God provides a way

I have been away from this for several weeks now and I apologize for the absence. I have had quite a few contracting production jobs that I really needed in the last couple of weeks. These jobs on top of my job search has made blogging take a back seat. Rest assured I really enjoy bringing the gospel to bear on the day to day of life and will be blogging as often as I can for the sake of directing my heart and others to the great glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The last time I blogged I promised to talk about a fourth thing to consider when it comes to Halloween. Many would call this an alternative or a substitute but I believe that God in His great grace and mercy ordained that there be a great thing for Christians to celebrate on this day. October 31st is reformation day. It is considered the beginning of the protestant break from Roman Catholicism. Every single church that exist apart from the Orthodox, Anglicans and the Roman Catholics owes its existence to the break that began on this day. It was this moment in history when Martin Luther pounded the 95 Thesis on the door of the church in Wittenberg. It was this action that began the separation that became protestantism and ultimately has birthed evangelicalism. For modern Christianity this is perhaps one of the most important days on our calendar. Why? Well we need to remember the things that caused this separation.
We need to keep before us the points that many of these reformers gave their lives to make. Because without these basic things kept before us we are prone to repeat the errors, that led to the problems, that caused a need for reformation. These are the sort of things that can help to fortify our children's hearts and faith. Reformation day is a really great time to celebrate the lives and the issues that birthed the vibrant rich Bible saturated churches that we have today. We need to remember these things lest we lose them.

I am all for remembering the birth the death and the resurrection of Jesus. But keep in mind we would not have the opportunity to know and enter into an unmediated relationship with Jesus were it not for the reformation. I am not really arguing for an alternative to halloween I am advocating that we embrace something that God in His grace ordained to happen on this very same day. I believe God gave us this so that we could be engaged in something that was God glorifying. Something that could completely crowd out the worldly pagan celebration that we call halloween. I hope that this gives you food for thought as you consider what you do in the future so that you and your families might live a more God focused life.

Halloween before the face of God?

Every time this season rolls around I kinda cringe. The halloween season is upon us. What is a Christian to do. There are three main ways that I think Christians respond.

1. Abandon the holiday all together
2. Don't participate personally but use the opportunity to hand out tracts or give the gospel message to people that knock on their door
3. Embrace it and participate
4. (There is a fourth option that I will discuss in a later blog)

I think that any discussion about halloween needs to consider where it comes from and thus what it represents. There are a multitude of sites that claim to trace its history. Here is one as an example http://www.halloween-website.com/history.htm. 

The problem for the Christian is that to embrace this is to embrace a pagan holiday that is focused on evil. Now I know that some of you might say that its just clean fun. Some people play with Ouija boards and claim that it is just fun as well. I don't think most Christians have any confusion about Ouija boards. But what if the maker of Ouija boards gave you chocolate every time you played? Would we suddenly want to Christianize it. I think that the main reason most Christians get involved is that they don't want their kids to miss out on all of the fun and the candy. Yet is fun and candy a reason to get involved with something that is ostensibly a descent into things that are dark and fearful?

If Jesus stood before you and asked you to teach your children to think about things that are good and beautiful (Philippians 4:8) would you respond with halloween as an example of that? It seems like quite often the reasons that we engage in an activity are directed more out of a desire for fun than out of a serious consideration of how this impacts our life before Christ. What at first blush may seem innocuous has a seriously corrupt core. This day is centered on celebrating things that are a result of sin. Would we have any of the things that halloween celebrates if there were no sin in the world? If the answer is no then we must ask, "Should we join in such a celebration?"

Just look at the decorations that people put up if you have any questions about what the holiday is focused on. In the midst of such base things there is real opportunity. That opportunity is found in the people that come to your door. Here are kids that may need the gospel. They might want candy but a gospel tract or a simple gospel presentation might be exactly what those kids need to hear. We are called to be in the world but we are also called to not be of the world (1 John 2:15-16). This season of the year is an incredible opportunity to share the gospel and to teach our children to focus on God and all the great and glorious things that He has created.

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.

How Bullying Reveals a Recognition of God

As I finished up the topic of bullying yesterday I realized that there was one thing I had not covered that could be a comfort to those who are being bullied.

This has to do with bullying that is verbal in nature. If someone is making fun of you or calling you names their intention is to make you feel bad. Think about it. If we are nothing more than animals at the end of a long process of evolution name calling should have no impact. It should not hurt if our existence is merely accidental. But it does hurt. It is an attack on our dignity. The very fact that verbal bullying hurts should remind us of why it hurts. You see verbal bullying hurts because it assaults our dignity. Our dignity exist because we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Man often ends up acknowledging the creator in backhanded ways. Verbal bullying attacks a person with the intent of tearing them down. It matters because we are made in God's image. If the person being bullied could just realize this then they might realize also that if we are made in His image there is no better place to be then in His hands. If you are one of those being bullied today, turn to Jesus, repent of your sins against Him and seek Him as your Lord and master. The only life worth living is the life that is lived focused on the one in whose image we are made.

The Real Needs Bullying Reveals

In the grocery store, on the news, almost everywhere you turn you find the topic of, "Bullying" is getting big coverage. It seems to come in waves. Usually the topic comes up when someone is killed or commits suicide because they have been bullied. It is such a big deal the U.S. Government has gotten in on addressing the issue with a web site, http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/.

Bullying is really an issue of the heart. None of the web sites I looked at was able to give real answers. Why? Because people can only impose physical restrictions on other people. The issue of bullying can arise from a variety of sources, but at the end of the day someone is becoming more popular or powerful at someone else's expense. In a society that has largely turned its back on God it is no wonder that bullying and other issues like it will be on the rise. Bullying grows when pride grows in our hearts and we think more highly of ourselves than we aught to think.

This happened very early on in the Bible when Joseph was bullied by his brothers for his dreams and his favored status. How did Joseph handle such mistreatment? He recognized that God is sovereign and He must have allowed it for a reason (Genesis 50:20). Without a relationship with a sovereign God there would have been no way for Joseph to see things through the way that he did. He embraced what God placed before Him and in the end He was used mightily by God to save many people's lives. God used His brother's bullying and evil intent to move Joseph to Egypt and put him in a position of power.

The most effective means of dealing with bullying is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. For the one being bullied they can run to Jesus and find in Him a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Often in the context of a Christian home or Christian community of believers the bullied person can find others who really care about them and will love them.

For the bully the most effective way to overcome the pride that often drives bullying is to repent of their sin and trust in Jesus as their Lord and God. The movie, "To Save a Life" deals with passive bullying. It recognizes that the only way to effectively deal with bullying is to deal with the heart. The most effective way to deal with the heart is to introduce someone to Jesus Christ. He takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Anything short of this sort of transformation is simply a band-aid on something that’s broken. Become an agent of change. Get your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus and reach out in love to the those who are hurting others and those who are being hurt. Introducing them to Jesus is the best and most effective means of real heart change.

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.