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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Jesus loves Muslims, free speech, and freedom of religion

(This plea for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and a statement of Jesus' love for everyone was ironically censored by Google+. I have asked Google+ for a dialogue to learn what they object to and have not received any communication from them. Please read this post and let me know (specifically) how you interpret its ideas and why you think Google+ censored it, thank you).

I couldn't sleep last night/this morning. So, I was on my computer and I came across a report on Loretta Lynch promising to prosecute any "Anti-Muslim" rhetoric "predicated on violence." The writer of the report posed the question, "what exactly does that mean?" and answered, "possibly anything she wants it to mean."

The America I grew up in (back in the day) defended freedom of speech and freedom of religion, though not in ways I always wanted. As an example, pornography, which in my opinion hurts those who make it and use it, was defended by the Supreme Court as an expression of free speech. A certain religion that used an illegal drug in its worship was allowed to continue and use the drug legally by the Supreme Court when the court deemed it an exercise of freedom of religion.  

I didn't agree with those decisions but I recognized the need for freedom of speech and religion. I realized that the preservation of those freedoms for all outweighed my objections to specific applications.  I agree with Loretta Lynch's end, that is I don't want a backlash against Muslims. But I fear the means to this end as this Administration and Supreme Court have proven capable of deliberately over-reaching the law, deliberately under-interpreting the law, and deliberately making-up law. What are they capable of doing to the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech in this instance?

After courageous American Christians lost their lives by standing up to a gunman and proclaiming their faith in Jesus, there was no U.S. government statement about the protection of Christians that would follow, that I know of. President Obama did not even acknowledge that there had been a "hate-crime" against Christians. But when two Muslims "bent on Jihad" (a tenet of Islam that instructs Muslims to kill non-Muslims) kill innocent people, this government threatens to silence any speech critical of Islam and similar followers.

Jesus wants all people (including Muslims "bent on Jihad") to know that he loves them, forgives them, and wants them to turn from evil and join him in loving God and loving people. That is what I want too.





Saturday, December 5, 2015

Fame, fortune, power and pleasure

The "glory" of this "world" is the opposite of God's Glory.  What I naturally seek, and maybe you do too, is fame, fortune, power and pleasure.  I want to be great at something that the whole world thinks is important so that everyone knows me and thinks well of me.  If I could only sing like an angel, or be able to throw a bouncy ball through a metal ring; if I could only do what others cannot, I can be special, and I would earn love for myself.

Jesus did not seek this "glory."  Satan tempted him to seek this glory though.  By turning stone into bread he would meet a legitimate God-given need.  By jumping off the temple and having the angels "catch" him he would instantly draw attention to himself and his divinity.  And he could skip the cross and everyone would bow to him, if only he bowed to satan.

Jesus rejected each of these plans of satan.  He said eating was not as important as obeying (loving) God.  He said we "test" God by obeying him, not demanding he obey us.  And he chose to love God and bow to him, even if that meant dying on the cross; rather than to submit to evil, lies and coercion in order to have the world bow to him.

Jesus chose to give love to others, rather than "earn love for himself."  He chose to value others above himself (not that he was less than others, but he chose to place them ahead of himself so that they would feel the honor he had for them).  God is love and Jesus is God, so Jesus is love.  And he wants to give himself to you.  He wants you to know that he loves you, and that he cares about you and what you care about, and that he wants to sit down and have coffee with you, and just talk.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

God loves you.  God, in the person of Jesus, wants to sit down and have coffee with you.  He is completely and desperately in love with you.  He has been desperately seeking you your whole life.  You may not know it but you have been desperately seeking Jesus your whole life as well.  Every relationship, every recreational drug, every drink, every fight, every crime, every time you've given up, every time you've over achieved, has been an attempt to find that missing part of you, but you didn't know it.  You were looking for Jesus.  Jesus said, You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.  Jesus has done everything needed in order to have a forever relationship with you. If you will seek him, and not give up, he guaranteed he would be found by you.  But the choice to get to know him is yours. Why not choose him now?

Friday, November 13, 2015

What's in a name?

Does the same word mean different things to different people?  I grew up learning the definitions of words from the context of the experiences I was in.  Did you?  No, I don't mean the context of the experiences you were in, but the experiences I was in.  Of course not, you say.  And herein lies the problem... or opportunity.  When I say, "father" what do I mean?  I think of my father.  If I am trying to describe to you my relationship with my Heavenly Father do you instantly think of my father?  Or, your own father?

I believe some people hate God the Father because they are really thinking He is like their own father.  And their earthly fathers did not fulfill their expectations at best, and were evil to them at worst.  Satan can encourage real or imagined hurts to grow into bitterness.  So when I talk of my Heavenly Father what do I mean?

Jesus is the exact representation of the invisible God (Isaiah 1:16).

When Jesus was born He was called: wonderful counselor, mighty God, EVERLASTING FATHER, prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).  Because Jesus was and is God's Only Begotten Son, He can perfectly represent God the Father to us.  

So what is the character of this Father?  Jesus was patient, even when His disciples got it wrong again and again (as I would have gotten it wrong as well),  Jesus was kind, even when it cost Him.  And forgiving too.  He didn't repay evil for evil.  When He was dying on the cross He prayed for His murderers (the religious leaders) and tried to help them discover His Forever Love by reminding them of Messianic Scripture.  Though God the Father created all things by Him and for Him, He was not proud.  He humbly seeks a relationship with us.  He never forces Himself on us.  He doesn't hold our past mistakes and sins against us.  He loves us with all that He is no matter what we do or what anyone or anything else does.  He believes the best about us and encourages us to become all He created us to be.  He does not fail.  (See I Corinthians 13 and substitute "Jesus" for "Love").

Does this sound like a Father you would like to have?  You can.  Just ask Him to forgive your wrongs and come into your life and heart.  He is waiting.  And you two have so much to talk about!

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Jesus: Semper Fi

I struggle at times believing that God loves me.  Especially when I sin.  It can be a big dark hole and satan doesn't hold back saying that God doesn't love me, how could he, I'm not a Christian anymore and I never was one because Christians don't do things like that and on and on he goes.  I feel I have no defense.  I have a flash of fear that satan is right.

I remember that Jesus offers forgiveness, but satan says that is just too good to be true.  It doesn't apply to me.

I remember that Jesus died to forgive me.  Satan says nothing.

Jesus said He loves me as I am.

He reminds me He is the friend of sinners.

Jesus tells me my relationship with Him didn't begin based on my behavior and it doesn't end based on my behavior.

Jesus says I am seated with Him in heaven.

Jesus says that His love never fails.  It is stronger than death.

I choose to trust Him.

And I start talking with Him, asking, how do I turn away from sin?

Saturday, October 10, 2015

This will help stop the violence...

I think the real issue is not too many guns but a lack of mental health care.  Let me explain.  It shocked me to find out that, generally speaking, the cities with the strictest gun control laws have the most crime and the cities with the most guns have the lowest crime.  Internationally, when comparing countries, the same principle plays out.  Conclusion? When the people bear arms there is less crime.

So if gun control will not stop "crazy" (President Obama's word) gunmen what do we do?

The mentally ill must be offered treatment.  And, as you consider paying for that last statement, realize that one of those receiving treatment just might eventually be you.

One in five people in the United States will experience their own mental illness in their lifetime.  That is 60 million people.  Yet voting for funding to meet this challenge isn't popular.  Ignorance, fear of the unknown, stigma, blame all contribute to distort the perception of the disease and its treatment.  Medication and behavior therapies can dramatically help a dramatic number of sufferers of mental illness.  And it costs much less than paying for the prison stays many, many sufferers of mental illness are forced to endure.  It costs less than hospitalization.  And, if you value human life, it costs less than suicide or homicide.

But that is just the start.  Because when you treat mental illness you rescue someone from a prison of intense psychological and sometimes physical suffering.  You release the person to be what God intended them to be.  They can even stop costing taxpayers and start becoming taxpayers and actually start paying back those who funded their rescue.

Since getting the correct meds and taking them starting in 1985 I have worked for 23 years as an Advertising Designer.  I have given back in taxes and charitable giving, roughly between $150,000 and $200,000 during that 23 year period (adjusted to 2008 dollars).

I have also had the privilege to marry my beautiful wife and adopt out of foster care the two boys I love.  So much beauty can happen when someone who is mentally ill gets the right treatment.  Financially it goes from negative to positive.  And, humanly, it goes from a living death, to the light of life.






Sunday, October 4, 2015

Will God Do What I Ask?

If I believe I will receive, right?

Yet belief does not create reality, it recognizes reality.  And that reality includes God and all He chooses to do.

If I have enough faith God will give me what I ask for, right?

Not necessarily.

Faith is trust.  If I trust God I will ask Him for, and receive from Him, what He wants for me.

This can be what I need in order to carry out the mission He has given me.

This can also be a new red sports car.  Can I ask Him for a new red sports car?

God is amazingly generous and many, many times He has given me even more than what I have asked for; but He has only promised to give me what I need: food, clothing and shelter.

And I can learn to be content with that; because Jesus said that even in abundance my life does not consist of what I have.

It consists of Him.

Did Jesus hate the Pharisees?

There are many lies about Jesus.  One of those lies is that "Jesus hated the Pharisees."  They were the religious leaders of the Jews and Jesus called them snakes, and hypocrites and fools and told them they were headed for hell unless they believed He was the long-awaited Messiah or Chosen One of God.

For some reason they didn't like being called that.  And I believe that was one of the reasons they killed him.  But Jesus did something incredible because He loves them.  He not only prayed for their forgiveness in front of them; He preached to them from the cross: that He is who He claimed to be, in a way they would understand.

In Jesus' day the Bible did not yet exist and the Scriptures were not referenced by chapter and verse numbers.  Many times, the first few words of a book or chapter identified the passage.  If you look at the first line of Psalm 22 it reads:

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

and the verse continues,

6   But I am a worm, and no man;
    A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7    All those who see Me ridicule Me;
    They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8    “He £trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;

    Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

16b   ...they£ pierced My hands and My feet;
17    I can count all My bones.
    They look and stare at Me.
18    They divide My garments among them,
    And for My clothing they cast lots. (NKJV)  

Jesus, hanging and dying on the cross, cared about the Pharisees receiving eternal life with Him so much, that he cried out to them the reference of the Passage of their beloved Scriptures that talked about what was happening before their eyes.  The Pharisees prided themselves on knowing the Scriptures and would have certainly known this Psalm and what it said.

They experienced what Jesus had told many earlier:

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He..." (John 8:28, NKJV)

Jesus met the Pharisees where they were at and gave them what they needed.  Jesus had told them earlier that the only sign they would get would be the sign of Jonah, meaning, Jesus would be dead and buried and rise on the third day.  Sunday, as astonishing news traveled around the community, they knew that He done this as well.

If Jesus loved those who hated Him enough to do all that so they could spend eternity in Heaven with Him is there anything that you need that He would not do for you?






Tuesday, September 22, 2015

God's Gift of Mental Illness, part 2

I understand "faith in Jesus" or "saving faith in Jesus" to mean that I trust him.  He doesn't promise me wealth; just food, clothing and shelter (see Matthew 6:33).  He doesn't always heal me of every disease if I trust him (see Paul's thorn).  And misery is not and indication of sin (see Job).

God gave me mental illness because I wanted to be a Christian like those in the Bible.  And, as the first step I needed to be humbled.  I have asked him to remove this disease.  He has not done that yet.  Andy Stanley's In the Meantime: A purpose and a promise http://yourmove.is/episode/ep2-a-purpose-and-a-promise/ revealed to me that I do not have to feel inferior to others because of my weakness. Jesus told Paul that the affliction Jesus gave him was intentional.  In order that, Jesus could pour his strength through Paul. My mental illness is my weakness so that Jesus can pour his strength through me.  Everyone has weakness.  And Jesus can pour his strength through all.

Those who deal with mental Illness, and those in the Church who deal with mental illness, especially, can receive rejection from others, including others in the Church.  Like racism and sexism, this rejection comes from ignorance and fear.

Let's talk. And then walk the talk.

Together.

What do you have to say?


Sunday, September 20, 2015

God's Gift of Mental Illness

For years I've struggled with the position a "TV" Pastor (who I greatly admire and has taught me most of the theology I have) has taken about not using meds to remedy mental illness.  The implication I've always drawn was that "God will take away the mental illness" and therefore meds are not needed.

I have just watched an episode of "Your Move with Andy Stanley" that I believe challenges the above implication.

Please consider watching In the Meantime: A Purpose and a Promise http://yourmove.is/episode/ep2-a-purpose-and-a-promise/

Friday, September 11, 2015

Love someone who hates me? What's in it for me?

Filled with joy are those who are attacked because they follow Jesus.
Filled with joy are those who are mocked and scorned and lied about because they obey Me.
Let your joy be known and overflow because in heaven there is a great reward for you, because you are following in the footsteps of great followers of Jesus.  (Matthew 5:10-12, my imperfect paraphrase).

Why would I be filled with joy?  What reward?

The reward is that I will experience a love for my attacker that transcends human logic, transcends human wisdom, and transcends "earthly" love.  And my attacker will "see" the Jesus they say does not exist and have a chance to choose to know Him for themselves.

Monday, September 7, 2015

How do I know what is Reality?

Vital Smarts has some great resources.  Crucial Conversations is one of them.  One of the ideas I reaped from them was that: facts are neutral, I tell myself stories about the facts, I believe my own stories, I project those stories on the facts as true.  I then act on that "truth."

And, when I find that my stories are wrong I can change my stories.

This got me thinking about a couple of passages of the Bible.

We do not battle against people, we battle against satan and his lies. We examine the stories we tell ourselves and check to see if they are true. We compare them to the message of Jesus, found in God's Word, the Bible. If they are true we accept them. If they are not true we expose their error and change them so they are true using that same Word of God. (my own imperfect translation of parts of Ephesians 6, and 2 Corinthians 10)
Satan is constantly bombarding my mind with distortions and outright lies.  I detect some as the lies they are.  Some of the lies I believe.  And I always regret believing them.

If I can examine my thoughts as they enter my mind I can compare them to the truth of God's Word, correcting the lies and so be able to live in reality and live how Jesus wants me to live.  To detect lies I have to know the truth.  That comes from reading the Bible and doing it.  Reading the Bible is like putting gas in your car, it gives you the potential to go somewhere but you haven't fulfilled the purpose of the gas and car.  Doing the Bible is like driving the car.  Now you're going somewhere. And, it is in the going that Jesus teaches you Truth.  (He will not teach you Truth in a parked car, no matter how full the tank is).

So, truth and lies enter my mind.  I determine if they are truth or lies by comparing them to the Truth.  I know Truth when I read the Bible and actually do what is says to do.


Sunday, September 6, 2015

Only you decide...

Helen Keller was asked what was worse than having no sight?  She replied, "Having no vision."  Helen Keller, with no sight nor hearing was considered by most of those with both to be "handicapped."  Yet she could "see" the invisible handicaps of those who considered her "less than normal" and themselves "normal."

When I was locked up for seven months in Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital (after four earlier one-month stays at two other mental hospitals), I began to see some things differently for the first time in my life.  In the past I had wanted to care deeply about people, but I didn't know how to do that somehow.  I had asked God to make me a Christian like those in the Bible.  When I refused to admit to Him that I was a sinner, He gave me mental illness and I immediately forgot my original request to become a true Christian.  Now I was driven, like the king of Babylon in Daniel, like a mad-man.  My mental illness was non-stop, 24/7 emotional pain.  It was that pain that God used to reshape me.  I became suddenly aware of the many microscopic and gigantic injustices in the world.  I became aware that "supposedly sane" people were lying, cheating, harming each other, and harming our earth. Though they know better, they do wrong because they only care about themselves and they don't care about others; others who many times have done them no wrong.  It became an obvious irony to me, that though I was harming no one, I was locked up.  Others were disrespecting people, hurting people, destroying the environment, and they were running free.  To add insult to injury, these "sane" people were many times making huge profits by their evil actions.

I eventually got out, got the right medications and started thinking clearly again.  But the pain I had endured from the mental illness and the responses of people to me and my mental illness, left me with a huge empathy for the hurting.  And when Jesus found me, I was hurting, and when I accepted His love, I realized that I wanted everyone in the whole world to have the opportunity to choose (if they wanted) to love this loving man/God back.  First, the world, or rather individuals, needed to know the truth about Him.

He condemns no one (that is what satan does and blames it on God).  He loves everyone (even those who hate Him).  Because He loves everyone He hates what hurts us.  Sin is anything that hurts us or Him.  God hates sin, not people.  Jesus individually and collectively calls all of us to turn away from what hurts us and Him.  And to accept the healing love He offers.  He gives us the freedom and the ability to choose to truly love; with the love with which He freely chooses to love us.  He did not create you to reject you.  He created you so that you could know His love and the joy of loving others with the love He gives you.

In order to do that He created you with the ability to freely choose to love Him or reject Him; because love cannot be forced.  Those who love Him He calls to love all others like He loves all others.  Those who reject Him, reject love and do evil, because there is pleasure in sin for a short time and satan deceives them into thinking that they are "right" and will not be held accountable for their actions.

God loves you with all that He is.  Jesus died a bloody, torturous death because He loves God and wants you to be with them throughout eternity.  Now the choice, the choice Jesus died to give you, is yours.  You can accept Jesus' love and truly love Him and others back; and discover the life He planned for you before He created the world.  Or, you can choose to dismiss this post and continue to believe that you aren't happy because of others' choices (not your own) and that you might as well sin because you haven't found anything better to do.

Jesus and I humble ourselves and beg you to choose Life with God.





Saturday, September 5, 2015

What this country needs is...

I used to think the problems that this country is currently facing was caused by others.  I blamed groups of people that were not like me, groups of people whose behaviors I thought I would never do, and groups of people I thought were far from God.

But the Bible, God's revelation of His self-sacrificing love for each of us, tells me a different story.

If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and talk to me intimately, and turn from doing evil, and follow me, doing what I do, I will listen and respond by righting the wrongs they have done and blessing what they do and where they live.  (My own imperfect version of 2 Chronicles 7:14).

In that verse I don't see other people being the problem.

I see me as the problem.

I, who am called by Jesus Name, must humble myself.  I must search for Him until I have developed an intimate relationship with Him.  I must recognize and admit and turn away from my sin.  I must ask Jesus what to do in every situation and do it.  Then Jesus will heal our whole country and He will be able to use us to heal the world.

If I want change in this country I have to change.

Then God can use me to love this country back to Him.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Can't miss

I can take careful, careful aim.  I can shoot to my heart's content.  But if I haven't spent quality time with my Heavenly "daddy" first, I will never, ever hit the target.  That's because I'm shooting blanks.

But, if I spend time with my Heavenly "daddy" first, he will select the targets, take me to them, and give me bullets that cannot miss.

Jesus made the universe and all of history, past, present and future, for Himself.  And He invites me to share in his greatest joy which is to love people back from the fear, isolation, shame, and pride that sin causes the human heart; to the knowledge that Jesus loves them just as they are, with all His heart, and that He wants a personal, intimate relationship with them.  He wants them to know that he will satisfy their every need:  Financial, relational, emotional and spiritual.  And he wants them to know that though He loves us just as we are, He does not leave us as we are.  He works in our hearts and lives, loving us with tough and tender love until we have the very character of God Himself: loving all and being loved by all.  And that is hitting the target.


If Jesus already accepts me, why do I have to trust, turn around, and follow him?

Jesus accepts me just the way I am.  He did not say he would accept me if I cleaned up my act first.  He did not force me to change before he loved me.  The Bible did say I needed to "trust him", "repent of my sins (turn around)" and "follow him."  Is that a contradiction?

If Jesus accepts me as I am, why do I need to trust, turn around and follow?  When Jesus found me the second time, I was entangled in self-centeredness but I was almost totally unaware of it.  I knew I was in pain - emotional pain, spiritual pain, relational pain - but I didn't know what was causing it.  I was trying to get my God-given needs met the only way I knew how, and that wasn't God's way.  And I didn't feel that that was wrong.  I honestly didn't trust any other way.  But let's go back to the first time Jesus found me.

Ten years earlier, in my late teens, I thought I was a Christian because I liked Jesus' philosophy and I believed I was a good person.  I told Jesus that I didn't want to be like the Christians I knew, I wanted to be like the Christians in the Bible.  Then Jesus invaded my world.  He told me I was "a sinner."  I knew I had some minor faults but Jesus was saying I was totally, totally evil.  You've got to be kidding, I thought.  I never killed anyone and I followed the rules.  I told him, "No, I'm not."  He said I was "a sinner" again.  I recoiled in horror again at the thought that he was telling me that I was the complete opposite of what I thought I was.  I told him again, "No, I'm not."  Then he said he would humble me (what I interpreted at the time was that he meant he was going to drag my "good name" through the mud) for 5 years.  I said, "What?!!! Five years?!!!"  He said, "Ok, ten."  At that point I became very, very paranoid.  And mental illness drove me for the next ten years.

Jesus stripped away some of the lies I told myself about how good I was.  I found myself doing things I thought I would never do, because I didn't trust God to do it and I didn't know any other way to get my God-given needs met.  For the next ten years I found out that I was indeed totally, totally evil; just as Jesus said I was.  I searched for God and tried to "get saved" several times, but I could not. About ten years later, having learned little, I was openly disrespectful and sarcastically said to God, "Well, it's been almost ten years, you better hurry up and save me if your prophecy is going to come true."

And Jesus graciously came to me again.  I was still totally depraved, but Jesus still loved me.  He still humbly sacrificed himself in my best interest and offered me forever with him.  I would like to say that I got on my knees and gratefully accepted his offer.  I did not.  I grudgingly accepted his offer because I thought I had nothing left to lose.  I told Him I was sorry for the wrongs I had done and asked Him to accept me.  And with that little bit of trust I showed Him, He adopted me into His family.

I did not change overnight.  I repeatedly struggled between doing what God said and doing what satan said.  But sometimes when Jesus pointed out a sin in my life (sometimes for the hundredth time) I trusted Him enough to obey him.  And the more I obeyed Him and the more I still continue to obey Him, the more I experience His mercy and favor, and the more grateful I am to Him for the loving kindness He shows me and the more I want to follow him.

Following Jesus is hard.  The world, your friends, your spouse may not applaud you.  In fact, they may leave you.  But the intimate love that Jesus and you share is so satisfying, and the love He gives you to give your spouse, your friends and the world works so powerfully for their good, that you are compelled to sacrifice all for them... and Him.  Because that is what He did for you.








Sunday, July 26, 2015

So what do you know?

A former co-worker used to joke that, "What you don't know would fill an ocean."  I thought this was an insult until I realized he was teaching me.  The knowledge of my ignorance can humble me and give me the desire to learn from others and grow.  Or, I can fear that I am inadequate and try to hide my ignorance with arrogance and pride and be unteachable.

Even if I talk with someone to exchange knowledge with them, I, and they, may come away with totally different meanings of what was said.  English is ambiguous at best.  I enter conversations with preconceived ideas that influence the meaning I assign to what I hear.  I see what I want to see, what I am prepared to see.

That is why stigma is so devastating.  The label of mental illness changes how I perceive someone.  Even if I have met someone and been in a conversation with them and formed an impression of them, if I then find out they have a label, my interpretation of all my knowledge of them changes.  At a local mental hospital the patients don't wear shoes.  Doctors, and other staff, do wear shoes.  Sometimes doctors can be seen talking to someone and briefly looking down to see if they have shoes on.  Do the doctors want to know how to interpret what they see?  Do they not trust what they see, and want a label?

The stigma of a lack of education is another example of not knowing what I don't know.  A certain pastor of a large church was reported as saying he would never hire a pastor that did not have a college education.  It is interesting that the head of the church, Jesus, doesn't qualify to work in his own organization.  The religious leaders of Jesus time felt the same way. They remarked that he had not gone to school so, "Where did he get this teaching?"  This pastor and the Pharisees felt they had nothing to learn from someone who had not gone to school.

The stigma of skin color and other physical features, perceived intelligence, wealth, cultural heritage, language, weight, youth, lack of youth, all claim to inform me about someone without me having to do the work of getting to know real individuals.  When I do get to know real individuals they are always more wonderful than the lying, deceiving stigma told me they would be.

So what do you know?










Jesus is healing my racism

What is "race"?  Is it possible to define one race from another?  What attributes would you use?  Are the attributes of one race possible to be found in a different race?  If those of different races can have children then aren't we all part of the same gene pool?  If we are all part of the same gene pool then aren't the attributes that define race arbitrary?  For example why is it that skin color is used to define different races but eye color is not?

I am guilty of prejudging people, of prejudice.  I have looked at people with mental illness labels as if they were less than me somehow.  I have believed that those with a developmental disability are less than me somehow.  I have looked at people with different skin color, language, height, weight, culture as less than me somehow.  I have even believed that some people with different attributes than me were better than me somehow.  I have allowed my fears and ignorance about others different from me to influence my perception and conclusions about them.  Fortunately there is help for me, and His Name is Jesus.

Jesus said to me in the Bible to love God with all that I am, and love all people in the same way I love myself.  I couldn't do that until I received God's love for me.  I have hated myself much of my life.  I have also loved myself, but in a self-serving way.  Trying to feel better about myself I despised others.  This was not a reflection on them.  This was the result of my rejecting Jesus' love for me.  It wasn't until I humbled myself, asked forgiveness, and actually believed what God said, that God loved me, that I experienced His love and healing.  And now I can love God and other people, not perfectly, but hopefully in increasing measure each day.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

My "God's Not Dead" University Experience

God's Not Dead is a great movie, very inspiring.  It supports God as "First Cause" or Creator of Creation.  I believe the movie could proclaim even more truth.  God's Not Dead seems to imply an endorsement of evolution as the creative mechanism God used in the development of life.  I would like to humbly suggest evidence that challenges this view.

God's Not Dead implies an endorsement of the universe being 13.7 billion years old.  Some of the team that put the first people on the moon held that view as well.  They argued that the amount of space dust that the moon's gravity would attract, an amount that could be calculated, would be several feet deep by now.  This could jeopardize the moon landing.  When the astronauts landed on the moon they found about an inch of dust on the surface of the moon.  This suggests that the moon is about 10,000 years old.  This is consistent with the Bible's account of creation and not nearly enough time for evolution to explain life as we know it.

Our Sun has been documented to be shrinking at a predictable rate.  If the sun were 13.7 billion years old, it would have started out the size of the orbit of the earth.  Some scientists purport that the Sun actually grows in size between the times we measure it.  They say that this explains the problem.  However, there are no facts, or theoretical mechanisms to support this theory.

Evolutionists point to the fossil record to support their theory of evolution.  The strata of rock they say reveals millions of years of time between layers.  There is a fossil that crosses between two strata or layers that is inconsistent with this theory.  It is, however, consistent with what you would expect to find if there was a world-wide flood and sediment and debris settled in layers.  This separation of sediment into layers and trees crossing between strata was demonstrated at the base of Mount Saint Helen's when its side exploded and the fallout mixed with heavy rain.

Evolution hypothesizes that chemicals somehow came to life and then reproduced with beneficial mutations that resulted in the species we have now.  God's account says He created life and His account specifically and repeatedly says that species reproduce after their own kind.  The fossil record supports God's account, as the ancestors of different species that Darwin predicted would be found have not been found.

Evolutionists argued that opposing views needed to be represented in the public schools decades ago when they were in the minority.  My experience at Grand Valley State University showed me that evolutionists don't believe their own words.  Now they want to be the only view and suppress good scientific evidence to the contrary.  I presented some of the above challenges to the teacher and students in a class I was taking around 2009.  When the students became interested in learning more about Creationism, the teacher, who did not disprove these challenges, decided to end the discussion by an appeal to authority.  She quoted what I believe was the National Science Foundation saying, "Evolution is a fact."  She ended the discussion in her class, but there are now young people whose curiosity has been piqued.  They, like me, and maybe like you, may not be satisfied with the evolutionist's declaration of "fact."  We may want to find out more for ourselves.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Jesus heals rejection

What could a 4,000 year-old Law, given to a group of 2 million homeless former slaves, have anything to do with our living our life today?  After God had miraculously shown his power over the fake gods of Egypt He led His people out of slavery, through the Red Sea, to His Mountain.  There God gave Moses His commands so that evil would be restrained and love would be encouraged.  One of those commands was to Honor Parents.  This meant that adult children were to take care of the needs of their parents, especially in their parents’ old age when they are more dependent.  Two thousand years later, when God had not sent a prophet in 500 years, the religious leaders of Jesus time didn’t want to follow God’s command.  They wanted to keep their money.  They made up their own rule that sounded godly, but was designed to get around God’s command of love.  The Pharisees taught that if a man said that what he owned was devoted to God he didn’t have to help his old, struggling parents with it.  Then, when he wanted to use it for himself, he said it was not devoted to God.  Jesus was disgusted with these men and their uncaring hypocrisy.  Especially because they claimed to represent God and gave their followers the impression that God was like them.

Jesus said to the people that they needed to respect their leaders, but do not be like them.  God said in the Bible about these Pharisees hundreds of years ahead of time, “These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.”  The Pharisees were very concerned with looking right, but cared little about their own real evil thoughts and motives.

What does this have to do with us today, 2,000 to 4,000 years later?  Do you know anyone that claims to know Jesus, and tries to “look” right but doesn’t accept you, thinks they are better than you?  That is a hard place to be.  Maybe you have attitudes and actions that the Bible says are wrong.  And the “so-called-Jesus-followers” look down on you because of it.  This should never be.  Jesus accepts you.  Jesus died for you.  Jesus spent most of his time with those whom the religious leaders of his day rejected.  It was the “sinners” who first came to accept Jesus not the religious.  

So if Jesus freely accepts us how does he feel about our attitudes and actions the Bible says are wrong?  Jesus calls us to trust him to help us turn away from sin.  You may feel that sin has taken you prisoner with no way out.  This is a lie of satan.  Or, you may feel you have no sin.  This is just as much a lie of satan.  Jesus knows we can’t free ourselves from satan’s power in our own strength.  If we could we would have a long time ago.  No, he asks us to turn away from sin by his power.  And his power is limitless.  Ask Jesus to come into your life, free you from sin, and give you a brand new life, a life truly built on love and forgiveness.  He answers that prayer every time.


Oh, and what about the people that rejected you?  Now you can offer Jesus to them.

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Know the Christmas Child

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 
and the government will be on his shoulders. 
And he will be called 
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” 
(Isaiah 9:6, NIV). 

Jesus came to earth as a baby. And he was a baby much like you and me. He laughed, he cried, he learned to walk. He learned to love... He learned to love us and he especially learned to love his heavenly Father.

Because Jesus was man he could experience all our temptations.  Because he was God and never sinned he could die for each one of us, so that we could live forever in heaven with him.  You can personally know Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas... by talking to him through prayer, by listening to him through reading the Bible, and by loving him through actively doing what he says.  He and his Father will make their home within you and you will know “Emmanuel - God with us” who is the true meaning of Christmas.

To learn more about knowing the Christ of Christmas read the Bible (Matthew 1:23, John 3:1-21, 14:15, 23, 31; Hebrews 4:14-16), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Help is on the way

Rather than stay well away from sin, sometimes we dance as close to the edge as we can without going over. However, before we know it, we find ourselves going over the edge anyway. The climb back is difficult and it sure helps to have someone anchored to the top to come down and help lift us out.

“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual 
should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you may be tempted. 
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” 
(Galatians 6:1-2, NIV).

If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and are controlled by His Spirit, and you are following Him as best you can, you can be a lifeline to someone who has fallen. First, be careful to resist the temptation to feel superior or to pass judgement.  Second, remember that at times LOVE can be spelled LISTEN.  Usually sin is an attempt to get God-given needs met without God.  You need to respond with reality and compassion (truth and mercy) just as Jesus did.  Remember the paralyzed man lowered through the roof, whose friends had faith but he didn't, Jesus healed him anyway.  Remember the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus said, "Does no one condemn you?  Neither do I condemn you.  Go and sin no more."  Finally, restore that person to fellowship with God and fellow believers with the same care and gentleness of a doctor restoring a broken bone.  You can literally be Jesus to that person, allowing Christ to restore one of His own back to Himself.

“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth 
and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner 
from the error of his way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins” 
(James 5:19-20, NIV).

To learn more about God, read the Bible (Galatians 6:1-10, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

His work. Our work.

Work. God started it with creation.  And He worked with excellence.  In Genesis He pronounced His work “very good,” but His work wasn’t finished.

When Adam and Eve sinned against Him, God set into motion a work He had planned since before the world began. This, God’s ultimate work, would bring sinful men back to Himself.  Jesus said, “My food (purpose) is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His Work.”  (John 4:34, NIV).

His finished work was on the cross where “with (His) blood (He) purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9, NIV).

What good work does God require of us?

Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:29, NIV).  If you believe that Jesus was sent by God to die in our place, if you believe God raised Him from the dead to live forever as our friend and king, then invite Him into your heart and life today and let Him finish His work in you. He’s longing to hear from you right now.

To learn more about Jesus’ work read the Bible (John 4:27-42, 6:25-59, 17:1-26), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

It's nice to know that you measure up...

As we grow older we all want to measure up in the eyes of those we respect and admire. When we do we feel great. When we don’t we feel terrible.  Before the world began God realized that eventually we would not measure up. We would sin against Him.  And because He is holy and just we would not be able to live in His presence. But because God loves us so much He decided that He would measure up for us.

So God sent His Son Jesus to earth. Jesus lived a sinless life and in all ways He measured up to God’s perfect standards. Then, when He died on the cross, Jesus took our sinfulness with Him to the grave. And, three days later, He arose from the dead to offer us the gift of His perfect righteousness, and life both now and forever with Him and His Father. Now to measure up all we need to do is admit our sins to God and ask Him for His forgiveness.  Then ask Jesus to be our Savior and follow Him as our Lord.

Because of Jesus, now we can measure up.  And it’s a great feeling.

To learn more about what Jesus has done for you, read the Bible (Romans 3:23, Romans 5, Romans 8), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

I Thee Wed...

Jesus compared our relationship with Him to a wedding between Himself (the Bridegroom) and us, (the Bride) His church.  Jesus wants to meet our every need.  He wants to encourage us and help us to reach our full potential.  He wants to forgive our every wrong.  And, eventually, wipe away every tear.

But, He can only do this if we allow Him.

Sound like a marriage made in Heaven? It is. And you can experience it right now, here on earth.  Simply ask Jesus to forgive your wrongs. And tell Him you want to spend forever “married” to Him. He will always be faithful and true.

To learn more about a relationship with Jesus, read the Bible (John 3:22-36, Matthew 9:14-17), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

Does Your Spirit Feel Dry?

Without realizing it we can slip far away from the heart of God. We can get on a treadmill of trying to do more and more for Him while feeling less and less fulfilled. But, what God really wants is that we get off the treadmill and come to a quiet place alone with Him. To spend time with Him. To be loved by Him. To love Him.

We can become intimate with God through prayer, reading the Bible, and listening to and singing Christian songs. Put God first in your life each day, and He will fill you with streams of living water.

To learn more about developing your relationship with God, read the Bible (John 4:1-42, John 7:37-41), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

What is a friend?

What is a friend? There are probably as many definitions as there are friendships. What does the Bible have to say about “friends?”

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is
born for adversity”
(Proverbs 17:17, NIV).

True friends don’t run when there’s trouble.  They get under the load with you and share the burden.

“Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses” 
(Proverbs 27:6, NIV). 

True friends don’t tell you what you want to hear, they tell you what you need to hear, even if it risks the relationship.

To have friends a man must show himself friendly.
(Proverbs 18:24a, my paraphrase)
    
True friends treat others as they would like to be treated (Matthew 7:12).

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 
(Proverbs 18:24b, NKJV)

Our greatest Friend and our model of friendship is Jesus, the “friend of sinners.” Before Jesus went to the cross to pay for the forgiveness of your sins and mine He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, NIV). And He told us how we could be His friend in return. “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14, NIV).  Jesus commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. And the only way to do that is to have Jesus living out His life in us and through us through the power of  the Holy Spirit.  If you don’t know Him already you can know Him now. Simply tell Him you are sorry for your sins and that you believe He paid for them on the cross. Then ask Him to come into your heart and be your Savior and Lord and friend forever.

If you would like to know more about the friend you have in Jesus, read the Bible (Proverbs 18:24, Matthew 11:19, John 13:34-35, Galatians 5:22), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

A good book is hard to put down

A good book is hard to put down.  Sometimes we want to stay up all night just to finish it.
Human history is like that, too. The Story of Mankind is a drama that is being played out before our very eyes. But some of us will not see the ending in our lifetime.

Thank God for the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Even with all this book’s imagery and symbolism, God said we would be blessed by reading it, even if we don’t understand it all.  A story goes that a person who had just recently trusted Christ as his Lord and Savior read the Book of Revelation.  An older Christian, thinking that the symbolism must have been confusing to the young Christian, asked him if he understood what he had read. “Yes,” said the new believer. “You did?” said the older Christian somewhat surprised. “Yes,” said the new believer, “We win!”

Revelation tells how right up to the close of history, Jesus is fighting and overcoming the sin and evil of this world.

But Jesus loves sinners.

If you confess your sins to Him and trust Him to save you He will write your name in The Lamb’s Book of Life and you will spend eternity with God... the one who loves you and gave up His life for you.

You will not experience the horrors that were originally designed for the devil and his demons.

To learn more about Jesus, read the Bible (John3:1-21, 1 John 1:8-9, The Book of Revelation), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

With Jesus there is no waiting in line

With billions of people to watch over, millions of people praying at once, you would think God would get distracted and confused and we would end up having to wait in line to talk to him. But God is more amazing than we could ever imagine. And with Jesus there is no waiting in line.

God has a lot to do.
He gives every creature its next breath.
He knows each star by name and holds every one of them in their place.
He plans the rise and fall of nations and He plans the lives of billions of individuals.

But God has time for us. Whenever we call on Him He gives us His complete and undivided attention. He knows our plans before we make them, yet He wants to hear about them from us in every detail. He knows our secret dreams, yet He listens to them with rapt attention and encourages us as we reveal our heart to Him. He knows everything about us but longs to spend time with us and
treasures what we have to say to Him.

Such a God deserves the love of His children. If you are not His child, or not sure if you are His child, then you can have the greatest listener in the world as your Father.  Simply tell Him you are sorry for all your sins and believe that Jesus paid for them in full when He died on the cross.  Then believe that He rose from the dead so that you can live now and forever with Him and God the Father. You will become His cherished child and He will become your listening Father.

To learn more about God, read the Bible (Jeremiah 29:11, John 11:25, Hebrews 4:12-16, Colossians 1:21-23, 2:13-14, Psalm 147:4), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

Created to Worship

Usually when I think of idols I think of strange figures from far away lands. But we have many idols right here at home: youth, riches, power, prestige, career, homes, anything that we put our hope and trust in. We were created with a need to worship God, but, if we don’t know Him we will naturally worship something else to take His place.  The problem is that nothing else can take His place.  None of these idols can rescue us when we are in trouble.

But God can.

“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, 
fulfill your vows to the Most High, 
and call upon me in the day of trouble; 
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” 
(Psalm 50:14-15, NIV).

God alone is powerful enough and caring enough to be worthy of our hope, trust and love. If we are willing to honor Him as God, ask Him for help, and submit to His leadership, He will take responsibility for delivering us out of, or through, our troubles.

Call upon the Lord today, whether you are in trouble or not, and begin a relationship with the One who loves you most and wants to meet your every need.

To learn more about God, read the Bible (Psalm 34), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

God is waiting to listen to you

Jesus prayed.

He prayed in the early morning and in the late of night. He was constantly in touch with His Father and sensitive to His will. Jesus encourages you and me to pray too. Why? Because the Father wants
us to participate with Him in the bringing about of His will on earth. Because the Father wants to change us to be more like His Son.  Because the Father wants to love the world through us. And most of all because the Father wants to listen to us and serve us and meet our needs and to heal us.

If you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you have a right to come boldly before God’s throne of grace and ask anything according to His will and He will do it.

If you do not know the Father personally but would like to, you can right now. Simply agree with God that you have had wrong attitudes and actions in the past and that with His help you will turn away from these sins. Believe that Jesus died to pay for these sins and that God raised Him
to life again so that you could be raised to life again with Him. Then tell others about what a wonderful thing Jesus has done for you.

If you’ve known Jesus for years or you have just met Him now you can help bring God’s will to your nation, your state, your city and your home.

“If my people, who are called by my name, 
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face 
and turn from their wicked ways, 
then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their
sin and will heal their land” 
(2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV).

Each year the first Thursday in May is designated as the National Day of Prayer.  Join together with thousands of other Christians on that day, in both public and personal settings, to repent and ask God to forgive us and heal us as a nation and as individuals.

To learn more about how much God wants to listen to you, read the Bible (Luke 11:1-13, 18:1-8), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches that Jesus is God.

A Bug’s Light


We can learn from bugs.

Within the lowly ant God has placed wisdom that at times can be even greater than our own.  In the Bible God says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8, NIV).

God points us to the lowly ants as tutors to teach us to make the most of the opportunities we have when we have them.  An ant cannot think on the level that you and I can. God has “wired them up” with His own wisdom.  They don’t have a choice.  But to you and I He has given the glorious privilege and responsibility of a free will and the opportunity to personally know and love Himself, the loving God who made us. God didn’t “wire us up” to love Him. Love cannot be forced. What He did do is give Himself totally to us. By dying on the cross to forgive our sins He made a loving relationship with Him possible. And by rising from the dead He made it possible to live now and forever with Him.

So now is the time to decide. You were created for a life forever with Jesus. And only you can make the choice to join Him. Ask Him to forgive your sins and be the Lord of your life and He will fill you with His love, life and presence both now and forevermore.

To learn more about God’s love for you read, the Bible (Hebrews 2:5-18), talk to a friend who knows Jesus’ love, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

You can rise above it all


Do you have problems? 

How do we rise above them?

Jesus faced problems. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus sweat great drops of blood when facing the anguish of being separated from God his Father. Jesus knew that soon he would take upon himself all the world’s sin, including mine and yours. God would then pour out all of his holy wrath against sin upon Jesus, and God would turn his back on his Son.

How did Jesus handle this problem? Jesus began by asking that God would take away this problem from him, but only if that was God’s will. Jesus asked three times but God did not choose to remove Jesus’ problem.

Instead, as Jesus poured out his troubled heart to his Father, Jesus found the strength and the peace from his Father to do his Father’s will. There in the garden, in fellowship with his Father, Jesus gained victory over what was to come. And, because of Jesus’ faith and obedience even to the point
of death on the cross, God raised him out of the grave on Easter morning to be our Lord and Savior forevermore.

The same strength and peace that Jesus found in his trouble is available to us for ours. And through God’s love and power working in and through us we can have the same victory over our problems that Jesus had over his.

And then we can rise above it all.

If you know Jesus personally you can know His power. If you would like to know Jesus personally simply tell Him you are sorry for the wrong attitudes and actions you have had in the past. Tell him you believe He paid the price for those sins when He died on the cross. Ask Him to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life. And tell Him you believe that when He arose from the dead He arose so that you could live both now and forever with Him.

If you would like to learn more about Jesus, read the Bible (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 14:7-9, Matthew 26:36-28:20), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

All things keep becoming new!

“Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus.”
- the Apostle Paul
(Philippians 3:13b-14, NIV)
If we were trapped by our past and limited by the finite possibilities of our unchangeable history, we would be truly hopeless creatures indeed. But God, through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, wiped away all the things that could hold us back.

Our sins, and our inclination toward sin, were nailed to the cross with Jesus. And when He died, the problem of our past died with Him. If you and I will admit our sins to God, turn away from them and allow Jesus to save and lead us, then through God’s resurrection power, Jesus can offer us a brand new life.

"For if a man is in Christ he becomes a new
person altogether - the past is finished and gone,
everything has become fresh and new"
(2 Corinthians 5:17, Phillips).

We will still be influenced by the thought patterns and habits of yesterday. But, now we have a choice. We can choose our old way of life again and suffer the painful consequences. Or, we can resist our old patterns and choose to love and obey God.

If we choose to obey Him, our mind will be renewed and we will be transformed to be more and more like Jesus Christ. And then we will know the joy of the Lord.

If you would like to know more about new life in Christ, read the Bible (John 10:10, 14:6, Romans 8:1-17, Philippians 3:7-17), talk to a friend who has found new life in Jesus, visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

We're not getting older... we're getting better.

On a park bench sits a lady reading.
She retired long ago.
She’s alone but not lonely.
She has a friend you can’t see with your eyes
but must be sensed with your heart.
She listens to him while she reads his love letter to her.
And though outwardly she might be wasting away,
yet inwardly her friend is renewing her day by day.
Her friend is Jesus.
And the love letters are in the Bible.
And while all of us are “outwardly wasting away” (2 Corinthians 4:16),
if we know and follow Jesus then, as the saying goes,
we are not getting older... we’re getting better.
Jesus is changing us on the inside day by day as we follow Him.
And when we eventually die we won’t really die.
Rather, we will be ushered into the presence of our Friend and Savior Jesus Christ.
If you would like Jesus to renew you day by day simply
ask Him to forgive your sins and ask Him to be your Savior.
As you follow Him He will grow you and change
you and you will live forever with Him.
If you would like to know more about Jesus,
read the Bible (2 Corinthians 4:16, John 11:25, 15:13-15),
talk to a friend that knows and loves Jesus,
Visit a Church that teaches Jesus is God.

___________The truth can hurt... and help ________

Sometimes the truth can hurt.
Often we remain blissfully blind to the
“less-than-perfect” aspects of ourselves.
When our faults are pointed out by someone
we feel doesn’t have our best
interest at heart, it can be a deeply
wounding experience.
But sometimes the truth can
hurt and help. That’s what happens
when a trusted friend tells us what we
need to know about ourselves, for our
own benefit. Some people
fear that Jesus came into
the world to shame us by
pointing out all our faults
and failures. 
Nothing could
be further from the truth. 
Jesus does
tell us in no uncertain terms that we
are sinners. But He also tells us that
we are of infinite worth to Him and
that He came to die to deliver us
from those sins.
“For God so loved the world (you and me)
that he gave his one and only [begotten] Son, that
whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him”
(John 3:16-17, NIV).
And, “If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us of all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NIV).
So call out to Jesus. He is
not ashamed to call
us His brothers and
sisters. Though our
pride may be hurt for
a moment as we
acknowledge and turn away
from our sins, we will be
helped forever by the forgiveness
and life-changing power
of Jesus Christ.
To learn more about God,
read the Bible (Proverbs 27:6,
Hebrews 2:11, John 3:1-21), talk to a
friend who knows Jesus, visit a Church
that teaches that Jesus is God.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

I don't get mad... I get even... or at least that's how I feel

When I am wronged I feel like a big, ugly, raging gorilla. And all I want to do is get even. But God said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay” (Deuteronomy 32:35, NIV). And Jesus said, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39b, NIV). At first these words made no sense to me whatsoever. That is, until I considered the promises vengeance makes and its actual results.

When I consider vengeance in my heart it promises to “teach that person a lesson” and to “set things right.”  Upon looking back at my own vengeful behavior all it taught the other person was how to be vengeful. It set nothing right. And, in fact, it only put more hatred between us.


When I realized there was nothing to be gained by revenge I looked at God’s commands differently. Jesus loved His enemies and prayed for those that persecuted Him. And He committed all things to His Heavenly Father’s care, even His death. What are the results of such love?

When others have been good to me when I didn’t deserve it, it has disarmed my anger. There was no motivation to continue in anger when the other party is returning genuine kindness and concern; having been given a listening ear, now I wanted to listen. I received a sense of being valued, which to me was far more valuable than what I was fighting for. I learned from them and wanted to set things right.

Love accomplished what vengeance could not. But returning love for anger is tough. We may fail at times, many times. But it is worth the struggle, because when we succeed we can be sure that the results will last forever.

To learn more about love, read the Bible, (Matthew 5:38-48, Romans 12:9-21); talk to someone who loves Jesus and others; visit a church that honors the Bible as the Word of God.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

What time is it?

If you have any interest at all in God or Heaven, this may be a special time for you. That’s because your interest in God can only be placed in your heart by God Himself. And God places it there because He loves you and knows that a personal relationship with Him is the best thing for you.

When is the best time to start a personal relationship with God?

“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
The Apostle Paul in The Bible, 2 Corinthians 6:2, NIV84

Today, right now, you can begin your journey with God. Simply ask Jesus to forgive the wrongs you have done. Ask Him to come into your life and lead you where He wants you to go. He is waiting to hear from you.  And you will never regret your decision to follow Him.

But, following Him will not be easy.  Jesus Himself said that His way is narrow and hard.  But He will give you Himself to be your strength one step at a time.  And, He will give you His joy and peace along the way!

To learn more about starting your journey with God, read the Bible (Matthew 5:1-20, John 3:1-21), talk to a friend who is walking with Jesus, visit a church that preaches Jesus is God.

My wife's eye pressure is normal

Thank you for praying for my wife's eye.  Her pressure is healthy for the first time in years.  This was her fourth major surgery in six months.  It was the third attempt to relieve the pressure and it was successful.  Thank you again for praying. - Jim

Friday, May 15, 2015

How do I Lead for We and still take care of Me (and Mine)?

The post Lead for Me or Lead for We? on Thursday, April 23, 2015 poses the problem we all have faced or will face: conflict of interest.  Is my company, my self and my family's desires more important than the livelihood of the people I lead?  My company, my family and my people have all put their trust in me.  I cannot do what each wants.  What do I do?

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.  You have lived on earth in luxury and self–indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.  The Bible, James 5: 4-6 (NIV84)

This company wants to make as much money as possible and at the expense of their workers "who are not opposing them."  Jesus said riches deceive those who love them.  And instead of appreciating the workers who have helped the owners achieve both owner and worker goals, the owners are deceived (by the pursuit of more riches) into thinking they are not their brothers' keeper.  The employers and employees are "at will".  And neither is obligated to the welfare of the other.

So what is the answer?  If it were me, I would trust God to supply what I and my family needed (Jesus promises to take responsibility for those who obey Him (Matthew 6:33)) and follow Him by doing what is right for the most vulnerable - the workers.  I would contact the new company starting up and give personal recommendations for my people.  I would let my people know of the plan to end their jobs and encourage them to apply at the new start up company.

You may think that it is really brave of me to take a fictitious bold stand for Jesus.  In real life in 1992 I was convicted by God about some parts of my job.  I decided to refuse to do pornographic, abortion or occult products where I worked.  For about two weeks they threatened to fire me.  I had a chance to allow Jesus to speak to top levels of management through me.  Ultimately Jesus saved my wife and me from me losing my job.  Then five years later this same company asked me to do evangelistic products.


Sunday, May 10, 2015

"When I grow up I want to be just like Mom"

Being a Mom has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. Guiding a young life can humble you like nothing else can.

Those little eyes are watching, trying to learn what it means to become a “grownup.”

That’s where God steps in.

He wants you to be His representative to your child and He knows you can’t do it by yourself.

If you will trust His Son to lead your life then He will enable you to lead your son or daughter’s life.

Not perfectly of course, but better able to model and pass along God’s character to your little one.

To learn more about trusting God read the Bible (Mark 9:36-37, 10:13-16), talk to a friend who is  being led by Jesus, visit a Church where He is followed as God.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Lead for Me or Lead for We?

A company is relocating one of their production facilities.  They need to finish production of a current contract and then shut the doors at a specified date.  You are the manager of the plant.  You have been told that you are going to head up the new plant.  You are secure.  You have also been told not to tell any of the workers at your plant of these plans.  They may find other jobs.  Then the ability to finish an important contract could be jeopardized.  You know that your people cannot make it on unemployment, but they could possibly find new jobs at another company that is starting up if they knew now to apply.  What do you do?

This is a contrived fictitious situation, yet similar to what has happened before in this country. You could get creative with a lot of possibility thinking.  That is not my goal.  My goal is force you to deal with the main idea:  You can serve yourself or you can serve the people who depend on you to lead them.  You don't have to tell me what you decide, but this is pointless if you are not honest with yourself.

Thank you for praying for my wife

Thank you for praying for my wife.  So far it looks good.  We need to wait a few weeks to know for sure if it has been a successful surgery.

Thank you again,

Jim

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Please Pray for my Wife and Her Surgery

My wife is having the sixth surgery on her eye in the last six months.  Would you please ask God to heal her eye and her spirit as these surgeries are wearing her down.  Thank you!!!  God says in the Bible that one praying is like 1,000 and 2 is like 10,000.  Thank you for increasing my prayers by 9,000.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

What's Your Reason for the Season?

Trimming the tree with tinsel and glitter . . .

Santa Claus, Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman . . .

Gift giving and receiving . . .

All make for good Christmas cheer.

But do you know that the best part of Christmas cheer is sometimes obscured by the good?

Before the world began, God chose to send His Son Jesus into the world on “Christmas Day.” Jesus was born to die to set us free from our sins if we will trust Him. And each year we celebrate the birthday of the One who loved us and gave His life for us.

Is Jesus your reason for the season?

If not, consider getting away from the Christmas rush for a few moments. Quiet yourself and read the Christmas Story in the Bible (Luke 1:5-2:20, Matthew 1:18-2:23).

Marvel at the miraculous virgin birth.
Gaze in awe at the angels filling the night sky, telling the shepherds of the new birth of the
baby King.
Worship with the wise men the child who made unconditional love visible to all the world.

Make Jesus your reason for the season and He will make this your best Christmas ever.

To learn more about Jesus, read the Bible, talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a church where Jesus is preached as God with us.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Untouched by Trouble?

The fear of the LORD leads to life:
Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Proverbs 19:23 NIV

To be sure, trouble still exists.  And we deal with trouble every day.  But because we are in Christ the trouble of this world we live in cannot touch us. It cannot hurt our relationship with Jesus, (which is the sum total of life).   God watches over us and He only allows the pain to touch us that He will ultimately use for us.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Our Father knows best

Don’t ask God for what you think is good; ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.
- God’s Little Instruction Book for Men

If we ask for what we think is good we are limited by our own finite experiences and imagination. But God is unlimited.
He knows everything.

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:9, NIV).

God knows our past in every minute detail.
He knows all our possible futures just as clearly.
And God is the One who put us together.
Not only our physical body, but also our inner selves: our minds, our spirits, our souls, our personalities.
And, God knows where we are at:
He knows all our thoughts, all our dreams and all our desires.
God has a plan for your life and mine.
All through history God has been working out a master plan of bringing the lost people He
loves back to Himself.
God has a part for you to play in this drama and He has placed you where you are in history and location, and designed your personality and giftedness and circumstances so that you would be perfectly suited to carry out His plan.
Since God knows who we are,
how we’re made,
where we’ve been,
and the best place for us to go,
He alone knows exactly what we need most.
And because He is all powerful,
He alone is able to grant it.
So call on Him today and instead of asking Him for what you want, ask Him for what He wants for you.
He will grant your request
and you will come to know the Lord in a new and powerfully life-changing way.
To learn more about God’s plan for you, read the Bible (Psalm 145:18-19, 147:5, Jeremiah 29:11-13, Matthew 6:9-10), talk to a friend who knows Jesus, visit a church that honors and preaches The Bible and Jesus as God, and, if you would like, write your comment on this blog.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

"When your not welcome you don't hang around" - Cher

When I first came to know Jesus I felt that everyone needed to discover that God loves them just as they are, and that He died so we could spend forever with Him and Him with us.

Twenty-nine years later I still believe that.

The difference is that now I don't also DEMAND that everyone discover that God loves them.  Jesus said that if you are persecuted in one city, flee to the next.  He did not say to stay and fight and impose your will on them.  Jesus respects our right to choose to enter a relationship with Him of our own free will or to choose to reject a relationship with Him by that same free will.  He gave us that right.  And it is the cornerstone upon which a love relationship is built (or conversely, self-destruction begins).
“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." - Jesus, Mathew 7:6
I have experienced the above verse.  God gave me a window to reach someone I love, with God's love, because I begged Him.  That person listened, did not believe, but did not attack me.  A week later I tried again, this time God was clearly warning me not to talk to them about Jesus.  I ignored His warnings and as soon as I brought up Jesus, I was scathingly attacked with all the fury of Satan.  Jesus protected me from the attack but it was a very scary and humiliating lesson.

Now I tell God I want to want whatever He wants and to lead me to someone today who wants to know Him.

He answers that prayer every time.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

When doing right doesn't always feel right

A man’s wisdom gives him patience; 
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.  
Proverbs 19:11 NIV84


I was recently asked if my lack of retaliation when insulted was a strength or a weakness.  In my pride I was deeply insulted that they might feel I was a coward letting others intimidate me.  I wanted them to know it was my love for Jesus that motivated my absorption of evil.  I verbalized to them that God in the Bible in Proverbs talks about wisdom overlooking an offense (I couldn't remember the verse exactly).  They cut me off by quickly saying, "it's a strength" and left.

People who don't know Jesus don't understand us, His followers.  They wonder how can someone be kind to someone who has just said to them, "I don't like you, I don't want you to help me, I want someone else."  Returning kindness when someone hurts you makes no sense.  Unless, you have an allegiance to something higher than your own ego.

When I'm insulted I hurt.  And the times I return kindness I don't feel full of love at that moment.  Many times I am dealing with the feelings of wanting retaliation as I am trying to express understanding to my attacker.  Is this hypocrisy?  Because my feelings don't match up with my actions of love, satan tells me I am a hypocrite.  He does this in hopes that I become confused and stop revealing the reality of Jesus to someone who desperately needs Him.  However, the Truth is conflicting feelings do not negate the sincerity of righteous action.  Feelings don't think.  They respond.  Feelings follow footsteps.  And when I am loving my enemy I may still be responding to the hurt he has caused me.  As I continue to love my attacker, my feelings may catch up to my actions and I may eventually feel love for my enemy.  Or, I may not.  Either way I continue to act in the best interest of my attacker.

Because that's what Jesus did for me when I was His attacker.

The Dominant Servant

I have precious little dominance.  I scored almost zero in dominance on a personality test.  I hate directing people.  I don't see the big picture.  I am better one-on-one, listening, empathizing, and encouraging.

One of the things I hate to see is someone with high dominance using their God-given strength to serve themselves.  They can be pushy, rude, scheming, intimidating and more; with a trail of hurt people in their wake (and those hurt by them include themselves).

One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen is a person with a dominate personality with a servant's heart.  They don't try to dominate you, they try to serve you.  They use their personality to easily do the things I can't do.  They see the big picture.  They anticipate problems and work on solutions while options are available.  They warn you of the problems that are coming.  They include others in decision-making.  They know the strengths of the people they work with and strategically suggest the best way to use those strengths.  Though they are essential they realize they are an equal member of the team, and deserve no more credit than those with other personalities and contributions who are just as essential.

Those who are greatest in God's kingdom of love are servant's of all.  And we can all be the greatest, because we can all serve one another.  God has given us different but equally valuable personality strengths. And when persons with dominant personalities use their strength to serve others, all the personality strengths are orchestrated for the benefit of everyone; to the glory of the God who designed us to complement, serve and love each other.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Things I need to learn: Always Planning Good?

Do not those who plot evil go astray?
But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.  Proverbs 14:22 
When I read this verse I think: I don't "plot evil."  That's for James Bond movies' villains.  But what about when someone is very rude to me without reason?  And I, consciously or unconsciously, decide I'm going to let them suffer the fruits of their own deeds. Instead of warning them of a problem they unknowingly are going to have, because they hurt me, I'm going to let them fall into it and suffer.

When I do that, (and I've done that or similar things more times than can be counted), I "plot evil."  Whether I am aware of it or not, when I plot evil my thinking is changed and I start "going astray." I naturally start making decisions that will take me where I may not realize I do not want to go.  I hurt more and more people and myself until I destroy myself.

What is the cure?  If I "plan what is good" (and apologies may be the first thing I need to plan), my mind is changed and my thinking is corrected. I find "love and faithfulness"...

I find Jesus.