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.

Super Sins and their Power to Separate us from God?!?

New Year's day and we are setting around discussing how things seem to come between us and God. The problem is not that things come between us and God. Paul asks in Romans 8:35-36 if anything can separate us from the love of Christ. Then he goes through a short list of physical trials and dangers including death. In the next three verses (Romans 8:37-39) Paul declares that nothing can come between us and God. If there is really nothing that can separate us from God then why do we seem to struggle with that feeling of separation?

The reality is that we are really quite prideful. We think of ourselves as somehow needing to do some kind of penance in order to make ourselves right with God. The only problem with that is it makes our standing with God dependent on our ongoing work and not on Jesus finished work. We are living as if our sins are somehow super sins that require more than Jesus' atoning work!

King David in the Bible is called a man after God's own heart. Here is a guy who had big public sins and rebellion within his household. He was so bad he probably would not be accepted at a lot of our churches. Saul his predecessor might not have been a man after God's heart but his house was orderly and his children were loyal to him. Contrary to David, Saul would probably be accepted at a lot of our churches.

What seems to define David being a man after God's own heart is his continual dependence on God. Nothing seemed to be able to separate David from God. When Nathan confronted him with his sin we see repentance and Psalm 51 as a result. When Absalom drove him from Jerusalem he was mocked and cursed by Shimei one of Saul's descendants. In 2 Samuel 16:9-12 his response is one of acceptance of this cursing as if it were from God. In the next breath he sees in the cursing hope that God will repay him good for the cursing he received. Instead of getting defensive at being kicked when he was down, David hopes in God's blessing. Earlier in David's life Saul was hunting him down to kill him. Twice David could have killed Saul (1 Samuel 24:9-12, 26:8-11). In both cases David shows dependence on God to be the one who would avenge him. David's heart seems to always turn to God and cling to Him even if he has sinned. David is dependent on God. In contrast Saul continually did things in his own strength and did rarely showed repentance or dependence on God.

Perhaps the problem when things seem to separate us from God is that we pridefully refuse to depend upon the grace found in the finished work of Jesus. Our actions declare that we really don't believe that Jesus' work was powerful enough for us. Brothers and sisters you are not that great of a sinner, no one is. David really demonstrates what it means to live a God focused life. It might be broken but it is utterly dependent on God. Better to be a broken vessel in my Savior's hands than to be standing on my own in insufficient penance. Let your sin drive you to repentance and your Savior's embrace.

When words speak louder than...words

A discussion with a friend reminded me of one of those things that pagans do that reveals a tacit admission that they know there is a God. This acknowledgement means that they are without excuse and are actively suppressing the truth (Romans 1:18-19).

What is this acknowledgment? It is found in the words that they say. When someone gets angry at someone or something they quite often declare that God should enter into the situation and bring damnation upon it. They will declare this at inanimate objects if they happen to produce physical pain for them i.e. dropping a box on ones foot or smashing a finger in a door. What I find remarkable about their request for God's damnation is that it will even be shortened to just His name, or just Jesus Christ name. So what? Well I have yet to hear any other name under heaven used in this way. I have never heard anyone asking Buddha or Mohammed to damn anything. Why?

Let's think about it. When someone is in a situation like this they are looking for some means of mental satisfaction. The average pagan innately hates God. They usually claim that there is no God or that they cannot know there is a God. Yet these very same people will readily call on His judgment on something in their pain and anger. I propose that calling on God in this manner gives the pagan a mental satisfaction that calling on Buddha or Mohammed cannot give.

Our pagan is angry or in pain. They want something to salve them mentally. They have usually already judged God declaring that He cannot be good and all powerful by allowing so much pain and suffering in the world. So they trot out the use of His name in a frivolous and blasphemous manner. In a sense they say if you won't take care of eliminating the pain and suffering then damn the pain and suffering. This frivolous use of God's name or Jesus name makes them feel powerful because for a moment they have verbally shaken their fist at the God that they hate. They have defied this God that they hate by breaking His law of not blaspheming His name. The mental satisfaction that they derive from this activity can only exist because there really is a God and His Son's name really is Jesus the Christ. Buddha and Mohammed simply will not satisfy because neither of them are truly God. So the next time you hear someone swear with God's name or Jesus name realize that their reference to God is damning. Their words are self satisfying because there really is a God for them to be angry with, and no matter what they declare to the contrary their use of His name shows that they know He exists. Their blasphemous words speak so loudly of God's existence that their denials of His existence are mere whispers of irrationality. So instead of getting offended by them, recognize their self condemnation evident in the very words that they use. Allow their personally damning actions to drive you to pray for them and perhaps share the gospel with them. The best example of grace they may ever see may issue from the love of a person living 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.

How do you make a marriage work?

According to an article on Yahoo today titled, "10 Ways to Make Your Marriage Divorceproof" it just takes some simple rules and reminders. What I find interesting about the article is that it reflects a desire among people in general. They want to have a successful meaningful committed relationship with someone. People want this because down deep inside there is something telling us that there really is something to be found in a relationship like that.

I think that this longing reflects God's command to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:24). There is a desire within all of us to become one flesh with another. I believe it is this longing that inspires movie themes where people share a body or live out their lives in another body (think Avatar). This longing is deep seated in us and yet we are fallen, prideful and selfish. This trifecta of sins brings disarray to almost any relationship and especially marriage. And while the rules and reminders may strike a cord with you and be cute in their own way marriage problems are not this simple. Tony Robbins for all of his work in performing well in multiple levels of multiple relationships in life failed in the most intimate of relationships himself. Now I am no big Tony Robbins fan but the point is that here is someone the secular world considers to be a pinnacle performance guy. He could utilize all of the research He wanted and as long as he relies on the wisdom of men he is bound ultimately to fail.

How do you make a marriage work? All marriages need the Lord Jesus if they want real success. It is only in Him and His grace that we are given the tools of real success. On our own we are bound to fail. We will fail each other. We will bring disappointment. We will cause hurt. But when we realize the great grace that is ours in Jesus it gives us a framework for extending that grace to another. We can begin to live our marriages not just for personal fulfillment but for cosmic fulfillment in bringing glory to God. Moving our eyes from our spouse to our God and seeking to live out the role He has called us to, will make for a better marriage for anyone (Ephesians 5:31-33). Do you really want your marriage to work then the place to start is sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning of Him. He will show you grace and give you love that will lay a foundation for doing the same with your spouse.

The Cohabitation Conundrum

Marriage is declining and cohabitation is on the rise. How has this come to be? A God focused perspective can point to only one thing. "There is no fear of God before their eyes."(Romans 3:18) It was God who created marriage. It was God who made it between one man and one woman for one's lifetime. It was God who in His law said we should not commit adultery. It was God who created this marriage union to symbolize His Son's relationship to His bride (the redeemed) (Ephesians 5:31-32). As the world drifts from believing in the God of the Bible they drift from what He has said and why its important. This does not mean that we just give up and go against God. What this means is that we must be more burdened for the lost people of this world than ever before. They glibly store up God's wrath against themselves with reckless abandon. They encourage one another in public by publishing articles like the one that sparked this blog (Going Cohab? 8 survival tips for staying together). Jonathan Edwards said once in a sermon, "When someone has suffered in the fires of God's wrath in hell for 10,000 years they will not be one day closer to the end than the day that they entered." This is a terrible fate. People are choosing it without a thought by simply following their hearts, which are in natural rebellion against God. Be heart broken for them. Pray for them. Seek to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Keep the fires of compassion for them alive by living with your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. Never forget that Jesus can save them because we know He has saved us from the same fate.

Are we burning the Koran or the Cross?

The news media has been heating up over a proposed Koran burning. It is planned to be held on 9/11 at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fl. In a Foxnews.com article published on August 19th Pastor Terry Jones talked about the threats they have received and the reasons that they continue to move forward with the event. He cites things "like 9/11, Fort Hood, and the honor killings" as a reason for them to continue with their plans. The following is a quote from the article:

"We have thought about it, about the danger in holding the controversial event, and we realize that whenever we made this step, that this kind of thing could happen," he said. "But we feel it's that important, and the times call for some kind of radical measure in standing up."

New York Mayor Bloomberg made a statement today defending the right of the church to hold the burning. His reasoning is based on the first amendment right to freedom of speech. He compares this to the freedom of the Muslim community to build a mosque near ground zero. He said:

If you want to be able to say what you want to say when the time comes that you want to say it, you have to defend others, no matter how, how much you disagree with them.

While on the one hand I agree with the freedom of speech position, I must look at this from the perspective of how someone leading a God focused life should look at this. To begin with Pastor Terry's position strikes me as being clearly focused on making a stand. But a stand for what? The kingdom of God or the kingdoms of this world. Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). That if His kingdom was of this world His servants would fight for Him. Should we fight for anything? You could make the case that we should be the defender of the defenseless and the helper of the helpless. But is the church called to be the defender of freedom of speech or personal rights? This seems to be the God given responsibility of the state, not the church (Rom. 13:1-4).

We should ask ourselves this question:

• Will this action cause Muslims to be more open to the gospel?

If it does not advance the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of other people is it really an activity we should pursue or support? I think not. In reality Jesus said to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors (Matt. 5:43-44). How is Dove World Outreach Center doing this? Looking at another interview posted on Foxnews.com Pastor Jones seems intent on pointing out the wrongs that he would like to see righted. While I think we all would like to see Muslim women treated better, it seems a far cry from the calling of the church, to demand Christian actions from Non-Christians. Jesus told his followers to deny themselves take up their cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). Jesus essentially told us to forget about our personal rights.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:35-36

Is the existence of the Koran a real threat to the gospel? NO! The very gates of hell cannot prevail against the rock of the church (Matt. 16:18). What will make the biggest difference in the life of muslims around the world is grace filled God focused lives. When Muslims see Christians really embracing and living the love of God and demonstrating God's grace toward them then we will see hearts change. When we burn Koran's are we really burning our Christian witness to the grace we have received? Are we laying down the cross in that fire and picking up our rights instead? If we would see Muslim women treated better it must begin with changed hearts and that begins with a gospel presentation, given by a grace filled vessel.

Who's to blame?

Lindsey Lohan was big in the news a few weeks back as they sent her off to spend some time behind bars. One of the articles that caught my eye was on her father called, "Michael Lohan: I blame myself for Lindsey's demise". In our culture just about everything is justifiable and not the fault of the person that actually did it. As a matter of fact it is ok to be the cause of someone else's problems as long is it was unintentional and you can blame something else (Michael Lohan blamed stupidity and drunk driving).
Why do we do this? It goes back to the Garden of Eden. The very first man and woman shifted the blame for their actions as they stood condemned before God for their pride and rebellion against Him (Genesis 3:11-13). They went from being God's vice-regents ruling the Earth to the cursed rebels responsible for bringing the effects of sin upon creation. The blame game started because of the shame a pride filled being experiences when he sees his fallen state on display. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God and saw the evil of their rebellion in the light of our gracious God's glory. Shame is an understatement for what they must have felt.
This propensity to shame and excuse has been the all too normal response of fallen man since creation. There is an answer. That answer is found in the work of Jesus on the cross. He did not play the blame game. He did quite the opposite of Adam and Eve. He was without sin and blameless but He took our blame on Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because He became the blame bearer we can stand without blame before God. The astonishing truth is that we are truly without guilt in God's presence because of Jesus. Fallen man's actions amplify our fallenness. In the midst of the deplorable state of man Jesus glory as our substitute shines even more greatly. He is truly deserving of all our love and affection.

Emotional reminders of our insufficiency

Today was an admittedly challenging day. I looked at our bank account. (When your unemployed this can be a discouraging thing to do.) While I know that it is God that supplies our needs sometimes I get hit with a tsunami of emotion when I contemplate the gravity of it all. After applying for what seems like hundreds of jobs one begins to feel a bit rejected. My pride quickly kicks in and begins to feel injured. Thoughts like "No one wants me", "I'm just not good enough" and "Perhaps if I had just contacted this person or that one". All of this is really an emotional roller coaster that takes off from the platform of self, climbs the mountain of pride and quickly plunges into the maddening spiral of self in the pit of pity. Thank God for His grace, and the examples that we have in His precious word. Paul talked about being buffeted by a messenger of Satan. He requested that it be taken away. God's responded that His grace was sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). God's grace is just as sufficient today. These times of my failing are valuable reminders of my insufficiency. They cause me to depend even more on Jesus. Without Him this time of challenge would be truly overwhelming. Because He has so graciously granted me a heart that desires to focus on Him, He saves me from myself. The Holy Spirit draws my eyes to my magnificent God and plants my feet on the solid rock of Jesus. If you find the trials overwhelming turn to our Lord and use our insufficiency to embrace the sufficiency that can only be found in Him.

Sports director calls the God play

I read a lot of different articles staying abreast of what's happening in the world and always have my eye peeled for something that might be a good topic to discuss the way a God focused life would change or impact the outcome. (My goal here is to make this a practical discussion of a spiritual relationship with God impacts or should impact the physical life that we lead.) I saw what I thought would be an article to discuss on Christianity.com. It was called, "Reviewing the video might be key to ending spiritual slumps..." I'll be honest my first thought was OK this David Burchett is a sports director. Given the title I thought he was going to talk about how we look back at our lives to see how to do better. I had my thoughts churning out a reply as I started to read the article. This was going to be an easy reply. Contrast David asking us to look at our own lives with the real answer which is to look at Jesus...And then as I got half way through the article I realized that I had just run across a brother who was living a God focused life in the real world. His article is great!!! Go read it (the title above is a link to it). His main point is that the good times in our lives are when we are living our lives looking to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. The article is well written and short and well worth the read. So go. Go now and I will be back with more tomorrow.

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.

Infant dependency

My wife recently gave birth to twins. This has caused me once again to spend some time reflecting on the marvelous grace of God poured out to us through the experiences of life. Infants remind me of how much He is a supplying and sustaining God.
One of the ways that I see this revealed is in how God caused human infants to be so dependent and helpless. In Matthew 11:25-28 Jesus starts out the passage by thanking the Father that He had revealed these things to children. In the context what is revealed is the mighty power of God in Jesus. He has just denounced a list of cities for rejecting Him after seeing the mighty work of God. There is an innocent acceptance in children. In infants there is an absolute assumption of acceptance. They do not try to win our hearts with any showing of specialness. The cry because they are hungry and it lets us know that they are hungry. They cry sometimes just because they want to be held. There is no doing something for us so that we will do something for them. And quite frankly the idea of quid pro quo here is ridiculous. They are helpless and need our care. The reason that I am drawn to this passage where Jesus thanks God that these things (His majesty and power) have been revealed to children is because of the way it ends. Jesus says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." To understand a little better what Jesus is saying here we can look at His interaction with children recorded in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 19:13-15, Mark 10:13-16, Luke 18:15-17). This story is the one where the disciples are shooing the children away. (As a side note according to Matthew's account this follows the disciples dispute about who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In that dispute Jesus said that they needed to become like children to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 18:1-3).) Jesus said to the disciples who were sending the children away that they needed to become like children to enter the kingdom of Heaven. What is a child like? They are dependent. Our idea of children is influenced by our culture. In Jesus' day a boy became a man at his bar-mitzah. A 12 year old would have been an older child. Little children in Jesus day would have been those who were probably six and under. Little children are dependent. They have great needs. They anticipate our love. I think that Jesus' call to come to Him and He would give us rest is in essence a call to become like children. We should remember that we have great needs. We should come with needs depending on Him. We should embrace the unchanging love He's given. Until we become like children we will always be bringing our wood hay and stubble to Jesus. We seem to always be impressed by what we have to offer. None of us has anything to offer. Our best efforts appear as polluted garments (Isaiah 64:6). All we have or ever will have that is of any value comes from Jesus. We truly are like dependent infants producing nothing but poop (Philippians 3:8) and in need of everything. The best we can do in this life is turn our focus to Jesus and bask in the love of our supplying and sustaining God.

Why the God focused life is the best one to hire

I am going through a job search. I was struck by the emphasis on what your online profile says about you in a job search. What came to mind is the number of people I know that are really web savvy. These people could put an outstanding profile out there but that does not make them a good worker. What drives a person to become a good working is more important that what they look like online. The person who lives their life everyday realizing that God is there and their actions are performed before Him is going to be an excellent employee. There goal will always be to perform in an excellent manner. Why? Because they realize that they are representing God to the world. They understand that it is by God's grace that they even have their job. This person will be passionate about seeking to be excellent to the glory of God. I am not saying that all people who call themselves Christians fall into the category of living lives as if they are living before the face of God. What I am saying is that the Christian who lives their lives before the gracious God who has forgiven their sin and granted them eternity will be an excellent employee. They will not steal because that would be an offense to God. They will be encouragers. They will work hard and extraordinary results will follow. But most of all they will be focused on bringing glory to God by their life.

Taking God for granted

I am sitting here in my living room with my wife. We had twins a little over three weeks ago. It's late and as I sit here it suddenly struck me how much of God's grace has been poured out on us that we take for granted. We are not wealthy by the world's standards but we have a comfrotable couch and a recliner that would have been the envy of the wealthy 100 years ago. A color TV hangs on my wall and 100 years ago that sort of thing was not even thought of. Electricity powers lights that let me see what I type. A fish aquarium churnes away in the corner maintaining a fish habitat for our viewing pleasure. Color photographs in frames crowd the top of our piano. Some of them were captured with a digital camera. Our newborn daughters rest comfortably in warm clothes that were acquired from virtually limitless choices at an abundance of stores. What we experience is truly amazing, and especially so when we remember John 1:3, "All things were made by Him (Jesus...God)." That puts an amazing perspective on it all. There is not one thing that we have that is not derived from something that God made. The life that we experience comes from God and all that we have comes from God. All the things that I see in my home exist because God allowed someone somewhere to have the mental capacity to figure out how to make it. 1 Corinthians 8:6 reminds us that all things are God's. All the things we take for granted are actually little signpost that should cause our hearts to cry out to God in wonder at His mercy and grace. We really deserve God's wrath because of our corruption and sinfulness. What we have received even in the common things of life is truly astounding. Because of Jesus one day I will dwell in Heaven with my God. But on the journey to that celestial city God has surrounded me and you with signpost to point out His abundant mercy and grace. So whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do we could do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). May God grant us the grace to not take Him for granted but to live a more God focused life than ever.

A lot can happen in a couple of days...

For those who may read on a regular basis. Sorry for the hiatus. My wife gave birth to twins and we were at the hospital from Wednesday until Friday. The birth went really well and we have two beautiful baby girls now in our family. Something happened on Wednesday that I thought would be relevant to the blog. For the last two months every sonogram has shown the twins to be transverse (That means that they were laying across my wife's abdomen). The problem with this is that the babies are considered undeliverable and it is an automatic c-section. We have been praying for some time that the babies would turn head down so that they could be delivered normally. We have also been facing a gradually increasing blood pressure problem for my wife. I am personally not sure what problem this poses but it is something the doctor did not like. So Wednesday a week ago because the babies were transverse and because my wife's blood pressure was continuing to rise the doctor scheduled her for a c-section for this last Thursday May 20th. With one week left we began asking a lot of additional people to pray that God would cause the babies to turn head down. Well when we went in to have the pre-op sonogram the first or presenting baby was bottom down and completely breach. We then headed over to the doctor's office for our pre-op visit and to get blood work done. The doc was not anxious to do a c-section on my wife because this was her eleventh pregnancy. So when he saw that the baby was breach he canceled the c-section and started some natural things that might throw her into labor (Her blood pressure was still high and he felt it best for the babies to get this done if possible). Her labor started and 3.5 hours later we had two new babies in our arms. I am convinced that God caused the presenting baby to turn. God caused my wife to choose a doctor years ago that would be willing to deliver a baby breach. God protected the second child from suffering any major problems even though she did end up with a little extra fluid in her lungs. What should have happened to us as a people who are sinners and have nothing about us that deserves God's favor? What should have happened I shudder to think about. What did happen was an abundance of God's grace was poured out into our lives. It happened not because we deserved it or because we did something right or because we merited God's favor somehow. It happened because God in His grace looked down through time and set His love upon me and my wife because of the work of Jesus on the cross. His death on my behalf is why God looks at my wife and I and delights in us (Isaiah 62:4, Jeremiah 9:24). He makes us righteous. He makes us steadfast. He sees us through Christ and so in us He delights. It is a work of His grace. His mercy pours out. He pours out grace in abundance (Ephesians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 1:5). We receive that abundant unfettered grace every time we receive something that we do not deserve. Which, when it comes to God is all the time. This is not a prosperity gospel. This is not a looking for more things but merely looking for more of God's hand of mercy and grace to be manifest on our behalf. An abundance of God (John 10:10) is what I have had a chance to see this last week and I thought I might share it with you. Then you can rejoice with me in the pursuit of a more God focused life.

Contemplating the incomprehensible

Tonight we had a prayer meeting during which we focused on the massive power and greatness of God. The topic was brought up because of the popularity of super hero movies. Movies with heros that defy the odds have always been popular. The super hero movies of today are about characters that have great powers. We find these powers exciting and intriguing. I think that one of the reasons these powerful beings resonate with us so well is that they represent a longing our flesh has for god like powers. We like to imagine what we might do if we were endowed in such a way (at least I do). But this kind of musing is physical and degrading because it causes one to desire autonomy or power apart from God. The better thing to do is to redirect our thinking to God (Philippians 4:8). After all the characters in the movies are not real anyway. God is though. All the thing that we like in these movies are merely poor shadows and dust falling from the great power and reality of God. Think of His awesome power. He called all that we see into existence with the word of His power. He breathed life into man and made him a living soul. While on earth as God in the flesh Jesus walked on water. He calmed the storm. After the resurrection He ascended into heaven. Think about it the disciples watched Jesus fly away. He really flew. Remember they weren't even sure that He wasn't just doing a demo for them because some angel showed up to tell them that He was gone for now but would come again (Acts 1:11). This is the God that we serve. The real hero. The truly unstoppable one. He will come again with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30). This is why a life focused on our great God and Savior Jesus Christ is the only life worth living.

Islam, Grace and Southpark

Comedy central apparently aired an episode of Southpark in which they depicted the prophet Mohamed dressed up in a bear costume. I am not endorsing or recommending you see this episode or any episode. The issue here is that a group called revolution muslim opposed the episode. They were adamant that depictions of Mohammed not be shown. They posted on their website graphic pictures of the death of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered in 2004 by Muslim extremists for making a movie about Muslim women. The caption under the images read: “Have Matt Stone and Trey Parker Forgotten This?” The threat was seen as very real and comedy central censored the episode. What strikes me about this is the lake of grace that exists in the religion of Islam. While I am sure that Revolution Muslim does not represent all muslims, Islam is rigid and there are reasons that countries controlled by Muslim leadership are so repressive. The main thing that stands out to me is the appalling lack of grace. I have witnessed to Muslims in this country and it always strikes me how they are working to balance the scales. They talk about repenting and seeking to do good. Lets take a step back and think about the seriousness of sin and its offense to God. If I lied to my children I will not get in a great deal of trouble. If I lie to my wife I will certainly face consequences. If I lie to a police officer or a judge I could go to jail. If I lie to the federal government I could lose my life for treason. The difference in each of these situations is the stature of the person or entity I lied to affected the consequences of telling a lie. God is greater than any government and He is holy. How much of an offense is one lie to God? Could anyone ever do enough good to offset just one lie? The tragedy for my muslim neighbors is that they live under a religious experience that offers no grace and so they offer no grace. I count myself privileged that God called my in grace to Himself. He paid the penalty for my sin and made me His child. I repented and now seek to follow Him as my Lord. Repentance for me was recognizing that I have sinned against God and cannot hope to pay the penalty on my own. I called on God in my brokenness to save me and Jesus took my penalty and paid my price. I am counting on grace and this gives me the ability through the Holy Spirit to offer more grace to others. May God grant my Muslim neighbors the grace they need to meet Jesus repent and receive His grace so that they too can come to live God focused lives in Jesus my God.

Who loses when Christianity becomes political?

In my conversations with people throughout the years about Christianity and Politics it seems like there is one thing that is consistent. Conservatives usually want to see Christianity plastered as a subtext to the campaign they support. Liberals get up in arms and defensive when they see Christianity plastered as a subtext to any campaign usually crying separation of Church and state. Who looses in these collisions between politics and Christianity. I think Jesus does. Before you liberals rejoice and you conservatives tune me out please hear my reasons. I am all for a Christian being able to take a political position or hold office. I am even for them having the freedom to base their position on the Bible. What I am not for is a whole church or denomination supporting a party. When this happens it becomes divisive. Christians who hold a liberal stance are offended. Christians who hold a conservative stance don't really gain anything in the end. The big problem here is really a foundational issue that arises out of the Bible. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to the disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The foundational problem with Christianity and Politics is that Christians are not getting involved under a Christian umbrella in order to follow Christ. The main reason that they trumpet to get involved is to protect our rights. But the last time I checked if we have died to self (Romans 12:1), rights should be a distant second or ever much further behind the glory of Christ. I would like to feel I can support other Christians but when I see my saviors name used to advance a political cause that has very little to do with His kingdom I find it impossible to support. My goal in living a God focused life is to advance His kingdom. Jesus kingdom is filled with grace something I see very little of in politics branded as Christian.