In these uncertain times, a lot of people question their faith in whatever it is they believe. My faith will not be shaken. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

I believe that it matters greatly what you believe about the origins of mankind, because whatever you believe about our origins will either strengthen or weaken your faith in and understanding of God, and how you view the authority of the Bible.

I believe that God is in charge – not that He controls every aspect of what goes on. Bad things happen because mankind has rebelled against God, not because God is vengeful. I believe that bad things happen to cause us to repent and seek His forgiveness, and that good things happen so we can praise and glorify God. It’s all about Him, not all about us.

I believe that we are rapidly approaching the times Jesus spoke of in Matthew chapter 24, and other places in the Bible.

I believe that the Christian life is to be lived as a separate culture within our surrounding worldly culture. That the Christian life is to be so distinct, so pure, that the outside world sees our sharing, caring, and humility – and they ask us for the reason. I believe that is biblical evangelism. Not big programs, not knocking on doors, but love lived daily and consistently.

I believe that there is an evil in this world that is far worse than anything we have seen or can imagine, and that it is just now beginning to flex its muscle. I believe it is going to be increasingly more difficult to live the Christian life, but that God will multiply His church in the coming days.

I believe that God is pure love, pure righteousness, pure justice, and that He has adopted me into His family through Jesus Christ, His Son.  Allelujah!

So let me ask once more, what do you believe?

Frank

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a very common question: “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” or for the atheist, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

I would take the person asking to the same conclusion, but would likely approach it a bit differently depending on who is asking.

For the atheist, I would ask on what do they base their judgement of good and bad? In a world where we are nothing more than the result of millions of years of chemical reactions, there is no such thing as good and bad. Morality makes no sense, other than “survival of the fittest.” There could be no universal “good” or universal “bad” in their worldview. So ultimately, to the atheist, it should not matter what happens to anyone.  In fact, their version of natural selection requires that the weak, sick, or otherwise undesirable ones should die off, leaving the strong and healthy ones to continue the species.

For anyone who believes in a god, I would ask “What do you believe is the origin of suffering and death?” Because the answer to that reveals who they think God is, and what is man’s relationship to God. Anyone who believes in millions of years (whether they claim to be Christian or not) has an invalid view of God. I can say that because in that worldview, the fossil record shows suffering and death before man came on the scene. Therefore, man cannot be blamed for those things, and the only one who could be blamed is the god who started it all. So that god is not seen as loving, or caring, or even holy or righteous in their eyes.

But the God of the Bible is emphatically and repeatedly described as a just and holy God, intolerant of evil, yet loving toward his creation and particularly mankind, whom He created in His own image.

So now, let’s consider where suffering and death really came from. According to Genesis chapters 2 and 3, when God created Adam, he only gave him one rule: Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Then God formed Eve, the first woman, and she was deceived into eating the fruit of that tree – and Adam did so deliberately. The ensuing punishment from God for this evil (remember, He is totally holy and righteous, and cannot tolerate evil in His presence) was that man should suffer and die. This was one of the greatest acts of love God could have done, because had He not demanded death for our sins, we would live forever in a sinful state. But in His great plan for us, he sent His own Son to take the ultimate penalty for all our sins, defeat both sin and death, and restore us to a righteous condition before Him.

Now for the answer to the question, “How could a good a loving God allow suffering and tragedy?”  First of all, no one is “good” in God’s eyes. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” and “No one is righteous, no not one.” The Bible makes it clear we all are destined to die (physically) for our sins. (For it is appointed for man to die once, and after that to face judgment.) So the question being asked is the wrong question in the first place. The better question is “Why has God not destroyed us all already?” – That is what we deserve.  For the Christian, death is merely the transition into the presence of God.  Like Paul in Romans 7, we look forward to that day.  Jesus made it clear that tragedy is not tied to specific sins of specific people, however, tragedies are tied to our sinful condition and the judgement God imposed on the original sin. Tragedies result in bringing us into God’s presence, fully restored and free from sin. People who die in tragedies (or any other way, for that matter) who have not believed in Jesus as the Son of God, will be cut off from God for eternity. But those who believe in Him will be covered by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and will be ushered into God’s presence for eternity. This is why it is so urgent to spread God’s message of forgiveness and restoration.

So when bad things happen, there is a strong element of love from God, in bringing those dear ones to Himself. It is hard on us, yes, because we love them and miss them. But ultimately, we all will die and go to meet our Maker. Personally, I am looking forward to that day on one hand, but longing to stay in this life with my loved ones as long as I can.

Frank

How do you define ‘freedom’? In our secular, pluralistic society, freedom is a grossly misunderstood and misused concept. Freedom is now considered to be “the ‘right’ to do whatever you want to do”.

Is freedom the absence of restrictions? Anyone who believes this is ignoring all of life around them. A fish is ‘free’ to swim anywhere it wants. But it takes in oxygen only from the water. As soon as it leaves the restriction of a water habitat, it will die. The fish is restricted by its very nature. So it is with all things. Freedom therefore is necessarily limited by our very nature. Our concept of ‘freedom’ must account for the nature of things, and the restrictions imposed by those characteristics.

Within those restrictions, the fish is free to go here or there. However, if it swims into the path of a predator, it will likely die. So, it restricts its behavior to avoid certain dangers. This is a self-imposed restriction designed to prolong its life. Is it free to swim into the path of a predator? Yes, but is that freedom good for the fish? Not at all. The fish will follow self-imposed restrictions to its behavior to preserve its life.

This brings up the second misconception of freedom, that all freedom is good. Terrorists think they are ‘free’ to wreak havoc on anyone they decide to terrorize. Is that freedom ‘good’? The civilized world would answer an emphatic ‘no’. This truth applies to many human behaviors. Enron executives thought they were ‘free’ to set their own salaries and benefits, to the detriment of all their employees. Civilization depends upon certain restrictions to human behaviors to keep us from destroying ourselves. Indeed, all our laws are actually restrictions on human behavior. They are necessary to prevent total chaos, and ultimately our annihilation.

So if freedom is not the absence of restrictions, and if not all freedom is good for us, who then determines what restrictions are placed upon us, and who determines which freedoms are good or bad? Let’s take ‘freedom of religion’ for example. Society generally agrees that freedom of religion is a good thing. But how far does that freedom extend? When one person believes that a certain behavior is right, and another believes that same behavior is wrong, which belief wins at the point of confrontation? Who decides that, and upon what set of standards is that decision made?

Is there a universal set of standards by which all freedoms and restrictions should be established? The answer to that question should be blatantly obvious, even to those who reject the answer. The Ten Commandments are a universal set of restrictions placed upon human behavior that govern our freedom. The utopian society that the world longs for would become a reality if everyone adhered perfectly to those ten simple rules. So why has this set of standards been forcibly removed from our nation? If they are so beneficial to us, why have we tossed them out of our schools and government? What impact has this action had on our ‘freedom’? Are we more free without them, or are we in bondage to our propensity for greed and power?

Sadly, by removing those restrictions on our behavior, we are less free than we were when we lived by those rules.

Of course, I know the answer to the questions I have posed above. Our sinful nature would rather create our own set of rules to live by, rather than live by the rules given to us by our creator. And the rules we then establish are based upon our rejection of God’s authority over us. We try to manage our own behavior at the same time our nature is pushing us to pursue greed, power, and pride. We get so far away from God’s rules that we can no longer determine what is right or wrong, and we redefine what ‘freedom’ actually is.

Freedom, properly used, requires a set of restrictions that enable us to care for and improve everyone and everything around us. We can be free to enjoy nature without damaging or destroying nature. We can be free to love and help people around us without bringing them harm in any way. We can be free to choose a vocation that benefits mankind and provides support to our family, without denying others that same freedom.

I have had it with the liberals having “all the voice” in the news and media. It is high time for all true Christians to stand up and let their voice be heard as well. Today’s historic ruling will forever change the culture in America. This day is our tipping point. Mark my word, that on this day, both the decline of America as a global power, and the persecution of Christians in the Last Days began in earnest. Unfortunately, people and churches who claim to be Christian have hastened this day by compromising the authority of the Scriptures, twisting God’s words to fit their own agendas, and outright ignoring the truth taught in the Bible. My heart is sitting in sackcloth and ashes right now. I have kept silent on my Facebook page too long. I started posting because I want my son and daughter to seriously think about what they believe and why they believe it. Because they are going to have to instill my grandchildren with a strong enough faith to persevere the days and years ahead. God’s word is true. God does not mince words. Understand where marriage came from, and why it is between a man and a woman. Understand why homosexuality is an abomination to God. Understand the depth of faith we must have to take a stand for Christ. “If you deny me before men, I will deny you before my Father in heaven.” Jesus was not joking around when He said that. It’s time to take a stand for what we believe.

Another new year and another list of fresh resolutions for the new year, 2014. A new year is like a fresh clean slate or calendar, a whole year ahead of you, a chance to improve yourself. And like many others, I make resolutions, knowing that I probably won’t stick to them. I’ve tried making them simple and I’ve tried making them large; both are subject to failure. And that’s the bottom line: we’ll probably give up. BUT there’s also a chance that perhaps I’ll stick with it and succeed. So I’m making a few for this year:

1.  Lose weight. Weight Watchers and fitness centers make lots of $$ on this one. I spend a lot on this one too. Yes, I joined the local fitness center and going back to a diet.

2. Get organized. Specifically, I want to clean out everything and “declutter”

3. I resolve to read the Bible every day. I have a plan to read through the Bible in 2 years. Frank found a schedule and we will do this together.

I was talking to a friend about our church situation (see my post of 30 July), complaining to him that our pastor’s only goal is to bring people in to the church, but that he then refuses to instruct them in Christian education and spiritual disciplines. My friend said, “Oh come on Frank, that’s just the Southern Baptist way!”  He was emphatic and insistent on this point, acting as if I should have known this all along.

When I listen to the likes of Adrian Rogers, Voddie Baucham, Dr. Criswell and others – I don’t think these men would agree with my friend. What I believe is that the Southern Baptist process of giving a man a pulpit just because he says he’s been called to preach – floods our churches with spiritually immature loudmouths who are incapable of feeding their congregations the meat of the Word.

It may be time for me to find another demonization – I mean denomination, that holds to the unerring truth of Scripture from the very first verse; that teaches discipleship and spiritual discipline; that holds to a formal confession of faith; and that follows the New Testament instruction of believers.

I think it would surprise most of the Southern Baptist preachers I’ve known, to find out that almost the entirety of the New Testament is written to instruct BELIEVERS in godly living.  These preachers speak as if their only audience is UNBELIEVERS!  What is wrong with this picture?  Sorry for the rant.  I’ll update y’all on Flash tomorrow.

Frank

I came to a powerful realization this week in listening to a sermon by Voddie Baucham (pronounced Vody – like Jody). It was at the same time both comforting and very disturbing.  Allow me to explain…

Voddie was contrasting the biblical metaphor of the “family” to the western idea of the institution of church. In the context of the family, he had also discussed the impact that a founding patriarch has on the generations that follow. Speaking of Jesus as the Christian’s founding patriarch in the family of God, he said, “When you are part of the family, you despise the institution. Why? Because it misrepresents our founding patriarch.”  In an instant, I knew specifically why I have such a problem with churches, pastors, and other church leaders (the institution and its representatives).

I realized that I am disgusted with “church” because it misrepresents Jesus.  Today’s church has one mission: draw in more people. To hell with making them effective Christians; to hell with changing our society for the better; to hell with propriety, holiness, and sanctification. And so the end (drawing in people) somehow justifies the means (flashy programs, loud and boisterous music, meaningless feel-good sermons, etc.). Meanwhile, the true, reverent worship factor is swept under the rug. Spiritual disciplines are abandoned. That reverential awe of entering the sanctuary is gone – oh, wait, it is not even called the sanctuary any more, it’s the auditorium, as if we’re going to play basketball or be entertained.

This revelation was comforting in realizing that I was indeed part of the family of God. I can now confidently put an end to my self-doubt and the subtle nagging question that perhaps, somehow I might be the one off base.  (I’m not trying to say I’m perfect, but my disagreement with the institution of church has at last been defined, and my role within that definition is a righteous one.) At the same time, it was disturbing, that in my experience, I have never found a local church that even remotely represents our founding patriarch, Jesus. So I listen to the likes of Alistair Begg, Voddie Baucham, Ken Ham, and Ravi Zacharias, and I consume instruction and teaching from ministries like Answers In Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research. I grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but without a local outlet for service.

Where is there a local church in which I can wholeheartedly participate and minister?

Frank

I think Isaac (deployed on his 3rd tour in Iraq) says it all:

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson.  As we all know, Jackson died the other day.  He was an entertainer who performed for decades.  He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people.  I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief.  When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?

Am I missing something here?  ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades?  What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?  All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America.  Where is their moment of silence?  Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?  Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying “good riddance,” and “thank God for IEDs?”  When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.  But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice.  After all, we will never make millions of dollars.  We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too.  We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.  Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

“So that others may live…”

Isaac

This morning’s Bible reading was the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5-7.

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. The author builds his premise on a foundation of knowing the real God of the Universe, and just how BIG and POWERFUL and WONDERFUL He is. He puts our puny human existence in stark contrast to that huge image of God, then sets about the task of explaining what it is God wants of us.

In short, he takes the teachings of Jesus quite literally when He says to love your enemies, care for the poor, take up your cross daily…

So, I started reading Jesus’ teachings with this new perspective, not wanting the watered-down version that has been spoon fed from American churches my entire life. I figured the best place to start would be at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Sermon on the Mount.

I was absorbing these teachings in a deeper way until I got to Chapter 6, verses 14 & 15. Jesus had just taught them how to pray, and had recited the so-called “Lord’s Prayer”. Then He says: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Ouch. It’s not just some nice words expressing a philosophic sentiment – He MEANS IT! To forgive those who wrong you is counter to everything that is human. It takes a divine nature to be able to forgive. Indeed, it takes God within you to be able to forgive.

Bill Gothard said that unwillingness to forgive will plant a seed of bitterness in you that eventually destroys your unforgiving heart. In other words, one of the chief reasons to forgive someone is to protect the health of your own heart – not just for the other person.

Howard Hendricks taught that forgiveness is not based on the worth of the recipient, but on the character of the giver. God’s forgiveness of our sins is not based on our own merit, as if we deserved to be forgiven. The opposite is true… if we merited forgiveness, there would be nothing to forgive! No, God’s forgiveness of our sins is based on His love for us, His mercy and compassion. That is what Jesus is telling us to do. Forgive them specifically because they don’t deserve it. “THAT’S CRAZY” you say? That is exactly right (from a human perspective), and the whole message behind the “Crazy Love” book.

Pauls writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 1: “18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”

So, do I think forgiveness is foolishness (which puts me in direct opposition to God) or do I submit to God’s authority, swallow my pride and hurt feelings, and in faith – forgive those who wrong me? I believe this is one of the toughest steps in our growth toward “Christ-like-ness” as Christians.

May God strenghten us to be able to forgive others, and in so doing, cure us of any bitterness and resentment in our lives.

Haole Boy

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

and Psalm 139: 15 & 16 says: ” My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Wow. Makes me wonder what good works were prepared for me to do. That makes me wonder what good works have I missed already. These verses make me more sensitive to what God has ordained for my life, and how badly I have ignored his leading. So I wonder what good works I am supposed to do today, tomorrow, this year!?!

Reminds me of Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Let us be sensitive to the Holy Spirit within us, prompting us to do the good works prepared in advance for us to do.

Haole Boy