Done be da' Judgicator...

I have the dubious honor of being judged. Not for a beauty contest or for an essay I've submitted.  No, I was judged for a testimony I gave in church at the podium.  NICE.

Now I don't know about you, but this is a precarious place to be, for the person doing the judging, that is.  After all doesn't the Bible caution us strongly about this?

Yep, I was right and here it is in black and white!

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Romans 2:1)

Now this goes deeper, since we understand that there are actions worthy of being judged.  For example adultery is easy to handle, the bible is very clear on this issue.  And murder for that matter, idolatry, greed, lust as well.  There is no getting into heaven for these things and we are called to handle such issues head on, calling the transgressor to the carpet for such offenses.

Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. (1 Timothy 5:20)

But how about, say... listening to Christian rock?  Or, what about eating a certain kind of food?  What about the issue of resting on the Sabbath?  The bible is clear that we are to rest on the Sabbath, but then Jesus tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around.  (Mark 2:27).  I have met those who are fine with their actions as long as they make it to church on time and others who won't lift a finger to turn the lights on, since that constitutes "working".

Make your peace with Jesus, worship Him as you see fit.  Next we are going to look at the relationship with God and why judging may be so detrimental to your health, at least from my perspective...

Leave the family at home...

The other day, I was listening to a radio host and her guest talk about Christians not being active enough, when I was driving home from work.  The first thing I thought of:  I am too busy trying to feed my family to be an active Christian.  But that's stupid of me; I know that God takes care of us (sorry Dad!)  Anyway, after I did a mental check and started to give the host and her guest my time, I was finding myself more and more confused with the conversation.  Apparently, going to church, Bible studies several times a week and participating in other church activities is not enough!  I guess we have to give a little more, then a little more and then we die.  Hopefully, if we gave enough, we get to go to heaven.  Come on!

I realized the reason I was having trouble with the conversation is this; with having to make ends meet, raising children so that they don't end up as money grubbing, antisocial, unpatriotic, baby killing, hate machines is hard work if you look at it like that.  Apparently, I have to make even more accommodations for things that I really don't have time to do, just so I won't feel guilty?

I have a proposal that I hope will make everyone happy. How 'bout those that have time to go on missions for God do so and leave the family out of it.  I admit this may sound like madness!  But hear me out. 

First, let's take a serious look at the family here in America.  I think, without doing any serious research we can safely say the family is in trouble.  Let's stack this up. Think about the divorce rate, which is around 45% [1].  Now think about the divorce rate of those that go to your church.  OK, let's go sit outside of any public high school and look at how the kids act and dress and are conducting activities that definitely will not get them voted as head of the class.  Should I go on? Gay marriage, adultery, drug and sex addictions...let me count the ways the family is in peril.

Now with the family under such attacks, should parents consider a new mission field their own marriage and the welfare of their children as well? 

What would be the result if teens, young adults and those older folks whose children have left home took care of spreading the gospel and all the parents were told to go home, save their marriage and give the kids a solid foundation in Christ?  I wonder if the church did just that, which I have, would we parents have to feel a little less guilty about our role in the church.

Let me toss out a scenario: Mom and dad sitting with the kids talking about their adventures of spreading the gospel before the kids were born and then telling the kids how much fun it will be when it is their turn!  Hmmm.  Sounds a lot better than "daddy still loves you even though he won't be living with us from now on..."

[1] Stanton G. (2008) Do Half of All American Marriages Really End in Divorce? Retrieved from http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000596.cfm

Can we really see Jesus?

I was going through a religious magazine the other day and noticed an ad for some book about getting to know Jesus better, etc.  THE PICTURE ON THE BOOK COVER WAS PATHETIC! I mean Jesus looked like a redneck from out in the back woods.  I thought to myself: "THAT IS NOT MY JESUS"

I am tired of seeing someone else's idea of what my savior looks like!  God describes himself as "I AM".  Not much for Michelangelo to work with, but somehow he marched on...(at least he showed real talent!)

I always took "I AM" to be a description of who we need God to be at a particular point in our lives, such as a father to orphans or a comforter when a loved one dies, etc.  To me this also means that God is white, black, oriental or Native American, etc.  HE IS who we need him to be, whoever we are.  Why must He be pigeon-holed into a look that fits a societal role?  This also explains why we get all these doofs who see "His" face in bread roles and paint spills, (WHATEVER).

Let's take a look at the bible's take on this:
Exodus 20:4
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Now we go to the New Testament:
Hebrews 8:1

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens...

So here is the point, Jesus is in heaven, and we are not supposed to make a likeness of anything in heaven.  Does that make sense to you, 'cause it does to me!  We need to get over this desire to paint syrupy images of Jesus and heaven and get down to the heart of the matter: SALVATION, which has no face or any other physical appearance other than a sea of voices singing praise to the Father on high.

It's ok to make up your mind!

I am hoping that someone who hasn't met Jesus will read this.  After all, He saved my life on numerous occasions, so why wouldn't I want that for other people? 

Actually, I'm kinda sick thinking about all those people, (yeah you know who you are!) They go about life in a general direction, never thinking too much about those deep down things that only surface when you are faced with death.  "Wow, I just found out I have cancer!"  Then maybe we have to hear all the "why ME?" junk, followed with "What does all this mean, I mean what is life all about?"

OR WORSE...

They don't even go there at all, never thinking that the eternity issue is playing right there on stage while they are in the front row and they chose not to even notice the performance because the seats are too uncomfortable or they are still grumpy over the price of admission, except in this case the price is life or death.

Have you ever watched a ball game and noticed something that the players on the field didn't?   That is where I am at sometimes when discussing Jesus, faith and salvation with others.  They act like they are in charge, while the whole time the clock is ticking and the action is fierce, but they can't seem to see the truth.

Here is the truth (if it doesn't make sense at first read it again, you WILL be surprised at the results):


Since all have sinned and come short of earning God's grace. (Romans 3:23 )


"...I tell you that unless a person be born again...he cannot see the kingdom of God"(John 3:3)


Jesus said," I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."(John 14:6)


...If you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead,  you will be delivered.(Romans 10:9)

...And he (Jesus) died on behalf of all...(2 Corinthians 5:15)

Here I am standing at the door, knocking. If someone hears my voice  and opens the door, I will come in  and eat with him and he will eat with me. (Revelation 3:20) 

Love you...

Christian Rock is sooooo bad:

I am not too happy about critics of Christian rock music.  After all, I have heard some nasty stuff!
My favorite is that the devil led the heavenly choir.  (Not too sure what this means, but it has very little to do with the subject.)

Here is the bottom line:
If someone feels strongly enough to get up in front of people and sing praise to God and Jesus, who are you to tell me or them that this is wrong!

All music is inspired from God, just like the definition of sin is going against God, so is the corruption of His music.  It was always His; we just imposed our own agenda of whatever corrupt intentions we were fixed on at the time.  Now having said this, I am positive that Elvis did not intend on corrupting that which God gave him; Elvis simply did what Elvis did best, maybe with a little help from the doctors.

This goes the same for most entertainers out there, except for those that openly give credit to our adversary (the devil) for their talent.  Big mistake.

Anyway the point is this: simply because you don’t like the way music sounds does not mean it is not from God.  After all, the Israelites didn’t like the thunder at the top of Mt. Sinai, but that did not mean it was from some source other than God!

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Leave the family at home...

Ok you show up to a new church (denomination withheld), like the people and get a good vibe.  So you start attending services.  Then after a few visits, you are asked to volunteer to teach bible classes or get more involved with SOMETHING!  (For those of you who have attended the same church for the last 50 years, this may not apply to you, however I have noticed that most churches are hurting when it comes to filling the positions available.)

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing, and if there is a need, then there is a need.  But, I wonder if the people who are doing the asking are simply latching onto anyone who will respond to them or if they are truly letting God fill that need?

After all, as far as I can tell He has always taken care of my needs, why would it be different for the church?  (Perhaps, the need is not so bad after all.  Just a thought.)

Anyway, what I am getting at is this: When it comes to attending services, I would like to simply show up and worship God at church without having to work.

Some of you readers may be having a difficult time with this concept, but after all, it is the day of rest that we are talking about here.