Christian Haters, What's Up With That?

     I was reading a blog today by a gentleman named Michael Weinstein, a lawyer, author, civil rights activist, and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.  Mr. Weinstein is militantly opposed to Christianity, particularly the exercise and or spread of Christianity in our nation’s armed forces.  In the subject blog, posted April 16 of this year, Mr. Weinstein addressed fundamental Christians as “monsters who terrorize their fellow Americans by forcing their weaponized and twisted version of Christianity upon their helpless subordinates in our nation’s armed forces.”  The tone of this blog, in conjunction with its vitriolic nature, clearly reveals Mr. Weinstein’s lack of civility in the matter and furthermore his complete lack of understanding or perception as to what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  I would, therefore, like to address a few of what appear to be the underlying presumptions of Mr. Weinstein’s position concerning Christians and what we believe. 

    

Jonah and Harrison Okene

Jonah of the Bible has nothing on a man named Harrison Okene.  On May 26, 2013 three Nigerian tug boats were towing a tanker at sea.  Without warning, the tug boat Harrison Okene was on rolled over and sank in 100 feet of water in the Atlantic Ocean.  The tug boat came to rest on the bottom of the ocean, upside down.  It was presumed by all concerned that the 12 man crew of Okene’s tug boat perished.  What they did not know was Okene had found a compartment with an air pocket and he was alive in the upside down tug boat on the bottom of the ocean, 100 feet down.  A diving salvage team was about 75 miles away and they were called in to recover the bodies of the crew.  Imagine the surprise of the diver who swam into the compartment where Okene was and found him alive.  Okene had survived some 3 days, 36 plus hours in the dark on the bottom of the ocean.  Okene was rescued and according to many news outlets, gives God all the glory for hearing his prayers and delivering him from death.  What an amazing story. 

Thanksgiving 2013: Are You Thankful?

     Thanksgiving is only a few days away.  I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the relaxation and fellowship with family and friends around the Thanksgiving meal.  Then there is the grandest of American traditions, laying on the couch while watching parades and football, all the while drifting in and out of a nap.  Yep, Thanksgiving Day is a great day of the year.  Of course, this line of thinking set me to wondering how many people are truly thankful, especially given that we have this national holiday set aside for that very purpose?  Here are a few thoughts we might consider together when it comes to being thankful.

Atheism, What Is It?

         Not long ago I was talking with a man who said very candidly that he did not believe in God.  He seemed almost proud to proclaim he was an atheist.  In fact, he proclaimed his atheistic position as if it were some indication that he was somehow enlightened to ultimate reality.  The sad truth is, this particular gentleman labeled himself an atheist and there was not the slightest bit of evidence that he really understood what atheism is all about.  The following are some basic concepts and thoughts concerning atheism and how the position is completely untenable when examined in light of absolute truth.

Church Growth 101

When we talk about church growth in the 21^st century we are almost exclusively speaking of how many people attend the local church gathering on a weekly basis, predominately Sunday morning.  Mega churches seem to be the pinnacle of achievement in the ministry with the idea that larger is better and larger is the margin by which we measure success.  I think we would agree, there is nothing inherently wrong with a numerically large church.  A lot of ministry can be accomplished in the name of Jesus when a large number of believer’s pool God’s resources and spiritual gifts.  However, is numerical achievement really the biblical measure of success?  Is a church with 600 attendees on Sunday morning more successful than the church with 300, or 200, or 100?  Is the mega church paradigm what every pastor and church staff should be reaching for?  Let’s think about it.

Miley Cyrus, Bashar Assad, and Natural Law

            Sometimes I read things in the news that are almost unbelievable in either their ridiculousness or their heinousness.  On the ridiculous side we have a 20 year old Miley Cyrus performing (?) or dancing like she has lost her mind. Her father has to be real proud of the way she has been acting lately.  Then on the heinous side we have a Syrian regime under Bashar Assad who is using chemical weapons to kill their own people.  How sad to live in a country where the government will use weapons of mass destruction on its own people.  I could sit here all day listing news events that make us shake our heads in utter disbelief that someone would dare think these actions are acceptable choices to make.  Do these people know better?  Yes, they know better and yet choose to do what they know is wrong.  Let’s think about how they know better.

  

Are You A Good Example?

As Christians we spend a lot of time talking about being a witness to the lost world, and rightfully so.  One of the last things Jesus said before He ascended back to heaven was for His followers, His church, to make disciples throughout the whole world (Matthew 28.19-20).  However, I was thinking today about how we are witnesses to one another in the body of Christ.  The truth is, our witness in the body of Christ is just as important as our witness outside the body of Christ.  As a maturing and growing child of God you have the potential to be a tremendous example to other Christians of what it looks like to walk with Jesus in this life.  The apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11.1).  What an amazing idea.  The church meeting together for worship, believers interacting with one another throughout the week, all the while sharpening one another with the example of their walk and obedience to Jesus.  Could it be that this is one of the reasons the writer to the Hebrews commanded us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10.25)?  Beloved child of God, what kind of example are you setting for others in the church?  Is your life a light that others might follow as they too learn to follow Jesus?