Here comes Dean. The strength and power of nature makes us feel so small. I believe a similar feeling will occur when we stand in front of God. Throughout the Bible, from Isaiah to John to the soldiers who guarded the tomb of Jesus, the presence of God in power seemed to make grown men feel very small indeed.
No easy answers in the next story. A Catholic Church in Peru was holding a funeral mass when the 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck. The roof caved in and many, including the church choir, the family of the deceased, and others were buried under it. CNN’s Harris Whitbeck described the scene and wondered allowed, “I couldn’t understand how this man and these women of the cloth could remain so calm, their faith so apparently unshaken while they contemplated the ruins of the church and the loss of people so dear to them.”
Besides Hank Aaron’s record getting broken by a juiced up, grumpy 43 year old…
Out of the book of Daniel, three big predictions
– Rise of the Final Kingdom
– Ruler Who Will Come
– Abomination that Causes Desolation set up in the temple
The final kingdom has been believed for many years to be a revived Roman Empire of sorts. Daniel 9:25-27 for instance said “the people of the ruler who will come” would destroy the temple after the Messiah was “cut off” (Jesus was killed around 36-41 AD). We know the “ruler” was probably the Anti-Christ from many of the things Daniel says, and in 70 AD the Romans destroyed the temple. So… there you go. Revived Roman Empire. That’s just one of the places that indicates it.
It is interesting that so many major religions of the world are currently looking for a Messiah-type figure to arrive. Islam has their 12th Imam, Judiasm is still waiting for the Messiah since they decided Jesus wasn’t it, Christians await Jesus’ return, and Scientology already has their Messiah figure evidently in the person of Tom Cruise.
It’s hard to write anything about ministry that doesn’t use the terms we’ve grown accustomed to -almost all of which have a more feminine quality to them. Church-speak, we must admit, is decidely feminine: Care. Nuture. Provide. Children’s Ministry. Commitment. Passion. Love. Compassion. Grace….
Grace after all, is the name of a girl.
So is Faith.
So is Hope.
When was the last time you said OUT-LOUD you wanted to have an “intimate relationship” with another guy?
Probably last Sunday.
Almost everything a church does these days automatically sounds feminine because we have conditioned ourselves to view Church stuff in a decidely feminine way. The good news is, however, church doesn’t preclude man-stuff. For instance, guys like to fix things and solve problems. When we help the poor, we don’t just need love, but tough love that says “C’mon, get out of bed and take responsibility for yourself!”
Sound harsh? Welcome to Man-World 101. That was actually a very loving comment. If spit flew out of your mouth when you yelled it, it just means you care.
When we help those in need that doesn’t just mean giving them comfort, but fixing their car, building an addition to their house, replacing a door…etc…
The problem with Churches, is we have food ministries in every church, but very few “car-fixing ministries.” We go to the poor districts of our cities and steal their kids to take them to some Children’s thing, but rarely walk into the poor districts and start sharing the Gospel or give free financial training. Or start a pick-up basketball game on their turf.
But ultimately, to really do Men’s Ministry you have to take risks. Demand sacrifice. Attempt the impossible. Do something scary. That’s what guys live for. It makes life more fun for us. It’s why most church-guys secretly rented the movie 300 when it came out on pay-per view this week…
So…. haven’t you heard? God wants you to have that promotion! If you give money, God will give you a nicer car! God doesn’t want you to be poor. I see financial success for you in the coming days…
Sound familiar? It’s the “Health & Wealth” doctrine. Giant slogans, catchy lines, and a message built around telling you that if you just join God, if you will start giving in the offering plate, if you will only have more faith, then all of God’s material blessings will rain down upon you. It’s a gospel built around self, and like any good, destructive doctrine, it has some truth in it. It’s just a little off. Read the rest of this entry »
The rancor against Creationist viewpoints, and the arguments swirling around the media and the internet over Intelligent Design come down to only a couple of things: Is the account in Genesis true or not? And is evolutionary theory at least partially true or not?
There is, unfortunately, a distinct inflexibility on the part of most people to believe that intelligent life exists on the other side of the debate. Regardless of which side you are on.
I hope I can respectfully add a few specifics about the actual Genesis account, and whether you are an evolutionist, a creationist, an intelligent design proponent, a college professor, or a normal well adjusted individual… hopefully the following will at least give you a more accurate basis from which to debate. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember all the stories about smuggling Bibles into the Soviet Union? You don’t? Okay, you must be young. Well, I wonder how many free speech people would defend Saudi Arabia’s policy of confiscating any Bibles coming into their country? The spiritual battle is the real front line in the Middle East.
No Republican candidates agreed to show up at a forum on Gay & Lesbian Issues sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the predominant organizations advocating the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people. CNN reported this today, but you have to read the article to also know that Senator Joseph Biden and Senator Chris Dodd, both Democrats, claimed to have scheduling conflicts and will miss the event as well. Calling the practice of homosexuality a sin usually doesn’t go over well at these forums… Read the rest of this entry »
I just had a question, but before he would answer a question, the customer service rep wanted some of my information. I should have said, no, but I gave him my information. When he started reading the required disclosures, I realized he was signing me up for a credit card. I protested and explained I didn’t want a credit card I just had a question. He stopped reading, answered my question, tried to sell me the credit card and again I said no and hung up.
This conversation came up elsewhere when a couple of friends of mine who aren’t Church-going type of guys, and I were talking about Michael Irvin’s Hall of Fame speech. Especially the prayer at the beginning, the stuff he said at the end.
The real question came up as to whether or not he was sincere. I would like to believe he was. I’m a fan of the Cowboys, so naturally I’m always going to be hoping for the best with these guys. If it was a Philadelphia Eagle, I’d be skeptical, but with Michael Irvin? Oh, I’m convinced he’s telling the truth!
At least I hope so.
Maybe.
One of my friends wrote: I was curious about your response and I can understand it.
I used to run a business and I had about 10-12 sales reps working for me at a time. I always found it interesting that the guys that talked a big religious game were also often the ones out late at night or the ones hitting on every female worker I had. Read the rest of this entry »
This came from the official LDS website, so it should be a very accurate portrayal of what the Mormon Church currently believes and teaches about Jesus, his sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit. My own thoughts are in bold. You may be surprised at how little you disagree with the Mormon Church. I was. At least on the surface. The difficult thing to sift through is what we have been told about the Mormon Church and what is actually true today, because from all accounts, the Mormon Church has changed some things over time. Not surprisingly, the Mormons are accused of covering up what they really teach and really believe. They are accused of hiding their “true” beliefs in language that sounds Christian. Even I have said that here on this blog based on what I knew of Mormon teaching, or have been told in the past. At any rate, it’s important to consider carefully what is said, and what it means.
Here’s what the Mormon Church believes about Jesus, His sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit. (with a few comments from me) Read the rest of this entry »
During his speech while being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Michael Irvin ended with something so incredibly profound that it seemed to capture a very poignant moment between God and a sinful human being. Here’s the part that really struck me:
You know the Bible speaks of a healing place. It’s called a threshing floor. The threshing floor is where you take your greatest fear and you pray for help from your great God. I want to share something with you today. I have two sons. Michael, he’s 10, and Elijah, he’s 8. Michael and Elijah, could you guys stand up for me. That’s my heart right there. That’s my heart. When I am on that threshing floor, I pray. I say, God, I have my struggles and I made some bad decisions, but whatever you do, whatever you do, don’t let me mess this up.
I say, Please, help me raise them for some young lady so that they can be a better husband than I. Help me raise them for their kids so that they could be a better father than I. And I tell you guys to always do the right thing so you can be a better role model than dad. I sat right here where you are last year and I watched the Class of 2006: Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, Rayfield Wright, John Madden, and the late great Reggie White represented by his wife Sara White. And I said, Wow, that’s what a Hall of Famer is.
Certainly I am not that. I doubted I would ever have the chance to stand before you today. So when I returned home, I spoke with Michael and Elijah . I said, That’s how you do it, son. You do it like they did it. Michael asked, he said, Dad, do you ever think we will be there? And I didn’t know how to answer that. And it returned me to that threshing floor. This time I was voiceless, but my heart cried out. God, why must I go through so many peaks and valleys?
I wanted to stand in front of my boys and say, Do it like your dad, like any proud dad would want to. Why must I go through so much?
At that moment a voice came over me and said, Look up, get up, and don’t ever give up. You tell everyone or anyone that has ever doubted, thought they did not measure up or wanted to quit, you tell them to look up, get up and don’t ever give up.
Thank you and may God bless you.
From one sinner to another, that’s some really good advice. The entire speech is here.
People go through extremes when dealing with personal failure and sin. Sometimes we hide it until it gets worse and causes even more damage than it would have otherwise. Sometimes we go to the other extreme, labeling ourselves, beating ourselves up, and allowing our life to flounder on self-pity, self-hate, and feelings of hopelessness.
Through all of our struggles, and all of our failures or success… I don’t think I can put it any better than Michael Irvin did last night. Look up. God loves and forgives. God can give you strength. Get up. Your life can go on. You don’t have to stay right where you are. You are not your sin. And don’t ever give up. Not even if you prove you still aren’t perfect later. Don’t ever give up.
(Today I went to the LDS website and took a close look at what they believe about Jesus, his sacrifice on the cross, and the Holy Spirit. It did surprise me a little. If you want to get into the specifics of what they believe and where they disagree with the Bible and possibly go wrong… check this monster post out.)
I’ve read more about Mormonism than I care to type at the moment. It’s a big subject, and Mormons seem to have contradictory views about their own faith. Not unlike Christians really. I know when Mormonism began it grew in large measure because it gave answers to the big questions of the day. What I mean is, while the “church” was mired in traditionalism, cliches, and had developed a distance between itself and the everyday guy, Mormonism had quick answers and an exciting story. Mormons did a better job at apologetics at that time, and many church people gravitated toward it.
I also know that much of the book of Mormon doesn’t jive too well with actual history, although it has been revised a bit since the original. Most of the weird beliefs don’t really come from the Book of Mormon but from later teachings found in the books “Pearl of Great Price,” and “Mormon Doctrine,” etc… Weird teachings such as God living on planet Kolob with all of his spirit wives having spirit babies that come down to earth. Read the rest of this entry »
When the Bible talks about sexual immorality in the New Testament, it uses the Greek word “porneia” which is where we get the word porn. According to the dictionaries I have it’s a broad term including homosexuality, beastiality, and more commonly adultery and fornication, and anything else outside of marriage or before marriage or just plain freaky.
That’s the word used by Jesus here:
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” -Matthew 5:31-32
In our immoral world, much like the one in New Testament Corinth (well ok, not that bad) this has become a complex and tangled issue that is not so easy to untangle. So with more than a little trepidation, let’s try untangling a few things… Read the rest of this entry »
Well it wasn’t a sin that sent him to hell or anything, but it WAS insane… My term, not God’s.
This is really a good question because we do typically say in our society that polygamy is wrong. Of course the small minority of polygamy-minded Mormons would disagree. (these particular Mormons -not Mormons in general- shall hereafter be referred to as Insane Mormons.)
Insane Mormons: adj Used to describe the small minority of Mormons who practice polygamy. To be loopy and marry more than one woman at a time
I don’t mean to insult women by calling this insane. All I’m saying is… uh….
It’s just too much of a good thing! …save! *whew*
Anyway, if polygamy is wrong now, why wasn’t it wrong then? Here’s the Gasp Answer:
I’ve edited this to protect the innocent, but I thought this was some great insight on the problem with getting singles and especially guys to attend church. You don’t have to agree, but think about it. This guy is single, young, and not a preacher. It’s worth taking into consideration…
Ok, I got a few comments/thoughts…
I got thinking about (while getting ready this morning) why 18-24 year olds don’t come to church, especially single ones. Single guys want to be around single girls or vice versa, or single guys want company of single guys and single girls want company of single girls (in other words people want to be around people like them). But church is mostly made up of older people, kids, and families (both young and old). So single girls/guys that are early 20’s don’t relate real well with the young couples in church that have kids which often talk a lot about kids, kid’s activities, and what type of mini-van to purchase to haul the kids.
I think the chances of young women coming to church are higher than young men coming to church because I feel the church is . . . sorta feminine. Read the rest of this entry »
