CURRENT CHRISTIAN BOOKS

I received my quarterly catalog of Christian books the other day from a distributor that I subscribe to and started thumbing through it. Among the top sellers are many books with curious titles. I haven't read any of these books so I admit I am judging them by their covers. But let's take a look at my top twelve titles:

"Become a Better You" and "Your Best Life Now"-Since when has Christianity been about me? Isn't Christianity about loving God and your fellow man, and denying self? You will become a better you if you think about Christianity in those terms.

"The Life You Have Always Wanted"-The life I want? Isn't the purpose of Christianity finding the life that God wants for me?

"10 Curses That Block the Blessing"-What blessings? Christ never promised us any blessings, other than an eternal life with Him in Heaven.

"The Secret Things of God: Unlocking the Treasures Reserved for You"- So is that what it is all about? Do I worship God just to use Him as a conduit for my own happiness?

"Everybody Tells Me to Be Myself, but I Don't Know Who I Am: Building Your Self-Esteem."-Can you show me where self-esteem is mentioned in the Bible? I can't find it. But if I look through the pages of the Bible I can sure find the concept of self-denial in many places.

"The Pursuit of Holiness"-As much as I try, I can't be holy. I can only trust the grace and mercy of God.

"The Prayer That Changes Everything: The Hidden Power of Praising God"-First of all, I am not seeking any of God's power. He doesn't give it to me because He knows I will abuse it. Second, I don't put my faith in a particular prayer. I put my faith in Jesus. Third, the purpose of prayer is to change me. Not to change my circumstance or receive a reward from God.

"A Life God Rewards: Why Everything You Do Today Will Matter Forever"- Are God's rewards conditional? I disappoint Him daily and will continue to do so. I can only be grateful for His grace and mercy.

"8 Steps to Create the Life You Want: The Anatomy of a Successful Life"- Are there certain steps I need to take. Shouldn't my faith be in God instead of what I can do?

"Claim Your Victory Today" and "Making Jubilee a Reality in Your Life"- My victory and jubilee are anxiously awaiting me in Heaven, not here on Earth.

"God's Strategy for Debt Cancellation"- Wait, what? Is God a financial planner? Does He have an infomercial on late night cable? There are some good recommendations in the Bible about living within your means. The rest is up to me.

"Conflict Free Living"- I thought Christ promised that we would have trials if we were living for Him.

And last but not least, "23 Minutes in Hell"- The author claims that he visited Hell for 23 minutes. I just don't even know what to say about that nonsense. Unless of course God did give him a sneak peak. Because when Jesus comes back he will have some special judgment for these false prophets.

It's too bad that too much of our Christian religion has come down to; "Name it and claim it," "health and wealth," or just saying the magic words so God will give you a good life.

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THE NEW LIFE CHURCH SHOOTING

I never thought I would be blogging about a church shooting over the Christmas season. But I didn't come across many blog and opinion pieces about the attack and started to wonder why. Maybe it's because a tragedy such as this one brings to light inconsistencies in the ideology of both the extreme liberals and extreme conservatives.

The shooting happened about a month ago but I thought I would wait until after the memorial ceremonies were over, the shock of the attack had faded, and the Christmas season had ended before I posted this blog entry. I attend church down the road from New Life and was actually at New Life the night before the attack for their Christmas pageant. Please continue to pray for the victims' families, traumatized bystanders, the New Life Church, the family of the perpetrator, and anybody else who was affected by this vicious attack.

The far left hasn't spoken out much about this shooting because they have to deal with four issues that don't fit neatly into their cultural narrative.

First, no one has called this shooting a hate crime. It was obvious that the deranged shooter was targeting Christians. But for liberals, Christians are not one of their special protected groups.

Second, the feminists are not applauding the actions of the female volunteer security guard who stopped the attacker. Why? Despite their rhetoric about women's rights, equality, and girl power, they do not champion female heroes. They only elevate victims.

Third, the reason that the volunteer security guard stopped the attacker was that she had a concealed carry weapons permit. The liberals believe that private citizens shouldn't be allowed to carry guns because guns are only used for evil purposes. We are supposed to be protected by the police. But like in this case, police tend to arrive after the crime occurs.

Fourth, let's just imagine if our churches had been made into gun-free zones. You know, those laws that liberals dreamt up that create a magical force field that have kept our high schools and universities so safe. How many people would have died in this attack if the church had been disarmed?

The far right also has a problem with this shooting and their cultural narrative. Horrendous events such as this one that happen in this country are supposed to be God's judgment against our sins. Following 9-11, evangelical religious leader Jerry Falwell claimed that the attack was God's judgment on a sinful US. After Hurricane Katrina, evangelical religious leader Hal Lindsey made a similar claim. But as of today, I haven't heard any of these self-proclaimed prophets claiming that the attack at New Life was God's judgment on the sins of Ted Haggard. (With the exception of the loons at Westboro Baptist Church. But they hate verybody.) Why haven't the crazed evangelical prophets spoken for God in this case? Is it because the attack was against a megachurch? Doesn't God render judgment on Christians too? Many of Christ's judgments were against religious leaders.

Before I close, I have two thoughts about New Life Church that have also been bugging me.

The security guard stated that God had "assigned" her to stop the attacker on that day. Perhaps that is true. But if God was intervening there, why would He wait until two little girls died before stepping in to stop the attack? Shouldn't he have used the security guard to stop the attack sooner? Is the surviving father to believe that his family was not in God's favor on that day?

A week after the attack a church member who was slightly wounded during the attack was escorted off church grounds by the police after the church asked him to leave. The pastor said that they would probably seek a restraining order against him. What could he have done to cause such a reaction? Was he publicly telling a story that didn't match the official version? Were there lapses in the church security? The church forgave the shooter and Westboro Baptist Church (who had threatened to picket the memorial service) but not their own member. How strange. What would Jesus do regarding a restraining order?

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PART II, OSWALD CHAMBERS' QUOTES

Beware of the tendency of asking the way when you know it perfectly well.
Take the initiative, stop hesitating, and take the first step.

Neither natural love no Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated.
Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline.

If you are still the miserable crosspatch, set on your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

Peter says-"Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you." Rise to the occasion.

When God is beginning to be satisfied with us He will impoverish everything in the nature of fictitious wealth, until we learn that all our fresh springs are in Him. If the majesty and grace and power of God are not being manifested in us (not to our consciousness), God holds us responsible. "God is able to make all grace abound," then learn to lavish the grace of God on others. Be stamped with God's nature, and His blessings will come through you all the time.

The great word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

We think rightly or wrongly about prayer according to the conception we have in our minds of prayer. If we think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts, we think rightly.

When is "that day"? When the Ascended Lord makes you one with the Father.
In that day you will be one with the Father as Jesus is, and "in that day,"
Jesus says, "ye shall ask Me nothing."

If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong.

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration. That is why there are so few fellow workers with God and so many workers for Him. We would far rather work for God than believe in Him.

The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations; it is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us.

The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience.

We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials:
through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child…

An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different.

In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world, there is nothing for you to fear.

The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God.

You say-"But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value." That is why He chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem…

We are apt to say that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good Christian. It is not a question of our equipment but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us…

God's purpose is never man's purpose.

The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in comradeship with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His purposes.

As we go in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say-Now why did God allow this and that?

Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. Then why ask? The idea of prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are her to be living monuments of God's grace.

When the Son of God prays, He has only one consciousness, and that consciousness is of His father. God always hears the prayers of His Son, and if the Son of God is formed in me the Father will always hear my prayers.

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OSWALD CHAMBERS quotes part I

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal.

You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord; you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character.

The severest discipline of a Christian's life is to learn how to keep "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord."

Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel; but remember what Paul means by "the gospel," viz., the reality of Redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are apt to make sanctification the end-all of our preaching…We are nowhere commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification; we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ.

Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make him, but "to reveal His Son in men."

Spiritual lust makes me demand an answer from God, instead of seeking God Who gives the answer.

Are we prepared for what sanctification will cost? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth, and an immense broadening of all of our interests in God.

The one and only characteristic of the Holy Ghost in a man is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ, and freedom from everything that is unlike Him.

The test of spiritual concentration is bringing the imagination into captivity. Is your imagination looking on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Your work? Your conception of what a worker should be? Your experience of salvation and sanctification? Then your imagination of God is starved, and when you are up against difficulties you have no power, you can only endure in darkness.

If I love my friend, I intuitively detect what he wants, and Jesus says, "Ye are My friends."

At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him.

Tenacity is more than endurance, it is endurance combined with the absolute certainty that what we are looking for is going to transpire. Tenacity is more than hanging on, which may be but the weakness of being too afraid to fall off.

The patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the right time. Rarely, but probably once, He will get us into a corner where He will hurt us with His undeviating questions, and we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than any profession can ever show.

It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God.

Never try to live the life with God on any other line, and that line is absolute devotion to Him. The certainty that I do not know--that is the secret of going with Jesus.

Peter only saw in Jesus Someone to minister salvation to him and to the world. Our Lord wants us to be yoke-fellows with Him.

The penalty of sin is confirmation of sin. It is not only God who punishes for sin; sin confirms itself in the sinner and gives back full pay. Neither struggling nor praying will enable you to stop doing some things, and the penalty of sin is that gradually you get used to it and do not know that it is sin. No power save the incoming of the Holy Ghost can alter the inherent consequences of sin.

Think of the last thing you prayed about-were you devoted to your desire or to God? Determined to get some gift of the Spirit or to get at God? "Your Heavenly Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him." The point of asking is that you may get to know God better.

Paul says-"I have been crucified with Christ"; he does not say "I have determined to imitate Jesus Christ," or, "I will endeavor to follow him'-but "I have been identified with Him in His death."

We cannot stay on the mount of transfiguration. But we must obey the light we received there; we must act it out.

Goodness and purity ought never to attract attention to themselves; they ought simply to be magnets to draw to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing towards Him, it is not holiness of the right order…

Are you loyal to Jesus or loyal to your notion of Him? Are you loyal to what He says, or what you are trying to compromise with conceptions which never came from Him?

The reason many of us leave off praying and become hard towards God is because we have only a sentimental interest in prayer…Worship and intercession must go together.

If you have the whine in you, kick it out ruthlessly. It is a positive crime to be weak in God's strength.

Readiness means a right relationship to God and a knowledge of where we are at present. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go.

Salvation and sanctification are the work of God's sovereign grace; our work as His disciples is to disciple lives until they are wholly yielded to God.
One life wholly devoted to God is of more value to God than one hundred lives simply awakened by His Spirit.

Whenever Our Lord talked about discipleship, He always prefaced it with an "If," never with an emphatic assertion-"You must." Discipleship carries an option with it.

There are unemployables in the spiritual domain, spiritually decrepit people, who refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired.
The proof that we are rightly related to God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.

Don't ask God to test you. Never declare as Peter did-"I will do anything, I will go to death with Thee." Abraham did not make any such declaration, he remained true to God, and God purified his faith.

A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand-"Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals.

It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. This is never God's view…Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you-with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples,' not "make converts to your opinions."

Jonah argued that because God was a God of justice and mercy, therefore everything would be all right.

We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.

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THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY

I believe that the Christian church is currently headed in the wrong direction. We have stopped worshipping God and started merely using him as a pathway to our self-fulfillment and happiness. Christianity is becoming less and less about praising God and more and more about pursuing our own contentment and His gifts. This movement is born out of humanism, not Christianity. We have adopted the gospel of self-help and have forgotten about self-sacrifice. God and Jesus get mentioned here and there but just as a means to an end (a better life).

The roots of this movement may have started years ago with the health-and-wealth gospel. Where God and Jesus were just a means to an end to your health and wealth. This poisonous creed combined with the secular world's view on the importance of self-esteem further corrupted the message (No one has ever been able to show me where they speak of self-esteem in the Bible.). Add to this the popular secular doctrine of value neutral living, and the Oprah-styled "feelings movement," and this is how our church has started to erode.

We are now pursuing God's gifts and not God. God is not the center of this new religion; it is me and my happiness. God has to be there for us; we don't have to be there for Him. God and the church are places where we go to feel better and solve our problems (divorce, addiction). Sin and repentance are shouldn't be mentioned, you might chase these people away. Simply teach them that they will grow closer to God if He makes each of them happy. Don't tell them that God may be trying to strengthen their character, or that their character may even need strengthening.

We are no longer praying to move our will towards God's. We are praying to bend His will towards our needs. We don't want to go through the trials in life; we want to learn the easy lesson. We are preoccupied with our feelings (Does the Bible talk about feelings?). God is only my God when he blesses me. When we pray to God to lead us in the right direction we are only looking for him to bless the trail that we have already chosen.

Are the mega-churches partly responsible? Do they teach a watered down version of the gospel in order to attract more people? Do they advertise Christ or do they advertise their lead pastor? Some of these churches even preach a message that God is not talking to the individual anymore and spiritual growth is only possible if you are part of a large church community. Funny, I always thought that Christianity was based on a personal relation with Christ.

What about hot-selling Christian authors and the creators of the latest Christian fads? It seems that if they are successful we should accept their work as canon without bouncing them off of scripture. I have cynical doubt about the huge movements we find every few years in the Christian community (Purpose Driven Life, Promise Keepers, What Would Jesus Do, etc). Are they really of God? Or are they of man? Would that explain their popularity? God's messages have never been popular with man. The Old Testament prophets, Jesus, and Paul where all rejected by the larger community. We have also created a cult of personality with some of our Christian celebrities. They are marketed the same way as secular artists. Their defense is that they are trying to reach the most people. Do you mean souls or money? What ever happened to the anonymous "voice crying in the wilderness?" That is the Christian who is doing God's work for God, not for himself.

God is good all the time, not just when He is making you happy. And Christ does not take away your problems. He gives you perspective and peace. You will realize all of this only with a personal relationship with your Savior Jesus Christ. Let's steer people back toward a Bible-centered theology.

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Reverend Ted Haggard Failed as a Leader, Not as a Christian

I was thinking about Reverend Ted Haggard last Sunday while I was attending my own church in Colorado Springs, which is right down the road from Haggard's 14,000-member New Life Church. The New Life Church is impressive from a distance. It looks like an airport terminal. You can see it from my church or from Interstate-25 just north of Colorado Springs.

Reverend Ted Haggard is a husband and father of five. He was the lead pastor and founder of a mega church in Colorado Springs. He was also the president of the National Association of Evangelicals (representing 30 million Christians) and took part in conference calls with the White House. He was an author and critic of gay marriage. Last week a male prostitute from Denver accused Haggard of paying him for gay sex over a period of a three years and purchasing illegal drugs.

Haggard went through the typical panicked cycle of embarrassment and stages of denial that leaders go through when they are caught doing something wrong. First there was outright denial (His knee-jerk reaction to being publicly exposed.). Then there was a partial denial as he admitted to getting a massage from the prostitute and buying some meth.-But there was no sex and he threw away the drugs. (This is the "I've got to stall for time to see how much damning evidence is actually out there" stage.). This was followed by a public apology, resignation, and a vague admission of guilt (He realized that he was cornered and could not deny much.). Then he finally admitted to purchasing the drugs, sexual immorality, and giving deceptive and inconsistent answers to the initial inquiries. Haggard resigned his position within his church and the National Associations of Evangelicals.

Reverend Haggard's sexual sin really shocked me at first. But the more I thought about it the less I cared about that sin. That type of sexual sin is quite personal and is nobody's business except his, his wife, and God's. What really started to bug me was his failure as a leader. Here are three things to consider:

First, Reverend Haggard, you need to stop telling people that you are sorry for the pain you caused. I don't believe you. You knew the consequences of your sin if it became public and the effect it would have on those around you the whole time you carried on this relationship. But you chose to continue to roll the dice. You wanted the best of both worlds. You wanted the wealth and fame of being known as a righteous Christian leader while at the same time satisfying the sinful temptation of your flesh. You did not care about your family and the church while you were committing this sin, so why should we believe that you care about them now?

If you were truly sorry, maybe you would have confessed to God years ago, repented, and tried to stop doing it. Or sought help. Maybe you did do that. But once you realized that this particular sin would be a lifetime struggle, you should have stepped aside as a leader. You even admitted in the letter you wrote to your church that you were,"…warring against it all of my adult life." If that was true you could have stepped aside of your leadership positions at any time for "personal reasons" and refused to take promotions to positions of higher authority within your church and national organizations. That would have shown a real compassion for your family, your church, and the reputation of Jesus Christ. That is what a real leader would have done.

Second, you stated that you take full responsibility for your actions and the pain you caused. Okay, if you are now responsible, what exactly are you going to do about it? What are you going to do for the people you hurt? How are you going to close those wounds and fix the doubt that you have placed in people's faith? Merely taking responsibility does not absolve you of anything.

Third, your downfall was not the result of a sexual sin. It was the result of the sin of pride. You did not address this in your letter. You said in your letter that pride prevented you from disclosing the truth in order to protect those that you loved from hurt and disappointment. Well Reverend, that statement is only half-right. Pride did cause you to withhold the truth in order to protect the one you loved the most. But that was you.

Reverend, my first reaction to the news of your fall was anger and I judged you and your prostitute on your sexual sin. But now I realize that your greater sin was pride. I now pray for your sin of pride. I also pray for your wife, your kids, your church, your accuser, and the damage that you have done to Christ's reputation.

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MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT CLASSES

I was attending a weekly men's Bible study up until my last household move. Right before I left we sat through several weeks of a Christian marriage enrichment class. I have been through a few of these in the past, sometimes alone, sometimes with my wife of 19 years, and I have noticed a common bond with all of these classes. Whether they are religious based or secular, they could all be subtitled, "If we want to improve our marriage we must change male behavior." These classes have developed out of our secular society's larger battle against male conduct. Even the Christian community has fallen for this philosophy. It is simply male bashing.

These classes typically start off the same way. The moderator says, "We will begin by discussing the differences between men and women:"

Women are complex
Men are simple

Women are creative
Men are pragmatic

Women are communicators
Men are stoic

Women are compassionate
Men are insensitive

Women are in touch with their inner feelings
Men deny their feelings

Women are detailed oriented
Men are only interested in the broad points

Women nag because they love the man and want to improve him
Men gripe because they are self-centered

Women are enlightened
Men are Neanderthals

The list always generates some giggles, and the mediator might try to use some euphemisms to soften the blow to the men, but you can see the underlying message. The women represent the acceptable standard and the men are measured against it. So the obvious solution to making marriages last longer is to change the man's behavior:

The man must open up his feelings and cry like a little girl.
The man must listen quietly and not fidget while his wife tells him about her daily activities in excruciating detail. Even if it takes her 10 minutes to explain an event that only took 2 minutes.
The man must make more time for the woman.
The man must buy spontaneous presents for the woman.
The man must leave little love notes around the house for the woman and offer backrubs.
The man must interrupt his busy day at work and call her to tell her he is thinking about her.
The man must be more responsive.

Ladies, here is some advice. Save your ingrained feminine needs for your girlfriends. Your girlfriend will listen to every word you say, cry with you, and buy you spur-of-the-moment presents. If you want a sensitive man, they come in three models.
The manipulator who has an ulterior motive
The gay man
The hen-pecked, beaten down husband

You might hear the marriage moderator say that both the man and woman must communicate more but everybody knows that this comment is directed at the man. Has anybody stopped to consider why the man is not much of a communicator? Perhaps he doesn't like listening to all that nagging. Have you ever heard the marriage moderators ask the women to change their behavior? To stop nagging? To become more responsive in bed? To save her draining recounts of the day's activities for her girlfriends?

Society has been trying to feminize the man ever since the feminists figured out that they could not become equal. They asked for the vote and got it, but that did not make them equal. They asked for abortion and got it, but that didn't make them equal. They asked for favoritism in the work place and got it, but that didn't make them equal either. So they decided they had to level down male behavior in order to try to create a fair playing field. They attack men very early on by feeding Ritalin to our schoolboys, discouraging gender oriented toys and competitive activities in our grammar schools, and prohibiting scorekeeping in youth sports leagues. This social engineering continues on into college with Title IX restrictions and the growth of "Women Studies" programs. It is prevalent in our popular culture with the rise of metrosexuals, the often-negative depiction of men in movies and television, and the war against marriage.

I am not a knuckle dragger and I understand that if the husband or boyfriend is a drunken, abusive, adulterer he needs to change. But most of the other behaviors that the marriage class is trying to change are not harmful and are hard-wired into most males. Yes, men and women tend to have hard-wired behaviors that are different. I know that it is politically incorrect to suggest that the sexes are dissimilar but anyone with more sense than an Ivy League sociology professor knows this.

It is a mistake to try to feminize men. I believe that this trend will make the divorce rate even higher. Thousands of years of hard-wiring have made differences in the sexes that I think should be celebrated. Don't try to change the behavior. A man and a woman are wired differently and both have their strengths and weaknesses. This is a good thing, they harmonize each other. If you try to re-wire them into something different, they become rivals and competitors. And no, I am not a troglodyte trying to "keep women in their place." Anybody who has been married for any length of time knows that the woman runs the household.

So what is the answer to our marital woes? Perhaps there is no answer. Perhaps the entry of women into the workforce and the invention of the birth control pill have doomed the marriage institution, as we know it. Prior to these mid 20th century changes, men and women became married and stayed married basically for two reasons. The man wanted regular sex and the women wanted financial security. Don't act shocked, you know it is true. The entry of women into the work place meant that she no longer needed to rely on a husband for financial security. The invention of the birth control pill meant more pre-marital sex for the man. I am not arguing against women in the workforce or against the birth control pill. I am just pointing out that these two factors have changed our society in unexpected ways.

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BIBLE SCRIBBLINGS PART II-These are notes I have scribbled throughout the pages of my Bible over the years. The Lord has put some great teachers in my life and I am grateful.

Will we recognize Jesus the 2d time? The Jews didn't the first time and we are no different than they are. We have the Holy Sprit within us and that should help us recognize Jesus, but having the Holy Spirit does not seem to stop us from doing a bunch of dumb things we shouldn't be doing now. It will be interesting when He returns.

Have you ever noticed that Christians tend to witness out of self-righteousness, rather than love. There is too much of, "You're damned unless you listen to me!" Or, "I am saved and I have the key to your salvation. You must listen!" There is not enough witnessing with Christian love. Jesus never drew people toward Him with threats of Hell and self-righteousness. Even though He is the only person who could credibly do that. He did it with love.

I always wondered why Christ went to the wilderness and was tempted by Satan after He was baptized. Someone told me that He had to go there to be tempted by the same temptations that made Adam sin. That makes sense because Jesus replaced Adam. We were sons of Adam and that made us sinful. We are now sons of Jesus who has taken away our sins.

I am cynical by nature. Here is the most cynical thing I have said about the modern Christian church. A church can be defined as a group of Christians who gather together and decide which sins they will tolerate.

It is getting harder and harder to witness due to our "value neutral" society. I think it is harder to witness to the neutral (lukewarm) than it is to witness to the hardcore atheists. The atheists are the ones who are truly seeking God.

You marry the one you love, and then you love the one you marry. That is where the selfish divorcers go wrong. Love is a choice.

You can do the right thing day in and day out and still suffer (Paul, Job)

God uses trouble in your life to teach you to trust Him. Sometimes God has to bring us to utter defeat in order to teach us something.

When I experience sadness I lean on the Lord. When I experience joy, I tend to forget about Him.

Temptation is not sin. If it were, then Jesus sinned.

Do you ever notice the churches that advertise on huge billboards next to the highways? The advertisement is usually a big picture of the pastor and his smiling wife. Are those churches advertising God or their pastor?

How do you define sin? In simple terms it is disobedience. If you need more than that consider this: Jesus said the most important commandment was loving God and loving your fellow man. So I guess sin could be defined as anytime we place ourselves ahead of God or ahead of our fellow man.

We tend to believe that we should walk closer to God so that we are more pleasing to God. Is that really true? We should be walking in His Word because we love Him, no other reason.

Holiness is not found by business. It substitutes activity for intimacy. Sometimes we feel less accepted if we are not busy with God's work.

Do not use your heart to guide you, for you are wicked and a self-deceiver. Use the scriptures.

Some say that if you are saved you can continue to lead a carefree life. But if you act like that are you really saved?

Christians are like car owners. They think that God is the spare tire in the trunk. He is there only when we need Him. But God wants to drive.

We denied Christ when he came because he wasn't a king. He is a king now and we deny Him once again because we think He demands too much. So now we would rather put Him back on the cross.

You can't go to Hell because of something you have done. You can only go to Hell from something you haven't done. That is accepting Jesus Christ as your savior.

The excuse of "I don't have to actively witness, I witness through my good, Christian lifestyle" does not cut it. Jesus openly witnessed even though He had the perfect Christian lifestyle.

Predestination in the Bible- Believers are not predestined. Some passages in the Bible make it sound like the saved are predestined for salvation. This is because God has already seen it. Not because He has made it in His plans. It was explained to me this way (this gets weird until you understand it). We are trapped by the one dimension of time that can only go forward. God is not trapped by the time dimension that traps us. God stands before time, after time, above time, below time, around time, beyond time, through time, etc. So today, yesterday and tomorrow is all the same to Him. If I became a believer yesterday, then I only know my salvation from yesterday and forward through eternity. But since that time line does not trap God, then my salvation was true for Him from yesterday forward through eternity and from yesterday backwards to the beginning. So God speaks of me as always being saved, even though it just happened yesterday. I know that is confusing, but it is the best I can do.

The expression, "An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth" is not about ensuring your revenge. It is about limitations on your revenge.

God gives us trials to move closer to him. If you are having too many trials it is possible that you are too far away from Him. Satan does not generate these trials. God is in charge and Satan must ask his permission to tempt you. On the flip side of this, if you are not having trials, are you walking with God?

If we focus on God's rules, then we do not have to surrender our entire self to Him. That is why we tend to be so rule bound. Religion is a set of rules. We make rules and vows to live by to defeat sin (even though we aren't capable of doing so). These rules replace our relationship with God. Vows and rules will not make you sanctified. Holiness and growth comes from an intimate relation with God. We want to replace our relationship with God with rules because we think it is too difficult to totally surrender our heart to Him. We tried living by the rules in the Old Testament and it didn't work. Satan convinces us that discipleship is too hard. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.

Prayer request are oftentimes negative and sad, does that reflect a lack of faith?

We each need three friends in our life
A Paul- To mentor us, counsel, teach
A Timothy- Someone we can mentor
A Barnabas- Someone who tries to keep us on track

There is no such thing as coincidences. A coincidence is God working anonymously.

Our churches teach uniformity in Christ, not unity.

There really is no earthly example to explain the Trinity. The egg example (shell-yolk-white) or water example (solid-liquid-gas) aren't good enough. God in three manifestations is a complete mystery that we really can't comprehend.

The reason to get saved is not to avoid Hell, but to glorify God.

Soldiers make good Christians. They understand implied tasks. Christianity is full of implied tasks.

Faith is not an intellectual body of truth. It is an action word.

Too many of us are seeking pleasure instead of happiness.

Sin and punishment: I don't think the Old Testament ever mentioned whom the executioners or punishers for sin should be. Should it be the political leaders or the rabbis? Or can anybody who witnesses sin inflict the punishment? But if that were true, then nobody would be left. Everybody would be stoning each other. Maybe another saying could be, "He who is without sin should cast the final stone." I think I have to research this one some more, I could be wrong.

How do you welcome back someone to your church that has committed a public sin? It happened in Corinthians with the man who was living with his mother (stepmother?). Paul said to welcome him back after a public repentance. But will anyone ever look at this person in the same light. Is it possible to return to the church? I don't think it is. We would continue to judge that person and look down on him. Don't say you wouldn't, that sin would always color your opinion of that person.

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BIBLE SCRIBBLINGS I-These are notes I have scribbled throughout the pages of my Bible over the years. The Lord has put some great teachers in my life and I am grateful.

Non-believers say that Christ was merely a great teacher. How could that be? He made impossible assertions. "I am the Father are one." "Ye who have seen Me, have seen the Father." A great teacher would not make these assertions.

Critics like to say that Christians are "Holier than thou." That is true, but the holiness in not in us. It is in our belief in Christ. It is Christ.

If there are no moral absolutes, you can make your own rules to meet your ever-involving whims.

Self-esteem is humanism. It is not mentioned in the Bible anywhere. The Bible talks about self-denial. That is the truth path to happiness.

The purpose of faith is to see the glory of God.

Signs bring spectators, not believers. Christ performed miracles not signs.

Hard faith is not mentioned much in the Old Testament. They did not need it because they had the Temple where they knew God dwelt. Faith is a word that is from the New Testament.

If you truly loved our fellow man you would witness to him. Once you get to Heaven it will be too late to witness.

Baptism means identification.

Christ said, "No one comes to the Father except by Me. And no one comes to Me except by the Father." You have to have faith and realize God is real before you begin your spiritual walk or really begin to understand the Bible.

Does the Bible say forgive and forget any where? I couldn't find it. Why does Jesus still wear his wounds? Either He is showing us that He has made a conscious decision to forgive us or He kept his wounds so that his disciples would be able to identify him. But He has not forgotten the wounds.

We must forgive out of love, not for what the transgressor has done to repent.

We pray for people we do not know because they are our brothers and sisters and we love them all. We pray for them and raise them up to God who does know them, like a father knows his children.

The Word of God is the food that helps Christians grow.

Does faith accomplish things or is it God? Put your faith in God; don't put your faith in faith.

Divorce should be rare amongst Christians, not because it is wrong, for being wrong never stops us from doing things. It should be rare because the essence of Christianity is self-denial, loving God and loving others ahead of you. Divorce is the ultimate act of selfishness. It is a lack of faith. Jesus often put our relationship with God as a marriage type relationship. Sacrificial love.

The early colonies started out as religious colonies but slowly digressed. It was about a 10% church going nation, until the Great Awakening in the 1730s (Edwards, Wesley) that turned us into a 50% church going nation. This was at the time of the birth and childhood of many of our Founding Fathers and probably had a great deal of influence on them.

When praying during a difficult time (such as the loss of a loved one) we can ask for a miracle but what we really should be praying for is that we stay close to God during this time.

God destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Was this because the Jews had continued to sacrifice on the altar after Christ had died?

Our religion should hold up Christ as the sole example of good and present itself to the fellow travelers who also struggle and fight their way through interpretation of the Bible and events in their own lives with their faith. We should not present our beliefs as one-sided interpretation as examples of true faith.

I always wonder about Pastors and their sermons. I believe that pastors should preach a systematic expository discussion through the various books of the Bible and occasionally apply life examples to the Word. They should not be pulling life examples out of their own life and making the Bible apply to them. This is self-righteousness.

In response to our faith, God will work according to His will because God is at work for the purpose of His own glory. Man should not identify himself through his faith.

God uses problems in our life to show us how weak we are and how much we need him.

The essence of faith is satisfaction with all that God is for us in Christ

Humanists, cults, psychologists tell a lot of truth. But they mix it with error and that is why they are ungodly.

When we conduct prayer requests for our Bible Study, Sunday School or what not, do we take it seriously? Are people still socializing at prayer time? If we are not praying together we either display a lack of faith in God or a lack of love for one another. We say we love each other but it is rarely shown. Do we actively pray for each other? Do we listen to each other's prayers?

You are saved by Grace not by works. However you were created for works.

Repentance is not turning away from sin because we cannot escape sin. It is turning toward God.

Prayer changes us. It helps us. Pray for yourself before you pray for others. You must be right with God before you can pray for others. This is the only time you should think of yourself before other people.

When you first become a believer you are justified. As you grow you are sanctified. When you get to Heaven you are glorified.

Justification (regeneration) is discovery of victory.
Sanctification (conversion) is living in victory.
Glorification is the final victory

How to Pray (ACTS)

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

(ABC)

Adoration
Beseech
Confession

3 keys to Evangelizing

Know your audience
Share your testimony
Expect confrontation

Christians put too much effort into creating an image of what others think they should be like.

When you commit to God, you must change. You receive the three "Ps."

The Presence of God- This is permanent
The Personality of the Son
The Power of the Holy Spirit
(I like to add perspective to this formula)

Free will vs. God's sovereignty. Where is the line drawn?

Alcohol is made by Jesus and praised in the Psalms (104:15) but it is like other gifts that God gives us (sex). We tend to overdue it.

The Blues; It is okay to have the Blues. The Psalms are about the Blues and it appears that God is very receptive to hearing them and helping us through it.

It is good that we don't know what Paul's thorn in his flesh was (sin) otherwise we would look at him and all he said differently.

Jesus' purpose on Earth was to die. Not to teach.

Faith + works does not equal salvation
Faith = salvation + works

Religions are rules. Christianity is a relationship. The Bible says rules (the Law) cannot save us. That is because we are incapable of keeping the rules.

The Bible talks of a jealous God. He is jealous that we worship other gods (things) and not Him.

Jesus gave us 3 commandments
Make disciples
Baptize them
Teach them

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Personal Testimony

My pastor says that we should have our personal testimony ready to share with believers and non-believers. I agree. I think it is easier to reach non-believers with a personal testimony than it is to try to jam scripture down their throat. The personal touch, something they can relate to, is always more effective. We should also share more with believers. Early in my walk, I started to doubt my conversion because I had only heard a few testimonies from other Christians and I couldn't relate to them. There was the "I have known Christ since I was five-years-old" testimony, or the tear-jerking, miraculous, heart stopping, come to Jesus at the moment of death type of conversion. I started to doubt the authenticity of my more subtle, conversion to Christianity. I think we sometimes inadvertently make Christians who don't have a "Road to Damascus" moment in their life feel like second class Christians.

So the solution is to get the word out on your individual testimonies. Young Christians or fence sitting, non-believers will learn that conversions are very personal and can come in all shapes and sizes.

My background- I grew up attending church and Sunday school. But it wasn't a religious experience; it was more of a social event. Jesus was merely a historical figure, and I was an agnostic. My father was saved. He told me once that he became saved while sitting out a Chinese artillery barrage inside a bunker in Korea. The bunkers to the left and right of his bunker were both destroyed by direct hits. My dad didn't talk to us that much about religion or anything really. But I do have a recollection of him experiencing his own personal revival in the early 70s after listening to Johnny Cash's "Gospel Road." I believe my mother is a Christian but she is hard to figure out. My parents came from the children-should-be-seen-and-not-heard school of thought and really didn't relate to us much. We still don't talk much. But she has been a going faithfully to church her entire adult life and loves hymns. It is often toughest to discuss Christianity with those who are closest to you.

My two oldest siblings became saved while I was a child, but they were 8 and 9-year older than I, so we didn't relate much either. Another brother, who was only a year-and-a-half older than I, became saved while we were both about 20. We had a long, stormy relationship so Christianity was just another thing that came between us. But I did notice that once he became saved, he did start to get some focus in his chaotic life. He decided to become a missionary with the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) organization and left home to attend their missionary school in the Samoan Islands. On the day he graduated, he went for a swim in the ocean and drowned. Years later, after I was saved, my sister showed me his diary where he had written that he had a revelation that his death would help bring us all to Christ.

A few years after his death, I was plodding along in my life. I graduated from college, joined the Army and was sent to El Paso, TX. I met and married a staunch Catholic girl from Mexico. Immediately following our marriage, I was sent to Germany. She had to go live with my parents in New Hampshire while we waited for some pending immigration paperwork. This delay caused her some severe depression. She was away from her Mexican family for the first time and living with strangers during a dark, cold New Hampshire winter.

I was in Germany and had a Christian platoon sergeant that shared some of the Word with us. He was the best soldier I had ever met so I started to listen a little bit. During this time my wife moved from my parents' house to my sister's house. She got a job at a nursing home and this gave her some hope. She always had a soft spot in her heart for seniors and enjoyed working with them. I did not realize at the time that Christ was simultaneously working with both of us.

I was in the Grafenwoehr training area in March of 1988 and I received a letter from my wife. She shared her testimony in her letter. She had been miserably depressed. We were getting nowhere with immigration and she wanted desperately to get to Germany with me. She had very little hope and was contemplating suicide. She had a plan to drive our car off of a dock and into a pond. She picked a day to do it. But that day happened to be laundry day. She is a very neat and orderly person so she knew she knew she had to do the laundry for my sister before she would drive off of the dock and drown. She arrived at the laundromat and noticed an older couple inside who did not have any laundry with them. They approached her, started some small talk and then asked her how her husband in Germany was. This shocked her. Then after some more conversation they told her not to worry about me, and that June was a good month to travel to Germany. She went home and talked to my sister about these two angels. That day she asked Christ to save her.

I was still shaking with this letter in my hand when I went over to my platoon sergeant and started asking him questions about Christianity. I asked a lot of hard questions about angels and other things. He told me that he didn't have the answers. For some reason he mentioned the name of an old buddy of his who he had known a fears years back who might be able to answer some of my questions. He said the guy's last name was Lay and that he had lost contact with him. The name Lay stuck in the back of my mind.

About a week later I went to the Grafenwoehr laundromat. I washed my clothes and started folding them on the counter. I noticed a soldier next to me who was folding his clothes. I looked down at his uniform and noticed the last name, it was Lay. I asked him if he knew my platoon sergeant and he said yes. We started talking and he answered some of my questions. When he couldn't answer some of the others he simply said, "You really need Jesus more than you need the answers." That night I asked Jesus if he would accept me.

In June I met my wife who had arrived in Germany at the Frankfort airport. We have been married to Christ and each other ever since.

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Christians I like to judge

The Bible tells us not to judge. Judgment is best left to the ultimate determiner of right and wrong, God. Another reason we should not judge is to protect our own reputation. We tend to judge loudest against our own sins that we see in other people. We project onto others because we don't like to see the mirror image of our sins. Look closely at what upsets you in other people and you will see yourself. We tend to be indifferent about the sins of others that we don't own ourselves. Judging others is also a dishonest way of praising ourselves and it may also reflect doubts in our own faith.

But if no one on Earth is passing judgment, who defends the faith? I believe God wants us to defend the faith. Not in the terms of a Torquemada style inquisition, but in terms of a Pauline style of apologetics. I think it can be done as long as you are discussing the behavior and not the person.

So here are some of my favorite outrageous Christian behaviors. I know I own some of these sins, but I'm pretty sure I don't own all of them. So here I go, in no particular order (at least I don't think so).

The Self-righteous Christian- I know that is redundant and we are all guilty. Try to remember that there are only two reasons why one should witness. First, Jesus told you to do it. Second, because you love your fellow man. If you are self-righteous about your faith, this means your faith is in your faith and not in Jesus Christ. Don't make threats of eternal damnation (I'm saved and you're doomed to Hell.). Reach out to people out of a spirit of love, like Christ did. Yes, He occasionally spoke about damnation, and the fate of the unsaved is clear, but He seemed to reserve those speeches for the phony religious leaders. People who are very confrontational about their faith are probably wrestling with their own doubt. Christ took the calm approach because He knew the truth.

The Christian Theodicies- Sorry, I couldn't think of a better word. These are the people who speak for God outside of a Biblical context. The kinds who claim they know what God's divine judgment or other motives are when looking at current events. The kinds that say, "Hurricane Katrina wiped out New Orleans because it was a sinful city." I don't know why Christian people like to do this. I guess they are just trying to make some sense out of a seemingly senseless world. Now I can't make an outright claim that these examples are not divine intervention, but one really shouldn't speak on God's behalf. Besides, Katrina steamrollered a huge area outside of New Orleans. Did God miss the mark that day? Personally, I try to stay with the Job approach. Though God loves me, He doesn't owe me an explanation for what He does. The Holy Spirit is probably doing me a favor by leaving me out of the loop.

Televangelists- I think we can safely say that 90% of the preachers you see on television are con artists. I think this is one of the reasons why some Christians don't watch television. It's too embarrassing. We as a church should do a better job at policing up this multi-billion dollar business that preys on the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the desperate. Can you picture Christ entering those television temples and kicking over the tables? Some of these guys may have started out with the best of intentions, but once that money started rolling in, they went off course. How do you know which ones are legitimate? A wise young pastor told me once that you really shouldn't become too attached to any pastor that you don't know personally. Take a good look at their ministry. Are they spreading the Gospel or are they self-promoting? Are they edifying God or themselves? Are they consumed with donations? Are their "miracles" revealing God or are they just a sideshow? Do they sell holy trinkets and other gimmicks? You will notice that the further they move away from Christ's teachings, the more they use His name.

The Church of Your Divine Happiness- These modern churches teach that God exists to make you healthy, wealthy and happy. The leaders lay off of the heavy religious teachings and say whatever it is to get people into their church. This approach might build up their church and give them their own earthly kingdom, but this Christian "lite" doctrine doesn't build God's church. Remember, He is not here for us. We are here for Him. If your Christian purpose in life is seeking anything other than Him, then you will be disappointed.

Pop culture Christian authors- Go into a local bookstore and see if you can tell the difference between secular self-help books and Christian self-help books. Nowadays you can't. You'll see the big smiling author (pastor) on the front cover with a million dollar smile, an $80 haircut, an $800 suit, plastic surgery, Botox, and an airbrushed photo. Are they sharing religion or themselves? The titles of the books will say, "Ten steps that YOU can take to make YOUR life better," or, "How to reap God's Blessings." Is that what Christianity is all about? I thought we were here to serve God and make other people's lives better? Remember, a secularist turns inward to improve his life. A Christian turns outward. Many of these books talk about self-esteem. I have yet to find self-esteem in the Bible. The Bible is about self-denial. And a book that sells a million copies is not necessarily righteous. I can't find one instance in the Bible where God's Word was popular.

Bad Christian leaders- If you are going to assume the role of a Christian leader you have to understand that every aspect of your life is going to be placed under a microscope. Every mistake you make is going to reflect on all other Christians and on Jesus Christ. You are responsible for Christ's reputation. Pray for strength, and then find somebody close to you, your spouse or a trusted friend, and have him or her help keep you accountable. Many men struggle with temptations involving sex and money, and many leaders feel the need to speak on God's behalf. If you are a man struggling with sexual temptation and are tempted by the church secretary, don't get into a situation where you are alone with her. And don't try to give the, "It just happened" excuse. Spontaneous adultery doesn't happen. It takes time to develop the relationship and then it takes an additional effort to get the two of your to a private location. If you are tempted by the love of money, hire somebody to manage it for you and a separate person to audit the accounts. If you have heard the Word of God and are ready to tell it to the television cameras, run what you are going to say past your peers first and try to filter God's Word from your own word or Satan's word.

Bad doctrine- Two of my favorites are the "health and wealth" church and the PromiseKeepers. It is hard to be critical of them because they have brought a lot of people to God, but their doctrine makes me cringe and I pray that people they help convert to Christianity will one day grow out of their doctrine. Christ never promised health and wealth on Earth. He promised trials and a way to handle those trials. PromiseKeepers tell us that if we keep some rules then we will better men and get closer to God. Christianity is not about following rules to get closer to God. It is about growing closer to God and then following His rules. Christianity is more of a relationship than a religion.

Christian homophobes- Now I know that is an overused term, but there are too many Christians out there that think we need to tie a leper's bell on all of the homosexuals. Homosexuality is a sin and it is repulsive to most of us but why is the homosexual treated differently from any other sinner? Is it because we feel so powerless when dealing with our own heterosexual sins and temptations? Some Christians act like it is the only sin in the Bible and it didn't even make the top ten. Adultery made the top ten, and most people who have divorced and remarried are adulterers. We accommodate this sin, but not the sin of homosexualism. I am not trying to promote homosexualism, just consistency.

Divorced Christians-The terms of a Biblical divorce are very narrowly defined, but that doesn't stop Christians. Divorce is abhorrent, especially when children are involved. Why did I pick divorce? Not just because it is wrong. A lot of things we do are wrong and that doesn't stop us from doing them. Divorce is repugnant because it is the antithesis of Christianity. Christianity is about unselfishness. Divorce is selfishness defined.

The Verse Memorizers- I have a minor annoyance with Christians who insists that we memorize scripture. I cannot find a Biblical reference that outright tells us to memorize scripture. There are plenty that say, know the scriptures, and meditate on the scriptures. But I can't find anything about memorization. I understand that having the discipline to memorize verses insures that you will be studying the scriptures verses, but I have 2 problems with memorization. 1. We take too much of the Bible out of context. Memorizing individual verses will exacerbate this problem. 2. Which verses do you choose to memorize? Do we tend to select only the ones that we agree with? Do we decide that John 3:16 is more important than 1 Chronicles 1:9? We are no longer wondering tribes of illiterate people. We are not relying on oral history or a few circulating hand written manuscripts. Do we really need to memorize verse when we can easily open up our Bible or the internet?

Christian men with who have an Old Testament view of women. These guys consider women as second-class citizens and property, or merely as objects of temptation. Christ did not think this way. He had women in His inner circle. He used a woman to witness to the Samaritans. Women are listed prominently in leadership roles in the New Testament.

The Jesus or Mary (Catholic) image worshippers- You hear about those images that appear in odd places once or twice a year. The Jesus image on a piece of burnt toast, or the Mary image in the reflection of a window. I can't outright say that all of these images are phony. But the problem is we really don't know what Jesus and Mary looked like.

Christian business activities- A lot of their activities are identical to the practices of the cutthroat secular world. Should a Christian business accept credit cards? I use a credit card so I really shouldn't be slamming them. Maybe they need to use credit card services in order to stay in business? But there are other customs I don't like to see. How about the infamous shipping and handling charges? Why do these businesses calculate S&H charges based on the total price of the product you purchased? Doesn't the post office charge by weight?

Christians who use Satan as an alibi- Is everything that goes wrong in your life really Satan's fault? What if the reason your life is a series of rolling disasters is due to the poor decisions that you have made? Now I know that Satan is sneaky and a conniver, but the Bible speaks a lot about his limits, not his power.

God e-mails-If you love God you will forward this. If you are not ashamed you will forward this to everyone in your address book. Guilt is not a good motivator to spread the Gospel. Your unsaved family and friends will just tune it out. You must show them what it is to be saved. The absolute worst kinds are the ones that say you will be blessed if you forward it to x number of people. Those instantly earn the delete key.

The Bible editors- We all do it sometimes. We think that this part of the bible is literal, but that part is metaphorical. Remember, "Did God really say that, did God really mean that?" is what Satan said in the garden.

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LET'S NOT FREAK OUT ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Go ahead and have a celebration. If you are Christian, celebrate the birth of Jesus and the gifts of the magi (even though they probably didn't arrive in Bethlehem until a year or two after he was born). If you are not a Christian, celebrate family, friends and gift giving. And Christians, don't worry about Christmas being commercialized. It always has been (more on this below). And let's keep it public. Who can complain about a holiday with family and gifts and cards and travel, and Christmas specials on TV. What about Christmas eve church services that includes people who usually don't attend church, nicely decorated city streets and parks, and houses dripping with lights, and big Christmas trees and manger scenes, and traveling, and food? Let's keep it a very public event.

Christians, this is our (human) holiday. It is not Christ's holiday. I can't find in the Bible where He told us to celebrate His birth, or even His resurrection (Easter). He didn't tell us to celebrate those events. But He did invite us to partake in Communion. Do you get as excited about Communion as you do about Christmas or Easter?

If you are not a Christian don't freak out if the little old lady who works at city hall puts a manger scene on the lawn. It won't change you unless you want it to. And don't freak if I say Merry Christmas. If it offends you, let me know and I will try to remember not to wish you any merriment. If it doesn't offend you and you are just protesting because you think it might offend someone else who might overhear it (political correctness). Then you are a very silly person.

And if you prefer "Happy Holidays," isn't that the same as "Happy Holy Days?" Just asking.

Let's look at the commercialization of Christmas. The Christmas Holiday's growth in this country was due to its commercialization. The mostly Protestant settlers of the continental US did not typically celebrate Christmas. Christmas was a European (Catholic) tradition. Christmas = Christ Mass. It was too Catholic for them. The Protestant disdain for Christmas even helped us win the Revolutionary War. In 1776 we were getting our butts kicked. British troops occupied both Boston (though they were soon to leave) and New York. They thrashed George Washington's Army up and down Long Island. He was retreating to New Jersey and very close to total defeat. He was saved only because the British inexplicably failed to pursue and finish him off. Washington needed a military victory and he knew that nearby Hessian (German) soldiers in Trenton would be celebrating Christmas. So he made his famous boat ride across the Delaware River and captured the drunken Hessians and their supplies. The newly invigorated and freshly re-supplied Continental Army followed up this easy victory with another success in Princeton. They would go on to fight another year.

We have to progress into the 19th century before Christmas starts to be widely recognized in the states. A huge increase in Catholic immigration (Italian, Irish, et al) in the early part of the century, and later arrivals of German and Scandinavian celebrators helped to spread the holiday. American authors Washington Irving (The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.) and Clement Clarke Moore (Twas the Night before Christmas, actually A Visit from St. Nicholas), and Englishman Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol helped to popularize it. In the 1830s some of the southern states began to recognize it and in 1870 it became a national holiday.

Surrounding all of these events was a newly emerging industrial revolution that was rapidly improving the standard of living. People discovered a disposable income and the Christmas Holiday started to boom. Now throw in the growth of advertising in newspapers and catalogues, the creation of dependable electric power, and travel, and later radio, movies, TV, the internet, etc. Christmas was bound to evolve. I think the commercial success spurred Christmas, not vice-versa. I further think that Christians who protest the commercialization are self-righteous and just trying to showcase their moral indignation. It gets even crazier when the Pope denounces a materialistic Christmas. Have you ever been inside the Vatican?

I don't think Christ would be very upset that we have commercialized Christmas. It is our holiday, not His. That is the same lesson He gave us about the Sabbath long ago.

Now that I am done bashing some Christians, you secularists need a dope slap too. Your assault on Christmas is silly. Lighten up. You are not upholding the finest traditions of your made up mantra about the separation of church and state. All you are doing is trying to level down the Christians. Every year Ramadan is explored, Hanukkah is talked about, Kwanzaa is legitimized, but just try to mention Christmas and a liberal goes through the roof. Remember that your tolerance should also apply to Christians. You can't have selective tolerance. That is the same as intolerance.

In closing, let's discuss the actual date of Christmas. No one knows for sure when Christ was born. Below is a short discussion about some of the dates I have heard. I'm not going to offer any hard facts and references on these dates. I'm not attempting to convince you of some sort of conclusion. Just attempting to share some stuff I have picked up over the years.

Dec 25th- The traditional date in the Catholic Church. Why did they pick this date? Some claim that it was to counter the Roman feast of Saturnalia. But I have also read that this is redacted history. The Christian Holiday of Dec 25th was supposedly established before the feast of Saturnalia which really wasn't ever established. Just talked about.

Another interesting theory I heard was that this particular date was related to His death and conception. I read of a Jewish belief that prophets have what is called an "integral age." This is the belief that a prophet's death was either on the anniversary of their birth or their conception. So, if Christ died at Easter (late March) and we use that as his conception. Nine months later would lead us to a December birth date.

Jan 6th - The traditional date in the Eastern Orthodox Church. You know, the 12 Days of Christmas (DEC 25th- Jan 6th). The Eastern Orthodox Church grew out of Asia Minor. This is the part of the world that the Apostles first witnessed to after giving up on Israel. If somebody has a traditional date that is accurate, then it would probably be this church.

Sep 11- This date gets the conspiracy nuts going (9/11). Anyway, someone looked at all of the Bible clues and did some calculations. The considered the Roman leader Pontius Pilate, the Jewish puppet King Herod, the census history, astronomy (the Star), and even the temple schedule of Zacharias. There is probably some other stuff I am overlooking but this is the date they came up with.

Mid-to-late October- This is my favorite choice. Certain events in Christ's life corresponded with Jewish festivals.

1. His crucifixion was during the Jewish festival of Passover (Pesach). Christ was the sacrificial Passover lamb.

2. His Ascension was during Pentecost (Shavuot) or the harvest festival. Perhaps this makes Christ the harvester of our souls (His fruits).

3. His birth might have been during Sukkoth, the feast of the Tabernacles. The "ushpizzin" or celebration of the 7 shepherds of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David) is a part of this festival. Christ is the shepherd to us, His sheep.

Pesach, Pentecost and Sukkoth make up the "Shalosh Regalim." Three Jewish festivals that require a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. If we use Sukkoth for his birth then this would complete a "trinity" of the major events in His life.

You might ask, if we are using Jewish festivals to milestone Christ's life, then why not use Hanukkah for his birth? Hanukkah is an important Jewish holiday and it would give us a December date for his birth. That is always a possibility, but Hanukkah isn't a major Jewish festival. It has only been brought to the forefront due to its close association with Christmas. So now maybe the Jews can freak out about Christmas because it is leading to the commercialization of Hanukkah. Just kidding.

And one more thing for us Christians. If Christmas is Christ's birthday, did you remember to give Him anything?

Merry Christmas!

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My Religion Page

My intent here is to construct a page that the non-believer, new believer, and old believer can all relate to. Wherever you find yourself, I welcome your feedback.

I am a Christian. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. He died for my sins and was resurrected. I was saved through His grace, and I grow in His grace.

My background. I attended a Congregational Church while growing up but it was merely a social experience, something we did on Sunday. I regarded Christ as a historical figure and stopped attending church when I left home. I did not become born again until a few years later when I was 26 years old and serving in the Army in West Germany. I am a Protestant, but consider myself a generic Christian. My travels in the military have taken me to a lot of different church experiences.

I am a lay person who doesn't read his Bible enough or pray enough. I am active in a church and attend Sunday school. I read a lot of Bible commentaries and Christian non-fiction. I use the King James Bible or the New American Standard when the King James is too much for me. I do not read or understand Hebrew or Greek, the two languages used in the Bible. I consider myself blessed that the Lord has placed a number of Biblical scholars in my life. They seem to arrive when I need them the most.

It is difficult to write a page on religion without sounding self-righteous. I want to share my faith in Jesus Christ without becoming a Pharisee*, that is, putting my faith in my beliefs, and not in Christ. I want to also avoid the "I am more humble than you" type of vanity.

There is a fine line between conviction and self-righteousness when dealing with faith issues. Here is how I identify self- righteousness: If you are having a discussion with somebody about your Christian beliefs and you are easily angered, then you are self-righteous and have very weak faith. Your faith is in your own beliefs, not in Christ Jesus.

I try to do my best to guard against self-deception and Theodicy (speaking for God). The prophet Jeremiah said, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

Writing about religion is very personal, and one seems to mention the word "I' a lot. This raises an issue for a Christian. The bible tells us that Christianity is about forgetting the "I" and serving God and others. But I also realize that we have to use the personal story to reach other people.

To my fellow believers. Our religion should hold up Jesus Christ as the sole example of Christianity. We are fellow travelers who struggle and fight our way through the interpretation of the Bible and events in our own lives through our faith. We should not present our beliefs as one-sided interpretation and examples of true faith.

To the non believers. Christianity is not about religion, rules, churches, denominations, history, tithes, the Bible, etc. It is simply about Jesus Christ. Who you think He is, and your relation to Him.
I wish to convert you to Christianity. When I say convert, I do not mean to convert to my beliefs. I want you to know and love Jesus and follow his teachings. Some of my beliefs could be wrong.
Christianity is different than most religions. It puts the relationship before the rules. Christ wants your love first. Then hopefully you will obey His rules. Other religions teach that you must obey the rules before you can get closer to God or achieve godlike status. Also, please remember that Christ approached most people with an invitation of love, not condemnation and damnation. The condemning was usually reserved for the religious leaders who had gone astray.

It is difficult to pick up a Bible and become a believer as soon as you start reading. A few people do, but it is rare. You must have some faith in order to start believing. St Augustine is quoted as saying, "I believe in order that I might understand." Hopefully I can plant a seed of faith in you.

From my experience, hardcore atheists are easier to reach than the apathetic and lukewarm. Those folks just don't care and it is hard to motivate them. The hardcore atheist is easier to reach because what they are really doing when they are working desperately to disprove God's existence, is actually trying to reach Him.

Anyway, until next time:

The 4 Spiritual laws of Christianity. When you confess your faith in Jesus this is what you are admitting too:

1. God created you and loves you and wants you to have eternal life.