Archive for July, 2009
Church Signs… Ugh.
July 25th, 2009 | 3 Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Church Stuff...
I can’t handle it anymore. Bad church signs, that is.
I see them everywhere… witty little sayings we Christians will get and might possibly even get a little laugh about. Yet things that surely do anything but help to draw someone searching for God on church property, let alone into the building.
You’ve seen them:
“Don’t worry… Moses was a basket case too.”
“Seven days without prayer makes one weak.”
“This church is prayer conditioned.”
“Hell has no thermostat.”
Sure… intended to make a point, maybe even be humorous… but put yourself in the same soles of someone searching for God, someone who doesn’t have any of the common Biblical knowledge background that most Christians share.
Not so helpful, huh?
Well… saw yet another one tonight, maybe one of the worst ever:
“If you’re still alive, God isn’t through with you yet.”
Imagine being someone who has lived a rough live… someone who has rarely had something go their way… someone who has experienced nothing but suffering and hurt their entire life. Now imagine you’re finally starting to search for God, and show up at this church. You read the sign.
Wow. Yep, I’m still alive. And God isn’t through with me yet. All this nonsense I’ve dealt with… maybe God allowed it. And he’s not through with me? All he’s done is allow hurt and pain… forget him. No way.
Yeah. That’s one way someone could read it.
Now of course I know what this church is trying to say… God doesn’t give up on any of us. He’s loved us since the beginning of time, before our very existence, and continues to love us forever. His saving grace is available to all, no matter how big the sin, and it’s never too late to turn our lives over to Him.
But that’s not how someone COULD read this.
Churches? Enough is enough. Think about what you’re going to put on your sign. Think about it might be received by those you’re supposed to exist for… people outside a relationship with Christ. Now think about whether what you want to put on your sign helps you reach those folks.
If it doesn’t? DON’T PUT THE MESSAGE UP!
(End of rant. Sorry, had to let it out!)
“I could have calibrated those words…”
July 24th, 2009 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News...
So… Yesterday, President Obama accused the Cambridge Police Department of “acting stupidly” in the arrest of Henry Gates (a local matter that hardly seems to deserve the attention of the White House), ratcheting up the controversy on this sensitive racial matter even further.
Today, in response, he states, “I could have calibrated those words differently.”
So he regrets the words, not the message? What’s so wrong with a simple apology? Something along the lines of:
“Sergeant Crowley… I’m sorry that my words have hurt you.”
“I regret that my words have contributed to the escalation of tension in this matter.”
“I apologize for the furor my words have created and any hurt they have caused.”
I’m sorry, but I just don’t get what’s so complicated about this as to necessitate spin.
Jesus Doesn’t Want Followers…
July 21st, 2009 | 2 Comments | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
I know. Controversial title. Bear with me, I get to the conclusion of that statement in a bit.
Luke 8:4-8
4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable 5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked tte plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Have you heard this parable before? If you’ve been a follower of Christ for long, probably so.
The meaning is pretty straightforward, of course, in fact explained by Jesus in Luke 8:11-15… the seed is God’s word, and the soil types represent people who respond differently to the gospel.
But I have a question (leading to a larger point)… why parables? Why not, as we try so often to do so in today’s churches, simpliify the teaching and get straight to the point? Isn’t is possible Jesus lost some people because they simple didn’t get it?
And why teachings like the following?
Luke 9:57-62
57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”58Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”60Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
62Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Seems harsh, doesn’t it? Drop everything, follow me. Don’t worry about burying your dead father. Don’t worry about saying goodbye to your family. Just come, follow me.
Why?
Is it possible that, as Francis Chan writes in “Crazy Love”,
“… He just wasn’t interested in those who fake it.”
Put differently… Jesus doesn’t want followers that go through the motions.
He wants followers that are serious about their faith, willing to give everything to follow Him. He wants followers that take heed of His words and His teachings and put them into practice in their lives. He wants the kind of followers whom most Christians today would consider “radical” believers… the kind of followers most of us tend to believe either don’t really exist, or whome are so rare you’ll only meet a few in each lifetime.
I don’t know about you, but when I read through the Bible, I find far too many teachings I know to be true… teachings I know I should embrace… yet ones I ignore either completely, or at best, obey only occasionally.
You see, more often than not, our lives aren’t characterized in the parable of the sower as we’d like. We’re not good soil. We’re soil full of thorns… our lives are full of things that distract us from the truth of God’s word. We’re scared to walk by faith, so we structure our lives so we don’t need it. We live in comfortable little bubbles… mostly isolated from real difficulty… almost wholly insulated from the world God wants us to engage and bring His hope to. We’re terrified of living lives filled with the joy and meaning that can only come from doing that which is most uncomfortable to us… following God wholeheartedly.
Think about this statement again… Jesus doesn’t want followers that go through the motions.
Are you tired of faking it?
Vacation 2009… in Photos!
July 20th, 2009 | 3 Comments | Posted in » My Life / Family, Pictures
Yeah yeah yeah… I know, I’m terribly slow. Vacation was 3 weeks ago, and I’m just now getting around to blogging about it.
I won’t write much… as the old adage goes, “a picture is worth 1000 words”. With 25 of ‘em here, I figure I’ve got that end covered.
Anyway, enjoy…
svgallery=vacation-2009
The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…
July 20th, 2009 | Comments Off | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
Think about this passage today:
Matthew 13:44-45
44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.45Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
By Him and For Him
July 14th, 2009 | Comments Off | Posted in » Christian Living, Devotions / Bible Studies
Recently, I’ve started listening to Francis Chen’s book, “Crazy Love” (courtesy of christianaudio.com, it’s free this month!), and I’ve been struck by his descriptions of creation and the glory of God. As I’ve thought about this, I find myself dwelling on Colossians 1:15-18:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Through Christ all things have been made. All things exist BECAUSE of Him, but moreso… FOR Him.
All things exist FOR Jesus. For His pleasure. For His glory. For His purposes. For His whims. For whatever reason He desires.
Yet most of us live our lives questioning God and complaining about what He allows to come our way…
- Why did you let this happen God?
- What can’t I do this?
- Why do I struggle with this sin so much?
- This isn’t fair God.
- I don’t like this circumstance you’ve placed in my life.
- If you would only do this, God…
We wouldn’t even exist without Him… yet we feel entitled to question His purposes, His judgements, His plans, His rules, His ways.
Our sin nature permeates our lives SO much. Our very perspective on existence is flawed. We seem to think God exists for US… in reality, we exist FOR HIM.
Think about that for a bit and tell me it doesn’t rock your world a bit.
Even if you have knowledge of this fact, I have to wonder… how does it affect your life?
How SHOULD it affect your life?
Tough questions, for sure. But things we definitely need to think critically about.
Obama Man Can!
July 12th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted in » In the News..., Just For Fun...
This is one of the most entertaining political pieces I’ve seen in a LONG time!
HT: Marty Duren