Remembering the Sacrifices of Others on this Memorial Day...

Today is Memorial Day... it is the day that we set aside once a year to remember those who have fallen in the service of our country... the day we remember those who gave all they had to give so that we might remain free from tyranny and oppression... that we might continue to enjoy the liberties that we prize so highly here in America. Let us remember in prayer those who have fallen and their families.

But there is another who gave all that He had in order to bring us freedom from tyranny and oppression... but He did not die only for the those of us here in America, but rather He gave His all for all of humanity, that we might all enjoy freedom from the tyranny and oppression that sin and death bring to our lives. His death brought us life, victory and triumph. Therefore, let us also on this Memorial Day remember and give thanks for Jesus, the Christ, the One who laid His life down on the battlefield for our very souls... and together let us say, "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory over sin and death through Christ our Lord!"

The End of the World... Today?

It was only recently that I became aware of a street sign on one of the major roads through my city.  It simply proclaimed, "The Lord is coming.  May 21, 2011".  Also seen on the sign was a website, which I confess that I have not looked up, and will not mention in this post.  I wondered at the sign, but didn't really think much about it until yesterday when my colleague at work mentioned that his pastor friends were posting on facebook that they were going ahead with their sermon preparation for Sunday just in case the world didn't end on Saturday, the 21st of May.

So, last night I watched some of the cable news shows, and was not disappointed to see that each of them had a short piece on this supposed momentous upcoming "end of the world" event...  granted, there were not any who were taking this apocalyptic prophesy seriously, but they covered enough of the story for me to learn what was behind the sign I had seen.

In short, an elderly Christian gentleman, through his study of the Holy Bible, believes that he found passages that enabled him to calculate the exact date that Jesus will return and take the faithful believers to heaven, and at the same time that the judgement of the world will commence... that day being sometime today, Saturday, May 21, 2011.    

A few thoughts about this:

I am Christian and do believe that at some time, Jesus will return, as He promised.  That being said, I do feel it is important to point out a couple of things about this event:

1.  When Jesus' disciples ask when the time will be that He [Jesus] will return, and what will be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the age, Jesus speaks of many events that must happen before His return [see Matthew 24].  He cautions that there will be many who will try to mislead believers [Jesus calls them false prophets], but in answer to His disciples' question of when He would return, He says, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."  [Matthew 24:36]

2.  The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, echoes this, as he tells the believers, "... the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" [1 Thessalonians 5:2]... In other words, suddenly and without warning.

3.  When this event does happen, it won't be in secret... all will know and see it take place.  Jesus tells His disciples, "...they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." [Matthew 24:30]  We will not need to be told that He has come... when it happens for real, all will know... there will be no questions or doubt in anyone's mind.

I think that there are far too many people who focus on and worry about the exact date and time the Lord will return.  In the past, people have come to my house to tell me that they know when Jesus will return, and to ask if I wanted to know.  My answer to that type of question is, "No."  I would rather do my best to live as a faithful servant of my Lord, Jesus the Christ, so that when He does return, if it happens to be in my lifetime, He will find me living a life that brings honor to His name and doing the things that He has called me to do.

Do I believe that Jesus will return again?  Yes.

Do I think he will return today, May 21, 2011?  I don't know... it is always a possibility.

Am I ready for His return?  I believe this is actually the most important question that each person needs to ask themselves... However, I can only answer that question for myself...  You have to examine your own heart and relationship with the Lord, and answer it for yourself.

Christmas...

may you each travel to the manger and worship the King this night... for this is what Christmas is truly about...



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sticks and stones...

I originally posted this on:  spotlight on...  sticks and stones

The old saying goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"...   in my humble opinion, that is a lie we tell ourselves...  and maybe we adults even believe it...  but I think children sometimes are smarter than us...  just try to get a child who is being teased and picked on to actually believe the saying...  they know it's a lie...

Recognizing the lie for what it is just might be the first [very, very, very, very small] step towards finding a solution to the problem of bullying...

If your child comes home upset because she/he is being picked on, don't tell them this lie...  they won't believe you...  instead, listen to them, acknowledge their hurt feelings, let them know you love and value them, and work from there to help them find creative ways to stand up to the bullies...

It probably won't be easy...   no one ever said it would be...   but no one deserves to be bullied for any reason...   and your child's life just might hang in the balance...

Telling the Truth

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."     ~George Orwell

Glad - Be Ye Glad

"... while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8 [Bible]

Jesus "payed it forward"... just for you!!

Personal Reflection: My Will vs. God's Will

In scripture, Jesus teaches such interesting upside-down lessons to his disciples and those listening to him...

“...the last will be first and the the first will be last” [Matt 20:16]...

“...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” [Mark 10:43-44]...

Maybe one day my life will mirror such upside-down thinking and I will be able to say with a joyful heart that I was a failure in what I wanted to do for God, but a success in what God wanted me to do for the Kingdom...

Not my will, Lord, but Yours ... bring Your will to pass in my life!! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

The Great Commission...

We Christians call it The Great Commission... "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." [Matthew 28:19 NRSV].

I just wonder what that "looks like" in real life for those who consider themselves to be Christians... how do you "go... and make disciples [of Jesus, the Christ]"?

I would like to know how those of you who read this post, and consider yourself to be a Christian, "go... and make disciples". How do you answer the call of the Great Commission?

And if you are not Christian, then I would like to know how you think that one who says they are a Christian should "go... and make disciples".

I invite your comments...

What Time is It Really?

Not too long ago, I was talking with an individual who was getting ready to graduate from high school and I asked what she was thinking of doing after graduation. When she answered that she knew she wanted to go to college, but wasn't sure what she was going to study or do for the rest of her life, I found myself thinking that she still had plenty of time to decide those things. The idea of her having "plenty of time" came to mind because she was "young" ... and most people think a young person has "plenty of time" as opposed to someone older who might not think they have a lot of time left in life...

But then I realized that this comparison that we make between young and old regarding the time we have in life on this earth was not true!! We all have the same amount of time no matter how old we are... because no one is guaranteed any more time here on earth than "right now"!! We all hope and plan for the future, but that future is not guaranteed... each moment past "now" that we live is a gift from God!!

So hope and dream and plan for the future... whether you think your future on this earth is going to be for 60 or 70 more years, or whether you think it might only be another hour or day or year... and no matter how long you have, use it all for God's glory... after all, the time you have is God's gift to you, so you might thank God by living for Him!!

Happy 4th of July!!

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A Memorial Day Tribute

Let us not forget to pray for all who serve in harm's way... or the families who wait for them... and may we never forget that there are those who have given their all. May God give them peace and comfort.



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new beginnings...

Easter has come and gone... and I have once again been reminded of God's awesome love for me... that He should die for my sins and then rise again, bringing me new life... and new beginnings!! May God's blessings be on each of you, as every day we rise with the knowledge that we are an Easter People, and that we have an awesome God who is ever faithful in His love towards us!!

Praise God!! Christ has risen indeed!!

God's Love and Mercy is So Great...

To get to Easter, you have to go through Good Friday... which wasn't so "good" when it happened... Jesus' blood, Jesus' life for our sins... the price for our salvation... the price for our reconciliation with God... a brutal and savage act done to one who was innocent of any sin... for my sins and your sins... because God loves us so much...

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

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Living a Prophetic Life

Have you ever had anyone challenge your thinking about the way you live out your faith? 

Recently, I heard a speaker who did just that...  and his challenge to each of us was that we might live and preach in such a way, that people would know that our God was real...  That our words and our actions would cause them to be shaken to the very foundations of their lives with God's "fire", so that they would "fall on their faces" and worship God...  not just think that we were wonderful Christ-followers... or great preachers... or great Sunday school teachers or youth workers...

As I have been thinking about this challenge, it came to me that in order to answer this challenge, one had to live a "prophetic life".  Don't misunderstand - I am not saying that one has to become a prophet...  becoming a prophet is not a "career choice" that one can study for, and then go seek a job.  In studying Old Testament prophets, it is clear that they became prophets at God's choosing.  They weren't looking to be prophets or proclaiming themselves as prophets...  God chose them... God called them... God made them prophets...  and they served at God's will, prophesying only when given a specific message from God.

But yet, thinking of this challenge brought the conclusion that Christ-followers needed to live "prophetic lives"...   So what does that mean?  Although I think I may live the rest of my life figuring that out, here is what I think now:

A prophetic life is a "called" life...

A prophetic life is a life that has "a knowledge of God"...

A prophetic life is one that is in communion with God...

A prophetic life is a surrendered life...

A prophetic life is one that brings God's message of hope and love to the world...

A prophetic life is one lived as a part of the community of believers...

If you have answered Jesus' call to follow him, and have surrendered your life to follow God's will... if you are continuing to learn about God as you live in communion with Him and in community with fellow believers... and if you are willing to share the message of hope and love that comes from God with a world that is desperate and hurting...  then you might be on the journey to live a prophetic life.

Jesus told his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  [Matthew 9:37-38  New International Version of the Bible]  

Pray that more will answer God's call to live prophetic lives!

I gave up chocolate for Lent...

This morning in Sunday school, as we began to talk about Lent, one of the youth said, "I gave up chocolate for Lent!" My reply was a question. "Why? Why did you give up something for Lent?" I wanted to know if she or anyone else in the class knew why people "gave things up" for Lent. Many times, during this Lenten season of the Christian year, people "give something up"... but if there is no understanding of the reason why this is done at this time of the year, then this becomes a meaningless ritual.

Lent is the 40 day time of the year [not counting Sundays] before Easter during which Christians take time for introspection, for soul searching, reflection and repentance... it is a time of growing in one's faith in preparation for the coming of the death and resurrection of Christ. In the earliest days of the church, Christ-followers re-dedicated themselves to the faith, and new converts learned about the Christian faith as they prepared for baptism. "Giving something up" was done to help a person focus on the ideas of reflection, repentance, renewal and spiritual growth during this time of the year.

While giving up chocolate might not seem to be something that would help a person focus on spiritual soul searching, it can still help as a little reminder... for example, every time you think about eating chocolate and then remember that you have given it up for Lent, as you begin to wonder, "Why did I give up chocolate?!!", you can then remember to ask yourself that question suggested by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement... a question he suggested we all take time to ask of ourselves and each other on a regular basis regarding our relationship with God: "How is your soul really doing"?

While some people take it very seriously, giving something up for Lent is not a "legalistic" requirement of the Christian faith... and you don't have to give up only food items... you can give up watching TV for a certain amount of time each day, or give up some other activity for a certain amount of time each day... what you give up and for what amount of time is your choice... because ultimately, it doesn't matter what you have given up, or even if you have given something up... ultimately, what really matters is the answer to the question: How is your soul really doing?

Take this season of Lent to reflect on how your soul is really doing... and to grow in your relationship with God... and if you are wondering how you can grow if you don't currently have a relationship with God, all it takes is one small step of reaching out for God... and you will find that God has been there all along.

wwwhd?

John Wesley, upon the advice of Bishop Taylor, began to keep a journal so as to have a "more exact account" of how he spent his time in ministry. Today, his journals, sermons, essays, letters, dialogs, and addresses can be found published in a several volume set entitled, The Works of John Wesley.

Had Wesley lived in the current times of the 21st century, with the internet technology that we have today, I wonder if he would he have used a web page, a blog, a vlog, or been on FaceBook, MySpace, or Twitter, in order to share the message he felt God wanted him to share with all... I suspect so... after all, Wesley did believe that "the world was his parish"...

Once Saved, Always Saved?

I recently watched a YouTube video that shows a pastor from an un-named denomination calling John Wesley [founder of the Methodist movement] a heretic because of Wesley's belief that one could "fall away" from his/her faith and "perish everlastingly".  This pastor quotes a few passages from Wesley's "Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints" as he preaches about Wesley's "heretical" beliefs.  

"Perseverance of the saints" is a Christian teaching that none who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith.  This teaching is a part of the traditional Calvinist doctrine found in churches that adhere to the Reformed Christian confessions of faith [the Presbyterian Church is one example].  It is also a part of the Free Grace or non-traditional Calvinist doctrine found in some Baptist and other evangelical churches.  Although there are some differences between the traditional Calvinist and Free Grace [non-traditional Calvinist] doctrines, both would describe Christian believers as "once saved, always saved". 

When Wesley wrote this essay, Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints, he was responding to what he felt was a need for a treatise that examined this doctrine [as found in the Reformed Christian confessions of faith]  and that was written so that most intelligent people could understand it, whether or not they were educated as theologians. [Author's note: I must admit that I think that for 21st century readers, 17th century writings can be a challenge to understand, in spite of one's level of education.]  

In his essay, Wesley askes the question,  "Can any of these [meaning "saints" - any person who has answered God's call to follow the Christian faith] fall away? By falling away, we mean, not barely falling into sin. This, it is granted, they may. But can they fall totally? Can any of these so fall from God as to perish everlastingly?"  The entire thrust of Wesley's essay was an answer to that question, and his conclusion, based on many scriptural passages, was that a "saint" could indeed fall away from the Christian faith and "perish everlastingly" [lose his/her eternal salvation].  In other words, one was not "once saved, always saved".  

This refuted Calvin's theology, which stated that those who apparently fell away from the Christian faith either never had true faith to begin with, or that they would have to return to the faith at some point in the future.  It also serves as an answer to those who believe the Free Grace Theology [non-traditional Calvinist doctrines], which, in effect, says that a person could accept Christ as Savior, but then could continue to willfully live a lifestyle of sin, or even completely walk away from their faith in Christ, but yet, still be thought of as "saved", with their eternal salvation unconditionally guaranteed.

So what do you think?  Is the pastor on the YouTube video correct - that Wesley is a "heretic" because he believes one can "so fall from God as to perish everlastingly"?  Do you believe that a person can fall from the Christian faith and lose their salvation?  Why or why not?   

Why are they called "bills"? Why not "bobs" or "teds"?

"We would be delighted if you would pay your electric bill.  You will be de-lighted if you don't."

I read that one time on a page of puns and jokes.  I was thinking about it today because I have to pay my electric bill, or risk being "de-lighted."  Fortunately, I am able to pay it...  I have the funds available.  But there are many who do not, and so have their electricity cut off.

If you are one of the more fortunate people who complain about their electric bill, but yet have the funds to pay it [like yours truly], say a prayer for the millions of those who either cannot afford their electricity, or perhaps do not even have electricity to begin with.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

According to an article about Valentine's Day found on History.com and the Greeting Card Association, over 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are sent each year, making this day the second largest card sending holiday of the year [topped only by Christmas].  

While the history of Valentine's Day is shrouded in mystery, the month of February has long been associated with romance.  We may never know for sure whether Valentine's Day began as a day to commemorate the death and burial of St. Valentine [which occurred around 270 AD] or whether it began as a way to "christianize" the pagan festival of Lupercalia.  But no matter how it began, Valentine's Day has long been a day for expressions of love towards those friends and family members who we cherish.  

Whether it was just with a phone call, a card and/or a box of candy or romantic dinner and evening out, it is my hope that each of you has taken time to let your loved ones know how much you love and appreciate them.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Good Book: "The Shack" by William Young

Ok...  so I may be a little behind the times in reading and telling others about this book...  but if you haven't read it, get a copy and read!!  It is an excellent book and a fairly fast and "easy" read.  I put the word easy in quotations because while it is easy to read, it will tug at your heartstrings and emotions... but it is well worth it!!