Tyler and I were driving home from soccer practice on Monday. It was a great day. We were listening to a Christian Talk show. I believe it was Focus on the Family and favorite of mine. Tyler is a smart and perceptive Kid (Gets it from hi s mom) and he heard the voice on the radio say the words “killing babies” and of course a remarkable yet short conversation ensued. “Daddy is that true” “Yes, I am sorry to say that it is Tyler. Some people think that it is okay to kill babies before they are born.” (Usually when I talk to him while he is in the back, I will tilt the rear view mirror so I can see him. As I looked back he furled his eyebrows in a look of indignant concern and he said something I will always remember.) “Daddy I wish that God was here!” “I wish that he was here too, so people could see him, but he is here and some people just don’t care, so we have to.” It made me think about how God used to be so important in our country. Now he is marginalized or simply ignore, even though we hear the statistics that 90% believe in God and claim to be his followers. “I wish God were here!” 25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Judges 21:25 (NLT) He dropped the subject after that but I am continually thankful for the character God is developing in him. I feel loss over all the amazing children like him that are not here today due to abortion. I am glad that one day God will set everything right.
You usually see them in pairs in white button ups and an Elder name tag despite the fact that they are very young- Mormon Missionaries. I have members of the Latter Day Saint Church in my extended family and have known quite a few. Most Mormons are typically highly moral deeply religious, family minded and educated intensely in what they believe. That being said with all due respect, many Mormons, just like many who call themselves Christian actually know little about what they are supposed to believe. Ignorance in either respect is disapointint.
Here is my beef with the Mormon church. This is from MY expereince in talking with Missionaries and LDS members in various circumstances. To begin they call themselves Christians.
(Link to Article by Bill McKeever on MRM.ORG)
http://www.mrm.org/topics/introductory-issues/were-christians-just-you
I would have no problem with their beliefs as long as they were honest about what they taught. They are not. They give their version of the “truth incrementally. Unless someone investigates Mormonism or has someone to counter bring balance to what the missionaries are sharing, they will not know the more, I will just say unusual teachings of Mormonism. ”Their teaching are extremely inconsistent with the claims of Jesus Christ. Essentially they use terminology that poeple would assume mean the same thing. Words like, Salvation, Grace, Jesus, Heaven, Creation, Sin and so on.
(Link on Terminology)
http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/terminologymain.htm
6 I am shocked that you have so quickly turned from God, who chose you because of his wonderful kindness. You have believed another message, 7 when there is really only one true message. But some people are causing you trouble and want to make you turn away from the good news about Christ. 8 I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn’t matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. 9 I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed.
Galatians 1:6-9 (CEV)
To any Mormons, and for another gripe, it seems okay for LDS leadership to say that I am part of Apostate Christianity, but if I express that The LDS church is wrong,.. I must be Anti-Mormon.
(Link Anti Mormon Article)
http://www.mrm.org/anti-mormon
I am not anti-Mormon member, but yes I am opposed to their teachings. It seems that Joeseph Smith should have been reading his Bible, had he,.. you would not be a Moromon and I would be blogging about my sock drawer.
6 I am shocked that you have so quickly turned from God, who chose you because of his wonderful kindness. You have believed another message, 7 when there is really only one true message. But some people are causing you trouble and want to make you turn away from the good news about Christ. 8 I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn’t matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven. 9 I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed.
Galatians 1:6-9 (CEV)
Mormons are amazing people who have been knowing lied to and I hope to dialogue with anyone who would like to do so.
Life has been pretty hectic for he last couple of months. We have had some major life changes. We have changed schools, churches, where we live and it has all been for the best. We are closer to family and my wifes work so that is great. However I had to leave my job and as we all know, job are not exactly as prolific as bills in the mail box.
So I have been working with all due dilligence to stay off the proverbial couch, and the real one and stay busy as I look for work.
Here is what I am doing, if anyone has experienced being out of work, what did you do?
Studying to learn something new. Working in the Yard. Being industrious-I am going to “try” to build bookshelves. Keeping up with past professional skills. Helping family and friends as often as I can. Listening to Audio Books. Spending time with my wife and son. Reading my Bible. Volunteering at a local DJJ center to hold “Church”. Volunteering at Church by helping to start a Men’s Ministry. Vounteering with the Student Ministry. Spending time with my wife and son. Studying for a MAT test- I am looking into getting my Masters? Working Out. Spending time with my wife and son. Catching up with old friends. Seeing my mom more = ). Going to the library. Netwoking. Looking for Jobs and of Course Praying.
I hope that all of us who are not working right now will use our time wisely. I am encouraged that God is faithful and will see us through.
Maybe you are in a church that you love, maybe you are not. Regardless, what do you look for in a church? What is your church doing right that is keeping your connected, or what is your church failing to do that is making you look for greener pastures? I would love to have your feedback. Thanks
If any of you like me at times have trouble sticking to a plan to stay in the word, here is some help. Just link to these great Bible reading plan and find one that fits your personality, strenghts or weakness as the case may be. Some may be duplicated, but I hope that you find something.
Link
http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138
http://www.emmausroadonline.org/pdf%20documents/Bible%20Reading%20Plans%20and%20Family%20Ideas.pdf
In Church we have been going over the Sermon on the Mount, or what our Pastor calls Christ’s manifesto. He had made two comments that made me think about how Christians, of which I am one unashamedly, are percieved.
Number One: He talked about a friend of his that he knew that either owned or managed a resteraunt. According to this person, he said that it was tough to get people to work shifts on Sundays, not because they wanted to go to church, but because of people who go to church. Wait staff said that Christians can be rude, cheap and obnoxious. Its pretty sad. Inisde I had a list of objections but knew the truth. Christians can be like that. Many that claim to be Christians arent really, they are just under a religious obligation, or a works based religion. Not an excuse, but a reality.
I want to treat others the way I want to be treated, to love the way I want to be loved. God did’nt give us the choice of “who” to love, he just said love.
Number Two: He also mentioned how we wrongly reflect Christ. You have seen it, the little fish on the car. I think they are fine, but when you see some, you wonder if they know it is even there, I mean its not like some Holy tagger slapped the fish on the back of their car without their knowledege. The Pastor talked said that even how we drive is a reflection of Christ. So here is the funny part. I pulled out of the parking lot heading to my moms to have lunch and a big SUV cuts me off trying to get into a left turning lane. Guess what I say on the back? Yep, the Fish. It gets worse, there was a sticker on the window from the church I attend. I wanted to flag them down and ask them if they were in the same room I was?! Do people listen, or do they just not care. Christains are certainly not perfect, but when we ignore the basics of Christianity, we fail Christ.
A Final Thought
Not a Christian? Don’t evaluate Christ by Christians. You will totally get the wrong picture. If you are unsure about Jesus and Christianity, don’t look at a fallen man and throw the book at Christ so to speak, sinful men will always sin, look to Christ.
A Christian? If you are a Christian, be responsible, you have a Lord in Heaven who expects you to love others as you claim to love Him. I hope that in time, when I lock eyes with a person, I will see Christ and treat them that way. I am certainly not there yet, but I certainly hope that I will be closer day by day.
So where were we. We were talking about what 95% of Christians have never done. Even as I type this I find it very hard to believe, and yet I don\’t have any trouble realizing that its true. So what is it? 95% of Christians have never shared their faith with anyone! Never obeyed God\’s call to tell anyone about him. What is really a shame is that Christians have the truth and yet it is the other world religions and cults that go on the offensive and work hard to share the truth. Yes it is difficult to share your faith, but God has called us to do that very thing even if its hard, uncomfortable or difficult. Going to the cross was not comfortable, easy or convenient, but he did it. Who are we to fail to at least let others know? When I stand before God, I don\’t want to fail to have souls in heaven that I helped get there. Are you in this 95%?
I feel the heat and pressure of these tough economic times. I am sure that many of you are struggling as well, or at least having to make adjustments. I am reminded about passages in scripture that encourage us to remember what God has done so we can have faith in what God will do. I am greatful for God’s word, it is full or promise and encouragement for the times.
Daniel 3 is the historical and faith story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You can read the full account for themselves. Many of us feel like we are faced with an intenesly difficult future and we may be, but like Rack, Shack and Benny we need to come to the point in our lives and faith where we can say as they did-
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty, But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Okay, so we are not facing a literal burning or being forced to bow down to an idol set up by misguided King Nebby, but we are being tempted to forget the Faithfullness of God. Rack, Shack and Benny were tempted to blame God for their situation, to call him to account (Yeah right as if God is answerable to anyone). They recalled the faithfullness of their God. They recalled that their God could save them at any point in time. That is some great faith, but here is my favorite and yet most challenging portion. They would not bend a knee even if God chose not to act on their behalf . Their circumstances failed to determine there own faith in God! AWESOME! Don’t let yours do so either. God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31).
Remember the ways God has been faithful in your life, recount them with your family and friends. Realize that our “difficulty” is still so much better than what many others in the world are experienceing, they would trade places with us in an instatnt! It would be amazing to hear people talk about how God has blessed them through this time, how they have drawn closer to him, how they have trusted and prayed more. Those are some of my blessings, along with the fact that my mom and nephew have begun to come to our new church with us! (Our new church is a blessing as well)
What do you have to be greatful for?
Last week my 5 year old son and I shared a rite of passage. We dove deep into a new level of bonding, and shared comraderie. We watched Star Wars! Yep thats right. We practically had a marathon. It was a great time to share that time with him. He had lots of questions and wide eyed moments.
Since then Tyler has introduced Star Wars figures into play when the Dinosaurs come out to play. Now we have one more thing to play together and talk about. We got to talk about Good and Evil, about restoration, love and other themes that come out in this movie. I love to share time with my son and it is a gift of God to do so. I pray for all of you who have little ones that you will enjoy the time you have becuase it seems to go by so quickly.
The time you are given you can never have again, so treasure it and use every opportunity to share with them your faith in God.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (CEV)
4 Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! 5 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 8 Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. 9 Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.
Galatians 6:10 (NLT)
10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Here’s to Star Wars
I came across this statistic the other day and I was really saddened by it. I am not sure it is absolutely accurate, but I would not be surprised if it was true. Here is how it starts, “95% percent of Christians have never….” Now starting right there brings to mind Christians who are concerned with all the things that they DONT do because they are Christians. You know the list; they don’t drink, lie, and cheat on their taxes, steal, watch “R” movies, cuss and the rest of the don’ts. Now it is great that they don’t get involved in these things, but too many times as Christians we tend to stop there with a self-satisfied attitude as we look down our noses at those who live for the list and we feel much better about ourselves and our standing before a Holy and Just God. Man talking about missing the boat. It is said that there are two reasons that people don’t go to church, they don’t know anyone who goes to church, or they do. That is a sobering thought. We are not always the representative of Christ he has called us to be.
SO what is it that 95% of Good Christians don’t do that is saddening? Any Guesses? Well I will leave it here and wrap it up next time.
95% ??? Hmmm
