I'm going to die. I'm going to die an awful, painful, disgusting death, and probably soon. How do I know this? Because, as a favor to all of you, I break chain letters. That's right, all of those curses and threats that accompany chain letters fall on me. I do this not because I have a Messianic complex. Rather I do it to free all of you from the guilt that comes if you don't comply with all of the rules in a chain letter.
Here is what I have learned from my chain-breaking so far:
I don't love Jesus because I don't forward all of the letters that tell me that only 3% of the people will forward them.
I will never have good luck. Ever, ever ever.
I will never get $$ from Bill Gates or AOL for forwarding emails that are being tracked
Some dying kid will not have the requisite number of greeting/business cards he/she wants before he/she dies
I'll never have the Nieman Marcus cookie recipe
I will never get rich with some money from a Nigerian Princess
Just so you know, I will do this until my horrible fate befalls me. Each and every chain letter and email that requires me to forward it to X number of people to prove some point will meet a quick death in my inbox. Guaranteed, no questions asked. All I ask is that one of you take up the reigns and continue this service after I get sucked through a sewer, killed by a madman, lost at sea, or whatever calamity the chain letter deities wish to unleash on my mortal body.
No, not the bad movie. Actually I was ruminating a little on prophets of doom and apocalypse, and two just suddenly seemed to merge into one in my head. The first is very well know, one Albert Gore Jr. He of the global warming hysteria. The other is Jack Van Impe, a televangelist who sees EVERYTHING as a sign of the imminent return of Jesus. Seriously, if a bear were to poo in the woods Jack would quote a scripture about how that foreshadows the return of Christ.
These two prophets share one unique talent. They have the ability to make anything that happens fit their agenda. For Gore, if it is hot, cold, rainy, drought, hurricane, blizzard or just normal weather, it is all a sign of global warming. No matter what (seemingly) aberrational weather hits, it is a sign. Sort of like the folks in The Life of Brian who saw a "sign" into all sorts of things Brian did, even though he was not the Messiah.
Jack Van Impe and his wife Rexella (her real name) go through the newspaper headlines on their television show and tell how the events of the day forecast the imminent return of Jesus. Never mind that every generation has someone who thinks they know when Christ's return is imminent and to my knowledge, they have all been wrong to this point. Keep firing away and eventually you may be right.
I just don't see whey people can't see through this. If everything points to something, why are you the only one who figured it out? Maybe I'm just too rational in my thinking (cursed influence of Augustine and Aquinas) but I can't bring myself to believe their claptrap let alone send money to the causes.
One last thought. Do they have the same hairdresser?
Why do I hear Curly from the Three Stooges when I read this story? Let's see, take 1 ambidextrous pitcher and 1 switch-hitting batter, and you have a comedy of errors.
It seems that the political class is starting to feel the heat of $4 gas and their ineptitude over the years that has discouraged or even prohibited domestic oil and gas production. Today the White House joined the fray, and there is a bill before Congress to allow drilling in the outer continental shelf.
Call your member of Congress. Their attention span is short, and now is the time
If you wonder why oil is so expensive and why your money goes from the gas pump to countries that want to kill us, ask your local member of Congress. The geniuses in a House of Representatives subcommittee voted to block drilling in the 100 mile wide outer continental shelf, where estimates place 76 BILLION barrels of oil, enough to keep this country running for 34 years at current use levels. Here is a list of those voting for and against the measure that would allow drilling in the outer continental shelf.
AGAINST Chair: Norman D. Dicks (WA) James P. Moran (VA) Maurice D. Hinchey (NY) John W. Olver (MA) Alan B. Mollohan (WV) Tom Udall (NM) Ben Chandler (KY) Ed Pastor (AZ) Dave Obey (WI), Ex Officio
FOR Minority Ranking Member: Todd Tiahrt (KS) John E. Peterson (PA) Jo Ann Emerson (MO) Virgil H. Goode, Jr. (VA) Ken Calvert (CA) Jerry Lewis (CA), Ex Officio
Here is a list of places that Congress has declared off limits to drilling for oil. I just thought you might want to know this.
Washington, the entire state; Oregon, the entire state; Northern California, Central California and Southern California. The eastern Gulf of Mexico except for a portion of land. The South Atlantic, the Mid Atlantic, the North Atlantic, all national marine sanctuaries. All of these are indefinite. The Olympic Coast, Cordell Bank, California, Monterey Bay, California, the Gulf of the Farallones, California, the Channel Islands of California; the Flower Bank Gardens Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida and the Florida Keys, Gray's Reef South and Atlantic, Monitor Mid Atlantic, Stellwagen Bank, North Atlantic. That doesn't include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Next time you fill up, thank your members of Congress for their foresight. They truly are the World's Greatest Deliberative Body.
Last week our church board officially approved me as the Pastor to Children and Families in our church. It's an exciting time, and a humbling one as well for me. I'm excited for the opportunity and humbled by the responsibility that it entails.
I've always had a soft spot for kids. My mom ran a home day care my entire childhood, and I am the youngest of 11 children. I have nieces in their mid-30s so, I've been around a lot of kids in my life. And I care about them deeply. I have worked in the children's dept. in every church I have attended since I graduated from college. I love talking with them, getting to know them, playing with them and teaching them. One parent used to joke that her kids viewed me as a peer. That comment made me smile.
Pray for me. The mission field here in Dundee is large, and I want to be receptive to what God wants me to do and be. Pray for the kids in Dundee that need to know Jesus. Pray for the families that are separated from God. Pray that our church can be the hands and feet of Christ to them.
It's all a little overwhelming. But God is a big God.
The dictionary defines Sacred as: 1. devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religious purpose; consecrated. 2. entitled to veneration or religious respect by association with divinity or divine things; holy. 3. pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to secular or profane): sacred music; sacred books. 4. reverently dedicated to some person, purpose, or object: a morning hour sacred to study. 5. regarded with reverence: the sacred memory of a dead hero. 6. secured against violation, infringement, etc., as by reverence or sense of right: sacred oaths; sacred rights. 7. properly immune from violence, interference, etc., as a person or office
In the church, we often use sacred in a somewhat less formal manner. Rooms are sacred. Programs, activities, musical instruments and songs/hymns are sacred. But there are some sacred things that we may overlook that deserve our attention.
This past Sunday in our local congregation we had a sort of homecoming Sunday. Two families that left our congregation to move to Colorado Springs to attend Nazarene Bible College were back to tell us how God is moving in their lives. It hasn't been easy for them in several ways. They left their homes, friends and families to move more than 1000 miles away. One family has had their house for sale for 2 years and it still hasn't sold. But God has been faithful and has moved in their lives, and they gave glory to God for that. It was a sacred moment. Other sacred moments are when a sinner receives the gift of eternal life from Christ and throws off the shackles of sin. Or when an addict breaks free of the bondage that binds him/her and keeps them from fully serving God. Or when a child/young person/adult hears the call of God on his/her life and says "Yes Lord" to the God that is calling them into Christian service. Or when believers are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
These are the sacred moments that I want to remember. We don't pile up rocks into Ebenezers anymore, like the Israelites did. But we should remember the sacred times when God met us and we celebrated his presence.
Chuckle at the image if you will. When I first saw the image, I laughed a little. On its face it is pretty funny. But then, as is my habit, I began thinking about it.
The Christian faith is a lot like this scene. There are giant leaps of faith in our lives that God asks us to take. He may ask us to move across the country or the world, as he did my friend John. He may ask us to change careers as John and I are doing. He may ask you to radically change your life.
Sometimes in life, you are the elephant. You are jumping out in faith toward something that, on its face, makes no sense. But that is what faith is all about. Faith is being obedient to God and trusting Him with the outcome. Our task is to be obedient. The rest is up to God.
Sometimes, we are the monkey. We have to catch/help people who are taking great leaps of faith. People who are throwing off lives of sin need us to help catch them in the church. People who want to break destructive patterns of behavior need a steady hand to catch them. But in all of this, we are being obedient to God's call on our lives.
Sometimes you are the monkey. Sometimes you are the elephant. But God is always God.
It's a quick little quiz to help you realize how much you do or do not remember from school. Just click on the blue words at the end and you can take the quiz too.
In Saving Private Ryan, in the climactic battle scene shown here where Captain Miller is mortally wounded, he whispers to Private James Ryan, whom his unit was tasked to find and get home safely, the words 'Earn This." He is telling Ryan to live a life that is worthy of the sacrifice that men made to get him home after his brothers were killed in action in the war.
It made me think of the horrendous price that Jesus paid for our freedom. While we cannot "earn this" for what he did, we can live our lives in a way that honors the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The scene at the end where the older Ryan is talking to Capt. Miller's gravestone is a good reminder for us as we talk to our Lord. Have I lived in a way that is worthy of the price paid for me? That's a good introspective question to incorporate into our prayer lives.
Something to think about.
BTW - don't visit the site that sponsored the video clip. Their URL appears at the end of the clip. They seem to be a nutjob, black helicopter type of group.
I saw this on Soul Care, a daily email sent by the Church of the Nazarene Office of Clergy Development. It is something I will print and keep with me.
Forgive me, most gracious Lord and Father, if this day I have done or said anything to increase the pain of the world. Pardon the unkind word, the impatient gesture, the hard and selfish deed, the failure to show sympathy and kindly help where I had the opportunity, but missed it; and enable me so to live that I may daily do something to lessen the tide of human sorrow, and add to the sum of human happiness.
I'll confess that I have shamelessly ripped this thought from another blog, but I thought it was worth discussing here. What are the issues of our day, and what would Jesus say/do about them?
Depending on who you read/listen to/watch the issues facing the world are:
gay marriage
societal breakdown
income inequality
racism
militarism
American dominance
lack of compassion
global warming
global AIDS/HIV epidemic
totalitarian states oppressing their people
The list goes on and on. In a previous post I shared some thoughts on What Are Christian Issues? that went away from the usual fund-raising issues for the religious right and religious left. It is truly sad that we spend so much money and time on issues that the Supreme Court will ultimately decide, when that same money, invested in clean water wells and medical clinics could save hundreds of thousands of lives. It is a form of navel-gazing that I just don't understand.
Somehow I think Jesus would be out healing the people, not arguing in the corridors of power. Oh wait, that is exactly what he did for most of his ministry. He led by example and worked with the willing. He dealt with the powers that be when he had to, and did address many societal justice issues beyond the money changers in the temple. I yearn for the Church of Jesus Christ to take that same role in the world today. To meet the spiritual and temporal needs of the lost, hurting, oppressed and dying with the same fervor that they pursue influence in the corridors of power. Not that the political issues aren't worth fighting for. But one really does have to look at the allocation of resources question. How many lives could be saved if you stopped mailing me stuff all the time telling me the world is going to hell in a handbasket if I don't send you $25, $50, $100 or more. Take your postage and printing money and use it as your loaves and fishes. Feed the spiritually hungry and watch the world be transformed. What an ancient concept!
I need to get off the soapbox now. Hillary, Barack and John are asking for it back. While I dismount, watch the video clip above and think about the Rebel Jesus and how He could transform your thinking and actions. I know I have been.
I pray that I would respond in a similar manner if I were faced with this kind of evil. Sadly, her story is not well-known around the world. But she did the work of Christ when the moment stared her in the face.
In a sense, it can be kind of funny, if you view it like Young Frankenstein. But in the church, there is an epidemic of grave-robbing going on. Not for treasure mind you, like those who raided the tombs of kings and Pharaohs. Rather, it is people resurrecting corpses for purposes of excusing bad behavior, or their unwillingness to go where God is calling them.
The Apostle Paul says in a couple places that if we are in Christ, our old self is dead.
2 Corinthians 5:17 therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Paul is saying that our old self, its desires, wants as well as the things done to it, are dead. Dead, buried, and meant to be left buried. Not dead and meant to be exhumed frequently. Remember the story of Lazarus who had been dead for 4 days? In John 11 there is this exchange between Jesus and Martha, the sister of Lazarus:
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
Dead things stink. Just pass a road kill on your bike once and you will be reminded of that. Putrefaction begins pretty quickly, and the bacteria begin to do their thing.
I say that to remind us that spiritually, there is a horrendous smell when we dig up our old self. If it has been dead and buried for a while, there will be an awful stench. But why do we do that?
Some people dig up their old selves to:
Provide excuses to the Lord and others as to why they cannot do a particular ministry
Play the victim because it gives them cover
Provide an excuse for a lack of forgiveness
Give an excuse for their lack of spiritual growth i.e.
Don't you know what happened to me? I can't do that because I'm a {insert issue} I was {insert crime} My parents didn't {insert behavior} My spouse did {insert behavior}
I think you get the picture here.
If we are a new creation, then our old self is dead, and we need to leave it buried. If we are constantly digging it up, there is some peace with the past the Lord needs to provide you. I know our pasts can be painful, and can leave tremendous physical and emotional scars. But ours is a great God who can heal those scars and provide the peace our souls need. But we have to leave the dead in their graves.
Grave robbing is a crime in nearly every culture on earth. Desecrating the dead will earn the wrath of polite society the world over. It's time we in the church adopt that same rule. Let your old self be buried with Christ, and let the new self be resurrected with Him. That is the symbolism of baptism. We die and rise again. We don't die and hang onto the corpse and keep dragging it around for use when it is convenient for our purposes.
I just love the editorial cartoon, especially since we recently studied Revelation in our adult small group. The article is a good read from the outgoing Prime Minister of Italy.
One quote stood out to me from the piece:
People can no longer be allowed to starve to death in Africa simply because there are some people in the US or inside the European Union who consider that the votes of farmers or landowners are worth more than the survival of millions of men and women. It is true that today's policies were decided at a time when we thought we were living in an energy-poor and food-rich world. But that is no longer the case today.
I heard on the radio news that the U.S. has diverted 1/3 of its corn crop to ethanol production, while people starve around the world and food prices rise. Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, can we please stop pandering to the farm lobby and create an energy policy that makes sense and does not cause people to starve to death?
This quote in a recent Leadership Journal article caught my eye as we watch the way the church and politicians are interacting in the current race for the White House:
In many ways our situation is increasingly like that of the early church. The gospel had to compete in a multi-religious, pluralistic environment where, as Edward Gibbon put it, "the masses considered all religions equally true, the philosophers considered them equally false, and the politicians considered them equally useful."
I'm not passing judgment here because all parties have used and abused Christianity in their quest for power. I just find it amusing that in a post-modern world, some things don't change, even as far back as the Roman Empire. Politicians have been appealing to faith for millenia when it suits their needs. I don't think it will end anytime soon. My advice is when they start appealing to your faith, to put on a good filter of healthy skepticism and brace yourself for the inevitable sell-out that will follow. I hate to be so cynical, but, sadly, I fear it is true.
We hear the uproar over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his controversial sermons. We hear about BarackObama's faith. We also heard about Mitt Romney's Mormonism. Just watch how they are portrayed and be "as wise as serpents." Because that is who you are dealing with.
Or is there something here that escapes me? You know my issues with the incoherent energy policy in these United States. So I wrote my congressman, who happens to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Here is his response to my concerns dated April 28, 2008:
Dear Mr. Richardson:
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns regarding drilling off the shore of the United States. I appreciate hearing from you.
We can all agree that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil; however, I do not think that new drilling off our coasts is the best solution. Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have worked for a balanced energy policy, which takes care of our needs as a nation while conserving one of our natural resources. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is the committee through which much of our environmental legislation must go, and as Chairman of that Committee I must often make decisions regarding the environment. To this end, during the 110th Congress I intend to look into investing in clean and renewable energy.
You may be pleased to know that during the 109th Congress, the House took a number of actions meant to financially encourage the development and usage of alternative energy. In the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress mandated that 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol would have to be incorporated as a gasoline additive by 2012. Ethanol, a much cleaner alternative to gasoline, would significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Hybrid cars also are being promoted to consumers via tax credits. Up to $3200 is available in tax credits for a new owner of a hybrid. Congress already offers many other smaller tax credits to conscientious consumers. This type of encouragement on the homeowner level provides motivation for manufacturers to continue to invent and produce more energy efficient models of appliances.
Though these incentives are a good start in promoting continued exploration of alternative energy practices, they are not the finish line. Energy efficiency is a worthy aim and one that our government's policies and practices should seek to encourage, but not at the cost of our environment. You may rest assured that that I will keep your views in mind should legislation regarding alternative energy come before me for consideration.
Again, thank you for being in touch. For news on current federal legislative issues, please visit my website at www.house.gov/dingell; you can also sign up there to receive my e-newsletter. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me again if I may be of assistance with this or any other matter of concern.
With every good wish,
Sincerely yours,
John D. Dingell Member of Congress
So, if I understand what Rep. Dingell is saying, he is advocating diverting our food supply to fuel to protect the environment. Never mind the starvation and gross immorality of that action, the environment is more important than the people who live in it.
Here is some mindless fun to enjoy. Just click on the video link and enjoy. Cletus Take the Reel is my favorite so far. But I just have a special love for the name Cletus.
I'm a Renaissance Man wannabee - I keep getting into weird stuff like trebuchet construction, homemade smokers, bat house construction and strange things like that. I'm over 50, self-employed and a high school teacher. I married way up and lost her to cancer, and have two wonderful daughters who continue to amaze me.
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