I was reflecting on something I read in the Bible today, about...well, I can't really remember at this moment in time, but I was smart enough to jot down some notes on the thoughts I mused upon after closing the Good Book. What I was wondering is this: if we love money more than God, then we are not fully relying on God for our live now and after we die. This is a serious issue! No matter how much money God bestows on us, we cannot loose sight of Him and the gift of grace.
So that got me thinking about those of us here in the US, how we are the richest nation in the world and our individual role in all of this. (Though after you find out how much money we owe China, the whole "richest nation in the world" thing might seem a bit cliche') The question remains, are we too rich to understand that we need to be vigilant and ready to defend our faith at any given moment?
Do we know that even our poorest (according to the government) have it better than many in other countries. I am not even talking about war torn nations. Almost half of Brazilians do not own a fridge and China's billion or so are controlled by an elite of a few hundred thousand. Knowing this, are you ready to stand up for your faith? Or has our wealth as a nation blinded us to truly understanding what it means to fully rely on God, not just for our well being but for our national health as well? When you look at things in from this perspective, is there really a difference?
Talk to any hard line Christian and they will eagerly tell you that this nation is not on the right path and has been declining for quite some time. I am telling you that it goes even deeper...it is a direct reflection on our own values and concerns (or lack of).
So I ask again, are you ready to stand up for God, even if it means loosing everything...to gain everything when Jesus comes back for us? No one should be able to convince you that tomorrow will not hold an unpleasant surprise in store for me, you or our nation, or even the body of Christ when you really think about it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Just started prayer group...
Just started a prayer group, feels good.
I need to connect with God in every way, that is what praying is all about. Think about tithing. If we were to tithe with the time God gives us, that is 2 hrs 40 mins a day that we need to give back to Him. Praying is a good way to fill that.
A prayer group is the next step, getting out and helping others is another step... Sharing, caring and loving. We do not need a building to be the body of Christ, we need body parts. These parts connect through communication and the finest form of communication is prayer.
So pray, connect and live.
I need to connect with God in every way, that is what praying is all about. Think about tithing. If we were to tithe with the time God gives us, that is 2 hrs 40 mins a day that we need to give back to Him. Praying is a good way to fill that.
A prayer group is the next step, getting out and helping others is another step... Sharing, caring and loving. We do not need a building to be the body of Christ, we need body parts. These parts connect through communication and the finest form of communication is prayer.
So pray, connect and live.
Monday, February 22, 2010
TODAY IS THE DAY...
Just thinking how some days are harder than others.
Cried when I read a story in the paper about a son who bought his dad new mustang because the dad had sold a mustang to help the son through college. HAPPY
Heard some other stories about a boy had killed himself after telling everyone that he was lonely. SAD.
I am struggling with being out of work. SAD.
I am not struggling with the knowledge that Christ is my savior. HAPPY:)
Cried when I read a story in the paper about a son who bought his dad new mustang because the dad had sold a mustang to help the son through college. HAPPY
Heard some other stories about a boy had killed himself after telling everyone that he was lonely. SAD.
I am struggling with being out of work. SAD.
I am not struggling with the knowledge that Christ is my savior. HAPPY:)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Leave the poor alone...
Ok I have been reading a lot of Ann Coulter http://www.anncoulter.com/, and in the process Ann covers a lot of topics mostly ranging from liberals are godless, to liberals are traitors. I have also tapped into a couple of other conservative soapboxers.
In the process I realized a few things. First, I have really been thinking hard about how liberals have basically taken this nation away from us, rather those who started this nation. That being the hard core Christians that wanted to separate church and state in an manner that increased freedom, not handed freedom over to the state in a underhanded manner.
Second, the arguements laid out by the left are based in some basic, truths. First of all, we have to admit that when people were being abused by their bosses back in the nineteenth century, this fueled the unions and those in power to establish workers comp and other social programs that tend to put a crimp on free enterprise. Score one for the liberals. Yet in their zeal to help the proletariat, they completely ignored the minorities, including the Indians.
To keep things on track...the whole point of this post is to ask liberals a question that dives into the heart of their movement: Who says that being poor is an affliction that needs to be healed?
As a believer in Christ, I have had to come to the conclusion that Christ wants me poor, at least for now. And I willingly accept this. It does not help in certain situations like when my kids want to buy something or when my wife wants to plan that vacation that we have never had. And it certainly does not help when I want to get the best for my loved ones. Yet, I know that if I were to break from God's plan and go rob a bank, or cheat someone out of their hard earned money, I will loose a lot more in the bargain.
So, in relation to what I have been talking about, I really don't want my leaders to steal or cheat for my sake either! This is the basic problem in politics: "We need to help the poor!"
Despite anyone's beliefs, we as Christians should not allow our leaders to try to save the poor, this is God's domain. By that, I mean we as Christians should be making the need to help the poor obsolete in the political spectrum. Now if you don't know already, there are a lot of religious organizations out there doing a lot for the needy. So how do we get the government out the charity business? Vote, and communicate this to your elected officials. I would rather see the government conduct business similar to what the constitution calls for and have all the rest of that money wasted on "charity" spent on defense. After all we have a few folks out there who think that planes are for more than transportation.
God will make some of us rich, and some poor, some stupid and some brilliant. If you think about it, perhaps it might be a good idea to let him run things the way he sees fit. And if you really think about it, he had a strong influence on the birth of this nation and it might be a good idea to not step on his toes in that area either.
In the process I realized a few things. First, I have really been thinking hard about how liberals have basically taken this nation away from us, rather those who started this nation. That being the hard core Christians that wanted to separate church and state in an manner that increased freedom, not handed freedom over to the state in a underhanded manner.
Second, the arguements laid out by the left are based in some basic, truths. First of all, we have to admit that when people were being abused by their bosses back in the nineteenth century, this fueled the unions and those in power to establish workers comp and other social programs that tend to put a crimp on free enterprise. Score one for the liberals. Yet in their zeal to help the proletariat, they completely ignored the minorities, including the Indians.
To keep things on track...the whole point of this post is to ask liberals a question that dives into the heart of their movement: Who says that being poor is an affliction that needs to be healed?
As a believer in Christ, I have had to come to the conclusion that Christ wants me poor, at least for now. And I willingly accept this. It does not help in certain situations like when my kids want to buy something or when my wife wants to plan that vacation that we have never had. And it certainly does not help when I want to get the best for my loved ones. Yet, I know that if I were to break from God's plan and go rob a bank, or cheat someone out of their hard earned money, I will loose a lot more in the bargain.
So, in relation to what I have been talking about, I really don't want my leaders to steal or cheat for my sake either! This is the basic problem in politics: "We need to help the poor!"
Despite anyone's beliefs, we as Christians should not allow our leaders to try to save the poor, this is God's domain. By that, I mean we as Christians should be making the need to help the poor obsolete in the political spectrum. Now if you don't know already, there are a lot of religious organizations out there doing a lot for the needy. So how do we get the government out the charity business? Vote, and communicate this to your elected officials. I would rather see the government conduct business similar to what the constitution calls for and have all the rest of that money wasted on "charity" spent on defense. After all we have a few folks out there who think that planes are for more than transportation.
God will make some of us rich, and some poor, some stupid and some brilliant. If you think about it, perhaps it might be a good idea to let him run things the way he sees fit. And if you really think about it, he had a strong influence on the birth of this nation and it might be a good idea to not step on his toes in that area either.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
More on the Sabbath...
The Seventh-day Sabbath Was Made for Everyone
A multitude of Christians call God’s fourth commandment the “Jewish Sabbath.” But nowhere is this expression found in the Bible. The seventh day is called “the sabbath of the Lord,” and it is never called “the sabbath of the Jew” (Exodus 20:10).
Luke, a Gentile writer of the New Testament, often refers to things that were particularly Jewish. He writes of the “nation of the Jews,” “the people of the Jews,” “the land of the Jews,” and the “synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 10:22; 12:11; 10:39; 14:1). But he never refers to the “sabbath of the Jews,” although he mentions the Sabbath repeatedly.
Christ also taught that “the sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Adam and Eve were the only two people who existed when God actually established the Sabbath. There were no Jews in the world until 2,000 years later, so it was never meant just for the Jews. Jesus uses the term “man” in the generic sense, referring to all mankind. The same word is used in connection with the institution of marriage that was also introduced at creation. Certainly no Christian can believe that marriage was made only for the Jews.
A multitude of Christians call God’s fourth commandment the “Jewish Sabbath.” But nowhere is this expression found in the Bible. The seventh day is called “the sabbath of the Lord,” and it is never called “the sabbath of the Jew” (Exodus 20:10).
Luke, a Gentile writer of the New Testament, often refers to things that were particularly Jewish. He writes of the “nation of the Jews,” “the people of the Jews,” “the land of the Jews,” and the “synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 10:22; 12:11; 10:39; 14:1). But he never refers to the “sabbath of the Jews,” although he mentions the Sabbath repeatedly.
Christ also taught that “the sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Adam and Eve were the only two people who existed when God actually established the Sabbath. There were no Jews in the world until 2,000 years later, so it was never meant just for the Jews. Jesus uses the term “man” in the generic sense, referring to all mankind. The same word is used in connection with the institution of marriage that was also introduced at creation. Certainly no Christian can believe that marriage was made only for the Jews.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Bible alone...
When articulating an argument or theological position, we should base our points on scripture and support them with other inspired writings, not use the inspired writings to establish doctrine...
That's it, have a good day...
That's it, have a good day...
Friday, February 12, 2010
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