Karma

Karma, noun - action seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a next life. -Dictionary.com

Karma finds its roots in the near eastern religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Many New Age philosophies borrow from eastern practices. But all too often, I have heard people give credit to ‘karma’ who themselves claim to be Christian. There are two reasons for this and both expose a lack of faith in the God of our forefathers.

The first reason is that many people believe they can influence the universe. After all there are laws of physics that state for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. This then translates into “if I do something it will cause an equally important reaction in my life.”  “If I give money, then I will receive money. “ Or “my car broke down because I had mean thoughts about my boss.” Note well how prominent the pronoun ‘I’ is. The center of the universe for the karma believing person is the person, not God.

The second reason that people believe in karma is the desire that our works should be rewarded. If I do good, I should get a reward in this world and the next. If my good works are greater than my bad works, then it stands to reason, that I will be in heaven or have a better life in the next. This faulty belief is truly deadly. If we break just one aspect of the Law of God, we have broken the whole Law. (James 2:10) No amount of good works overcomes our guilt.  Man truly desires to want to earn his way into Heaven. Once again, the emphasis is on man and not on God and His mercy.  The ‘I’ is the center of the universe. The truth is God is at the center and He cannot be manipulated by man. And what often happens to us is not by what we caused in the universe, for we do not govern the universe, but by God’s perfect will for a greater purpose known only to him.

Jeremiah 24 illustrates this. God ordained the King of Babylon to take into exile people from Jerusalem. Jeremiah had a vision of figs, good and bad. The good were the exiles and the bad were those who chose to remain in Jerusalem. Exilic life cannot be ideal by any means but God had a purpose. While in exile they were being prepared by God to reclaim the promise land. So for 70 years, they lived among the heathen as aliens in a strange land. But the bad figs, those who held on to their land, were to be devoured by the sword of Babylon. Exile was not bad karma for the those captured by the King of Babylon. It was a time of preparation in order to return as a people whose hearts had been prepared by God. Sometimes what happens to us that we think is bad, is really God preparing us for a future season. As Jeremiah prophesies:


When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:10-14)

God is in complete control. We are not!

The Christian and Good Works

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:10)

We are meant to do good. We can do good through Christ who has freed us from sin. This passage from Paul's Letter to the Church in Ephesus tells us who we are, how we came to be and why we do what we do!

We are handcrafted by God. We are His workmanship. Can the pot say to the potter, "Why have you made me like this?" (Rom. 9:19-21) A watchmaker makes a watch to tell time. We are created by the creator to walk in good works.

How often do we question ourselves wondering if we are doing God's will? Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we are doing God's will? Do we care that we are doing God's will? As slaves of righteousness, we will want to do the Master's desires.

And we must be careful of falling into the trap of believing in anything like 'Karma'. We cannot influence the outcome of our days. We read in Scripture, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." (Prov. 16:9) and "A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?" (Prov. 20:24) God directs our every step for those who are in Christ Jesus! Can we ever stumble? Of course! But God is there to pick us up! "The steps of man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24)

When we are in Christ Jesus there are just some things we cannot help not do like meditating on the Law (Psalm 1), reading Scripture (Psalm 119:105), and daily taking up our cross (Lk. 9:23-27).  All of this is because we have the Holy Spirit in us directing our will! (Rom. 8:1-11)

Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.  (Article 12, The Articles of Religion, see also Article 13 on Works before Justification)

What Do True Christians Smell Like?

 The law of the LORD is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
    making wise the simple;
 the precepts of the LORD are right,
   rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
    enlightening the eyes; (Psalm 19:7-8)

Ray Comfort describes how our conscience is like our nose. If it is desensitized, it cannot be of any use to the rest of the person. The Smell. | The Daily Evidence

The Psalmist states the Law revives our soul. We are awakened to our nature when we hear the Law. Through repentance, we seek the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ! (Heb. 10:19-23) What once was dirty has now been made clean. But the pleasing odor of a true Christian, may be a reminder of death to an unrepentant sinner! (2 Cor. 2:14-16)

What is the Pulpit for? A Response to Faithshared.org Uniting in Prayer and Understanding

Until this past year, I have been called to well established parishes to serve as a pastor. So I have been the latest in a long line of preachers to serve a particular church. In more than one pulpit, some caring priest typed a portion of John 12:21 on a piece of paper, cut it down to size and taped it to the top of the pulpit. It reads, "Sir, we wish to Jesus." This statement was said by gentile God-fearers who desired a firsthand knowledge of the Messiah. The priest who placed it on the pulpit desired a reminder for himself and those who would follow, that in our preaching, we must show Jesus to the crowd!  When people walk into a church, they should be looking for Jesus.


This month, June 2011, churches are being encouraged to share their pulpit with Muslims and Jews to help increase our understanding of the three abrahamic faiths. Unfortunately, too many Christians do not understand Jesus let alone another religion! The website, Faithshared.org has recommended passages from the Koran to be read from a Christian pulpit. This one from Surah 5 is not on the list:


5:72-75 “They do blaspheme who say: ‘Allah is Christ the son of Mary.’ But said Christ: ‘O Children of Israel! Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’ Whoever joins other gods with Allah, Allah will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help. They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except one Allah. If they desist not from their word of blasphemy, verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them.”


Yes, Islam denies the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity. Islam considers Christians blasphemers. So I have taken it upon myself to show Jesus. What I want to do is talk about who Jesus is! I want Muslims, and everyone else for that matter, to know who Jesus is, to see HIM! There are many Christians who worship the institution, not the Christ. I have posted a video love letter. What love is it to allow someone to drive off a cliff without any warnings of the danger? The pulpit is to share the  Good News of Jesus Christ. That is what the pulpit is for!

 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word.They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:39-42, see John 4:1-45 for the entire context

We are the Artist's Creation

For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my    mother's womb. 
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Wonderful are your works; My soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13-14)

We are God's masterpiece. After the earth and heaven's were made, God, like a potter, took clay and sculpted us into His image. We are a piece of fine art!

Do we ever think of ourselves in this way? Have we ever looked in the mirror as if it were a frame and within the frame was the picture God had in mind when He created us?

Psalm 139 is a Psalm of King David. He understood perfectly well that his existence was solely at the pleasure of God. Without God, he would not be.  And this is true for us as well. God knew who we were before our parents ever conceived of us. And we are precious to our creator.

We are so precious God will not forsake us. We may forsake Him but He will not forsake us.  We are so valuable to Him that even Jesus mentions the joy of heaven when the lost are found . (Luke 15)  David wants to be the masterpiece God had in mind. Knowing that his life is dependant upon the creator, the artist, he concluded this psalm with a request: Search me, O God,  and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (vv.23-24)

Let us honor our Creator by being dependant on His Holy Spirit to lead us in all truth, the way everlasting!

An Open Letter to my Sons about Easter

I wrote this letter to my two college age sons who live on their own but I will not be able to see this holy season. My divorce from their mother was finalized over a year ago. Last spring I resigned my position from the parish I had been serving for 9 years returning to my southern home to help my sister care for our mother whose cancer had become terminal. I have yet to find a full-time position allowing me to travel and visit them. By the grace of God I do serve a small church plant in an assisting position. Our divorce culminating in my recovering from severe depression. so the remark about 'contemplating killing myself' is a reference to the suicidal thoughts I once had. So my posting this is for those who have faced or are facing, our trying to live up to our kids' expectations or percieved expectations and for families who cannot celebrate the holidays together for whatever reasons. God has healed me of my depression and all glory belongs to Him in whom we move and have our being.

Holy Week 2011

Dear Taylor & Josh~

This is letter is to let you know how much I love you and how sad I am that another major holy day of my faith is now being celebrated and I cannot spend it with you. This is not my will. My occasional background work is so few that what money I make goes to gas and to help your aunt with very little groceries. It is not enough at all to go towards any housing expenses. When your grandmother died, she left a debt on her condo and while it's on the market, the mortgage still has to be paid. So I still look for work. My hope right now is to get into a chaplaincy residency later in the summer. But for now, I put my name in for any opportunities in the local film industries suitable for a balding middle age man!

If there is any regret I have raising you two, it's not being stronger in my faith while y'all were young. There is a myth that whatever we want, God should give it to us. We are not at the center of the universe. God has already decided how our lives are supposed to be. Since we are far from perfect, sick with sin, our life is one of moving towards God, like the prodigal son returning to his father. What I am learning in my life is that my journey is just that, moving closer to God who has had my life planned from before I was conceived. This does not mean I am happy all of the time as I have to let go of my wishes, dreams and preconceived notions of how my life should be. In other words, my disappointments stem from a desire to be at the center of the universe rather than letting God be God. This, in the end, is a form of idolatry.

I share this with you as I pray for both of you daily. If I could have my way, I would be with y’all this week. But our lives are one of God using our trials and tribulations to mold us into the person He wants us to be. I must learn to accept my limitations and circumstances knowing that each day I wake up, is another day to be thankful to Him who gives me life.

This week we remember God truly gave His only begotten Son that we may have life, His Life! We are not to live for ourselves but for Him who created us in His image. Much of my parenting was spent trying to save y’all from disappointments much like my father did. And he was not a very happy person. Unfortunately, there will be that job we will not get, or we will lose, the money that is never enough. People will judge us by what we have or don’t have. Yet none of these things are important. In fact the only thing that is important is knowing who your true Father is and He is in Heaven. Yes, He killed His only begotten Son, for us! We don’t have to kill ourselves as I once contemplated doing. Trying to live for others is a losing proposition. Surrendering to God is a winning solution. We cannot control our lives, but we can give up our control to God. So those things that do not go our way, may be best for us. Jesus surrendered on the cross. Before that first Good Friday, he taught us to take up our cross and follow Him.

So today I pray that I will get a steady income to help with my obligations to y’all knowing that God directs my steps. Where I mourn today for what I cannot do, I know God will comfort me by His grace in what He can and will do. I ask that we all accept God’s providential good will knowing that He is molding our character for a future resurrection., a resurrection of eternal life for those who have turned back to God and His righteousness. The outlook is quite bleak for those whose hearts are hardened wanting to live for themselves and not for God!

I love you both very much and miss you very much. I do not know what the future holds but God knows.

May you both have a Happy Easter learning its true meaning for your lives.

Love,

Dad

The Importance of Church Attendance

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:24-31)

We shall all do well to remember the charge of the Apostle Paul–“Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is.” (Heb. 10:25). Never to be absent from God’s house on Sundays, without good reason–never to miss the Lord’s Supper when administered in our own congregation–never to let our place be empty when means of grace are going on, this is one way to be a growing and prosperous Christian. The very sermon that we needlessly miss, may contain a precious word in season for our souls. The very assembly for prayer and praise from which we stay away, may be the very gathering that would have cheered, established, and revived our hearts. We little know how dependent our spiritual health is on little, regular, habitual helps, and how much we suffer if we miss our medicine. ~ Bishop J. C. Ryle in his sermon on John 20.

Why Christianity is the Only Right Religion

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:1-6)
The way to salvation is through Jesus alone. No if's, and's, or but's! Jesus did not say, "I am one of several ways, truth is whatever you want to believe, and by the way, you are just alive as I am". Jesus is quite clear that if we wish to be holy, and righteous we must go through Him!

Our culture claims there are many ways to God and God is whatever we want God to be! There are many book from different faiths making contradictory claims on how to live and what happens when we die! If one book or system of religion claims to be true, then all other faiths must be false. Thinks about it. What is 2 + 2? We all know that 2 + 2 = 4. But what if someone said, "2 + 2 = 16!" We would know they would be wrong. The same is true for religion! There can only be one right answer!

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life! He can make this claim because He is the Son of God. It is important for us to know there is right and wrong, truth and falsehood. There is only one right answer. God in His perfect nature can only be the Truth. We, as fallen creatures, need to seek the truth and not assume we already know it. Jesus, Himself, says, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32) So, His Word is His truth! Let us abide in it, and not only will we know the truth, but we will be free to serve God for we will grow in His righteousness!

　

What Does the Church Look Like?

The answer to the above question may elicit many different responses. One person may say that the Church is a building where people gather every week to worship God according to their traditions. Someone else may reply that the Church is not a building at all but just the people gathering and worshipping God. The point is that every individual may have their own opinion as to the definition of a church. Which one is correct? I suppose one could say that each opinion is an aspect of what the Church looks like and should look like. But there is one opinion that has to be considered above all other opinions. And that opinion is not even an opinion at all but rather God's will for how He has designed the Church. To go against God's will at any time is to go against God!

So let us ask ourselves, what is God's vision for the Church? The answer to this question can be found in Scripture. The Acts of the Apostles provides a picture, a vision, for the Church. One will notice that buildings are not mentioned as being necessary for being the Church. Unless, of course, you include the prisons where the apostles found themselves in. And even there they sang songs of praise, miracles occurred and people came to believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! St. Luke, the author of Acts describes in detail the early church. It is our manual for how our church should look today. Today we can make the mistake of looking to churches on television as examples of what the church should look like. Such popular churches are indeed successful. Successful in the eyes of the world that is! And that is a problem. God will never use worldly standards to judge the success of the Church. In fact, each individual is called to renounce all aspects of the world when becoming a Christian. St. John writes, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15) St. Paul also states, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2)

Is it wrong, then, not to desire a large Church? No, as long as the true Gospel is preached whereby we hear the Word of Faith, repenting of our sins and our worldly self and becoming a new creation in Jesus . A godly Church is a place where Jesus is the Good Shepherd calling the lost back to Himself, regenerating our hearts. The problem with many large American churches is that people attend for the celebrity status of the preacher, the feel of the sports stadium or it is like a rock concert. In other words, they are attending for their feelings. They are not really leaving the world. The success of the Church will always be judged not by the world, but by God our Father who is looking not at numbers but at our hearts! A successful church is a church where hearts are changed and souls are saved!

What is Jesus Teaching You?

Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. Matthew 23:10ESV


Jesus is speaking to His disciples exhorting them not to be like the scribes and Pharisees who desire to place heavy burdens on the peoples’ shoulders. Jesus is emphasizing His role as our instructor, our teacher. We recognize Jesus as a savior from our sins. We call Him Lord of our lives. But we also need to see Christ as our teacher.

We have the Scriptures that teach us what God has said giving us knowledge of His will for our lives. But in our lives that we live daily, we can also see Christ directing events in such a way that He has something to teach us. Not everything goes our way. When times are frustrating in our lives, we should look to Jesus as our teacher. When we are not happy, we should ask the Lord, what is it that we need to learn. Is there something that we need to change in our lives that would reflect God’s will for us. Perhaps it is just an attitude. A rich ruler, a man with power and money asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The ruler quickly learned no one is good but the Father in heaven. And he also learned that keeping the commandments were not enough. He loved his money more than God. In other words, he saw where he needed to change. But we know how the story ends, the rich ruler went away very sad. (Luke 18:18-25) Happiness would have come if he had let go of his possessions. What is Jesus teaching you?

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30ESV)

Jesus is the Answer to Islam, Bhuddists, Hindus and CHRISTIANS!

With all the news in the USA regarding the proposed mosque/community center at Ground Zero, I thought it worthwhile to remind all of us (whoever us might be) what sets Christianity apart from other religions. But first let me say that as an American, the denial of the mosque being built will challenge the legality of such a decision under the Bill of Rights. This article is about what makes Christianity different from other religions. Having said that, let me say also that most Christians do not know what Christianity is about.

All non-Christian religions are systems of works righteousness. Do this and that and you will escape suffering, have a better life in the future, be rewarded, etc. And yes, many TV preachers who call themselves Christian appear to espouse the same! Christianity is really about what one person has done for those who believe in Him. It is not one more organization with buildings and ritual. Jesus is the object of our worship not because he makes sense when it is convenient to our particular needs but he has saved us from that fiery demise promised to all sinners. And we are all sinners. My membership in a church does not save me from that demise! Jesus teaches us that no one is good. (Mark 10:18) Later Jesus also teaches us we cannot save ourselves. That impossible feat is left to God. (Mark 10:27) Hence, we need to understand who we are in relationship to Jesus and His death upon the cross. When we scream at people (an act of violence on a smaller scale) we force them to see us as an enemy. And when we force people to see us rather than Jesus who alone is to be glorified, we are guilty of idolatry for we make ourselves more important than the one who does all the work in our lives. Jesus came to change our hearts. This is done by hearing the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. We deserve punishment for all our sins and by His death upon the cross, Jesus has saved me from deserved judgement. As King David says in Psalm 51, The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart. (17) A changed heart results from an experience of God's mercy. We cannot earn our way into paradise. The way is narrow and only God can change us through His grace. This is true for all people including Chrisitans in name only! Faith in Christ comes from hearing the Gospel. Not proclaiming who is right. ( Romans 10:14-21)

Never Stop Feeding the Soul

At least I believe that as long as there is breath in one's body, prayer is efficacious and the Word of God can still bear fruit. After all, it is God at work and nothing can stop His saving grace. These are my thoughts as I pray for my mother who is in the last days of life imprisoned in her body diseased with cancer.

And why am I reflecting on this? The beginning of this year, my churchgoing mother confessed that she did not believe in an afterlife. As an orthodox Christian I do believe in an afterlife as revealed in Scripture. When her cancer was diagnosed as terminal, Mom declined any further treatments resigning herself to death as it was inevitable. As her health declined, she began not attending church as well as refusing communion from the lay Eucharistic ministers who would come by her apartment. This was her choice. But I have to give some credit for my beliefs to Mom and Dad as they raised me in the church. Growing up we heard bible based preaching. So seeds must have been planted.

But as I have grown, so has my theology. I pretty much am a Calvinist, a good 5 pointer if you know what I mean. God chooses us, we do not choose Him! Who is to say, that God cannot redeem Mom's soul while she lies in bed, now unable to speak, unable to eat? The parish Mom has been attending preaches a works righteousness. Outside of the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist, there is not a proclamation of the Gospel. Didn't Jesus say something about it being worse for those who cause someone to stumble? (Matthew 18:6) Is it not Jesus who calls us to life as we are dead in our sins and therefore cannot speak for ourselves? (Ephesians 2:1-5) I ponder these things as I have been exploring the burial rite from the American Book of Common Prayer in preparation for my mother's funeral. While doing this I have been reading the suggested Scripture readings to Mom aloud as she can still hear. And one suggestion from St. John's Gospel struck me with profundity.

²⁴ “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. ²⁵ Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, ²⁷ and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:24-29, New King James Version)

If the dead can hear, why not a soul in a body close to physical death? Why can't a soul awaken to new life even if the body is broken? After all, God Himself will show mercy on whom He desires. But how will a person believe if there is not a preacher sharing the Word? (Romans 10:14-17) So if you have a loved one dying, never stop praying, never stop feeding the soul!

The Need to Repent

Today is the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. His ministry was to call us to repentance preparing the Way of the Lord. It seems in the modern church that repentance is discussed very little. The meaning of the word repent is to have a deep sorrow for ones condition or behavior. The Greek word, 'metanoia' has the sense of changing one's heart or one's mind. Basically, we are to have a profound change in our attitude and behavior. One that turns away from our self-centeredness and toward total dependence on Christ as Lord, the ruler of our lives and savior, the propitiation for our just punishment of eternal damnation. Hence, we must know our condition to know Jesus' position.

In order to bear fruit that is worthy of repentance, we cannot choose to do whatever we like thinking it will be good enough for God. We must understand that we must change and that only God can change us! How often do we think we are alright as it is? Do we have an understanding of ourselves that says that all is not all right with us and One greater than us who is perfect must come into our hearts for our sake. And for our sake must be for the sake of The Kingdom. In other words, the end of our lives must be the beginning of our life for Him who was crucified died, and was buried! To say we believe in God is far different than saying our hard hearts are broken by the Him who died for us. Such a broken heart is necessary for new birth and that can only be done on Jesus' terms. Anything else is by our own initiative disregarding the Other's sovereignty!

Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Can We Believe Anything We Want?

Can we believe anything we want? If we can, then we are the creator of our belief. If each one of us who is not perfect by any means created whatever belief we wanted in order to order our world, then we claim ourselves as the final authority. Let's look at this logically.

All humans have their own personal beliefs.
All Humans are not perfect nor eternal.
Thus, all human beliefs are not perfect nor eternal.

If we can believe anything we want, then why just limit our subjective beliefs to religion? Why not apply them to other disciplines like mathmatics. Perhaps I choose to believe that 2+2=16 rather than 4. What would happen to my checkbook if I maintained this belief? Religious beliefs are the same way. It does matter how we believe. And who, what and where is our authority in determining our right beliefs?

We, humans are not perfect nor did we make ourselves. Hence, we must seek the knowledge of the one true God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ!

Revival

When we think of revival, we may think of a big tent and a service to move our souls to repentance. But in his book, The God of Second Chances, Eric Kobell returns the reader to the authentic meaning of the word, revival. It means to make alive again. To make alive again is what Jesus does!
Now if we need to be made alive again, then there is the presumption we must be dead! In fact we are dead. We are dead men walking! Everyone of us will die. It is our reward for the sin we inherited from our primal parents eons ago. Long ago, first man and woman were created in the image of God, eternal. Adam and Eve were in their naked splendor playing in the Garden of Eden. (cf. Genesis 3:1ff) This garden had at its center the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. To make freedom real, Adam and Eve were given choices. But choices do have their consequences. For if you eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, on that day you will surely die, God said with loving authority. Tempted by a talking snake, Eve bites the fruit and gives it to her husband. As the story goes, their eyes were opened and they saw they were naked. Now let’s pause right here! Were Adam and Eve blind stumbling through the garden inventing words to say when they stubbed their big toe on a rock? No! They could see. But everything they saw was without judgment. They did not know what they saw bad or good! Once, they ate that juicy fruit, they had the capacity to make a judgment. And that judgment was whether something was good or evil! And so they looked over each other and did not like what they saw and were ashamed. Their nakedness was not a God created piece of art anymore, it was something that needed to be covered up as Adam and Eve were different from one another. Their true self did die that day in the Garden as a false self pretending to act like a god took over. When we recognize our differences, we often make a judgment defining what is good and bad! No longer could Adam and Eve be with each other. They had to hide from each other and ultimately from God who is perfect in Being! So in a sense, they died to the potential of their being. And God could not have them living forever with this capacity to judge what is good and bad as they could no longer see as God sees. Forbidden to partake of the Tree of Life, they would indeed die one day.
We can see the effects of this wayward knowledge by contemplating the humble half-glass of water. We all know the half-glass of water is a litmus test for humankind. The pessimist sees the glass as half empty and the optimist sees it as half-full. In truth, we do not know if the glass is being emptied or being filled. But we make a judgment based on our desire to know what we think is true. We pretend to be God! We cannot be all-knowing like our Creator. Like Adam and Eve, what God sees and what we want to see can be two different things. To solve this problem, God sent His Son into the world to save us from all judgment. But Jesus’ incarnation was not just about defeating death, the cost for our disobedience, but to show us how to be alive once again. After all, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6)
St. John the Evangelist tells of an encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. (cf. John 4:1ff) Jesus is thirsty and wants a glass of water. That’s right, the proverbial glass of water existed in Jesus’ time! But the Samaritan woman could not see a thirsty man. Because of sin, our separation from God and one another, she could only see a Jew, just one more man whose people have been mean-spirited to her people. She could not see the possibility that this Jew did not mind associating with her! Jesus responds with His Being, His desire to give life, revival to her soul by saying, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink’, you would ask Him and He would give you living water.” The woman still cannot see beyond her reality. “Where’s your bucket?” she demands. “Just how can you give living water if you have no bucket?” But Jesus, not missing a beat, says this well will have to be drawn many times as we all get thirsty. But He will give us water that will be like a well within us springing up for eternal life. We will never be thirsty again. Seeing an opportunity to avoid the gossip of the well, she asks for this water. And Jesus asks that she go get her husband at which point she confesses to Him that her partner is not her husband. Jesus knew this all along and tells the truth about the temporary nature of her relationships. Now the Samaritan woman sees who Jesus really is, the Christ, the Giver of Life. She goes home exclaiming to everyone, “Come, see a Man who told me everything I did!” Can we hear the excitement in her voice? Gone are the categories that seek to define who we are. Jesus sees her nakedness and seeing His non-judgment in her desire for revival, goes and exclaims to all who will listen, “Come, see the Man who sees me as I am!”
Most of us hide who we really are. We have learned to judge ourselves as either half-empty or half-full when all along we are just a glass of water. But Jesus desires to fill us with new life, to revive us. He knows who we are. We cannot impress Him! We are naked to Him. Our need to be like God desiring to know what is right and wrong gets in the way of seeing God in our midst. Remember God walking in the Garden after Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience. His call was, “Where are you? Who told you were naked” But now Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Mt. 11:29) How we go about life can be a burden if we do not look for what God is doing, for He is present in our midst. The Samaritan woman was burdened by the collective story of her people as outsiders, and by her story of failed relationships. But Jesus says to her come, and drink from my well. Let Me revive you! You do have a second chance!
Korbell writes, “If in our estrangement we are to be brought back to life, it will be less because of the circumstances of our lives change than that our perceptions of them do.” (p. 132) The woman at the well was still a Samaritan not married to the man with whom she lives. But she became alive telling all in her community who was willing to give her eternal life in spite of her condition. We become connected to God and each other if we allow that well of life to feed our souls, to revive us.
This happened to me not long ago while standing at the checkout line at Hannaford’s. There I am at the express line waiting for the woman ahead me. Here I am in the express line with only one item to purchase and she had a cart with several items. Not a small red basket but a big cart with wheels. One at a time she would put her items on the conveyer belt. I was certain in my all-knowing way she had 15 items when the sign said 14 maximum. Once all items had been tallied, the customer proceeded to make sure the clerk would have the exact change which meant a detailed search through her purse for every penny that was hiding. How much longer will this take I ask looking at my watch. Out of my self-centered impatience, I beseech God asking to move this woman along! Then in the silence of my heart, God showed me what He saw. There before me was his daughter, my sister, an heir of His Kingdom. She may not have known it but as far God the Father was concerned, He saw her as precious. I, too, then saw her as He saw her. Time did not seem to matter anymore. In fact, she could take all the time she wanted. After all, she was on God’s time. I said a silent pray asking that she may see herself as God saw her. And asking my Father in Heaven to forgive me for not seeing the world as He saw it! In spite of my sin of being self-centered, I saw her in a different light. I was given a second chance to see what God sees by being refreshed with the well-spring of life! Rather than judging the glass of water as having to be something to fit my category, I just saw a glass of water. I just saw this woman as a child of the living God, neither too slow nor too fast! Neither too young or too old. God sees us as we are, naked with nothing to brag about. It is we who judge ourselves and each other. We make ourselves live under the judgment we inherited from our first parents in Paradise long ago. But through Christ, we can live again. No longer do we have to be blind to the beauty of others seeing only liberals or conservatives, blue eyed or brown eyed, smart or dumb. If we want, He will revive us when we accept the simple invitation to drink from His eternal wellspring of life seeing life as he sees it!
In fact, we are left with these words of our hope in Jesus by John who writes in the last chapter of our bible, “Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come. ‘Let anyone who hears this say, ‘Come.’ Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.” (Rev. 22:1-5, 14, 17) Revival is God’s promise for us in Christ Jesus. It is ours if we see our lives as He already sees it! Amen.

When The Church is Sick!

¹⁹ And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
²⁰ But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. ²³ And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, ²⁴ but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, ²⁵ that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. ²⁶ And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. ²⁸ And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:19-31, New King James Version)

The Essence of Prayer

So often when we pray, we present to God what we want. But think about it! We are not God and what we want may not be God's will! We can pray for ourselves but we must have an honest assesment of what we need and what God is willing to provide! Read the Lord's prayer carefully. We ask God's kingdom to come and HIS will be done! Hence, the the Lord's prayer is prayer at its essence!

Do we really determine our life?

²⁴ A man’s steps are of the LORD;
How then can a man understand his own way?
(Proverbs 20:24, New King James Version)

²⁴ The Lord decides what a person will do;
no one understands what his life is all about. (Proverbs 20:24, New Century Version)

Here is Proverbs 20:24 in two versions. Both imply humankind is at the mercy of God's will! Please comment below how you feel this verse speaks to the Truth of God! Or, if Christ is in us, then can we trust Him to lead us where He wills?

Signs and Wonders are for today!

³ So surely we also will be punished if we ignore this great salvation. The Lord himself first told about this salvation, and those who heard him testified it was true. ⁴ God also testified to the truth of the message by using wonders, great signs, many kinds of miracles, and by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted.      (Hebrews 2:3-4, New Century Version)