This speaks for itself. Take four minutes please.
Posts Tagged ‘God’
what rhymes with awesome?
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012180 movie
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011This short film rocked my world last week! It is a loving punch in the stomach that gets your attention… a battle between justification and morality, with morality winning uncontested!
powerful when explained powerfully
Monday, April 25th, 2011This video was shown in my church on Sunday. It’s had my wheels turning ever since. Give this a watch. If your curious about real Christianity, you need to take 5 minutes to reshape your mind… this guy lays it out in a way you have never heard before. Forget what T.V., movies and news has led you to believe about the Gospel, this is the truth.
reverse thinking
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011nothing created everything
Friday, September 24th, 2010So a couple weekends ago I was talking with my parents and they were telling me they had seen an interview between Larry King and Stephen Hawking. I found the clip on youtube.
If there is anything that people of faith in God or faith in science would both have to concede it would be that all of us lack the ability to understand everything, particularly the origin of the universe. We just don’t have the mental capacity to process how we exist. Science would have us believe that the universe sprang into being spontaneously while the Christian faith would have us believe that God created everything. Now what the opposite sides struggle with is “well then who created God?” and “well how did everything just all of the sudden exist?”
Being in the faith camp I personally find it utterly absurd to believe that everything was created out of nothing. To my mind it is far more plausible that God is the creator of everything and I honestly don’t worry about the who created God portion of the equation because he is God who is without beginning or end. Below is a transcript of the interview which I will input some of my own thoughts.
smoke and fire
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
Smoke is merely the indication of a larger problem.
Have you ever heard the saying “where there is smoke there is fire”? Have you ever considered what that saying even means? Allow me to explain. The saying basically means that if you see things that are suggestive of something else happening then the something else is likely already occurring. The saying means that smoke is a warning sign of a larger problem. If that seems a little obscure consider this example. Maybe an employer has noticed that the cash till has been short a couple times over the last month. The cash shortage is the smoke of the larger problem/fire that one of his employees is stealing from him or her.
Everywhere I look in the world all I see is smoke. For me what is more concerning than the smoke that I see is everyone’s indifference to the smoke. So many people are choking and gagging on it all their lives but they don’t even realize it. The entire world is so overwhelmed by smoke that an astronomical majority of us are blinded by it and because it’s all we’ve ever seen we don’t even know we’re blind… and the few times we do notice it we usually choose to ignore it.
So what is the smoke you might be wondering? Smoke is people starving all over the world. Smoke is families being broken apart. Smoke is wars being fought in many countries. Smoke is people losing their jobs and struggling financially. Smoke is someone having more money than they know what to do with. Smoke is drunkenness, fighting and promiscuity in bars on the weekend. Smoke is diseases and sickness. Smoke is the destruction of our planet. Smoke is people not having a place to sleep at night. Smoke is people being violent with each other. Smoke is our jails being filled to capacity. Smoke is someone being lonely. Smoke is unkind words spoken to someone. Smoke is two people in traffic at rush hour succumbing to road rage. Smoke is a kid in trouble because they didn’t listen to their parents. Smoke is a kid in trouble because their parents aren’t engaged in their life. Smoke is someone turning to a life of drugs. Smoke is a married person sleeping with someone who is not their spouse. Smoke is gossip or spreading rumours about someone… smoke is everything that is ugly in our lives and on our planet that diminishes our happiness and quality of life. Smoke is ugly, unnatural and terrible for us. So why do we live in it and pretend like it’s not there?
However, like I stated above smoke is only a sign of the source of the real problem. There is a fire raging in our world that can’t be put out. So what is the fire then? Idolatry, cursing, hatred, adultery, disrespect, lying, jealousy, bitterness, apathy, greed, violence, promiscuity, drunkenness, gossip, murder, fighting… fire is honestly best summed up as sin. Uh-oh, I used “the s-word”. Sin is a word that makes a lot of people uncomfortable I know, but keep reading, this will end well. What does fire do? It destroys and burns down and consumes. What does sin do? It destroys and burns down and consumes our lives.
The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Ecclesiastes 9:17-18
There is a fire burning. I doubt anyone that reads this can honestly say that they are guiltless of all the above mentioned transgressions. That is why God in His mercy and love has sent us a fire extinguisher. If this post is about anything it is mostly about putting out the fire. All of Christ’s teachings if applied in all of our individual lives would kill the fire. But because people are prideful and stubborn and want to go their own way it will never happen. That is why God sent Christ. He showed us how life is supposed to be done and those of us that chose that path will be spared from an eternity of fire.
I am hoping this isn’t coming across as total nonsense. The basic premise is that God wants nothing but good things for all of us. We have chosen and made the world this way. Even if you think you haven’t contributed to the problems it’s the indifference of millions and millions of people that allow things to keep going the way they are. Many people live defeated thinking they can’t make a difference and that someone else needs to do something. Well I have news for you who is reading this right now. To every one on the planet YOU are a someone else.
So take a hold of Christ who is the fire extinguisher and start learning what he taught and start putting out fires in your life. It’s really easy, love God with all your being and love your neighbour as yourself. That means love everyone who is not you as if they were you. For example when someone is hungry and asks you for help, don’t ignore the, when you’re hungry you make sure you eat… so if a hungry person needs your help, feed them! That is one basic example. Another could be stop racing in traffic and let people in. If you can’t make a turn you appreciate the courtesy of someone waving you in. Just work to be others focused. Aside from those basic commands follows a myriad of others which if obeyed would see all other issues disappear but at the heart of all of them is love others. I will give examples if asked in the comments section.
My point here is to grab a hold of Christ and put out the fires in your life and in the lives of others… when you start doing this the smoke will go away too. It is in this kind of living that the promise of God is rooted. I have a tattoo on my left shoulder that contains three verses of scripture which all pertain to perseverance. One of them is;
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12
Life is a test that needs to be endured but God does not expect you to do it alone. Christ is there, He cares about you and wants you to live well and ultimately for you to find your permanent home in Heaven. This life is just the “coming attractions” portion before the main event. What I will share to sum this up is my personal revelation that made Christ real to me. When I learned what Christ was about and what he taught I realized the following;
Everything in my life that has caused me pain, suffering or anguish in anyway was the result of something that I had done that was contrary to what Christ taught or was the result of someone else doing something that affected me that was contrary to what Christ taught.
God’s will is perfect and the truth is found in it. It’s up to us to live by it. The best gift we have from God is free will. Otherwise we’d just be a bunch of wind-up robots here for his amusement. The relationship He desires to have with us is so much larger and more beautiful than something like that. It’s up to you. Put out the fires you can, get rid of the smoke and I’m confident you will see that.
understanding the gamble
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
understand whats at stake before you gamble
Have you ever made a really big gamble, a gamble so large that if you lost you’re not sure what you would do in the aftermath of losing? Not too many people make gambles of that nature because they can’t stomach the risk of losing. With that opening statement I am sure a lot of you had pictures in your mind of a casino you have either been to or seen in a movie. However this post is going to explore the gigantic gamble we all make whether we go to a casino or not.
If you have spent any time on this site you know that I am a person of faith in Christianity. Or to be more clear, I believe in God the creator who has redeemed us to be worthy of salvation and an eternity in Heaven through the crucifixion of and faith in His only Son Jesus Christ. Now there are many people in the world that believe the Christian faith is nonsense and an old fable or a recycled pagan religion for uneducated folks. Understand that I hold my faith whole-heartedly, however for this post to be legitimate I have to admit that I could be wrong in the hopes that if you are a non-believer reading this that you can also admit to possibly being wrong in your stance. Now this is something you probably don’t spend a lot of time considering but one of the above mentioned groups is right and the other is wrong. Therein lays the gamble. Let’s examine a chart I have made below.
In this chart the vertical axis represents the two realities that can exist for Christianity. Either it’s true, or it’s baloney. The horizontal axis represents your belief to either of the realities. You can either believe or not believe. Those really are the only realities and beliefs that can be taken in this debate. Now contrary to what you might think all of us are either in the red or black column because “it’s true” and “it’s baloney” are statements based on realities that you have to have a position with.
The debate as to whether Christianity is true or not is centuries old. After long reflection I have come to realize that the debate is empty and pointless. Regardless of how much we argue that debate is going to settle itself eventually either way. The debate we need to be having is with ourselves internally whether it is right or better to be a person of faith or not. Either way, true or not, all of us are gambling either on red or on black. As you can see, it is a gamble with drastically varying outcomes.
- It’s True and You Believe - If Christianity is true and you are a person of faith and live your life according to what the Bible teaches when you die you will be rewarded with an eternity in Heaven.
- It’s Baloney and You Believe - If Christianity is not true and there is no afterlife you lived your life as best as you could based on the teachings of the Bible but when you die there is nothing and you cease to exist.
- It’s True and You Don’t Believe - If Christianity is true and you don’t believe you lived your life how you saw fit but when you die there is an eternity of suffering ahead of you.
- It’s Baloney and You Don’t Believe - If Christianity is not true and there is no afterlife you lived your life as you saw fit and when you die there is nothing, you cease to exist.
Do you see what I am getting at here? For any believer, with their “chips” on red, there is no gamble because if Christianity does turn out to be false they will share in the same fate as non believers. However if it’s true the fates of believers and non-believers are very different. Now please understand that this isn’t some scare tactic. I am by no means saying “look at my fancy chart, now repent and believe!” I am making a sincere effort to get you to think about the consequences of something that the world doesn’t want you to think about.
My chips are on red…
Beyond the chart above there is more to the reason as to why I am betting on red. A number of years ago I realized I am not a good person on my own. I don’t think any of us can say that we are. If you read that last sentence and scoffed at it I would like to know if you would be comfortable if there was a speaker in the back of your head loudly broadcasting everything you we’re thinking 24/7? Or how would you feel if people could turn on the news and get a daily run down of everything you did that day, good or bad? I know that’s not something I would not be interested in for myself. My point is that the true reflection of ourselves is who we are in secret, not what we show everyone else.
The Bible makes it clear that we have all sinned and all fall short of God’s expectations. Now if you get anything out of this post I hope it’s this next bit. God is just. He could not be perfect if he wasn’t. Therefore how could anyone be rewarded with an eternity of happiness if they had been bad and rebellious their entire lives? That can’t happen. So in God’s infinite justice, love and grace He made a way. He could spare the entire human race from a fate of suffering if just one person could get their time on Earth right. Here is where Jesus enters the picture. Christ was entirely perfect and was crucified inspite of it. On him was placed all the wrath and suffering we deserved because of our rebellion. That was enough justice for God to be satisfied. That is why faith in Christ is essential to our salvation. If someone saved our life here on earth would you not be grateful? If someone pushed you out of the way of a speeding car and took the hit for you, would you not be eternally grateful to that person?
So here is this free gift of salvation offered to us by God. All we have to do is accept it. Is it not obvious that a gift isn’t ours until we claim it as our own? If you’re a hungry person and someone offers you a meal, that meal isn’t going to do anything for you until you accept it and eat it. So as a hungry person devours a meal should we not all devour the gift of salvation offered to us by God? Have you ever wondered why Jesus is such a vital part of going to Heaven. The answer is simple, he is the way. He pushed you out of the way and got hit by the car on your behalf. Also as the one who took the punishment in our place he has been made judge of who enters and who doesn’t. In Jesus’ words “no one comes to the Father except through me”. So you need Christ and acceptance of what he did in your heart.
A parachute cannot save you unless you reach out and pull the ripcord. The good news about Jesus cannot save you unless you call on His name. Reinhard Bonnke
The last part of the formula is repentance. To put this into perspective have you ever forgiven someone that hasn’t apologized or at least shown remorse for the wrong thing they did to you? Would it not be difficult and almost impossible to forgive a person like that? Again, God is just, but also merciful. Mercy will be shown to those that are sorry and change their ways. Why should anyone that’s not sorry for what they have done be shown any kind of forgiveness, especially when they continue to just do the wrong/hurtful thing again and again?
Now I get it, a lot of professed Christians are the worst people you may know. And some of the worst things you have heard of on the news have been done in the name of religion or by priests and pastors that should know better. The word hypocrite comes to mind. All I want to ask of you is to not allow the mistakes made by others get in your way and to be responsible for yourself, not others. A lot of people ask the question why does God allow “these things” to happen or say I can’t believe in a good God with all “this stuff” going on. Humans have free will which God gave us and allows us to use. Some use it for good, others don’t. It’s really that simple. We are to blame for all the bad stuff, but that’s not a very popular stance to take. I know when I look in the mirror I don’t want to be at all responsible for the state the world is in, but I am, we all are.
The last point I want to make is the fact that we still have the faith of Christianity around after over 2000 years of trying to disprove it. I think if something were a lie that it just may have been exposed as such after all this time. Speaking of over 2000 years do you realize that the year is technically 2010 A.D., after death? Prior to that the years we’re B.C., before Christ. I don’t think people way back then had a meeting and said “Let’s start counting the years all over again based on the death of a man that never existed.” That seems highly improbable to me.
A Call to Action
At the church I go to we often watch these video’s of street interviews. Random people get asked questions about faith, God, Christ or Heaven on the spot. Some of the answers are unbelievable. Most often people are vague and say”I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it”. If you are one of those people, get thinking! Picture a roulette wheel that is spinning and the ball is whirling around the perimeter. Red or black, where do you put your metaphorical chips? If you’re a gambler you have to put them on red, you can’t lose. The good news here is that even if terrible things have happened in your life and all this time you have had your chips on black, there is still time to move them over to red. Explore faith for yourself. God is longing for you to come home. The wheel doesn’t stop spinning and the ball doesn’t fall into place until your life is done or Christ returns. But don’t take too long, because we don’t know when our time is up. So don’t ignore this message by merely brushing it off as unrelevant to you. Like it or not, you are gambling.
the real ten commandments – final two and conclusion
Sunday, July 4th, 2010I am long overdue to finish a series that I started nearly a year ago. This post is going to see me concluding the real ten commandments series by touching on the first two commandments then making some broad conclusions for your consideration.
The first two commandments are;
- You shall have no other God’s before me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
Now I am not a religious scholar and I am not terribly well read and knowledgeable in all the different religions in today’s world. A lot of what I write about is based on experience and what I have learned since I have gone back to church. In respect to the final two commandments we spend far too much time apart from God. We have become too diluted with information and options when it comes to spirituality. There is far too much attention put on work and entertainment. If we’re not working we are entertaining ourselves and if we’re not entertaining ourselves we are working to pay for more entertainment later.
To keep it short and sweet in those two commandments God is asking us to not allow ourselves to have any other Gods that confuse and don’t offer us everything we need like He does. He doesn’t want us worshiping or putting our hope and energy into empty things. He is also asking us not to turn other things into priorities over him. I’ll admit that is something that I even continue to struggle with as a follower of Christ. There is just so much stuff that begs for our attention. I have to hold in check the time that I give to TV, sports, fantasy football, video games, music, movies, work, poker and other games… and I could go on.
It is something that I recognize as being so important that recently I made a mission statement for myself and have it framed and on the wall beside my bed so I can see it everyday when I get up. I think a lot of people talk a big game about what their priorities are but don’t really lead lives that are inline with what they say. I know I have been guilty of that a lot. But then I came to the conclusion that what I do with my time is what my priorities are, not what I say. So know I make an effort to live what I talk, hence the new commitment to this site and the faith that I proclaim to have. I know in my heart that is what God desires from all of us.
the big conclusion for this series
Well here we are on the other side of our adventure through all the commandments. So here is a rough picture of the world if they we’re obeyed. There would be less jealousy and debt. People wouldn’t be killing themselves working to stay ahead of payments for things they don`t need. Because people would be working less hard for stuff they would be more rested and have more time for friends and family. People would be less stressed about finances and the condition of all their “treasures”.
People wouldn’t be lying to each other about anything so we wouldn’t have to deal with the hurt, sadness and anger that comes with lying.
No one would be stealing anything from anyone so there would be more trust of other people. There would be far less crime if no one stole stuff, money or people for that matter. Human trafficking, abductions and slavery would all take a major hit.
If no one was having sex outside of marriage we would all be more capable of monogamous relationships. There would be no std’s if everyone was just having sex with one person in their life. There would be no rape. There would be no sex trade in the world. I am also pretty sure abortion would be a thing of the past.
With no killing there would be no war and no murder. With that being true no one would have to suffer the trauma, hurt, anger and sorrow of losing their loved ones by war or someone stealing their life.
Family relationships would be stronger with kids honoring their parents. Kids would be in less or no trouble at all because they would be obeying the guidelines set out by their parents.
People would be more rested taking a day to rest the way God desires us to rest. I believe we would experience more of God’s peace if we did that and checked our tempers when it comes to misusing his name. Also we would only be brought into closer relationship if we gave him the priority he deserves and pushed aside a lot of the distractions and pitfalls that the enemy puts in the way.
That is a little bit of a sloppy conclusion. Most of the individual posts did far more justice to what I was speaking about. That said, links to all the previous posts in this series have been added to the bottom of this entry. At the end of the day I think there is no one that could honestly say that the world described above isn’t better than the one we are living in now. God wants better for us, it seems like we don’t want it for ourselves.
Lastly in Matthew Christ makes a very broad sweeping statement that goes even further than all the commandments put together.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
What is so great about this verse of how deep it roots are when thought about at length. Love God and love each other is the short version. If we love God we don’t put things before him. We don’t build idols in our life to distract us or offer empty worship to. We don’t abuse His name. We don’t stray and allow ourselves be out of fellowship with. Furthermore we would acknowledge and believe everything He tells us is truth which would compel us to change so much about our lives.
If we love our neighbors as ourselves (and this goes further than the people living to the left or the right of us) so much would change about our attitudes towards other people. Think about all the things that people do to you that anger or hurt you. This really is another wording of the old advice do onto others as you would have done onto you. So why do we pass hungry people in the street asking for help and pretend we don’t see them? Why do we cut people off in traffic? Why do we lie to each other, steal, say hurtful things, do kind things for selfish reason… the list could be endless.
In every situation look at yourself as the problem and then take the proper actions to be the positive solution. If everyone started with themselves instead of looking at everyone else as the problem a world full of people would be changed. Then and only then will we ever see some real change.
previous posts in the series
Coveting
False Witness
Stealing
Adultery
Killing
Honour Your Parents
Sabbath Day
The Lord’s Name
ten commandments – the Lord’s name
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010This will be a fairly brief post as the points that need to be made are few and short. God is God. He is the one and only God and his name is above all names. The third commandment is that we not take the name of the Lord in vain. After referring to a few different translations of the Bible there are a couple different understandings that I have come to for this one, all of them good.
- Do not use the name of the Lord for evil purposes.
- Do not make wrong use of the name of God.
- Do not use the name of God irreverently nor to swear to a falsehood.
- Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
It seems to me to be a pretty straightforward and reasonable request. This command is found in Exodus 20:7. If we go back only 2 verses we can see God refer to himself as a jealous God when commanding us to not make idols or bow down to them. In this we can learn that God is emotional. I think that is something that we don’t consider very often. I am sure there is not one person reading this post that enjoys being disrespected. Consider the fact that God created us in his likeness and that he does not want to be disrespected either. God is the one who created us and loves us beyond our comprehension and despite all of our short comings.
One thing I often think about is all the people that say they don’t believe in God, or worse yet do but don’t practice what they profess to believe in, only use the name of our creator and redeemer in the heat of anger or passion. Other times people use the name of God to “swear” to something they know isn’t true. And sometimes people like to refer to themselves or someoen they know as a God whether jokingly or genuine. All of these are bad.
Lastly, here is something great that I pulled from another website:
Next an analogy: When my mother married my father, in Germany back in the 1940′s after World War Two, she took my father’s name. The taking of the new name, reflected a change in life, and change in status and a change in priorities. She was no longer a single woman, she was married. She no longer dated men, she was mated to one. She was now responsible for a family and a relationship that would last over 50 years (so far!).
If her lifestyle did not change from that day forward, she would have been ostracized by her community. Few, if any, cultures or societies encourage their married women to live in the same way after the marriage as they did before they married.
In other words, if my mother had taken my father’s name, but not changed her lifestyle, she would have taken my father’s name “in-vain”. She would have had a ceremony, but not a new life, and boy would my father have been… upset, to put it mildly.
When we put on a uniform, we take the name of those whose uniform it is. Whether it is a sports team uniform, a work uniform for an employer or a military uniform. When we choose a career, we take the name of the best of everyone in that career field.
If you take the name of God, at a ceremony, and tell the world that you are now part of the ‘bride of Christ’ as the church is called, yet you do not live like a ‘bride of Christ’, you have taken His name in vain, and you will not be considered guiltless. Live with Jesus as if you are committed to Him for life, not as if He is a friend. A spouse is supposed to be an intimate friend, companion, confidant, friend and a lifetime commitment. To treat Jesus as anything less than that, is to take His name in vain. Ouch. Are you ‘guilty as charged’?
With this series I have been commenting at the end of the posts as to how the world would be different if the commandment being examined was followed. I have to say I have had a hard time with this one on that level. I do think if we made our best effort in being revreant of God’s name in this commandment and the rest of them it would be easier to see his presence. In that we would he less struggles and heart ache. I think we would feel a snowball like effect goodness instead of the snowball effect of evil we see in the world today.
ten commandments – Sabbath Day
Friday, April 9th, 2010The Sabbath is a large topic that has had much study and debate over the course of time. What I am aiming to focus on here is really quite simple. God wants us to rest… from everything. The world and our lives are so noisy that we never just sit and rest. Even what we think is rest really isn’t. A lot of time people plan elaborate vacations to unwind. Some people sit and watch TV, while some may read a book and others go for a run or engage in some other sport or hobby. A lot of the time those activities require pre-planning and finances which in turn require us to work harder just to get to the thing we enjoy. God wants us to rest. He knows we run ourselves ragged in every way.
God wants us to connect with him. He wants us to come to him every week with thanks, needs, questions and seeking forgiveness. We can’t manage our lives on our own. We kill ourselves perusing what we think will make us happy when the only thing that brings peace is God’s loving and accepting presence. That is why the Sabbath is an important day to be observed.
It’s not a day to put on uncomfortable cloths and drag our feet to church because we feel guilty or it will make grandma happy. The Sabbath is a day to connect with God and recharge in his presence. To use a sports metaphor, its like a runner at first base taking a lead off but going back to re-tag the base after every pitch… it keeps him safe.
As you have seen through this series of posts about the Ten Commandments that God only wants what is best for us. The creator knows what is good for his creation. This falls in line with all of that. He desires relationship with us. He wants us safe, happy and healthy in his presence. Three more commandments to go!