I pray for the safety of my wife and daughter during their drive to Minnesota. God, please keep them safe!
Filed under: prayer
December 8, 2008 • 4:38 pm 0
Hard Times
I’m never sure if I should be worried or not. The way the newspeople tell it, the world is ending. I find that the people I work with are all panicked and they aren’t sure why. The New Great Depression is coming, and it’s the making of us all. We’ve spent the last eight years buying above our means and now we’re truly paying for it. Credit markets are suffering… Really? I wonder why! We live in something called a “Free Market Economy” and it would seem that too many people have taken that to mean that they are free to spend over and above their means in order to live comfortably. On the way to a near by movie theater, there are hundreds of huge homes lining both sides of the street. My wife is amazed that there are so many big homes. She wonders when we’ll get our own place. I have no doubt that we will, but it will be nothing like these places. The residents of these homes have purchased them without the benefit of paying cash. They more than likely saved up for a long time just to make the 10% down payment and are now leveraged to the eyeballs to keep a roof over their heads. Incredible. How could a life lived on pins and needles be comfortable? It’s a great country we have, within reason of course, and those who choose to live well can do so. Those of us who yearn for that life should do it safely and know our limits. God does not want us to be stretched to the point of breaking. There are tests, don’t get me wrong, but in no way does he want the business of life to overshadow our relationship with Him. Times are getting tough, but never lose sight of the fact that our Father will watch over us and protect us. He loves and knows us better than we do. Please, don’t panic! The more panic in the world creates a steeper spiral.
Filed under: opinion
December 1, 2008 • 7:54 pm 0
New Church
So, we’ve found our new church home! We’re now going to Grace Christian Fellowship Church and it’s fantastic! It’s just what we’ve needed and I can’t say enough great things about it. The people there have welcomed us in so heartily and it feels like we’ve been going there forever!
Filed under: church
September 29, 2008 • 12:56 pm 0
Jesus Isn't Coming Back
This weekend, our church held a prayer retreat at a local bible camp. It gave everyone time to reflect and call for prayer for a number of things. Currently, the church is finding itself on a rebound of sorts. We have moved into a new space and there is a renewed sense of purpose. My wife and I are on the front lines of this renewal, but the position itself has had its share of trials. I won’t belabor the point or descend into a complaining rant about any of it. This isn’t about that at all. What I want to talk about is the idea that God is somewhere else and will someday return to us. It was brought up a few times over the 22 hours we were together. During the sessions, someone talked about how we open in prayer and talk to God as if we are conjuring him up from somewhere else. We call Him forth as if he were some kind of spirit that would be used to smite our enemies. God, as it was said, is no off in some high castle. He’s everywhere and everything. He cannot be called forth because He is standing right beside us and within us. The idea that that Jesus will return to this world is in a state of doubt for me now. If God is everywhere, wouldn’t that mean that there is no need for return because He never left? Wouldn’t it seem that the illustration of God coming to our world, pulling away all the righteous, and devastating our spiritual attackers is just that? It feels to me like the word of the Bible has been taken somewhat too literally. We have been given this picture painted by many different people from different walks of life. Flowing robes and a man flying down or appearing in a flash of light, armies laying down their weapons. Groups of people have been waiting for this to happen for centuries and it has been happening everyday. Everyday people die and are buried. What happens when they do pass away can only be seen by those who are “living” through it. Is it so strange to think of it in those terms? I’m still trying to get the philosophy right in my head, but it makes a small amount of sense.
August 29, 2008 • 8:58 pm 0
DONKEYS ARE MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE MORE THAN ELEPHANTS
The question about whether or not a liberal can (or should) be a Christian is something that has been on my mind since this race began. Conservatives seem to have gobbled up all the values in America. That CNN calls conservatives “Values Voters” ignores anyone who is not a conservative based on their family values or their perceived lack thereof. Trying to worship a God via the human system of Denominations is getting more difficult both politically and spiritually. There apparently cannot be a gray area when it comes to our lord. Jesus was a revolutionary, not within the constructs of the Roman Empire. Now, just as in Roman times, America has created itself as a Christian nation who will slay the heathen athiests and non-believers of Islam. Are we to believe that Jesus was a conservative? The Roman Empire was in no way a Liberal regime, and yet Jesus has become the new icon of the GOP. I don’t understand. Factions have risen in our country that use the ideas of religion as if they were completely fresh and new. The worst thing is that people would vote for a candidate who has even one thing in common with their values. And at the expense of what? Of course it’s at the expense of the nation. It would be a tragedy if the state actually got a fighting chance at a change. The founders of this country wanted government that was not dictated by religion because religion is the human created face of faith. Religion is that much lauded “opiate of the masses” that has existed in different forms since time began.
(Just in case you were curious: According to Bible Gateway, there are 142 instances of “donkey” in the bible. There is no mention of “elephant” anywhere. J!)
• 8:57 pm 0
POLITICS VS. FAITH
Listening to the news today, there were some really interesting points that I would like to unpack. In recent days, I have begun to wonder about the place of faith in my life and if I’m in the right kind of church or not. Evangelicalism seems quite distance from what was first envisioned. It’s an interesting problem of what happens when you rely on people to express the deepest thoughts of God. The mission is being carried out through force of will and by not taking “NO” for an answer. My wife and I are following the election very closely. It’s safe to say tht both of us are Democrats, myself leaning more toward Socialism than she. In taking all this in, I find myself wondering what others in our church think of us if they knew about our politics. I would think that people who have seen my Facebook page would have a good idea about me. I believe that this country was built on ideas of revolution and has since lost its way. The party in power is just as bad as that which our nation’s founders fled from and subsequently warred with to gain independence. We traded one King George for another and both were completely insane nation wreckers with no clue as to who they hurt/anger/kill. We are standing at a point in our history on which hinges the course of our future. The wrong choice at this fork in the road can mean either a drastically needed turn around or a further plunge into the depths. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not doubting my faith in God. I have felt the love of God and know that he wants me to be that for which he created me.
Filed under: politics
August 5, 2008 • 5:24 am 0
I suppose there’s a good reason somewhere for my lack of updates here in the religious section. I haven’t been much for the spirituality these days. It’s not for lack of trying, mind you. I guess tonight I’m writing here because Stacey and I went to a couples dinner and conversation at what will be the new home of our church. The church we attend is a small church plant here in town and I would consider the pastor of said church a good friend. There are issues with the congregation of course, some of which came to light in the words of a pastor from the Twin Cities. Stacey, for example, was moved to say some things that she’s wanted to say for a while about the leadership structure of the church and also the lack of outward interest in our being members of the church. There has always been something that sticks in my brain when we get to church. On Sunday, it’s always see and be seen. I’m a Christian, don’t get me wrong, but I think the worst thing we do is try to talk to everyone at once. I know I can’t stand it when I’m in the midst of a convo and then someone swoops in out of nowhere and steals the one person who thought to come to me and ask how I’m doing. Fellowship be damned! I would cry. What difference do I make in all this? Isn’t God good enough for me? Sure, I’ll just sit on the blue couch in the back of the room, sing my songs and pretend to pray, and everything will right itself in the end. According to tonight’s guest, that’s not the way things are supposed to work. By virtue of God’s structure (Holy Trinity), God Himself is a community. Three spirits, together. It’s not a new concept in the grand scheme, but it was an epiphany to me. Working on the kernal that we have in our little 20 person church, I feel that great things can happy if we would only allow ourselves to be receptive to that. We need frailty and we need vulnerability. Tonight, I saw the world’s most impervious woman cry in front of half the congregation. If that doesn’t help me be more open and honest with everyone out there, I don’t know what will.
Filed under: community, congregation
June 27, 2008 • 6:02 am 0
God, I pray tonight for many things. I don’t know what to start with. I am certain that you know what’s in my heart and will answer to that each and every day. I pray that I be sensitive to your leading and teaching. I pray that you forgive all those thoughts I might have that are selfish and misguided. I don’t want to be perfect. I know that is not something I can obtain. I just want to be the man that You would have me be. God, thank you for everything that You do for us and give us. I hope that the small steps I’ve made will lead me in the right direction. I will follow You, no matter where it leads. Thank You for believing in me, God.
Filed under: prayer
April 17, 2008 • 6:03 pm 0
Coming soon
Stacey’s birthday is Saturday. This last week has been a march down memory lane for me. It was five years ago last saturday that we first met. It was also a saturday, a day that will live in my mind forever. Today, we are where we are. When we first met, I had no direction. Thank goodness for her! I love her so much! Happy (early) Birthday, baby.
