My War with Bitterness and Frustration

There are days when I just want to pack up a few things and leave civilization all together. I hear things on the radio, the news, read them online, the news paper and in social media. This world makes me upset, sometimes just plain angry. I shouldn't get mad, I should just trust God, but I struggle. I don't understand how people can be so ignorant sometimes.

We are all about social progress these days. We are focusing on self esteem and self expression. Now that gay marriage is legal, it's transgender time. Now we want anyone to be able to express any gender they want. This means I can go in the ladies locker room if I decide I feel like a woman that day. News flash, this is stupid and ludicrous. Your gender is genetically defined, it's not a choice. I can't decide to be a woman, a cat or a tree. I'm a human male, it's not a choice. It's not open to interpretation. It's not fluid. What is wrong with this country?

I'm not going to start on politics, socialism, the election and the running joke that has made of our country. The selfish and short sighted worldview in our country is ridiculous. Why would we make it easier for pedophiles when things like pedophilia is on the rise? Had America gone stupid?

These issues aren't even my biggest issues lately. I'm frusterated most of all with the church I see in this country. The gates of hell may not prevail against the church, but America trashed it pretty bad. Our manners are horrible, people are selfish and shallow, the doors are closing, the need is huge and pastors are burned out. The only ones doing well are the prosperity preachers and the heretics. We are a country of shallow thinking, feeling driven, needy and lazy people.

We took the church and made it a business. Pastors embrace a CEO model and age more worried about being respected and having authority than walking with people. In today's model, we would rather fire a struggling Pastor and throw out a volunteer that isn't performing well than to try to mentor them. We give up on people. Jesus restored Peter, we would have sent him back to fishing. Thomas world have been fired for doubting.

We study the Bible to prove our theology instead of letting the Bible prove our theology. We toss out anything with weight, we just want what is easy. We don't struggle, we don't suffer. We want easy life, God that fits in our pocket and a doctrine that we can understand, control and makes concessions for what we want.

News flash, we are sinners, God is holy and you can't control anything. You can't tell your dead heart to beat. Sin is still sin. If you lie, cheat, steal, hurt people or lust, it's sin. Sex outside of marriage between a man and woman is sin. Always. God hates divorce, and your justification doesn't change that. We want to turn a blind eye, but never the other cheek. We will be ok with whatever Trump does or says but if a Pastor messes up, we shout crucify. Leave Mark Driscoll alone already, God will take care of Mark. Deal with Joel and Joyce.

There you go. More people will listen to Steven Anderson say something totally ignorant than will read my blog. People will flock to causes like gay, transgender pride rallies in support of Planned Parenthood, but won't give a thought of how their behavior is destroying America by making us selfish, blind and lazy. People have been so concerned about everyone being able to seek pleasure, we don't notice we are causing all the pain.

I struggle and I get angry. Part is my pride and my ego. I think I'm right and I think if people would listen to me, I could help fix things. I feel like I have some good things to say and contribute. Right now I have few real outlets. I'm frusterated because I see destruction and have little recourse. Maybe I'm a modern prophet, or just an arrogant guy who thinks he knows too much. Either way, I have to fight off the bitterness.

Can't I Just Earn It?

We just celebrated Easter, the amazing work of Christ on the cross, dead and rising again. It's am amazing story, we love to celebrate it and tell it and share it. We stink at living it though. Face it, it would just be easier if we can just earn it. Ok, not easier in fact it's not even possible. We have already lost our opportunity to earn it, but does it keep us from trying? Let's face it, we don't know how to really experience grace. We spend our lives trying to measure up to what we already have. I do it, and you probably do it too. It's human nature. If you notice, the Christian faith is the only religion in the entire world that has the concept of grace. In every other world religion and cult, you get to heaven by earning it, doing more right and less wrong and following the rules.

In our American Christian faith, I notice we have several "works" that we don't call works, but we like to tack on to the end of things. See if you agree with me on these. The first is knowing stuff. If you are a serious Christian, you gotta know stuff. Maybe some of it is Biblical stuff, and then there are things you know about the Rapture, Christian authors or music, and church history. You know what the 10-40 Window is, you know when Lifelight is held. You probably should know some popular Bible Podcasts, some pastors and teachers and scholars. We like knowing stuff, and the more stuff you know, the better you are.

You have to have your daily stuff. You gotta have a quiet time, a nice collection of Christian devotional material. If you pray every day you are good. If you pray with your family you are even better. If you pray with your family and a coworker you are amazing. Don't forget to read your three chapters of the Bible every day so you can read the entire Bible in a year. Don't forget to share your stuff on Facebook or Twitter.

Of course a good Christian is at church every time the doors are open. Sunday Mornings are just for the novice. If you are really saved, you go Sunday Night, Wednesday night, you attend Small Group, prayer group, life group, missions group, committee meetings, business meetings and anything else you can attend. You strive to prove how committee we are to Jesus by spending every moment we can in the church building. If we are super saints, we might have a set of keys so we can open or lock up. Peter may have had the keys to the kingdom of heaven, but that's not as awesome as the keys to the prayer room.

Let's not forget the time factor. How long have you been saved, how long has it been since you sinned? How long has it been since you been to church? How long have you been married, how long have you been attending church or Sunday School? How long since your last confessions? Have you put in your time? How about your money? What is your percentage at? Are you giving pretax? Are you tithing your gross or just your take home?

Yes, there was some humor and maybe a little sarcasm here, but I hope it made you think. None of these things are bad, going to church is great. Reading your Bible is important and amazing. Being in a small group, in Sunday School, those are amazing things. Being a Christian for many years helps you gain wisdom, and of course you need to be involved in your local church. It's not the things themselves that's a problem, but when they become the end in themselves. Reading the Bible is not about reading the Bible, but learning more about God and growing in relationship with Him. Prayer is not about spending the right amount of time in prayer, but spending time with the Father.

The good things we do, we do because we love God, or at least we should. We must be sure we never swap our obedience to the Father for duty or obligation. We do what we do from love, not to earn love. Our lives are spent giving glory to God, not earning glory from God.

Audio Post, What Do You Think?

I am trying something new.  This is an audio post I recorded while driving today. Please give me some feedback! Thanks everyone.


First Audio Post

Does God Know? Sheep, Goats and Universal Atonement

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Revelation 20:11-13 ESV

Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
Matthew 25:32-33 ESV

What we have in these verses are two views of what is going to happen at the judgement on the last day.  The first is John actually seeing the event,  the second is Jesus telling the Disciples what will happen. These events are going to happen,  and they are set.  God,  being outside and not bound by time is already at judgement,  He has already seen judgement and He has told us through Jesus and through John. This is a done deal,  we are just waiting for it to happen. 

While we are waiting for this event to happen,  we are arguing about things like election and predestination.  My question for those who are against predestination is simple.  God can see the sheep and the goats,  who is saved and who is not. Can someone who is right now a goat but at judgement is a sheep choose to reject Christ.  It at the end of time,  God has already seen an individual,  and since God is outside of time,  God has already judged that person and they are saved,  can they choose to not be saved? Can man choose to reject what God has already seen?

I hope you see the issue with rejection of God's calling and predestination.  It means that John's vision isn't set because God does not know who is sheep and goat. Those of you who say "God knows but we can still choose" are making a logical fallacy to simply support your rejection of predestination.   The bottom line is,  God has already seen who is a sheep,  He calls those who are sheep,  and He has know and willed it since the foundation of the world. If this is not true, then God is as ignorant of the future as we are.

The other issue is of course the cross. It's believed within orthodox Christianity that Christ carried the wages of sin on the cross. The doctrine of Limited Atonement says that when Christ died,  He carried the sin of the elect,  those who will be sheep on the last day.  The doctrine of unlimited or universal atonement says the cross bore all the sins of every person who ever lived. Let's take that view to it's logical outcome.

We know God made Christ who knew no sin to become sin for us. In doing so, our sin is not counted against us. Our sin is no longer accounted to us and we are no longer alienated from God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that because God made Him sin, we have become the righteousness of God.  If Christ took the sins of every person ever, then everyone has become the righteousness of God.

I know what you are thinking. 1 John 2:2, He is the propitiation for the whole world, but this means every nation. If this means every person, no one would go to Hell because propitiation is justification and reconciliation. The only other option is for the blood to not fully complete the work of Christ on the cross. To believe that the sacrifice isn't effectual until we accept it puts the final work of salvation in our hands.

In essence, Christ blood covered almost every sin. The only sin not covered is sin of my accepting Christ. For universal salvation to work, we must be pardoned for this sin by our decision to follow Christ.  We must finish the work Christ started.  This idea is nothing short of heresy.

The other option is the blood covers everyone, but God withholds it until we accept. This negates the idea of Christ reconciling us to God, we are reconciled to God by our repentance. Christ simply becomes the conduit. We also end up back at the point of questioning if God knows the future. Why would He withhold from those who He knows will reject.

The whole line of questioning brings us to the argument of God is love, would He choose some to go to hell. This line of questioning will take us to the same place. Why would God create someone to send them to hell? Any way you cut it, if you believe God knows the future and can see the end of time, then God created people who He knows will go to hell. He is not helpless, clueless and silently hoping people will accept Him. He already knows.

The only logical way to reject these ideas is to embrace a theology that man finishes the work of Salvation by accepting Christ and God does not know the future. If the work is of Christ and God can see the sheep and the goats at judgement, the reality of predestination and limited atonement are in my mind settled. 

Bill Nye, Black Holes and Evidence for God

In a recent debate, Bill Nye was asked the question "what would cause you to believe in God" and his answer was "evidence". I want to challenge Bill Nye on this for a second with a cosmic wonder, the black hole. Have you ever seen a black hole? In a picture maybe or on a video? I've seen lots, but you know what, they aren't real pictures. The truth is, we can't see black holes. We can't find them, we can't detect them and we have no idea if they are really there. We think they are, and there are things than help us guess they exist and even where they exist.

A black hole, in theory, is caused by a collapsed star that is a super dense mass of atoms, no empty space just packed in particles. It has major gravity, like a whole lot of gravity and it pulls everything down and smashes it to the thickness of an atom. It even traps light in the gravitational pull and nothing escapes. That is why we can't see it, we see things when light bounces off and comes back to our eyes. We also use radio waves and microwaves and sonar waves, all these things bounce back, just like light. We see the reflection. Black holes don't reflect, they don't send stuff out, so we can't see them. Guess that's a good reason they are called black holes.

Bill Nye believes in black holes, he has done shows on them. I believe in black holes too, but because I've seen one but for the same reason Bill does. I have seen the evidence. You see, when you have that much gravity, it effects things. Stars and planets and comets and stuff. They are influenced by the gravity, they lose energy, change orbits and are moved and otherwise changed. I can't see the black hole, but I see it's effects.

When I'm sitting in my living room, I can't see if there is a breeze outside. I can't hear it, I can't feel it, but I know if there is a breeze blowing. I can see the effects of the breeze on the trees and bushes. I see the evidence. It's true with a breeze, with a black hole and with God. I see the evidence of God in my life, in the life of other people and in the world. I know what He has done in my life, changed me and helped me. I have seen how He has worked in my wife's life and how she has grown in faith. I see Him working on my kids, on people at church, and those who were once far from God and now are close to God. I see the evidence of God, sometimes like branches swaying and sometimes like the pull of gravity so strong that not even light can escape.

My question for Bill Nye is, what evidence do you want? What does it look like? If the pull of gravity is enough for a black hole, isn't the work of God in the lives of believers enough evidence? If you don't have to see the black hole, why do you have to see God? You can't touch the black hole, you can hear it or see it or smell it. Why the black hole but not God?

Why Going to Church is Important

You need to go to church. You need to go to a worship service and Sunday School.
It's imperative to your spiritual life.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

You may have heard people say "I don't need to go to church to believe in God." That us true, but even demons believe in God. Not the best company to be in. The goal is not to simply believe in God, but to become a disciple. Salvation is free, but discipleship is costly. You shouldn't do it on your own. You can't do it on your own. The intention is never for you to do it on your own.

All the ways the Bible describes being a follower of Christ used phrases that involve connection. The term church is not a building, but an assembly of people. We are the church. We are called living stones. We are called the body of Christ. We are referred to as sheep, which are always in a flock. A solo sheep is a lost sheep and will soon die. The church is called the bride of Christ, a singular group, which implies unity.

We are to grow in our love for God and for others. How can you do that alone? You need others. You are suppose to be with others. Praying together, carrying each other's burdens. I'll go as far as to say if you are not in church, you are not living out the Christian life. You are a biker with no club. A player with no team. A soldier with no army. You are missing out.

So, get to church. Don't miss Sunday School. Get plugged in and find what you've been missing.

What Trump and Sanders Indicates About Education

Donald Trump is the front runner in the national poles. He is leading the pack for the Republican nomination. It's interesting and it points to something in our education system. On the other side of the aisle, it's Hillary but Bernie Sanders is closing the gap. The Socialist candidate is popular with the young voters. It's a telling situation. Even the election of our current President says a lot about where we have come with public education. Don't see the connection? Let me explain.

The founding fathers of the United States sought to put in public education. The reason is simple, America is a Republic with elected officials, voted on by the people.  We also vote on laws and measures and bonds, etc. As citizens, we must make complicated decisions and to do so, we must be informed and educated. The system of public education exists to make informed citizens, capable of making decisions to run the country.

Early on, the education system stressed teachings ethics, civics and government. We taught students how to be part of a community. We stressed community and the people understood that the good of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We taught, lived and believed in working diligently, serving others and making good choices. We made hard choices, and we sacrificed for those choices. The entire country came together during WWI and WWII, we didn't protest and we didn't argue over petty issues while our young men were spilling their blood.

Today, we don't come together, we protest and cry "raciest, sexist, homophobe" and demand a safe space. We are not the same people, and part of the issue is our education system. We have begun to educate children for the sake of education. They are learning facts, but not how to think or make good decisions. They are coming out of school lacking the ability to think critically. They don't think about the community, they don't think about effects or long term realities. They have no concept of supply and demand, of trade off and the fact that everything has a cost or a consequence.

It's time we need to start teaching common sense and ethics and community again. We have focused too much on teaching kids to feel good about themselves and trying to build self esteem. The humanist movement has produced it's fruit and it's not good fruit. Maybe it's time to return to the roots of the founding fathers. We need to focus on making good citizen and less about making kids who feel good about themselves.