School Shootings and the Heart of the Problem

I am in my living room contemplating the school shooting which just happened yesterday in Nashville Tennessee. It was carried out by a woman who had previously attended the small Christian school. She was apparently a 28 year old who was under some sort of care and was expressing herself as a man in social media posts. There will be many who will jump on the transgender issue here. That is simply an aspect of the bigger problem. Our society is pushing for people to be free to express themselves however they want. It is not surprising how in doing this people run into others who do not necessarily accept their position or agree with it. I have positions I hold that are not excepted by everyone. I am a Christian and I believe in and seek to follow moral values which God has laid down in the Bible. Those who don't agree with me don't threaten my beliefs. I am secure in my beliefs and where I stand. This is where the real issue arises. People who have bought the idea that there is no restriction on how they can express themselves, may or may not be ok with people not agreeing with them. This kind of thought and mentality can be found in conservative, and liberal circles as well as Christian and non-Christian. If they are ok with people not agreeing with them they simply walk away. If they are not ok with the lack of acceptance then the freedom to express themselves in whatever way they want can lead to any number of harsh and radically destructive decisions. It can result in a lawsuit against those who don't agree. It can lead them to choose suicide. It can cause them to seek escape in drugs and alcohol. And it can lead them to decide to eliminate the people which they percieve as not accepting them or to do damage to the place or group they percieve as opposing their position. Sometimes it is simply a lashing out at people in general because they feel generally rejected. This is the result of a people abandoning a moral foundation rooted in the morals established by God. This abandonment happens in every area of society, from Christian and conservative to liberal and socialistic. When we as a society embrace an ideal of freedom to express ourselves however we want, even if it is immoral and against nature we find ourselves not experiencing the precieved happiness associated with total freedom. What the shootings, suicides and overdoses show us is we experience an emptiness and destructive hatred. The true answer for this is to turn to the God of the Bible repent of our sins and accept Jesus as Lord of our lives. In Jesus there is purpose, true freedom, and happiness found in the boundaries of God's moral law. I hope readers of this who are not Christians will seek to know what it is embrace a God focused life through faith in Jesus.

A Flood of Opinions About Noah

The movie Noah by Darren Aronofsky debuts today. There are a wide range of opinions among evangelicals. Eric Hovind of Creation Today offers up 7 reasons NOT to go see Noah. If you follow the logic of the first 6 reasons he gives then you will probably stop seeing movies all together. Living Waters which is a ministry I really like and support most of the time has a real dilemma. They have released their own Noah documentary. They clearly want to capitalize on the movie. So they have a conflict of interest because they want you to watch their movie (Which I would encourage you to take the time to watch). But they have taken a strong stance against Aronofsky's Noah as well. In their most recent post about it they cite Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck is a Mormon. That does not mean that he cannot speak truth but there are good solid Christians who hold a radically different view of this movie then Glenn Beck does.

Answers in Genesis has taken a don't go see it position but they have moderated that with information about how to talk to people who have gone to see it. I think that if you are not going to see it that this is a good position to hold. Perhaps go to their site and learn what you can about the movie so you are equipped to engage people in the culture. Another place to go if you want info to share with friends who have watched the movie is MovieBibleStudy.com they have a Bible study posted for Noah. Perhaps you could get some friends to go through it with you. If you really want to boycott the movie I think Movie Guides suggestion of Othercotting is a good idea. After all the reason Hollywood makes movies is to make money. What you spend your money on is what you are voting for. If the thought of Noah offends you go see God's Not Dead or Son of God. You actually have options this time around unless you are boycotting those as well.

Now all of that being said perhaps the other side of this issue should be considered. Grace Hill Media is a Christian Marketing company that has worked really hard to get Hollywood to open its eyes to the Christian Marketplace. Here is a link to an e-mail they sent me today. It is particularly interesting how many Christians have viewed the movie and endorse it as a worthwhile effort. There is an endorsement video link at the bottom of the e-mail. It is worth watching because you will actually hear from people involved in making the movie. They claimed that the Noah story arc is about judgment and grace.

Movie Guide which I almost always consult when it comes to movie content has 9 articles related to this movie. They point out in one of the articles that Paramount has listened to Christian criticism of the movie. They have added a disclaimer stating that some “artistic license” has been taken with regard to the story, but that the movie is “true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide.” The disclaimer also adds, “The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis.” Here is a pagan company pointing people to the Bible. Of course Hollywood invest in projects like this in order to make money. Their goal is not to offend everyone. If movies based on the Bible do not make money they simply will not make them.

I am personally not sure that I will see this movie. So why write this article? It seems to me that often there is an unrealistic demand placed on the unsaved world to do Bible things or Christian things in a Christian way. Yet how many of you went to see either of the Thor movies or the Avengers which had Thor in it? Christians will go see Thor, which is a pagan god, but they won't go see Noah? It seems odd that we hold such double standards.

Aronofsky is a Jewish atheist. For some that is enough to not see Noah. But in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 we see God moving in Cyrus the king of Persia. He was a pagan idol worshipping king. God used Cyrus to send the people of Israel back to the land to rebuild the temple. You could say that Cyrus ignited a new conversation with God and about God. I think that there are many people we come into contact with every day who would be interested in having a conversation about God. Noah could be an opportunity to have that conversation. If we turn our backs on a movie like this and only have negative things to say that conversation is never going to happen. Maybe Aronofsky is a type of Cyrus. He could be a man that God is using to open up opportunities for real and important conversations about Jesus our ark of salvation. Perhaps it would be better if we focused less on man and more on our God who moves men - even atheist men - to bring glory to His name in spite of their own plans.

Reflections on Giving Thanks at Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving really is a remarkable holiday. It is a day that the entire country observes. A day that reminds us to reflect on the great ways that God has blessed us as a people. God has seen fit to preserve this day on our calendar. We should thank God that He has preserved this day. It is easy to think about all the ways that things are bad or wrong. Certainly those things often need our attention. But God has also blessed us in many ways and this day of Thanksgiving is one of them. Giving thanks is important for us. It is so important that there were guys in the Old Testament set aside for the whole purpose of giving thanks. You can read about them in 1 Chronicles 16:41. Giving thanks to God specifically causes us to look to God. It is always a healthy thing for us when our gaze is cast heavenward. To think of Jesus and the work that He has done for us should fill our hearts with gratitude. Perhaps you did not take the time to think of all that God has blessed you with this Thanksgiving. Take the time right now and turn your eyes to Him in thanks. One more way we can be reminded to live a God focused life.

Bright Spot on the Horizon

I love to come across articles like the one I found on CNN's Belief blog. It is called, "Rabbi: Why evangelical Christians give millions to Israel". It is completely refreshing to hear a Rabbi state that the main reason he sees Christians reaching out to Israel is because of their genuine love for them. WOW!!! What a great testimony to the power of our Lord Jesus to change lives (1 John 3:10). Join me in thanking God for the work He is doing. Pray that it will continue until we are known by our love by everyone in the world.

When it comes to the next generation...

We could use a little less talk and a lot more action.

There seems to be a lot of talk about how to reach the next generation. There are a lot of different ideas out there. Many are good steps in the right direction. But in the middle of it all there is one thing that keeps getting tagged on almost as an afterthought. That these kids don't have a real commitment to their faith. Perhaps the faith is more the faith of their parents.

In case you have not noticed a lot of kids are growing up, leaving the church and never returning. We can lay the blame for this result at lots of feet with lots of different reasons. But at the end of the day lets face it, they are mostly lost kids who never really came to know Jesus. What the next generation needs is for this generation to get serious about living out their faith. If our kids never see us approaching our faith like it is a desperate life or death struggle for our very souls then they are never going to see this as something worth living for much less dying for...if it should come to that.

Fundamentally we need to have a passionate pursuit of God as a characteristic of our lives (John 4:23-24). If our kids don't see us living life bent on pursuing God how can we ever expect them to do that? So join me in pursuing living a God focused life for the next generation.

Not seeing the big point because of all the little points

There is a great article by Steven Crowder on Foxnews.com about, "Why NOT Having Sex Might be Good for You". I really like the article. He makes some great points. But (and for me this is a really big but) he misses the main reason why not having sex before marriage is good for you. Are you ready...its because that is the way that God designed it to work. God is not a cosmic killjoy (as many believe). After all He is the one who created sex in the first place. It was His idea. It was such an awesome thing that He designed the best way for it to be used so that it would be beneficial in multiple ways to both men and women. When we deviate from God's plan we are saying that we know better than the creator of these things what it is for and how to use it. Newsflash...the designer of something knows more about it than most users. In this case God gave us guidelines for the best use of sex and that best and proper use of sex within the sanctity of marriage should cause us to truly marvel at the greatness of our Lord Jesus the creator of all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). A proper perspective on all of God's creation will continually drive us to live a more God focused life.

Where are you?

Tonight we read through a passage with our kids where Adam and Eve sinned and God came calling to them. I love the part where God comes calling (Genesis 3:8-9). Adam and Eve attempt to hide but of course no one can hide from God (Psalm 139:7). God knows all things (John 16:30). He knew they had sinned and eaten of the tree. He knew where they were. God shows us a remarkable and important aspect of Himself. He could have come in judgment only and squashed the beginnings of the rebellion. No! God comes calling not accusing. Where are you? What kind of a question is that? It is a question loaded with acceptance where Adam probably expected condemnation. Our all knowing all powerful God came to Adam and Eve in their rebellion and extended the call. Where are you? Implied in a call like this is an expected response. Over here hiding because I'm ashamed of what I have become. God knew what Adam had become but He came calling anyway. He came calling because that is what God does to those that He has set His love upon. He comes calling. How do we respond. Like Adam -- accusing God of giving him a wife that led him astray. Or more like Peter -- going to God walking on water when Jesus calls him. Instead of making accusations he calls out Lord save me (Matthew 14:28-30). What do we do when God comes calling? Strive to live a God focused life because God is always there calling us to step forward and meet Him.

Why followers of God know peace

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul bears witness to the fact that God has given him the grace to be content in any situation. What is the key to that contentment? A clear focus and dependence upon God. Paul faced times of plenty and abundance and realized that they were a gift to him from God. Paul faced hunger and need and realized that these too were a gift from God. How can hunger and need be a gift from God? Hunger and need are a gift to the believer who like Paul has a clear focus and dependence on God. Hunger and need are blessed reminders of how much we truly need God to sustain us. By thrusting us into the barren desert of need God helps us to let go of our dependence on things of this earth. We are put in a place where we truly must depend on God. When Paul says, "that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him" he is talking about being able to walk through adversity as well as plenty.

Paul's admonition earlier in the same chapter rings with greater force when we understand his personal heartbeat that follows it (Philippians 4:4-7). Paul started that earlier section with a call to rejoice in the Lord always. The only way you can rejoice ALWAYS is if you see everything that is coming to you as a gift. These are all gifts given to us by God for our own benefit. Paul continues with a call to be gentle with everyone. Even those who are not good to us? In a word yes! Why? Because the Lord is at hand.

He tells us not to worry. What should we do with the things that come our way? We communicate everything to God by prayer and supplication with one unusual thing thrown in - Thanksgiving. Paul wants us to make our request but in the midst of making them to be thankful for these same things because they are truly a gift from God. When your heart is tuned to being thankful and rejoicing in all the things that come our way we will gain something that is astounding. Peace! Not just any peace but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

1. Rejoice always - because you see everything coming to you as a gift
2. Be gentle with everyone - because the Lord is at hand and He will make things right
3. Don't worry - take everything to God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

Do these things and rivet your eyes on the Lord Jesus and an amazing peace from God that passes understanding will fill our hearts. Not only that but He will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. As we rejoice in Him He will secure our hearts so that they can continue to rejoice in Him. This is why the true followers of Jesus in the midst of persecution and a life devoid of external peace will exhibit a heart filled with supernatural peace that cannot be taken away. Join me as I try to follow Paul's plan for living a life completely focused on God.

Prop 8 - Winning battles and losing the war

Last week the news was falling all over itself to report on the overturn of proposition 8. I am not sure how this is being reported in the rest of the country so if you need to get up to speed here is an article from the San Jose Mercury News titled, "Federal judge strikes down California's ban on same-sex marriage". 50 years ago we would have said universally that homosexuality is sin and it was viewed by most people as morally reprehensible. Today this is no longer the case. Today people see pedophilia as morally reprehensible and sin. Will this still be the case 50 years from today? It is a legitimate question in the light of how our culture has changed in the last 50 years. What has happened that has brought about the changes that we see today. 50 years ago the 1960's were kicking in and free love with a strong dose of independence was the siren call many could not resist. The moral walls of our society began to crumble. What caused the walls to be so weak in the face of the immoral tide that struck it? I did not live then but I think that the roots of the problem can be traced to the church of the early twentieth century. From what I can tell in church history there was a strong reaction to the neo-orthadoxy coming out of Germany's seminaries and universities. Two things happened. Neo-orthadoxy called into question the literal inspiration of scripture and saw inspiration as being something more personal that happens when the word of God becomes inspired for me (This is a broad simplification because of space. E-mail me if you want to discuss this.). The second thing is the conservative church over-reacted to what they saw as a liberal take on inspiration. Another thing was coupled with this. The church was hit with a widely distributed set of books called, "The Fundamentals". This produced a conservative swing that put up code of conduct fences and condemnation fences. Phrases like, "I don't smoke, I don't chew and I don't run with boys that do" were byproducts of this conservative swing. I think it was during this time that some denominations developed the theology of secondary separation. In a nutshell they separated themselves from anyone that did not adhere to their brand of doctrine. Some denominations still hold this view to this day. What happened is, we added a whole bunch of things to the Christian life and walk that were not scripture, but were held in the same regard. This did not have the intended effect of strengthening the church. Quite the opposite happened. The young people growing up in this environment in these churches saw right through the hypocrisy of it. Essentially the moral strength of the word of God was gutted by man insisting on adding his two bits to the pot. Since the churches moral base seemed to many to be arbitrary the next logical decision was that anything goes. People started crossing lines that were clearly spelled out in scripture. Line after line was crossed. The church retreated from this onslaught. Usually she demanded more and more that her position on all these added things was the right one. When she seemed to be losing the culture she resorted to politics. The church began to be seen as political -- seeking to legislate her version of morality. This brings us to today with a society that is rapidly sliding toward an ancient Roman style of life. Rome was marked by open pedophilia, gladiatorial games and meaningless marriage. The church as it appears to the world is a moral mess. She has very little integrity left. She pats herself on the back when a bunch of conservatives in California rallied the people to make a state constitutional amendment even in the face of great opposition. We won that social battle but we lost the court battle at this point, and it looks like we could lose the war.
And yet there is still hope. I see a fresh desire for God, a renewed embrace of God's word and a greater compassion for the lost. God is moving in people everywhere to ignite a passionate fire for Him in their hearts. The only way that this war will be won is in the hearts and minds of people. They have to meet the awesome God of the Bible Jesus the Christ (Psalm 24:1-5). Their moral foundation needs to be in the bedrock of His word and His word alone (Hebrews 4:12). Is this a daunting challenge? NO! God used 12 men to turn the world upside down. With God anything is possible (Mark 10:27). Be encouraged. Don't be ashamed (2 Timothy 1:12, 2:15). Keep your eyes on Jesus and show the world around you the magnificent God that you serve. Helping others to embrace a God focused life will bring them freedom from slavery to sin and give them the greatest possible future they could ever hope for. So seek the Lord and take Him with you into the world.

Middle finger musings

Several times over the years I have witnessed someone cutting someone off with their car and receiving the reaction of a hand extended with only the middle finger pointing upwards. I have seen the same reaction when bikes cut off cars or when cars cut dangerously close to pedestrians. This gesture is used with the intention of causing great emotional stress in retaliation for the stress that someone else's actions have caused. 
What makes a person think that flipping someone off is going to elicit any sort of agitating feelings in the object of the gesture? Further what causes the person who is flipped off to take offense at the gesture? There is no animal that takes offense at the motions of other animals. If we are nothing more than higher animals you would think that we would surely have evolved past this silly self destructive behavior. Survival of the fittest would require it. But for some reason we seem offended by this waving of a limb in a mean spirited manner perhaps accompanied by an expletive or two. Why? I believe that this action and response is an assault on man's dignity. Which begs the question where does this dignity come from? It assumes that man has intrinsic value. But if he is just another animal why does he have intrinsic value? Why does the individual matter? I believe that without realizing it that every time man makes an assault on another persons dignity they are giving an acknowledgment that man has dignity and value. I believe that if you look hard you will be hard pressed to find a reference point for man's dignity and value in nature. Certainly the animals do not exhibit anything even close to this. So where does it come from except God. I believe that the fact that God created man in His own image is the answer and true reference point for man's dignity and why he has dignity at all. Ultimately when you see someone flipping someone off remember that unintentionally they are acknowledging that man has dignity derived from His creator that he can effectively assault. Once again we see that pagan man cannot get away from admitting he has a creator no matter how much he may want to. As we seek to live a God focused life things like this should strike us more and more with the constant reality that God truly is with us (Romans 1:20). Every day all men every where live before His face. Sometimes pagans end up pointing to God in a way that they never intended.

What is faith?

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
The evidence of faith is often a path that would normally be filled with fear and pain.

What I mean by this is that faith is not really faith if it does not meet the definition of Hebrews 11. There we find that faith is defined by assurance and conviction of things not seen. When I say that the evidence of faith is a path normally filled with fear and pain what I am referring to is the evidence of a step of faith taken in the context of living a God focused life in a sinful world. When we step out in faith we will usually experience pain in the objections and ridicule we receive from others. They will not understand the step we are taking because faith is acting on things not seen. Because of not seeing the things we are moving toward they will often be detractors, hence we will experience emotional pain. This will often be done by people calling us to be realistic. If you have peace in the midst of a direction that God is leading you and it does not contradict the Bible then what you are doing is the most realistic thing to do. This pain of isolation and rejection of our decision may be a reinforcement that we really are stepping out in faith. The step itself is the evidence of our faith in our almighty Father God. Normal fear comes into play when we take a step that may be financially risky like quitting a good paying job because of the havoc it is reeking in your family. Trusting that God will protect you when you try to save someone whose drowning and your not a good swimmer yourself. Anything that puts you in a place of risk because of your relationship with Jesus Christ and seeking to honor Him in your life has the potential to bring normal fear with it. But what is remarkable about the step of faith is that it is often devoid of fear. When we are walking by faith and it is to the glory of God, we will often experience an unexplainable peace. This is the peace that passes understanding. This is the peace that can only come from the Prince of Peace Himself. So like Peter in the boat during the storm even when it does not make sense, step out by faith and keep your eyes firmly fixed on the Lord Jesus. Steps like this serve to grow our faith and our relationship with Jesus.

Why are we so conflicted???

A piece by Christopher Ryan in CNN's opinion section grabbed my attention today. It was titled, "Monogamy unnatural for our sexy species". What I find completely remarkable when I read articles like this is how they isolate one thing. If you look at humanity we are not just in conflict over sex. We are in conflict over just about everything. We want to look good but we want to enjoy our food. We want to help others out but we want to have our free time and recreation. We want to be dedicated to our jobs and to our families. The list could go on and on. The secular world comes up with one solution after another. The solution of not having any sexual commitment was tried in the '60's and found to be bankrupt. Ryan seems to be proposing that that sort of freedom is what we need. The problem we really face is that we sense something is not quite right. We lack a certain level of expected fulfillment. The natural man (because he still thinks he can be a god unto himself - Genesis 3:5) looks for answers of his own making everywhere. There is one place he refuses steadfastly to look. He will not look to God. Yet there is the real answer to the lack of fulfillment that men struggle with. There are a lot of people in the church that still struggle aren't there? Yes and in almost every case the struggles we have are in areas that we are growing to trust God in. Many who attend church struggle with even knowing how to pursue God in a personal manner. This very problem is one of the key reasons that I wrote the book, "The God Focused Life". I am just tired of seeing Christians who are no different then the world. We should be different. I know that my life is very fulfilled and that is because of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is a living Lord who takes our burdens and gives us His peace that passes all understanding. The only reason that humanity finds all of these things unnatural or conflicting is because we are born in sin. Our sin nature is self-desturctive. It causes us to do things and long for things that are detrimental to us. Do you want peace and rest for your soul then turn to Jesus for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). He will give you true rest for your souls. But you will never find that rest until you want Him more than you want anything else. When the desire for personal peace or affluence or anything else eclipses our desire for God our souls feel the bankruptcy of the substitute longing. Jesus is not a means to an end. Jesus is the end of our seeking. The relationship available to us in Him will satisfy the most hungry and thirsty soul. To know Him repent of your rebellion and sin against Him and seek Him with all that you are. This God focused pursuit is the only true answer to our conflicted natures.

The importance of corporate prayer

At our church we have a prayer meeting every week. Without fail the night of the week that has the most problems and delays is that night. The one thing that has the lowest attendance that our church does is our prayer night. Yet this night is perhaps the most important thing that we do in terms of the kingdom of God. It is during our prayer time that we consistently seek God's hand of blessing on the work that we seek to do for the sake of His kingdom. Without His blessing all that we do is as nothing. It is during this time as well that we lay requests of all sorts at His feet. We do not think that we are changing the mind of God, but rather that when we pray we are simply laying requests at His feet. He may answer no and He may answer yes. When God does answer yes we rejoice because this simply means that we were praying in accordance with His will. When God answers a prayer we realize that He ordained that we pray for those things so that when He answered it we would know that He ordained our prayers as well as His answer. When He answers in a positive manner we know that He has seen fit to ordain our prayers and use them as a means by which He has chosen to overcome the kingdom of darkness and bring glory to His marvelous name. But more than anything else the most important thing about corporate prayer is it brings all of our hearts to a place of focusing entirely on God. There is nothing more important than that. Prayer is one more means God uses to develop within us a God focus and longing. If your church has a corporate prayer time make a point to go and join them. Consistency at this meeting will help to cultivate a deeper embrace of your savior in your heart because it is here that you will see Him responding to those that seek Him (Luke 11:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:17).

How cereology conflicts with the Bible

There is a fun video on crop circles posted on yahoo's, Who Knew? section. The study of crop circles is called cereology. In order to be a cereologist I assume that you must take crop circles seriously or is that cereiously. Either way that means you believe that they are being done by aliens. The problem with the Bible here is found in Genesis 1:14-19. In this passage God claims to have made the sun, moon and stars for the earth on the fourth day of creation. The Bible tells us that the earth is the platform that God has created on which He has chosen to display His glory. Everything else in the universe is created to display God's glory on the earth. So what is the problem with a belief in aliens. Quite simply it assumes that the earth is not the central platform for the display of the glory of God. It sees the earth as one of many planets on which God created life for the sake of the display of His glory. This would mean potentially multiple deaths for Jesus as the Savior of multiple planets. It would also mean multiple potential fallen demons in different worlds. It starts to get ridiculous when you think about it. Cereously if you want to be a cereologist be my guest. As for me and my house we will continue to believe that God's word has been faithfully delivered and preserved by God and is accurate about what went on when He did His great work of creation.

Evolutionist depend on science which depends on God

On any given day you can do a quick search of most news websites and find a variety of articles with an evolutionary mindset. Today on FoxNews you will find the following articles

• Prehistoric Creatures off Australia Provide Clues to Deep Sea Life
• How Neanderthal Are You? Buy This Kit and See
• Sperm Hasn't Changed in 600 Million Years

What is interesting about all of these articles is that they depend on science. As a matter of fact all evolution depends on science. You might be saying, "Yea...so what?" Think about this with me for just a moment and I think you will get the point. Science by its very nature exist because things are repeatable, observable and testable. If every time you went to flip a light switch something different happened or every time you tried to use a hammer you might hit a nail on the head or the hammer might fall apart you would soon be locked in a life of uncertainty. There would be no cars, no houses, no certain jobs to do because nothing would be certain. But everything is certain. We live in a mathematical world of absolutes where 2+2 always equals 4 in the concrete reality of life. Science by its very nature depends for its existence upon a world of order and laws. Evolution postulates that everything is in a state of change or flux. They talk about animals making evolutionary leaps, of life spontaneously appearing 60 billion years ago. Yet all of their proofs are based on observations in a real world that does not change. This world is ruled by so called laws of nature. It is orderly and filled with beauty and life. There is something within us that loves to see and observe all the amazing and miraculous things that exist. We see them and observe patterns and similarities that point to an order that point to a creator of that order. You see evolution by its nature depends on chaos. If it truly is an evolutionary model that we live in then it should be impossible for science as a practice to even exist. Science and the evolutionist that so populate it depend on our God in order to be able to make the statements they make and practice the work of science they have come to idolize. God told us through Paul to expect this kind of thing from natural man (Romans 1:18-23). Because of man's foolishness and rejection of God he will someday face God's wrath. May this cause us more than ever to turn our eyes to our Lord Jesus the creator and sustainer of all things (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Ignorance is bliss!

We have all heard the phrase but for some reason it struck me today in relation to pride. Pride seems to lurk in every seam and corner of the fabric of life. You can be proud of just about anything. Proud that you have job in this tough economy. Proud that you toughing out not having a job better than your friends are. Proud that you were able to go out to eat. Proud that you saved money and ate in. You can be proud of your kids your parenting your spouse your hobby. You name it and you can be proud of it. I have a tendency to become proud of my writing or my thoughts or if God seems to really work in a persons life I can start to think that it was a good thing I was able to be there to help out. All of the pride that we store up and embrace is nothing but wood hay and stubble. There is not one thing that we have that we have done that is we should be proud of. Everything we have and everything that we are and all the successes we experience are from God and through God and are for the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 8:6). We were created for the glory of God not for our own glory. When God by His grace gives us the grace to rest in His presence and glorify His name--that is when we are truly most satisfied. The promise of satisfaction whispered into our souls by the perverted voice of pride  is nothing but a corrupting attempt of our flesh to take to ourselves what is God's. May God grant us the grace to pray that He will keep us focused on Him and away from our pride.

Sleep...to the glory of God?

With newborn twins my wife and I have had an increased lack of sleep. The sleep deprivation reminds me of how much sleep brings glory to God. God does not sleep (Psalm 121:3-4). He has no need of it. He never grows weary (Isaiah 40:28). The way that sleep brings glory to God is that it demonstrates physically our own inability to be completely self-sufficient. We physically need a break. We are dependent upon sleep to help us function properly. It is a reminder every day that we are not God. For the Christian it is a means of committing our way to God and physically demonstrating our utter need by entering into sleep meditating on Him. We commit our way to Him and trust that He will bring it pass. As a matter of fact our weariness should be a thing that drives us to greater dependence upon God. Isaiah 40:31 promises that if we wait on the Lord we will find Him renewing our strength. By focusing our minds and hearts on Him in the midst of weariness He promises to strengthen us so that we make it through. Join me in embracing our blessed rest in God to the glory of His name.

Meeting anticipation

We had relatives come for a visit today. They had not yet had a chance to meet our twin girls that joined us about 5 and 1/2 weeks ago. While we anticipated their visit and looked forward to it I was struck by the joy and obvious anticipation they had in meeting our new additions. As I reflected on this I realized that this type of anticipation is the same as what we will experience as we cross into eternity and have the chance to finally meet our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father. Only the anticipation and joy in meeting Him should exceed anything that we long for here. Why? Because it is only in Him that all things that we experience even exist. It is only in Jesus that we have any hope of eternity at all. It is only in Jesus that we will be made sons and daughters of God. It is a grand and glorious desire. To see Him and to be able to know Him is truly more magnificent than we can comprehend. It exceeds our wildest dreams or expectations. It is the grandest hope of all hopes. If your heart does not burn with a longing for Him, then seek Him. Ask Him to instill in your heart a greater desire. We are in a battle against the flesh (Romans 8:13). It is truly a battle to set our hearts and minds on God (Romans 13:14). So take on the battle. Become engaged in the fray. Turn your heart and mind to a focus on our Lord Jesus. It is only in Him that we will gain an anticipation and longing that will drive us toward eternal life and health and peace.

How fears point us to God

CNN has an article on their site called, "Who's afraid of snakes, spiders, vomit?" While the article deals with phobias it brings up a good point for Christians to consider. The very first time that we see fear mentioned in the Bible is when Adam tells the God that he heard Him and was afraid and hid himself (Genesis 3:10). Fear is a result of the fall and I think that in all of eternity this will be borne out. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear but God gave us a spirit of power, love and self-control. The main thing here is that power, love and self-control are all things that put fear to death. It is even this idea of self-control that counselors use to treat phobias. What should our goal be as Christian living a God focused life? To be so consumed with a desire for God and His kingdom that the things of this earth that produce fear in us are minimized. To put it another way we can say that we do not fear man or beast because God has ordained the day of our death (Hebrews 9:27). Men may try to intimidate us but we do not fear them because the power of God is greater than that of any man. Ultimately the thing that will fill our heart with the confidence we need to face and overcome fears of all kinds is the love of God filling and permeating our hearts. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” The love of God experienced in the context of a relationship with Him will fortify our hearts against fear.

What are we looking for in the search for freedom?

Today's blog has been triggered by an article on CNN called, "Bikini or headscarf -- which offers more freedom?" In it the woman who is being interviewed by Oprah is discussing how she married a muslim and how her daughter has taken to wearing a head scarf. She talks about the way that wearing a bikini as a young woman gave her a sense of power and freedom. She goes on to speak of how that same thing is happening for her daughter in a different way through the head scarf. What I find interesting in all of this is the base assumption that everyone tacitly understands. That assumption is that we need to be freed. No one really talks about what we are seeking to be freed from, just that we need to be freed. What kind of freedom does a woman in a bikini get? She gets the freedom to control the attention of men. She gets the freedom to express (or expose as the case may be) herself. This is essentially a grabbing of attention using her body. It is man centered. It is a re-enacting of the lie the serpent told Eve in the garden. You shall be as god's (Genesis 3:5). The head scarf is the same sort of thing turned inside out. The woman in the head scarf is submitting herself to Allah and essentially working her way to heaven. The same lie out of Genesis applies here. She is seeing herself as capable of appeasing god somehow. She has power with god because of what she does. Romans 3:10-12 sums it up nicely by saying no one does  good not even one. When people do things in the flesh that are for the sake of personal freedom pay attention. In most instances what they want freedom from is freedom from a righteous and holy God. The girl in the bikini wants to be free of moral restraint. The woman in the head scarf wants freedom from a God that you cannot please or satisfy with your actions. You see God has written His law on our hearts (Romans 2:15). Our consciences seek to accuse us or excuse us. Our hearts should go out to these people. We have found freedom in Christ (Galatians 2:4, 5:1). As we pursue a God focused life it is my prayer that God would cause us to share our freedom in Christ with those who have not yet come to experience that freedom.