice and is innate, no noteworthy scientific evidence has been tendered to support that claim.

When someone acts out on sexual desires (or any desire, for that matte) "choice" is involved. Having a natural inclination to do something does not justify a given behavior. Behaviors are not legitimized by 'unlearned' behavior. For example, though a person might 'naturally' desire to have two or three spouses, participate in child-adult sexual relations, join NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association), or other types of human relationships "in the name of love," those things wouldn't be justified "simply because" there was an innate desire.

As it stands, however, that hypothesis has never been proven or even had a shred of evidence that supports it. So it is perfectly legitimate to call that lifestyle a "lifestyle choice" since there's no evidence it is otherwise. Ironically, many of those who support the LGBT lifestyle are not content with non-LGBT devotees giving them the freedom to live that lifestyle-- they also want our tacit acknowledgment that it is not a choice as well. If the lifestyle was completely legitimate, 'choice' wouldn't be a relevant issue. That's telling.

Thinking Like Einstein (Part 2 of 2)

2010-10-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today we finish the remaining five elements of learning to Think like Einstein.

The first post of this two-part series discussed general principles of building one’s mind. This second part gives a step-by-step approach to developing a powerful understanding of a great many subjects. Each of the five remaining elements may appear complex, but they make a lot of sense to the discerning reader.

We Only Have “So Much” Time for Building Our Knowledge

They are built on my insight a few years back that each of us have time in life to read only “x number” of books and none of us are getting any younger. So whatever our plan, we better get “on it” if we are serious about learning and growing intellectually. Think of it this way, the average person reads almost nothing or at least nothing of real intellectual value. Of those who do read important things, their primary mistake (in my opinion) is that the read (a) the wrong things, (b) do so in the wrong order, and (c) exhaust the number of books they can realistically read before they know all they should-could have known.

So, let’s assume you can consistently read 12 serious books a year. If you live another 20 years, that’s 240 books. See what I mean? 240 books is about what you can get on a bookshelf. That’s it! My point is that with all of the books available, you must be unusually judicious on what you spend your time reading—otherwise, you’ll burn through your 240 books and have wasted (not invested) much of your reading time on trivial tripe.

Where Do I Start?

So, where do you start? Well, it’s not where you think.

Most people would assume “Oh, so I should go to the great classics and just read the top 100 or 200 or 300 classics of all time…,” and that’s what is called a “great books” approach. I think this is a healthy approach, but not the best one.

Below is my suggestion.

Summary Thus Far (Steps 1-5)

If you follow my advice, by this point (using steps 1-5) you will have:

1. Developed a commitment to really KNOWING and learning, not just “being familiar” with lots of things.

2. Identified the major area(s) you are interested in knowing about

3. Discovered the best resources in each area(s) of knowledge you want to discover or master

4. Studied the “large general fields of study” from a Christian perspective. Meaning, instead of studying “details about” or “different disciplines within the major area of knowledge” you begin to study summaries of the entire body of knowledge in that area… LIKE “theology” ITSELF (summaries of what ‘theology’ is) and LIKE “philosophy” ITSELF… NOT areas WITHIN theology or philosophy or what have you.

5. You then, having a good Christian perspective (if you are a Christian and, in fact, if you aren’t I’d still suggest it), study these topics broadly through other authors.

Now What? (Steps 6-10)

6. Begin Studying the Major Areas Within Each Area of Knowledge. Now that you’re “beginning” to understand each major subject area (theology, philosophy, history, leadership, management, psychology, whatever), now (since you actually understand what these subjects ARE), begin to study each major secondary area or “sub-set” of these subjects. For example, in Philosophy—you’d only now begin to really study the major areas within philosophy, such as: metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and aesthetics. In Theology, you’d begin to study those major areas, like Biblical, Historical, Philosophical, Systematic, and Practical Theology. And so on. Of course, you might ask—how would I even know these major areas within my fields of study? Well, if you have done steps 4 and 5, you will already have an intimate knowledge that these are the major areas of study within that discipline. But, if you don’t take this approach, you could read 40 books and maybe never realize these truths. See what I mean?

I know… this isn’t for the faint of heart, but for those who are serious about knowledge at a high level, keep reading.

7. Now Focus Your Study on Each of Those Primary Branches “In Detail.” Meaning, take your growing understanding of each of these individual fields (like biblical, historical, systematic theology… and so on, or metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and so on) and CRUCIAL, begin to identify the major movements, power brokers/idea makers/books & eras/time periods of those branches. In fact, why not work to memorize these—commit them to memory? Need an example? OK, let’s take Existentialism. Here, you might study each of the major Existentialists and their works—like Jeremy Bentham, Soren Kierkegaard, John Stuart Mills, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre, and what each wrote.

8. Now Begin to Focus on Each of Those Fields and Think About The Differences Between The Major Thinkers, Books, and Movements. For example—If you were studying the philosophical area of Existentialism, ask yourself—among those major players (identified in #7 above), what were the major differences between each of their works? Let’s say that they all agreed on 90% of their ideas—but what distinguished them from one another? That’s what I mean. And you could do that for each of the major areas that interest YOU and that YOU really want to learn about in detail.

9. Now, Finally, Begin to Read Individual Books Written By Specific Authors of Interest. Now, think of it… after all this, you have a SIGNIFICANT BREADTH AND DEPTH of understanding of all areas of your field of study… and know you are getting into the nitty-gritty of these areas.

10. Document Your Knowledge. Now, having invested this time—do whatever it takes to help others understand what you know. Make and record, in retrievable form, summaries of these ideas and people and books –record insights, draw images with diagrams and tables and graphs, then identify and record relationships between and across fields of knowledge.

Finally, most important in all of this is an often-forgotten idea: Slow Down – and THINK more than you read. Most people spend all their time READING and little or no time THINKING.

The result of all of this?

You will develop profound and intimate knowledge into the deep nuances of your field of study—you are becoming an EXPERT… because you have done what others have not done.

Thinking Like Einstein (Part 1 of 2)

2010-10-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

One of the greatest elements of personal impact and success is the importance of developing your mind.

But how do you do it?

In my two part series, I'll give a total of 10 key ideas to enhance your thinking as you build your mind and learn to think like Einstein.

Here we go!

1. Redefine your understanding of “knowledge.” Knowledge is not what you happen to remember, true knowledge is that which you will never forget. Here's my point: This is an area where so many people make mistakes... They assume they know more than they actually do. But, truth told, they cannot command their knowledge and their memory of specifics (facts, details, comprehensive understandings of things, how these things relate to other areas of knowledge, etc.) is actually quite shallow. Let's face it, if you don't remember it, you don't know it. So don't over-estimate your knowledge. Adopt a higher standard of what true knowledge is.

2. Identify the major or primary areas of knowledge you want to build. You can't know everything. You can and should, in time, develop broad understandings of multiple areas-- but you won't be equally interested in everything. So identify a subject/subjects, and begin to drive deeper.

3. Identify the best, most reliable sources for mastering the big picture of your topics/areas. In other words, you need to begin studying a subject by learning about it "as a whole" and not piecemeal in small bits. It's hard to understand a subject if you start by trying to understand one tiny piece of the subject then try to go broader. Instead, start by trying to develop a truly comprehensive, general understanding of the subject.

4. Start with secondary Christian sources if/when possible (of large general areas). Some won't agree with this- so they can write their own blog. I understand that perspective, but generally disagree. From a Christian perspective, after one understands the big picture and broad understanding of something (astronomy or civlization or evolution or higher criticism), I think 'most' could benefit from reading about that broad subject from a Christian perspective-- not so they can be indoctrinated, but because a Christian perspective will at least give them some perspectives and hot button issues of which to be aware. Without this, I've seen lots of Christians lose their way because they stumble into dangers unawares, simply because their minds haven't been properly trained to think critically and biblically just yet.

5. Then move to secondary “secular” sources of those large general areas. Now is the time to move into the deep. Now that you have a general understanding of the topic-- and at least some biblical-Christian perspective, you're ready to learn about the topic from other perspectives. Keep your head on straight and go for it.

OK, so that's a start... tune in next post for part 2 of this two-part series.

Your Plausibility Structure

2010-10-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

A Chinese UFO?

Yep, you heard right...

Just this week, a report circulated that a UFO appeared in the skies of China.

Was it real? Was it legit?

First, you are only likely to believe there was a UFO in China "if" you believe in UFOs in the first place. Meaning, depending on your "plausibility perspective."

That is, if you do not think something is possible (plausible), then you won't believe it in the first place. So if you don't believe in UFOs, you won't believe there "was one" in China this week. On the other hand, if you think it is plausible that there are UFOs-- then you are probably inclined to believe there "might have been" a UFO in China.

The point is this: If you don't believe something is plausible, you probably won't count on it.

This plausibility perspective not only relates to Chinese UFOs, but also to believing God for things. If you don't believe God is willing to do something, or if you don't believe God is ABLE to do something, then He probably won't. God usually acts in accordance with our faith.

In Matthew 9, some men asked Jesus to heal them of their blindness. He asked them, "Do you believe I can?" They said, "yes."

Well, in fact they DID believe-- and were healed. But had they NOT actually believed, they wouldn't have been healed. The point is that God gave to them "according to their faith." He often does that.

Jesus himself even said, "According to your faith, it will be given to you" (Matthew 9:29).

So if we don't think something is even possible-- we won't believe it will happen. If we DO believe something is possible, it might be.

With God "all things" are possible-- but God wants us to believe in Him and express faith in Him. That leads me to this question: What dream have you already given up on? What do you already assume won't happen? OK, well it probably won't.

But if you will believe God and if you ask according to His Will-- with complete faith that He is able to do it, then expect Him to act.

If you struggle with this, then your plausibility perspective may be limiting your faith in God... and limiting what God will do in and through your life.

Cardoza on "Power Communication"

2010-06-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Understanding the Importance of Communication Savvy

Perhaps the two most important aspects of most information-laden professions and leadership in general are (1) becoming a strong writer and (2) becoming a strong speaker. This is because of the importance and priority of communication and its central role in leadership and life.

Today I want to share what a power communicator must have. There was a resource offered a number of years ago that referenced this concept, but I'd like to unpack these ideas a little more here.

Those of us who put food on the table through our teaching/preaching/speaking think a lot about communication. And as an educator, I spend time considering how to help undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral pastoral and ministry students become the best communicators they can possibly be. I want to bring balance to the issue by highlighting three enormously important issues for communicators and those who train them.

Three Components of Power Communicators

To become a power communicator capable of shaking the earth, three power principles must be mastered:

1. Substance

2. Soul

3. Sizzle

1. Substance

There are those who sometimes teach or speak who are entertaining to hear, but who fail to deliver the goods. When life (or people, time, resources, business, money, influence, whatever your thing) is on the line, the one thing you must do is put the cookies on the bottom shelf. Meaning, you MUST bring home the bacon; you MUST ring the bell; you must shuck the corn. Whatever analogy you want to employ, it's crucial that if you're going to speak, you have something to say. Some people don't. Others think they do, but can't produce. Content is an enormous priority for the speaker-- in many ways THE priority. Don't neglect the content. Don't abuse the message. It's the only reason you're really speaking in the first place.

In addition to WHAT one says, however, is HOW one says it. A really common and unfortunate mistake that many ineffective communicators make is to assume that CONTENT (substance) is all that really matters in speaking. This could be a painful statement, but the people who make that false assumption are generally poor communicators. Any strong communicator knows that connecting with an audience is by no means restricted to the substance of the talk.

2. Soul

So, in addition to substance is SOUL. "Soul" has to do with the communicator's inner man. His or her inner self. The best communicators are able to transcend the limits of language and place their very hearts on display. They reveal primal emotions, potent convictions, and powerful attitudes. They can release the best of their personhood and vitality in the moment of truth. They have such a command of their 'selfhood' and security in their identity that they are able to project whatever their subject calls for: authority, passion, motivation, intimacy, compassion, angst, inspiration, humor, gratitude-- whatever it may be, to their listeners-- making them feel and think and want to do the same thing. Without soul, we're only talking heads. Without soul, we have no heart. Without soul, we're old news-- we're just another tired talker, but not a power communicator. Release the fullness of your best self when you step onto the platform or when you stand in that sacred desk.

3. Sizzle

Substance is a must. Soul is indispensable. But your speech must also sizzle. After you've done the hard work of study, reflection, hermeneutics, exegesis, research, thought, meditation and speaking prep, if you are incapable of bringing the heat, you will likely lose many of your listeners. So it's not only what you say, but how you say it. It's not just being an effective speaker and having a handle on grammar and syntax. It's also making sure that you have a powerful command on vocabulary that you can draw from at a moment's notice in order to paint a masterpiece to your audience or the congregation.

Can you make it "SING?" Can you allow the Spirit of God to breathe life into that dry manuscript and make the bones live? When you speak, does it pop? Does it happen? Does it thrill and excite and stimulate the learner. Does it force the listener to think, feel, and act? The best speakers have a near hypnotic command of their audience in such a way that the person loses all track of time and, as you speak, their hearts burn within them. Though, in Christian speaking, the power of God sometimes falls on a situation, to be sure-- but do not confuse that supernatural act with the need for personal effort in selling what you say with a little sizzle.

Leadership Lesson: Beware the "Happy Talk"

2010-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love thinking about leadership.

Much of leadership is exciting and positive, but there are also things that are threatening and negative. As one who has been in tough decision-making situations where people have lost their jobs, there's something I've learned that it might help you to know. This is something that I think is true generally, but it's also very much true in church ministry positions. It's the Leadership "Happy Talk."

Let's cut to the chase. Beware the Happy Talk. At all costs.

The "Happy Talk" comes in two primary brands, but the intent and result are one and the same. And they're not good. The two questions commonly asked are one of the following:

"Are You Happy?"
"How Do You Think Things Are Going?"

Not What It Seems

The thing is-- these aren't really questions the supervisor is usually asking "for information." They are actually TELLING you something, not ASKING you something. Let's look at those again:

Question 1

Are YOU Happy?

The issue here APPEARS to be YOU and YOUR happiness, but that's not really it. It's actually THE LEADER and His/Her Happiness WITH YOU. In other words, the "right answer" to the Happy Question is always "No." As in, "No, I'm NOT happy." Even if I THOUGHT I was, apparently I'm NOT. And the reason I'm not happy is because YOU (my supervisor) are not happy.

This is a technique that some leaders use in order to pass on pink slips (OR to let you know that a pink slip is imminent if performance does not improve quickly).

Question 2

How do YOU think things are going?

Again, like the Happy Question, everything isn't what it seems. The question isn't REALLY how YOU think things are going-- but how THEY think things are going-- and they're apparently not going well.

So the answer to this second question is, "Not so great." At least that's what is implied. They are trying to tell the person, without telling the person, that they're not pleased with the individual's performance. The problem could be a myriad of issues: poor attendance, disengagement, poor social skills, bad work ethic, inability to play well with others, lack of decorum, or about a million other things.

What Not To Think

If you're put in a situation where these questions are asked-- though there is always the chance the leader asking you *might not* be poised to can you, you need to make sure. The worst thing to do is to assume that this is just a friendly chat.

My Advice

So if you're ever in a situation when one or both of these questions are raised, brace yourself in a five-point seatbelt and respond to their question WITH a question. I'd say something like this: "You know, that's a good question (boss). I think this is an amazing place to work and I count it a privilege and not an entitlement. So more important to me isn't so much how "I" think things are going but, instead, how YOU think things are going." I want you to know that I want to do everything within my power to be the best leader/minister/employee/staff person I can be, and would be happy to begin to make any changes you'd like to suggest if there are "blind spots" that I have and haven't seen. How do you think things are going, and how can I improve to the point where you feel I'm a great contributor and not a liability to our organization?"

If you do that, it might spare your head from rolling-- unless you've already missed way too many hints. It costs a lot of time and effort to hire someone and organizations (churches too) often lose lots of momentum when staff changes occur. So organizations have good reasons to keep you on if they can. Taking the right approach during the Happy Talk might just save you some pain, salvage your career or ministry, and help you move to the next level of leadership.

In times of recession like these, job security is more important than ever.

Cardoza on Cap and Trade (Cap and Tax)

2010-03-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

Understanding the Context of this Discussion

A good friend of mine made a good point that complicated and technical phrases in current discourse are being made, but that those things aren’t always being explained. So I decided to write a simple but not simplistic overview of the current “Cap and Trade” discussion going on in American Government.

In the following video, President Barack Obama says that he is in favor of a Cap and Trade system but that such a policy “will necessarily cause energy prices to skyrocket.” Listen to him, then read what “Cap and Trade” is in Plain English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4sH4&feature=related

The Background

In an earlier blog post (http://freddycardoza.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/cardoza-on-civics-understanding-whats-going-on-in-america-and-why/) I discussed the background to understanding how politics and economics relate—and I’d encourage you to read that post first. With that as an introduction, let me get into how Cap and Trade works.

I’ve described earlier the fact that “Big Government” proponents (i.e., Democrats-Socialists-Liberals) have an agenda to use the government as a means to minimize the freedom and responsibility of individuals and privatized corporations (private industry or “businesses”). That is because the government needs money to pay for entitlement programs to “take care of people” in the Nanny State that it has become. This is no exaggeration, as over ½ of the US budget is now spent on entitlements (http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/us_budget_pie_chart).

As money comes into the US Treasury, it feeds its ever-larger bureaucratic self and it takes care of those who do not want the responsibility of taking care of themselves or who have an entitlement mentality. Such people are willing to trade their own freedoms away in exchange for the government taking their personal responsibility. In this way, the government becomes a safety net and, as I’ve said, a ‘nanny.’

In a “Progressive” government like the one Mr. Obama is attempting to build, the government penalizes companies and the people who built them through years, decades, and generations of hard work by forcing them to support all government programs in ways that are grossly disproportionate than other people who have not earned as much income. For example, in the upcoming budget plan, it is estimated by some that the upper-level earners in the US will pay up to 42 cents of every dollar (42%) of their income to taxes, while some US Citizens who can (but refuse to) work, pay no taxes or even receive refunds from the government, even though they have not paid any taxes.

The strategy of Progressivism being espoused by Barack Obama and many Democrats today is to identify (a) individuals who have or make significantly more than others and (b) the companies they have built by creating laws and regulations (imposed by government agencies like OSHA) that are designed to take the money people have earned (through fines, fees, tariffs, corporate taxes, personal taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, consumption taxes, payroll taxes, capital gains taxes, penalties, and other red tape) in order to forcibly redistribute that wealth to those who did not earn it in ways consistent with Socialism-Marxism described in an earlier post.

What is Cap and Trade (also called “Cap and Tax”)?

Cap and Trade is one type of (many different) government-imposed wealth-transfer plans.

To Understand Cap and Trade, You Must Understand the Basics of Economics and Politics

Cap and Trade (like all other such wealth-transfer plans related to Green Economics-Environmentalism, Government Health Care, etc.) is designed to forcibly redistribute money more evenly throughout society, and especially lower income people, in order to eliminate classism (the economic differences between upper/lower classes) and to usher in an ideal society (i.e., “social utopia”). In such a society, most people would comprise a very large lower-middle class, and virtually all authority would rest within those who run the government, since it would have eliminated the power of all other persons and entities. This, in a nutshell, is the agenda of Socialism (a political philosophy) and it uses Marxism (an economic philosophy) to do it.

Cap and Trade Basics

The basic argument of Cap and Trade goes this way.

The developed world (the U.S. and other countries) is better off than the rest of the world. It has more money and more things and a higher standard of living. Other people in the world have less and a lower standard of living. Much of this is because of our consumption of stuff from money that we have that some countries don’t have.

As a result, extreme liberals and even the US President, believe that two things are wrong with this: (1) We need to redistribute wealth to those without it and (2) the way that should be done is by giving them money from U.S. tax payers and businesses. So, Cap and Trade is actually a wealth transfer (Marxist) idea cloaked in Environmentalism.

Point By Point Through Cap and Trade

The logic is that the things Americans enjoy aren’t enjoyed by many other people in our world and while they do without, we have these things and, in doing so, we pollute the planet more than they do. Examples: Our cars, boats, trains, buses, motorcycles, air conditioning, heat, hot stoves, etc. are things that give us a higher standard of living than everyone else—and this creates us, Americans, as a higher socioeconomic class of people. The argument then goes that we should be ashamed for having a great society and for being blessed by God and through the industry of the American people, since it is those very things that are causing the world to hate Americans in their arrogance.

Blame America First. So the “blame America” group wants to PENALIZE us for what we have and enjoy because, in doing so (they argue), we pollute the planet through our extra energy use—and our greed causes the rest of the world to live in pollution and climate change (global warming). Subsequently, if we were to be more concerned with others who “don’t have what we have,” then we would be more generous to them rather than spending our money on things for ourselves and our own consumption. So America “owes” the world. And we should (as we saw in the recent Copenhagen Summit) give the poor nations of the world our money from the US Government’s taxpayers as a sort of payback for our excesses and to provide their governments money to enact the same Cap and Tax policies so that they can also redistribute the wealth of their countries, leading to a Socialist (utopian) world.

Think I’m Crazy? People who are unfamiliar with the Climate Change discussion and extreme Environmentalism and Cap and Trade probably read what I’m writing and think “He can’t be serious.” But, in fact, this is the main thrust behind much of the Cap and Trade controversy. The government sells the problem as an Environmental one, but it’s actually all about “Green ECONOMICS” and the redistribution of wealth, using environmentalism as the reasoning behind it. Carefully researching these issues will clearly show what I have written to be true. But let’s continue.

More Cap and Trade Basics.

So Americans are obsessed with stuff (materialism increases carbon footprints). Our materialism and consumption cause us to trash the planet, and this hurting of the environment—leads to global warming, etc. They then argue that, if it isn’t stopped something catastrophic will happen—because the future of the planet is stake.

What “Cap” Means.

The government is telling people that we must reduce carbon in the atmosphere in order to avoid climate disaster. That means we should reduce our carbon (like burning or using fossil fuels like gas, petroleum products, coal, and using products that require energy), by more than 80%. THAT IS THE “CAP.” Certain types of ENERGY USAGE IS CAPPED. It begins with setting limits on our use of energy. The recent Copenhagen summit was an attempt to do that—Obama wanted to get the world to agree on the top limits of ‘unclean energy’ they would allow, so we could “CAP” the carbon and energy usage.

What “Trade” Means.

The problem is that everything uses energy to run (cars, businesses, ships, semi-trucks, transport trucks, trains, etc.) and all of these things emit carbon. In addition, nearly everything we do in life is a release of energy this is largely powered by those sources of energy (like to heat homes, cool homes, cook food, eat out, take the car to the mall, using energy for lights, the energy for lighting a movie theater, etc.). So how are we going to reduce carbon? By starting a carbon stock market (“trading”), so companies can “buy and sell” the ability to use energy that pollutes the environment. And as they do this, government can then control and monitor energy consumption by government policies/restrictions and taxes.

The problem? Most countries use it like we do and don’t have money to do research and development to develop other forms of environmentally friendly or “clean” energy.

To keep carbon and emissions to a minimum, the government would begin (over a period of years) to set these goals for reduced emissions of carbon from all these energy sources—and then SELL PERMITS to companies who would pay taxes for the ability to “pollute the atmosphere” (use energy). Each year, less and less energy would be used and ‘unclean energy’ (oil, coal, gas, etc.) would be paying very high taxes and could get fewer and fewer permits to use their energy (“to pollute”).

Enter Clean Energy and Government Contracts. Meanwhile, the government would choose winners and losers again, but paying companies money to do research on ‘clean’ energy and by giving grants and government contracts for more energy-efficient windows, weather stripping, energy sources, wind power, solar power, etc.

Over time, because taxes would crush other energy companies and because they could buy fewer and fewer permits to use their sources of energy, the ‘clean’ energy companies would flourish because they advanced their businesses on the government dime. So traditional businesses (the energy companies mentioned earlier, and companies who didn’t get government money and contracts to produce these ‘green’ technologies would also be taxed because their products ‘hurt the environment.’ In addition, standards would continue to tighten, driving many out of business since they couldn’t compete any longer with government funded businesses.

“Trade” One More Time. So, another way of describing it, is that the “Trade” idea is that those companies who become ‘greener’ would be able to take their pollution permits and ‘trade’ them on the energy stockmarket—to companies who couldn’t become greener—and with each ‘trade’ the government would get a cut of that tax revenue AND the green companies and their employees would get more money (WATCH THIS: creating “new money”) while the “OLD MONEY” groups like Coal Company Owners and Oil Men and Gas Company Executives were taxed and legislated out of business—leading to massive reallocation and redistribution of wealth away from those who traditionally had money—into the hands of new people awarded government contracts, all in the name of the “environment” and to stop “global warming” and “save the planet.”

Summary

So then, anyone that PRODUCES OR USES energy would be taxed and prices would rise—significantly. Consumers of these things would be penalized—by paying higher prices and taxes on energy and things that used energy. Note—everything uses energy!! So every use of energy or emission of energy would cost you (gas for car, carbon emissions of your car, energy for home or business, restaurants who produced your hot food, appliances that you use to cook or cool food), and the government would regulate all of those things through regulation—hence CAP (energy limits) and Tax companies/people using energy.

Cardoza on Government Intrusion: Obama's Bailouts and Regulations

2010-03-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

I think a big problem with what is going on in the US Government today is that most people don't really understand what's happening. That's because it's complicated and because lots of jargon (technical language from different fields) is used that further complicates things.

One issue that is going on today is that of Government Intrusion-- the government getting involved with things in the wrong ways. I'd like to use the recent financial bailouts in the US and the issue of "deregulation/regulation" to explain why this matters.

Understanding “Regulation” and “Deregulation” (Big Government Intrusion)

Whereas Republicans and Libertarians and many Independent voters are in favor of SMALLER government, Democrats and Socialists are for BIGGER government—that is a crucial distinctive to understand. Let’s first look at Capitalism.

Capitalism and Deregulation in Plain English

In Free Market Capitalism, the government allows supply-demand (business) to govern whether companies win or lose—whether they succeed or fail. In other words, in Free Market Capitalism, the government’s job is to create laws that ENABLE businesses to succeed and that “deregulate” them so no artificial barriers cause businesses to fail. That way, if a business fails it is because the idea was wrong or the leadership was poor, or the timing for the business idea was wrong: They win or lose on their own, and they bear that responsibility for their success or failure.

Socialism and Regulation in Plain English

On the other hand, in a more Socialist approach, Marxist ideas of economics are used. What happens is a few things.

(Photo: Karl Marx)

First, the Government chooses winners and losers. Instead of allowing businesses to fail, government decides who fails and who does not. So it chooses who will and who won’t get bailed out. So, instead of allowing businesses to fail or to force them to make hard decisions to change course and become successful, the government uses tax payer money to bail the business out. The companies it bails out then essentially become INCAPABLE of failing because they are funded with limitless supplies of printed money. But other businesses don’t get that bailout money, and are in danger of going under. That’s the problem with government bailouts.

Second, the Government begins to control private businesses by ‘owning’ them. When federal financial bailouts occur, businesses become (partially or entirely) publically-owned (owned by taxpayers or the government). And when government controls them, because a company needs capital/money, the government gets ‘shares’ of that company and may then have a “controlling interest” in the company. That’s another way of saying they get to call the shots.

One recalls when the US Government bailed out General Motors recently. Rival companies Ford, Toyota, Honda, and others got no money—and could have failed. But then, since the government bailed GM out, the President of the United States was able to fire the GM C.E.O., set salary limits, and help decide which brands (Buick, Pontiac, Saturn) died—affecting thousands of US Workers. So the government chose winners and losers. It controlled businesses by owning them. And one wonders—no matter HOW BAD General Motors might perform in the future, now that it is essentially owned by the government, almost without question there is no circumstance under which the government would even ALLOW GM to fail, but no other car companies have that same guarantee.

The Point? Government was never supposed to get into the business of owning private industries. When it does, it becomes unfair to other private businesses and the government ends up using taxpayers money to help some taxpayers and to hurt others, which affects persons, families and their futures. That’s not right.

Cardoza on Civics: Understanding What's Going On In America and Why

2010-03-01T09:00:00.001-06:00

Understanding the Relationship Between Politics and Economics

Politics: To have a society, people must live together. When people live together in relative harmony, it is called a “civilization.” For civilization to exist, it must be civil (or you have barbarism). Civility is based on mutual understandings and boundaries of well-being (“civil order”). “Order” (Civil Society) becomes a reality when compulsory expectations are expected OF everyone and enforced ON everyone—and this is what we call “Law.” The need for “Law” is what creates Politics. Politics is designed to establish order and preserve justice and equity. Government is the collective body or bodies that oversee the political system to ensure civilization.

Economics: When people live together in society, they can either live in a meager, primitive, and simple existence (usually agrarian or nomadic societies) OR they can seek to live in a more sophisticated society where the standard of living (options, choices, comforts, entertainment, etc.) is higher and comfort is increased. **Because increased comfort and a higher standard of living creates greater civil stability and well-being, governments seek to enable this higher standard of living in order to avoid chaos and the breakdown of civilization and government (anarchy). A higher standard of living is accomplished to a large degree through economics. Economics, therefore, is the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services that creates the opportunity for a higher standard of living just described. IN THESE WAYS, politics and economics are intertwined. And it is government that regulates economics THROUGH politics to help ensure people’s well-being and a higher standard of living in order to build the best society possible.

Understanding Economic Theory and Political Theory

So for government to exist, politics and economics must exist. But there’s not only “one way” to think about politics and economics. So different “political theories” (often called Political Science) and different “economic theories” exist. And it happens that, usually, certain political theories’ goals are best accomplished by corresponding economic theories because they are built on common ideals or goals.

That’s why—as a rule—that Representative Democracy (a “Republic” like the US) generally uses Free-Market Capitalism as its economic theory (since it values entrepreneurism as the way to help raise people’s standard of living). Capitalism places responsibility on individuals, as does Democracy. That’s because Democratic Government and Capitalism believes the individual should be motivated to take personal responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family and fellow man. And when each person with the ability does the same, that creates a surplus—which meets the needs of those who genuinely cannot help themselves. But those who refuse to work and do not take responsibility—even though they are able—are allowed to do without. Only those who genuinely need the help are able to get it in this type of society.

Socialism, on the other hand, de-emphasizes the responsibility of individuals and places that responsibility for the welfare of the individual on the government to produce that higher standard of living for the people. In this way, the government must provide money for the resources needed by the people. It does so by compelling people to provide the government with the money to do this—and government receives money through taxes. Those taxes are paid to the central government in order to hire people to maintain and oversee programs that provide for people. And in a Socialist government, as Karl Marx said, each person gives “according to his ability” and each person receives “according to his need.” WHAT THAT MEANS is that those “with more” are compelled to give more to people who need more—so that those who do not have all they want or need will have it.

The Point?

In summary, Capitalists and Marxists disagree on HOW to maintain a civilization and provide for its peoples’ standard of living. And Democratic-Republic Governments disagree with Socialists on the way to build that society—through compelling people to give to the government so everyone will have ‘about the same’ OR through expecting people to take responsibility (if they are able) for themselves… or to do without.

That is why Democracy-Capitalism is about personal responsibility, low taxes, and small government. And that’s why Socialism-Marxism is about government responsibility, bigger government, and higher taxes. They are simply two ways of doing things.

The Choice

These completely opposite approaches on the role of government, politics and economics are what is causing the radical disagreements in the United States right now. The question is “Do we create a ‘Nanny State’ where people are taken care of by the government, even though corruption, waste, and excessively spending tax-payers’ money occurs OR do we create a ‘Responsibility State’ where people who are able to do so are required to take care of themselves and the fruit of their labor takes care of those who cannot take care of themselves until they are able or indefinitely?”

The Fundamental Problem

The major problem that exists in our nation’s politics today is that Democrats are being driven by the extreme left wing of their political party—and that party (led by the U.S. President) is driven by hard left ideologues who are more SOCIALIST as I have described above. Prior to this time in history, Democrats and Republicans have disagreed “to a degree” but could compromise BECAUSE THEIR POSITIONS WERE RELATIVELY CLOSE TOGETHER. Now, because “Progressives” in the Democratic Party are more Socialist in their perspective, we have a culture war—and the MEANS and the ENDS are so radically opposite that there is no middle ground.

Summary

That is why this is such a fierce battle. And this entire discussion explains why I feel so deeply about these issues: Because the American way of life is being threatened by changes in these political and economic theories. And if America practices the political and economic theories of Socialism and Marxism, the outcome will be what it has been in EVERY other such civilization: decline and death of those civilizations.

Note: While America has flourished into the greatest civilization the world has ever known in only 200 years under Capitalism and a Republic, since Marxism/Socialism was introduced in the 1800s, no genuinely Marxist economy in history has survived more than 70 years (Soviet Union). But today’s Progressives want to ‘progress’ past Capitalism to a doomed system. There is on earth NO NATION under even a Socialist approach whose society is superior to the United States—and that is why I am so forceful in my opposition to it—because I do not want my children and their children to live in a society in decline or hardship after my sacrifice and the sacrifice of all Americans in the last 200 years.

Discernment: A Simple "How To" Guide

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-06:00

Discernment
When Christians need to make decisions, they often have a hard time understanding what is going on inside of them, leading to greater uncertainty.

For example, some struggle with Visible Signs they are 'seeing' (circumstantial evidence for/against their decision). Others don't know how to read their Instincts or Intuition. Still others don't know how to read the internal Cautions generated within their emotions or spirit. These cautions often come to us in the versions of "fear," "dread," or "uncertainty."

I hope this helps.

DISCERNING WHAT TO DO

Let's say you need to make a decision (X). You are unsure what to do. First, let's take up this matter of Visible Signs, which can be confusing...

1. REGARDING VISIBLE SIGNS. The bad news is that when we get down the spiritual road toward maturity, we are given fewer and fewer visible signs about what to do. Meaning, outward, clear, visible signs are harder and harder to come by. That's because God knows that we know His voice already and those signs are simply unnecessary at this point in our spiritual development and, ironically, also less reliable than Him speaking to us quietly within our spirits.

So don't let the silence frustrate you-- it's an indicator that you don't need outward signs anymore. John 10:27.

2. REGARDING INSTINCTS or INTUITION. Let's assume that you are seeking God's Will and walking in His Spirit (though this is a big assumption, we have to start somewhere). If you have gotten this far down the road toward your decision, and if you have been led here without clear internal warnings that you were going the wrong way and planning on doing the wrong thing-- then you absolutely MUST trust your instincts now more than ever.

Here's what I mean: Sometimes Christians pray and then feel led to do something-- and this something is (let's assume, unless you realize it's not) from a healthy and holy motive. So they move forward and God apparently blesses the idea and things begin to unfold toward the realization of that dream and vision. But somewhere along the way, things hit a rough spot (and what you thought was crystal clear is now cloudy). It's at this time that many Christians begin to question their entire discernment apparatus and their ability to hear God's voice and to know His Will.

Point: God WANTS you to know His Will-- more than even YOU want to know it! God wants you to know His voice. And the general demeanor of the Spirit-filled and obedient believer is "GO." Believers should be seeking to conquer more ground for the Kingdom and Glory of God. So, you should actively seek to advance your life and opportunities for good and the like UNLESS AND UNTIL the Holy Spirit cautions you or stops you.

At a time like this, when you're 'that close' to pulling the trigger and making a big decision, that's not the time to second-guess your entire discernment apparatus. If you have faithfully prayed and sought the Lord "the best you knew how" and in that faithful pursuit of this dream, you did not have clear and obvious cautions-- then you move forward in the way you were going, with CONFIDENCE.

3. DISCERNING CAUTIONS. That leads me to my final test of discernment (not that there's not a lot more that could be said, but I'm gonna simplify it): YOU NEED TO IDENTIFY *EXACTLY* WHAT EMOTIONS YOU ARE FEELING BEFORE YOU MOVE FORWARD. DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF "FEAR" ABOUT THIS, OR A SENSE OF "DREAD," OR A SENSE OF "UNCERTAINTY?"

HERE'S HOW YOU WORK THROUGH THOSE.

A) FEAR: Fear isn't of God. So when you feel 'fear,' that should not keep you from acting. So you musn't let fear imprison you. Anytime I feel like moving forward in a decision but 'fear' exists, I put the pedal to the metal. I speed up; I don't slow down. Then I brace for impact, because Satan may throw some stuff at me to make me question my decision.

B) DREAD (or 'foreboding'): If you sense "dread" or a sense of foreboding-- a deep, unshakeable and heavy, threatening sense of weighty, immobilizing dread... THAT "is" the Holy Spirit. In such a case, He is bearing witness in your spirit against a decision or action. When I sense this emotion, it's clearly a divine warning.

But dread and fear or insecurity are different things. Dread 'feels' heavier and is unmistakably different than fear. Dread is always a "no go" for me.

C) UNCERTAINTY: Uncertainty can go one of two ways, and here's how I approach it. (1) If the uncertainty was from the beginning, and if the uncertainty had been gnawing at me "all along" and it was something I couldn't shake, in spite of ignoring it-- and if I simply had (read this closely) a constant, unremitting sense of uncertainty... that generally means "WAIT."

You then say, wait until 'when?' Answer: Wait until the uncertainty leaves or don't do it. Uncertainty (when it manifests this way) is often an indicator of a lack of faith. So, when you have it-- it doesn't mean it's not God's Will... it just means that you lack the degree of faith to see it through, so whether it's right or wrong is immaterial... because when the heat is on, you'll fold... so don't do it if that 'all along' type of uncertainty was there.

(2) If the uncertainty is a recent artifact that, hereforeto, did not trouble you-- then you're probably simply at a crisis of faith, and that's more of an internal psychological matter of exercising faithful action than it is anything else. In other words, the uncertainty is just unexercised faith. Once you make the decision, you should then have a sense of increasing peace and internal witness that you did the right thing-- whether or not the outward circumstances worked for you or not.

The only exception to this is, if after you make an initial decision, if you had a profound and absolutely unmitigating weight on your chest (when you SHOULD BE gaining freedom and liberty and excitement), then in that case, you misread your uncertainty. All other times, the uncertainty will evaporate after the decision is made, and you'll begin to have joy and excitement about what God is getting ready to do.

One last thing-- and it's one of the most important.

Once all the facts above are considered, if you decide not to do it-- there's nothing lost (but nothing gained)... life goes on as it has. But IF YOU MOVE FORWARD, the best and only advice I'd give you concerning God's Will is:

(IF YOU DECIDE TO DO IT) **Make a decision, then MAKE IT WORK.

After the decision is made (much like a marital decision), you don't look back, you don't second-guess... you simply ASSUME it was/is God's perfect Will, then you FORCE IT to work.

I hope this is encouraging to you. It's worked for me consistently.

Do We Have a Right To Judge Evil and, at times, Even People?

2009-11-01T02:23:00.004-06:00

Good Judgment

Ahhh, Lady Justice. Lady Justice is perched at the Supreme Court where judgments are made. The judges (justices) do our nation a great service. Imagine our nation without judges. Imagine the lawlessness that would ensue. Without justice law is unenforcible and chaos reigns.

Lady justice typically has a blindfold-- she is blind (unpartial). She has scales to weigh out a matter. She bears a sword to execute judgment.

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine asked me this question: “What gives us the right to judge others for wrongs they may have committed?” I thought that was a great question, and I decided to do my best to answer it—and to share my thoughts with you as well.

I’ll approach the question from a Christian/biblical perspective.

So, what gives us the right to judge others for wrongs they may have committed? I’m going to answer this throughout my blog, but let me begin with a few words about why we are hesitant to make judgments in the first place—and as I then begin to unpack my answer, I’ll show where it comes from in scripture. Then, AT THE END, I’ll summarize the major answers to your question. That way you get the technical answer and the simple answer.

THE TECHNICAL ANSWER

Start with an Open Mind

I should probably begin by saying that the answer will be best understood if we start with an “open mind.” As I sit here and write, I am aware that most people reading this blog have had their thinking about ‘judgment’ very powerfully (and usually “wrongly”) shaped by a misunderstanding of Matthew 7 in the New Testament.

Ah, you know the passage I’m talking about: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Now keep in mind that, in the past, researchers said that the most familiar Bible verse among Americans was John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life). Now we are told that the most-often quoted passage is that one—Matthew 7:1-2, the verses I just quoted above.

In short, let me say that God actually DOES want us to be discerning and to have conviction about right and wrong, and to morally deliberate and, yes, make judgments. I’ll get to more of this in a minute, but for now let me point out how people come to the false conclusion that we ‘shouldn’t judge.’

UNDERSTAND THESE MAJOR PRINCIPLES

There are at least three reasons people come to the false conclusion that Christian’s “aren’t supposed to judge.” They are:

1. A sizeable minority of people in American society have suppressed the truth about morality to appease their own unrighteousness (Romans 1:18), and they ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to be held accountable in any way for their actions and want YOU to mind your own business and to be silenced. Romans 1:18 talks about “the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” This is another way of saying that human nature is fallen and that we, as people, are broken. And this brokenness can either cause us to (a) recognize that problem and seek God’s mercy and grace to help us become the people He made us to be, so we can have abundant life now and eternal life too—OR our brokenness can (b) cause us to hide from the light of truth that shines on our guilty consciences and ‘suppress’ or push down and suffocate the truth about our lives, our behavior and who we are and what we need to do about it.

Because we tend to justify our behavior, many people deceive themselves about their own condition--- and choose to live without boundaries and without appeal to conscience. As a result, there is in our time a collective and widespread delusion about our moral and spiritual condition. People have often chosen to do whatever they want and refuse to take responsibility for their decisions and ‘dare’ anyone to say anything about it.

This way of life (living as if God did not exist and living without hardly any regard for conscience and ignoring personal feelings of guilt and so on) has now become embedded in our culture and many people have convinced themselves that they are above the law—and they have force fed the rest of the decent people in society the lie of tolerance. And the lie of tolerance is that “we can do anything we want to do as long as we’re all consenting adults and nobody gets hurt.” That’s minimalistic ethics.

So, the major reason we even have to ask the question “What gives us the right to judge others (behavior/actions)” is because culture has sloughed off “REAL” morality, ethics, decency, reputation, and character for a FAUX MORALITY… and that Faux/Fake Morality is one that disregards and disposes of primary and fundamental moral issues and behaviors, and then replaces them with secondary ‘moral’ issues. The ‘new morality’ isn’t fighting abortion and poverty, fighting human trafficking, and ridding communities of wickedness and the like--- it’s ‘clean/safe/impersonal issues that ignore personal moral behavior by focusing on “reducing carbon footprints” and “spaying your cat,” and putting “give peace a chance” bumper stickers on your car.

The point? The mainstream society believes they have the right to shout you down and to ask you to be tolerant of any and ALL behaviors, lifestyles, and actions—regardless of how outlandish or outrageous or detrimental they may be—and they want, expect, and intend to FORCE you to simply “shut up” and, preferably, crawl back in the hole you came from. I know that’s harsh, but the reason people feel uncertain about whether or not they can make moral deliberations or statements is because society will not tolerate any mention of anything that holds anyone accountable. Those people want to live with impunity and without accountability. And it is THIS ATTITUDE and collective ethos in our culture that has ‘literally’ brainwashed Christians into thinking they have no right to challenge (object about, remark on, push back on) anything, and anyone who does is then (ironically) considered intolerant, a bigot, unreasonable, self-righteous, pharisaical, arrogant, and holier-than-thou. (How convenient). That’s Problem #1.

2. When Matthew 7:1-2 is quoted like I did above, the REST OF THE PASSAGE is seldom quoted. This leads to an incorrect interpretation of what Jesus meant when he said it. That is another way of saying that those who quote the passage in hopes of “proving” we must never make judgments about anything or anyone have misunderstood the Bible, because they have taken that passage out of context.

(Taking something ‘out of context’ means that we have ‘lifted’ a part of a Bible passage out of the fuller scripture passage and, in doing so, have wittingly or unwittingly misinterpreted the intended meaning of the author). This frequently happens with people who have never studied the Bible seriously and who do not know the rules that guide and govern the proper interpretation of the Bible (something called “hermeneutics,” which is the art and science of Bible interpretation).

By the way, that doesn’t mean that “only professionals” can interpret the Bible—it just means that each individual person doesn’t have the right to impose his or her own personal and private interpretation onto the Bible. The Bible speaks for itself and its meaning becomes increasingly clearer over time, to those who take its study seriously. So, those who really care about understanding the Bible and who “study to show themselves approved unto God [by] rightly handling the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15)” will be more likely to accurately understand it than someone who is trying to ‘use’ the Bible to justify their own behavior and to fly below the radar of scrutiny.

Now, note that I mentioned that there was “more to that passage” that people didn’t quote. The whole passage in Matthew 7 is this:

¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. ⁶"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

As you read that, take note of this very important fact—this passage goes on to give us some very important truths.

Here’s what they are: First, the reason we’re warned about judging is because, when we make judgments, the same degree of scrutiny we GIVE is what we will come under (v.2). So we need to make sure, before we decide to take the moral high ground, that we have (v. 3) taken care of our problems (which are usually bigger than the ones we see in others) before we accuse or challenge others (v.4-5). He (Jesus) then reminds us that we have to be careful about giving valuable insights to “dogs” or “pigs” (unrepentant, unrighteous, stone-hearted and rebellious God-haters), because they will disregard and profane what is righteous and then seek to destroy you for challenging them.

Meaning what? Meaning—you BETTER realize what’s going to happen if you step up and refuse to shut up. You will be scrutinized more for your own behavior—and you will be assigned false motives—you will be misunderstood—you will be hated—you will be attacked—you will be disregarded and will become an enemy to evildoers… because of your stand for what is right and good… and because you had the audacity to challenge them and to point out the fact that what they were doing was wrong.

So, it wasn’t that Jesus was saying “don’t judge.” Rather, he was saying… don’t do it UNLESS you know what you’re getting into; and don’t do it UNLESS you can take the heat; and don’t do it UNLESS you have the backbone and the teeth for it; and don’t do it UNLESS you are living a life above reproach… because IF YOU DO, by standing up for the truth, you will become a mortal enemy of evildoers and they will seek to crush you. And so only people who have the moral authority and the CONVICTION and strength of will to fight the forces of wickedness in the public square should go that far.

The spiritual principle? I think the principle in this passage is that you need to make sure you don’t get in over your head and that you only make judgments about things and only challenge things that you have the moral authority to do so. To go beyond that is to discredit yourself. But if you aren’t speaking hypocritically and your life backs up your message, go for it. In fact, I believe if our lives back it up, not only are we ‘allowed’ to challenge evil in our society and communities—I think, in that case, we have the OBLIGATION to do so.

Judging things that are wrong and calling them out for them— Will it make people uncomfortable? Oh, yes! Will some people (EVEN CHRISTIANS) totally misunderstand you? Sure! Will people assign false motives to you? Heavens, yes. Will you become a target of weak Christians and evildoers? Absolutely. But will you also help keep your street, subdivision, neighborhood, community, county, state and nation more decent? Yes. And without people like that, God help us. God help our country. And God help our children because we were to weak to step up.

In addition to (1) suppressing the truth and being unwilling to be held accountable for their actions and (2) failing to understand the entire passage of scripture and “misinterpreting” what the Bible is saying about ‘judgment,’ people also:

3. Ignore or are ignorant of other passages of scripture that speak about the importance of making sound judgments about others’ behavior or decisions/actions. A good example is a Bible passage only a little deeper into the New Testament than the one from the Gospel of Matthew that I quoted. It’s 1 Corinthians 2:14-15:

1 Cor.2:¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

This verse basically teaches that a non-Christian (the natural man) is not completely capable of fully understanding all spiritual matters, as they relate to God and the Christian life—and that, in fact, lots of things Christians think/do/believe seem like foolishness to those who aren’t Christians. But that is to be expected, because they are “spiritually discerned,” meaning that the wisdom to understand the value and appropriateness and rightness of certain things cannot be fully appreciated by someone who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit inhabiting them… and, therefore, their minds are not illuminated by the importance and wisdom of those truths. (Meaning, though some things Christians do/think/believe seem like foolishness to non-Christians, it is only because unbelievers sometimes do not have as much clarity about right and wrong, and so on, because their minds and consciences are at least partially in the dark, and some of the truth of God is therefore hidden to them.

But go on and see in v.15, that the Apostle Paul says that he who is spiritual (the Believer/Christian) “JUDGES all things” but that “he himself (the believer) is judged by no one.” In other words, FAR FROM “Judge not that ye be not judged,” the believer is told to JUDGE ALL THINGS and that (due to the fact that maturing, obedient Christian believers have increasing amounts of discernment about right and wrong) they should not worry about answering to non-believers about their perspectives as believers, because they (we) have been given the “mind of Christ” as the next verse in that passage says. WATCH THIS: That’s another way of saying that “mature and growing Christians” are operating at a higher level of discernment than the average person, and they have (due to the high standards of morality they are living up to) the moral authority and rightful high ground to be able to speak out about such issues, because they are living above reproach.

The point? And this is really a lot of the answer to the original question, “What gives us the right to judge others?” The assumption of this passage of scripture is that the committed Christian is living a life of such moral excellence

So, that’s the long form answer of this very technical question.

THE SIMPLE ANSWER

OK, now let me summarize all of this above—without rehashing the technical biblical discussons I’ve already given. Then I’ll give brief guidelines about how I approach this issue.

Remember that our question was, “What gives us the right to judge others?”

In short, it’s this:

1. We don’t have to have moral perfection (meaning “we’re human”) but if we aren’t seeking to live a moral and upright life, then we DON’T have the right to judge others. In that case, judging others is hypocritical because we have no moral authority and we need to get the 2x4 log out of our own eye before we try to get the splinter out of the eye of our neighbor.

2. If we ARE seeking to live beyond reproach, then if we don’t show up, step up, stand up and refuse to shut up—we will be silenced, and then marginalized, and ultimately persecuted for speaking up and for being a moral voice who dared to speak up.

3. If we don’t challenge behaviors and point out evils and injustice in society, we become complicit in allowing evil to go on unchallenged. We must be daring and have the audacity to hold people accountable and to call them out.

4. Throughout scripture, far from suggesting upright and moral believers be silenced and be quiet about evil and injustice, believers CONSTANTLY challenged wickedness in society. Think about all the Bible figures who challenged and ‘judged’ evil. Not only do we have PROPHETS who did it, but there are a whole Bible book full of, well “JUDGES” in the BOOK of Judges (how ironic!). And Jesus Himself “judged” people (think of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, the inhabitants of certain cities and areas, and so on). An amazingly abundant amount of evidence rests of the side of Christians stepping up and challenging evil and wickedness.

A FINAL WORD

All said, here’s a final couple of principles to guide this matter of ‘judging’ others.

· Judge behavior and deeds without being JUDGMENTAL (without having a self-righteous and holier-than-thou attitude). This can be done. And challenging something doesn’t immediately mean that a person “is” being self-righteous. We can judge without being judgmental.

· Be patient, merciful, and forgiving to well-intentioned people who simply make mistakes and who, in moments of weakness, make decisions that harm themselves and others. This doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes have consequences to their actions, but we don’t see Jesus expressing great rage and ‘judgment’ on these types of people—the average person needs mercy and encouragement.

· The people or groups that we strongly challenge and that we develop a prophetic voice toward are those people who are STEELED in their opposition to the truth. It is for those who flagrantly and uncaringly seek to oppose, crush, disregard, harm, wound, people and the truth. Jesus and other godly people in scripture strongly challenged self-righteous people, power-hungry people, arrogant people, and unrepentant and hard-hearted people. Those people were even opposed and, many times, called out BY NAME. That’s seen throughout the Bible. And not only do we call out PEOPLE at times—but more importantly, we call out BEHAVIORS, ACTIONS, and CONDITIONS.

I think this is a good overview for now. I’m no Bible scholar, for sure—but I think this is a good lay-level discussion of how to approach the issue, and I hope it’s been helpful. It was such an honest question, I thought I should deal with it thoroughly and delicately.

The Canon of Scripture: Protestant or Roman Catholic?

2009-07-13T23:13:00.001-05:00

The Protestant or Roman Catholic (or other) canon represents very complex arguments that are hard to place in sound-bite format, so it's really an impossible task. In addition, much of what we know and many of the arguments we might reference are, themselves, built upon arguments of others-- however diligent we may be in researching them or crafting them together into reasonable comments.

Here are some observations and remarks I have, though, about the canon.

Point 1: The Canon Argument isn't Catholic v. Protestant only. First of all, technically we know that ‘Protestant’ is a general pejorative tag given to reference non-Catholics, and though I will use it here for the purpose of convention, it should be noted that it isn't technically historically-correct and its pejorative nature is disappointing. Protestantism is a movement that grew specifically out of the 16th Century groups who specifically challenged the weakened religio-political status of the Roman Church. Other non-Catholic groups exist which are not “Protestant.” But for argument-sake, we’ll use the Protestant term.

Here’s why that is important: There was not/are not only two competing views of the canon (i.e., it’s not as if there is a Catholic and a Protestant canon only—multiple canons exist). So one could say that this “either RCC or Protestant” is a classic either-or fallacy… though I happen to accept the dominant prevailing, popularized ‘Protestant’ canon (27 NT, 39 OT inspired books). I share this feature only to clarify the assumptions that are embedded into the question itself.

Point 2: Canonicity Completely Depends on Authority. Different ecclesiastical authorities have spoken as to their understanding of canonical ‘collections.’ Either one assumes that one authority is supreme over the others or that they represent the best perspective those individuals (like Athanasius, Origen, Jerome, Luther, Pius IV, etc.) or those groups (Different Roman Catholic voices over the centuries, Ethiopian Orthodox, the Reformers, the Syrian Church) at the time.

RCC Authority. If the Roman Catholic papacy and the morphing understanding of ‘Holy Tradition’ is considered the only legitimate Apostolic Church, then there is no way to resist the canon the RCC has dictated—regardless of however that body of literature has been, is now, or may be understood in the future. In that sense, their authority would trump any other argument—and that is the strength and the weakness of the RCC canon.

Non-RCC Authority. Authority does exist, but if it is not within the RCC, the authority of Christ must be dispersed in other places in the Body of Christ. The Orthodox make very powerful arguments that, I think, are more compelling than Roman Catholic arguments in many ways. But neither RCC or Orthodoxy establish the case in my mind, however. I believe that authority is not given to a visible body, but to the invisible Body of Christ, represented in the general perspective of committed, godly leaders in the church who accept the authority of Christ and His Word through His Spirit’s guidance. This is more ethereal and lacks the dogmatic clarity of Orthodoxy or Catholicism, but that is not a concern of mine. God has routinely worked outside of an identifiable, visible institution and continues to do so today in many cases.

So… if the self-imposed authority of the RCC papacy is a spurious argument, if Holy Tradition is not without error, and if the RCC is prone to mistakes, then the idea of the Apostolic Succession vested in the Holy See is illegitimate. That is my position with the authority of the RCC. And if the authority of the RCC is ruined, then the authority to “RECOGNIZE THE RECEIVED TEXT” is vested outside the papacy and Councils/Trent. This authority is the invisible church, the universal (Catholic, not Roman) Church.

Point 3: Many Early Lists and Essentially Every Later and Modern List of Canons Published Include the 66 Books Recognized Today. There are numerous historical ‘lists’ of canon that make it difficult to build a cohesive, iron-clad case for one single progression of thought—but the 66 books we understand as canonical have repeatedly been affirmed through the Early Church (from, if my facts are straight, the Synod of Hippo, to Athanasius of Alexandria in 367, forward) up until today.

Point 4: Only at Trent (1564, Pius IV) Were the Apocrypha Affirmed by the Papacy. Though the Vulgate had included the Deuterocanonical books in their Latin version, the fact that it took nearly 16 centuries and a counter-reformation to finally consider them ‘scripture’ is telling. That is what I call really late to the party.

Point 5: The Apocrypha were not cited by Christ or the Apostles. Though the NT quotes the OT some 250+ times, it not once quotes the Apocrypha.

Point 6: Jews Did Not Accept the Authority of the Apocrypha. It’s ironic that the Jewish people and Jewish believers did not ever see fit to recognize those books but 1600-1900 years after the fact, a Roman Catholic meeting would affirm them.

Point 7: Jesus Curiously Excluded the Apocrypha as Authoritative. When Jesus referenced what the scriptures were (prior to the New Testament being written, but centuries after the Apocrypha was written), he excluded it from consideration. Note Luke 24:44, where Jesus did NOT reference the “Law, Prophets, and WRITINGS” which Roman Catholics use to argue inclusion of the Deuterocanonical writings—but, INSTEAD, Jesus refers to the Law, Prophets, and the PSALMS. Quote: "Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Point 8: Jerome, Josephus, Phillip Schaff, and Others Honored the Apocrypha, But Rejected It As Authoritative. Even though they valued its contribution, they did not consider it scripture and canonical—even though Jerome was against its inclusion, he was compelled (forced) to include some of those writings in the Latin Bible, his Vulgate—but most were inserted after his death. Philo, the well-known Hellenistic Jew, apparently didn’t even mention the Apocrypha. I think that’s telling.

Point 9: No Apocryphal Writers To My Knowledge Lay Claim to Biblical Authority.

Point 10: Four Centuries Passed Before They Were Apparently Included In Anyone’s List of Scripture.

Point 11: Some Apocryphal Books Contain Fantastic Statements That Are Contradictory To Divine Scripture and that Cannot Be Historically Accurate. For example, I think that the books of Maccabes include multiple different accounts as to when Antiochus Epiphanes died and was buried. Also, we know that they teach things foreign to scripture like praying for the dead, sinless perfection of saints while on earth, purgatory, etc.

Point 12: Jerome, of the Vulgate, Was The First To Use The Word Apocrypha. The Word MEANS “Doubtful Authorship.” Authorship of scripture is one of the primary tests of canonicity—so the very fact that the authorship of these books were questioned showed their authenticity as spurious and not apostolic.

Point 13: If the Apocrypha Were Scripture Then They Would Allegedly Include Divine Statements Given During the 400 Years of Silence When God Was Not To Be Speaking. To me, that’s devastating to such an argument for the Apocrypha.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest&note_id=100069037708

Top 25 North American Travel Experiences I Wish Everyone Should Have, Part 2 (the second ten are in this post)

2009-04-21T00:15:00.041-05:00

I posted this recently on Facebook but thought it required photos to make it come alive.

(hint: click the pic for a more inspiring size photo)

11. Take a boat ride under the falls at Niagara

12. Enjoy Ghirardelli Square and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran

13. Watch Tennessee Vols Football in Neyland Stadium (with the Vol Navy)

14. Watch Native American Indian dancers and a Pow Wow in Cherokee, North Carolina

15. See a live blues show at Blue Chicago on Clark

16. An uninterrupted afternoon at the National Gallery, Washington

17. Experience the Rose Parade, Live in Pasadena

18. Read a significant work of literature in the Library of Congress Reading Room

19. Witness the wonder of Puccini in the Civic Opera House, Chicago

20. Ride horses on the floor of Monument Valley, UT

21. Camp in either the Lost Sea (Sweetwater, TN) or Spelunk in Carlsbad Caverns, NM .

At Lost Sea, you get to spelunk by land AND by sea on this 8 acre underground lake-- in a boat with a glass bottom. Amazing. One of my favorite events ever-- I've been 3-4 times on the wild tour.

Here, at Carlsbad, you can see the unbelievable and spooky batflight before daybreak or at sundown. There are 250,000 bats that exit and re-enter the cave's mouth as seen. I've never seen anything more like it.

22. Take in an afternoon at the Hotel Galvez (the Queen of the Gulf) in Galveston, TX

23. Do a romantic evening in San Antonio's Riverwalk

24. Hike Pike's Peak, CO

25. Trek through the Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Top 25 North American Travel Experiences I Wish Everyone Should Have, Part 1 (the first ten are in this post)

2009-04-20T23:12:00.018-05:00

I posted this recently on Facebook but thought it required photos to make it come alive.

(hint: click the pic for a more inspiring size photo)

1. Take in an afternoon game at Wrigley in the summertime

2. Be in Detroit during the height of Red Wings Hockey

3. Taste of Chicago festivities, early July in Chicago

4. Experience Canada Day in Montreal or Ottawa

5. Stay in Old Quebec City near the Parc des Champs-de Bataille and Chateau Frontenac (wow!)

6. See the cliff divers, from the water, in Acapulco

7. Tour and climb the City of the Gods at Teotihuacan, Mexico

8. Do New Year's Eve in Times Square (2x, 1999 and 2001)

9. Visit the museum and memorial and comemmorate the victims of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City (the Gates of Time, shown)

10. Spend Independence Day in Washington, D.C.

As soon as possible, I'll post my remaining 15 of the top 25 of my favorite North American travel experiences. For now, I hope you enjoyed the trip.

20 "I'll Nevers"

2009-04-13T22:14:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine sent me a list of 20 "I'll never" statements today. I liked it so much, I thought it would be a good exercise to do myself. Thanks Beth!

1. I will never fail to realize how dangerous it is to say "I will never." Even so, these are convictions I resolve to uphold and won't shrink from committing to.

2. I will never desert my convictions, nor fail to contend earnestly for the faith, once for all delivered to the saints. If that doesn't mean something, then nothing means anything. Convictionless living is a meaningless existence because it plants nothing and harvests nothing, making the net gain 'zero.' If life means nothing, then cut me a big, long line of coke and get out of my way (that's my translation of the book of Ecclesiastes).

3. I will never shirk the responsibilities I have to my family, my wife, and children. Those commitments were a free-will decision made by myself to myself and to God.

4. I will never live in fear or regret. I must live in fearless abandon, feverishly pursuing ultimate reality and absolute truth, without holding anything back. Why 'save' my vitality? What would I save it for, anyway?

5. I will never secretly wish I could 'trade places' with anyone else, known or unknown. I live the life I dream about... and if I wanted someone else's life, I would simply change mine.

6. I will never want to live "way out" with lots of land. That's just not how I think. I like to visit those places, but have no interest in living there. Most people feel exactly the opposite, and that's cool.

7. I will never fail to be grateful that I can see, hear, and walk-- things important for gaining the fullness of the human experience

8. I will never want to own a cat, a llama, a monkey, a large dog that sheds, a hamster, mouse, gerbil, or other vermin-turned pet.

9. I will never accept status quo. I'd rather unquo the status. The status quo is for people who don't mind being in the 'heap.' I'd rather be on top of the heap-- it's a better view.

10. I will never own a car with a bad stereo system or buy an automobile I hate because it gets good mileage. Life's too short to drive a car you despise.

11. I will never stop celebrating life and existence. However, wild and wooly, life is the most amazing adventure and enterprise ever imagined. People who have a problem with life suffer from an errant perspective; usually their error is in thinking that pain and suffering makes life bad or unbearable. The truth is that we can always handle the "what" if we know the "why." If a person doesn't 'get' the "why," he or she should go on an unmitigated search to discover why or life will always confuse them.

12. I will never stop loving my favorite music: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eddie Money, CDB, Kansas, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, and all manner of Arena Rock.

13. I will never stop making excuses for writing a book until I make or find time to write them. Hopefully I'll get my ducks in a row soon. I've been unable to make it a priority up until now. Frustrating.

14. I will never, ever, ever, ever stop feeling the pain of losing my mother at the age of 58, my dear beloved grandmother at 83, and others I have loved and lost.

15. I will never fail to have a profound, nearly irrational love for my twin brother Teddy (Nashville, TN) and my brother and sister (Kevin Windle/Kelli Hinkle).

16. I will never stop celebrating the virtues of the good men and women in uniform, serving the United States with distinction, in places known and unknown, to the four corners of the earth.

17. I will never fully understand why or how God can forgive each of us from our dastardly deeds and how, after being forgiven, any Christian can actually withhold forgiveness from another human being. Withholding forgiveness places us, not necessarily the offender, in terrific bondage.

18. I will never forget where I came from. I'll always let it shape me as I count my blessings, one by one.

19. I will never forget, nor fail to honor, those who have benefited me in ways big and small. I won't ever fail to appreciate those who have, in any way, shown me kindness, grace, and mercy.

20. I will never tire of traveling to amazing places, doing amazing things with incredible people, and having new, novel experiences. One of the greatest ways to be impoverished is by failing to meet interesting people, to go to interesting places, or to read about them.

SINsational: Why We Are Vulnerable to Evil

2009-04-01T23:41:00.003-05:00

What Pastor Fred Winter's Murder Taught Us on March 9, 2009

Only three weeks ago, my friend, Pastor Fred Winters of Maryville, Illinois was speaking in his pulpit, when a man walked into the church, down the aisle, brandished two weapons and began shooting, slashing, and stabbing members of First Baptist Church and its pastor.

That story hit home, because Fred Winters was my friend.
What happened that day was an act of evil.

A man, Terry Sedlacek, committed a premeditated act of murder against a pastor. This was someone the man had never met, at a church he had never attended— That same killer had to pass by dozens of other congregations on the way to Fred’s church. And what’s more, he didn’t have to kill a man. He could have done anything else (he could taken his angst and “jumped rope”… flown a kite, or gone bowling)— but instead, he walked into the house of God on a Sunday morning and killed a pastor, the father of two, in cold blood, in full view of his wife and church family, in a sanctuary consecrated for the worship of God. And then tried to take his own life (the attempted suicide wounds were still visible on his throat, in his police arrest photo).

What happened to Fred Winters that day was EVIL. Wickedness. Sin.

Acknowledge Evil

So evil exists. Sin and wickedness are realities that must be acknowledged. And though I’ve never committed murder, each and every day, I commit other sins. So I have to wrestle with the issue of sin “out there” and “in here”—my own heart… just like you.

Our Vulnerability To Sin

WHY are we Vulnerable to Sin? WHY we are vulnerable to sin is answered by three primary theological concepts: Original Sin; The Fall; and Depravity.

1. Original Sin

Fundamentally, we are vulnerable to practicing evil and wickedness because of what theologians call “Original Sin.” Original Sin is one of the fundamental teachings of the Bible—and it is first mentioned just after Creation, in the third chapter of the Bible, Genesis 3:1-6. And this theme continues to develop until the final chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22:1-3a.

So the Reality of Evil is one of the primary theological themes that spans nearly every page of the Bible. That explains why wickedness has constantly been one of the most powerful forces throughout human history. It plagues us, it wrecks our lives and the lives of others.

And “what is” Original Sin? Simply stated, Original Sin was the first act of human disobedience in the Garden of Eden. It was the violation of innocence and the corruption of righteousness. And after Eve was deceived, Adam then took the next fatal step by actively entering into rebellion against God’s authority.

THAT was Original Sin— the initial rebellion against God.

2. The Fall

And when Original Sin occurred, that immediately resulted in what theologians call “The Fall.” See Genesis 3:7-10. So Original Sin (the initial act of deliberate disobedience by Adam, brought on by the satanic deception of Eve) resulted in The Fall.

The Fall of Humanity was and is the condition of being estranged from God—and alienated from eternal life. It resulted in our spiritual divorce from God— a condition where we are disconnected from God; where we know that something between He and us has gone wrong.

Though Adam was originally blameless and morally innocent— his rebellion against God’s authority made him “morally culpable,” or responsible, for his actions: This meant that he was no longer innocent, but guilty.

Romans 5:12 says that “sin entered the world through one man (Adam’s Original Sin), and death (separation from God in this life and the next) through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” SO WHEN ADAM sinned, he acted on behalf of the entire human race—just as a representative in the state or nation’s capital represents and votes for you. And whatever vote they cast, you are symbolically casting it with them. And as the Federal Head of the Human Race, Adam rebelled and, in doing so, passed on that sin nature to every one of us.

And when Adam “fell,” we all fell with him.

And though some people have a hard time interpreting this phenomena… it is this biblical reality of Fallenness that explains our search for meaning and our profound existential need as humans. It also explains that sense of spiritual desperation that all people feel. It is “why” we feel far from God. It is “why” people feel anxious, lonely, afraid, insecure, and lost.

So Original Sin led to the Fall of Humanity, and the Fall resulted in AND manifests itself by Depravity.

3. Depravity

What is Depravity? Depravity is the degree of corruption in our human nature. It means that there is EMBEDDED WITHIN US a penchant to sin; that there is a natural propensity, a proclivity, or a predisposition to do things that which is unseemly. It means that none of us need “coached” to do what is wrong, but that, OFTEN, we quite naturally gravitate toward it. As a result, each of us is, to a greater or lesser degree, corrupt.

The Apostle Paul recognized his own depravity in Romans 7:14-25:

¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So BECAUSE we have Original Sin and are Fallen, we are Depraved.

And this “depravity” results in bad character, moral weakness, and an overall lack of resolve that includes IN US a natural tendency to be inexplicably drawn to evil. And even though we are not as BAD as we COULD BE, none of us are as GOOD as we SHOULD BE.

That’s Depravity: It means we are totally incapable of saving ourselves FROM OURSELVES, and it places us in need of a Savior— That’s why we need Christ, who alone has the power to help us overcome the power and penalty of sin.

The Use of Headcoverings As Is Done in Some Churches

2009-03-28T12:47:00.004-05:00

I was asked a question this morning that I think others may be interested in thinking about it as well.

The QUESTION: What are your thoughts on head coverings during worship and prayer? I have been really struggling with this and cannot find enough evidence to support not wearing one.

Well, I'm not an expert in this, but let me try to share some ideas that I hope help-- to the best of my current knowledge.

1 Corinthians 11: The Use of Headcoverings

My understanding is that the Corinthian people used the phrase "women should have authority over her head." That was implying that a woman should have authority and freedom in her life-- including her hair or other matters. It is possible that women there, as it was a very cosmopolitan city, may have been taking great liberties with hair styles. This was one thing-- but in the local church, as those women were being saved, that apparently became come a distraction and a subtle sign of a rejection of the order of creation where God established the man as having authority in spiritual areas of pastoring and home headship.

It seems to me that the entire concept hinges on this issue.

So the Apostle Paul was dealing with this controversy in Corinth, as the matter had slipped into the church. The major issue with the Corinthian situation was that implying freedom for women (women should have authority over their head) honored women, but in doing so-- overemphasized their liberty in such a way that it violated the concept of male leadership in the home, and of the male headship in the pastorate. They had gone too far.

So Paul wanted to ensure there was some understanding of this and that the problem was corrected, and that public worship was not violated by distrations and that church leadership wasn't jeopardized by an overemphasis on their women's freedoms that were, in some cases, being taken too far. It became symbolic because, at Corinth, there were many, many problems with the church, and most of it swirled around the issue of authority and leadership. So Paul stepped in.

When he addresses it in 1 Cor. 11:1-14ff, he is trying to make sense of the situation. He does so by tactfully using the Corinthians saying, but then turning it in a different direction.

He was tacitly (through v. 10-13) agreeing that women had a type of freedom with their appearance and could do what they wanted with their hair, that, at the same time-- (like he said elsewhere, that we can do all things, but all things are not beneficial), he argued that a woman should, as a sign of respect for the authority of man, restrict those freedoms by not distracting the service or woship or appearing to threaten the concept of male headship, by avoiding the issue through responsibly giving up their right to express every freedom they had with regard to hairstyle (just as he later addressed issues such as excessive jewelry, make up, adn the like). If you think deeply about this, in this way, I think the passage will begin to make more sense.

So Paul is essentially saying that, while yes, women do have freedoms, they should not flaunt them by interruping worship and openly challenging male headship in the church. So, then Paul says: 1 Cor. 10:13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.

Here, I believe 1 Corinthians is speaking about hair "as" a covering, and not necessarily as a requirement for a second, additional covering. [LOOK AT V.15B, WHERE IT CLEARLY SEEMS TO STATE THIS.. THAT HAIR IS GIVEN AS A COVERING]. My understanding is that the AV/KJV translates that word "covering" throughout 1 Cor. 11, which helps clear up the confusion from other translations who apparently wanted to keep from it sounding redundant and used other words like "veil." My understanding is that, when it was originaly stated (like in v. 15), and when it was originally put in English, those words were perceived to be 'synonyms' and, thus, rendered as covering. So, in that sense, hair IS a covering for a woman, and it is a sign of glory. The woman would, then, maintain hair as God gives her, rather than to shave it off, which is described as dishonor. I think the sense of the passage is describing covering the HEAD "with hair" and not generally covering the "hair" with "a covering." Only when a woman had done something unusual with her hair, cutting it off, for example, might an external 'covering' come into play (a hat or wig in our culture, or another type of covering in theirs), so as to avoid controversy.

The Whole Discussion May Be A Misunderstanding

With that said, I think the entire head covering debate is really misunderstood. I believe if the Apostle Paul had wanted additional, secondary coverings to be used on top of hair, then several things would be clear:

1. There would be more time given to the issue in scripture. The fact that so little time was given, shows that it was an issue needing addressed, but that it was a regional or local issue not requiring additional attention in other epistles. Also, apparently no other apostles, nor James, felt like it was worth addressing.

2. If it were something Paul was instituting, it would have likely been written differently. It would have come off as a stand-alone teaching, rather than a brief response to a particular situation using common phrases and situations unique to Corinthian women.

3. If it were for churches then and now, everywhere, Paul would have given clear (not cryptic) instructions about the nature of such coverings. He wouldn't have confused it with 'hair' in v.15, but would have specifically told us (as he did on matters like the Lord's Table, church discipline, and other teachings in his Corinthian letters) things like: the nature of the separate covering; explanations as to when it was to be worn and under what circumstances; Should it be worn when a woman prays, and so on.

The sheer lack of this information indicates to me what the majority of the Christians church has practiced in principle all along. Namely, that external, additional hair-coverings are unnecessary, because hair is what gave women to cover her head and to glorify her beauty while symbolically it serves as some form of indicator of the order of creation.

And because of the lack of biblical evidence for the practice, with its only support being some cryptic passages that seem to oppose all of these major concepts, I don't believe they are to be used in worship. If they are, however, I do not think it constitutes a sin. I think, if they were used and the one wearing a hair (again, not head)-covering developed a personal sense of self-righteousness BECAUSE they were wearing one OR they developed a sense of condemnation over those who did not wear one, they would violate the very reason for wearing them in the first place and would, themselves, commit the sin of pride.

That said, because it is not apparently (clearly) taught in scripture, like anything not taught, I think it should not be done. That is because it sets up the likelihood that it will begin to be practiced and then, like all other things, would ultimately come to be expected-- which would inevitably, over time, lead to the exercise of pride in some wearers.

As with anything-- if it isn't commanded or expected or taught in scripture (such as me carring a banana each week into the worship service, or all men with January birthdays wearing a red shirt, or all left-handed women wearing silver but not gold jewelry), the best advice is to NOT HONOR the practice. That keeps everyone safe.

One Final Thing

It seems to me that when extra hair-coverings are used, they can (in some cases) show part of my point-- that, even if all the other things were not true and even if Paul was speaking about covering the hair and not the head only, that head coverings would become more about cultural expressions of a particular group, because of the sheer variety of the ones commonly used, be it in Christian or other faith beliefs.

Look at these:

Mennonite/Amish

Muslim

Persian (like Muslims, with face coverings too)

Quaker

Biblical or theological questions? Send them my way and I'll try to take time to answer!

FrederickCardoza@aol.com

On Government and Politics, Part 2

2009-03-22T21:38:00.000-05:00

Read part 1 of this blog post here.

What is Government Supposed to Do?

It's been generally established that a great majority of the American public who are eligible to vote fail to exercise that right. As such, these represent well over a 100 million Americans who are apparently content being governed by whoever others (voters) choose.

Those who do exercise their right, privilege, and duty to vote go into the booth and make their choice as to who they want to govern them (and everybody else). Now, it seems to me that if we are choosing who will run the government and who will "govern," it would be a good idea to think about what government is and what it is supposed to do. After all, how well can we do a good job choosing GOVERNORS if we don't understand GOVERNMENT? That's sort of like picking the best NFL football team based on how their helmet looks.

Of course, that consideration doesn't seem to enter into some people's thinking. Most Americans know precious little about nearly every aspect of government. Even a simple straw poll of the Man on the Street consistently shows that the average American (though maybe not 'you') doesn't know even the basics about government-- things like, "What are the three branches of government? Who serves as the Secretary of State? Who is the Majority Leader of the Senate? What is a Filibuster?" and so on.

But despite the fact that many do not really understand the role of government, all that is required to choose the most powerful person in the world [POTUS] the President of the United States, is being an American citizen who has done nothing more than simply "been alive" for 18 years-- and noting else.

But, for argument's sake, if a person wanted to learn more about government, what would he or she need to know?

Theories About The Role of Government

The study of the role of government is the business of political science or political philosophy. There are different approaches to governing, but one of the major areas that separates the two major political parties in the United States (Democrat and Republican) is the issue of "Negative" and "Positive" rights. Let me try to explain.

Civil and Social Rights

Civil Rights are sometimes thought of as "negative rights," while Social Rights are sometimes thought of as "positive rights." The two major political parties in the United States largely line up along these two perspectives.

Democrats (Social Rights/Positive Rights)

Generally speaking, people who are ideologically committed Democrats (and not just those who consider themselves Dems because their mother was) favor positive/social rights. Positive Rights means that a person believes they have a "claim" to something-- that the government owes them some material goods and services. In other words, positive rights are "entitlements." People with this view think it is the "government's responsibility" to provide more than just protection and justice. They believe the Fed has the obligation to completely level the playing field between citizens (and sometimes even illegal aliens) by the compulsory enforcement of government-financed entitlement programs which raid money (through taxes, etc.) from one segment of society in order to re-distribute it to others.

So, in short, in this view-- the government has the right to forcibly take resources earned by one person/group and to give them to another person or group-- even if that person/group did not earn it. This inevitably leads to "big government" because the Fed must "manage" this money and distribute it to those agencies and organizations. This may include an expansion of basic public health into things like "government-provided universal health care" or "state-owned banks," etc., etc.

One more thing. In addition to a type of re-distribution of wealth or goods, politicians who believe in the idea of positive rights also works to ensure that the government provides resources to certain projects and organizations of its choosing-- or "earmarks." Here, government leaders work to create larger budgets for the expansion of funding for things related to "special interest" groups such as the National Endowment for the Arts or the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), or Stem-Cell Research, or AIDs Research, or the Anti-Gun Lobby, Planned Parenthood or Abortion on Demand monies, Evolution Research, Needle-Exchange Programs, and so on.

Note: Those who reject the Social Right approach (entitlements/big government/tax and spend/special interests/earmarks) are PRIMARILY CONCERNED that these programs are paid for using taxpayer's money. Whereas it is one thing for programs such as these to exist, it is fundamentally different when government officials subjectively choose specific organizations and issues and programs to fund, while other organizations with other convictions are ignored and excluded from such funding (for example, right to life organizations, and so on).

Republicans (Civil Rights/Negative Rights)

Whereas "True" Democrats hold Social or Positive Rights which express themselves in above the line entitlements, Republicans generally reject that approach. While Republicans agree that these groups have the right to exist, Republican thinkers do not believe they should be forced to pay for them to exist, nor pay for those positions to be financed with private tax resources.

As such, Republicans who truly understand what the overall Republican perspective on government actually is, support "negative" or "civil" rights for all people, but not special rights. So "ideologically committed" Republicans believe that government should provide negative rights, and that it is the responsibility of government to require people to obstain from the harm of others. In other words, rather than government acting in favor of advancing policies for a great host of "causes," the idea of negative rights simply argues that government should be objective about what rights people receive, which means EITHER the rejection of special interest groups OR a leveling of the playing field where a free and fair market can exist.

This can be a bit confusing, so let me try to unpack it better. Republicans get their understanding on rights from a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Recall that the Declaration said all people have the "unalienable right" to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These have historically been called "negative" or "civil" rights. What that MEANS is that government exists to ensure that individuals or groups of people do not forcibly intrude on one another. Accordingly, when a company tries to unjustly violate a person's rights, government steps in. Or when a person violates another's unalienable rights (such as the Bill of Rights, etc.), and seeks to harm, murder, kidnap, burglarize, cheat, trespass, supress the vote of, or otherwise restrict another person's rights, the government will act to stop them-- even using force, imprisonment, and punishment.

You see here that, in this case, government is not required to give greater ADVANTAGE to people... but merely to stop the disadvantaging of people. And because the U.S. government was historically created this way and the American body politic understood this, government from a Republican perspective was to be "smaller" with fewer agencies and less bureaucracy, and also made to be non-intrusive except when necessary, as well as to be a supporter of free-market, open trade, lower taxes, and fewer entitlement programs. That, of course, doesn't mean that Republicans are not for necessary things like unemployment programs or minimum wage laws-- but true Republicans with an understanding of negative/civil rights would not seek to expand these approaches in some of the ways Democrats would. You would not, for example, find a thoughtful Republican working to provide social security programs to illegal aliens/undocumented residents, nor would you find Republicans working to expand the Death Tax or Capital Gains Tax in order to give that money to able-bodied people who refuse to work to support their family.

There's a lot more to government theory-- and this brief introduction is certainly abbreviated and somewhat simplistic, but it is nonetheless accurate. It is upon these general principles that much of American politics is built. And once you understand these basics, you will also begin to understand some of the "planks" or "key positions" of each major political party, as those 'planks' line up pretty neatly along the principles stated above.

Political Parties By Perspective

Finally, I've provided a grid of how I think of some of the various political persuasions in the U.S., and how they might look on a continuum, in my opinion.

SOCIAL RIGHTS -----CIVIL RIGHTS

Communist >> Socialist >> Democrat >> Republican >> Libertarian >> Anarchist
Green >> Independent

Conclusion

There's enough in this post to make just about everyone mad. My purpose in writing it, however, is that it helps us think about what role Government should play in politics and society. Because I am a Christian, I look to scripture about these matters and generally believe that though the Bible does not identify political parties of choice, it does speak about political issues and, in particular, the role of government. Someone seeking to build a Christian worldview and one wanting to construct a biblical perspective on life would want to look to the Bible to identify how it 'treats' these subjects. In my view, it seems that the New Testament (which more accurately represents our time than the Old Testament's theocracy) tends to favor a less-intrusive approach of government and more of a negative rights approach. Everyone must make these judgments for themselves, but that is what helps dictate my opinions on these matters. Every person has a right and a duty to think about these issues for him/herself.

What To Do When We Disagree With Others on Biblical Issues and How To Discern What the Bible Teaches (A Follow Up To A Previous Post)

2009-03-08T18:00:00.003-05:00

What Posture Should We Take When We Disagree With Others on Scriptural Teachings?

In general (but not completely), my advice is that we give careful consideration to the opinions of those who have studied the Bible more rigorously and/or longer than we.

Note that I said "more rigorously and/or longer" and not simply "who has been a 'believer' longer." Scriptural truth is not had by mere seniority. A person may have been a professing Christian for 40 years and done precious little serious study of scripture. In such a case, I would probably bet on the findings of a 8 year 'serious student of the Bible' over such a person.

Take a teachable posture toward one another, seeking to understand the other's perspective and where such a person is coming from. Often, we will find richness in another person's perspective, even if we come to alternate or opposed positions than they.

Realize that (a) the other person may be right; (b) you may be right; (c) neither of you may be right; (d) the matter may not be discernable-- in some situations where scripture is silent and a clear biblical position cannot be deduced; or (e) one or both of you may be partially right.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the "Law of Non-Contradiction" tells us that two opposing positions cannot be simultaneously true at the same time, in the same sense." That's another way of saying that it's NOT AN OPTION for you both to contradict one another and for both positions to be deemed "correct." For example, infanticide cannot be BOTH right and wrong AT THE SAME TIME. Scripture DOES teach "something," and what it doesn't do is to contradict itself.

Keep studying and keep evaluating your convictions, assumptions, and beliefs-- as your knowledge of the Bible and as your knowledge about how to study and interpret the Bible develops.

How Do We Discern What The Bible Teaches?

When we are trying to discern which biblical view is correct, how do we decide?

1. First, we make sure our view of God's Word is accurate.

Conservative Evangelical Christians (like me), hold that the Bible is three things: inspired (that it came from God to humanity), infallible (unfailing in the purposes God intended for it to have), and inerrant (without error in any matter it addresses). In addition, conservative Christians' view of inspiration is typically that the Bible is inspired verbally (that each word is free from error) or is inspired in a plenary way (that the Bible, as a complete book, was given to humanity from God, not only parts of it)... or BOTH, a.k.a. verbal-plenary.

2. Second, we make sure our view of hermeneutics is correct.

Conservative Evangelical Christians (like me), hold that the Bible should be interpreted using a historico-grammatical approach. This isn't really that confusing. A historico-grammatical hermeneutic simply means that the Bible should be approached and interpreted:
(a) as a historical collection of books that are sacred scripture, and that each book should honor and seek to understand the historical context of the people and place in which it was written. That means we do not seek to simply ask "what does this Bible reading mean TO ME" but we FIRST ASK "What does this Bible teaching MEAN" or "What did this passage mean to the original hearers/readers of this message?" In other words, "How did they take this? How did they, based on their culture, heritage, time in history, history, location, geo-political status, etc. think about what was said?"

(b) as a piece of literature having certain grammatical features. In other words, to properly interpret a passage of scripture, one cannot run rough-shod over the type of literature the book is (prophecy, history, law, poetry, letter, etc.) since each of those literature types are read and understood differently. For example, today we would read a fiction book differently than a non-fiction book or a legal brief. Likewise, literature types are grammatical features that should be taken into consideration when studying scripture. Moreover, the author who wrote a scriptural passage also used certain figures of speech (simile, metaphor, hyperbole, anthropomorphisms, etc.) and those figures of speech have certain impact on how to interpret someone. Also, there may be other devices such as specific word choice, sentence structure/syntax, dialect, or other feature that can be discovered through careful study that impact how something is rendered.

Together, these are what "historical-grammatical" or historico-grammatical method of interpretation/hermeneutic mean.

3. We Make Sure our Exegesis Does Not Become "Eisegesis." Exegesis is the process of seeking to discern what a text means in the plain sense of reading the Bible in the way it was written and intended to be interpreted, originally. This is the process of simply reading what God has said and meant.

But many people get into the business of Eisegesis, instead. Eisegesis is actually a derisive term used when people fall into the practice of imposing their own preconceived ideas or concepts completely foreign to the plain reading of the text INTO THAT TEXT. Often, eisegesis (or sarcastically called "extra-Jesus") places meanings into the text that are not only inaccurate, but that could or would not have been in the minds of the author or original readers when the text was received. This is spiritual malpractice and should be avoided, and should also be called out when it is present.

Why People Interpret the Bible Differently and Why It Matters

2009-03-07T23:11:00.009-06:00

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different opinions about different biblical passages, ethical issues, and other matters addressed in the Bible?

It's a good question.

After all, why (or even better, how) could people reading the same Bible and the same scriptural passage come to such diametrically opposed positions on different issues?

Some, for example, read Genesis 19 as God metes out punishment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and conclude that God punished those cities after multiple warnings and rebellion over unrepentant sin, particularly sexual/homosexual sin, while others (such as those sympathetic to homosexuality) will say that God punished the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for a lack of hospitality to its divine guests/angelic visitors.

Other examples abound. There are people who profess to be Christians who believe in "just war" and others who believe the Bible teaches pacifism. Some believe in capital punishment while others believe in rehabilitation of prisoners without thinking of incarceration as either a deterrent or extracting hard time to "pay back society" for evils done. Other self-described Christians believe in abortion, while others strongly oppose it.

People use scriptural passages to posit teachings and perspectives that are quite novel. For example, some read the Bible and come, somehow, to believe that Jesus was not a historical figure and the Bible is not an accurate record of his life. Others believe Jesus was a real man, but that he was a homosexual who enjoyed frequent orgies with his Twelve Disciples and women having troubled pasts, like Mary Magdalene-- whom many believe was a former, reformed prostitute. These are only a handful of examples but, really, need I continue?

So, what about the two questions I have posed?

Why Do People Interpret the Bible Differently?

If you'll stick with me, I'll use a couple of technical words-- but I believe it'll make perfect sense. I think it's important, however, to keep in mind that the problem I've described is usually due to all of the following issues I'll describe, so it's important to keep them all in front of you when you discuss matters like this with those whom you disagree.

People claiming to be Christians come to different opinions about ethical and other matters because of: differing views on biblical inspiration, different hermeneutics, different exegesis, and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who helps illuminate one's mind to 'truth.'

1. Differing Views of Inspiration

How you "approach" the Bible makes all the difference in how you interpret it. There are numerous different approaches to or "views of" inspiration. These range from vague notions where the biblical writers felt 'inspired to write' just as Shakespeare was inspired... to views of inspiration that imply the human recorders of scripture fell into a trance where they were controlled by a divine force who wrote through them, without regard to their own experiences, emotions, or perspectives-- they were merely "mediums" or something like that.

Those who take a "low" or loose view of scripture invariably come to looser and more liberal views of ethics, morality, and biblical teachings-- while those who take a high view of scripture invariably come to a more solid view of Biblical teachings and, generally, come to hold views more consistent with a clear, straight-forward reading of the Bible-- which is often considered more conservative or progressive, but not often liberal.

How does one decide which view to take? It's simple... If one is a believer in Christ OR if one has come to believe that the Holy Bible is from God and that it articulates God's perspective and, literally, "truth," then that person would hold a high view of scripture. Such people naturally believe that God is our ultimate authority, so they want to know exactly what He says. In addition, those people believe that God knows everything-- so learning from Him and seeking to live consistently with scriptural teachings-- is a way to live a blessed life and one with great meaning, regardless of how much pain life may or may not deal out. In this view, pain doesn't imply God's disfavor-- what matters is devotion to God, obedience to His Word, and seeking His perspective in order to gain meaning in life.

2. Different Hermeneutical Methods

Hermeneutics simply means "the art and science of interpretation." More specifically, it is the discipline that investigates the principles and theories that govern how to properly interpret a text-- especially the Bible, and its different parts.

As such, hermeneutics is also concerned with understanding how the human author of a particular Bible book should relate to the content being presented, and how that should relate to the original readers of the biblical passage and to those who read those same verses of scripture today. So that is the so-called "hermeneutical bridge"-- namely, what did it mean in the mind of the writer as that person understood the mind of God, and what did that mean to the people to whom it was addressed... and what application does that timeless truth have for us today? That is the job of hermeneutics-- and that is the job of every person who teaches the Bible or seeks to properly interpret the Bible.

3. Different Approaches to Exegesis

People also come to different beliefs on ethical/moral/biblical issues because of their "exegetical approach" which is closely related to their hermeneutic, mentioned above. Exegesis is related to the word "educate" but, in this sense, means "to draw meaning out of." To educate means "to draw out" or "to lead." Certainly, when one does proper exegesis, he or she is educating a person in the purest sense of the word.

At any rate, exegesis is the process of seeking to understand what a text means or communicates in its unretouched, unfiltered original meaning. In other words, good exegesis seeks to provide the plain sense of what a particular portion of scripture (verse/verses) means. Metaphorically, it implies looking closely at the scriptures with spiritual glasses that have exacting and accurate lens that are able to view the accurate meaning of the original author. Exegesis is concerned with telling us what the original author meant-- as opposed to simply telling us "what it means TO US." The point of exegesis is that it doesn't matter what we think of it UNTIL WE FIRST find out what it meant originally. Only after we apprehend the original meaning can we properly and accurately apply it to us. So in this way, hermeneutics provide the means for us to exegete scripture. Proper hermeneutics leads to proper exegesis-- and that can safely lead us to an accurate interpretation and application of God's Word on all matters of importance in human life (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

4. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who helps illuminate one's mind to 'truth.'

1 Corinthians 1:18-through chapter 2 in the New Testament talks a lot about this. In short, it simply means that people who profess to be Christians but who do not possess the presence of God within them, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, may be religionists or socially religious practitioners, but they fail to meet the biblical description of a person who is a biblical or born-again Christian (1 John, chapters 4-5), especially 1 John 4:13-17.

When a person has this type of intimate, indwelling reality of "Christ in us," such a person is given a special type of relationship with God in which truth is more readily realized, perceived, and experienced. Illumination has to do with God guiding you in and toward "truth." People without this indwelling-- whether or not they 'profess' to be Christians (because professing and possessing are two different things), do not have the same capacity to apprehend truth as a person who legitimately enjoys a relationship with God through Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

Why Does It Matter?

The reason it is important to properly interpret the scriptures and where they land on different issues, is because "truth matters." Truth represents reality. And if we are incorrect on our view of what is true, that means we are living in a false reality. Our perception does not create reality-- all that really matters is what is ACTUAL and REAL. When we base our beliefs on false ideas that are not true, but only propaganda, the problem is that we then ACT on those false beliefs. When we act on false beliefs, ramifications follow-- and those ramifications are often destructive.

So when a person interprets something wrong or comes up with the incorrect position on a moral or ethical or political or economic view, there are real consequences to those ideas. This could include making mistakes that lead to many detrimental effects on our lives that affect both ourselves and others. That is why, however painful reality can be, it's less painful than living in false hope, holding onto a lie, that only ends up allowing one's life to collapse like a house of cards. "And great was the fall of that house, for it was not built upon a rock."

That's why truth matters.