The Mailman's Own Post

Rob Bell's "Love Wins" Review--Full Length

2011-05-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Thank you for reading this review! First, I’d like to mention that I do not know Rob Bell personally and I am not familiar with much of his work. The review will include this current book, Love Wins, and the interviews related to it. This review will be divided into 3 parts: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. If you don’t like all the big words and theological terms, you can read the “Sweetened, Condensed Review” below this one. This way, we won’t be wasting each other’s time.

For those of you brave enough to move on, let’s start with

THE GOOD

Rob Bell makes much of the love of God. This is good. One of God’s greatest attributes is His love for us. It is His most popular attribute, to be sure. Without it, we would have been doomed following Adam’s initial sinfulness in Genesis 3. He could have just crumbled up the whole of the human race at that point (when you’ve seen two, you’ve seen them all, you know) and started over. He could have given up on us and done what He pleased in His anger and/or disappointment. He could have directed His love toward another race or another part of creation that would actually listen to Him and obey Him. But He didn’t.

Another good thing is that Bell tries to identify with and reach out to people who have become disillusioned with church and religion in general. That’s good, because there have been some horrendous things done and said in the name of God and Christianity that have really maligned the name and cause of Christ. God has been blamed for things He had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with. I will say, however, that some of the things Bell calls into question were not the problem, but the WAY they were presented. I may come back to that later.

Another good thing (to a point) is Bell’s desire to reach out to the needs of people, in a physical way, (ie; poor, starving, homeless, thirsty) and in taking care of the earth and the like. These are good things, but you have to get things in the right order before they work the desired result. Bell fails to do that. We may get back to that, too.

In the course of the book, Bell makes a number of statements and asks a number of questions that call on the carpet some issues that need some examination.

I like some of these entries:

“There is no question that Jesus cannot handle, no discussion too volatile, no issue too dangerous.”

“…the phrase ‘personal relationship’ is found nowhere in the Bible.”

“What you believe about the future shapes, informs and determines how you live now.”

“Eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts now.”

“First, one about our choices. We are free to accept or reject the invitation to new life that God extends to us. Our choice.”

Unfortunately, that about covers it for the good in this book.

THE BAD

Next, is the bad. Most of this is personal opinion and deals with stylistic issues. The WAY the book is written is off-putting to me. His style is quite different than others who tackle huge issues like this one. His book includes over 300 questions in 198 pages of text. Many of them are exploratory. Many others call into question things we take for granted in the Christian world that need to be called into question. Others are just really weird and made me scratch my head and wonder; “What in the world is this guy thinking????” He takes you to places of thought you’ve probably never ventured before. But, instead of starting from a place of Truth, taking you out to investigate these places, explaining as he goes, then bringing you back to that place of Truth to finish up; he goes waaaay out there, stops the proverbial car, then kicks you out, leaving you to find your way back to…well, somewhere. We’re not sure where one will end up and I don’t believe Bell really cares either. In his opinion, you can fend for yourself. This is intellectually irresponsible, to me. This is a tactic that could have been used 2 or 3 generations ago, when the general public had a much better grasp of the Scriptures…maybe. But we live in a generation that has a huge illiteracy when it comes to the things of God. When he takes people out to these wild places of thought, most are not equipped enough in the Word to find their way back to solid Truth. I know what he’s trying to do, but picks the wrong time in history to do this.

This is symptomatic of the Emergent Church movement. Bell and some others, like Brian McLaren, are masters of deconstruction. They are masters of putting their finger on some of the problems of the church, but are LOUSY at answering those questions with truth from God’s Word. Or as Oz Guiness said during program 1004 of the White Horse Inn; “so clear about everything that’s WRONG…but so UNclear about what is RIGHT.” Many of the questions in this book are never answered or resolved. They are meant to leave you hanging, calling you to question things that have survived hundreds of years in Christian thought, surviving the scrutiny of some of the greatest scholars in and out of Christendom. But Bell knows better and calls these things into question.

If you’ve seen the interviews with Bell on the talk show circuit, many of the hosts have tried to get straight answers out of him, only to fail and have to ask 3 or 4 times to get him to answer. Even then, his answers are circuitous and unclear, almost by design. The interview with Martin Bashir on MSNBC was cringe-worthy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-qgmJ7nzA I don’t know the guy’s spiritual condition, but he has a grasp on the very basic truths of the gospel. So much so, that he pins Bell to the mat and makes him squirm in his chair. I found it interesting that Bashir uses Bell’s very tactics from the book when questioning Bell himself. It’s just unfortunate that many won’t catch the irony of that. It’s almost as cringe-worthy as Joel Osteen and his interview with Larry King from 2005. Very sad.

Another thing that is bad is the scholarship of this book. During an interview, (http://www.christianpost.com/news/rob-bell-denies-being-a-universalist-49417/) Bell admits that he is not a theologian. That is no surprise. Nor is he a scholar, a good student of original biblical languages or history. Bell quotes scripture profusely, (he uses the TNIV--good grief!), but rarely gives notation of it’s origin and more often than not, takes things out of context. He also makes general historical claims, but again no footnotes or notations of origin. Time and space do not permit me to enumerate the whole of them, but let’s say, if his university English prof got a hold of this, and it were an assignment, he would fail. It would be marked up in lots of red ink.

THE UGLY

This part of the task is the hardest and will be the longest. It is akin to being a mosquito in a nudist colony…the question is; “Where does one start?” There is so much material. This will not cover every problem in the book, otherwise, this would be the length of his own book and I won’t do that to you.

I guess I’ll start with one of the biggest problems I encounter in this book. This would be Bell’s imbalance, raising God’s attribute of love above every other attribute that God has in his nature. There is a balance in God’s nature that exists in no one else’s character and nature. Man cannot elevate one part of God’s character above all the others. Similarly, we do the same when seeking after the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5. We really look for the love, joy and peace thing, but turn away a bit when Paul gets to patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We like the first three, so we elevate them over the other six. God calls those nine components the FRUIT (singular) of the Spirit. It’s different petals of the same flower. If you have three big, manly petals and six scrawny ones, the flower looks terribly weird. Bell conveniently leaves out God’s holiness, righteousness, justice and a bunch of others, only to create a terribly weird God who has no balance. But Bell spins this God wildly, so you only see the parts he wants you to see, which, to Bell, is a win.

Again, Bell makes much of God’s love, but to the exclusion of His holiness, righteousness and justice. Bell’s good news is wishy washy because he doesn’t understand what the bad news is. Nowhere in the book does he bring up the holiness of God or His justice, except to mock the teaching of these things in the past. From the beginning, page viii, he starts with the mocking;

“This love compels us to question some of the dominant stories that are being told as the Jesus story. A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love peace forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear.”

And for God to be holy enough to punish sin, Bell goes off on God; calling HIM imbalanced. Go figure.

“Millions have been taught that if they don’t believe, if they don’t accept in the right way, that is, the way the person telling them the gospel does, and they were hit by a car and died later that same day, God would have no choice but to punish them forever in a conscious torment in hell. God would, in essence, become a fundamentally different being to them in the moment of death, a different being to them forever. A loving heavenly father who will go to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormenter who would ensure that they had no escape from an endless future of agony…If God can switch gears like that, switch entire modes of being that quickly, that raises a thousand questions about whether a being like this could ever be trusted, let alone be good.” (p 174-175)

He has to water down, (change is actually more accurate) the good news, as he basically throws out the bad news and calls it toxic teaching. Then takes away the holiness of God, so he can be sure that no one will accuse God of being a schizophrenic. Here’s the problem, you can’t have good news without the bad. The bad news is really bad. God is holy and righteous and cannot tolerate sin. Man is created in Genesis (which Bell calls the “Genesis poem” for some reason) perfect. By chapter 3, we’re informed of his failure, his fall, his sin against God. This sets man against God. God promised that if man disobeyed, man would die. Yes, physically, but also spiritually. Hundreds of years later, his body dies (oh, to live to be 930…), but he died immediately the day he ate the fruit. This sin problem has been passed down to every generation through history and is a problem for us all before we even start. Paul wrote; “for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1 Cor 15:22 NAS) This all boils down to imputation. Imputation is a big word that means “credited to one’s account.” Adam’s sin is imputed to us, that is, credited to our account, even though we haven’t done anything to deserve it. No, it’s not fair, but there is more to imputation later, but we’ll leave it here for now.

We have to understand, this is NOT the American system of justice. You are NOT innocent until proven guilty. You are guilty until you are pronounced innocent by the Judge of All Life. “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” Eph 2:1-2 NAS. “and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (v3) Guilty. Dead. “Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Eph 2:12-13 NAS

Rob Bell NEVER mentions anything like this in his book. How about some familiar verses, like John 3:16-17?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only 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. NIV

Why? Keep reading…

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Romans 1:18-21 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Dead before you start. Condemned before you live. This is the bad news. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” Isa 64:6 NAS. “Rab. Mosheh ben Maimon interpretatur 'idiym, vestes quibus mulier se abstergit post congressum cum marito suo. Alii pannus menstruatus. Alii panni mulieris parientis.-"And we ben made as unclene alle we: and as the cloth of the woman rooten blode flowing, all our rigtwisnesses."-Old Manuscript Bible. (from Adam Clarke's Commentary). Our righteous deeds are compared to a used, menstrual cloth. That’s the best we have to offer. He is holy and we offend His perfection by our very being. None of us shall stand with any merit before Him and live. It’s bad news and it belongs to all of us. We ALL deserve wrath and punishment (Rom 3:10-18). This is not popular these days and Bell doesn’t like it, either, so he skips it. Bell doesn’t like the prospect of a biblical Hell, so he changes that so it means whatever you want it to mean (p 70-71), though he never really comes out and says that. Hell is more what goes wrong and is bad here, not where spiritually dead people, when physically dead, will be separated from God and spend a conscious eternity suffering. Not fair? Nope, but a perfect, holy, righteous God calls the shots.

But this is what makes the good news so good!

Rob Bell’s message is that God loves them. That’s great. If there is no bad news, then the fact that God loves them is no big deal. I suppose it’s there just in case you have a bad hair day or something (or like me, when both of my hairs get out of place, it’s horrible!). But if it is like Paul wrote, again, in Romans 3; “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) 6 May it never be! For otherwise how will God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? 8 And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil that good may come"? Their condemnation is just, (NAS) then we have a problem, don’t we? You won’t find those verses in Rob’s book.

Bell spends a lot of time quoting Jesus in his discussion of heaven and hell in their respective chapters. On pages 26-27, Bell writes of Jesus’ encounter with the rich guy who asks Him “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Bell writes, rightly, of the fact that this is the most important question for many of us in the Christian world. So he continues;

“The rich man’s question, then, is the perfect opportunity for Jesus to give a clear, straightforward answer to the only question that ultimately matters for many.

First, we can only assume, he’ll correct the man’s flawed understanding of how salvation works. He’ll show the man how eternal life isn’t something he has to earn or work for; it’s a free gift of grace.

Then, he’ll invite the man to confess, repent, trust, accept, and believe that Jesus has made a way for him to have a relationship with God.

Like any good Christian would.

Jesus, however doesn’t do any of that.”

That is correct, he doesn’t tell him the way, in this particular case, but He DOES let him know what is NOT the way. Bell’s dealing here is the wrong approach to heaven and hell. Jesus is leading the transition from the Jewish law to the gospel. He is stirring up the establishment, but in reality, the law has not yet been fulfilled by his completely righteous life, the wrath of God has not been propitiated, or completely satisfied, by his death, and the victory over death, hell and the grave has not yet been established by His resurrection. Quoting Jesus on heaven and hell can be a bit premature. Once the gospel is completed (after the resurrection), THEN we are able to clearly distinguish God’s prerequisites for entry into His presence. To borrow a frequent Rob Bell phrase; “this raises another important question.” What is the gospel? This is a question Bells avoids like the plague. Since he leaves out the bad news, there is no gospel, or “good news,” which is what the term means.

The gospel is explained by Paul this way: “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor 15:1-4 NAS

What is the good news? God institutes this massive system of law and sacrifices to teach man that he can’t keep the law and he can’t make God happy by himself. How can God be made happy? God will be satisfied when man gets his act together and lives a perfect life, as required in Mt 5:48; “Be perfect, like your heavenly father is perfect. Boy, we’re really toast now. But God sends Jesus, born of a woman (Gal 4:4, fully a person, but not inheriting Adam’s sin nature), conceived by the Holy Spirit (fully God, as His origin is a perfect Father), to live that sinless life for us.

Again, we go back to imputation. The problem arises as Adam & Eve had their sin credited to our account, even though we didn’t do anything to deserve it. When Jesus dies on the cross, He has lived a perfect and sinless life. In addition, takes on Himself the sins of the world, bearing them in His own physical body. Did the perfect Jesus do anything to deserve to die for my sin and your sin?? Not fair? Totally not! But God the Father takes all of our sin and imputes them to Jesus, credits them to Jesus’ account and they are eliminated. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21 NAS. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” I John 4:10) This satisfies the wrath of a perfect and holy God. This undeserved gift (Eph 2:8-9) is given on our behalf, but as with any other gift, it is not efficacious unless it is received and acted upon. Like a couple of years ago when my dad sent me a homemade birthday card. He prints them from his computer and folds them a couple times and puts them in a small envelope. Several weeks after receiving it, he calls and says;

“When are you going to cash the check I sent you?”
“What check?”
“The check that was in the card.”
“There was no check in the card.”
“Yes there was…”

Turns out that it wasn’t put in the second fold, where the printing was on the card (and where I would have seen it), it was stuck in the first fold, before it actually became a card. Weeks later, it was gone, as was the check and I didn’t get that birthday gift. Why? Because I never received it, it was never credited to my account. He did write a new check, it did arrive. I then acted upon it by cashing this check and receiving the full value of that gift.

Rob Bell is right when he says that God did the work and we don’t have to DO anything to secure our salvation. But his idea of people benefiting from the gift of God is more by osmosis than by receiving. To borrow from Kevin DeYoung’s review; “According to Bell, salvation is realizing you’re already saved. We are all forgiven. We are all
loved, equally and fully by God who has made peace with everyone. That work is done. Now we are invited to believe that story and live in it (172–73).” Funny, John wrote in John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” NAS Faith is the element that pleases God (Heb 11:6) and that faith has to be put toward the proper object of faith, the Gospel; accomplished outside of us, in our stead, for our benefit, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

This smacks of exclusivity, which Bell clearly doesn’t agree with (154-55). He loves inclusivity and on 155 he says; “what Jesus does is declare that he and he alone is saving everybody.” Christianity is an exclusive way, narrow with grass grown up on it. Jesus said I am THE way, THE truth and THE life and nobody gets to the father but by me (Jn 14:6). Period. Martin Bashir nails it when he says; “You’re creating a Christian message that’s warm, kind and popular for a contemporary culture…basically, you’re amending the gospel, the Christian message so that it’s palatable to contemporary people who find, for example, the idea of hell and heaven very difficult to stomach. So here comes Rob Bell and he’s made a Christian gospel for you! It’s perfectly palatable. It’s much easier to swallow.”

The truth of the matter is, Rob Bell has a different gospel than the one in the Bible. His gospel, along with other Emergent church leaders, make the gospel more about doing rather than believing. His criticism is accurate of those who believe but their belief results in no one’s physical benefit (ala James 2:15-17). But he and the other EC leaders replace belief with getting busy and taking care of people’s needs. Here we have the cart before the horse. Notice Eph 2:8-9
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Gotta get that squared away first. Then, in light of what has happened to us, Paul continues with v. 10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. NAS After our eternity is confirmed by believing the gospel and receiving eternal life, then, out of gratitiude to God for granting us His grace and mercy, we then serve Him by serving others. NOT the other way around. The change comes in our positional (heavenly, judicial) standing, then it is to be shown in our practical. Much like the book of Ephesians does. Chapters 1-3 talk primarily about the positional, then, in light of that 4-6 talk about how do we walk that out in everyday life?

Rob Bell also has a chapter on “Does God Get What God wants?” And assumes that the answer is yes. He asks; “Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?” Talk about loaded questions. Will everybody be saved? No. Why does God waste time and ink to say “whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son?” If God gets what God wants, then He could leave out the condemnation part and whistle a happy tune while writing the happy parts. Paul wrote; “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” NAS

And Peter chimes in; “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” NAS 2 Peter 3:9 But does everyone get saved? That’s what God wants. Bell says yes, but the scripture is clear, it’s not happening. Not now, not ever.

Secondly, “will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?” NO. As we’ve already seen, we all have a sin problem before we commit our first volitional act of sin. Before we make our first choice in life, right or wrong, we’re condemned already. But he loads up the questions so the ingrained fairness in us answers the way he wants and leans you to his position and against the biblical position. He asks in a way that you pick one or the other, with neither being right or fair questions. This is his MO throughout the book.

I guess we could begin wrapping this up with the question about the Rob Bell/Universalist idea. When asked, he denies it and says “No, I’m not.” But it’s strange to see the bedfellows who have jumped on the bandwagon of Rob Bell. Many universalists out there are rejoicing that Rob is swinging to their side. Some are a bit cautious about proclaiming victory, but others are all over it, glad that there’s an “evangelical” saying the same thing they are. One example is here: http://www.evangelicaluniversalist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=1624 I had another great link I copied, from another universalist who was a classmate of Bell’s at Wheaton, but I lost the place I copied and pasted it. Grr. Anyway, do I think he’s a universalist? Yes. When the gospel is replaced with something else, when nobody is in trouble with God, when it is not necessary to respond, in this life, to God’s incredible offer of salvation to rescue us from ourselves and the sin nature we inherited, but God’s love will ultimately win no matter what, yeah, that about covers it.

CONCLUSION:

Rob Bell is not qualified to write a book on these kind of deep and essential subjects. When you’re not a theologian or a scholar and you play fast and loose with context and terminology, stay away from any form of academia and spare us the drama and embarrassment, please. We like to see Christian ministers represent God well when on the talk show circuit. We don’t like to cringe when watching and hope none of our skeptic friends saw it, either.

Rob Bell has no business being a pastor. He has degrees and diplomas from bible colleges and seminaries, but is not doing God’s business as a leader in his church, which is ultimately God’s church. Though he is a rock star with phenomenal popularity, he is intellectually dishonest, spiritually shallow and part of a movement that is out to redefine Christianity and break it away from it’s historic and biblical roots. Early in the book, he tips his hand about what it’s all about. Not the eternal state of people who are dead in their sins and the sin nature inherited from Adam, but it’s about what happens here. He writes;
“For some Christians, this is the question, the one that matters most. Compassion for the poor, racial justice, care for the environment, worship, teaching and art are important, but in the end, for some followers of Jesus, they’re not ultimately what it’s all about.(p.26)”

Implication: for some followers of Jesus, like me, it is, but for him it’s not about eternal destiny, it’s about advancing a social agenda. This is why I say Rob Bell has no business being the pastor of a church. He should be the leader of a civic or social organization, like one of the ones he lists in the back of his book on p 202. THAT is where his heart is, not leading people to Jesus and the cross. He is not a minister of the gospel, since he has no gospel to preach. Go serve people in that way, but leave the spiritual for someone who has a clue about the eternal ramifications of your ambiguity about sin, the real God, holiness and the remedy for spiritual death and separation from God..

This book is poison to someone who has just enough knowledge to be dangerous, but without the tools to evaluate Bell’s claims according to the Truth of Scripture. Without being able to read the map, Bell leaves you out there…somewhere…and there you are. Dangerous stuff.

I think I’ll stop here. There are other great reviews (maybe even better than mine) that can shed additional light on this murky subject.

The definitive review is Kevin DeYoung’s at the Gospel Coalition;
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/files/2011/03/LoveWinsReview.pdf His work is extensive, tho he struggles as I did with what to cover and how to cover it, as there was so much to address.

Thanks so much for reading. Congratulations on making it this far! I hope it gives you food for thought and the scriptures will give life to your soul. May Jesus be our all in all for all of eternity.

Rob Bell Review--Sweetened, Condensed Version

2011-05-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the short version of my review of Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins. Yes, this is the short one, believe it or not. Here are some thoughts, without much comment, to give you an idea of what’s going on here.

Rob Bell makes much of the love of God. This is good.

Bell tries to identify with and reach out to people who have become disillusioned with church and religion in general. That’s good, because there have been some horrendous things done and said in the name of God and Christianity that have really maligned the name and cause of Christ. God has been blamed for things He had ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with.

Another good thing (to a point) is Bell’s desire to reach out to the needs of people, in a physical way, (ie; poor, starving, homeless, thirsty) and in taking care of the earth and the like. These are good things, but you have to get things in the right order before they work the desired result. Bell fails to do that.

The WAY the book is written is off-putting to me. His style is quite different than others who tackle huge issues like this one. His book includes over 300 questions in 198 pages of text. Many of them are exploratory. Many others call into question things we take for granted in the Christian world that need to be called into question. Others are just really weird and made me scratch my head and wonder; “What in the world is this guy thinking????” He takes you to places of thought you’ve probably never ventured before. But, instead of starting from a place of Truth, taking you out to investigate these places, explaining as he goes, then bringing you back to that place of Truth to finish up; he goes waaaay out there, stops the proverbial car, then kicks you out, leaving you to find your way back to…well, somewhere. We’re not sure where one will end up and I don’t believe Bell really cares either. In his opinion, you can fend for yourself. This is intellectually irresponsible, to me.

Another thing that is bad is the scholarship of this book. Bell admits that he is not a theologian. That is no surprise. Nor is he a scholar, a good student of original biblical languages or history. Bell quotes scripture profusely, (he uses the TNIV--good grief!), but rarely gives notation of it’s origin and more often than not, takes things out of context. He also makes general historical claims, but again no footnotes or notations of origin. Let’s say, if his university English prof got a hold of this, and it were an assignment, he would fail. It would be marked up in lots of red ink.

Bell’s imbalance, raising God’s attribute of love above every other attribute that God has in his nature. This is bad. God ends up as some imbalanced, weirdo who isn’t really clear on who He is or what He wants to accomplish in the world.

Again, Bell makes much of God’s love, but to the exclusion of His holiness and justice. And for God to be holy enough to punish sin, Bell goes off on God; calling HIM imbalanced. Go figure.

The truth of the matter is, Rob Bell has a different gospel than the one in the Bible. His gospel, along with other Emergent church leaders, make the gospel more about doing rather than believing. His criticism is accurate of those who believe but their belief results in no one’s physical benefit (ala James 2:15-17). But he and the other EC leaders replace belief with getting busy and taking care of people’s needs. Here we have the cart before the horse. Notice Eph 2:8-9
“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” Gotta get that squared away first. Then, in light of what has happened to us, Paul continues with v. 10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. NAS After our eternity is confirmed by believing the gospel and receiving eternal life, then, out of gratitude to God for granting us His grace and mercy, we then serve Him by serving others. NOT the other way around.

Rob Bell also has a chapter on “Does God Get What God wants?” And assumes that the answer is yes. He asks; “Will everybody be saved, or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?” Talk about loaded questions. Will everybody be saved? No. Why does God waste time and ink to say “whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son?” If God gets what God wants, then He could leave out the condemnation part and whistle a happy tune while writing the happy parts. Paul wrote; “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” NAS Secondly, “will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?” NO. We all have a sin problem before we commit our first act of sin. Before we make our first choice in life, right or wrong, we’re condemned already. But he loads up the questions so the ingrained fairness in us answers the way he wants and leans you to his position and against the biblical position. He asks in a way that you pick one or the other, with neither being right or fair questions. This is his MO throughout the book.

About the Universalist question. When asked, he denies it and says “No, I’m not.” But it’s strange to see the bedfellows who have jumped on the bandwagon of Rob Bell. Many universalists out there are rejoicing that Rob is swinging to their side. Some are a bit cautious about proclaiming victory, but others are all over it, glad that there’s an “evangelical” saying the same thing they are. Do I think he’s a universalist? Yes. When the gospel is replaced with something else, when nobody is in trouble with God, when it is not necessary to respond, in this life, to God’s incredible offer of salvation to rescue us from ourselves and the sin nature we inherited, but God’s love will ultimately win no matter what, yeah, that about covers it.

My conclusions.

Rob Bell is not qualified to write a book on these kind of deep and essential subjects.

Rob Bell has no business being a pastor. He is not a minister of the gospel, since he has no gospel to preach.

He should be the leader of a civic or social organization, like one of the ones he lists in the back of his book on p 202. THAT is where his heart is, not leading people to Jesus and the cross.

It is dangerous stuff in the wrong hands. Lives not rooted and grounded in the Bible can easily be swayed by his confusing, but engaging style of writing. If you haven’t bought it, don’t waste your time or money. He and the publishers have made enough off of us reviewers already.

Thanks for reading! For the more detailed review, you can go one post newer than this when you’re ready to read for a while

God showed up at work today

2010-07-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had an interesting discussion with a co-worker. After clocking in, he asked me for a few minutes of my time at break, which would be an hour later. He said that he always respected my opinion and would like to ask me a question about something.

This threw my mind in overdrive and I started to pray about this encounter. I have a lot of great opinions (at least I think I do), but if this was going to be a spiritual matter, I wanted to be sure I was giving him God's thoughts and not mine.

Time came for break and this friend came and asked me about a verse in Matthew 5, where Jesus said; "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. His question was; "did He really mean that literally, or was that just an expression? My answer was "yes." Now that you're confused, let me explain myself...

The Older Testament (neither one of them are new anymore, you know) give us what we know as the Law. The Law as it was given was to rule the people of Israel in a governmental way, but even more than that, Galatians says, it was given as a school master, a tutor, really, a moral overseer, until faith would be revealed. It was intended as an insurmountable obstacle, to crush or break us and make us realize that we were completely incapable of living up to that perfect standard of God's law, 'cause if you break one, you're guilty of breaking them all.

There were a group of people in Jesus' day that felt they had the corner on keeping the Law. They were called the Pharisees. They knew the Law backward, forward, inside out and upside down and every which way to Sunday. They prided themselves on being able to do what the Law commanded...outwardly, that is. When Jesus came, He saw these guys and spoke to a few of them and found out what they were really made of. He knew they really weren't keeping the Law, they were just players in a competition amongst themselves. They were showing how "holy" they were and basically implying that everyone that wasn't in their group were scuzbag sinners. One encounter that was quite telling in Luke 18. Let's look in.

18 And a certain ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 "You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth." 22 And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." 23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad; for he was extremely rich.

Hey Jesus, what do I have to DO to inherit eternal life? Jesus told him to keep the Law (knowing that he really couldn't do that). He replies that he's been doing that since he was a kid (outwardly). Then Jesus exposes his heart and tells him to sell all his stuff and come and follow Him. The saying goes that a fool and his money are soon parted, but not so with hard hearted, crooked, conniving Pharisees in their exclusive club. He went away sad, cause he loved his stuff more than he loved God.

This is all background for the Matthew 5 question. That part is what we know as The Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus starts it, it says He saw the crowds following him, so He sat down, His disciples took front row seats and He began to teach. But guess who's also in the crowd? Yup, those Pharisee guys, with the elegant robes and long tassles, 'cause that's how they roll. They want to see this upstart teacher, this Rabbi who wasn't from THEIR group and what He had to say. And say it, He did. He starts all nice with the Beatitudes, but by verse 17, He starts on the Law, just for those guys out there on the fringe of the crowd, trying to blend in. He almost mocks them as He tells the people "unless you have more righteousness than the scribes and Pharisees, you won't make it to heaven." Then He dashes everyone's hopes by ripping their righteousness apart, saying, "You've heard it said..." (external), "but I say to you..." (let's go deeper, let's go into the internal, into your heart). He hits them with example after example from the Law and exposes their intents and motives and gets to verses 27-28. Yeah, we're finally here.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart." Did Jesus mean that literally? Yes, he did. But it was meant as more than that. I told my friend that it was meant to obliterate my and your illusions of holiness and righteousness. We don't have any. Period. You may think that because you may not commit the big, obvious, outward sins that you're doing pretty good. Guess again. Romans 3 is clear. "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Isaiah wrote that even our best stuff is like filthy rags to God. Our filthiness is a horrible offense to the perfect God of the universe. Our hearts are deceitful and wicked above all things. Who can know it? Jeremiah wrote.

When I mentioned Romans and Jeremiah, tears came from his eyes and he became downcast. He remarked that so many people tell him how great of a guy he is and he said "but I'm not." I said "you're right. and neither am I." I had to stop him, "Before you lose hope, there's more." I reminded him that any goodness he has inside him comes from God, as a gift. In the midst of the rubble of our lame and puny righteousness, after God gets done destroying it, there is the beauty of His grace. When we understand the magnitude of our wretchedness, then we then understand the magnitude, in the other direction, of the gift we receive from Jesus. Even while we were sinners, Christ came and died for us, Romans 5 tells us. He didn't have to, He wanted to because He wanted to get us back on right terms with God!

The Pharisee asked the wrong question. You can't DO your way to heaven. If you could work for it, God would owe it to you like your boss owes you a paycheck if you work on your job. God doesn't do it that way (see Romans 4 for that one). "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast." Eph 2:8-10 He gives it as a gift, because we have nothing of any worth in ourselves to trade Him for it. Nothing we have is anywhere near the worth of Jesus' blood. We belive our way to heaven. John wrote about it in his first book; "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

Most of this was shared in a capsulized form in the 10 minutes we had for break. There's a lot more to it and I hope one day we can sit down and share some more. The verses that were the good news part seemed to encourage him. But the point is, reader, we're all in the same boat. We may think we're ok because we don't cheat, steal, cuss or chew or run with girls that do, but God sees your heart. Has it been washed clean by the blood of Jesus? If it has sometime in the past, what condition is it in today? God offers us a daily cleansing, a spiritual bar of soap, if you will, when John wrote; "If we confess our sins(agree with God that what we did was wrong), He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Believing in Jesus is the big bath, the shower that gets rid of our nasty past life. It writes our names in the Lamb's Book of Life. It gets us to heaven when our time here is done, but the daily confession, straight to God, is the bar of soap, the daily cleansing that keeps things right between us and God. All of it is a gift to be received, as God offers it freely to all. So reach out. Take it, go ahead. It's yours if you just will. If you have any questions about any of this, please ask! It would be an honor to help you.

More precious than....????

2010-05-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

People magazine's cover today had a picture of Yeardley Love, the University of Virginia student who was recently murdered. The pictures and reports indicate that this girl had it all going for her--a good family life, lots of talent, smarts, good looks and even with all this, humility and generosity. The reports indicate that her ex-boyfriend may be responsible for this heinous crime. Regardless of who is responsible, it is horrific and unthinkable. A promising life snuffed out.

Here's my problem with this scenario. Maybe it's just me, but this sounds like a repeat of other stories we've read and seen in the media. All the way back to Jon Benet Ramsey, maybe before, pretty much all of the headline stories of those abducted and/or murdered have been attractive, "beautiful" girls; mostly white and blond. I read that story today and shook my head and my heart. Terrible, terrible stuff. But the back of my head asked this question--what if the girl had been the opposite of this one, or Jon Benet, or Jaycee Dugard? What if she had been 5'-0" tall and 235 pounds, mixed race kid with a history of trouble and a face only a mother could love? Do you think the media coverage would be the same? I honestly don't think so. I think the world and the media have the fascination with those they consider beautiful and therefore, more precious or valuable than others.

We humans see with our eyes and make judgments based on what we see. God sees with a totally different viewpoint and makes perfect judgments. He sees through the visual to the reality of the matter. Like when the Israelites wanted a human king so they could be like all the other nations. Somehow, God being their king wasn't good enough. Go figure. Anyway, Saul was their first king. Good start, but flubbed up mightily at the end. God appointed the prophet Samuel to go find the next king at the house of Jesse over in Bethlehem. God let him know that one of Jesse's sons was going to be the one. Ol' Samuel makes the trip, sees the sons in order of age and with every one, Samuel says to himself; "Woo! Look at this one! He's GOT to be it!" On each occasion, God said "Nope. Next son!" Samuel was confused about this, but God told him; "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Sam 16:6-7 NAS

Samuel's basis of worth and qualification for kingship was all about what he saw. Like the media and the rest of the world. God says the worth comes from the inside. To God, we're all in the same boat. We've all been created in the image of God. The only part of His creation done like that. We're special! However, we're all sinners and we fall far short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). That stinks! We all need help overcoming our faults and failures. Aha! But God loves everyone so much, that He sent His Son to die for all of our sins (Jn 3:16 as seen in football stadiums nationwide). Not because we deserve it (see the we're all sinners part), but because of the worth that He sees in each one of us. He doesn't see which side of the tracks you came from, how much you weigh, the color of your hair (if you have some, that is), how many friends you have, (real or Facebook) or if you made good grades in school. Heck, He doesn't even care if you've ever been to church in your whole life. You're still special to God! And God has made it easy to become His child and enter His heaven. The requirement is the same for all; "But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan--this rebirth comes from God." John 1:12-13 NLT Our need is all the same and God's remedy for our need is all the same. Our worth is not based on things we can see, but on what God puts in us.

We should be upset by the murder of Miss Love. God is. But our prayers need to go up as well for the hundreds, even thousands of young people abducted and/or murdered each year that will never make the cover of a magazine or the front page of the newspapers, as well as for their families. Those whom the rest of the world would call "unlovely" are just as valuable to God as the others who get the media attention. This should be our viewpoint as well. Help us Lord, to see as You see, so we can get it right and minister to ALL who have needs, as You see fit.

God hates the bleating of sheep

2010-04-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

Now, before you lash out at me, thinking I am attributing to God a stance He does not take, just hear me out and I trust you'll catch my drift here. It's been a while since I've blogged, so this has been swirling around in my head for a while.

God loves all His creatures, even the stupid, wooly guys that baaa at you. He even loves me, faults, foibles and all. The longer I live, the more that amazes me.

God and I have this thing going. I asked Jesus to be my Savior on August 26, 1982. Since then, He's been trying to get me to look and act like Him. I was warned that this process was coming. In some areas, He is having good success. In other areas, He probably wonders how I dress myself every morning. He gently woos me by the Holy Spirit so I will change without a whole lot of fuss, muss or general commotion. Sometimes, when the gently part doesn't work, He breaks out the heavier stuff, anywhere from the trusty old "clue-by-four," to stopping just short of nuclear weaponry. There are things in our lives He just doesn't want in there and will work the rest of our lives to get rid of them, 'cause until then, we will be tripped up or hindered in our personal lives in a way that doesn't please Him.

I've been thinking about the first king of Israel, a guy named Saul. He was a guy from the neighborhood, you could say. Kinda tall and lanky (I Sam 9:2), but a regular guy nonetheless. Once God caved to the people in I Samuel 8:9 about having a king at all (God was the only king they really needed, He reminded them), He told the prophet to make Saul king. They anointed him and gave him the speech about all the things he shouldn't forget once he gets there (like we try to do to politicians today...STILL doesn't work!), blah blah blah. Fast forward to I Samuel 15. God has an assignment for the king. This is the Phil Paraphrase--

"Saul, you know the Amelekites, right?"
"Right."
"They've been a thorn in our side ever since Exodus 17, right?"
"Right!"
"I want you to go and kick their butt. EVERYONE'S butt. I want you to turn that joint into a parking lot and I want everyONE and everyTHING killed. Got it?"
"Got it!"

Sounds easy enough. Saul gathers 210,000 men and goes at it. He was doing great. Then it happened. It says;
"And he captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly;" 1 Sam 15:8-9 NAS He went about 90% of the way, then decided he'd do God a favor and give Him some of the best of what the enemy had to offer. Shoot, God wouldn't get His anthropomorphic panties in a wad over one lousy heathen king and some dumb old sheep, would He? Let's find out...

Early the next morning, after the dust had settled from the battle, Samuel the prophet is having his quiet time with God and God tells him about the events of yesterday. Samuel at this point is beyond old, so he's not into the whole war thing anymore. He didn't SEE what Saul did, but God told him to confront Saul and let him know that GOD was watching and He's not pleased. Samuel goes to meet Saul as he comes back and Saul greets him with an enthusiastic "Samuel, good to see you! God bless you, man! I took care of it. Mission accomplished!! (v 13)" Samuel replies with that prophet's tone of voice that nobody really wants to hear;
But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" 1 Sam 15:14-15 NAS Saul was busted and he knew it! So he does what we do so often...pass the buck. "Oh. yeah. that. Well....the people took the best stuff so it could be sacrificed to the Lord YOUR God" (15:15) Yeah, yeah, it was them, not me that disobeyed.

The exchange goes on, but point is, God points things out to us so we can erradicate them from our lives. Some things are small and God doesn't push as hard on those things. They're also not near as hard to get rid of as some others. But, as noted earlier, there are some things that He just can't stand to have there, cause it keeps us from looking like Him, that keep us from having a good testimony before the community or the church. Sometimes, that's the stuff that keeps us from getting a good night's sleep. We know what He told us. We know what the Word of God says about that thing. But we go as far as WE can or WE want, then stop. Nobody else knows you didn't REALLY forgive that creep, but God does. You name your own poison, we all have at least one, many of us, more than one. We get like Saul. We hear what the command is, we know that the enemy in our lives is to be completely taken out, killed, deep sixed. Then we go at it and all is well, until... Yup, WE decide that we're not going all that way with that. We try to justify it by saying that we saved the best of what there was. God doesn't want or need the "best" of what belongs to the enemy! If we finish the task and go full out with God, people might think we're crazy. But, next time we come to God for our quiet time, God says; "what's up with all the bleating of sheep I'm hearing??" The bleating of sheep, the reminder that we DIDN'T do everything He asked or commanded. The sound of compromise. That we're busted and we know it. And God will keep replaying that sound every time until we get sick of hearing it and go all the way where God is calling us, doing what He's told us to do.

You say; "But I can't do that!" You know what? You're right! But the power to do what God calls you to do comes from the God who calls you to do it, just for the asking! That Holy Spirit that tries to woo you first? He's the one with the power. When you believe in Christ, that same Spirit lives in you to enable you to do what God wants. (He's also the one that does the whispering in your inner ear about what God wants to fix in your life...)

When it comes to a good night's sleep, it's the counting of sheep that is reported to work. The bleating of sheep will keep you awake. Let's make the decision to obey God. Once the sheep are quieted, we can sleep soundly, knowing we're in the center of His will and He is pleased.

It's almost time...

2010-04-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

Time has flown by! It's almost time again for the National Association of Letter Carriers' Food Drive, coming up Saturday, May 8th. Because of the generosity of our customers, we're approaching the ONE BILLION pound mark in our donations, all of it going to local food pantries where it was collected. You can make your plans now on how you can help those in need in your area. More to come, but had to put a bug in your ear, so to speak, as it's coming soon!

It's never too early...

2009-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) annual food drive is coming up Saturday, May 9, 2009. Last year, a record total of 73.1 million pounds of food was collected to help those in need. Unfortunately, in many areas of the country, food banks were depleted almost completely by the bevy of natural disasters that have struck. Here, many were without power and water for upwards of 3 weeks due to the widespread ice storm. It was the worst natural disaster Kentucky had ever seen. Again, I would encourage you to be watching for your community to announce their involvement in this effort. If everyone helps a little, it all adds up to a lot and many families less fortunate than yourself will be blessed. Stay tuned!

You Never Know Who's Going To Read These Things...

2007-11-24T20:47:00.001-08:00

In Nov of 06, I blogged a marvelous blog called "So What?" inspired by my high school history teacher, Ralph Witkovich. Wouldn't you know, I get a letter in the mail today from the very same "Mr Wit," commenting on my blog and giving an update on his life in the 24 years since I saw him last. Whooda thunk it? But I have to say, that letter just made my day!! Hmmm....I may have to blog a special blog about Mr Wit sometime and tell some of the more "interesting" things I learned from him. In the meantime, I need to craft a letter in response to his and keep this line of communication open. To be continued....

(BTW, Mr Wit, you did call us jaspers, but you called us chumps quite frequently as well....)

Time Still Flies

2007-11-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

This year is flying by!!! I haven't blogged much this year...mostly because I haven't had time. They're killing us at work, awaiting 5 fresh bodies to help take up the slack.

Thanksgiving is past us already and Christmas is coming quickly. It has already been over a year since my cancer surgery. Things are well and God is good. I did get Thanksgiving off and enjoyed time with friends very much. God has had to remind me to slow down and count my many blessings and cultivate a thankful heart. From the greatest (the salvation found by grace through faith-Eph 2:8-9) to the very least, it is good to give thanks to the Lord. James 1:17 reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of Lights in whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. And some of the blessings come in creatively wrapped packages, oftentimes appearing as things we don't count as blessings...like troubles, trials and tribulations. God is also teaching me and some of my friends about this sort of thing, showing us that He's got it all under control and we can trust Him with everything. Thanksgiving is a great kickoff to the Christmas season. May we all stop every day and count our blessings and show our thanks to God not so much with words of thanksgiving just in a 6 week season each year, but with a life of Thanks-living.

The Master's Voice

2007-09-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Alas, another mail route illustration....

Over on 18th street in our town, there is a dog that I really dislike. He is a German Shepherd mix and probably about 85 pounds, maybe a little more. He has a large collar and a very large chain. His attitude is terrible and he wants to chew up everything and everybody that passes by. He tried to get under a fence one day and take me out, but I noticed he was able to get up on the fence awfully easily, so when he tried something, I hosed him down with my dog repellent. It works (evil snicker).

The other day, I had a certified letter for the owner. As he signed his life away and the dog continued to bark and jump around furiously, I told him what I thought about his dog, that I didn't like his attitude. He said "hang on," and shouted the dog's name. Instant silence. It was nice. He said, "His name is Iceberg. I could take you over there right now--he would just sit there and you could pet him. He's really a good dog." I politely declined the offer and finished the business at hand, but got to thinking about that later in the day.

I've hollered things at that dog before and it didn't make one bit of difference. I've told him to shut up and put a sock in it. I've sprayed him one day and the next day, he's back snarling and barking at me. But when he heard his master's voice, everything changed. He acted totally different, totally under control, had a totally different demeanor. When not under the master's influence, he is out of control and does not play well with others. God showed me a true to life comparison between me (and you) and that dog.

Without being under the Master's control....when we can't or won't hear His voice, we subsequently act in ways that are seemingly out of control, not pleasing to the Master nor to those around us. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:19 that the deeds of the flesh are evident, and he listed them at that time. When we are in charge of our lives there is a tendency to allow ugly things to show up that we don't want to cultivate in our lives. He followed that immediately with 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (NAS). These grow in our lives when we MAKE the time to take in God's word and find out what He wants us to be like and from cultivating a ever deepening relationship with Him through times of prayer. Prayer is just a 2 way conversation with God. We, of course, tell God what we would like and what weighs heavily on our hearts, but it's also where (if we wait around for a while) we learn to hear the Master's voice.

Iceberg had heard his master's voice enough that when he heard it, he stopped what he was doing and listened. No other voice could accomplish in Iceberg's life what his master's could. Whatever the master ordered is what Iceberg would do. What about me and you?? Have we heard our Master's voice enough that we actually know it when we hear it?? And if we hear it, do we drop what we're doing and actually listen and DO what he tells us???

I can't answer for you, but I have some work to do in this area. But now that Iceberg has taught me a lesson, I can go forward from today, knowing that I have to always be listening for MY Master's voice. And only when I've got that down will I be able to live a truly victorious and successful Christian life in the eyes of God. I still don't like Iceberg's attitude toward me and I'd still like to slap him every morning I go by him, but I can better appreciate his attitude toward his master's voice.

I like this one!

2007-09-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

One Body

2007-07-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday of this last week, God taught me a valuable lesson about the body. At work, getting ready to walk some more. I close the door to my mail truck differently than normal and this time, it catches my finger and smashes it. I call the supervisors and they come to investigate the mishap, all the required forms in hand. I end up at the ER to get xrayed, to make sure the finger isn’t broken. Four hours later, I am released and ready to come back to work, with not much of the work day left to go. Some things I noticed about that day and the subsequent days since then. I Corinthians 12:12-31 is a passage that came to mind during all this.

1. Every part of the body is vitally important

God placed every part of the human body on or in us for a reason. Some of those reasons, we’re not sure of yet, but God has a reason. The same is true of the body of Christ. Every one has been put into His body for a reason. Verse 18—God put the parts there just like He wanted them…for a reason. There are times when the body has to do without a certain part or with out the use of a certain part for a season. We get by, but life is not lived to its fullest. My intestinal surgery in 98 was where I learned about this. When the parts of the body are affected, the body compensates, but that is outside of the design that God made. Same with the church. People think they can go away and nobody will miss them. WRONG!! When they are not here, they are missing and the Body of Christ has to compensate and that is NOT God’s plan, to just compensate and just get along. God’s plan is that His church thrive and prosper, with all the parts working together.

2. When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers

Have you ever had a time when you injured a small part of your body and it just cramped your style?? When I lived next door to a doctor friend of mine, I got up at 330 in the morning to go to work and found a 16 foot long piece of treated 2 x 10 he had left in the kitchen to fix the back deck. I found it with my little toe. Split it wide open and bled like a stuck pig. I hobbled next door to try to wake him up so he could look at it, but he slept on. But I walked funny for almost a week, as it was hard to wear shoes. This finger this week, that started these thoughts…you should have seen me trying to fill out the forms to get admitted, and the forms for the postal service with a bleeding and throbbing middle finger on my writing hand. Every time I turned around, someone had a form in my face saying’ “here, we need your signature on this.” Even though it has been healing well, still, any pressure from the side is very uncomfortable. It makes doing my job quite a bit harder. Small part of the body, but the body feels it and I have to compensate to do what I normally do without thinking about it. Same with the body of Christ. Verse 26—when one member suffers, the whole body suffers. When one part is honored, the whole body is honored. Part of God’s design. Verse 22 says "on the contrary, even those parts of the body that seem to be most delicate are indispensable. (Williams paraphrase)

3. Not all body parts do the same job, each one has it’s own.

When I smashed my finger, I wish I could have taken a good toe or something to replace the finger for a while, so I could just go on and keep working without stopping. The thing is, by design, is that toes are not supposed to do what fingers do. Each of us here at the Crossing have unique gifts and abilities and we’re not all the same. Look at the praise team for a great example. Do all the members of the praise team play drums? No. Do they all play guitar? No. Do they all play bass? No.

I was watching This is Spinal Tap the other night and in the midst of the “rockumentary” Nigel (who is Christopher Guest) gets fed up with the way things are going and quits the group. David (who is Michael McKeon) tries to get the keyboardist to play the guitar part with one of his hands so he wouldn’t be missed as much. But Nigel was the one with the outlandish shredding guitar solos…and nobody in the group could duplicate that, even if they tried. All’s well for a happy ending, as Nigel comes to visit the group to deliver a message and David, while trying to play a trademark Nigel song, motions him back out on stage to rip it up with the band. It is a perfect example of the body of Christ. Verses 29-30 All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? Paul’s implicit answer to that is NO!!!! Back up to verse 17—if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?? It wouldn’t. Can you imagine this big eye rolling around? "Hey guys! What’s happening?" And this hand comes flopping along behind him, carrying his bible for him, cause Mr Eye can’t pick one up. That would be ridiculous.

God’s design is great and perfect. We have to understand God’s plan, then figure out how we fit into that plan…what is our own individual part of the body of Christ. A lot of people don’t know what their part in the body of Christ is because they are afraid to try different things, for fear of failure. When at Moody, they made us do PCM, Practical Christian Ministry and we had a different one every semester, unless we requested to stay. I failed at a lot of things. If the church had to rely on me to evangelize the world, it would be a sad thing. Evangelism is not my gift. Does that allow me to just say, “well that’s not my gift, so I just won’t do it?” Absolutely not. I still have been given the mandate to preach the gospel and I do, just not in the conventional ways like the people who have that gift. Verse 15—If the foot says; “I don’t have the gift of evangelism, I guess I’m just not a part of the body.” Hogwash. Just because you can’t sing like someone else or preach like someone else, doesn’t mean you’re not as important in the body of Christ (see point #1). You just have different gifts and you get to use those gifts for Jesus, if just may not be out front in the spotlight like someone else.

Our maintainance man went on vacation recently for a week. Do you know that he was soooooooorely missed? By Tuesday? Do you know what the bathroom looked like by Tuesday with all these gross, nasty mail carriers coming in washing up. By Friday, it was disgusting. But either no one was willing or no one was able to do that job and Ricky was sorely missed. Cleaning bathrooms may not sound like an important thing, until it isn’t done. Trash collection isn’t noticed, until something like the strike of New York City in what, the mid 80’s?? It was important then, wasn’t it?? Your gifts may be in quieter and less obvious areas and that is just as important to the body of Christ as preaching, teaching and singing in the praise team. We all have to try stuff out, fail a few times and then get busy where the Lord has gifted us in serving Him. It took me almost 2 years of Practical Christian Ministries to find out that I could teach a little bit. I kept teaching and developed that gift he’s given me and 23 years later, people tell me that when I teach, they can understand the things of God. Bless God for that. I just try to do what God gifts me to do, when He allows me to do it. And it feels good to know you’re doing what He’s gifted you to do. The 3+ years I didn’t teach after the divorce was hard for me, but I knew I needed healing and restoration and people to minister to me for a season before I could get back up and do this again. But it stunk, not being able to do it…not being allowed to do it. It feels good to be back at it, and I pray that God will honor it and that it will make a difference in the way we all live for Christ every day.

Food Drive Update

2007-07-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

The National Association of Letter Carriers' 15th annual food drive collected 70.7 million pounds of food to feed the needy all across America and it's territories. Thank you to all who gave to this outstanding cause. May God bless your generosity.

I hate duplicity

2007-07-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I worked in the nice, cozy surroundings of the Christian media. I was an early morning DJ for 13 years and ran a Chrisitian bookstore for a year and a half. In that time, I was blessed to not have to deal so much with duplicity. The people I worked with were good for their word and normally didn't say one thing and then do another. Getting out into the real world and working with and for those who don't know Christ was a real eye opener, exposing me to the depth of the depravity of a person's heart.

I've struggled with this issue of duplicity for some time now...saying one thing and living a different life, in opposition to what your mouth proclaims. We're all capable of doing this, me being chief. But the last couple years at the Post Office has shown me how that can work to one's financial advantage but to the disadvantage of the many who live with the ramifications of those decisions and broken promises. My life has been made very inconvenient by the continuing duplicity of management at work. I've seen couples do it as well, saying they care about family and community, then turn around and rip down God's pillar of society by divoricing their spouse and breaking up the family. My life has been left in turmoil by duplicity in that area, too. Politicians have their black belts in duplicity, promising the moon before the election, but doing something completely different when in office. Even TV preachers, some do God a great service, but some talk about God, but it's really all about the cash you can send them. And the jury is still out on Paris Hilton, who claims she has changed for the better and will invest her life in others now that she's out of prison.....we'll see.

What does God think of all this? For those of us who know Him, the standard is high. He says that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no, so that we don't fall under judgment (Jas 5:12), that we should not even promise, if we're going to promise and not live up to it (Ecc 5:5). There were several times when God was not happy with His people because they made empty promises to Him that they didn't live up to. The lovely job of telling the people of God's displeasure fell onto the prophet of the time. Ananias and Sapphira tried to fit in with the others in selling their property, but inside, they hid the truth of what really happened and lied to the people and to the Holy Spirit. Their punishment was harsh and quick.

This all makes me look inside and check my own life. I try, but I fail. God reminds me of people I've told that I would pray for and have totally forgotten about. Sometimes, I look back on the past that He has wiped out and how I used to act then...and if I'm not careful, can act that way again. I try not to make promises I can't keep and aim to live a honest and transparent life. The world doesn't know what to do with that, but that's ok. Even Christians don't know what to do with that. That's a sad thought.

In the movie "A Mighty Wind," Mitch Cohen (Eugene Levy) is a folk singer 30 years removed from the fame he once knew. He also is a psychological mess, unstable in his person. In the scene where he is asked to do a reunion concert with his former partner/wife, Mickey, he explains to the concert organizer, "There's a deception here. The audience...is expecting to see a man who no longer exists." Even being in the condition he was in, even he recognized that it wasn't right to try to be someone that he isn't ...or simpler yet, to live a lie--to make it look like he's just fine but knowing that he's really not. He couldn't do duplicity. May God give us the power to live a Christ honoring life, free of wavering and duplicity, for His glory and the good of His church.

Time Gets Away So Quickly

2007-05-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

I should have had this up a month or more ago, but with only a few days left, here it is....(for you Americans serviced by postal workers in blue suits who drive the white trucks)...your opportunity to make a difference in helping folks who are hungry. This Sat, May 12, make a donation to your local food pantry via the US Postal Service! Have non perishable food items in a bag or two by your mailbox and the carrier will pick it up for you. If your carrier drives a normal car, you can bring a donation to your local post office and they will get it to the charities in your area. The goal is 80 million pounds of food to be collected in one day across the nation. Thanks for helping if you can!!

Quotable quote for the day....

2006-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

"I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it's not the answer."

-- Jim Carrey

I forgot this one for Halloween!!

2006-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this for Halloween, but with the accident and the surgery, it got put on the back burner. You can go to John McPherson's page at: http://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/ He is one of my favorite cartoonists. (I think I'll get one of these for my house for next year.... )

Pardon me while I whine...

2006-11-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

I try to be positive and encouraging, but allow me to express my puzzlement just a bit. I was delivering a bunch of magazines one day and noticed a headline on the cover of Jet magazine back in August and it has intrigued me ever since. This guy is the founder, president and CEO of a record company that obviously is doing very well. His name is Bryan "Baby" Williams. He talked about his newest purchase, "something I did for myself" he says. Car? House? Hummer? Condo? None of the above...he had 17 individual, 18 karat white gold and platinum crowns put on his teeth, encrusted with ascher-cut diamonds. Six hours of dental work later, his grill is permanently in place for the meager sum of $500,000 (that's a half million dollars, folks).

I'm sorry, but there is something wrong with this picture (see picture). While God has no problem with people having the good things of this world and having them in large quantities, there comes a point where one has more dollars than sense and chooses to exchange those funds for selfish pleasures. He dropped a half a million dollars on his TEETH, so he could continue to be the "flyest guy in hip hop." Oh, please. Most people won't ever make $500k in their lifetime, working their whole career at the same place, but this dude forks out all that cash on his mouth, so he can be trendy and cool. New Orleans residents could have used that money a whole lot more than his mouth could have. The article stated that he and his brother fed 2,000 people last Thanksgiving. That's a nice gesture, but at $10 per person, that's $20,000. That wouldn't even cover the cost of ONE of his crowns ($29,411 each). My eye is having trouble catching the perspective here.

The Bible speaks early and often about money and how it is to be used to further the Kingdom of God. So many of God's people sacrifice to tithe and God is faithful to meet their needs. Jesus spoke of the woman who dropped just 2 copper coins into the offering plate one day and He told the Pharisees that she had gave more than anyone that day. Not in monetary amount, but because she gave out of her poverty, not her excess (Lk 21:1-4). Back in the older testament, the prophet Elijah visited the widow who lived at Zeraphath and told her that before she made a cake with the handful of flour she had left, she had to make one for him. The promise from God was, as long as they did what God said with the resources they had, she and her son would always have their needs met. God is faithful to His promises and what Elijah said came true (I Kings 17:8-16).

The Bible encourages us to be faithful with the "stuff" of this life, so we can be entrusted with real riches (Lk 16:11). Jesus said in Matthew 6 that our treasures should be stored up in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves don't break in and steal. It's not that we can't own or control stuff, it's just that as humans, we have a tendency to allow the stuff to own and control us. We worry about not having enough (I'm talking to me too!!) and as my dad used to say "get our bowels in an uproar" over it, but Jesus said that we're to NOT worry about that stuff, cause God's got it under control. We're to seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness. Then, the stuff we worry so much about and allow to control our lives will be given to us, as God sees fit...as we have need (6:33).

A reminder to us all...if you have lots of money and stuff, ask God how you should distribute it before you exit this life. This will benefit God's kingdom and minister to many people and save a fight over it by your children when you die. If you have a spare $500,000, God's probably got a bunch of good alternatives for it, other than your teeth!!!! For those of us who currently don't have much, we still need to ask God how we should distribute it, in order to maximize its effectiveness for building the Kingdom of God. I'm learning more and more, it's about building His Kingdom and not my own. May we all be found faithful and obedient in our handling of the stuff on loan to us by God.

Ok, whine over.

SO WHAT???

2006-11-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

This question has haunted me ever since my sophomore year in high school. My Modern World History teacher, Ralph Witkovich, started it and it has never left my mind.

A bit of background (stay with me now...), before his class, I had always been conditioned to put the answer on the paper when a question was asked. Like Dragnet, I believe....:"the facts...just the facts." When I got to his class, our first quiz had one question, "Describe the something something something of 1549." I wrote one paragraph, nice and succinct and turned it in. When I got it back, I was astounded to see that I had gotten a big "D" and what followed is what stuck with me "SO WHAT???"

I learned how to deal with Mr Wit. He didn't want you to just put down the facts. He already knew them. He wanted you to elaborate (BS, even) about how they mattered in the grand scheme of things. One of his exams went this way "Take out a pack of pens and a ream of paper and start writing, you chumps!" In his 6 ft 4 in, 235 pound voice. I learned in that class and his American History class my junior year, the fine art of regurgitation, giving him back all of the detail that he covered from quiz to quiz, exam to exam. Do I remember all of the history??? Nope. Not one of my stronger subjects, tho' he made it a whole lot more interesting than it would have been if I had had any other teacher.

The lesson of the first quiz is the most valuable thing I've learned out of all that he taught. Since becoming a Christian, I've tried to carry that same attitude over to my Christian life. So what?? So much of what we do as Christians is because we've always done it that way, or it is what is expected of us, for whatever reason.

Recently, I've become affiliated with a new church. They ask that question pertaining to everything they do. If it doesn't bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, they stop it and go seek God for His direction to do something else. "Ok, we come to church on sunday morning....so what? How is this going to bring people into the kingdom, or equip them so they can lead someone into the kingdom?"

I've been asking the same question lately of my entire life. I work...so what? I go to church...so what? I spend time with my kids when its my turn....so what? I fix computers...so what? I have a blossoming relationship with a great gal....so what?

If what David wrote in the Psalm 90:10 is correct and we get 3 score and 10 years (70) or if be measure of strength four score (80), over half my life is gone. What have I done that has made any difference in the Kingdom of God????? If I can't answer that as positively as I would like, then what am I going to do about it, so it does make a difference???? My time is short. I gotta be about the King's business...and so do you.

To me, Jesus' most indicting comments appear in Matthew 7:20-23 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?' (Hey Lord, I went to church, had bible studies and revival meetings with dinner on the grounds and prayed in tongues and know my theology so I could win every argument with the cult members!!)

Jesus' reply is sobering. 23 "And then I will declare to them, (in essence, SO WHAT????) 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' NAS

Wow!!! Come on, God....lawlessness???? Can't you cut these people some slack?? They did all these "good things" for you!! But God doesn't care about the things we do. He can make donkeys talk and do His will. He can make rocks cry out if we will not praise Him. He cares about our relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, first. Then He cares that we understand how being a Christian fits into the grand scheme of things, Eph 2:10--we being His workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus for good works... He wants us to understand that the Christian life isn't about us, but about building His kingdom and Him getting glory. He wants us to do as the Apostle Paul...that we know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, that we may be conformed to Him in the likeness of His death (Phil 3:10). It's not about us doing stuff, just because we've always done it that way. It's about examining every area of our lives and doing only what He leads us to do, so we operate at out maximum effectiveness for Him, so we're not wasting our time out and about in the world. God wants us to "redeem the time, for the days are evil" (Eph 5:16).

This is a hard thing for me. I'm a 21st century, western cultured Christian. I've got it easy. Will people around me hear, "depart from me" cause I've got my life on cruise control?? Because this is the way it's been for the last 20 years??? What are you and I doing with the days and hours of our lives, so that others will benefit and hear Jesus say "enter into the joy of your master?"

May we all be found faithful and may we never hear that dreaded question from the Lord, "so what??"

What a week

2006-11-02T18:49:00.000-08:00

I am thankful to God for His hand upon me this past couple of weeks...this last one especially. It has been a time of great blessings and a time of great challenge, all at the same time.

I had the chance to gather with some online friends from The Cafe a couple weeks ago. My kids survived the ordeal, seemingly no worse for the wear. A great time of fellowship was had by all and relationships were deepened that weekend. Just previously, I was diagnosed with 2 types of skin cancer and between diagnosis and surgery, have been involved in a motor vehicle accident at work, where God was with me yet again. On top of that, the financial difficulties continue as they have been since the divorce of 3+ years ago. Surgery just this last Monday was quick and painful and recovery continues. But God is faithful in all things and will bring me through this and that by His marvelous, wonderful and matchless grace.

A Tragic Death?

2006-09-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, the world was shocked by the death of Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin. Just 44 years old, the reports list the cause of death as an 8" stingray barb splitting his ribs and piercing his heart. I have read about him quite a bit on the internet since his death, as I haven't had many opportunities to see him, not having had cable tv since 1992. I have also delivered a lot of magazines since then with his picture on the cover and a memorial to him inside. The word I've seen and heard a dozen times, maybe more, is "tragic" or "tragedy." I got to thinking about that. Having already blogged about death a while back, I hesitated to revisit the subject, for fear of overkill....like the proverbial hunting of deer with an H-bomb. But God has some truth for us to understand about all this.

Death was started by Adam and Eve in Gen 3, as a result of their disobedience. Just a short time before, they were naked and not ashamed...heck, they didn't even know they were naked until 3:7, and God asked them in 3:11 "Who told you that you were naked? Innocent blood was shed to make covering for their nakedness (3:21)--the first death recorded in Scripture. From that point on, God kept His promise of Gen 2:17, that "for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." They didn't die immediately in the physical, but they did die spiritually. Nine hundred years and some change later, they died physically, also. The process of death starts the minute we are born, and when I get to heaven, I'll personally thank Adam and Eve for that.

Back to Mr. Irwin...what defines a death as a tragedy? Is it tragic because he was young, with 2 small children? or because he was a well known conservationalist who did much to advance its cause through entertainment and education? or was it because he was a likeable mate, I mean, "crikey!" who wouldn't like the guy? Oh, I know, it was tragic because he was an internationally known TV star and had a lot of money. Well, though my heart goes out to Mrs Irwin and the children, this death is no more tragic than the million and half babies who are killed before they are born, or the homeless guy who slept in a cardboard box and froze to death on the streets of Chicago, or like the 19 year old kid on my mail route that drove himself to his birthplace and committed suicide back in July. All these deaths are terrible and very untimely, but none are tragic in and of themselves.

Here's my opinion and you can disagree if you want....death becomes tragic when the one dying has not come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and will not spend eternity with Him in heaven. God says that every one has an appointment to die and after that, they are judged by God (Heb 9:27). It's not a matter of if we're going to die, but a matter of when. The key is, that time in this life when we accept what God did for us in Christ and believe in the free gift, given to us by faith (Rom 6:23).

For the record, my death will not be a tragedy. I mean, sure, I hope people will miss me and all, and I don't want a morose and weepy visitation and all that. (Oh, and NO country music at my funeral, puh-lease!) After I'm gone, there should be rejoicing, 'cause I'll be HOME with the Lord who bought me with His own blood and adopted me as His son on Aug 26, 1982!!!!

When a person steps out of this life into the next with no Christ, no hope and eternally separated from God, THAT is a tragedy...the ultimate tragedy (Jn 3:18). My prayer is that when Mr Irwin stepped out of this life, moments after removing the stingray's barb from his heart, that the population of hell didn't increase by one that day. That would be a tragedy.

To Protect the Heart

2006-08-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

I was delivering mail one day, when a police officer that I have gotten to know a bit drove up to check on me. It was kind of strange seeing him in uniform, as we have seen each other in our civilian clothes on a number of occasions. We chatted for a minute, I told him I was doing ok, just very hot (which he could do nothing about) and he drove off. To me, he doesn't look all that impressive just as himself, but I noticed a difference in him, clothed in his uni. He looked.....bigger....more impressive, I guess, and I couldn't figure out why.

I delivered some more mail and stopped for my lunch break at a convenience store. There I saw another police officer and then it hit me (God does that a lot). The bullet proof vest!!! That's what made Tim look so big and impressive. That which is part of his uniform, intended to protect his heart and all the delicate organs, was the thing that made an impact on me. I then thought of all the delicate things that the armor protects, and how we had an officer about 10 years ago was hit by a richocheting bullet that entered his body vertically through his clavicle and ended up making a mess of him internally.

We are the same way. Before we were saved...on our own, we were not impressive. We walked the devil's ways, did his bidding and he was happy. But when we are brought into God's family by grace, through faith by a relationship with Jesus, we then become the devil's enemy. We no longer are to walk his ways and keep on doing the things we used to do. We serve a new master and that makes the old master angry. But God already knew this, and designed armor for each of us to wear each day. WE are still not impressive, but with this armor, God gives us the ability to withstand the attacks of our formidable foe and emerge victorious on the other side.

The scripture tells us in Eph 6 that there are key components of this armor and what each part is for. But the piece for consideration here is the breastplate of righteousness, which guards our hearts (and liver and bowels and so on). With a right heart, we then love God and DO right to others. The scripture tells us often that the heart is wicked (Jere 17:9) and we're to allow God to change it. But God has placed the responsibility of protecting our hearts squarely on us. Prov 4:23 says to "guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." God wants the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened (Eph 1:18-19) so we can know what God has for us. And in our relationships, we're to guard our hearts, so that if we're married, we cherish and protect that and guard our hearts from distractions; and if we're single, that we keep our hearts in tune with God's heart so we can do what is right, in God's good time. We're to be wise as serpents but gentle as doves, not allowing our hearts to be fooled into relationships that will not honor the Father, but be open to what He is doing, so we don't miss out on a blessing.

May the cry of my heart be as David's in Psalm 51; "Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me!!" Lord, help us all to protect our hearts and keep them pure for You.

Others can, you may not

2006-08-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Please pardon the...uh....earthy nature of this blog. The opening subject matter is for illustration purposes only. Thanks!

It is mating season for the doggies in the 'hood where I deliver mail. I have been charged by 2 testosterone enhanced doggies in the last 2 days and had to resort to chemical warfare to keep them at bay (mace can, part of the uniform). Today's encounter in another part of the hood, provided a valuable illustration to me about the heart and nature of all of us.

On Central Ave, there is a corner house where there are several dog pens, full of various kinds of dogs, and a few mutts tied up around the yard. There are probably 8 or 9 dogs at the house total. I heard a terrible barking--a mean, viscious snarling "I pity the fool" kind of bark, not a "woof, woof" kind, alerting the owner that someone was in the yard. I approached carefully to make sure the snarling dog was tied up. THEN I rounded the corner and there was my answer. A stray male doggie was getting into the scent (perfume, maybe?) of one of the girlie dogs tied to the laundry line pole, and quickly, uh, mounted his attack on her. (I think I faintly heard the female dog whistling the "Copulatin' Blues" or something like that... One of the pedigree dogs in the pen was going OUT of his ever-livin mind, because he wanted to get in on the fun that the stray dog was having, but the pen kept him from doing so. I went back to the truck to reload and took another look at the situation. The dogs who were in action were already finished and sharing a cigarette, then God made His point as I started on the next walking part (btw, that dog in the pen went nuts for the next 45 minutes!!!!)

We, as Christians, are like that dog in the pen. I've been there...my natural self would like to participate in the "fun" going on in the world, but God has established barriers, (a pen, so to speak), so I don't participate. Paul wrote in Galatians that the flesh and the spirit war against each other, so that you may not do the things you please (Gal 5:16-17). And what I have to remember about God establishing the barriers, is that He doesn't do it to kill our fun, but to protect us, because He loves us. He knows if we follow the foolish desires of our hearts, they will lead us off the narrow road that leads to God and eventually will kill us (Jere 17:9, Jas 1:13-15). There are things we just aren't supposed to do because God calls them wrong and they are harmful to us. For instance, stealing is wrong, according to the scripture and by doing it, we hurt others and ourselves. Abortion leaves at least one dead and at least one wounded. There are other things, like sex, that are totally good and beautiful when expressed in the proper context, but off limits in a big way until God's criteria are met. God allows the expression of physical intimacy, when He sees the covenant of marriage entered into. He then lifts the barriers, allowing full and passionate expression.

Sometimes, we see the rest of the world going ahead and doing what they want and "enjoying themselves." They're having a blast! And God does say that sin is pleasurable...for a season. This enjoyment is all they get. They'll answer for what they do, someday. Others can, because they want to, but we as God's children may not, until God lifts the barrier for us to participate, IF He ever lifts the barrier. It's hard to do right and live for Jesus, but the fruit of the Spirit includes goodness, faithfulness and self control...ours for the asking. The Apostle Paul knew this as well and encouraged us to not grow weary in well doing, but remember that we shall reap the good we've done, in due season...at just the right time, if we don't get weary and lose heart (Gal 6:9-10). We have to keep our focus going in the right direction and our hearts in tune to His.

Dogs (and dawgs) in the 'hood may do their thang, but I know that God has a life of fulness, fun and joy for me, as I commit myself to doing what is right, commit myself to the memory of and adherance to the scripture and following Him with all my heart.

Can I be any more clear?

2006-08-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, another strange source for a blog...the movie "Space Jam."

I was being ridiculed by a co worker on my very caucasian appearance...how white I am. My youngest son and I share this quality. We can go out on a cloudless night and get a moon burn. It reminded me (so I reminded my co-worker) of the scene in Space Jam when Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Bill Murray are golfing, just before Michael is pulled down the golf hole. This is to the best of my recollection how it went...

Bill: The NBA must face reality. What's happening is serious. They're going to need new players with talent. Skilled guys who never really thought about a professional career. Think I got a shot?
Mike: Come on, really?
Bill: Don't kid.
Mike: lt's a man's game. You can't play.
Bill: What if l tried hard?....lt's because l'm white.
Mike: No. Larry's white. So what?
Bill: Larry's not white. Larry's clear

Without thinking about it, I thought to myself, "man, I wish we'd ALL be clear..." Here's what I mean.

Recently, I have had quite a misunderstanding with someone from another country I have considered to be a good friend. She has suddenly become angry with me and seems to not want to tell me why. We had a long chat a couple weeks ago that I thought brought clarity and understanding to the situation, but even since then, her wrath has again built up against me. We have exchanged a couple of emails, but have not gotten to the root of the problem.

Ponder this...we often cover over our real feelings, or stuff them down inside ourselves, so we can avoid difficult topics and situations and not have the potential of confrontation. Why, confrontation could lead to words being said and feelings being hurt, after all. But isn't that what happens anyway? When we stuff stuff, and not say what we mean, feelings still get hurt and issues still go unresolved and friendships (even marriages) end over this kind of lack of communication.

The Bible encourages us to share with one another from the heart and to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15, 25). We are to speak words that will edify and give grace to the hearer (Eph 4:29). We have to discover 2 very important spiritual gifts...tact and diplomacy. Then we have to pray for God's wisdom to be able to share with someone in such a way that the topic is addressed, and feelings are only hurt by the truth of God's word, as it exposes our hearts for what they really are. Or, as I say in the chatroom often, that we "cover our bricks with velvet to soften the blow." The situations of life and the interpersonal issues feel like bricks when we encounter them, especially from the lips of another person. As we learn to wrap those hard truths in the grace that God offers us, they come across in a much more palatable way. Never are we to sacrifice truth at the altars of political correctness or convenience. We should never side step an issue just because it might be difficult to resolve. God has the resources necessary to help us take on the interpersonal issues, explain them as clearly as possible and do it in with a spirit that pleases Him. The fruit of the Spirit includes aspects of kindness, gentleness, patience and selfcontrol. Paul also wrote in Eph 5:13; "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light." This means that when we measure our thoughts, words and deeds against the measuring stick of God's Word, we see them for what they are, and then clarity can come from the truth.

We have to be committed to praying fervently about our interaction with others. We have to be committed to speaking the truth in a time and situation appropriate for that sharing. Then we have to be committed to mixing those words with truth and grace, so even though the words may be tough to hear, God has already been at work in the hearts of those we're sharing with. When God is at work, the words are received and the clear and present truth can be acted upon...issues can be resolved and hearts can begin the process of being healed.

Being clear is tough..anatomically and relationally. But God is there to help us when we need Him and has allowed man to invent SPF 212 for when moonburn is imminent.

Never to Be Defeated

2006-07-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's strange how these blogs come about.

I was in church this morning, the service ends and we are filing out of the place, you know how it is...kind of like cattle. Suddenly, a kid of about 11 throws a paperwad (large paperwad) at another kid, misses and hits the ol' mailman. Well, I couldn't let that go, so right in the aisle, I stomped that punk's ugly little head and showed him that you don't mess with the mailman. Ok, actually, I didn't...but I did threaten to stomp him in good fun and gave him a noogie (and then had the other kid hit him with the large paper wad...hee hee).

I got to thinking about that...this paper wad throwing kid weighs well over 100 pounds, but I can still take him. My kids (11 and 8) weigh 85 and 55 respectively, but I can still take them both at once. Its getting tougher, but I'm still on top. My mantra to the 11 year old, in my best superhero voice is; "You cannot defeat the power of dad!!!" We wrestle and carry on, but dad power is too strong...for now.

But you know what? One day he's going to kick my tail and put me in my place. Sure, I'll be on social security by then, but still....one day both of them will probably be able to take me on their own. One day I will be defeated by my kids in a wrestling match. One day, this old shell of a body won't be able to take any more and will be defeated by the ravages of death.

The bible said that God loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to take our sins on Himself and die for us physically, so that we wouldn't have to die spiritually. Death may take out these physical bodies out here on earth, but that's not the death I'm concerned about. The soul of the man will live on forever. When secure in the love of God and are in right relationship to God through Jesus, we can rest in the fact that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:28-29). Not death, life, angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, or any other created thing. NOTHING will be able to defeat us!

Also in this morning's service, our music minister sang an old Steve Green song called "Calvary's Love." I looooooove the chorus which puts defeat in its proper perspective;

"Calvary's love, Calvary's love
Priceless gift Christ makes us worthy of
The deepest sin can't rise above
Calvary's love "

I Cor 15 states that the last enemy Jesus is going to stomp is death. When time as we know it is over and Jesus gets that done, He's handing the keys back to the Father. The work will be done. Death will be swallowed up in victory. The cry (or the taunt, with an outrrrrrageous French accent) will be as Paul quoted it; "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY??? O GRAVE WHERE IS YOUR STING???" The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God who gives US the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And since the devil won't go away, Jesus "will taunt him a second timea." Revelation 20 says that; "the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

My kids may defeat me in wrestling (maybe), younger guys will defeat me in basketball (not without paying a dear price) and the first death may take this shell of the body out, but the soul that God has redeemed for Himself by the blood of Jesus will never be defeated...never...never...NEVER! Thank you, Lord!!!

THAT'S NOT FAIR!!!!

2006-07-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

That was the lament coming from the living room a couple weeks back, as my 11 year old son was taking on a new part of a familiar video game. He was stoked that he finally discovered how to unlock this portion of the game, but not as excited in finding out how hard it was. He obviously had made this same kind of complaint elsewhere, because I couldn't even open my mouth to encourage him before he blurted out; "I know, life's not fair..."

He's right. Life can be quite unfair, not always granting us the smooth sailing we desire to get from one stage of life to the next...even one day to the next. We've all had times where God allows things into our lives that WE don't think are "fair." But what's fair? Who is to decide what is fair? As a 12 year old boy at church says; "Fair is a place where you ride rides." He's right, too.

For most of society, and even spilling over into the Christian world, fair isn't based on a standard of right and wrong, nor is it interested in justice for all, but is firmly rooted in what I want and what I think ought to happen, so I can be happy. But if we're just gut level honest, fairness is the smoke screen to hide our selfishness, that we want what we want when we want it. The world pushes that all over us. "Obey your thirst;" "Have it your way;" "You deserve a break today;" even one of our local banks; "It's all about you!!" Life and everyone in it owes it to us that our lives be nice and cushy and that we have what we think we ought to have with a minimal amount of resistance.

God's viewpoint is completely different. Thanks to Adam and Eve, we come into this world an offense to God. We deserve death, we deserve separation from God, we deserve the Hell prepared for the devil and his angels. Our spiritual x-ray is not pretty, as seen in Romans 3. Ah, but again, the life's not fair goes both ways. Jesus took a horrible beating and crucifixion from the hands of men...punishment that HE didn't deserve, so that mankind's sin debt could be wiped out with a childlike trust in Him. There is a recent song from the Christian group called Reliant K that says that "the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." That line really grabbed hold of me. We don't deserve to have any shot of getting to know God in a personal way. We have no merits in and of ourselves that would make the Creator of the universe want to hang with us. But yet, out of His great heart of love, he extends both His mercy and His grace. Mercy is NOT getting the punishment you DO deserve and grace is GETTING the good stuff that you don't deserve. God offers both in exchange of our pledge of faith to accept what Jesus did for us as the finished work to save us from our sins. That pledge makes us a part of God's family and cancels out the penalty we deserve for the sins of our past. It secures a place in heaven with Him for all of eternity, a place that God is working on currently for me to inhabit. Compared to what Jesus went through for me, all my troubles are piddly. As the Apostle Paul put it in perspective "the sufferings of this life aren't worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us."

Is life not fair? Absolutely...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

English As We Know It

2006-07-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

It is amazing how the English language has changed in the last 50 to 60 years (not that I'm THAT old yet, or anything...) Perusing a dictionary from the 1960's or 70's seems strange--so strange that the words we find therein almost bring back memories, as it were. Words have changed in their meanings and we've added new words and phrases that just didn't exist even 15 years ago. Most of the changes can be attributed to the vast increase in modern technology. I mean, these days, kids are immersed in this technology from the youngest ages and most college students are required to have computers going in. In my whole college, there were only 3 people who had computers and all they were good for was typing term papers.

We've introduced terminology, phraseology and abbreviations into our everyday lives that at times defy description. Gone are the days of keen, groovy, swell and neat-o. Even funky, cool and awesome have gone the way of the dodo. I mean, come on..I am sitting here "blogging", connected by "wi-fi" to the internet, through my "DSL" router. I can group everything together on one "e-bill" and through an SSL, pay it with a credit or debit card. For "Ebay", there is the wonder of "PayPal" to pay for the items you put in your shopping cart. I "chat" with people I've never seen before and cannot hear, unless I "Yahoo", then I can whip out the "webcam" and microphone and see and hear people halfway around the world in just the time it takes for the data to "network hop" across the world. In our modern culture, "phat" does not mean overweight, a "dawg" is not usually a 4 legged, furry creature, and "geek" is now both a noun and a verb (the new phrase is "beware of geeks bearing gifts"...) Go figure.

We "rip" music and movies from the originals, then "burn" them to "cd" or "dvd". Doing things with those descriptions 20 years ago would render the objects unusable, maybe even irrecognizable. I can listen to a "webcast" of almost any radio station in the world, through the miracle of "streaming audio" and watch videos on my computer with "streaming video"...neither of which have anything to do with liquid. If we are "afk" long enough and actually want to leave home, we can "brb," "Tivo" the show we want and watch the program without the commercials later (LOL). We hang "dishes" on the sides or roofs of our houses (??) and put "buds" in our ears, so we can hear sounds. We have "bluetooths" and "blackberrys" and neither one are have anything to do with eating. "Software" is hard and breakable and "VOIP" is threatening to replace the good old phone.

You get the picture, I'm sure. You may be thinking, "What does all that have to do with the price of tea in China?" That's a really good question. I was just thinking, many times, we don't understand each other because of barriers, whether they be language, technological terminology or cultural phrases and idioms. When we talk to others, we wonder if we will be understood. Speak in technological, theological or medical terms and watch the "deer in the headlights" look form quickly. And what about God? I mean, if we pour our hearts out to God, will HE even hear and understand? The good news is that God does hear and God does understand, regardless of the language used, slang interjected, abbreviations added or even words that aren't verbalized, but spoken or shouted from the heart.

The Bible says that both Jesus Himself and the Holy Spirit receive our prayers, (spoken or silent), realign them and interpret them for us and then send them to the Father. That's what the Bible calls "interceding" for us. Geeky language doesn't frighten God, nor does slang...or anything else for that matter. He can handle it all. He invites us to come to Him and tell Him what is on our hearts. He chasteneth thou not for not using King James English. God is cool with your prayers, no matter how you want to express them. He hears you, He understands you and He loves you.

Know what? I think if Jesus were here today, He would probably utilize a "laptop," a "PDA" and have a "cell" phone with bluetooth headset for maximum portability and connectivity and when a really good joke was told, he would "ROFL" too....."imho," of course.

The Powerful Sound of Silence

2006-07-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

It's 5:13am. I awaken for some unknown reason, but when I do I am greeted with the strangest sound....nothing. OK, I can see the clock, so the power is still on....but I hear nothing. No birds, no refrigerator, no cars driving by, none of the rain that was falling last night when I hit the sack. Nothing. Silence. It was weird, but nice.

See, our lives in the 21st century have become so fast and furious, and I might add, so LOUD, we have become uncomfortable with silence. I was at a house last night fixing computers and checking out a tv on the blink--a family of parents and 3 teenage daughters, who happened to have friends over. Dinner was cooking, a water fight was going on outside, a tv was on in every room, each girl had a laptop (that was on), everyone there had a cell phone that played music, surfed the web, sliced, diced and made julienne fries. It was a loud place. When I was done an hour later, I thunked the door on my 88 Cavalier shut and stopped, took a deep breath and (silently) thanked God for the silence for a second, before turning the key to go home.

In the scripture, silence is a good thing, most of the time. Even the saints of old were encouraged to be still and quiet.

David the psalmist wrote in the world famous 23rd Psalm that God made him lie down in green pastures and led him beside still, or quiet waters and there God restored his soul. Ahhh, tranquility and quietness. Do we know what to do with it?

The trouble with us is that when we don't hear anything, we think something is wrong. Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't anything wrong. We are quick to freak out and blame God and wonder where He is and does He really care. That is a very natural response to our daily dilemmas. But in the silence one of two things should be happening. One, like Psalm 23, we could be recharging our batteries and getting ready for the next assignment God will give us. Two, we are to be exercising the muscle of faith when God is silent and we wonder WHAT is going on. If we're not hearing anything and we are distraught about a situation, we have to trust that God has it under control.

Even David, when in a near panic in Psalm 4 said, "Tremble and do not sin. Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. [selah] Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and trust the Lord." This is the mailman's paraphrase....It's ok to be afraid, BUT think about God's track record and what He's done for you in the past. Then get up and do the right thing--and show your trust in the Lord by walking closely with Him and letting Him take care of the details.

Ps 46:10 encourages us to be still and know that He is God. But I've found that only when you get to know someone, will you be comfortable in silence. I've had that happen with close friends, my ex (in better times, of course), girlfriends, even for very short durations, my kids. When we are comfortable with God, silence won't be a cause to panic, but an opportunity to hear from Him. We learn that prayer is a two way street, we may find that God has things for us to learn there, if we'll just be still long enough.

Elijah ran from Jezebel after the showdown at the Mt Carmel Corral and hid in a cave. He was waiting to hear from the Lord. A huge wind came by, so strong it broke pieces of the mountain off!! Surely God was here!! But He wasn't. Then an earthquake and a great fire...but nada. Finally, the quiet blowing of a gentle wind...and there He was. He finally showed up. But Elijah had to wait until it was....shhhhh....quiet

Oh God, help us slow down sometime today, so we can shut out the rest of the world and hear you. Teach us how, so we become as comfortable as an old friend around You, even though You are the all powerful God of the Universe. And may we strive to be the best representatives of Your Kingdom that we can be, because we've spent quiet time with You today.

Skillet Meals

2006-07-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

Being a bachelor, I have to cook for myself...which stinks...and sometimes REALLY stinks!! :P

Tonight's entree was one of those skillet meals that have everything included, just add 1/2 cup of water. While masterfully "cooking" this thing, I noticed that most of it was corn. That may not mean anything to you, but to a person with Crohn's Disease, that is not good. While lamenting the situation, I came to the realization that the corn and the amount thereof, was the reason that the meal was as cheap as it was. There was chicken in there, but not much. There were carrots and broccoli, but not much of either of those. There was pasta...a bit. But there was a ton of corn in there. Here's why...corn is plentiful, corn is cheap and therefore, corn is EASY.

I got to thinking about most of the people who call themselves Christians, including myself. If you ask most of us how we're doing spiritually, we'll have you believe we're doing well, striving hard, trying to please God. But if you could be a fly on the shoulder and follow us around, what you'd probably witness is that this life we call the Christian life is full of corn. We coast through our days and get by with the least amount of effort we can. We like it like the skillet meal makers...we like it EASY.

I was talking for a few minutes today with an 88 year old woman on my mail route. She was reading the old testament and was quoting things from it. She started with "I will bless the Lord at all times...." and I finished it with "and His praise shall continually be in my mouth." She smiled and repeated the same thing and complimented me on my recollection of the verse. But I got to thinking....but IS His praise continually in my mouth? or is it just when life is EASY, like corn?

Jesus said radical things like, if you want to be my disciple, you have to lay down your life, take up your cross and follow me. Abide in the vine so you can bear fruit. And if you bear a bunch of fruit, you'll show yourselves to be my disciples. NOT easy. Paul wrote that we are to rejoice in the Lord always. He even repeated himself again and said "rejoice!" Not easy. Jesus said that if we were his disciples, we would obey the new commandment that he gave...that we would love one another. OUCH!! Really not easy. This kind of stuff is the broccoli and chicken of the skillet meal. Quite a bit more costly, therefore, quite a bit less seen in the mix.

Living a real Christian life that pleases the Father is costly. He purchased us with the ultimate price--the blood of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. He gave His all to redeem us off the slave block of sin. All He asks of us is that we give our all to Him. Corn is not enough, or as David put it (in the mailman paraphrase) I won't make offerings to the Lord that cost me nothing. God, help us all to give of our best for You each day and leave the corn behind.