New Baptist Covenant

I've just been reading about the "New Baptist Covenant Celebration" in Alanta at the beginning of February. (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, William Shaw, Tony Campolo, etc.) I though I would give you the benefit of my astute, concise observation -

Oh My! Oh My!! Oh My!!!

Intolerant

I think my blog yesterday sounded a bit intolerant. I wrote about some folks who are just trying to find some unity in the midst of diversity, some hope in the midst of despair, some equality for all those competing views of how to successfully reach God.

In regard to that intolerance, I wanted to quote my "boss." After all it is Him to whom I answer.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Enter through the narrow gate. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but, only the one who does the will of My Father in Heaven." (from His well known book, the Bible)

I think I'll go with Him on this matter.

Loving Religion

According to the Los Angeles Times, Swami Sarvadevananda, of Vedanta Society of Southern California, was among about a dozen Hindu leaders honored during a St. Patrick's Episcopal Church service. He called the stance of the Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, "a great and courageous step" that binds the two communities. "By declaring that there will be no more proselytizing, the bishop has opened a new door of understanding," Sarvadevananda said. "The modern religious man must expand his understanding and love of religions and their practices."

Let me take a stance. Loving religion and its practices could be a time-wasting hobby, I suppose, but the Truth is God hates religion. Religion is man's attempt to reach God by some "practices" which are the epitome of unrighteousness. God lloves mankind, has sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from the curse of sin and religion. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, has made it abundantly clear; there is one door to the presence of God, and it is He, Himself. All others are thieves and robbers (see John 10:7). Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27)

Expand your understanding all you want. Understand this: God said, Jesus Christ "is the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Urban Legend

Sometimes, when I have a spare moment, I look at the Snopes.com - Urban Legend of the day. Yesterday they commented on the narrative, "Who Will Take the Son." I am sure you have heard this story; it's been around a long time. In their explanation of the source or origin of the story they gave their usual interesting, and supposed factual, account of the details.

What surprised me was at the end of their commentary. Who are these people who search for truth and end up proclaiming Truth? I could not have been more pleased when I read these words at the closing of their comments:

"It is a parable that illustrates the riches to be earned by accepting the Son of God into one's heart. The person who cherished the son rather than sought to plunder a wealthy man's riches was the one who was rewarded with untold wealth, just like the one who accepts Jesus will earn entry into the Kingdom of Heaven."

I would not have said it exactly like that (the above words are a quote, after all), but I'll take all the help we can get. And I say, thanks SNOPES.COM for the Truth.

Big Night

Strange clothing, even more so the hair, and some idiot blathering on about how he was trying to expose our Guantanamo atrocities, I painfully watched a few minutes of the Oscar presentations last evening.

I had just come from a worship experience were the preacher talked about a couple of keys to discovering genuine happiness. As I juxtaposed the two in my mind, I wondered if these folks I see on TV are happy, joyful, people fulfilling their dreams and living life to its fullest. Are these people our society tends to idolize good examples of the best in life?

Somehow, I think not. Rather it is the folk sitting in Church pews (or chairs) who have received the grace of God in their lives by faith, established a relationship with God's family (the Church), and are actively using their time to genuinely llove one another. That is where real happiness lies.

It might be a wonderful thing to win an Oscar (if acting is your field of endeavor), but winning the "crown of life" is the real deal. I'll press on toward the latter.

Moving Fast

He in the (DFW) Metroplex where I work and live there are lots of new highways. Now we learn the speed limits (on some) were set without proper review. The limit supposedly has some connection to the "average" speed of traffic. Now that the studies are finished, it's clear that the limit is well below the actuality. So, the powers that be say they will raise the limits "unless it increases air pollution."

Here's NEWS - Leaving the speed limit lower will not change the speed of the traffic - as it obviously hasn't so far. It's just more "feel good" rhetoric (about air pollution). If we want to slow the traffic -that's easy. If we're not going to slow the traffic, just raise the limit. How hard is this stuff anyway?

Of course we have the same problem in the Church of Jesus Christ. It's not that we're moving too fast, but rather we get caught up in what I call the "feel good" movement. We want everything to feel good, go our way, make our day. The reality is, life is tough, some people are hard to llove, it's impossible to please all the people all the time, and being a believer in a world gone mad with sinful passions, we're swimming against the tide. There are some times you can get your shot at feeling good (and at the Church I attend there's a significant number of them). But most of the time, in the real Church of Jesus Christ, it's just hard work - meeting need, lloving the people, working through the struggles, and slowing down enough to hear the Spirit's still, small voice. But then, that's why I llove it! I have come to understand the calling to "work, for the night is coming when no man can work."

Just Ordinary

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - "Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew returned to Earth on Wednesday, wrapping up a 5 million-mile journey highlighted by the successful delivery of a new European lab to the international space station.The shuttle and its seven astronauts landed at 9:07 a.m. at NASA's spaceport at Kennedy Space Center, where the crew's families and top space program managers gathered to welcome them home."

Did you watch this particular piece of history? I think more and more it becomes less and less noticed. If you were alive and old enough to understand, do you remember John Glenn and his near first assault on space? How about Neil Armstrong? Wow! Almost everybody was paying attention. Now, by and large, it's just routine. Who has time?

Is "Church" becoming like that? We used to see the majesty and glory, God's presence was palpable in the gathered believers as "worship" ascended to His throne. Now, if one attends, it's often boring and inane, or it's just another entertainment venue with big bands and a life coach. It may be that we are less and less able to see the "glory" of Heavenly things, the awesome power of His Spirit moving among us because something has changed. It's either us or Him.

It's probably going to take a mission to Mars (or somewhere), or another space disaster to capture our attention and get us once again excited about space exploration. I wonder what it is going to take to return the power and wonder, the enthusiasm and amazement, to "Church."

His Side

“If the Lord had not been on our side— Psalm 124:1

Remember when we were kids and it was time to choose sides for whatever it was we were going to do? Maybe you were one of those who were always picked first because you were good at baseball or football or whatever. Perhaps you were one of those who were always the last to be chosen. Not a fun experience, as I remember.

The Psalmist proclaims that God is “on our side.” The reality is that we are on the same side because He has chosen us. Because that is true, we have a Protector when the burning anger
of men assaults the Church of Jesus Christ, when the flood of evil in our society attempts to rip us apart—sometimes with words, other times with deeds.

It seems at times that the Church (read: the men and women who make up the Body of Christ) is slandered and hindered from its mission by those who would marginalize the value of living a moral life, scoff at obedience to God’s revealed Word, and attempt to remove from the public eye any reference to the historical Christianity of our Nation’s past.

A significant number of individuals both inside and outside Christianity are ensnared by immorality, selfishness, unbelief, a non-Biblical worldview, and ignorance. As a society we have by-in-large abandoned, to one degree or another, “the maker of Heaven and Earth.” (See Psalm 124:8) We are content to believe that we are capable of minding our own affairs, ruling our world, and blind to the insidious plot of the Enemy to separate us from God for eternity.

The only help for our situation is Jehovah. He is on our side—because He has chosen us for His team. He is the sustainer when otherwise we would be overcome and swept away.

I am excited about being on His side. It is the side that has set us free to become victorious in life, to be an over-comer rather than swept away in the torrent of despair, and to have no fear for the future, because His team wins in the end.

Speaking of Change

The Presidential race has come to Texas. I haven't seen any McCain or Huckabee ads yet, but the airwaves are thick with Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.

The one thing they say they are going to do is "change" things. I'm not sure how they will accomplish that, but I wish them Godspeed with it. There are a couple of things I would like changed.

I would like for US to change our focus on "me, me, me," to "what can I do for other folks." I've learned over the years that the people who focus their attention on ministry to others find their own lives enriched beyond measure.

I would like US to change our National obsession for immoral entertainment to an obsession for the things of God. I've learned that a focus on following Him though obedience to His revealed Word brings so many good things to my life that I don't need to be entertained by the World at all -- especially at meetings of the Church.

I'd be willing to wager those changes are not on the agenda. Too bad! Just those two would change our society for the better beyond our wildest dreams.

Valentine's Day

I can never decide what to do for my bride of almost 45 years. She has everything a woman could want, even me! (Come on, lighten up!) So I did what I often do, I wrote her a note. Not just a regular note, but a special note. (Maybe she'll let me publish it for you to read) It's about genuine llove.

That is what I wish we were all about; not just flowers and candy on a holiday, or presents both expensive and plain, but real llove. If the World, whom God lloved so much that He gave His only Son to redeem, could just see, understand, and appropriate that llove, it would overflow in a manner that would change society, eliminate anger and hatred, forestall crime and war, well, that would be Heaven on Earth and even I am smart enough to know that will happen only when God himself arrives to make that change.

In the meantime, I am going to practice all the llove I can. Join me, will you!

It's Over!

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hollywood screenwriters voted to end their three-month long strike here Tuesday, union officials said, bringing to a close the US entertainment industry's most damaging dispute in 20 years.

Well finally! People can get back to watching their favorite programs. Although I don't watch a lot of TV, I never cease to be amazed that once you leave the Travel Channel, or National Geographic, or the chick flicks on Hallmark Channel, (and my favorite show, which I seldom get to see, "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader") you find yourself mired in crime, adultery, homosexuality, bi-sexuality, crude and disgusting language, filthy innuendo perceivable by the typical 5th grader, and a rampant distortion of anything even remotely connected to Christianity.

As a nation we are convinced that we are "just showing forth reality. People need to know the real world around them and TV and movies portray accurately our society. We can't hide from life."

Ok! So let's make Earth as much like Hell as possible, right? Read that first quote again - the Truth is, I am not sure anything has damaged the US more than the entertainment industry.

But that's just my opinion. What's yours?

The Right Thing To Do

It is reported that Christopher Reeve said these words, “I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us...if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do.”

That sounds so good. I wish it were true. Some of us have "a still, small voice" inside us who is the Spirit of God. Many, if most, do not.

With all the talk about being "values-driven," most of the talkers never get around to the source of values - language like the following, which I copied from an e-mail sent to me by "Simple Truths," makes the point.

"You see, being values-driven means two things:
Doing what’s right – following our conscience; refusing to compromise our principles, despite pressures and temptations to the contrary, and
Taking a stand against what’s wrong – speaking out, whenever we see others do things that are incorrect or inappropriate.
Unquestionably, both of those require guts and fortitude...they require courage."

That's pretty good stuff. What does not appear, however, is the source of what is "right" and what is "wrong." We want to believe that every person has the ability to determine what is right or wrong based on some nebulous system of positive thinking, and that is just not true.

Right and wrong come from God. They are made clear in His Word, the Bible. If we fail to understand that, we have only the thoughts and actions of unGodly men on which to base our values.

I can promise you, that is dangerous.

God's Teaching

A survivor of the tornados that struck the Southern part of the US over the last part of last week said, "(He) put on sweat pants, grabbed a flashlight, drank a shot of whiskey, "and then I heard this noise." He headed for a door, "and all of a sudden I heard the glass breaking and it was sucking," he said. "When I tried to shut the door, [it] seemed like the door was lifting up. So I just dove and I lay flat on the floor."
Lying there, everything in the house flew over him, scraping and banging his back, then the chaos stopped. "I was laying in the dirt. There was no floor. No nothing." The house was gone, but he believes there's reason why he survived.
"I think God was holding my leg, beating my (expletive deleted), teaching me that I hadn't been doing everything He wanted me to do," he said.

Well, I don't know if that is the way God works or not, but I can assure you I don't want to be taught that way. There is no question that there are a multitude of things God's wants us to know and be about, but He has provided a process for that to occur. I believe I would rather find myself in a place where God's design and purpose are taught without all the drama and trauma.

You might try your local Bible-believing/teaching Church and avoid some, shall we say, "stuff."

Lent

But the time will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. Mark 2:20

This is the season of Lent. Lent is defined as the “spring period of fasting in preparation for Easter; a penitential period extending from Ash Wednesday to Easter.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)

Jesus indicated in this passage of Scripture that the time was quickly coming when He would be taken captive and crucified. That would be a time of great distress for His followers. Who could eat when their heart was broken? It was only a few days (3 to be exact) after His crucifixion that He arose from the dead, conquering forever the curse of sin. Not long after that, He came to indwell His people in the person of the Holy Spirit, and the power for victorious living was ever present.

Lent seems to be the time of year when many folks who live like the Devil all the rest of the year, believe that by forsaking some “something” during this period, they will gain a little favor before God, and by the time Easter (I prefer “Resurrection Day”) rolls around He will be “in the mood” to overlook their sin and grant them some favor, hopefully a seat at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

I’ve got bad news. It doesn’t work that way. The Good News is that it doesn’t make any difference if you honor the Lenten season, or whether you practice some penance during the period of time set forth on the calendar, rather, your response to the death and resurrection of Christ makes all the difference. It may be that God is calling you from death to life, from darkness to light, from separation to reconciliation. Only you can know if that is happening in your experience.

We tend, as believers, to remain quiet regarding these matters believing it is not a good thing to offend those who might believe that there is some inherent value in such practices. But ignorance of God’s Word continues to exist because men and women who know the Truth remain silent and unwilling to bear the burden of rejection.

These days are a wonderful time to share the Good News. You don’t need to follow some activity introduced by religious men who profess a desire to somehow reach God. God has reached out to this World with His infinite llove. He chooses to call men and women to life in Christ Jesus. Whosoever will may come, and drink of the water of life, freely. That is Good News!

Vulnerable Kids

Lauren Frayer, Associated Press Writer in Baghdad, Iraq reported today, "Videotapes seized during U.S. raids on suspected al-Qaida in Iraq hide-outs show the terror group training young boys to kidnap and assassinate civilians, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Wednesday. "

We recoil in horror at such news, but the reality is that kids are products of their environment and training. They can be taught to steal and kill, even annihilate themselves and others in some false hope that they are serving God and righting wrongs.

Kids can be taught the Truth, learn God's design for life, and become mighty men and women of valor in the Kingdom of God.

Kids can also be left to their own devices. Seldom or never involved in learning God's Word and His purpose for life, their natural bent will draw them further and further from a life that is holy, and, often, left untrained as children, produce adults that miss abundant life and Heaven through the condemnation of sin.

What are you doing with your kids, for Heaven's sake?

Money Woes

Michael Abramowitz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post Staff Writers. in an article on Monday, February 4, 2008; page A01, said, "Public views of the national economy are now more negative than at any point in nearly 15 years. . .more than eight in 10 Americans describe the economy as "not so good" or "poor. . ."

The Word of God is clear, we are to work hard and consistently. There is no "free ride" in God's economy for anyone who is able-bodied and capable of turning in a day's work. Providing for one's self and one's family is not just a good idea, it is mandatory.

But God is generous to a fault. When we have done the best we can, under the circumstances in which we find ourselves, His promise in Luke 6:38 stands like a beacon in the dark -- Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over-- will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

If you're struggling with that, test it!

Super Something

Here we are stuck on the day between the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday. Everything seems to slow down around this time of the year except sports and politics (at least during an election year)

I have noticed that the Church of Jesus Christ is not enjoying a lot of Super Natural operations at the moment. I don't mean that some groups are not growing at super speed. Church buildings are becoming more elaborate and expensive with a super alarming consistency. Budgets are super rich with more and more groups introducing a web presence to sell their particular brand of wares and tap the financial potential of those who aren't about to attend a meeting in anybody's building.

I'm just wondering if what we need instead is a supernatural presence in our life; a supernatural Word that renews our mind; a supernatural forgiveness that allows for peace and joy in the day to day struggle; and a supernatural llove that invades and protects our relationships with one another?

That's a super I could get excited about!

Jesus Lloves Me

I llove you, Jesus said.

He abandon the splendor of Heaven -

He took the characteristics of man, and the capacity to sin, and became one of us -

He walked the Earth and learned first hand the hardness of heart and bitter hatred of the very ones he had created.

He taught the Truth, lloved without reserve, lived without sin, always obedient to the voice and will of the Father in Heaven. The blind could see, the lame could walk, and death could not hold those He called to life from the grave.

He knew the anger of those He came to forgive. He felt the sting of rebuke in the words of those who had corrupted His law, and His torn flesh, bruised and bloodied face crowned with thorns, were emblematic of how far mankind had fallen.

He poured out His life blood on Calvary - for me, and for you, and for all who would receive God's grace by faith. Then He arose from the dead, victorious over sin and death, and sent His Spirit to live in us, providing the same victory to all who believe.

Yes! Jesus lloves me!