When I first saw the bible verse on the wall of the Mixed Martial Arts
(MMA) gym I though “great these guys are believers”. The gym wall has in large black letters “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.” Psalm 144:1.
I was overjoyed by the fact that these guys had so much respect for the Word of God that they put it on their wall as a reminder of the One who gives us the strength to live. A reminder that what is impossible to man on his own strength is possible with God and his strength.
Mt 19:25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
How disappointed was I when I realized that the verse was not on the wall to remind us that we need Christ in order to have eternal life, that he did it all for us, a free gift, not of works or to remind us that we should not rely on ourselves but should rely on our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Here I was thinking, life, salvation, submission to our Lord, King, Commander in Chief, while they were thinking “that sounds cool.” You see, just like the killer in the movie “Pulp Fiction” selectively misused the word of God to scare the people he was about to kill, our gym also misuses the word of God and places it out of context in order to inspire it’s fighters to prepare. (Disclaimer: I am not endorsing “Pulp Fiction”, I saw it a long time ago and in my humble opinion it is a movie that glorifies violence for the sake of entertainment).
The gym is great MMA gym, I have learned a lot about boxing, grappling, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, etc…, but as a spiritual training center, well it is lacking to say the least. You see, I naively assumed that because God’s word is prominently painted on the wall, the guys in the gym were Christians and would behave as such. I mean, why else would you put the word of God in your gym? Well, after innumerable F-bombs, curse words, improper conversations, locker room talk, etc... I was brought back to the reality that because someone says he is a Christian, wears a cross on his chest, has a Jesus bob-head on his dash, a cross tattooed on his chest, wears a Jesus didn’t tap shirt, selectively choose which verses to follow and which to dismiss, and goes to Church when convenient, i.e., when there is nothing better to do on Sunday morning, does not mean that he is a believer or a true follower of Christ.
The reality is that people use God and the word of God as a lucky charm, nothing less and nothing more. In the same manner you see people wear beautiful gold or silver crosses around their neck while blatantly and purposely sinning. Shameless, at least take the cross of your chest so you don’t stumble others. For example, here I am talking to my neighbor. He is recently divorced, living with a yet to be divorced younger girl, and no they are obviously not married. Now, I have nothing against my neighbor, I try to love him regardless of his lifestyle, as Jesus has commanded. But as we talked sports, all I could do is focus on the expensive designer gold and silver cross necklace prominently & proudly hanging from his neck. On the outside of his shirt of course, so all could see.
It made me cringe to think that he wears a symbol of Christ dying for his sins while blatantly & purposely living a sinful lifestyle. Did I mention the yet to be divorced live in girlfriend wears a fish necklace, you know the fishermen of men type. Pun not intended. By the way, don’t get me wrong I am a sinner, I mess up. But there is a difference between messing up and blatantly & purposefully living in sin while displacing your meaningless symbols of Christianity.
No wonder non-believers, atheists, agnostics, and followers of other religions, think Christians are all just a bunch of hypocrites. No wonder people question the veracity of the Word of God. How can an atheist or agnostic believe there is a real God when the people that allegedly follow him (you know the ones who wear the Cross on the outside of their t-shirts) don’t seem to believe it themselves. I mean, if they truly believed God’s word they would follow it, obey it, right? Am I crazy to think this? I mean, if you believe in something you would endorse it, follow it, and promote it. If you believe in a product, you would use the product as directed, right? Sure, even people who believe in false concepts follow them blindly, just ask Al Gore!
So why do “Christians” use God as a lucky charm. I mean, if they don’t truly believe in Him to the point of obeying his word, then why bother to wear a cross, why bother to have God’s word written on a wall.
It seems, that Christianity in America has reached the same level as Judaism did with the Pharisees. The Pharisees believe they were saved because they were descendants of Abraham. Americans seem to believe they are saved because they were, cue Bruce Springfield, “Born in the USA”. The Pharisees believed that God would accept them because of their religious actions, i.e., sacrifices, outward appearances, selective application of God’s Word, dress code, etc... Americans believe God will accept them because “God is good”, God is love, they go to church when they can or better yet are members of a church, they listen to Christian radio, wear a cross, are generous in a disaster, self sacrifice every once in a while, selectively apply God’s Word, and have a fish sticker in their car. Oh did I forget to mention sometimes wearing a Christian themed T-shirt? (Ok, I admit it, I got a few of those. Three words “Truth-Soul-Armor" look it up!)
God clearly wants obedience. Not the appearance of obedience, but actual obedience, devotion, straight from the heart.
Ps 51:16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise.
Anything else is plain unacceptable.
Mt 15:7 "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.9 And in vain they worship Me,…”
Let’s go back to what started my rant, the MMA gym. Ok, so having “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.” in a gym where they train you to fight sounds cool (I admit it’s pretty cool), but that in and of itself does not make it right. You see misusing God’s Word minimizes its importance, its truth, it throws a blanket over the light.
The whole Psalm 144 reads:
[A Psalm of David.]
Blessed [be] the LORD my strength, which teaches my hands to war,[and] my fingers to fight:
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and [he] in whom I trust; who subdued my people under me.
LORD, what [is] man, that thou takes knowledge of him! [or] the son of man, that thou makes account of him!
Man is like to vanity: his days [are] as a shadow that passes away.
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children;
Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood.
I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery [and] an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.
[It is he] that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood:
That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their youth; [that] our daughters [may be] as corner stones, polished [after] the similitude of a palace:
[That] our garners [may be] full, affording all manner of store: [that] our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
[That] our oxen [may be] strong to labour; [that there be] no breaking in, nor going out; that [there be] no complaining in our streets.
Happy [is that] people, that is in such a case: [yea], happy [is that] people, whose God [is] the LORD.
When the occasional fighter wannabe (by the way I classify myself as a wannabe) reads the first verse of Psalm 144 on the gym wall he probably thinks: “yeah, God (that would be the version of God that he conveniently invented; you know the one that lets you do whatever you want but still will let you into heaven because deep inside you really are a good person and after all God is love so he won’t judge you too harshly) will bless my hands, he will help me train and win fights, awesome.”
Yet Psalm 144 is not about us, but about GOD. How he is our goodness, our fortress, our high tower, our deliverer; our shield. The Psalm is about how even though we are nothing, worthless sinners, this Almighty Creator, this Holy God cares about us. About how he has given us a salvation we do not deserve, protects us, and provides for our needs when he should just let us die. The Psalm summarizes that joy comes from knowing the Lord and putting your trust in him. If the wannabe fighter actually understood what the Psalm is really about, he would not say “God is giving me the strength to fight and win”, instead he would go on his knees and bow before the one who gave him, life, health, salvation, and thank him for the ability to walk, let alone fight.
God is not a lucky charm, God’s word is not to be used as a pre-fight pep talk. David wrote Psalm 144 as a King who had fought wars for God. A warrior who acknowledged that God had given him the victories, not his training, nor his abilities. David’s actions were not for game or sport, but part of God’s plan. David’s actions were not all glorious as they carried burdens and consequences, i.e., he could not build the Temple because of all the blood he spilled. Yet we take David’s words of worship & devotion and like a meaningless cross on the chest of a faithless “Christian”, we turn it into a slogan for a gym.
Shameless.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
300 v. 300
Disclaimer: To understand this post, please refer to the TV Show “Deadliest Warrior”. If you never seen the show ask someone who has. Please now enjoy the script of the never aired episode: 300 versus 300.
WHO IS THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR:
King Leonidas’Spartans or Judge Gideon’s Hebrews.
Who would win in a battle between the 300 Spartans of King Leonidas or the 300 Hebrew Warriors of Judge Gideon. Lets see who is the Deadliest Warrior!
THE STATS:
SPARTAN WARRIOR
TIME: Bronze Age - 800-500 BC
LOCATION: Sparta Ancient Greece
SPARTAN TRAINING: A WARRIOR CULTURE
An Ancient Greek city-state whose main concern was war. Male citizens had one goal and duty in life, to fight and to die for Sparta. Women were basically used to breed more men, Spartan men who would become Spartan soldiers. Sparta had little literature, arts, architecture, exploration, or commerce. Their society and culture was focused on developing warriors. Sickly babies were left to die, while healthy boys started their physical and military training at age 7. The boys became a possession of the state. Their brutal training program developed physical strength, military prowess, discipline and obedience. The boys were starved and forced to steal to survive. If caught they would be severely punished, not for stealing but for getting caught. Even if married, soldiers lived together in barracks until age 30. Spartans believed in the military power of the unit, the group, not the individual.
SPARTAN WEAPONS:
Javelin, Spear, Xiphos (Short Sword), Shield
SPECIAL WEAPONS/ATTACKS:
The Phalanx. A rectangular mass formation of a tight line of soldiers sometimes eight deep. Designed to push forward until the enemy line was broken and maintain a solid front after opposing sides collided.
FAMOUS BATTLE:
At the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans stood up against half a million Persians and, prepared to die, took on their enemies with a legendary ferocity that earned them the title of one of history's greatest warriors. Over a three-day battle, the Spartans killed nearly half of the Persian army.
LEADER: KING LEONIDAS
Leonidas was a 5th century B.C. Spartan military king who bravely led a small force of Greeks -- mostly Spartan (the famous 300), but also Thespians and Thebans -- against the much larger Persian army of Xerxes, at the pass of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. during the Persian Wars. According to Herodotus, Leonidas had been warned by the Delphic oracle that either Sparta would be destroyed or their king would lose his life. Leonidas chose the second alternative.
SPARTAN SUMMARY:
Spartans were the ultimate soldier; they trained since they were children and were trained in nothing but war. They were known throughout the ancient western world for their battle-hardened image and for winning battles against much larger armies, such as the case in the Battle of Thermopylae, the inspiration for the hit film 300. The training regimen of Spartans are the model for the United States Marines.
HEBREW WARRIOR
TIME: 1380 – 1050 B.C.
LOCATION: Israel, the time of the Judges.
Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
HEBREW TRAINING: NONE, LEARN AS YOU GO!
Judges 3:1 And these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2 only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least those who before knew nothing of it.
When told “[W]hoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.” Twenty-two thousand soldiers out of thirty-two thousand (32,000) left.
The out of the remaining ten thousand (10,000) only three hundred (300) were found to be fit for battle.
HEBREW WEAPONS:
Trumpets, empty pitchers, and torches.
SPECIAL WEAPONS/ATTACKS:
JEHOVAH, a.k.a. “Yahweh”, “The LORD”
Judges 7:19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers-they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing-and they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!"21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled ….
FAMOUS BATTLE:
Defeat of the Midianites at the valley near the hill of Moreh. Gideon and his 300 men defeat a much larger Midianite army (“as numerous as locusts”) with no weapons. See above.
LEADER: GIDEON, a.k.a., Jerub-baal (“let baal contend with him”).
The least son of Joash the Abiezrite of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. Called by the Lord a “mighty man of valor!" while he was threshing wheat in a winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. Destroyed the altar of Baal at night, so as not to be seen because he was afraid. See Judges 6:27. Tested God several times and needed to be encouraged by God due to fear, lack of confidence.
Called a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:32.
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
HEBREW SUMMARY:
Untrained laymen, who have not fought in battle, led by an untrained fearful leader, who put all his faith and trust in the Lord.
THE BATTLE:
Close Range:
Spartan Warrior - Short Sword
Hebrew Warrior – Empty Pitcher
Advantage = Spartan
Mid-Range:
Spartan Warrior – Spear
Hebrew Warrior – Torch
Advantage = Spartan
Long Range:
Spartan Warrior – Javelin
Hebrew Warrior – Trumpet
Advantage = Spartan
Special Weapons:
Spartan Warrior – Shield/ The Phalanx
Hebrew Warrior – JEHOVAH-SABAOTH , “The LORD OF HOSTS”.
Advantage = Hebrew Warrior
WINNER: HEBREW WARRIOR
Spartan Wins in 1000 battles = 0
Hebrew Warrior Wins in 1000 battles = 1000
Despite the impressive combat training, physical abilities, military tactics, and superior weapons of the Spartan, the superiority of the ONE who created the Spartan cannot be overcome.
1 Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
CONCLUSION:
This simulated battle has been really fought many times before and is still being fought today. Man trying to take God away from his throne. Satan tried it and failed, miserably. How can man, a creation, be so bold (prideful) to think that he can rule over his creator. King David said it best when confronting Goliath:
1Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."
When we go into battle every day, may we first bow our knees and confess his name for he is JEHOVAH-NISSI, “THE LORD IS MY BANNER”. The Warriors of Warriors, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
WHO IS THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR:
King Leonidas’Spartans or Judge Gideon’s Hebrews.
Who would win in a battle between the 300 Spartans of King Leonidas or the 300 Hebrew Warriors of Judge Gideon. Lets see who is the Deadliest Warrior!
THE STATS:
SPARTAN WARRIOR
TIME: Bronze Age - 800-500 BC
LOCATION: Sparta Ancient Greece
SPARTAN TRAINING: A WARRIOR CULTURE
An Ancient Greek city-state whose main concern was war. Male citizens had one goal and duty in life, to fight and to die for Sparta. Women were basically used to breed more men, Spartan men who would become Spartan soldiers. Sparta had little literature, arts, architecture, exploration, or commerce. Their society and culture was focused on developing warriors. Sickly babies were left to die, while healthy boys started their physical and military training at age 7. The boys became a possession of the state. Their brutal training program developed physical strength, military prowess, discipline and obedience. The boys were starved and forced to steal to survive. If caught they would be severely punished, not for stealing but for getting caught. Even if married, soldiers lived together in barracks until age 30. Spartans believed in the military power of the unit, the group, not the individual.
SPARTAN WEAPONS:
Javelin, Spear, Xiphos (Short Sword), Shield
SPECIAL WEAPONS/ATTACKS:
The Phalanx. A rectangular mass formation of a tight line of soldiers sometimes eight deep. Designed to push forward until the enemy line was broken and maintain a solid front after opposing sides collided.
FAMOUS BATTLE:
At the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans stood up against half a million Persians and, prepared to die, took on their enemies with a legendary ferocity that earned them the title of one of history's greatest warriors. Over a three-day battle, the Spartans killed nearly half of the Persian army.
LEADER: KING LEONIDAS
Leonidas was a 5th century B.C. Spartan military king who bravely led a small force of Greeks -- mostly Spartan (the famous 300), but also Thespians and Thebans -- against the much larger Persian army of Xerxes, at the pass of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. during the Persian Wars. According to Herodotus, Leonidas had been warned by the Delphic oracle that either Sparta would be destroyed or their king would lose his life. Leonidas chose the second alternative.
SPARTAN SUMMARY:
Spartans were the ultimate soldier; they trained since they were children and were trained in nothing but war. They were known throughout the ancient western world for their battle-hardened image and for winning battles against much larger armies, such as the case in the Battle of Thermopylae, the inspiration for the hit film 300. The training regimen of Spartans are the model for the United States Marines.
HEBREW WARRIOR
TIME: 1380 – 1050 B.C.
LOCATION: Israel, the time of the Judges.
Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
HEBREW TRAINING: NONE, LEARN AS YOU GO!
Judges 3:1 And these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2 only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least those who before knew nothing of it.
When told “[W]hoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.” Twenty-two thousand soldiers out of thirty-two thousand (32,000) left.
The out of the remaining ten thousand (10,000) only three hundred (300) were found to be fit for battle.
HEBREW WEAPONS:
Trumpets, empty pitchers, and torches.
SPECIAL WEAPONS/ATTACKS:
JEHOVAH, a.k.a. “Yahweh”, “The LORD”
Judges 7:19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers-they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing-and they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!"21 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled ….
FAMOUS BATTLE:
Defeat of the Midianites at the valley near the hill of Moreh. Gideon and his 300 men defeat a much larger Midianite army (“as numerous as locusts”) with no weapons. See above.
LEADER: GIDEON, a.k.a., Jerub-baal (“let baal contend with him”).
The least son of Joash the Abiezrite of the weakest clan in the tribe of Manasseh. Called by the Lord a “mighty man of valor!" while he was threshing wheat in a winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. Destroyed the altar of Baal at night, so as not to be seen because he was afraid. See Judges 6:27. Tested God several times and needed to be encouraged by God due to fear, lack of confidence.
Called a hero of faith in Hebrews 11:32.
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
HEBREW SUMMARY:
Untrained laymen, who have not fought in battle, led by an untrained fearful leader, who put all his faith and trust in the Lord.
THE BATTLE:
Close Range:
Spartan Warrior - Short Sword
Hebrew Warrior – Empty Pitcher
Advantage = Spartan
Mid-Range:
Spartan Warrior – Spear
Hebrew Warrior – Torch
Advantage = Spartan
Long Range:
Spartan Warrior – Javelin
Hebrew Warrior – Trumpet
Advantage = Spartan
Special Weapons:
Spartan Warrior – Shield/ The Phalanx
Hebrew Warrior – JEHOVAH-SABAOTH , “The LORD OF HOSTS”.
Advantage = Hebrew Warrior
WINNER: HEBREW WARRIOR
Spartan Wins in 1000 battles = 0
Hebrew Warrior Wins in 1000 battles = 1000
Despite the impressive combat training, physical abilities, military tactics, and superior weapons of the Spartan, the superiority of the ONE who created the Spartan cannot be overcome.
1 Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
CONCLUSION:
This simulated battle has been really fought many times before and is still being fought today. Man trying to take God away from his throne. Satan tried it and failed, miserably. How can man, a creation, be so bold (prideful) to think that he can rule over his creator. King David said it best when confronting Goliath:
1Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands."
When we go into battle every day, may we first bow our knees and confess his name for he is JEHOVAH-NISSI, “THE LORD IS MY BANNER”. The Warriors of Warriors, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The new god.
Yesterday I received the new issue of Outside Magazine. This is a
magazine geared towards hiking, biking, skiing, camping, survival, health & fitness, and other “outside” adventures. The magazine usually contains well written articles regarding the lives of adventurers, athletes, and at times the conservation efforts of “save the earth” organizations.
I usually start reading the magazine by looking at the letters section. For some reason I enjoy reading the comments of other readers on articles I have read. In the latest magazine someone wrote complaining because an animal conservation association in a third world country chose to protect the life of a child, rather than the life of a pregnant snow leopard on the endangered animal list. To my disbelief, the person was actually trying to make the argument that the life of the endangered animal was more valuable than the life of the child. I read and re-read the letter hoping to find sarcasm, or whether the person was attempting to be humorous(a really bad attempt, if so). But sadly the letter was serious.
The letter goes like this:
“I was appalled that the Nature Conservancy’s chief scientist, Peter Kareiva, would choose a child over the last pregnant snow leopard. This is what’s wrong with conservation. If one human life is worth more that every animal’s, there is no reason to protect any land or species. We drive animals out of their habitat and then blame them for attacking humans. There are checks and balances that animals understand – we should learn from them instead of thinking humans have all the answers.” Dagny McKinley, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
To make matters worse, a second letter was printed that confirmed the sad viewpoint of the first. Unlike the first letter, the second letter did not attempt to argue that a child’s life is worth less than an animal, but it did demonstrate disappointment and anger that an animal conservation organization would take into consideration of the well-being of humans in its decision making.
All I could exclaim as I read this is “the world is going to hell in a hand-basket and it must be half way there”. We live in an age where many people are truly worshiping “nature”, “mother earth”, the “environment”, “ozone depletion”, “global warming”, and the “climate change” movement. They (and among they I include Al Gore, the Spiritual Guru of the movement) are actually now calling the movement “spiritual” or a “moral issue”.
Al Gore tells Newsweek magazine in a pre-publication interview, that he has been adapting his fact-based message - now put out by hundreds of volunteers - to appeal to those who believe there is a moral or religious duty to protect the planet. "I've done a Christian [-based] training program; I have a Muslim training program and a Jewish training program coming up, also a Hindu program coming up. I trained 200 Christian ministers and lay leaders here in Nashville in a version of the slide show that is filled with scriptural references. It's probably my favorite version, but I don't use it very often because it can come off as proselytizing," Gore tells Newsweek.
Funny liberals, when the facts of “Climate Change” start to fall apart as unproven or just plain falsified, all of a sudden saving the planet stops being a scientific need and becomes a “moral & spiritual issue”. These funny liberals, they do not want prayer in our schools or the Ten Commandments in our Courts. They won’t even say Christmas in December, but “religion & spirituality” sure is convenient when it supports their agenda. (Sidenote: Obama did the same thing with his push for health care reform.) By the way, did you know that Al Gore has become a multi-millionaire out of this Climate Change racket.
Since he quit mainstream politics, Mr. Gore’s personal fortune has risen from £1.2 million to an estimated £60 million. He has made significant investments in environmentally friendly projects like carbon trading markets, solar power, biofuels, electric vehicles, sustainable fish farming and waterless lavatories. He has also invested in non-climate change related investments, including putting money into Google and Apple. “As much as Gore’s made now, it is going to be a piker league compared to what he is going to make in five years if all these new carbon trading mandates go through.” Telegraph.co.uk
So now according to Guru Gore (let’s call him “GG”), saving a tree, the climate, or an endangered animal is a moral & spiritual issue of the highest order. Funny liberals, saving a tree or animal is a “moral & spiritual obligation”, but saving the lives of children, born and unborn is not. See letter from Mr. McKinley above. Reminds me of the song by Casting Crown’s titled “While You Were Sleeping”: “As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children.” Child sacrifice, ahem, I mean abortion, has gotten so blatant in the USA that during a Planned Parenthood sponsored pro-abortion rally it was stated that “Abortion is a God given right.”
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During the rally yesterday sponsored by the Planned Parenthood abortion business and other leading pro-abortion groups, Rev. Carlton Veazy told the small gathering of hardcore activists that abortion is a "God-given right." Veazy is the head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Excuse me while I gag at this comment and vomit at the fact that there is a “Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice”. What god are they talking about???? What god does Rev. Carlton Veazy, Guru Gore, and the “religious & spiritual” liberals serve? (By “religious & spiritual” liberal, I mean the type of liberal who claim to be a Christian or pro-life until they are handed a nice payoff and all of a sudden their deep seated religious & moral convictions get thrown out the window). One thing I can tell for sure is that they do not serve the one true God. The God of the Bible, the God of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Yahweh. Surely, they do not serve Jesus Christ, our Lord. They cannot even say his name. Use this test: Have you ever heard one of the “religious & spiritual” liberals say the name of Jesus other than as a historical figure, or to promote their agenda, or to get votes.
1Jo 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
It is unimaginable that the God described in Psalm 139, would truly believe that abortion is a right or that the life of an animal is worth more than a child.
Psalm 139:14-17. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are your works, and that my soul know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are your thoughts for me, O God! How great is the sum of them.
This new "spirituality" of nature worship is being pushed on our youth. Have you seen the movie “Avatar”? I have not, but I have read and been told that it is nothing more than a “climate change” propaganda film . A movie which shamelessly glorifies nature as a goddess to be worshiped. While demonizing those who use nature for mankind’s benefit. While I agree that we should not be out there bombing the rainforests, God did create animals, plants, and nature to serve man, not the other way around.
Ge 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 ¶ And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
This zealot like protection of nature and animals over humans needs is a form of nature worship. Animals were created to serve man, not the other way around. Have you heard the story of the cat and the dog? The dog says to his owner, you feed me, you provide shelter, you give me love, you must be god. The cat says you feed me, you provide shelter, you give me love, I must be god. Sadly, many humans have the cat’s perspective and worship nature as a god. God himself killed an animal in order to clothe Adam and Eve demonstrating that human life and their needs are above animals & nature.
Ge 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
We have been down this road before. The worship of nature and creation itself is nothing new. There just seems to be resurgence, in many ways thanks to the great high priest of Climate Change: Guru Gore. When Israel entered the promised land they encountered the worship of Baal & Moloch. Which in reality was the worship of nature. The worship of the creation instead of the Creator. Baal was a reference to many false gods such as: the god of rain, fertility, thunder, agriculture, moon, sun. Basically Baal worship is identical to nature-worship. The worship of Baal included ritual prostitution, burning of incense, violent & ecstatic exercises (cutting/self-mutilation) and child sacrifice. The worship of Baal included all that our society worships today. We live in a world were hedonism, pleasure and self-worship is promoted (juts turn your TV on or open a magazine), nature has become a “spiritual & moral” cause (see Climate Change, Copenhagen), and children are just a hindrance to our higher goals (abortion, stem cell research). Secular society has thereby incorporated this new “spirituality”, i.e., the worship of nature (through causes such as save the trees, climate change, etc…) and the sacrifice of children for humanistic, secular reasons (through abortion, stem cell research) into our “spiritual & moral values”.
Just like the Israelites incorporated the worship of Baal into the worship of the one true God. America is literally blending the worship of Baal (nature, humanism) into the worship of the one true God. That is why God called the Israelites adulterers. God is a jealous God; he does not accept the worship of any other gods or idols. Moreover, God hates human sacrifice.
Le 18:21 'And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Jer 19:3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle "Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 "(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),6 "therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
Yet, the United States, a nation originally founded on Judeo-Christian values, has adopted foreign gods and promotes their worship through nature, trees, endangered species, global warming, atheism, Darwinism, naturalism, secularism, humanism, hedonism, & diversity. It is so blatant that many of the people involved in these causes like to call themselves “spiritual”, i.e. Guru Gore. Even people who consider themselves “Christians” have started to sacrifice on the altar of Baal. For example, Guru Gore calls himself a Christian, Obama calls himself a Christian, Hillary Clinton calls herself a Christian, yet they all are rabid Climate Change, pro-choice, all religions lead to god advocates. Like the nation of Israel in the old testament, they claim to worship Yahweh, but in reality the worship Baal (nature, creation, secularism, mankind) and offer sacrifice to him through child sacrifices (the promotion of abortion).
Sadly being a “spiritual person” will not get you anywhere. The Bible warns us of this false spirituality at end of times.
2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Do the people described above sound familiar? From “such people turn away”, yep that includes Guru Gore. I agree that God’s creation should be respected and not be abused, but it should not to be worshiped. There is a difference, and climate change proponents go beyond having respect for creation. They glorify and worship it, and if their worship hurts some human beings (hunger due to rising costs of living, limiting third world country advancement, abortion as birth control & child birth limits to lower world population,etc…), well that is ok. Theses casualties just constitute the sacrifice necessary to appease their deity. God gave us nature to be used for our benefit and it should never be placed above or even be equal to its Creator. The worship of Baal is not to be blended with the worship of the one true God. Israel got judged for that, so will we. For the creator is to be worshiped, not the creation.
Ro 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things (nature worship).24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature (abortion/homosexuality).27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
magazine geared towards hiking, biking, skiing, camping, survival, health & fitness, and other “outside” adventures. The magazine usually contains well written articles regarding the lives of adventurers, athletes, and at times the conservation efforts of “save the earth” organizations.
I usually start reading the magazine by looking at the letters section. For some reason I enjoy reading the comments of other readers on articles I have read. In the latest magazine someone wrote complaining because an animal conservation association in a third world country chose to protect the life of a child, rather than the life of a pregnant snow leopard on the endangered animal list. To my disbelief, the person was actually trying to make the argument that the life of the endangered animal was more valuable than the life of the child. I read and re-read the letter hoping to find sarcasm, or whether the person was attempting to be humorous(a really bad attempt, if so). But sadly the letter was serious.
The letter goes like this:
“I was appalled that the Nature Conservancy’s chief scientist, Peter Kareiva, would choose a child over the last pregnant snow leopard. This is what’s wrong with conservation. If one human life is worth more that every animal’s, there is no reason to protect any land or species. We drive animals out of their habitat and then blame them for attacking humans. There are checks and balances that animals understand – we should learn from them instead of thinking humans have all the answers.” Dagny McKinley, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
To make matters worse, a second letter was printed that confirmed the sad viewpoint of the first. Unlike the first letter, the second letter did not attempt to argue that a child’s life is worth less than an animal, but it did demonstrate disappointment and anger that an animal conservation organization would take into consideration of the well-being of humans in its decision making.
All I could exclaim as I read this is “the world is going to hell in a hand-basket and it must be half way there”. We live in an age where many people are truly worshiping “nature”, “mother earth”, the “environment”, “ozone depletion”, “global warming”, and the “climate change” movement. They (and among they I include Al Gore, the Spiritual Guru of the movement) are actually now calling the movement “spiritual” or a “moral issue”.
Al Gore tells Newsweek magazine in a pre-publication interview, that he has been adapting his fact-based message - now put out by hundreds of volunteers - to appeal to those who believe there is a moral or religious duty to protect the planet. "I've done a Christian [-based] training program; I have a Muslim training program and a Jewish training program coming up, also a Hindu program coming up. I trained 200 Christian ministers and lay leaders here in Nashville in a version of the slide show that is filled with scriptural references. It's probably my favorite version, but I don't use it very often because it can come off as proselytizing," Gore tells Newsweek.
Funny liberals, when the facts of “Climate Change” start to fall apart as unproven or just plain falsified, all of a sudden saving the planet stops being a scientific need and becomes a “moral & spiritual issue”. These funny liberals, they do not want prayer in our schools or the Ten Commandments in our Courts. They won’t even say Christmas in December, but “religion & spirituality” sure is convenient when it supports their agenda. (Sidenote: Obama did the same thing with his push for health care reform.) By the way, did you know that Al Gore has become a multi-millionaire out of this Climate Change racket.
Since he quit mainstream politics, Mr. Gore’s personal fortune has risen from £1.2 million to an estimated £60 million. He has made significant investments in environmentally friendly projects like carbon trading markets, solar power, biofuels, electric vehicles, sustainable fish farming and waterless lavatories. He has also invested in non-climate change related investments, including putting money into Google and Apple. “As much as Gore’s made now, it is going to be a piker league compared to what he is going to make in five years if all these new carbon trading mandates go through.” Telegraph.co.uk
So now according to Guru Gore (let’s call him “GG”), saving a tree, the climate, or an endangered animal is a moral & spiritual issue of the highest order. Funny liberals, saving a tree or animal is a “moral & spiritual obligation”, but saving the lives of children, born and unborn is not. See letter from Mr. McKinley above. Reminds me of the song by Casting Crown’s titled “While You Were Sleeping”: “As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children.” Child sacrifice, ahem, I mean abortion, has gotten so blatant in the USA that during a Planned Parenthood sponsored pro-abortion rally it was stated that “Abortion is a God given right.”
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- During the rally yesterday sponsored by the Planned Parenthood abortion business and other leading pro-abortion groups, Rev. Carlton Veazy told the small gathering of hardcore activists that abortion is a "God-given right." Veazy is the head of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Excuse me while I gag at this comment and vomit at the fact that there is a “Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice”. What god are they talking about???? What god does Rev. Carlton Veazy, Guru Gore, and the “religious & spiritual” liberals serve? (By “religious & spiritual” liberal, I mean the type of liberal who claim to be a Christian or pro-life until they are handed a nice payoff and all of a sudden their deep seated religious & moral convictions get thrown out the window). One thing I can tell for sure is that they do not serve the one true God. The God of the Bible, the God of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Yahweh. Surely, they do not serve Jesus Christ, our Lord. They cannot even say his name. Use this test: Have you ever heard one of the “religious & spiritual” liberals say the name of Jesus other than as a historical figure, or to promote their agenda, or to get votes.
1Jo 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
It is unimaginable that the God described in Psalm 139, would truly believe that abortion is a right or that the life of an animal is worth more than a child.
Psalm 139:14-17. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are your works, and that my soul know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are your thoughts for me, O God! How great is the sum of them.
This new "spirituality" of nature worship is being pushed on our youth. Have you seen the movie “Avatar”? I have not, but I have read and been told that it is nothing more than a “climate change” propaganda film . A movie which shamelessly glorifies nature as a goddess to be worshiped. While demonizing those who use nature for mankind’s benefit. While I agree that we should not be out there bombing the rainforests, God did create animals, plants, and nature to serve man, not the other way around.
Ge 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 29 ¶ And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.
This zealot like protection of nature and animals over humans needs is a form of nature worship. Animals were created to serve man, not the other way around. Have you heard the story of the cat and the dog? The dog says to his owner, you feed me, you provide shelter, you give me love, you must be god. The cat says you feed me, you provide shelter, you give me love, I must be god. Sadly, many humans have the cat’s perspective and worship nature as a god. God himself killed an animal in order to clothe Adam and Eve demonstrating that human life and their needs are above animals & nature.
Ge 3:21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
We have been down this road before. The worship of nature and creation itself is nothing new. There just seems to be resurgence, in many ways thanks to the great high priest of Climate Change: Guru Gore. When Israel entered the promised land they encountered the worship of Baal & Moloch. Which in reality was the worship of nature. The worship of the creation instead of the Creator. Baal was a reference to many false gods such as: the god of rain, fertility, thunder, agriculture, moon, sun. Basically Baal worship is identical to nature-worship. The worship of Baal included ritual prostitution, burning of incense, violent & ecstatic exercises (cutting/self-mutilation) and child sacrifice. The worship of Baal included all that our society worships today. We live in a world were hedonism, pleasure and self-worship is promoted (juts turn your TV on or open a magazine), nature has become a “spiritual & moral” cause (see Climate Change, Copenhagen), and children are just a hindrance to our higher goals (abortion, stem cell research). Secular society has thereby incorporated this new “spirituality”, i.e., the worship of nature (through causes such as save the trees, climate change, etc…) and the sacrifice of children for humanistic, secular reasons (through abortion, stem cell research) into our “spiritual & moral values”.
Just like the Israelites incorporated the worship of Baal into the worship of the one true God. America is literally blending the worship of Baal (nature, humanism) into the worship of the one true God. That is why God called the Israelites adulterers. God is a jealous God; he does not accept the worship of any other gods or idols. Moreover, God hates human sacrifice.
Le 18:21 'And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
Jer 19:3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle "Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 "(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),6 "therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
Yet, the United States, a nation originally founded on Judeo-Christian values, has adopted foreign gods and promotes their worship through nature, trees, endangered species, global warming, atheism, Darwinism, naturalism, secularism, humanism, hedonism, & diversity. It is so blatant that many of the people involved in these causes like to call themselves “spiritual”, i.e. Guru Gore. Even people who consider themselves “Christians” have started to sacrifice on the altar of Baal. For example, Guru Gore calls himself a Christian, Obama calls himself a Christian, Hillary Clinton calls herself a Christian, yet they all are rabid Climate Change, pro-choice, all religions lead to god advocates. Like the nation of Israel in the old testament, they claim to worship Yahweh, but in reality the worship Baal (nature, creation, secularism, mankind) and offer sacrifice to him through child sacrifices (the promotion of abortion).
Sadly being a “spiritual person” will not get you anywhere. The Bible warns us of this false spirituality at end of times.
2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
Do the people described above sound familiar? From “such people turn away”, yep that includes Guru Gore. I agree that God’s creation should be respected and not be abused, but it should not to be worshiped. There is a difference, and climate change proponents go beyond having respect for creation. They glorify and worship it, and if their worship hurts some human beings (hunger due to rising costs of living, limiting third world country advancement, abortion as birth control & child birth limits to lower world population,etc…), well that is ok. Theses casualties just constitute the sacrifice necessary to appease their deity. God gave us nature to be used for our benefit and it should never be placed above or even be equal to its Creator. The worship of Baal is not to be blended with the worship of the one true God. Israel got judged for that, so will we. For the creator is to be worshiped, not the creation.
Ro 1:22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things (nature worship).24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature (abortion/homosexuality).27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Prepared
"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy." George Washington
As I read this quote from one of our founding fathers and the First President of the United States I could not stop thinking how right he is. If a country is not prepared and has a weak military they are bound to be taken advantage by a superior force. This concept is not just limited to the military. It is also applicable in economics, business, sports, and daily life. For example, if a country (USA) is in deep economical trouble it puts itself in a position to be taken advantage of by a nation with economical power (China). If a business is not prepared for a change in future trends and is not at the forefront of technological advances (Chrysler/GM), the competition will steal its business (Toyota). If a football team does not prepare for a game, the opposing team will win. This concept even applies in high school. If a bully at school sees weakness on a kid, whether it be small size or fear, he will pounce on him like a Lion on an injured Zebra.
The opposite is also true. If your country has enough nukes to annihilate the world, an enemy will think long and hard before making a foolish move (Cold War). If your company has made the right decisions and was prepared for change or potential trouble (Ford), it will not need to take “loans” from the Government. Even a bully will back off a kid who is prepared to confront him and take a stand.
Just as this concept is applicable to our earthly life, it is also applicable to our spiritual life. As a matter of fact, I would not be surprised if President Washington learned this concept from his reading of the Word of God, the Bible.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1Co 9:24-27
God has provided the tools for us to be prepared to meet the enemy: (1) Jesus victory over satan - 1 John 4:4 (2) the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:8 (3) Armor of God – Eph 6:11-18. Just in case you do not know who is the enemy, let me refresh your recollection: 1) Yourself (the Flesh); 2) the world system (remember satan is the prince of this world); 3) satan (wants to destroy you).
Now that we have the weapons, we need to learn to use them and become proficient with them so that we can always be prepared to meet the enemy. What good does it do to have a Rifle if you do not know how to fire it. It does you no good. Same with our spiritual weapons. For example, I find it disturbing when a believer never wants to be left alone or unaccountable to a brother, because he believes he will sin or give in to temptation/sin. Yes, it is good to be accountable to our brothers in Christ, but we have to be able to survive on our own, because we do not have reinforcements available all the time. Moreover, what does that say about their relationship with Christ. Do they have one? I ask. Because when alone they seem to forget about their Lord and suddenly develop an inability to obey and submit to Him. Why? I’ll tell you why. Because they have the weapons, but do not know how to use them. Thereby they rely on a mature believer who is trained and prepared to use their weapons to protect him against the enemy.
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Heb 5:12-14
The goal is for all believers to be prepared, but some choose the easy way out. I understand why, it is hard work to be prepared. I saw a TV special on how a top Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter prepared for a fight. He did Muay Thai in the morning, Boxing mid morning, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the afternoon and physical conditioning in the evening. 6 days a week, all day. In his day of rest, he would do a crazy cardio workout at the hottest time of the day. Why all the hard work? Because he wanted to be prepared for what ever his opponent could throw at him. The more prepared he is the more of a chance he has to win the fight.
There is a military proverb that states that while we rest or sleep the enemy is training hard to kill us. This is so true, our opponent will strike when and where we are weak. In what area have you failed to be prepare? That is why we are to be always training, preparing, at the ready. Like the above mentioned MMA fighter. Training all the time, out-training our opponent & always being prepared to meet him. For a believer we are talking about: prayer without ceasing (constant communication with God) – 1 Th 5:17; daily Bible reading & daily application of the Word of God to our lives – Psalm 119:11; sharing the good news – Matthew 28:19-20; fellowship with other believers (Iron Sharpens Iron) - Proverb 27:17; congregating at Church for a time dedicated for worship at least once or twice a week – Hebrews 10:25; being discipled and discipling others; and putting on and utilizing the Armor of God – Eph 6:10-18
Remember that “We do not rise to the occasion, we fall to the
level of our training (preparation).”
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”
John Wooden, UCLA Coach
God Bless. Fight the Good Fight.
As I read this quote from one of our founding fathers and the First President of the United States I could not stop thinking how right he is. If a country is not prepared and has a weak military they are bound to be taken advantage by a superior force. This concept is not just limited to the military. It is also applicable in economics, business, sports, and daily life. For example, if a country (USA) is in deep economical trouble it puts itself in a position to be taken advantage of by a nation with economical power (China). If a business is not prepared for a change in future trends and is not at the forefront of technological advances (Chrysler/GM), the competition will steal its business (Toyota). If a football team does not prepare for a game, the opposing team will win. This concept even applies in high school. If a bully at school sees weakness on a kid, whether it be small size or fear, he will pounce on him like a Lion on an injured Zebra.
The opposite is also true. If your country has enough nukes to annihilate the world, an enemy will think long and hard before making a foolish move (Cold War). If your company has made the right decisions and was prepared for change or potential trouble (Ford), it will not need to take “loans” from the Government. Even a bully will back off a kid who is prepared to confront him and take a stand.
Just as this concept is applicable to our earthly life, it is also applicable to our spiritual life. As a matter of fact, I would not be surprised if President Washington learned this concept from his reading of the Word of God, the Bible.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1Co 9:24-27
God has provided the tools for us to be prepared to meet the enemy: (1) Jesus victory over satan - 1 John 4:4 (2) the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:8 (3) Armor of God – Eph 6:11-18. Just in case you do not know who is the enemy, let me refresh your recollection: 1) Yourself (the Flesh); 2) the world system (remember satan is the prince of this world); 3) satan (wants to destroy you).
Now that we have the weapons, we need to learn to use them and become proficient with them so that we can always be prepared to meet the enemy. What good does it do to have a Rifle if you do not know how to fire it. It does you no good. Same with our spiritual weapons. For example, I find it disturbing when a believer never wants to be left alone or unaccountable to a brother, because he believes he will sin or give in to temptation/sin. Yes, it is good to be accountable to our brothers in Christ, but we have to be able to survive on our own, because we do not have reinforcements available all the time. Moreover, what does that say about their relationship with Christ. Do they have one? I ask. Because when alone they seem to forget about their Lord and suddenly develop an inability to obey and submit to Him. Why? I’ll tell you why. Because they have the weapons, but do not know how to use them. Thereby they rely on a mature believer who is trained and prepared to use their weapons to protect him against the enemy.
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Heb 5:12-14
The goal is for all believers to be prepared, but some choose the easy way out. I understand why, it is hard work to be prepared. I saw a TV special on how a top Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter prepared for a fight. He did Muay Thai in the morning, Boxing mid morning, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the afternoon and physical conditioning in the evening. 6 days a week, all day. In his day of rest, he would do a crazy cardio workout at the hottest time of the day. Why all the hard work? Because he wanted to be prepared for what ever his opponent could throw at him. The more prepared he is the more of a chance he has to win the fight.
There is a military proverb that states that while we rest or sleep the enemy is training hard to kill us. This is so true, our opponent will strike when and where we are weak. In what area have you failed to be prepare? That is why we are to be always training, preparing, at the ready. Like the above mentioned MMA fighter. Training all the time, out-training our opponent & always being prepared to meet him. For a believer we are talking about: prayer without ceasing (constant communication with God) – 1 Th 5:17; daily Bible reading & daily application of the Word of God to our lives – Psalm 119:11; sharing the good news – Matthew 28:19-20; fellowship with other believers (Iron Sharpens Iron) - Proverb 27:17; congregating at Church for a time dedicated for worship at least once or twice a week – Hebrews 10:25; being discipled and discipling others; and putting on and utilizing the Armor of God – Eph 6:10-18
Remember that “We do not rise to the occasion, we fall to the
level of our training (preparation).”
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.”
-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”
John Wooden, UCLA Coach
God Bless. Fight the Good Fight.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Not of This World
I have been reading a book called “The Barbarian Way”. Disclaimer: I know, it is from one of those “emerging church” folks. But thankfully, the Lord gives us discernment and we can take the good and leave the bad.
The book centers around the concept that early Christianity (see Book of Acts) was raw, impulsive, dangerous, fearless, full of expressed faith, and zeal for the Lord’s word, mission and cause. You know somewhat like a “Barbarian Warrior”. Disclaimer: I quite don’t see the connection between Christians and the Barbarians with their pillaging, head cutting, monastery raiding, monk killing ways. But I do get the point of the analogy. The author is trying to demonstrate in a descriptive manner (attractive to men who watched “Gladiator” or “Braveheart”) that as the Church grew and Christianity became an accepted religion, the Christians started to become “civilized” or shall I say “mild mannered”. What’s wrong with being civilized? You may ask. Well by civilized the author means “compromised”, “worldly”, “a part of this world”, “living in the world”, “politically correct”, “seeker friendly”, “watered down”, etc... Or in other words the opposite to a “Barbarian Warrior” i.e., “lacking faith”, “weak”, “scared”, “timid”, “self-preserving, pain avoiding, fat, lazy, couch potatoes, holding on with white knuckles to the comforts of this world.”
I have to agree with this theory and after reading the book, I have to confess that I probably am one of those “self-preserving, pain avoiding, fat, lazy, couch potatoes, holding on with white knuckles to the comforts of this world”. Why do I say this? Well, the Lord never promised us the comforts of this world. He promised persecution, trials, and tribulations in this world. John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." See also 2 Timothy 3:12.
He told us the world (system) will hate us. John15:18-19 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
But, in our zeal for the comforts, luxuries, and pleasures of this world we have turned the Gospel upside down. Jesus is good news. He did save us from our own sins. Something we cannot do ourselves. But, we have taken the good news, edited out the “not to be conformed to this world” part, and edited in our own worldly desires. So that now Jesus not only saved us from our sins, but he also wants you to live “your best life now”, here on earth. Which translates to a worldly, comfortable, pleasure seeking existence.
Upon salvation we become new creations, born again, not of this world. 2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.; John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."; Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We are to live in the world, but not to be of this world! 1Jo 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. But, based on the current state of the Church in the USA, one would think that the latest easy to read, revised for the fifth time, (trademarked and copywrited of course to maximize profits) version of the bible must state “love the world and the things of the world.”!!!
In the West, the body of Christ, the “Church”, seems to seek the world and conform “Christianity” around it. That way you can be of the world and not feel guilty about it. When I look at the Body of Christ in persecuted countries, i.e., China, India, Muslim/Islamic nations, etc.... I see true Christianity. Men and women willing to literally die for their faith in Christ! Bold, brave, full of faith, willing to suffer for Christ. Willing to sacrifice comfort, luxury, health, and safety of the world. Sounds a lot like the apostles, Paul, and the early Church, doesn’t it. People who have not been conformed to this world, but transformed. They literally left the world system behind, to serve their King.
How many Christians in the USA do you know are willing to give up “anything” for Christ? Education comes first, career comes first, work comes first, reputation comes first, the football game comes first, golf comes first, sleeping late on Sunday comes first, do I have to go on? Heck, we have become so worldly that I know of “Christians” who complain if the Church building is too cold or too hot, the chair is too hard, or the coffee is lukewarm!
Ok, so we may go on a missions trips to a poor third world country for a few days every once in a while. But we can’t wait to leave that forsaken place behind and get back to our air-conditioned, comfortable life. (Last mission trip I went to the people complained over a lack of air-conditioning in the hotel room! While the people we “served” lived in dirt floor shanty towns). Oh, but doesn’t it makes us feel good, to help others. It is like we do missions out of guilt for living so well for the rest of the year. And of course, we are willing to do it because after the mission trip, we can go back to our easy, comfortable lifestyle and feel all smug about what we did. But I digress. Disclaimer: I do not mean to insult all of those great missionaries that have truly left behind everything to serve the Lord all over the world.
In the West, instead changing the world we have adopted and “Christianized” the world. Think about it. If I took a modern day, western “Christian” and a non “Christian”, but “good” person and put them side by side, followed them all day, I sincerely believe that there will be no difference. Well’ maybe the “Christian” will go to an expensive “Christian school”, listen to “Christian rock radio”, chew “Christian gum”, go to the Church to hang out with his “Christian” friends and have a “Christian” Café Mochachino at the Church’s “Christian Coffee house”, in addition to watching a secular, worldly R rated film and justify it by allegorizing it to contain some sort of hidden Christian message.
Isn’t the ultimate evidence that we have secularized Christianity the fact that we have a Christian version of everything that is of the world? Christian pop music, Christian Rap, Christian Rock, Christian Clothing lines, etc…. They actually sell “Christian candy” among many other irrelevant and useless “Christian” consumer products at the local “Christian” megastore. We have made Christianity itself a consumer product. Churches even celebrate pagan events and feel good because they change the name and do it for Christ. (Let me see, we adopt a pagan celebration like Halloween, have the kids wear costumes, give candy & prizes, and throw the party on the same night. In a kid’s mind, (and mine) how is this any different from what the world does? If that is not conforming ourselves to the world and its system, I do not know what is.)
Contrary to what we have made Christianity,(a happy, happy, joy, joy, comfortable, consumer friendly experience), the apostles, the early Christians, and the prophets lived somber lives. Did they have joy in their life, of course, yes. But their joy was not measured by worldly standards. Their joy was/is in Christ, in the fact that they where saved, forgiven. The fact that they were given a gift beyond comprehension. That is why Paul had joy in a prison cell and Stephen had joy even though he was stoned to death. Because of their joy in Christ they left the world and became enemies of the world, insurgents, revolutionaries, a counter-culture to the world system. Or as the book I read puts it “Barbarians”.
The modern western Christian is literally living out his Christianity by the world’s standards and it ultimately affects his faith. The Bible calls believers ambassadors, enlisted soldier ( i.e., not a civilian), pilgrims. 2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,…; 2Ti 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier; 1Pe 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
An ambassador represents a foreign land in a foreign country. He does not adopt the culture of the country he resides in, but represents his culture, his country in that foreign land. A soldier lives by the rules and standards of the military, he is not a civilian anymore. He wears an uniform, he follows orders (like them or not). Like the ambassador he represents his country in foreign lands. The pilgrim, is just passing by and like a gypsy, he does not adopt the culture of the land in which he is temporarily residing. They all stand out.
We should be like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, Ezra, Daniel, among others. They lived in foreign lands, or moved to the promised land from foreign lands, but they all left behind or did not adopt or conform to the customs and culture of their adopted lands. They lived in them as foreigners, strangers in a strange land. Abraham did not worship the foreign gods or adopted the practices of his neighbors, Sodom & Gomorra. Joseph did not give in to the corrupt morals & religion of his new land. Moses left a corrupt culture and came back to lead his people out of that culture, Joshua entered a new land and exclaimed "[A]nd if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." See Joshua 24:15. Daniel was moved to a foreign land and excelled because he would not conform or compromise his faith. Nehemiah & Ezra, came back to the Promised land from a foreign land and left behind their corrupt customs/culture.
These heroes of faith, did not conform or adapt their faith on the one true God to the culture or world system they lived in. Who are we to do so? Who are we to conform God's word and our faith to the world’s standards. Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Maybe we do need to be like barbarians, uncivilized, not conforming to the world. Passing through the world and leaving a wake (not of destruction) but of changed lives. Lives that are so different than what the world sells that they stand out and set an example for others to follow. You know like a city on a hill!
The book centers around the concept that early Christianity (see Book of Acts) was raw, impulsive, dangerous, fearless, full of expressed faith, and zeal for the Lord’s word, mission and cause. You know somewhat like a “Barbarian Warrior”. Disclaimer: I quite don’t see the connection between Christians and the Barbarians with their pillaging, head cutting, monastery raiding, monk killing ways. But I do get the point of the analogy. The author is trying to demonstrate in a descriptive manner (attractive to men who watched “Gladiator” or “Braveheart”) that as the Church grew and Christianity became an accepted religion, the Christians started to become “civilized” or shall I say “mild mannered”. What’s wrong with being civilized? You may ask. Well by civilized the author means “compromised”, “worldly”, “a part of this world”, “living in the world”, “politically correct”, “seeker friendly”, “watered down”, etc... Or in other words the opposite to a “Barbarian Warrior” i.e., “lacking faith”, “weak”, “scared”, “timid”, “self-preserving, pain avoiding, fat, lazy, couch potatoes, holding on with white knuckles to the comforts of this world.”
I have to agree with this theory and after reading the book, I have to confess that I probably am one of those “self-preserving, pain avoiding, fat, lazy, couch potatoes, holding on with white knuckles to the comforts of this world”. Why do I say this? Well, the Lord never promised us the comforts of this world. He promised persecution, trials, and tribulations in this world. John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." See also 2 Timothy 3:12.
He told us the world (system) will hate us. John15:18-19 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
But, in our zeal for the comforts, luxuries, and pleasures of this world we have turned the Gospel upside down. Jesus is good news. He did save us from our own sins. Something we cannot do ourselves. But, we have taken the good news, edited out the “not to be conformed to this world” part, and edited in our own worldly desires. So that now Jesus not only saved us from our sins, but he also wants you to live “your best life now”, here on earth. Which translates to a worldly, comfortable, pleasure seeking existence.
Upon salvation we become new creations, born again, not of this world. 2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.; John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."; Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We are to live in the world, but not to be of this world! 1Jo 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. But, based on the current state of the Church in the USA, one would think that the latest easy to read, revised for the fifth time, (trademarked and copywrited of course to maximize profits) version of the bible must state “love the world and the things of the world.”!!!
In the West, the body of Christ, the “Church”, seems to seek the world and conform “Christianity” around it. That way you can be of the world and not feel guilty about it. When I look at the Body of Christ in persecuted countries, i.e., China, India, Muslim/Islamic nations, etc.... I see true Christianity. Men and women willing to literally die for their faith in Christ! Bold, brave, full of faith, willing to suffer for Christ. Willing to sacrifice comfort, luxury, health, and safety of the world. Sounds a lot like the apostles, Paul, and the early Church, doesn’t it. People who have not been conformed to this world, but transformed. They literally left the world system behind, to serve their King.
How many Christians in the USA do you know are willing to give up “anything” for Christ? Education comes first, career comes first, work comes first, reputation comes first, the football game comes first, golf comes first, sleeping late on Sunday comes first, do I have to go on? Heck, we have become so worldly that I know of “Christians” who complain if the Church building is too cold or too hot, the chair is too hard, or the coffee is lukewarm!
Ok, so we may go on a missions trips to a poor third world country for a few days every once in a while. But we can’t wait to leave that forsaken place behind and get back to our air-conditioned, comfortable life. (Last mission trip I went to the people complained over a lack of air-conditioning in the hotel room! While the people we “served” lived in dirt floor shanty towns). Oh, but doesn’t it makes us feel good, to help others. It is like we do missions out of guilt for living so well for the rest of the year. And of course, we are willing to do it because after the mission trip, we can go back to our easy, comfortable lifestyle and feel all smug about what we did. But I digress. Disclaimer: I do not mean to insult all of those great missionaries that have truly left behind everything to serve the Lord all over the world.
In the West, instead changing the world we have adopted and “Christianized” the world. Think about it. If I took a modern day, western “Christian” and a non “Christian”, but “good” person and put them side by side, followed them all day, I sincerely believe that there will be no difference. Well’ maybe the “Christian” will go to an expensive “Christian school”, listen to “Christian rock radio”, chew “Christian gum”, go to the Church to hang out with his “Christian” friends and have a “Christian” Café Mochachino at the Church’s “Christian Coffee house”, in addition to watching a secular, worldly R rated film and justify it by allegorizing it to contain some sort of hidden Christian message.
Isn’t the ultimate evidence that we have secularized Christianity the fact that we have a Christian version of everything that is of the world? Christian pop music, Christian Rap, Christian Rock, Christian Clothing lines, etc…. They actually sell “Christian candy” among many other irrelevant and useless “Christian” consumer products at the local “Christian” megastore. We have made Christianity itself a consumer product. Churches even celebrate pagan events and feel good because they change the name and do it for Christ. (Let me see, we adopt a pagan celebration like Halloween, have the kids wear costumes, give candy & prizes, and throw the party on the same night. In a kid’s mind, (and mine) how is this any different from what the world does? If that is not conforming ourselves to the world and its system, I do not know what is.)
Contrary to what we have made Christianity,(a happy, happy, joy, joy, comfortable, consumer friendly experience), the apostles, the early Christians, and the prophets lived somber lives. Did they have joy in their life, of course, yes. But their joy was not measured by worldly standards. Their joy was/is in Christ, in the fact that they where saved, forgiven. The fact that they were given a gift beyond comprehension. That is why Paul had joy in a prison cell and Stephen had joy even though he was stoned to death. Because of their joy in Christ they left the world and became enemies of the world, insurgents, revolutionaries, a counter-culture to the world system. Or as the book I read puts it “Barbarians”.
The modern western Christian is literally living out his Christianity by the world’s standards and it ultimately affects his faith. The Bible calls believers ambassadors, enlisted soldier ( i.e., not a civilian), pilgrims. 2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ,…; 2Ti 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier; 1Pe 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
An ambassador represents a foreign land in a foreign country. He does not adopt the culture of the country he resides in, but represents his culture, his country in that foreign land. A soldier lives by the rules and standards of the military, he is not a civilian anymore. He wears an uniform, he follows orders (like them or not). Like the ambassador he represents his country in foreign lands. The pilgrim, is just passing by and like a gypsy, he does not adopt the culture of the land in which he is temporarily residing. They all stand out.
We should be like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, Ezra, Daniel, among others. They lived in foreign lands, or moved to the promised land from foreign lands, but they all left behind or did not adopt or conform to the customs and culture of their adopted lands. They lived in them as foreigners, strangers in a strange land. Abraham did not worship the foreign gods or adopted the practices of his neighbors, Sodom & Gomorra. Joseph did not give in to the corrupt morals & religion of his new land. Moses left a corrupt culture and came back to lead his people out of that culture, Joshua entered a new land and exclaimed "[A]nd if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." See Joshua 24:15. Daniel was moved to a foreign land and excelled because he would not conform or compromise his faith. Nehemiah & Ezra, came back to the Promised land from a foreign land and left behind their corrupt customs/culture.
These heroes of faith, did not conform or adapt their faith on the one true God to the culture or world system they lived in. Who are we to do so? Who are we to conform God's word and our faith to the world’s standards. Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Maybe we do need to be like barbarians, uncivilized, not conforming to the world. Passing through the world and leaving a wake (not of destruction) but of changed lives. Lives that are so different than what the world sells that they stand out and set an example for others to follow. You know like a city on a hill!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Christmas Poem Regarding Our Troops Overseas.
Here is a poem that was sent to me at work. I find it extremely significant because it seems to really grasp what our troops are doing overseas. I have never served in the military (I wish I had), but I am extremely proud and grateful of those who do. They are keeping me and my family safe. They are true servants, willing to sacrifice for our freedom.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
Enjoy the poem and remember to thank our troops.
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
George Orwell, April 4, 1942
Thank for your your service and may God Bless all who serve.
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
Enjoy the poem and remember to thank our troops.
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
George Orwell, April 4, 1942
Thank for your your service and may God Bless all who serve.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
HEROES
Phil 2:19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. 20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know his proven character, that as a son with [his] father he served with me in the gospel. 23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. 24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly. 25 Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; 26 since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.27 For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; 30 because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me.
Our society has it all upside down when it comes to real life heroes.
Society idolizes, admires, and makes heroes out of selfish, self-serving, egotistic, movie stars, professional athletes, musicians,entertainers, and assorted reality TV stars. These “heroes” only serve themselves and demand respect & million dollar salaries to do so. Tell me, what has Michael Jackson done in order to be exalted as he has been, postmortem. OK, he could sing and dance. How does that make him a hero? How does that make him someone who should be admired and imitated? What about movie stars? They can act, have good looks, and can impersonate other human beings. How does that make them heroes? How about Shaq? He is tall and can dunk a ball through a small hoop. Again, how does that make him a hero. Even when these post-modern “heroes” do acts of charity they seem to do it not to serve others, but to serve themselves and make themselves feel good.
“But what about Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna, etc..., they adopt poor kids” you say in their defense. As you download their image to your screen saver and pick up the latest copy of People magazine.
Is adopting a poor kids, taking them away from their homeland/
family/culture, and placing them into a wealthy, but highly dysfunctional setting (I don’t even dare call it a “Home”) an act of charity? Is letting a nanny raise your adopted kids something to be admired? Was that child adopted to be served unconditionally by a loving parent, or to serve a need within the “movie star” to do something good, feel good, and be accepted as more than a pretty face. Based on their lifestyles, divorce rates, and moral values, I say it’s the latter reason. Or maybe they think that if the do some “good acts” they won’t be judged so harshly when they die. You know, one of those new-age, makes me feel good, karma things they love so much in Hollywood.
So these are our post-modern “heroes.” How sad. The bible gives us a completely different view of what a hero is. See the verse above. Paul, a hero in his own right, describes two men, who should be admired, imitated, and held in esteem, a.k.a. heroes. Why? Paul tells us why. Lets start with Timothy: 1) He is like-minded. Timothy is a disciple of Paul and thereby understands and will be faithful to Paul’s mission. Which is Christ’s mission:
Mat 28:19 Go therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.
2) Timothy is sincere. Timothy truly cares for the body of Christ (the Church) and the mission. He does not do it out of ulterior motives, such as fame, power, or money. Timothy is a willing servant. Serving out of desire and not out of expectation. 3) Timothy, is not self-serving. Timothy willingly and gladly serves others, and always puts the needs of others before his own. Timothy does this, not to feel good about himself, but to advance the mission, win the good fight, and proclaim the gospel. 4) Timothy is a man of good character who can be trusted as a son. Paul can trust Timothy to the point that he can send him to the Philippians as his representative. As an ambassador that will correctly and appropriately represent him. Think about how important this is, Timothy’s actions and behavior will positively or negatively affect Paul’s ministry in Philippi. Paul is putting his whole reputation on Timothy’s shoulders. Thereby, Timothy as a faithful servant must die to self and act as Paul would. Which is like Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Lets move on to Epaphroditus. 1) Paul calls him his brother, a fellow worker, and fellow soldier. Only trustworthy, faithful, committed men can be called such things. Obviously, not only was Epaphroditus a brother in Christ, but Paul seems to regard him as one would regard a blood brother. Kind of like a big brother watches out for his little brother, out pure of love, with no ulterior motive, other than to preserve the well being and safety of your loved one. Based on his actions, I believe it is safe to assume that Epaphroditus also loved and cared for Paul as a brother. 2) Epaphroditus ministered to Paul’s needs. Epaphroditus unselfishly risked his life, health, freedom, and safety to serve Paul’s needs. His actions had nothing to do with his personal needs, or wants, he just wanted to serve faithfully. I can only assume that Epaphroditus was so thankful to Paul for his salvatio(through Jesus Christ) that he was willing to give up his life to serve him in a time of need. 3) Epaphroditus was caring. He longed for his friends and family, not because he missed them, or needed them, but because did not want them to be distressed and suffer because they had heard that he was sick. Even while being “sick almost unto death” he cared more for their well-being than his own. 4) Epaphroditus, because of his work for Christ, came close to death and he never regarded his own life. All to serve a man of God and assist him in the advancement of the gospel.
Paul tells the Philippians to receive Epaphroditus in the Lord with all gladness. To basically thank him for his selfless dedication to advancing the good news. And to hold men like Timothy and Epaphroditus in esteem. The word esteem, similarly to the hero, means to have high regard for a person or to admire someone for their courage or outstanding achievements. We admire/esteem athletes, musicians, actors, even politicians. But can we truly say that they deserve our esteem. Have they come close to death in serving others? Have they truly, placed the welfare and well being of others above their needs and wants. Are they willing to sacrifice themselves for a brother? Doubt it. Therefore, lets use Paul’s definition of what a hero is and esteem the brave men and women who have selflessly dedicated their lives to serve others, specially those who advance the Gospel and the good news of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.
Our society has it all upside down when it comes to real life heroes.
Society idolizes, admires, and makes heroes out of selfish, self-serving, egotistic, movie stars, professional athletes, musicians,entertainers, and assorted reality TV stars. These “heroes” only serve themselves and demand respect & million dollar salaries to do so. Tell me, what has Michael Jackson done in order to be exalted as he has been, postmortem. OK, he could sing and dance. How does that make him a hero? How does that make him someone who should be admired and imitated? What about movie stars? They can act, have good looks, and can impersonate other human beings. How does that make them heroes? How about Shaq? He is tall and can dunk a ball through a small hoop. Again, how does that make him a hero. Even when these post-modern “heroes” do acts of charity they seem to do it not to serve others, but to serve themselves and make themselves feel good.
“But what about Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna, etc..., they adopt poor kids” you say in their defense. As you download their image to your screen saver and pick up the latest copy of People magazine.
Is adopting a poor kids, taking them away from their homeland/
family/culture, and placing them into a wealthy, but highly dysfunctional setting (I don’t even dare call it a “Home”) an act of charity? Is letting a nanny raise your adopted kids something to be admired? Was that child adopted to be served unconditionally by a loving parent, or to serve a need within the “movie star” to do something good, feel good, and be accepted as more than a pretty face. Based on their lifestyles, divorce rates, and moral values, I say it’s the latter reason. Or maybe they think that if the do some “good acts” they won’t be judged so harshly when they die. You know, one of those new-age, makes me feel good, karma things they love so much in Hollywood.
So these are our post-modern “heroes.” How sad. The bible gives us a completely different view of what a hero is. See the verse above. Paul, a hero in his own right, describes two men, who should be admired, imitated, and held in esteem, a.k.a. heroes. Why? Paul tells us why. Lets start with Timothy: 1) He is like-minded. Timothy is a disciple of Paul and thereby understands and will be faithful to Paul’s mission. Which is Christ’s mission:
Mat 28:19 Go therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age.
2) Timothy is sincere. Timothy truly cares for the body of Christ (the Church) and the mission. He does not do it out of ulterior motives, such as fame, power, or money. Timothy is a willing servant. Serving out of desire and not out of expectation. 3) Timothy, is not self-serving. Timothy willingly and gladly serves others, and always puts the needs of others before his own. Timothy does this, not to feel good about himself, but to advance the mission, win the good fight, and proclaim the gospel. 4) Timothy is a man of good character who can be trusted as a son. Paul can trust Timothy to the point that he can send him to the Philippians as his representative. As an ambassador that will correctly and appropriately represent him. Think about how important this is, Timothy’s actions and behavior will positively or negatively affect Paul’s ministry in Philippi. Paul is putting his whole reputation on Timothy’s shoulders. Thereby, Timothy as a faithful servant must die to self and act as Paul would. Which is like Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Lets move on to Epaphroditus. 1) Paul calls him his brother, a fellow worker, and fellow soldier. Only trustworthy, faithful, committed men can be called such things. Obviously, not only was Epaphroditus a brother in Christ, but Paul seems to regard him as one would regard a blood brother. Kind of like a big brother watches out for his little brother, out pure of love, with no ulterior motive, other than to preserve the well being and safety of your loved one. Based on his actions, I believe it is safe to assume that Epaphroditus also loved and cared for Paul as a brother. 2) Epaphroditus ministered to Paul’s needs. Epaphroditus unselfishly risked his life, health, freedom, and safety to serve Paul’s needs. His actions had nothing to do with his personal needs, or wants, he just wanted to serve faithfully. I can only assume that Epaphroditus was so thankful to Paul for his salvatio(through Jesus Christ) that he was willing to give up his life to serve him in a time of need. 3) Epaphroditus was caring. He longed for his friends and family, not because he missed them, or needed them, but because did not want them to be distressed and suffer because they had heard that he was sick. Even while being “sick almost unto death” he cared more for their well-being than his own. 4) Epaphroditus, because of his work for Christ, came close to death and he never regarded his own life. All to serve a man of God and assist him in the advancement of the gospel.
Paul tells the Philippians to receive Epaphroditus in the Lord with all gladness. To basically thank him for his selfless dedication to advancing the good news. And to hold men like Timothy and Epaphroditus in esteem. The word esteem, similarly to the hero, means to have high regard for a person or to admire someone for their courage or outstanding achievements. We admire/esteem athletes, musicians, actors, even politicians. But can we truly say that they deserve our esteem. Have they come close to death in serving others? Have they truly, placed the welfare and well being of others above their needs and wants. Are they willing to sacrifice themselves for a brother? Doubt it. Therefore, lets use Paul’s definition of what a hero is and esteem the brave men and women who have selflessly dedicated their lives to serve others, specially those who advance the Gospel and the good news of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.
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