Burn, Baby, Burn?

So I got sucked into thinking about this Qur'an burning thing this dude in Florida wants to do on September 11th. When I first heard about it, I didn't think much of it one way or the other. "Yeah, that's interesting...I bet the media will blow it into a whole big deal."

My mind drifted back to Old Testament times for a bit. You know where the Israelites were supposed to cross the Jordan, go in, and take over the land, getting rid of whatever false idols were there. We just don't do that sort of thing in a physical way these days. Go figure. We don't live in the theocracy of ancient Israel. Its not really a justification for anything, that's just where my mind wandered to. And since this is my blog, you get the annoyance of following my mind down all kinds of rabbit holes.

Of course then one thinks of Paul whose mind didn't wander to where mine did. I remember where he saw a dedication in the temple -- to "the unknown God". He tried to use that. "Let me tell you about this God you don't know" he said. Of course, few were saved despite his eloquence and trying to adapt. I think that was the turning point where in his next round of efforts said "I knew nothing among you except for Christ and him crucified". I guess that shows when you don't know where to go, focus on the cross is always a smart thing.

Okay back on the train track here.

Then I heard people talk about this issue on a few Christian radio stations I listened to. Christian brothers I respect greatly seemed to think it was a pretty bonehead move simply because the act seems to be out of anger and is inciteful. Okay, I can buy that. It reminds me of that Crocodile Hunter guy. You know, the one that would go up to some really poisonous sleeping critter and poke it with a stick to see what would happen. I'm not sure that kind of thing was the brightest idea ever. So I can see one of their points. Purposefully going and ticking off a whole bunch of people doesn't really help efforts to get the gospel across to people.

The other point I don't really buy at all. The one some general made that these guys also agreed with -- that it puts American soldiers' lives in danger. Maybe, but, you know what? Our soldiers are in places where local people just don't want them to be. They're pretty much in danger no matter what.

Then, I was thinking about this before writing anything, a song came on that had in it the old school "What would Jesus do?" as part of its lyrics. I don't know what he'd do. Probably not waste his time with this one dude's public statement one way or the other? Probably say something about anger in the heart that needs to be let go? Probably say something about loving ones' enemies, forgiving them, and praying for them? I don't recall the "if someone asks you to carry their junk one mile, go two" ending with "and then throw it in the river to tick 'em off".

Then, I also I wondered if such an event where happening locally, would I bring my kids? No, no I wouldn't. What's that going to teach them? At worst it teaches some pretty unpleasant stuff. At best it teaches them to waste their time and play with fire. I don't care for either. My kids are a good measuring stick sometimes.

So, while I hold the Qur'an up to no special light and consider it full of falsehoods like so many other things, I have to concur that the public burning idea on September 11th especially is a pretty bonehead move. If you're going to destroy others' sacred things to make a statement, make a more worthwhile statement on a different date. And to do that you might have to throw in the Hindu Vedas, the Sikh Guru Granth Sahib, the Bahai Aqdas, the Book of Mormon, the Pope, business plans, car manuals, piles of dollar bills, stacks of pornography magazines, season tickets to , cable boxes, romance novels, gym membership cards, drugs, booze, designer clothes, and on and on and on.

Depending on who comes across this post, I probably offended a bunch of people just now with that last statement. That's okay. I don't plan to implement said wildfire-starting plan nor advocate it. I'm just making the simple statement that there are a million false gods in the world, whether under the name of "God", "a god" or something that doesn't "seem" like a god yet is number one in someone's life. Going after them for everyone else ain't gonna work. Just get help from the right source and eliminate them in your own life.

In short, there is one truth, revealed in one book, and through one person -- the Lord Jesus Christ.

That was rather chatty. Grace, and Peace!

The Way

Props to Brian Broderson for his exposition on John 14:6 that led to this post.

There are plenty of destinations in which there is only one way to get there. Heaven is one of them, for Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He didn't say "a way," he said "the way," period.

Now this idea that Jesus is the only way to heaven makes a lot of people mad. Many think Christians are narrow minded for believing this. Well, then, I suppose we are. If being open minded means denying what the Bible says or not believing it, then narrow minded is the correct choice. But let's at least give a good reason for that choice instead of reiterating the bold statement and leaving it there, as if we're trying to exclude people from God's kingdom.

Look at the history side of it. Jesus isn't just some fast talking carpenter dude who showed up 2000 years ago and said "hey everybody, jump on my bandwagon." No way. He came in fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy prior to being born on earth, and he came for a specific purpose.

With that in mind, go all the way back the beginning, to the first man and woman. God created mankind to be in fellowship with him. He gave that first pair of people a specific command to follow, told them the consequences of disobeying, and they blew it. That's the sort of thing that happens when you give people choice instead of making them robots. So this one act brought sin into the world and sin brought death into the world. No worries, God promised a redeemer who would come and deal with this quite large problem. The Biblical record shows the line of that redeemer get narrowed down to Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Judah, and king David. Years later, Jesus, of the line of David, is born on earth. He is the redeemer promised to the first man and woman so long ago.

What about his purpose in coming? That first pair of people sinned. That's bad. Fellowship with God was broken. They felt shame for their sin, as shown by their reaction to their nakedness that they hadn't noticed before. They attempted to cover their shame with sewed together leaves, but that wouldn't do. God instead clothed them with the skins of animals, showing that blood had to be shed to cover sin. That theme of atonement for sin wove its way into so many ancient cultures in different ways for so long until foolish philosophies like atheism showed up. Why? Because it goes all the way back to the first man and woman. Its wired in us. In the line of people from which our redeemer was to come, there was a priesthood setup where animals were sacrificed to cover the sins of the people so the could be in fellowship with God -- a lesson to show that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. The final act of atonement took place when Jesus, God incarnate, willingly gave his life up on the cross.

This is why there is one way. Jesus, and only Jesus, is the one and only promised redeemer who dealt with sin himself, restoring our fellowship with God. Through him, all can be saved, and those who come to him in repentance, are.

Grace and Peace

Change

I'm not much for politics, but I remember the mantra when Obama was running for office. "Change! We need CHANGE!" Well I know a bit about change. Obama has nothing on the LORD when it comes to it.

I pulled a file off an old hard drive tonight that listed my beliefs, or, more precisely, what used to be my beliefs less than 2 years ago. Let me highlight a few of them that were highly in error. We'll pick the top 5:

FALSE BELIEF 1: "I put faith in God, not in books, or, more precisely, not in the men responsible for the books we have today. I believe that texts written ages ago, by men, interpreted, by men, translated, by men, included or excluded from larger collections, by men, are not that reliable. I believe that it is a moot point whether any anicent text was divinely inspired or not. There have been numerous years in which numerous people could have twisted the original meaning, unintentionally, or, even worse, intentionally."

FALSE BELIEF 2: "I believe that many religions that worship God worship the same God, or aspects of God. I believe you can call God Allah, Jehovah, Christ, Brahma/Vishnu/Shiva, Ahura Mazda, or Bob, and be talking about the same God."

FALSE BELIEF 3: "I believe there are many paths to paradise, not one true and exclusive one. I choose to excercise my God-given free will to purposefully not decide to follow a specific religion that claims to be the one and only path to paradise."

FALSE BELIEF 4: "I believe that Jesus Christ could be the son of God (Christianity). I also believe that Jesus Christ could be a prophet (Islam). I also believe that Muhammad could be a prophet (Islam). I believe that Jesus Christ could have came to the Americas later (Mormonism). I believe that we could be reincarnated (Hinduism/Buddhism/Jainism)."

FALSE BELIEF 5: "I believe that, at least in this life on Earth, I will never know which of those, and which of many other core beliefs of various religions, is true and which is false. I believe guessing is not a good idea. I believe professing to believe something I may not truly believe is not a good idea, whether it would happen at random, to conform, or out of fear. I am a mere mortal and cannot possibly know which is correct and which is not; therefore, I feel it is better to acknowledge the possibility that anyone COULD be right, and, also, that NO ONE may be right."

Wow.

Its amazing to look back and read that. I sound like what the unbelieving world sounds like. The world that considers all systems equal and valid. The world that says we can't know absolute truth. The world that says there are many paths to God. The world that hates the Christian worldview.

So, before, I continue, let me clear a few things up regarding the above:

CORRECTION 1: The Bible is the authorative written word of God, recording creation, the fall of man, the promise of a savior, the fulfillment of that promise through the birth, life, death, resurrection, and asencion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a look into the future at the final restoration of God's creation.

CORRECTION 2: Many religions may worship the same God, but only Christians worship the true and living God. Any religion who denies the person, work, and deity of Jesus Christ does not worship God, but some other false god.

CORRECTION 3: Jesus said that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. Period.

CORRECTION 4: Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to earth and died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. He is not a mere prophet. Muhammad is certainly a prophet -- a false one. So is Joseph Smith; thus, Jesus Christ also did not come to the Americas after his resurrection. There is no reincarnation. We are born, we live on earth, our bodies die, and we face judgement. There are no second chances. Make your choice now to reject or accept Jesus as savior and Lord; today is the day of salvation!

CORRECTION 5: There is an abundance of evidence for the existence of God and the truth of Christianity. Many are blind to it, as I once was before God drew me to Him and showed me the truth. Absolute truth is knowable, and the truth is that all need Christ.

Now THAT'S change. The LORD did an amazing work in my heart and mind.

Also amazing is the timing of that great and wonderful work. After many years of not caring much about truth at all, I decided to write down what I believe. Mostly as an exercise for myself. But that was about it. No big epiphany. No new worldview. Just a little bit of effort to think about what I actually thought. And it was from that moment on that little seemingly unconnected events in my life all began to work together in beautiful unison that led me to the LORD, until one day in desperation I cried out to Jesus, who saved me and gave me a completely new heart.

Praise God for his love, patience, and guidance! Praise my brothers and sisters in Christ for their many prayers for my salvation!

Grace and Peace

Baggage And The Bible

Do we let Scripture transform us or do we let us transform Scripture?

One thing we all do when we approach Scripture is bring our own baggage with us. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly can be. Its a bad thing when we block God's Word from transforming us because we want it to fit into what we already believe to be true. Its a bad thing when we dismiss the truth of God's Word because that truth is hard to hear. Its a bad thing when we plug our ears to it because it tells us to do things we just don't want to do.

Let me give some examples that have popped into my head:

- As an American, I live in a nation that has crazy wealth. We are the richest people on the planet. Even those we might consider poor in this country have so much more than those in many many parts of the world. Yet how many Americans think they're rich? Very few. We think we're entitled to so much material crap and so many services that most of the people in the world just don't have. That blinds us when we read about how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God and how the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

- The world is filled with atheists, deists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, in-name-only Christians, and so on. Many in these groups preach the same thing the "politically correct" talk show hosts and politicians preach -- there are many paths to God and all are equally valid -- you have your way and I have mine. We should just be tolerant of one another. And so on. That kind of mentality affects us when we read about our good works being filthy rags in the sight of God, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that Christ died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and so on.

- There are those who claim that monogamous, or even any, homosexual relationships are not against God's will. There are those who also claim abortion is not against God's will. They shout the mantras of "Equality!" and "Choice!". Those ideas affect us also when we read God's commands.

- There are many who embrace the evolutionary theory, despite the fact its a very shaky theory at best. It isn't even compatible with the idea that sin and death entered the world because of Adam's disobedience. Yet that's okay because some atheist scientists with a God-hating agenda to push support it. Embracing such things affect us when we read about our origins, our purpose, and our very nature.

But there's something very sad about those examples I just cited. They don't come from the mouths of unbelievers only. They also come from the mouths of CHRISTIANS -- or so-called Christians at the least.

In that light I must say there is something terribly wrong with:

- Putting self, safety, security, comfort, and worldly pursuits above God, which says "God, you're number TWO, or THREE, or FOUR...and I don't really BELIEVE you when you say you'll take care of me."

- Denying that Jesus is the only way to heaven, which says "God, your sacrifice on the cross is WORTHLESS and I can get to heaven on my OWN."

- Abandoning God's commands for the sake of man's ideas, which says "God, your commandments are nice, but I'd rather do things MY WAY."

- Dismissing God's explanation of origins because some man thinks he has one that doesn't involve God, which says "God, I think WE are smarter than YOU."

I want to vomit now. This is the kind of crap we tell God when we make ourselves the authority instead of his word.

So why do it?

Because it tells us what we DON'T want to hear. That we're depraved and in desperate need of a savior. That we're not in control. That we don't know everything. That we're not the greatest beings in the universe. That we do live in a fallen and broken world. That our hearts lie to us. That some, maybe many, maybe all, of our friends, family members, and co-workers are going to hell. That we need help. That we're weak. That we need to tell people about Jesus even though its hard for us. That we're not basically good. That God doesn't want to be put in a box. That there is something more to life than entertaining ourselves. That we should spend our time and money better. That we don't really earn anything. That people will hate us. That we will suffer through trials. That God hates lukewarm, lip-service paying, I'll believe in you as long as you don't change my heart and my life, nonsense from people.

Should I go on?

So what if we don't want to hear it? Is our baggage THAT important to us? Do we insist on believing in a God only on OUR TERMS? Why, when We can have ETERNAL LIFE through Christ. When we can have a RELATIONSHIP with the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE. When we can serve the LORD OF LORDS and KING OF KINGS? That trumps EVERYTHING we could possible bring to the table and into our reading of the Word.

Let's all pray to have our hearts and minds opened more and more to the transforming power of God's Word as he speaks to us through it.

Grace and Peace