At the beach

God is not a Republican

He's not a Democrat for that matter either.  In fact Jesus made it a point not to get involved in the politics of the day, even though many of His followers were certain He was going to throw off the yoke of Roman rule and establish His kingdom in Israel.  Some have even speculated that was the reason Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, because he was disillusioned about the purpose of the ministry of Jesus.

So if God is neither Republican or Democrat and Jesus went to such great pains not to be embroiled in politics, why is it that Christianity is so closely associated with conservative right wing politics in America?  Why is it that the mainstream media seems to paint Christians with the same broad brush, as right wing fanatics?  And why has the true message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ become drowned out by the rhetoric of politics?

Perhaps because groups like the Family Research Counsel, Focus on the Family and other's like them wield such influence in the mainstream evangelical churches in America?  Perhaps because many of the same issues that conservative right wing politicians stand on as their platform issues, are the same issues that resonate within those same mainstream churches?  Maybe it's because topics like abortion on demand, partial birth abortion and the erosion of family values (ala redefinition of marriage to include same sex couples) seem to take center stage in the pulpits of America?

I don't know, but it seems to me that the influence of the church on our culture has been relegated to the lobbyist in the capital buildings of our states and nation.  This clearly is not God's intention.  "Go therefore and create an army of voters, capable of effecting change through legislation and rule of law" is NOT what Matthew 28:19 says.

We've heard it said that there is a "culture clash" between the values of the conservative, right wing, largely Christian population, and the more liberal left wing part of our society.  This "clash" has escalated into a "war" with the battlefield being the ballot box, court rooms, radio and TV stations of America.

Unfortunately as in any war, there are casualties. Many, if not most, of whom are innocent bystanders.  Who are the casualties? The multitudes of lost. People who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior look upon the political battles as further evidence of insincerity and hypocrisy on the part of the church.

How can the church preach, Mercy, Forgiveness, and unconditional Love and be so intolerant of the Gay and Lesbian communities, they ask?  It's a legitimate question.

How can the church talk about loving your neighbor as yourself, and at the same time not do anything (generally speaking) about the issue of the homeless?  Another legitimate question.

God has a heart for the widow, orphan and alien (Ex 22:22, Deu 10:18, Isa 1:17, Jer 22:3, Mal 3:5, Jam 2:16).  Aside from special ministries that address these issues, the church has been slowly abdicating its responsibility in this area to the government.  Click here for some history on the child welfare system in the US.

It's time the church got back to the basics of what it was called to do.  Preach the Gospel in and out of season.  Demonstrate the Gospel by taking on the burdens of society and caring for those whom Jesus called "the least of these". Make disciples of those drawn by the Love of Christ, that compels us to be His hands and feet, to perpetuate the cycle all over again.

That way, society is changed God's way, not through the rule of law or by the power of the ballot box, but by changed lives and changed hearts empowered by and directed by the Holy Spirit of God.

Will it be easy? No way. Nothing God calls us to do is necessarily "easy" from the viewpoint of man.  But if it's God that's calling us, then it's His power working through us, and not of our own power.

It is Him to will and to work in us and through us, for His great pleasure.

Functional atheism.

A phrase used to describe a malady that's plaguing the modern church. In days gone by it used to be called "carnality", but it seems that term has lost it's meaning. Probably because of mis or dis use of the word. So, we have a new non-PC phrase that's probably going to make more than a few people in the church angry or at least uncomfortable. Actually, now that I think about it, probably not, because those who would be offended are probably not sitting in the pews anyway.

"So what is Functional atheism?", you ask.  It's the condition whereby a believer in Jesus Christ, lives like he or she doesn't believe in Jesus Christ. Functionally, they live like the rest of the atheistic society in which they dwell. 

A slight variation, although closely related, are folks known as "closet Christians".

So while they say they are "Christian", their actions don't necessarily reflect that truth.

People who live in this fashion find that relationships between husband and wife, parents and children, fellow employees and ultimately their relationship with God, are influenced more by Oprah, Dr. Phil, Better Homes and Garden, and the TV guide than the Word of God.

Their finances also reflect their misplaced loyalties as their spending is directed primarily towards feeding their "needs and wants" as opposed to going to agendas that the Lord Jesus would be actively involved in.  Things like healing the sick, comforting the down trodden and homeless, spreading the Gospel, ministering to the poor, and things like that.

What's really sad about this whole situation is that they are missing out on the "abundant life" that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10.

Those who are caught in this deception turn to God to fulfill their desires, or when they are in distress, only to be disappointed.  It's not that God doesn't hear their prayers, or is angry with them, or doesn't want to make good on the promises He spoke of in His Word, but He has a better life in mind for them.

I speak from painful experience.  After walking with God for many years, I turned my back on Him, shook my fist at Him and walked away.  My life came unraveled, but I was too focused on myself to even notice.  

However, God was not done with me.  Even though I'd shaken my fist at Him (pitiful, now that I reflect on it), He pursued me with a passion. He never stopped loving me, even though I'd chosen to walk away.

Patiently He waited, and brought people into my life that caused me to turn back to Him, in humility and surrender.

God desires for us, something that is so much better than we can imagine.  However, we have to be willing to trust him in every aspect of our lives.  That means completely surrendering every area of our lives, and be willing to be changed.  That's the essence of faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Jesus said "If you abide in my Word, you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:31-32

The opposite of "Functional Atheism" is "Joyful Abiding".  To abide means to dwell.  It means to take up residence. 

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside us when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus said to abide in His Word.  So, there's a dualality at play.  God dwells in us, and we dwell in His Word. 

We have to live there in His Word.  We take in the Word of God (that means read it), and let it control our decision making processes instead of our own "fleshly desires".

As we do that we will discover the desires of our heart changing and as they do, God will grant us the desires of our heart, just as He promised in His Word.

Happy abiding!

 

Justice

Interesting reading over the weekend in regard to "Justice".  Check out the link at Prison Fellowship Ministries.

In that article, Chuck Colson declares that conservative folk view justice through the lens of retribution and punishment. 

On the other hand, liberal folk view justice through the lens of "fairness" and declare that poverty causes crime, so the real enemy is poverty. Therefore liberal crusaders for "justice" seek to end poverty as a means to an end.

What's interesting is the Biblical viewpoint embraces both concepts. God punishes the wicked, yet the early church shared everything equally as much as each could contribute.  Even the early books of the law declare that we should share with those less able by leaving the gleanings in the field.

What's even more interesting is the divergent attitudes among Christians on this issue that don't embrace both points of view.

Liberal Christians in the style of "Sojourners" proclaim war on poverty. Conservative Christians on the right want more prisons built.

Jesus said that "the poor you will have always".  I've always viewed that as a simple statement of fact.  However in light of this article, it now seems to me that it's more of a challenge and call to action.

In light of Jesus' statement that it's harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, it appears that heaven is going to be made up of a great deal of the "poor".

I don't know about you, but I'd like to spend an eternity with my brothers and sisters who have fond memories of me helping them while we journeyed on earth together.

The question for me is what is "help"?  But that's a topic for another day.... 

So it's been almost a year since my first posting.  Time flies, eh?

I've been hired as a software engineer at a company only 5 minutes from my house, and they let me telecommute! Go figure.  It's a very cool company, I love the people I work with, I'm learning a lot and they pay me lots of money to have fun.  Beats the heck out of working for a living.

We've started a Saturday night service at church. You gotta come check it out.  Matthew Dodd moved back from Dallas Texas to rejoin the staff as associate Pastor recently.  He teaches the Saturday night service and I now lead worship on Saturday.  Serving with him is an absolute blast! 

The Saturday worship team is made up of all young men, who are all great musicians.  It's the most fun I've had with a worship team and things keep getting better each week.

I'm still having a hard time finding time to play my guitar though.  I've got to do something about that.

I found this neat program that I'm using to do my blog postings.  It's called DotPost and it's written completely in C# on a MS dot net framework.  As a C# dot net framework developer, I appreciate all the work this guy has put into this program.  I'm looking forward to finding out all the stuff this program can do.

Denali had a litter of puppies this past year. 8 boys and 1 girl.  They've all gone to great homes and we look forward to keeping in touch with the owners.

I created a web cam site that showed the puppies growing up.  It changed pictures every 30 seconds and was pointed in the whelping pen.  You can check out the final puppy pictures at this link click here!

Blessings to you all.  Have a safe 4th of July!