One Body

It seems allot of Christians have two ways they view the world. Either they believe its their job to make everyone follow their rules, or they believe that everyone makes their own rules and who are they to say otherwise. I've been reading allot in the old testament this year simply because Gods relationship with Israel fascinates me. One thing I've noticed is the way Gods law was set up. First there were basic rules that everyone was made to follow, followed by rules for Gods people, that all Gods people were required to follow. There wasn't any room for a follower of the way to decide what rules they felt were unnecessary. What if we did that here in the US? Wouldn't it be amazing if Christians said ok, here are the rules for everyone here, and here are the rules that all Christians are required to follow. Can you imagine what that would do? The world would see a unified front of believers, who followed God's principles instead of playing theological dodgeball. Of course there would be theological differences between us, and there would be room for those, but let's stop debating the big stuff that's obvious to us. Lets agree that theft, abortion, premarital sex, and all those other big things are things God desires his people to stay away from. Let's give up this perception that we have rights and privileges. We are children of the king, and under his authority, not the courts, and certainly not our own.

Lord Have Mercy

Tonight I've had a thought bouncing around in my head, but every time I try to put the thought into words it snowballs into another topic, so hopefully I wont muck this up too badly.

Tonight I was at our churches "Monday Night College Thing" (the name has been changed to protect the innocent) and we were reading in Daniel 2. What struck me wasn't the dream Mr Nezzar had or his actions, nor was it the foretelling of the messiah. What struck me most was Daniels prayer.

17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter,
18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

I love how Daniel prays that God would show compassion on him and give him the ability to interpret Nezzars dream. It wasn't God that ordered all the wise men in Babylon to be killed, yet David doesn't pray for God to fix Nezzar in any way. If I was in Daniels place my prayer might have gone something like this.

"Dear God, I don't wanna die right now. Could you please make Nezzar change his mind, could you fix whatever is wrong with him that makes him want to kill me."

I think too often we pray to God as if we were equals, as if he were a parent that was there to fix our mistakes, and kiss our owies better. Yet here Daniel prays to a God that is the master of all things. It's God that chooses whether he lives or dies, and he is not telling God, "I don't want to die, please fix this." Instead he is asking God for mercy. He's saying God I'm not worthy, but please save me anyway. The best part is when God delivers him by showing Daniel the dream he doesn't say a quick thank you and run off to save his hide. Instead he blesses God, because the master of all things deigned to show him mercy by giving him wisdom.

The Line Is Drawn

I've taken to wondering lately where we should draw the lines in our lives as opposed to where we have drawn them. I hear allot of discussion about poverty, ministry to the poor, and money management, and where a Christians duty lies within that realm. The problem is that there's allot of discussion of the topic itself, and not allot of discussion on the biblicality of it. After all its hard to argue that by not living in poverty you somehow are not a Christian. It's hard to convince someone that their financial contributions towards ministries are less helpful then them offering their time instead. Speaking from experience, I look at a situation where someone has a homeless relative, who refuses to give up drugs and alcohol and therefore cant maintain a job, and wonder if it's biblical to support them financially even when they become either an emotional or financial burden that is destroying your family. Yet as a church we've chosen these subjects to debate, and divide ourselves upon. I hear pastors talk of how Christians need to get out their pocket books, how they need to get off their duffs and volunteer, and I think, "Yes, good for them. These people need to walk the walk." Then at the same time I hear many of the newer pastors and speakers out there saying it's not enough. They tell you teaching Sunday school and tithing isn't enough. Somehow you working a job at a clothing store makes you less of a Christian then someone who spends their day at the mission. Is this where the lines should be? Are all Christians called have this ideal life? Have we forsaken the idea that a Christian can serve God in whatever capacity he has given them in whatever situation he has put them in?

Black Hole Sun

I haven't been posting often, but then again I haven't been listening for God's voice as often as I should either. In fact my free time lately seems to be spent trying to get around doing the things I need to do. For example I woke up, moved my clean laundry from my floor to my bed, went and harvested a container of fennel from the ton of the stuff we grew this last summer, then proceeded to try and distract myself with TV, radio, and the Internet. My time is shifting more towards trying to have fun all the time. Which kinda brings me to whats been on my heart, and that's Ecclesiastes 1:9. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun". With all the talk of our generation being perverse, of it pursuing the things of the flesh, as if we were somehow more guilty then our parents has been bouncing in my head. I think of the Romans, who would eat and drink to the point where they puked, just to turn around and gorge themselves again. I think of the American Industrialists like Rockefeller, who pursued wealth and power at all costs. I think of our parents and grandparents, who experimented with drugs and free sex in the Haight. I look at all this and have to ask myself, whats changed? The world was flooded, Sodom was destroyed, Christ came, and yet here we are. It's almost as if we seek refuge in the idea that the next group will be worse, and we must save them from what we did, only to turn and say how truly horrible they were. The reality is sin isn't new. Our generation shouldn't be defined by our shortcomings, nor should we try to overcome them with our popular causes, or saving the environment. What if we defined our generation not by trying to save the world either from themselves, or their sin, but rather defined ourselves as individuals (not a generation) seeking God. If we are truly seeking God, and in his will, then the world would crumble away and it would not matter, for God would be in control. It's time to stop hiding in the crowd of society, it's time to stop trying to change the direction of the herd, it's time to step forward, be accountable for yourself and say "I'm guilty, do what you will Lord."

He Is The Christ

I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago during a devotional, and they brought up the topic of the differences in our faiths. they proceeded to talk about how if the soul was eternal, then life, mawage, and family were therefore eternal also. They tried to tell me that that was the most glaring and major difference between us. Yet there is one thing above all else that should be considered when a Christian looks at other religions or faiths, and that simply rests on who Christ is too them. If they have the most biblical doctrine in the world, but Christ is not God, and didn't die for your sins then what good is doctrine? What good is it to have rules, prophets, powers, and beliefs, if there's nothing to overcome your sin? It reminds me of a question a Christian author had in his book. It said, "If Christ was not God would you still follow him?" The author was trying to point out how good Christs teachings were, and even answered his own question with a yes, because to him Christs teachings were so good, and therefore worthy to be followed. But what good is it to have Good teachings? As a Christian I need to figure out where my heart lies. Does it lie with good teachings? Or with the power of Christ our savior?

New Game, It's Called I Win

Wednesday we started on Revelations for our small group, and ended up discussing the broad perspective of the book before we get into the nitty gritty (dirt band). The bible is a pretty awesome book to do the book test on. The book test is where you read the first and last chapters of a book to determine if it's good enough to continue reading the whole thing. So starting at Genesis God creates everything, then he chooses the Abraham as the father of his chosen people to be set apart, and then it tells of the beginnings of their journey with God. In Revelation though we see God's end game. I like the way Adam said it on Wednesday. God is calling the plays now, he's saying no more, this is it, we're gonna settle things here and now. It's almost like this image of God where he's decided that enough is enough, and its time to separate the sheep from the goats, so that he can spend eternity with his followers. The simple description is it's God saying, "game over, I win!" So if you do the book test on the bible you get a God that creates everything in existence, and then in the end gathers his people to him. It shows how much in control God is, and how puny and insignificant we are. Here's a God that made everything, and should he choose has the power to destroy it.

Sansabelt Slacks

I'm not sure what slacks have to do with today's post, other then the word slacks. I'm a horrible slacker. Last week I wasn't in the word at all, and struggled all week with pornography. It really sucked. I felt distant from God and still do now. Luckily I have a great group of guys as friends who pray for, and encourage me. So far I have been in the word everyday this week, but it feels like little consolation in light of the last two. This struggle against my desires has left me feeling like the worst of sinners, and a poor Christian. I see my friends growing in their Christian walk, passionate about God, and certain of his direction in their lives, and I feel left behind.