Who's The More Foolish?

One of my favorite movie quotes is from Star Wars as Obi-Wan chides Han Solo, "Who's the more foolish: The fool, or the fool who follows him?" And off they went, Han, Luke, Leia, and Chebacca pursuing a path that "old fossil" put them on, and eventually won themselves freedom from the Empire.

Today we will spend the day (if you remember that it is April Fool's Day) wondering what to believe and what not to believe from your friends, co-workers and family. Some of us will endure practical jokes and the like. For some of us, April 2 couldn't come any faster.

Have you ever followed a fool? I was told a story about my Grandfather who years ago pulled a joke on a young co-worker of his. His co-worker showed up at work and when he entered the building Grandpa took off running past him, out the door in shear terror and panic. Not too long after, the co-worker was right on his heels, in utter fear of whatever it was that my Grandpa was running from. Of course, there was nothing to run from and it was all a shenanigan.

We are ALL following a fool. Even in our spiritual lives we are following a fool. Let me tell you who I am a fool for and why it seems foolish.

My spiritual fool-

• Says to turn the other cheek if I am hit
• Says to love my enemies
• Says to pray for those who hurt me
• Says to do good to those who hate me
• Says to feed a hungry enemy
• Says to give my coat too, if someone asks for my shirt
• Says if I lose my life for God's sake, I'll gain it
• Says the greatest among us is the least among us
• Says there is freedom in following Him
  
  Only a fool would would follow these sayings, and only a fool for him would attempt to live to that standard!
  

This same fool-

• Loved us so much he became human for the purpose of dying for us
• Says we can't earn our way into Heaven
• Died for His creation which rejected Him
• Paid a debt that we could never pay
  

Psalm 53:1 (NIV) "The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

I challenge you on this April Fool's Day to do something foolish! Pick something from this list and let me know how if felt to be a fool following the Fool!

• Buy the meal/drink for the person behind you in line in the drive through.
• Open the door for someone who isn't even close to the door yet!
  
• Tell at least one person who is rude, or mean to you, something really nice about them.
• Forgive someone in your life who you know doesn't deserve it.
• Sit down with your spouse/love interest and "talk" for 30 minutes. No TV. No interruptions.

Proverbs 12:15 (NIV) "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."

Finally, if you aren't a Christ Follower, and especially if you are:

• Talk to Him about your day.
  

Ephesians 5:17 (NIV) "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

So on this day I hope you reflect upon which fool you follow and for what gain. I am a fool for Christ, who are you a fool for?

Schizophrenic Lying Diety

I was reminded yesterday of a very common argument that arises in response to the beliefs held by the Christ Follower. It is a simple argument that at its core challenges the validity and foundation of the faith that we Christ Followers have. It is not the first time I have heard this argument, and it surely will not be the last.

During my computer class (which I loathe), we were assigned to groups in order to work on projects. The project would be done in Microsoft Power Point, and we would take a topic and subdivide it into four subcategories for each of the participants within a group. As a group, we were first required to agree upon a topic. One member of our group asked if there were any topics we were "passionate" about. I said "God." I explained that I am a Christ Follower, and thought it would be an easy topic to tackle. I explained that we did not have to make the topic argumentative, but we could each give a presentation on a major world religion. After some discussion, it came back around to the classmate who originated the "passionate" question. She said we could tie it all up in the summary of how all the religions are similar.

This same topic has come up repeatedly this year alone, and it seems to be a theme that God would have me meditate upon. My biology teacher, while discussing hypotheses’ and theories exclaimed, "You can’t prove there is a god. Just like you can’t prove that one religion is better than any other." Earlier in the year, while meeting with a Wiccan/Pagan friend for lunch she too made the claim that there is no "one" way, but that all religions offered paths to god/goddess. There was no absolute truth.

At the surface, it is a wonderful notion, to believe God revealed himself to many cultures and people over time, providing each of these groups of people with paths towards him/her. It is a quaint ideal to think that despite all the wars, bickering, fighting and anger, there is but one deity directing many. Once you delve any distance below the surface of the belief that all roads lead to god, you find yourself within a quagmire of confusion, indecision, deception and ultimately a schizophrenic deity that is as confused about its own personality as it is about how to commune with its adherents.

Seriously, how does a deity function within that view? The contrasts between Buddhism and Hinduism are great enough, but how do you reconcile Mormons with Christ Followers? How do you reconcile Christ Followers with any other religion? The God of the Christ Follower declares, "I am the first, I am the last, apart from me there is no God."¹ Lorenzo Snow fifth president of the LDS Church summarized their doctrine of God as a man, and man becoming a god stating, "As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be." So in one breath God declares he is the only One but Mormons believe you can become a god yourself.

We cannot even equate the beliefs of Wicca/Paganism with that of Christ Followers. Wiccan practitioners say there is no sin, therefore no need for a savior. Christ Followers say that we are all sinners (including themselves) and without a savior, we cannot be with God. Wiccans along with some other world religions believe their deity to be female, while the God of the Christ Followers speaks of Himself in masculine terms (though truly has no physical characteristics of man as he is spirit).

If there is but one deity for ALL religions than why does the Christ Follower’s God declare that following His Son is the only path to Him and the Hindu’s believe salvation is called Moksha. Moksha is when enlightened human beings freed from the cycle of life-and-death (the endless cycle of death and reincarnation) enters into a state of completeness. He then becomes one with God.²

The argument is far from sound, and actually paints a picture of a deity that is careless, stupid, and ultimately confused as to its own goals and purpose. If you choose to follow that god, it’s your choice. I’m just saying it’s not as sweet as it seems. After you peel back that initial layer, you’ll find the belief to be convoluted, ill-contrived and without any merit.

So, if not all roads lead to god…how do you figure out which one does? What do you think?

Hello…anyone out there?

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¹Isaiah 45:5 (Paraphrased)

² http://www.evangelical.us/hinduism.html

Got a GPS?

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a marvelous piece of technology and is indispensible for many. With its advent, map sales have plummeted, men no longer have to ask for directions at the gas station and hours of frustration have been eliminated by those who were not born with "internal" navigation.

With a touch of a button, we can now find the closest Starbucks, gas station, or shopping outlet. Completely reliant upon it we can find ourselves guided by the car icon, unaware of how we got to where we are fully trusting upon the GPS to not turn us down a wrong turn, or drive towards oncoming traffic.

A relationship with Christ is much like a GPS, and you can think of the Holy Spirit as the God Positioning System. When relying upon Him for direction in your life, giving full reliance upon Him you will begin to forget how you got to the wondrous places you have been. You will fully trust in where He is leading you, and understand that His path is the best for you. Unlike your car GPS however, God won’t always take you the "fastest route" but will take you the "scenic", "shortest", "least traveled", or the dreaded "long route." Despite the direction He leads, you can be rest assured it is the road He has laid for you and feel the confidence that His map for your life is perfect…if you will just yield.

Good the Bad and the Ugly of Friday

As we enter into the Easter weekend we are surrounded by all the wonders that Easter has to offer. We love to indulge in our Easter chocolates, our colorful boiled eggs, stuffed animals, and for some of us a grand meal! I really enjoy all of these parts of Easter, and my daughter is learning that around this time of year there is no short supply of chocolate!

So many of us get caught up in the commercial aspects of this holiday and forget the love story at the core. These few days are about a God who desperately loves His creation. With beauty and love He created with aspects of Himself embedded within. He wanted to have an eternal relationship with them, but also endowed them with free will, allowing his creation to chose to love Him or follow their own path. Selfish and quick to fall to temptation, they left God in their own pursuits.

Leaving the protection of the Creator, they brought upon themselves a great price to pursue their own desires. Death. They would no longer live eternally in body, and their spirit would be judged at death.

From this moment on God made a promise to His people, the Hebrews. If they would be His people, he would be their God. From their descendants a King would free them from all bondage and slavery. Not just the Hebrews would be saved, but the entire race of man.

For thousands of years, God’s promise could be traced as a scarlet thread through history as He zealously protected, guided and watched over his people. Eventually, as God promised the King arrived. Nearly 2000 years ago, God stepped into humanity, with all the frailty of man, born in lowly conditions, and sought for death even in infancy. Living in an impoverished land, occupied by foreigners, and for the Hebrews who rejected Him as the Messiah God dwelt among us for what we call, "Good Friday."

Rejected again, just as He was after creation, now we chose to beat Him, reject Him, deny Him, and crucify Him. However, unknown to us He knew this would all happen and it all fell into his plan of redemption. He willingly became our sacrifice, setting events into motion that would forever change the face of our world. After killing our God, he rose from the dead. He paid a debt that we could not pay, a price we would not for ourselves take upon willingly, He took it all upon Him. All of our rejection of Him He took upon Himself allowing us eternal life with Him. Conquering death, He gave us access to his glory again.

There is nothing that we have done to deserve this. There is nothing we can do to earn it. Is is a gift, but as will all gifts, we must accept it.

The good of this Friday is the final work God did on the cross for us, the Bad is the fact that without Him we are eternally lost, and the Ugly is the truth that we must accept his Sacrifice and choose to follow Him again, completing the circle that was began so long ago.

Are you willing to accept the ugly truth that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to God but through Jesus?

"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" Romans 10:9 (NASB)

Grid Iron of Christ

If you know me at all, or have the opportunity to hang out with me you will quickly find that I am a die-hard Steelers fan. I am not a casual fan, but I really LOVE the game, and have come to really love the Steelers organization. As this is all true, it wasn’t true at all a few years ago.

When we first moved here to South Carolina, I co-founded a business, with my good friend Lance. Lance who was not a Christ follower entered into a friendship with me like no-other he had previously had. We both were about to enter a wild ride, and God was driving.

One thing that I quickly learned about Lance was that he was a huge Steelers fan. He was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and came from a long line of Steelers fans in his family. He made it abundantly clear to me that he would work any hours we needed to make our business work, but was adamant that he would not be working during any Steelers games.

"Funny", I thought. So he endured torment from me as I teased him for his devotion to this football team. How silly. I was never a sports-buff in High School, and was more interested in being an EMT, photography and my girlfriend to bother with such things, so the idea of following a team that close was completely foreign to me.

During this time, Lance was seeing a similar aspect in my life, and found it equally as strange. This entire "Christ" devotion in my life was unfamiliar, strange, and made him uncomfortable.

As we continued to work together, Lance became increasingly interested in Christ as he saw us living as Christ Followers…not perfect, but forgiven. I failed in my walk plenty of times and Lance saw those failures. He also saw me get up from those failures, giving God the credit for being able to stand back up, and move forward.

During this time, Lance started talking about the Steelers more often, about this new rookie, Ben Roethlisberger who was playing better than any rookie had before. He started telling me about the history of the Steelers, and about the players, and soon I started getting interested in this game. I began to investigate.

The Steelers organization is family owned. They had a grand history with 4 Super Bowl rings at the time, and this new rookie quarterback was a Christ Follower, as well as a wild Samoan named Troy Polamalu is very open about his love for Christ, and that is just to mention a few of the players that are Christ Followers. They are not a glitz-and-glam team but a blue collar-style, hard hitting football team that stays close to their original roots. Then, I started watching the games and soon became an avid fan. I watch football and see it being very much like the struggles in life as a Christ Follower!

The same thing happened with Lance. Eventually, Lance’s interest in Christ led him to seeking the truth for Himself. He began to look into the claims of Christ, mowing down the weeds of doubt. Eventually he accepted the Savior, and dedicated His life to Him.

When we live for Christ, truly live for Him, others around you will see a difference in your life from theirs. Eventually their curiosity may give way to seeking, and seeking to finding and finding to a life with purpose, love and amazing adventure.

Don’t be afraid to let unbelievers see you fall down and struggle. This is the Grid Iron of Christ! It is when you stand back up they will see the strength of Christ in your life!

It's In Our Nature

In the Late evening, the North sky glistened with pulsating stars and mountain tops reflected dancing lights upon their snow crested peaks. A ballet in the heavens moved with fluidity and elegance as rhythmic motions were choreographed by God Himself.

The Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights, is a phenomenon not seen by many has captivated me since my childhood, growing up in Alaska. I recall the joyous sensation of feeling so privileged to witness such otherworldly illumination.

Dancing streams of gleaming light provided me with a connection to God like no other aspect of nature. Since God created the world, his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been easily seen and understood by what He created. We have no excuse to not know Him.¹

As nature reveals God’s glory, wisdom and power, it does not reveal Him as "nature." "The heavens reveal the glory of God." (Ps 19.1). His glory is shown through His creation for us!

Christianity has dropped the ball, refusing to acknowledge our responsibility as caretakers of this planet He has loaned to us. Even now the multitude of Christians refusing to acknowledge any scientific link between global warming and our contributions of greenhouse gases, have missed the larger picture. If there is no link between our waste emissions and the greenhouse effect, we still have a responsibility as caretakers of something that God entrusted to us.

We are receiving a failing grade and are missing a great opportunity to get involved. Instead, either driven by fear of "jumping ship", and joining up with nature religions who worship nature itself or by pure selfishness and laziness, we have been complacent.

People are taking note. As long as we continue our apathy towards protecting our environment we will be in direct disobedience towards God. We are not being good stewards with that he has provided to us, and nature religions who have recognized the growing concern have legions of God seekers turning towards them in search for answers to our growing planetary crisis.

The Aurora Borealis is my reminder that this planet is not ours to destroy, but to keep for our future generations and to respect the fact that it is part of God’s canvas of art. He has painted a majestic mural specifically for our pleasure and His glory. Let us not tip over the bottle of paint.

So, as a Christ Follower I need to get more involved. Caring for the world does not mean "loving it" as Paul warned in 1 John 2:15-18, so we cannot hide in the cocoon we are so comfortable sheltering ourselves in.

If they don’t see us involved, they won’t see Him caring.


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¹Romans 1:20

Invincible

I remember in the days of my youth feeling completely invincible. Nothing in the world could kill me or hurt me badly enough for me to fully appreciate the risks I took. I was heavily into rock climbing my senior year and I remember climbing Kirmse’s Clock, located around 400ft elevation, and consisted of a 110ft. rock face seen from town, with a huge clock painted upon it. I was determined to climb the sheer face of granite. Up I went without a safety rope, connected only to my friend above with a 9mm main line. From the vantage point I was at I could see the entire town. What I didn’t know is that my Dad watched from the town below.

About 3/4 the way up I ran out of hand holds. I spotted a good section of holds that would be a great route to the top. So, I ran sideways from where I was, to the other side of where I needed to go. Mind you, I am attached to the rope, running perpendicular to the rock. If I have lost you, picture me standing straight on your wall...yes, feet planted on the wall. So I ran the opposite direction so that I could build enough momentum on my run to reach the hand hold on the opposite side. This is called a pendulum.

So my Dad is watching from his vantage point. Of course he was terrified. Later that day when I got home, he didn’t forbid me from doing it further but asked if he could persuade me from continuing as I was seriously risking my life or great injury. He offered to buy all my equipment and I could use the money to put towards a new hobby. I actually ended up taking him up on his offer.

The point is that in our youth we feel so invincible. We make decisions based on a false sense of security, which has grand potential for disaster. Usually (not always) we grow out of that feeling. It may be sooner for other and later for some. It might come from wisdom, or it may come from experience. We don’t however do the same with our spiritual life.

When it comes to God we are often very flippant about our invincibility. When he is trying to draw us closer to Him, we resist and say we can deal with that "later," hoping to make a death-bed confession to squeeze into heavens doorway before it shuts on us. We make excuses of how we don’t want to change, or how God makes life boring. We say to Him, "I only have one life to live and I’ll live it my way," all the while missing the bigger picture. You do only have one life to live, but you don’t have to die spiritually.

The reality is we will all face our mortality. For many it will come sooner than we hoped. For a few, life’s years will be long and plentiful. You don’t know where your path lies. God doesn’t offer a life of boredom and gloom. God doesn’t put a yoke upon us to hold us back. God doesn’t want you to know Him in the last moments of your life. God wants to be part of your life.

God was watching me in my spiritual life, making decisions that were harmful and dangerous. Just like my Dad, He made the same offer. He offered to buy more than equipment, he purchased my life. Just like the decision I made with my Dad, I made the choice to allow Christ to be part of my life. With my trust and my heart, He will help guide me through the struggles I will encounter. With Him, I’ll face great trials, wonderful opportunities and I will experience life with a new vision I never could have hoped for alone. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.¹

If you don’t have a mountain to climb in your life, you will. With Christ I will climb my mountains. So can you.



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¹ Phillipians 4:13 (NASB)

Echo in the House

A strange sound resonated through the house this afternoon when I came in the door. It is a sound that I am vaguely familiar with. It was the sound of...nothing. When the door closed, I realized I was totally and utterly alone. At first, the sense of freedom overwhelmed, as the rush of ideas poured through my brain contemplating the possibilities of what I could do with this freedom. I ran out to the mall to get something to eat, then on impulse I went to see a movie! Not very exciting to many of you who are reading this, but to me...this kind of freedom was something I have not tasted in a long time.

Let me explain. Today, my wife and daughter flew to Seattle to see my sister-in-law for her baby shower. This affords me six days of freedom. Six days without a schedule. Six days without being responsible for my daughter. Six days of restful sleep. Ahhh....six days.

However, as the newness of the freedom has sunk in, so has the feeling of loneliness. I am feeling a little out of sorts without my wife and daughter. The house seems cold, and I feel out of touch with the two people I love most on this planet. Tonight as I talked with my daughter on the phone before she went to sleep she said, "Daddy, I want to come home." I will sleep well with that precious voice ringing in my head.

Sometimes during our sojourn with God, we take an absence without leave. You might be discouraged by a constant struggle you haven’t had victory over, or answers sought have not been found or pain has not been soothed, or yet a multitude of voices screaming that your God is nothing, has been finally heard. For some reason, you decided to take a small step off God’s path. Soon you realize, any step off God’s path...is not God’s path.

Now you stand alone. You may feel a sense of freedom. Cultural norms easily become yours, and you take count of your vast possibilities. Soon you are enveloped within your self sufficiency and you don’t expect to cross paths with God again anytime soon.

However, all seasons end. Strings that He attached to your heart so long ago are still attached, and now that string is pulling. Recognition of the emptiness begins, and now you start to hear the echo in the house. You hear the echo of the door you closed on God so long ago.

When you are ready to return to that relationship, when you are ready to engage with Him again, when you reach the point that you say to Him, "Never leave me again," he’ll respond, "I never did."

Is there an echo in your house? Is there a void in your heart because you have stepped away from God? Are you discouraged in your walk? Are the voices of science and reason confusing and contorting the Truth? Don’t walk away, walk closer.

If your house is empty, and you need someone to talk with, need guidance, study resources or encouragement feel free to contact me I’d be glad to assist you in any way.

Remember, as you get closer to Him, He’ll get closer to you.

Just leave Britney Alone!

I was thinking that it is about time that we turn the corner in my blogging posts and start tackling some of the issues of culture, and religion, taking a step outside of my immediate bubble of life.

Lets start by discussing the one person that really doesn't require any further discussion as she has been covered by so many press releases in the past year that a library could be dedicated entirely to her exploits.

My thoughts on the Britney debacle actually resonate with an oddly popular guy pleading to the masses to "just leave Britney alone", a young devotee named Chris Crocker who by some strange measure of fascination also has received his own 15 minutes of fame on the popular viral video site, www.youtube.com.

Our fascination with the pop princess begins with our personal insecurities and sense of inadequacy that we all have at some level...whether we want to admit it or not. Seeing someone at the height of her career crash down with the force of Zeus tossing a lightning bolt from Olympus gives so many of us a sense of gratification and perverted justice. Riding the scales of justice is most enjoyed when our side seems to be so elevated and lofty to those with whom we are measured.

So, like Chris Crocker I do wish we would just leave her alone. I don't plan on video taping myself in a room bathed with Britney pictures, but I will echo his sentiment.

However, I'd like to take Chris's statements a step further. Let's not leave her alone to continue in her self-deprecating spiral of disaster and self destruction. Can't we off her something else? Can't we offer her anything more than flash photography, sound bites on Dr. Phil, or laughing at her most recent fender-bender?

All of us are offered a measure of love that is unmeasurable, and acceptance from the One who has endured the worst of persecution. It is my true hope that someone somewhere can present her with an image of Christ which she will recognize as the path for her freedom, a voice that speaks to the hurt and pain, and escape for a heart that obviously languishes in the ill community of Hollywood-land.

I am not even a fan of Britney's music, however I do think she has talent. I am however a fan of the hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and the struck down. There is an answer who will keep her from being crushed, out of despair, keep her from being forsaken, and not destroyed. The answers she is seeking is still out there, and isn't found in Kabbalah, Hinduism, Humanism, or any other form of revelation through personal works.

I will pray for her from my little corner here in South Carolina, unknowing of her personally, but feeling for a fellow person with struggles and hoping that she will find not just help, but the Helper.

Are you willing to pray too? Let me know your thoughts...

Now That’s Some High Quality H20

Today's news broke a story about US water supplies tainted with a variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and sex hormones. Immediately I thought, "Finally, a low cost prescription plan!" giving way however to the reality of potential seriousness of the finding.

Of course we can quote from the movie The Waterboy, Coach Klein singing, "Water sucks, it really really sucks!" Or we can accept the fact that our government continues to let us down on more fronts, and now we can watch the "sue-happy" Americans try to cash in on the latest class action lawsuit.

The reason for the problem is our over medicated society passed "left-over" drugs through our waste (urine and feces) into sewers and treatments plants which are not cleaning the waste water adequately to purify it from these trace drugs. The water is pumped into reservoirs, lakes and rivers. Our drinking water supplied from those same reservoirs, lakes and rivers is pumped through water treatment plants, which are not removing the toxins. You then pump it right into your glass to quench your thirst. Another fitting Coach Klein quote, "Gatorade not only quenches your thirst better, it tastes better too."

As I read this report I think of an untainted water-source, purest of any water available, able to quench to greatest thirst and it's not Bling H20 which retails for around $40 a bottle.

This water provides life, washes you cleaner than any anti-bacterial soap, and also comes from an endless well. This life sustaining water is offered from Christ and He invites you to drink this water, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."¹ The best part of this water is that it won't cost a cent. The only free water I know available is now possibly tainted with prescribed medications! Christ said, "I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost."²

I've tasted this water personally, and I can tell you it is the purest available, and my soul will never thirst again. You too are invited to drink. Will you?

As Billy Boucher in The Waterboy would say, "Now that's some high quality H20!"

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¹ John 7:37
² Revelation 21:6 (NASB ©2005)