I had something else I was going to post in relation to ending one year and beginning another and looking back and alll that cheesy stuff everyone's doing on their blogs around this time.
But something has been on my mind a little bit lately.
Now I know most of you who frequent my blog do so for some reason or another. If you didn't like it you wouldn't read it, or so I assume. And also, I'm not one that blogs TO get comments, but the type of feedback I've been getting here and on xanga lately has really made second guess something about my posts. Am I really negative or something lately?
Most of the feedback I've gotten has been pretty argumentative/defensive or, well negative and judgmental. The reason I can't tell is because obviously we don't see our own blindspots, but most of my frequent readers--detractors and fans alike have said so little to me lately, that I don't know if the comments I have been getting recently are justified. Am I really just writing nasty entries nobody wants to read except complete strangers going around faultfinding or starting arguments, or people wanting to warn me to be ready for the rapture and not be left behind (I hate spam, but that was on xanga not here)?
One of my New Year's vows I guess is to do what I talk about and not be a weekend warrior with my postings on blogger, but have testimonies to share. How "revolutionary" are we in our societies if we don't actually start a revolution?
Secondly, the whole reason I blog is primarily to teach, motivate, edify the people who are reading this regularly INTO doing something--not stir up trouble or flex a theoligical muscle. Sometimes I get positive e-mails from some of you and think "man, why didn't you post that the comments for all to see how special I am" and have my ego stroked about things. Then I get negative ones once in a while, not too often but it happens, and I think "man, I'm glad that was in e-mail instead of commenting on my blog" for all to see.
I don't mind comments of any kind--I know some of you fail to believe that--and I've addressed it once in the past that by saying I'll only delete any if they're inappropriate. I've never deleted any and never will delete any just because it has viewpoints different than my own (right Noah?) I've only deleted spam, so that gives you an idea of where my personal line is.
But for those of you negative people out there just going around fault-finding and picking fights with people because you're God's "heresy hunter" and have to correct everyone for anything, look for someone else. When I don't like a blog, I don't read it (sounds pretty simple, everyone say "duh!" here). Pretty much all of you reading this know how to show respect and are good at voicing your opinions in a Christlike manner, so I don't imagine this will be a problem. And comments are good ways of having my blindspots pointed out and finding out boundaries I'm stepping over or rebukes I may need. I don't know what proper "blog etiquette" is, but I certainly know what not to do and what I would never say and do on others' blogs.
That being said, if I've been writing with a negative spirit and belittling any other views, I apologize. I have said before I try not to belittle people for their views, I will just state and explain why I do or don't feel some way. If "hyper sovereingtist'' offended anyone (nobody has said it did) I apologize, but it accurately describes the extreme view of Calvinism I've taken on in the posts where I've used the term. I really can't think of any examples of offending any other viewpoint other than someone not liking that previous atheist joke (and it wasn't an atheist writing!)--but if I do make any readers feel belittled, then I deeply apologize. My intentions are motivation, not making people want to argue. I don't mind feedback, but for entries where I don't want it I'll say so (I've done that a a few times before).
Anyway, I hope you all have been having a Merry Christmas and have a wonderful 2006 and see abundantly more of God's hand in your life than you did the year before. May all your great expectations be realized.
Steve
sábado, diciembre 31, 2005
viernes, diciembre 30, 2005
Faith requires action
Here is the continuation of the previous post, just like I promised.
For some reason I’ve never heard this passage of Scripture used for any purpose other than legalism and salvation—people quoting from it to show how you’re not a Christian because you do things, but doing things are evidence that you are saved, like how an apple tree grows apples and so on.
While that is true, and I have no problem with people using that passage to teach that, it goes further and lots of practical application can be drawn from James 2:14-26. Give it a careful read, or my written entry might seem touch and go;
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
The simplest explanation I’ve ever heard for faith was when I was sixteen. It was that faith is not mentally believing a chair will hold your weight IF you sit down on it. Faith is only faith when it is accompanied by the action of going ahead and sitting down in it and not worrying if the chair will cave in under you or not. You know it won’t, even though you have not tried it before with that particular chair, and are totally unaware of whether all the legs are holding up properly or if there’s anything wrong with it. You have no evidence yet that it will support your weight, other than for lack of a better word—‘assuming’ it will.
Abraham did not have faith just because mentally he believed God would keep His promise. His faith was demonstrated by how he left his home and followed God somewhere else. He had faith BECAUSE he demonstrated it by putting Isaac on that altar.
Faith has everything to do with action. Most people don’t like that idea, but we can’t sidestep verse 26 that says “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
It’s not merely believing that God can speak words of knowledge about people to you for you to speak towards their edification—it’s opening your mouth and sharing it and knowing and trusting God that you’re speaking forth his heart and not your own imagination.
Faith is not merely believing that God ‘can’ or ‘does’ heal today. It’s stepping out and receiving our own healing or laying hands on a sick person and they get better.
Faith is not merely believing that the Gospel is true, but as Romans 9 says it’s believing in your heart AND doing something--in this versse, it’s speaking with your mouth that Jesus is Lord-which by the way is not just a salvation prayer (if it is even that), but is a constant and continual lifestyle, not just a one time thing.
So many things about faith are not just believing in your heart, but appropriate actions that accompany them. I don’t respond this way to a lot of people, but when many say to me “I agree (or believe) that the Bible says this or that” about any particular topic related to miracles, in my mind I think to myself “well so what?—you’re not living like it--there's no demonstration accompanying your statement/profession/confession.” The same with people who say to me they are Christians but are in actuality are living a lifestyle of sin and immorality, or just simply they exhibit the fruit opposite of what the Bible says is fruit of the Holy Spirit--ok, these people I do say things to!—and it doesn’t matter if you say you mentally agree with it if you don’t demonstrate fruit worthy of repentance. It takes almost nothing of us to mentally believe something is true or accurate. The rubber meets the road when we act on the truth.
What does the Word of God say the Master will tell his servant on that day? “Well believed my good and faithful servant?” No, but well DONE. Again I repeat myself, I’m not talking about actions are what make us right with God—that’s legalism. But actions demonstrating our faith, and they demonstrate we belong to God and that we are in obedience to what the Lord says in His Word.
What of Rahab the prostitute?
Would she be recorded as an example in James here if she only “believed in her heart” that the two spies were from Israel and that God was giving Israel the land of Canaan. If she merely ‘believed’, her and her family would not have been spared. It was from DOING something that Scripture records her actions and honors her so many generations later for us to read.
Faith involves action.
For some reason I’ve never heard this passage of Scripture used for any purpose other than legalism and salvation—people quoting from it to show how you’re not a Christian because you do things, but doing things are evidence that you are saved, like how an apple tree grows apples and so on.
While that is true, and I have no problem with people using that passage to teach that, it goes further and lots of practical application can be drawn from James 2:14-26. Give it a careful read, or my written entry might seem touch and go;
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God.
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
The simplest explanation I’ve ever heard for faith was when I was sixteen. It was that faith is not mentally believing a chair will hold your weight IF you sit down on it. Faith is only faith when it is accompanied by the action of going ahead and sitting down in it and not worrying if the chair will cave in under you or not. You know it won’t, even though you have not tried it before with that particular chair, and are totally unaware of whether all the legs are holding up properly or if there’s anything wrong with it. You have no evidence yet that it will support your weight, other than for lack of a better word—‘assuming’ it will.
Abraham did not have faith just because mentally he believed God would keep His promise. His faith was demonstrated by how he left his home and followed God somewhere else. He had faith BECAUSE he demonstrated it by putting Isaac on that altar.
Faith has everything to do with action. Most people don’t like that idea, but we can’t sidestep verse 26 that says “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
It’s not merely believing that God can speak words of knowledge about people to you for you to speak towards their edification—it’s opening your mouth and sharing it and knowing and trusting God that you’re speaking forth his heart and not your own imagination.
Faith is not merely believing that God ‘can’ or ‘does’ heal today. It’s stepping out and receiving our own healing or laying hands on a sick person and they get better.
Faith is not merely believing that the Gospel is true, but as Romans 9 says it’s believing in your heart AND doing something--in this versse, it’s speaking with your mouth that Jesus is Lord-which by the way is not just a salvation prayer (if it is even that), but is a constant and continual lifestyle, not just a one time thing.
So many things about faith are not just believing in your heart, but appropriate actions that accompany them. I don’t respond this way to a lot of people, but when many say to me “I agree (or believe) that the Bible says this or that” about any particular topic related to miracles, in my mind I think to myself “well so what?—you’re not living like it--there's no demonstration accompanying your statement/profession/confession.” The same with people who say to me they are Christians but are in actuality are living a lifestyle of sin and immorality, or just simply they exhibit the fruit opposite of what the Bible says is fruit of the Holy Spirit--ok, these people I do say things to!—and it doesn’t matter if you say you mentally agree with it if you don’t demonstrate fruit worthy of repentance. It takes almost nothing of us to mentally believe something is true or accurate. The rubber meets the road when we act on the truth.
What does the Word of God say the Master will tell his servant on that day? “Well believed my good and faithful servant?” No, but well DONE. Again I repeat myself, I’m not talking about actions are what make us right with God—that’s legalism. But actions demonstrating our faith, and they demonstrate we belong to God and that we are in obedience to what the Lord says in His Word.
What of Rahab the prostitute?
Would she be recorded as an example in James here if she only “believed in her heart” that the two spies were from Israel and that God was giving Israel the land of Canaan. If she merely ‘believed’, her and her family would not have been spared. It was from DOING something that Scripture records her actions and honors her so many generations later for us to read.
Faith involves action.
jueves, diciembre 29, 2005
Faith is not mental
So after writing that recent entry about building our faith up and looking at Abraham’s life, I knew I’d be re-visiting this topic a few more times and who knows, maybe write entries about faith for a while, since it’s not a topic we can exhaust or a well we could ever tap dry.
The following is a ‘non-sequel’ sequel entry to that post--that’s to say I won’t sit down and list more examples of things to do that build our faith, but will pull out some more stuff as it relates to Abraham and Sarah.
Our text this time will be based from the book of Hebrews:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
(Heb 11:8-12)
The approach to this entry will be pretty simple (as usual). I post that passage, knowing fully well that statistically speaking, over 70% you will skip it. But please, scroll back up and read the passage carefully, and prayerfully journey through this with me and see what we come up with together (that means I don’t care or mind if you provide feedback this time).
That whole chapter is one worthy of study since we generally know it as the ‘hall of faith chapter’, but that term gets thrown around so much we forget that it is the FAITH chapter.
The key thing that jumps out at me from looking at it: Faith requires obedience.
Abraham didn’t take time to think about it. He didn't go consult all his spiritual mentors to see the consensus on what he should do. The original passage in Genesis details that when God called him, Abraham left his land. But not only that, he left not knowing where he was going.
Interesting.
If you’re like me, you have to admit to yourself everything in us fights this act of obedience and we don’t like stepping out UNLESS we know where God is taking us.
I know from experience, I’ve begun speaking a prophetic word for or to someone, and have no clue where I was going with it until once I started to share what little God had already given me for them. I’d open my mouth, and share the little bit I knew to share, and as I shared, more would enter in my spirit or mind to share, and then more, and like a chain-link it just kept coming and when I was done, couldn’t help but think “man! I’m glad I stepped out and delivered that!” But when prophesying, sometimes usually you don’t even have the whole message until you step out and begin to share that first ‘link’ in the chain, and then the rest of the chain starts to come out as well.
Sometimes also, we mentally KNOW God heals and we give mental ascent to the Word of God, but we don’t actually step out and pray for a sick person. When the obedience required from faith would have us go for it and ‘not know where we’re going’ sometimes. I’ve had instances where I prayed for someone with one eye open in case what I was praying for really came to pass because I had to admit it seemed like “what am I doing!” and I didn’t want to miss it. There’s nothing wrong with mentally doubting things, but there’s something wrong with not obeying God with the thing He’s compelling you to step out and do.
Sometimes we think if a thought of doubt goes into our heads for a split second at all, that that means we have doubted and sinned and we’re not acting or praying in faith and the prayer won't be answered as a result.
Have any of you reading this ever seen the original Ghostbusters movie? If you haven’t then do NOT go rent it because in hindsight it’s pretty demonic, but recall with me if you have seen it, the climax at the end. The woman-man-dude-monster-thing that the four main characters have set out to annihilate tells them they will be destroyed by whatever they imagine. And suddenly, out of nowhere comes this big giant King Kong-sized “Stay-puff Marshmallow Man”walking through the streets of New York. Three of the characters look to a fourth one as he explains that he tried to think of the most harmless thing possible, and the marshmallow man was what “popped into mind”. So this was the way they were going to be destroyed—all because Dan Aykroyd’s character “accidentally let it pop into mind.”
Doubt is NOT like that, my friends.
Doubt is not accidentally having a thought pop into your mind saying “this won’t happen.” Real doubt and unbelief comes when, like the opposite of obeying in faith, you act on the doubt and don’t step out in obedience. Doubt is “they won’t get healed, therefore I won’t bother trying.” Doubt and disobedience are tightly intertwined.
I guarantee you, if Abraham packed up his stuff and ideas were going through his head like “what if this God is a liar and He’s not taking me anywhere?”, from reading the account we can see that clearly he didn’t ACT on those doubts. If he really doubted, he never would have left his homeland.
And I know, some of you are thinking of the passage in the first chapter of James that says “let him ask in faith without doubting” and about the double-minded man tossed by every wave, and so forth. Keep in mind what we’ve just established—that faith requires obedience or it is not really faith. I will cover in an upcoming post on James 2 on faith and works—that if faith is not faith unless accompanied by works, than neither is doubt really doubt unless it is acted on [and we disobey]. You'll see.
Keep posted, I’ve got like several other things I want to devote entire posts to in the days to come where faith is concerned.
The following is a ‘non-sequel’ sequel entry to that post--that’s to say I won’t sit down and list more examples of things to do that build our faith, but will pull out some more stuff as it relates to Abraham and Sarah.
Our text this time will be based from the book of Hebrews:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
(Heb 11:8-12)
The approach to this entry will be pretty simple (as usual). I post that passage, knowing fully well that statistically speaking, over 70% you will skip it. But please, scroll back up and read the passage carefully, and prayerfully journey through this with me and see what we come up with together (that means I don’t care or mind if you provide feedback this time).
That whole chapter is one worthy of study since we generally know it as the ‘hall of faith chapter’, but that term gets thrown around so much we forget that it is the FAITH chapter.
The key thing that jumps out at me from looking at it: Faith requires obedience.
Abraham didn’t take time to think about it. He didn't go consult all his spiritual mentors to see the consensus on what he should do. The original passage in Genesis details that when God called him, Abraham left his land. But not only that, he left not knowing where he was going.
Interesting.
If you’re like me, you have to admit to yourself everything in us fights this act of obedience and we don’t like stepping out UNLESS we know where God is taking us.
I know from experience, I’ve begun speaking a prophetic word for or to someone, and have no clue where I was going with it until once I started to share what little God had already given me for them. I’d open my mouth, and share the little bit I knew to share, and as I shared, more would enter in my spirit or mind to share, and then more, and like a chain-link it just kept coming and when I was done, couldn’t help but think “man! I’m glad I stepped out and delivered that!” But when prophesying, sometimes usually you don’t even have the whole message until you step out and begin to share that first ‘link’ in the chain, and then the rest of the chain starts to come out as well.
Sometimes also, we mentally KNOW God heals and we give mental ascent to the Word of God, but we don’t actually step out and pray for a sick person. When the obedience required from faith would have us go for it and ‘not know where we’re going’ sometimes. I’ve had instances where I prayed for someone with one eye open in case what I was praying for really came to pass because I had to admit it seemed like “what am I doing!” and I didn’t want to miss it. There’s nothing wrong with mentally doubting things, but there’s something wrong with not obeying God with the thing He’s compelling you to step out and do.
Sometimes we think if a thought of doubt goes into our heads for a split second at all, that that means we have doubted and sinned and we’re not acting or praying in faith and the prayer won't be answered as a result.
Have any of you reading this ever seen the original Ghostbusters movie? If you haven’t then do NOT go rent it because in hindsight it’s pretty demonic, but recall with me if you have seen it, the climax at the end. The woman-man-dude-monster-thing that the four main characters have set out to annihilate tells them they will be destroyed by whatever they imagine. And suddenly, out of nowhere comes this big giant King Kong-sized “Stay-puff Marshmallow Man”walking through the streets of New York. Three of the characters look to a fourth one as he explains that he tried to think of the most harmless thing possible, and the marshmallow man was what “popped into mind”. So this was the way they were going to be destroyed—all because Dan Aykroyd’s character “accidentally let it pop into mind.”
Doubt is NOT like that, my friends.
Doubt is not accidentally having a thought pop into your mind saying “this won’t happen.” Real doubt and unbelief comes when, like the opposite of obeying in faith, you act on the doubt and don’t step out in obedience. Doubt is “they won’t get healed, therefore I won’t bother trying.” Doubt and disobedience are tightly intertwined.
I guarantee you, if Abraham packed up his stuff and ideas were going through his head like “what if this God is a liar and He’s not taking me anywhere?”, from reading the account we can see that clearly he didn’t ACT on those doubts. If he really doubted, he never would have left his homeland.
And I know, some of you are thinking of the passage in the first chapter of James that says “let him ask in faith without doubting” and about the double-minded man tossed by every wave, and so forth. Keep in mind what we’ve just established—that faith requires obedience or it is not really faith. I will cover in an upcoming post on James 2 on faith and works—that if faith is not faith unless accompanied by works, than neither is doubt really doubt unless it is acted on [and we disobey]. You'll see.
Keep posted, I’ve got like several other things I want to devote entire posts to in the days to come where faith is concerned.
miércoles, diciembre 28, 2005
Spoiled By So Many Bible Translations
I think I have officially become “Bible-translation weary”.
What is that, you ask? I don’t know I just made it up.
I was given a Bible this Christmas by my parents. It came in a nice black leather cover, and is wide-margined, and just plain looks like one of the nicer Bibles I’ve ever owned. Only thing is that it’s a translation I have never heard of before – “The Holeman Christian Standard Bible”
I was and am totally grateful for it, as I am any time someone buys me a Bible (though I’ve bought most of mine myself). Now don’t get me wrong after what I said in a previous post about persecuted peoples the world over who would give their lives to have a Bible at all, let alone the many translations I have at my disposal. I mean, what good is it or what does it matter what translation of the Bible one reads or has if they don’t live out the fundamentals contained in the book?
In fact, after writing the post “Open Minds vs. Narrow Roads” I started to really evaluate if I’m appreciative of the fact I have access to a Bible, let alone several translations of it. I’m kicked in the pants just thinking about how grateful I should be. I want to live out the words of Jesus more.
I mean, on Christmas day when going through the gifts I was given, and just skimming pages out of my new Holeman CSB, thoughts went through my mind about the different features I’d like to combine from all my Bibles to come up with the perfect one for my purposes, desires and preferences. It would look like this; it would be the English Standard Version (how come so many translations have the word “standard” in it? What standard are we talking about anyway?), it would be slim line like almost all my Bibles are, and it would contain all the highlighting and underlining I already did in my NIV that I bought 2 years ago, and would contain one of those Nelson chain references—this is where there’s a bar in the middle of the page, between the two columns of the text on each page, referencing and linking to other related passages based on words and themes.
Man, as I was pondering this I thought “why don’t I just pre-occupy myself with getting the Word IN me” instead of just what package it comes in.
In the West, we have all the Bibles you could possibly market. We’ve got the Teenager Bible, the Couple’s Devotional Bible, the This Translation and the That Translation; the military soldier’s camouflaged Bible; the tin can covered Bible. When I was in Pensacola, I even saw at Wal-mart the “Black Woman’s Heritage Bible”. Where does the variety and the personal preferences stop, and the people of God just focus on living the Word out?
One translation I found that made my blood boil, was one day at school back in Pensacola, we used to have this table with food and things people were giving away, located in the hallway by one of our classrooms. Someone worked somewhere where they donated food to us for free that had reached its sell-before date, so many of us students lived off of whatever food was available on that table, and others used it to give away old clothes, books, appliances, etc. We nick-named it ‘the manna table’. One day I found the New Testament in some kind of hippie translation from the 1960s. I thought it would be interesting. I didn’t expect lingo from the day—including cussing—to be in it. I was not just disappointed, I was appalled at the worldliness of it---I mean it’s bad enough that so many Christians have no problem with cussing as it is, but on top of that putting it into “translations” of the Bible. Oh God forgive us for our worldly compromises.
At our Summer School in Holland, our guest speaker Brother Andrew brought to our attention that in the Dutch language there are only fourteen translations of the Bible. Do you want to know how many there are in English? Four hundred and twenty-five! I realize I may be off by a dozen or so, but still, that is insane! And if quantity of Bible translations available is an indication of spirituality in our culture, then we ought to have won our society a thousand times over! So why am I ….unimpressed and even discouraged about the ridiculous number of Bibles and Bible translations in our culture?
I don’t know. I think it would have something to do with how yet in another manner the Church in the West is more preoccupied with packaging and appearance than we are with substance.
If you ever have the time, I strongly encourage you to take whatever translation you read, and open to the front and take a look at all the editors and contributors and scholars and so forth, involved in producing that particular version you’re holding in your hands. Think of all the time, energy, money and other resources that went into THAT particular version. I’ve counted 40 once for a particular translation that has gained popularity in the last decade and had taken them 7 years to translate. Then, keep in mind (or ADD to your mind) that in English there are over 400 hundred other groups of people that are roughly that large and diverse who produced Bibles in other translations. That’s a lot of people making Bible translations.
How many varieties of translations are necessary for the people of God?
If we combined all that manpower just mentioned into working on just one translation of the Word of God (in our language) the leftover energy can be directed elsewhere, like penetrating other countries and language groups with the Gospel in their language. Sure, learning other languages would be necessary, but the education and other such experience in Bible translation (such as the original languages) is already acquired.
Why re-invent the wheel so many times as we have done?
Anyway, the Holeman Christian Standard Bible still seems to be a decent translation from the reading I’ve done so far.
But I just feel spoiled with all these translations.
Click to read why I'm "The Message-only"
What is that, you ask? I don’t know I just made it up.
I was given a Bible this Christmas by my parents. It came in a nice black leather cover, and is wide-margined, and just plain looks like one of the nicer Bibles I’ve ever owned. Only thing is that it’s a translation I have never heard of before – “The Holeman Christian Standard Bible”
I was and am totally grateful for it, as I am any time someone buys me a Bible (though I’ve bought most of mine myself). Now don’t get me wrong after what I said in a previous post about persecuted peoples the world over who would give their lives to have a Bible at all, let alone the many translations I have at my disposal. I mean, what good is it or what does it matter what translation of the Bible one reads or has if they don’t live out the fundamentals contained in the book?
In fact, after writing the post “Open Minds vs. Narrow Roads” I started to really evaluate if I’m appreciative of the fact I have access to a Bible, let alone several translations of it. I’m kicked in the pants just thinking about how grateful I should be. I want to live out the words of Jesus more.
I mean, on Christmas day when going through the gifts I was given, and just skimming pages out of my new Holeman CSB, thoughts went through my mind about the different features I’d like to combine from all my Bibles to come up with the perfect one for my purposes, desires and preferences. It would look like this; it would be the English Standard Version (how come so many translations have the word “standard” in it? What standard are we talking about anyway?), it would be slim line like almost all my Bibles are, and it would contain all the highlighting and underlining I already did in my NIV that I bought 2 years ago, and would contain one of those Nelson chain references—this is where there’s a bar in the middle of the page, between the two columns of the text on each page, referencing and linking to other related passages based on words and themes.
Man, as I was pondering this I thought “why don’t I just pre-occupy myself with getting the Word IN me” instead of just what package it comes in.
In the West, we have all the Bibles you could possibly market. We’ve got the Teenager Bible, the Couple’s Devotional Bible, the This Translation and the That Translation; the military soldier’s camouflaged Bible; the tin can covered Bible. When I was in Pensacola, I even saw at Wal-mart the “Black Woman’s Heritage Bible”. Where does the variety and the personal preferences stop, and the people of God just focus on living the Word out?
One translation I found that made my blood boil, was one day at school back in Pensacola, we used to have this table with food and things people were giving away, located in the hallway by one of our classrooms. Someone worked somewhere where they donated food to us for free that had reached its sell-before date, so many of us students lived off of whatever food was available on that table, and others used it to give away old clothes, books, appliances, etc. We nick-named it ‘the manna table’. One day I found the New Testament in some kind of hippie translation from the 1960s. I thought it would be interesting. I didn’t expect lingo from the day—including cussing—to be in it. I was not just disappointed, I was appalled at the worldliness of it---I mean it’s bad enough that so many Christians have no problem with cussing as it is, but on top of that putting it into “translations” of the Bible. Oh God forgive us for our worldly compromises.
At our Summer School in Holland, our guest speaker Brother Andrew brought to our attention that in the Dutch language there are only fourteen translations of the Bible. Do you want to know how many there are in English? Four hundred and twenty-five! I realize I may be off by a dozen or so, but still, that is insane! And if quantity of Bible translations available is an indication of spirituality in our culture, then we ought to have won our society a thousand times over! So why am I ….unimpressed and even discouraged about the ridiculous number of Bibles and Bible translations in our culture?
I don’t know. I think it would have something to do with how yet in another manner the Church in the West is more preoccupied with packaging and appearance than we are with substance.
If you ever have the time, I strongly encourage you to take whatever translation you read, and open to the front and take a look at all the editors and contributors and scholars and so forth, involved in producing that particular version you’re holding in your hands. Think of all the time, energy, money and other resources that went into THAT particular version. I’ve counted 40 once for a particular translation that has gained popularity in the last decade and had taken them 7 years to translate. Then, keep in mind (or ADD to your mind) that in English there are over 400 hundred other groups of people that are roughly that large and diverse who produced Bibles in other translations. That’s a lot of people making Bible translations.
How many varieties of translations are necessary for the people of God?
If we combined all that manpower just mentioned into working on just one translation of the Word of God (in our language) the leftover energy can be directed elsewhere, like penetrating other countries and language groups with the Gospel in their language. Sure, learning other languages would be necessary, but the education and other such experience in Bible translation (such as the original languages) is already acquired.
Why re-invent the wheel so many times as we have done?
Anyway, the Holeman Christian Standard Bible still seems to be a decent translation from the reading I’ve done so far.
But I just feel spoiled with all these translations.
Click to read why I'm "The Message-only"
martes, diciembre 27, 2005
The things children say in church
A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him, "How many women can a man marry?"
"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer so quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"Easy," the little boy said.
"All you have to do is add it up, like the Pastor said:
4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."
After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister When I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand and yell, than to sit and listen."
A 6-year-old was overheard reciting the Lord's Prayer at a church service: "And forgive us our trash passes, as we forgive those who passed trash against us."
A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon.
"How do you know what to say?" he asked.
"Why, God tells me."
"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"
A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"
After the christening of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you guys!"
Terri asked her Sunday School class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. She was puzzled by Kyle's picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent. The Flight to Egypt, was his reply. Pointing at each figure!
, Ms. Te rri said, "That must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus, But who is the fourth person? Oh, that's Pontius-the-pilot.
The Sunday School Teacher asks, "Now, Johnny, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?" "No sir," little Johnny replies, "I don't have to. My Mom is a good cook."
A college drama group presented a play in which one character would stand on a trap door and announce, "I descend into hell!" A stagehand below would then pull a rope, the trapdoor would spring, and the actor would drop from view.
The play was well received. When the actor playing the part became ill,
another actor who was quite overweight took his place. When the new actor announced, "I descend into hell!" the stagehand pulled the rope, and the actor began his plunge, but became hopelessly stuck. No amount of tugging on the rope could make him descend.
One student in the balcony jumped up and yelled: "Hallelujah! Hell is full!"
Pastor Dave Charlton tells us, "After a worship service at First Baptist Church in Newcastle, Kentucky, a mother with a fidgety seven-year old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet. About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, 'If you don't be quiet, Pastor Charlton is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!'
It worked."
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again. Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago."
"Oh," she paused, "grandpa, did God make me too?"
"Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "God made you just a little while ago."
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better, isn't he?"
"Sixteen," the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he had an answer so quickly.
"How do you know that?"
"Easy," the little boy said.
"All you have to do is add it up, like the Pastor said:
4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer."
After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister When I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand and yell, than to sit and listen."
A 6-year-old was overheard reciting the Lord's Prayer at a church service: "And forgive us our trash passes, as we forgive those who passed trash against us."
A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon.
"How do you know what to say?" he asked.
"Why, God tells me."
"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"
A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"
After the christening of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you guys!"
Terri asked her Sunday School class to draw pictures of their favorite Bible stories. She was puzzled by Kyle's picture, which showed four people on an airplane, so she asked him which story it was meant to represent. The Flight to Egypt, was his reply. Pointing at each figure!
, Ms. Te rri said, "That must be Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus, But who is the fourth person? Oh, that's Pontius-the-pilot.
The Sunday School Teacher asks, "Now, Johnny, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?" "No sir," little Johnny replies, "I don't have to. My Mom is a good cook."
A college drama group presented a play in which one character would stand on a trap door and announce, "I descend into hell!" A stagehand below would then pull a rope, the trapdoor would spring, and the actor would drop from view.
The play was well received. When the actor playing the part became ill,
another actor who was quite overweight took his place. When the new actor announced, "I descend into hell!" the stagehand pulled the rope, and the actor began his plunge, but became hopelessly stuck. No amount of tugging on the rope could make him descend.
One student in the balcony jumped up and yelled: "Hallelujah! Hell is full!"
Pastor Dave Charlton tells us, "After a worship service at First Baptist Church in Newcastle, Kentucky, a mother with a fidgety seven-year old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet. About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, 'If you don't be quiet, Pastor Charlton is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!'
It worked."
A little girl was sitting on her grandfather's lap as he read her a bedtime story. From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again. Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago."
"Oh," she paused, "grandpa, did God make me too?"
"Yes, indeed, honey," he said, "God made you just a little while ago."
Feeling their respective faces again, she observed, "God's getting better, isn't he?"
lunes, diciembre 26, 2005
Open minds vs. narrow roads.
Warning: The following is a long “I don’t know where I’m going with this” post. Do not read if you get upset easily at opinions that are different than your own. Later on in the week I'll write an update on what's new with me.
Well
This last week has left my head spinning about something in life. I originally wrote this post right after something provoked the thoughts to come to mind, and I didn’t know if I’d post it online or not. I don’t want to sit down on my blog and be negative, most of you know I try not to be like that in my post, nor do I want to fall into the trap of doing the very thing I’ve had happen to me both in person and on the internet (the FIRE “community” theological threads, specifically the one on Iraq and 9/11 for those of you reading who might be frequenting those threads).
I’ve noticed it in life for years, and it’s become more apparent to me from blogging and participating in a message board for the first time in my life when that website started and it’s this: people are threatened (more often then not) if your views are different than theirs. And most people do not know how to listen, but just wait their turn to talk. Christians and nonchristians alike.
Don’t believe me? Try blogging about any topic whatsoever especially multiple-sided issues, and see what kind of feedback you get. There will be the ones agreeing with you because you worded something well enough that they already felt the same way, but there will be someone, whether a complete stranger or an acquaintance of yours, telling you everything wrong with your view (they begin of course with the premise theirs is right, as we all do). Sometimes I get the nastiest e-mails that make me wonder why the persons are bothering to speak to me at all if they can't do it with respect in regards to posts I've written. When really what it all boils down to is that in life, most people are not mature enough to listen to each other. Most of us are talkers waiting our turn to talk.
By the way, don’t kid yourselves—there’s NO such thing as an “un-objective opinion.” Every opinion is objective in some way or capacity according to the holder’s biases and pre-understandings.
There’s no changing my mind—that’s the way I feel.
Just kidding, but it still is becoming hard for me to see a lot of open-mindedness in our society or our Christian circles—especially Christian circles.
Just go on an American Christian website, and ask hard questions about the Bush Administration (which is funny, because I never got to reveal on it that I more or less am a Bush supporter, but I don’t swallow everything I’m told and have it in me to question things in life)—but go do this and see if right away you’re not told you’re a Bush basher, or a liberal. In fact, I am a rebel--or so I was told. Why? Because I contradict other peoples’ deeply held views who cannot handle having them questioned.
Also, hang out with people who’ve formed a god after their own image to suit their own appetites, and see if you don’t get told you’re intolerant and that "God loves them the way they are". Of course their ‘god’ does—they made him up so he does whatever they believe he does—but open up a Bible and quote from HIS true words, and watch out! "God loves me the way I am" is technically true, but I've noticed people spit that phrase out in defense of their ungodly lifestyle they don't want to change.
“Steve, you need to tolerate other peoples’ viewpoints, because yours is a piece of crap.” (I am quoting verbatim something I was told this week—but changed a word). “Don’t be so intolerant, you fool!”
I don’t like reading negative entries of people on their blogs, and I don’t rant for the sake of ranting, but WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is wrong with common decency and reasoned discourse?
I just wanna say right now, I know so few people out there who can do this with me, and I want to mention by name and praise a guy for how much I enjoy talking to him. His name is Ted Barham.
I stayed with Ted in the summer of 2000 when we both met working at the Scott Mission Camp. He lives in Toronto and on the weekends off, he’d host me at his apartment with his other roommates. All of them went to a brethren church that was way more conservative than the church I’d grown up in. I had long hair back then (believe it or not!) and had a few people come up to me upon first meeting me and telling me what the Bible says about men having long hair and that I need to cut it (this was before “hi, my name is so and so—what brings you to our church this fine Sunday morning”!). I don’t remember if Ted felt the same way or not, but I never felt disrespected or looked down upon by him for viewpoints that were different.
He lent me nice dressy clothes to wear so I wouldn’t offend anyone wearing T-shirts and khaki pants or dressing too casually. I remember having numerous discussions with him, and we kept in touch over the years through e-mail and once in a while on MSN, and after P Dot was flooded in 2004, he paid me a visit and stayed over night at my parents’ house with me.
By this point after having been to FIRE, and baptized in the Spirit and just plain rocked compared to who I was when I stayed with him four years earlier, we stayed up until 6 am one night talking about healing. In fact, I don’t know about him, but I actually enjoyed the discussion, because I felt like I finally found someone in life who knows how to treat you with respect when sharing their views and listening to yours. Most everybody else merely thinks this is true of themselves.
Man, why can’t there be more Teds in this world? In fact, I enjoy talking to people like who him totally differ with me, more than talking to some of the friends of mine that feel ‘mostly the same way’; simply because of the ability to talk like civilized adults. Sometimes I’m naïve and believe most people are like him, but my experience in three different countries has really left me jaded, and convinced that many people can’t handle it if you challenge their opinions. Even if you are providing facts or evidence, or just plain backing up yours.
This week, I had a person who professes to be a Christian tell me I can’t use the Bible so much. Apparently “I use it to judge them” they felt. I asked in return if they read the Bible to which they insisted "they are familiar with it”, but I had to persist in getting an answer, which finally was “once in a while”. When I said “then you are very unfamiliar with the ways of the Lord then because you neglect to read His revelation of Himself” I got blasted and told how narrow-minded I am and need “to learn tolerance”. If the Word says something, the Word says something---period. If it says narrow is the way that leads to life....(then what do you think the way of life is?!!!)
Now obviously other people can be a good judge of whether I’m tolerant or not, but it was sad because I was making a very concerted effort (that largely went unnoticed) to listen, but I don’t back down and water the Word of God down to avoid hurting peoples feelings. Better to have people upset at my “intolerance” now in this life, than to be mad at me in eternity for never sharing the Gospel at all with them.
One thing that gets to me is being told “you can’t use the Bible to tell me I don’t know God” by people demonstrating fruit far from a Christ-like spirit--which by the way, I find out what a Christlike attitude is FROM the Bible, but that’s useless to this type of reasoning.
I went to bed thinking about it. This was the conclusion I came to: no longer would I say to anyone that if they don’t read the Bible they don’t know God.
Be careful to actually read the next few paragraphs before clicking on the ‘comments’ section to blast me because you think you know what I’m saying—this I speak to Americans (inside joke).
I have friends ministering in certain closed countries right now, who work with people where the dead are raised on a frequent basis, and Christians are tortured to death and cut in pieces and have their finger-nails ripped off, as well as hot pepper juice poured down their nostrils in attempts to get them to renounce Christ and other such unspeakable things--no—things that I can’t relate to are done to them. They not only don’t renounce Christ and live the Gospel out in the threat of death but hold fast to His name, and where I’m going with that is this: they have a thirst for Bibles. Many of them have one Bible to share with 50 people, and what they do is rip it apart and memorize the sections they are given and once they memorize it, trade their section for a different one with others.
There are other brothers and sisters in the Lord who have only ever had one page of the Gospels, memorized it, but seek the face of God and have constant angelic visitation and revelation from the Holy Spirit and are responsible for revivals in their towns unlike any of the highest educated self-appointed theologians of the West could ever understand or relate to. God I believe honors those who seek Him. Yes, to some degree I think God honors first the cry of the heart above the accuracy of our seeking.
Now you mean to tell me--those of you think this—that with all the access to Bibles and varieties of translations we have in our culture, that you are as close to God when you chose not to bother reading it, and seek Him only once in a while for your credit card bill to be paid or the cable TV not to be cancelled—that that is somehow even on the same playing field as these other believers out there who don’t read the Word because they don’t have ACCESS to it? Choosing not to is different than not having access to it.
I’m sorry.
I’m intolerant and judgmental then.
Anyone telling me that God doesn’t send anyone to hell; or that you don’t need to read the Bible because it’s an outdated book; or all paths lead to God –these people professing Christ and say such things are self-deceived and have fashioned a god in their own image to suit themselves. Those Christians who cannot hold fast to His name when faced with pleasure and temptation are on a far different playing field than those in the other parts of the world who hold fast to the name of the Lord at the threat of torture and/or death.
I’m narrow minded, I know. So also is Jesus, the Man I’m quoting who said of Himself “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Well
This last week has left my head spinning about something in life. I originally wrote this post right after something provoked the thoughts to come to mind, and I didn’t know if I’d post it online or not. I don’t want to sit down on my blog and be negative, most of you know I try not to be like that in my post, nor do I want to fall into the trap of doing the very thing I’ve had happen to me both in person and on the internet (the FIRE “community” theological threads, specifically the one on Iraq and 9/11 for those of you reading who might be frequenting those threads).
I’ve noticed it in life for years, and it’s become more apparent to me from blogging and participating in a message board for the first time in my life when that website started and it’s this: people are threatened (more often then not) if your views are different than theirs. And most people do not know how to listen, but just wait their turn to talk. Christians and nonchristians alike.
Don’t believe me? Try blogging about any topic whatsoever especially multiple-sided issues, and see what kind of feedback you get. There will be the ones agreeing with you because you worded something well enough that they already felt the same way, but there will be someone, whether a complete stranger or an acquaintance of yours, telling you everything wrong with your view (they begin of course with the premise theirs is right, as we all do). Sometimes I get the nastiest e-mails that make me wonder why the persons are bothering to speak to me at all if they can't do it with respect in regards to posts I've written. When really what it all boils down to is that in life, most people are not mature enough to listen to each other. Most of us are talkers waiting our turn to talk.
By the way, don’t kid yourselves—there’s NO such thing as an “un-objective opinion.” Every opinion is objective in some way or capacity according to the holder’s biases and pre-understandings.
There’s no changing my mind—that’s the way I feel.
Just kidding, but it still is becoming hard for me to see a lot of open-mindedness in our society or our Christian circles—especially Christian circles.
Just go on an American Christian website, and ask hard questions about the Bush Administration (which is funny, because I never got to reveal on it that I more or less am a Bush supporter, but I don’t swallow everything I’m told and have it in me to question things in life)—but go do this and see if right away you’re not told you’re a Bush basher, or a liberal. In fact, I am a rebel--or so I was told. Why? Because I contradict other peoples’ deeply held views who cannot handle having them questioned.
Also, hang out with people who’ve formed a god after their own image to suit their own appetites, and see if you don’t get told you’re intolerant and that "God loves them the way they are". Of course their ‘god’ does—they made him up so he does whatever they believe he does—but open up a Bible and quote from HIS true words, and watch out! "God loves me the way I am" is technically true, but I've noticed people spit that phrase out in defense of their ungodly lifestyle they don't want to change.
“Steve, you need to tolerate other peoples’ viewpoints, because yours is a piece of crap.” (I am quoting verbatim something I was told this week—but changed a word). “Don’t be so intolerant, you fool!”
I don’t like reading negative entries of people on their blogs, and I don’t rant for the sake of ranting, but WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is wrong with common decency and reasoned discourse?
I just wanna say right now, I know so few people out there who can do this with me, and I want to mention by name and praise a guy for how much I enjoy talking to him. His name is Ted Barham.
I stayed with Ted in the summer of 2000 when we both met working at the Scott Mission Camp. He lives in Toronto and on the weekends off, he’d host me at his apartment with his other roommates. All of them went to a brethren church that was way more conservative than the church I’d grown up in. I had long hair back then (believe it or not!) and had a few people come up to me upon first meeting me and telling me what the Bible says about men having long hair and that I need to cut it (this was before “hi, my name is so and so—what brings you to our church this fine Sunday morning”!). I don’t remember if Ted felt the same way or not, but I never felt disrespected or looked down upon by him for viewpoints that were different.
He lent me nice dressy clothes to wear so I wouldn’t offend anyone wearing T-shirts and khaki pants or dressing too casually. I remember having numerous discussions with him, and we kept in touch over the years through e-mail and once in a while on MSN, and after P Dot was flooded in 2004, he paid me a visit and stayed over night at my parents’ house with me.
By this point after having been to FIRE, and baptized in the Spirit and just plain rocked compared to who I was when I stayed with him four years earlier, we stayed up until 6 am one night talking about healing. In fact, I don’t know about him, but I actually enjoyed the discussion, because I felt like I finally found someone in life who knows how to treat you with respect when sharing their views and listening to yours. Most everybody else merely thinks this is true of themselves.
Man, why can’t there be more Teds in this world? In fact, I enjoy talking to people like who him totally differ with me, more than talking to some of the friends of mine that feel ‘mostly the same way’; simply because of the ability to talk like civilized adults. Sometimes I’m naïve and believe most people are like him, but my experience in three different countries has really left me jaded, and convinced that many people can’t handle it if you challenge their opinions. Even if you are providing facts or evidence, or just plain backing up yours.
This week, I had a person who professes to be a Christian tell me I can’t use the Bible so much. Apparently “I use it to judge them” they felt. I asked in return if they read the Bible to which they insisted "they are familiar with it”, but I had to persist in getting an answer, which finally was “once in a while”. When I said “then you are very unfamiliar with the ways of the Lord then because you neglect to read His revelation of Himself” I got blasted and told how narrow-minded I am and need “to learn tolerance”. If the Word says something, the Word says something---period. If it says narrow is the way that leads to life....(then what do you think the way of life is?!!!)
Now obviously other people can be a good judge of whether I’m tolerant or not, but it was sad because I was making a very concerted effort (that largely went unnoticed) to listen, but I don’t back down and water the Word of God down to avoid hurting peoples feelings. Better to have people upset at my “intolerance” now in this life, than to be mad at me in eternity for never sharing the Gospel at all with them.
One thing that gets to me is being told “you can’t use the Bible to tell me I don’t know God” by people demonstrating fruit far from a Christ-like spirit--which by the way, I find out what a Christlike attitude is FROM the Bible, but that’s useless to this type of reasoning.
I went to bed thinking about it. This was the conclusion I came to: no longer would I say to anyone that if they don’t read the Bible they don’t know God.
Be careful to actually read the next few paragraphs before clicking on the ‘comments’ section to blast me because you think you know what I’m saying—this I speak to Americans (inside joke).
I have friends ministering in certain closed countries right now, who work with people where the dead are raised on a frequent basis, and Christians are tortured to death and cut in pieces and have their finger-nails ripped off, as well as hot pepper juice poured down their nostrils in attempts to get them to renounce Christ and other such unspeakable things--no—things that I can’t relate to are done to them. They not only don’t renounce Christ and live the Gospel out in the threat of death but hold fast to His name, and where I’m going with that is this: they have a thirst for Bibles. Many of them have one Bible to share with 50 people, and what they do is rip it apart and memorize the sections they are given and once they memorize it, trade their section for a different one with others.
There are other brothers and sisters in the Lord who have only ever had one page of the Gospels, memorized it, but seek the face of God and have constant angelic visitation and revelation from the Holy Spirit and are responsible for revivals in their towns unlike any of the highest educated self-appointed theologians of the West could ever understand or relate to. God I believe honors those who seek Him. Yes, to some degree I think God honors first the cry of the heart above the accuracy of our seeking.
Now you mean to tell me--those of you think this—that with all the access to Bibles and varieties of translations we have in our culture, that you are as close to God when you chose not to bother reading it, and seek Him only once in a while for your credit card bill to be paid or the cable TV not to be cancelled—that that is somehow even on the same playing field as these other believers out there who don’t read the Word because they don’t have ACCESS to it? Choosing not to is different than not having access to it.
I’m sorry.
I’m intolerant and judgmental then.
Anyone telling me that God doesn’t send anyone to hell; or that you don’t need to read the Bible because it’s an outdated book; or all paths lead to God –these people professing Christ and say such things are self-deceived and have fashioned a god in their own image to suit themselves. Those Christians who cannot hold fast to His name when faced with pleasure and temptation are on a far different playing field than those in the other parts of the world who hold fast to the name of the Lord at the threat of torture and/or death.
I’m narrow minded, I know. So also is Jesus, the Man I’m quoting who said of Himself “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
sábado, diciembre 24, 2005
No Holiday for Atheists
I got this from Pilgrim's Scribblings
An atheist complained to a Christian friend, "You Christians have your special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Jews celebrate their national holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur. But we atheists have no recognized national holidays. It's unfair discrimination."
His friend replied, "Why don't you celebrate April first?"
An atheist complained to a Christian friend, "You Christians have your special holidays, such as Christmas and Easter. Jews celebrate their national holidays, such as Passover and Yom Kippur. But we atheists have no recognized national holidays. It's unfair discrimination."
His friend replied, "Why don't you celebrate April first?"
martes, diciembre 20, 2005
Sovereign Grace and Man's Responsibility
Hey I found this link through a blog--Pyromaniac who I really like reading often--I came across this once while surfing through the links on another blog I frequent.
The article is way too long to copy and paste here, and readers of whom english is their second language might have trouble following the old school English, but it's still worthy of reading. I'm not a hyper-sovereigntist (Calvinist) by any means, but I like the way this writing of Charles Spurgeon brings balance to the whole sovereignty of God versus man's responsibility arguments. I personally find from experience that sitting around figuring out how it works is useless and more energy could be spent DOING something with the Gospel, so I won't hold it against you if you don't read this article in full.
So here is a great snippet.
The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that "it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no presidence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other. These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.
Now, this morning I am about to consider the two doctrines. In the 20th verse, we have taught us the doctrines of sovereign grace—"But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me." In the next verse, we have the doctrine of man's guilt in rejecting God. "To Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."
The rest of the article can be found here at The Spurgeon Archive, sermon 207.
Tot ziens.
The article is way too long to copy and paste here, and readers of whom english is their second language might have trouble following the old school English, but it's still worthy of reading. I'm not a hyper-sovereigntist (Calvinist) by any means, but I like the way this writing of Charles Spurgeon brings balance to the whole sovereignty of God versus man's responsibility arguments. I personally find from experience that sitting around figuring out how it works is useless and more energy could be spent DOING something with the Gospel, so I won't hold it against you if you don't read this article in full.
So here is a great snippet.
The system of truth is not one straight line, but two. No man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. I am taught in one book to believe that what I sow I shall reap: I am taught in another place, that "it is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." I see in one place, God presiding over all in providence; and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions to his own will, in a great measure. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act, that there was no presidence of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to Atheism; and if, on the other hand, I declare that God so overrules all things, as that man is not free enough to be responsible, I am driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism. That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other. These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.
Now, this morning I am about to consider the two doctrines. In the 20th verse, we have taught us the doctrines of sovereign grace—"But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me." In the next verse, we have the doctrine of man's guilt in rejecting God. "To Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."
The rest of the article can be found here at The Spurgeon Archive, sermon 207.
Tot ziens.
sábado, diciembre 17, 2005
How do we grow in faith?
As it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." (Romans 4:17-22, ESV)
Look at this testimony about Abraham. It says he didn’t waver in his faith. But is that true? I want to show you something interesting. Recall with me if you will that in Genesis 15, he and his wife Sarah were promised the child Isaac, but it was not for roughly 25 years before the child of promise was born. In the next chapter, Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham to bear a child with her, after growing weary of waiting for the promise to come about, and how often are we like them, and we think God needs our help to bring about His promises? How many Ishmaels do we have in our lives because we resorted to “plan B” while waiting on God to fulfill his Word?
Abraham wavered not? Did not weaken in faith? No distrust made him waver? Did the apostle Paul actually read the story of Genesis? Oh, he did alright, and he caught on to something I didn’t necessarily notice until recently. God didn’t look completely at the 25 year span of time it took since the promise was given and the boy Isaac was actually born and find in Abraham a man of doubt. He saw a man of faith ultimately in the whole of the picture. Clearly, we can learn from the life of Abraham two things (at least two from this passage, I’m sure there’s way more things to learn if we went into more thorough study of Genesis). Also, praise God that He looks at the cry of our heart instead of just the last mistake we made or doubt we acted on.
The first one is evident, the second observation of mine is a little more speculative, but not completely unfounded.
First, Abraham clearly didn’t begin with "great" faith to see the promise come about. His faith grew or his heart was changed over time. This is stated in verse 20.
Second, could it be said that we ourselves are in charge of how long it takes for us to believe the promises of God? Can our faith or lack of it accelerate or slow down the process of receiving the promises we’ve been given? I believe so.
Romans 4:20 states that Abraham “grew strong in his faith.” If you can grow strong in your faith, then evidently you can stay weak and not grow at all in faith. This is why elsewhere on this blog I’ve taught that faith is like a seed and we are in charge of watering it ourselves. I believe God gives each of us a seed (so to speak) of faith to each one of us, and some people have greater faith not because God gave them “greater faith” but because they’ve taken more time to grow their seed. Others, keep their seed small, thinking “God will only do what God wills” and take no initiative of their own to believe for greater things. It makes people angry to be told it, but if all it took to move the mountains was faith that stayed the size of a mustard seed, then we’d have all the mountains moved already.
Keep in mind the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9) for a quick sidenote/reference, and how in each instance the seed actually is planted and goes into the soil, but for various reasons like shallow soil, or weeds choking it out, the result is unfruitful, but the one that goes in properly is up to a hundred times more fruitful than its initial form. Do you notice something implicit in the passage? Let me ask you this way: what is easier for the devil to steal--a seed or a tree? That is why we must water our seeds so they grow and become established, making sure also what kind of soil we’re planting in. The conditions of our hearts and minds are important.
Could it be possible, that Abraham is a man whom it took twenty-five years to reach the place where his faith was strong enough to finally receive the promised son? I know some reading this will totally object, because some believe everything is based on the sovereignty of God, canceling out our actions and decisions. But God’s sovereignty is just one side of double-sided coin, and it seems way too many believers only accept one of either sides of it. But that’s for another entry.
Let me give some brief examples of things that build faith:
What you put into your system—if you sit around watching TV hours a day and only read the Bible for 15 minutes, guess which source of input will have a greater influence on you. Devour the word if you want your mind to automatically think like the Bible does. A renewed mind is one that “thinks like the Bible.”
Water that word with a whole lot of tongue praying. I know some people choose not to do this due to misunderstanding on the subject and only someone not doing it would insist it’s not necessary, but when you pray in tongues you edify yourself. Another word for edify in the Greek is “improve”, “repair” or “build” and like all prayers, praying in tongues gets an answer. The more one does this the more they improve/repair/edify themselves. The difference is that it’s your inner spirit doing the praying, so it’s your inner spirit getting the answers, and it’s like you’re getting built up strong from the inside out. Do it consistently every day and see if things don’t change in your heart and mind after a month or some span of time. If it takes time to build physical muscle in the gym, it will take time to build up your inner man from doing something like this consistently. People like John G. Lake, who moved consistently in the miraculous and founded the healing rooms ministry of the early 1900s stated repeatedly "tongues made my ministy."
Practice what you learn (James 1:22-25). You will only manifest what you are full of. What are you full of? Video games? The Word of God? Pizza?
For a real cool example Billy Burke used that I liked (I’m looking at my notes I took from the message he preached at the service where my mom got healed of fibromyalgia), there’s a difference between how far a car will go if the gas tank is full or if it’s empty. So it is with our faith—are we full or running on empty?
Faith is not believing that if you sit in a chair it will hold your weight (maybe some reading this need HOPE that chairs will hold your weight!)--Faith is not mental, it's in fact the action of going ahead and sitting in that chair knowing you can.
Let’s also look specifically at the things highlighted in our selected passage:
Do we believe God (v. 17)? I don’t mean mental ascent to what the Bible says. Believing the Bible is like the ‘entry level’ faith. Do we LIVE beyond the mental agreement like it is real?
Is it normal to our lifestyle and beliefs that He gives life to that which is dead, spiritual and physical (v.17)?
Do we KNOW and not just think that through him, that which does not exist can be brought to existence?
This statement is one that rocks me when comparing it to my life: Belief against hope (v.18). What does this mean and look like exactly? Remember, Sarah wasn’t the only one that was barren—they were both old, and in Genesis 18 when the three angels/men come to tell Abraham they'd bear a son a year from then, Sarah laughed to herself, saying "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" (v.12) We’re all mature who are reading this right? So Abraham’s body was just as unable to take part in creating a child as Sarah’s at their age, but yet he believed against the circumstances, he believed what God said, not what his body demonstrated to be true. So technically two bodies were touched by the power of God to make this miracle happen.
With that said, faith changes circumstances.
Do you weaken in faith (v.19)? Or do circumstances make you change your mind? Do you look at your body and say “sorry God, it just won’t happen.” Or do you look at your body and say “sorry body, but God said________ will happen” and have expectation that things will change?
Some of these truths are life-changing and I know there are pessimistic Christians content to stay in the ruts they are in, but if you really want to rise above circumstances, meditate on this passage and ones like it and really absorb the principles in it, and get to a point where your life resembles who this passage says Abraham was.
That is all for this time.
Let's change the way I get feedback from any of you this time--for this entry. No commenting until you've gone and tried healing one person (or at least lay hands on someone and prayed even if you failed to obtain the healing). How is that for putting into practice the things I share and of course, as usual, I also will be seeking out ways for God to be glorified in healing in lives around me. I know how easy it is for Christians to be armchair critics on certain matters, and I want to light a fire under us and myself to put this stuff into practice. Feel free if you do comment, to share any testimonies or insights along this line though.
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be."
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.
No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." (Romans 4:17-22, ESV)
Look at this testimony about Abraham. It says he didn’t waver in his faith. But is that true? I want to show you something interesting. Recall with me if you will that in Genesis 15, he and his wife Sarah were promised the child Isaac, but it was not for roughly 25 years before the child of promise was born. In the next chapter, Sarah gave her maid Hagar to Abraham to bear a child with her, after growing weary of waiting for the promise to come about, and how often are we like them, and we think God needs our help to bring about His promises? How many Ishmaels do we have in our lives because we resorted to “plan B” while waiting on God to fulfill his Word?
Abraham wavered not? Did not weaken in faith? No distrust made him waver? Did the apostle Paul actually read the story of Genesis? Oh, he did alright, and he caught on to something I didn’t necessarily notice until recently. God didn’t look completely at the 25 year span of time it took since the promise was given and the boy Isaac was actually born and find in Abraham a man of doubt. He saw a man of faith ultimately in the whole of the picture. Clearly, we can learn from the life of Abraham two things (at least two from this passage, I’m sure there’s way more things to learn if we went into more thorough study of Genesis). Also, praise God that He looks at the cry of our heart instead of just the last mistake we made or doubt we acted on.
The first one is evident, the second observation of mine is a little more speculative, but not completely unfounded.
First, Abraham clearly didn’t begin with "great" faith to see the promise come about. His faith grew or his heart was changed over time. This is stated in verse 20.
Second, could it be said that we ourselves are in charge of how long it takes for us to believe the promises of God? Can our faith or lack of it accelerate or slow down the process of receiving the promises we’ve been given? I believe so.
Romans 4:20 states that Abraham “grew strong in his faith.” If you can grow strong in your faith, then evidently you can stay weak and not grow at all in faith. This is why elsewhere on this blog I’ve taught that faith is like a seed and we are in charge of watering it ourselves. I believe God gives each of us a seed (so to speak) of faith to each one of us, and some people have greater faith not because God gave them “greater faith” but because they’ve taken more time to grow their seed. Others, keep their seed small, thinking “God will only do what God wills” and take no initiative of their own to believe for greater things. It makes people angry to be told it, but if all it took to move the mountains was faith that stayed the size of a mustard seed, then we’d have all the mountains moved already.
Keep in mind the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9) for a quick sidenote/reference, and how in each instance the seed actually is planted and goes into the soil, but for various reasons like shallow soil, or weeds choking it out, the result is unfruitful, but the one that goes in properly is up to a hundred times more fruitful than its initial form. Do you notice something implicit in the passage? Let me ask you this way: what is easier for the devil to steal--a seed or a tree? That is why we must water our seeds so they grow and become established, making sure also what kind of soil we’re planting in. The conditions of our hearts and minds are important.
Could it be possible, that Abraham is a man whom it took twenty-five years to reach the place where his faith was strong enough to finally receive the promised son? I know some reading this will totally object, because some believe everything is based on the sovereignty of God, canceling out our actions and decisions. But God’s sovereignty is just one side of double-sided coin, and it seems way too many believers only accept one of either sides of it. But that’s for another entry.
Let me give some brief examples of things that build faith:
What you put into your system—if you sit around watching TV hours a day and only read the Bible for 15 minutes, guess which source of input will have a greater influence on you. Devour the word if you want your mind to automatically think like the Bible does. A renewed mind is one that “thinks like the Bible.”
Water that word with a whole lot of tongue praying. I know some people choose not to do this due to misunderstanding on the subject and only someone not doing it would insist it’s not necessary, but when you pray in tongues you edify yourself. Another word for edify in the Greek is “improve”, “repair” or “build” and like all prayers, praying in tongues gets an answer. The more one does this the more they improve/repair/edify themselves. The difference is that it’s your inner spirit doing the praying, so it’s your inner spirit getting the answers, and it’s like you’re getting built up strong from the inside out. Do it consistently every day and see if things don’t change in your heart and mind after a month or some span of time. If it takes time to build physical muscle in the gym, it will take time to build up your inner man from doing something like this consistently. People like John G. Lake, who moved consistently in the miraculous and founded the healing rooms ministry of the early 1900s stated repeatedly "tongues made my ministy."
Practice what you learn (James 1:22-25). You will only manifest what you are full of. What are you full of? Video games? The Word of God? Pizza?
For a real cool example Billy Burke used that I liked (I’m looking at my notes I took from the message he preached at the service where my mom got healed of fibromyalgia), there’s a difference between how far a car will go if the gas tank is full or if it’s empty. So it is with our faith—are we full or running on empty?
Faith is not believing that if you sit in a chair it will hold your weight (maybe some reading this need HOPE that chairs will hold your weight!)--Faith is not mental, it's in fact the action of going ahead and sitting in that chair knowing you can.
Let’s also look specifically at the things highlighted in our selected passage:
Do we believe God (v. 17)? I don’t mean mental ascent to what the Bible says. Believing the Bible is like the ‘entry level’ faith. Do we LIVE beyond the mental agreement like it is real?
Is it normal to our lifestyle and beliefs that He gives life to that which is dead, spiritual and physical (v.17)?
Do we KNOW and not just think that through him, that which does not exist can be brought to existence?
This statement is one that rocks me when comparing it to my life: Belief against hope (v.18). What does this mean and look like exactly? Remember, Sarah wasn’t the only one that was barren—they were both old, and in Genesis 18 when the three angels/men come to tell Abraham they'd bear a son a year from then, Sarah laughed to herself, saying "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" (v.12) We’re all mature who are reading this right? So Abraham’s body was just as unable to take part in creating a child as Sarah’s at their age, but yet he believed against the circumstances, he believed what God said, not what his body demonstrated to be true. So technically two bodies were touched by the power of God to make this miracle happen.
With that said, faith changes circumstances.
Do you weaken in faith (v.19)? Or do circumstances make you change your mind? Do you look at your body and say “sorry God, it just won’t happen.” Or do you look at your body and say “sorry body, but God said________ will happen” and have expectation that things will change?
Some of these truths are life-changing and I know there are pessimistic Christians content to stay in the ruts they are in, but if you really want to rise above circumstances, meditate on this passage and ones like it and really absorb the principles in it, and get to a point where your life resembles who this passage says Abraham was.
That is all for this time.
Let's change the way I get feedback from any of you this time--for this entry. No commenting until you've gone and tried healing one person (or at least lay hands on someone and prayed even if you failed to obtain the healing). How is that for putting into practice the things I share and of course, as usual, I also will be seeking out ways for God to be glorified in healing in lives around me. I know how easy it is for Christians to be armchair critics on certain matters, and I want to light a fire under us and myself to put this stuff into practice. Feel free if you do comment, to share any testimonies or insights along this line though.
viernes, diciembre 16, 2005
miércoles, diciembre 14, 2005
Why are many Christians so negative and pessimistic?
As usual, I do not know how to begin this. Something has been stirring in me. I don’t know where to begin or where to go with these thoughts.
First I’ll just state my concern as of late; I’ve noticed some of the same people in my life who rebuke me heavily or start arguments with me about the supernatural aspects of God’s character as they relate to healing, have been the same people lately e-mailing me their prayer requests for people in their/our lives with cancer, sicknesses, or bad circumstances. I don’t get how Christians want it both ways and in one side of their mouth say “God does not heal today” but then turn around and when it’s them or someone they love, suddenly all that theology is out the window. Why not throw all of that bad theology out the window in the first place, and just have confidence in the Word of God and what He says He will do?
It’s no secret to many reading this that I come from a conservative church background. A church where one of the elders came up to me a week after my mom’s healing to rebuke me for sending around an e-mail testifying about it. The concern was that I was “obnoxious and disrespectful towards those who don’t believe in healing”. I should have said “heck yeah” but I was more concerned with taking correction from leadership, even if they were blatantly wrong in the way they handled the correction: I never e-mailed any of the elders the e-mail about my mom, and the pastor at my church immediately after this incident apologized to me for showing them his copy and having a second party rebuke me –contrary to Matthew 18:15-18 principle for how to correct someone—I’m not posting that in passing to stir up trouble, but just it’s part of the experience I’m sharing and I’m not bitter towards them.
But I do strongly lack respect for outlooks and theology that keep people bound and make excuses for why we don’t see God work in power. But week after week, there are numerous prayer requests listed in our morning bulletins, and prayer request e-mails going around and almost 80% of them are related to peoples’ health. And we are constantly asking each other to pray for these things.
Again, I don’t want to step on toes unnecessarily, and maybe your life or someone in your family is mentioned in those prayer requests—but why do we list them at all if we don’t actually believe God answers our prayers for those sick loved ones? Is it some religious ritual we’re just going through time after time because we’re intrinsically supposed to? Or do we really believe there will be answers for these prayers?
As a culture, and likewise as the Church since instead of changing the culture, the culture has changed us—we are sickness-minded. We are used to taking Tylenol for our headaches, and Halls for our sore throats. We live in a culture where many of our health problems can be cured with some technological advancements or medications or a trip to the hospital. But it also seems to have helped us have more confidence in the doctors than in our Great Physician. Let me demonstrate an example I’m sure you’ll relate to.
In our meetings or Christian circles, someone falls sick. It happens all the time--and as long as we’re made out of flesh living in this earthly realm where there is a spiritual war going on, civilians (believers and nonbelievers alike) will always get attacked. We’re in the habit of praying for their appointment with the doctor—we pray for the surgery to go smoothly—we pray that the Lord will guide the hand of the surgeon performing the operation. We are happy that the Lord “sees them through the difficulty” when someone goes through a painful surgery operation to remove something from their body that is afflicted with cancer. We believe God, but we only believe Him insofar as he will help a man (the doctor) do the work. The thought not only never crosses our minds—but is deemed excessive to lay hands on that brother or sister in our congregations and pray down the authority of heaven into their body right then and there SO THAT they don’t even need the trip to the doctor. We have absolutely no concept of laying hands on grandma and seeing her goiter get splattered all over the wall instead of going to the doctor.
The other aspect to this I’m noticing, is how so many Christians have more confidence in their problems than they do God Himself. I had a friend from out of town recently say to me regarding their plans to visit at Christmas “I will if my health permits it” or something to that effect. Why let our health “permit” anything? We must take authority over our bodies and tell them to line up with the Word and promises of God and that you will be visiting where God has put on your heart to visit (as well as be taking care of our bodies in the first place, and not be presumptious—I’m not saying this brother wasn’t doing that).
When I shared this kind of stuff he told me to be realistic and that I don’t understand. The more I listened the more my heart broke that someone can be so much more pre-occupied with their affliction itself than the possibility (likelihood) that God is bigger than their body or their problems. Why do we begin with a negative pessimistic worldview when it comes to our bodies and the possibilities of being healed? I’m being as realistic as possible—going by the Word, not circumstances. It seems to me the sentence “be realistic” or the term “reality check” were both coined by individuals who paid attention to circumstances around them instead of their dreams or their faith.
Few know about this, and I’ve never shared it publicly. I want to be sensitive to the family if they ever come across this entry. But some time ago a friend of mine asked me to get in touch with her friend, and have myself and another buddy offer to pray for healing for a terminally ill family member. I wrote the politest and most ingratiating e-mail I could imagine receiving if I were in their shoes hearing from a stranger this way.
The person wrote back and blasted me.
Not only that, but another family member had viewed the e-mail and wrote me and also blasted me and told me I was sticking my nose in their business, and called me a bull in a china shop. Then the next day wrote me back another scathing e-mail out of anger that I didn’t respond to hers right away. But the one I originally wrote, I had begun working on a response to her e-mail, and just put all the faith Scriptures I could come up with at the top of my head to boost her confidence in seeing a dramatic healing and not losing this loved one. If you’ve ever read any of my entries on healing, or are familiar with my writing style on the subject, you’re well aware of what the e-mail would have looked like.
To my shock and surprise, this not only failed to go over well, but she came over to my house with two of her friends to yell at me about e-mailing her, and tell me how offended she was that I was implying she had no faith--which I did nothing of the sort, but she misinterpreted to read that way. Christians easily get the idea they are being told they don’t have any faith if you encourage them in ways they can make their faith grow. We all are in charge of how much faith we have, and can water that seed.
I don’t know how--other than the grace of God--that I didn’t just weep then and there as I listened to this girl and her two friends rip me to shreds for trying to help—clearly she was hurting and going through a loss in something I obviously could not relate to, but to stand there and be totally misrepresented and maligned to my face for what was motivated by compassion and helping out a friend who asked me to help her friend—that this compassion was interpreted as arrogance and looking for a ‘test case’ to practice healing on. But I was not grieved that I was misunderstood…
Oh, it was difficult to do that whole “keep-my-mouth-shut-like-the-sheep-going-to-the-slaughter” thing. It seemed to me that I aggravated her even more by keeping my silence and not answering a lot of her concerns. I just let her…vent. I could not possibly know her pain, so I didn’t try to pretend I did.
That night has rocked me ever since, and obviously I’m careful not to just offer to pray for anybody I don’t know or don’t have reason to offer help to through mutual friends, but what I’ll never forget is this young woman full of fury staring me right in the eye telling me God is NOT going to heal her father--that “God was taking him home this way”. This was her faith confession—that it was NOT going to happen; she was dwelling on the negative and gave no hope for a turn-around. I went upstairs afterwards, trying not to cry, but telling my roommate at the time how I couldn’t understand why people blame God for things the devil does. That night fueled a fire in me to go after healings with more determination, as it’s an observation to me that people think God makes people sick and if they get well it’s the devil or something.
Sister, if you are reading this or come across it and are mad I posted it online, I am not going to remove it out of my freedom of expression. This is also one of the ways I’m dealing with it in my spirit. But that night impacted me more than you will ever know, and I wish I could have been more help—but I’ve never had the guts to write and ask how things went, for fear that I could never overcome the anger I incited in you in the first place by having originally gotten in touch with you. That and I’m afraid you would have just told me he died eventually and reinforce your opinion that God was responsible for it. Our mutual friend told me some time later that you were mad that I had never gotten in touch again and interpreted that as meaning I didn’t really care what happened to your family. This made me feel I was damned if I do and damned if I don’t, and I’d better just wait for the Lord to direct our paths again if He wants to and maybe you’d be more forgiving towards me by that time.
Well, it’s appropriate to end here maybe. I have more thoughts but I don’t know how to take them from that experience to the “revelation” I got from reading Romans before sitting down to write this. As is usually the case, I began this entry, and basically will split it in two, and write the other more ‘Scriptural’ one next. God has been showing me a practical way to apply faith in situations.
See you next time.
First I’ll just state my concern as of late; I’ve noticed some of the same people in my life who rebuke me heavily or start arguments with me about the supernatural aspects of God’s character as they relate to healing, have been the same people lately e-mailing me their prayer requests for people in their/our lives with cancer, sicknesses, or bad circumstances. I don’t get how Christians want it both ways and in one side of their mouth say “God does not heal today” but then turn around and when it’s them or someone they love, suddenly all that theology is out the window. Why not throw all of that bad theology out the window in the first place, and just have confidence in the Word of God and what He says He will do?
It’s no secret to many reading this that I come from a conservative church background. A church where one of the elders came up to me a week after my mom’s healing to rebuke me for sending around an e-mail testifying about it. The concern was that I was “obnoxious and disrespectful towards those who don’t believe in healing”. I should have said “heck yeah” but I was more concerned with taking correction from leadership, even if they were blatantly wrong in the way they handled the correction: I never e-mailed any of the elders the e-mail about my mom, and the pastor at my church immediately after this incident apologized to me for showing them his copy and having a second party rebuke me –contrary to Matthew 18:15-18 principle for how to correct someone—I’m not posting that in passing to stir up trouble, but just it’s part of the experience I’m sharing and I’m not bitter towards them.
But I do strongly lack respect for outlooks and theology that keep people bound and make excuses for why we don’t see God work in power. But week after week, there are numerous prayer requests listed in our morning bulletins, and prayer request e-mails going around and almost 80% of them are related to peoples’ health. And we are constantly asking each other to pray for these things.
Again, I don’t want to step on toes unnecessarily, and maybe your life or someone in your family is mentioned in those prayer requests—but why do we list them at all if we don’t actually believe God answers our prayers for those sick loved ones? Is it some religious ritual we’re just going through time after time because we’re intrinsically supposed to? Or do we really believe there will be answers for these prayers?
As a culture, and likewise as the Church since instead of changing the culture, the culture has changed us—we are sickness-minded. We are used to taking Tylenol for our headaches, and Halls for our sore throats. We live in a culture where many of our health problems can be cured with some technological advancements or medications or a trip to the hospital. But it also seems to have helped us have more confidence in the doctors than in our Great Physician. Let me demonstrate an example I’m sure you’ll relate to.
In our meetings or Christian circles, someone falls sick. It happens all the time--and as long as we’re made out of flesh living in this earthly realm where there is a spiritual war going on, civilians (believers and nonbelievers alike) will always get attacked. We’re in the habit of praying for their appointment with the doctor—we pray for the surgery to go smoothly—we pray that the Lord will guide the hand of the surgeon performing the operation. We are happy that the Lord “sees them through the difficulty” when someone goes through a painful surgery operation to remove something from their body that is afflicted with cancer. We believe God, but we only believe Him insofar as he will help a man (the doctor) do the work. The thought not only never crosses our minds—but is deemed excessive to lay hands on that brother or sister in our congregations and pray down the authority of heaven into their body right then and there SO THAT they don’t even need the trip to the doctor. We have absolutely no concept of laying hands on grandma and seeing her goiter get splattered all over the wall instead of going to the doctor.
The other aspect to this I’m noticing, is how so many Christians have more confidence in their problems than they do God Himself. I had a friend from out of town recently say to me regarding their plans to visit at Christmas “I will if my health permits it” or something to that effect. Why let our health “permit” anything? We must take authority over our bodies and tell them to line up with the Word and promises of God and that you will be visiting where God has put on your heart to visit (as well as be taking care of our bodies in the first place, and not be presumptious—I’m not saying this brother wasn’t doing that).
When I shared this kind of stuff he told me to be realistic and that I don’t understand. The more I listened the more my heart broke that someone can be so much more pre-occupied with their affliction itself than the possibility (likelihood) that God is bigger than their body or their problems. Why do we begin with a negative pessimistic worldview when it comes to our bodies and the possibilities of being healed? I’m being as realistic as possible—going by the Word, not circumstances. It seems to me the sentence “be realistic” or the term “reality check” were both coined by individuals who paid attention to circumstances around them instead of their dreams or their faith.
Few know about this, and I’ve never shared it publicly. I want to be sensitive to the family if they ever come across this entry. But some time ago a friend of mine asked me to get in touch with her friend, and have myself and another buddy offer to pray for healing for a terminally ill family member. I wrote the politest and most ingratiating e-mail I could imagine receiving if I were in their shoes hearing from a stranger this way.
The person wrote back and blasted me.
Not only that, but another family member had viewed the e-mail and wrote me and also blasted me and told me I was sticking my nose in their business, and called me a bull in a china shop. Then the next day wrote me back another scathing e-mail out of anger that I didn’t respond to hers right away. But the one I originally wrote, I had begun working on a response to her e-mail, and just put all the faith Scriptures I could come up with at the top of my head to boost her confidence in seeing a dramatic healing and not losing this loved one. If you’ve ever read any of my entries on healing, or are familiar with my writing style on the subject, you’re well aware of what the e-mail would have looked like.
To my shock and surprise, this not only failed to go over well, but she came over to my house with two of her friends to yell at me about e-mailing her, and tell me how offended she was that I was implying she had no faith--which I did nothing of the sort, but she misinterpreted to read that way. Christians easily get the idea they are being told they don’t have any faith if you encourage them in ways they can make their faith grow. We all are in charge of how much faith we have, and can water that seed.
I don’t know how--other than the grace of God--that I didn’t just weep then and there as I listened to this girl and her two friends rip me to shreds for trying to help—clearly she was hurting and going through a loss in something I obviously could not relate to, but to stand there and be totally misrepresented and maligned to my face for what was motivated by compassion and helping out a friend who asked me to help her friend—that this compassion was interpreted as arrogance and looking for a ‘test case’ to practice healing on. But I was not grieved that I was misunderstood…
Oh, it was difficult to do that whole “keep-my-mouth-shut-like-the-sheep-going-to-the-slaughter” thing. It seemed to me that I aggravated her even more by keeping my silence and not answering a lot of her concerns. I just let her…vent. I could not possibly know her pain, so I didn’t try to pretend I did.
That night has rocked me ever since, and obviously I’m careful not to just offer to pray for anybody I don’t know or don’t have reason to offer help to through mutual friends, but what I’ll never forget is this young woman full of fury staring me right in the eye telling me God is NOT going to heal her father--that “God was taking him home this way”. This was her faith confession—that it was NOT going to happen; she was dwelling on the negative and gave no hope for a turn-around. I went upstairs afterwards, trying not to cry, but telling my roommate at the time how I couldn’t understand why people blame God for things the devil does. That night fueled a fire in me to go after healings with more determination, as it’s an observation to me that people think God makes people sick and if they get well it’s the devil or something.
Sister, if you are reading this or come across it and are mad I posted it online, I am not going to remove it out of my freedom of expression. This is also one of the ways I’m dealing with it in my spirit. But that night impacted me more than you will ever know, and I wish I could have been more help—but I’ve never had the guts to write and ask how things went, for fear that I could never overcome the anger I incited in you in the first place by having originally gotten in touch with you. That and I’m afraid you would have just told me he died eventually and reinforce your opinion that God was responsible for it. Our mutual friend told me some time later that you were mad that I had never gotten in touch again and interpreted that as meaning I didn’t really care what happened to your family. This made me feel I was damned if I do and damned if I don’t, and I’d better just wait for the Lord to direct our paths again if He wants to and maybe you’d be more forgiving towards me by that time.
Well, it’s appropriate to end here maybe. I have more thoughts but I don’t know how to take them from that experience to the “revelation” I got from reading Romans before sitting down to write this. As is usually the case, I began this entry, and basically will split it in two, and write the other more ‘Scriptural’ one next. God has been showing me a practical way to apply faith in situations.
See you next time.
martes, diciembre 13, 2005
How well do you think you know me?
Click here to find out (and no, looking at the get to know me post from a few days ago won't help you much)
domingo, diciembre 11, 2005
See Spock Rot
Well the concert Saturday night was great.
I went to Craig’s house around 2:30pm and waited for the individuals who were going to show up since the Park St. house was the meeting point we agreed on. I didn’t know this when I wrote the post earlier in the week, but another buddy of mine, (an acquaintance until this point anyway) named Bob—had ALSO won tickets that morning after Craig and I did! Isn’t that wild? So three people who were all in the same basic circle of friends in the P Dot all won a pair of tickets each, and a total of six of us went down in the red van I have use of. And we had a blast.
I was originally under the impression we were leaving around 2:30pm, and then would go do something in the T Dot for the afternoon until the concert. I was fully prepared for the city driving, and the length of time it would take to drive the distances required, but was not fully prepared for one of the individuals to not actually know where a certain store he made us drive to was located. So we drove about half an hour down Yonge St, until we got to Bloor and couldn’t find somewhere to park (surprise). The parking lot we found was more expensive than anyone involved wanted to pay, so by this time it got late and we had to drive around in circles around the block (where that big TV Screen is) and wait for a couple of our group to come back out of the store we drove there to go to. Then, we ate quickly at one of the Subway stores (they don’t give out sub stamps anymore everywhere else but Peterborough apparently!). Then, we basically drove back up Yonge street mostly and then we were at Canada Christian College just in time for the concert to start.
So basically we left Peterborough “early” to go to Toronto and drive and drive and not actually hang out in the city. Fortunately, this road trip to Toronto I was reimbursed on gas by those involved, so it was just costing me my sanity driving in the city with all these pedestrians everywhere thinking I won’t hit them if they walk in front of my van suddenly.
So, one act was not present—Stellar Kart—which was too bad because Bob and I were really hoping they’d play their Bon Jovi cover of “Living on a Prayer”. Instead the opening act was some Canadian act from Kingston I never heard from again and can’t remember how any of their songs went, but what stuck out in my mind was the fact that the drummer was the singer. That was different and unusual, so they get two thumbs up.
The Wedding was alright, but I really enjoyed Day of Fire, Falling Up, and of course, Pillar. They each know how to rock in concert live, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself – especially during Pillar’s performanc since I had more than one week to listen to their CD and get familiar with them. They even did their cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2, which was like double excitment for me because they're another band I'm a big fan of.
That is about all I have to say about the acts. The rest of the night was kinda ruined or spoiled by the fact that all the bouncers were teenagers half my size and who all took their job way more seriously than necessary. For example, there was hardly any unsafe moshing going on (this was a concert with Christian teenagers after all), and I hardly ever was getting knocked over by people when I stood at the front (I am tall and 200 pounds after all). Constantly these little kids that I could pick up with one arm and throw would come by and say “keep the space [in front of the stage] clear” and give us a good shove as if it was even necessary. From what I could tell, they only had us clear the space so they could make room for their other wanna-be bouncer friends to come and see the band up close.
I submitted and co-operated since I’m all about submission to authority, even if it’s some teenager taking himself way too seriously.
But the only injury in the mosh pit happened to a bouncer (imagine that!)—these bouncers would shove the crowd around, and it came back and basically knocked this tall scrawny kid down on the ground and he got stepped on by like 20 people. It was at the end of the Day of Fire act and they basically stopped everything to bring help to the front. The kid only had a sprained ankle in the end, but he came back, and pushed people around some more like nothing happened to him. But by this time I had a really good view (as the pictures below can attest to) and stood in front. Until yet more little teenagers made their way to the front and deemed themselves more important than the rest of us concert-goers.
The same thing proceeded to happen: people were moshing and jumping up and down, and these bouncers get bounced trying to “calm the crowd." I think next year, the organizer should hire people that are a little bigger than these.
From what I can tell the only injuries to take place were to the bouncers! One of them kept sticking his arm out at me and pushing me, so I finally grabbed it and told him to chill. The other one from earlier that fell and hurt his ankle, grabbed and shoved me backwards making me lose my balance. I failed to understand how it was necessary to do this since no real rowdiness was even taking place--so when he did it again, I grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him with me. He fell, but as a result of pulling him I regained my balance and stood standing, but I immediately got convicted when I thought I might have made him hurt his ankle again. He appeared alright and got up, but needless to say he never laid a hand on me again all night, and from then on basically for the entire Pillar set, I enjoyed myself immensely without being pushed around by these teenaged bouncers who thought their responsibility entailed pushing people around who were standing too close to some imaginary line near the stage.
Anyway, I hope all this talk doesn’t make me sound negative about the experience. I really want to thank the people at KAOS Radio for giving us the tickets, and I enjoyed myself more than I hated things about it, but this mosh pit stuff and people acting like idiots at a concert is why I hardly ever go to big concert events—even Christian ones.
I also was so worked up from it that I couldn't sleep, so though it was around 1:30am when I got in, I still didn't sleep until like 4am and slept in until around 11, and didn't bother to go to church.
I had fun hanging out with some people I had not seen a lot of since I’ve been back from Europe, and Bob if you’re reading this--it was sure was fun getting to know you even better and I can’t wait to see the work the Lord blossoms in you.
Peace out.
I went to Craig’s house around 2:30pm and waited for the individuals who were going to show up since the Park St. house was the meeting point we agreed on. I didn’t know this when I wrote the post earlier in the week, but another buddy of mine, (an acquaintance until this point anyway) named Bob—had ALSO won tickets that morning after Craig and I did! Isn’t that wild? So three people who were all in the same basic circle of friends in the P Dot all won a pair of tickets each, and a total of six of us went down in the red van I have use of. And we had a blast.
I was originally under the impression we were leaving around 2:30pm, and then would go do something in the T Dot for the afternoon until the concert. I was fully prepared for the city driving, and the length of time it would take to drive the distances required, but was not fully prepared for one of the individuals to not actually know where a certain store he made us drive to was located. So we drove about half an hour down Yonge St, until we got to Bloor and couldn’t find somewhere to park (surprise). The parking lot we found was more expensive than anyone involved wanted to pay, so by this time it got late and we had to drive around in circles around the block (where that big TV Screen is) and wait for a couple of our group to come back out of the store we drove there to go to. Then, we ate quickly at one of the Subway stores (they don’t give out sub stamps anymore everywhere else but Peterborough apparently!). Then, we basically drove back up Yonge street mostly and then we were at Canada Christian College just in time for the concert to start.
So basically we left Peterborough “early” to go to Toronto and drive and drive and not actually hang out in the city. Fortunately, this road trip to Toronto I was reimbursed on gas by those involved, so it was just costing me my sanity driving in the city with all these pedestrians everywhere thinking I won’t hit them if they walk in front of my van suddenly.
So, one act was not present—Stellar Kart—which was too bad because Bob and I were really hoping they’d play their Bon Jovi cover of “Living on a Prayer”. Instead the opening act was some Canadian act from Kingston I never heard from again and can’t remember how any of their songs went, but what stuck out in my mind was the fact that the drummer was the singer. That was different and unusual, so they get two thumbs up.
The Wedding was alright, but I really enjoyed Day of Fire, Falling Up, and of course, Pillar. They each know how to rock in concert live, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself – especially during Pillar’s performanc since I had more than one week to listen to their CD and get familiar with them. They even did their cover of Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2, which was like double excitment for me because they're another band I'm a big fan of.
That is about all I have to say about the acts. The rest of the night was kinda ruined or spoiled by the fact that all the bouncers were teenagers half my size and who all took their job way more seriously than necessary. For example, there was hardly any unsafe moshing going on (this was a concert with Christian teenagers after all), and I hardly ever was getting knocked over by people when I stood at the front (I am tall and 200 pounds after all). Constantly these little kids that I could pick up with one arm and throw would come by and say “keep the space [in front of the stage] clear” and give us a good shove as if it was even necessary. From what I could tell, they only had us clear the space so they could make room for their other wanna-be bouncer friends to come and see the band up close.
I submitted and co-operated since I’m all about submission to authority, even if it’s some teenager taking himself way too seriously.
But the only injury in the mosh pit happened to a bouncer (imagine that!)—these bouncers would shove the crowd around, and it came back and basically knocked this tall scrawny kid down on the ground and he got stepped on by like 20 people. It was at the end of the Day of Fire act and they basically stopped everything to bring help to the front. The kid only had a sprained ankle in the end, but he came back, and pushed people around some more like nothing happened to him. But by this time I had a really good view (as the pictures below can attest to) and stood in front. Until yet more little teenagers made their way to the front and deemed themselves more important than the rest of us concert-goers.
The same thing proceeded to happen: people were moshing and jumping up and down, and these bouncers get bounced trying to “calm the crowd." I think next year, the organizer should hire people that are a little bigger than these.
From what I can tell the only injuries to take place were to the bouncers! One of them kept sticking his arm out at me and pushing me, so I finally grabbed it and told him to chill. The other one from earlier that fell and hurt his ankle, grabbed and shoved me backwards making me lose my balance. I failed to understand how it was necessary to do this since no real rowdiness was even taking place--so when he did it again, I grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him with me. He fell, but as a result of pulling him I regained my balance and stood standing, but I immediately got convicted when I thought I might have made him hurt his ankle again. He appeared alright and got up, but needless to say he never laid a hand on me again all night, and from then on basically for the entire Pillar set, I enjoyed myself immensely without being pushed around by these teenaged bouncers who thought their responsibility entailed pushing people around who were standing too close to some imaginary line near the stage.
Anyway, I hope all this talk doesn’t make me sound negative about the experience. I really want to thank the people at KAOS Radio for giving us the tickets, and I enjoyed myself more than I hated things about it, but this mosh pit stuff and people acting like idiots at a concert is why I hardly ever go to big concert events—even Christian ones.
I also was so worked up from it that I couldn't sleep, so though it was around 1:30am when I got in, I still didn't sleep until like 4am and slept in until around 11, and didn't bother to go to church.
I had fun hanging out with some people I had not seen a lot of since I’ve been back from Europe, and Bob if you’re reading this--it was sure was fun getting to know you even better and I can’t wait to see the work the Lord blossoms in you.
Peace out.
viernes, diciembre 09, 2005
I got tagged and can't fight it
Warning: This post is really long
Seven things to do before I die
1. Travel to each continent at least once, and do work of some significance while there—not just visit to say I have been there.
2. Lead a thousand people to Jesus
3. See said thousand people discipled.
4. Know God really good and be like Him
5. Well, the stuff that makes theological people tell me it doesn’t happen:
6. Multitudes saved at once, the sick healed, the dead raised, etc…
7. I’m drawing a blank.
JESUS REVOLUTION / REVIVAL SWEEP THE LAND!
Seven things I cannot do
1. Understand people who believe they’ve got every theological explanation for everything figured out
2. Get used to the “throat noise” you need to have down pat in order to say almost anything in Dutch
3. Go to bed early (I've tried!!!)
4. Ever get used to the freezing cold
5. Enjoy working at the following places: Buckham’s Transport Ltd. (hmmm—hazardous waste!) and Masterfeeds (hmmm—shoveling piles of rotten corn up to my knees and smelling like a used jockstrap filled with rotten cottage cheese)
6. Grow hair on the top of my head
7. Walk in public without females staring at me and wanting to flirt with me. Ok that one was made up.
Things that attract me to the opposite gender.
1. Beautiful looks (don’t even get self-righteous on me and pretend it is not important to you!)
2. Sense of humor.
3. Love for Jesus and His people coupled with a love for the Word.
4. Sense of adventure.
5. Kindness/thoughtfulness/compassion.
6. Call to missions.
7. Perseverance and ability to stay strong through difficult situations and come out stronger
7. Sense of humor. What good would it be to spend my life with a woman who will sweat the small stuff and die of a stress-related heart attack 20 years before me.
Seven things I say most often
1. “Je bent betrapt!”
2. “Tot ziens”
3. “Slaaplekker”
4. “Did you see Arrested Development this week?”
5. After a prank of some kind has taken place of any kind to any person in particular: “Now why would you assume it was me who did it?”
6. “Hey ______ (insert your name here)” you respond, I respond with “NOTHING!”
7. "Sure."
Seven books (or authors) I love
1. Bible—preferably the English Standard Version (ESV)
2. Apostolic Foundations by Art Katz
3. The Walk of the Spirit, the Walk of Power, by Dave Roberson
4. John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings – compiled by Roberts Liardon
5. Smith Wigglesworth: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings – compiled by Roberts Liardon
6. Healing the Sick – T.L. Osborn
7. God’s Generals Vol. 1 and 2 by Roberts Liardon
Seven movies I would watch over and over again.
1. Star Wars 3 (at least just the climax fight scene)
2. Hot Shots
3. Episodes of Arrested Development
4. The Passion of The Christ
5. Alive
6. Farenheit 9/11 (just kidding, I wanted to get some of you American FIRE friends frazzled)
7. Farenhype 9/11 (just kidding, I wanted to get the same bunch of you all frazzled again)
Seven CD's I couldn't part with
1. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” or The Greatest Hits 1990s album by U2 or almost any of their CDs, but I’m supposed to pick, right?
2. Remember – Jason Upton
3. Get Real – The Halo Friendlies
4. Any good Morning Star prophetic worship CD
5. “Alien Youth” by Skillet
6. “Touch” by Delirious”
7. A good David Crowder Band worship CD
Seven (out of a million) favorite worship songs/hymns
1. Emmanuel - Aaron Crider
2. Don’t know, but how about a good Delirious Song
3. Don’t know, but how about a good Morning Star Song
4. Don’t know, but how about a good David Crowder Song
5. There’s No One Like Our God – that Hungry CD
6. Who is Like the Lord? – Israel and New Breed
7. Beautiful One – Jeremy Camp
7. You are in Control – by Lindell Cooley
7. The Change Inside of Me – MercyMe
7. Children Born of the Spirit – Laura Woodley (Tehillah Toronto CD—you’d know it if you’ve heard it before)
Seven people I want to join in, too
1. Baking Freak
2. Refolutionair
3. Shine is Dead (I know you’re reading this, might as well do one)
4. Jerry Botox
5. Duncan
6. Coin Laundry Loser
7. Amy Meshnick (it will give you an excuse to update for the first time this month)
Seven things to do before I die
1. Travel to each continent at least once, and do work of some significance while there—not just visit to say I have been there.
2. Lead a thousand people to Jesus
3. See said thousand people discipled.
4. Know God really good and be like Him
5. Well, the stuff that makes theological people tell me it doesn’t happen:
6. Multitudes saved at once, the sick healed, the dead raised, etc…
7. I’m drawing a blank.
JESUS REVOLUTION / REVIVAL SWEEP THE LAND!
Seven things I cannot do
1. Understand people who believe they’ve got every theological explanation for everything figured out
2. Get used to the “throat noise” you need to have down pat in order to say almost anything in Dutch
3. Go to bed early (I've tried!!!)
4. Ever get used to the freezing cold
5. Enjoy working at the following places: Buckham’s Transport Ltd. (hmmm—hazardous waste!) and Masterfeeds (hmmm—shoveling piles of rotten corn up to my knees and smelling like a used jockstrap filled with rotten cottage cheese)
6. Grow hair on the top of my head
7. Walk in public without females staring at me and wanting to flirt with me. Ok that one was made up.
Things that attract me to the opposite gender.
1. Beautiful looks (don’t even get self-righteous on me and pretend it is not important to you!)
2. Sense of humor.
3. Love for Jesus and His people coupled with a love for the Word.
4. Sense of adventure.
5. Kindness/thoughtfulness/compassion.
6. Call to missions.
7. Perseverance and ability to stay strong through difficult situations and come out stronger
7. Sense of humor. What good would it be to spend my life with a woman who will sweat the small stuff and die of a stress-related heart attack 20 years before me.
Seven things I say most often
1. “Je bent betrapt!”
2. “Tot ziens”
3. “Slaaplekker”
4. “Did you see Arrested Development this week?”
5. After a prank of some kind has taken place of any kind to any person in particular: “Now why would you assume it was me who did it?”
6. “Hey ______ (insert your name here)” you respond, I respond with “NOTHING!”
7. "Sure."
Seven books (or authors) I love
1. Bible—preferably the English Standard Version (ESV)
2. Apostolic Foundations by Art Katz
3. The Walk of the Spirit, the Walk of Power, by Dave Roberson
4. John G. Lake: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings – compiled by Roberts Liardon
5. Smith Wigglesworth: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings – compiled by Roberts Liardon
6. Healing the Sick – T.L. Osborn
7. God’s Generals Vol. 1 and 2 by Roberts Liardon
Seven movies I would watch over and over again.
1. Star Wars 3 (at least just the climax fight scene)
2. Hot Shots
3. Episodes of Arrested Development
4. The Passion of The Christ
5. Alive
6. Farenheit 9/11 (just kidding, I wanted to get some of you American FIRE friends frazzled)
7. Farenhype 9/11 (just kidding, I wanted to get the same bunch of you all frazzled again)
Seven CD's I couldn't part with
1. “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” or The Greatest Hits 1990s album by U2 or almost any of their CDs, but I’m supposed to pick, right?
2. Remember – Jason Upton
3. Get Real – The Halo Friendlies
4. Any good Morning Star prophetic worship CD
5. “Alien Youth” by Skillet
6. “Touch” by Delirious”
7. A good David Crowder Band worship CD
Seven (out of a million) favorite worship songs/hymns
1. Emmanuel - Aaron Crider
2. Don’t know, but how about a good Delirious Song
3. Don’t know, but how about a good Morning Star Song
4. Don’t know, but how about a good David Crowder Song
5. There’s No One Like Our God – that Hungry CD
6. Who is Like the Lord? – Israel and New Breed
7. Beautiful One – Jeremy Camp
7. You are in Control – by Lindell Cooley
7. The Change Inside of Me – MercyMe
7. Children Born of the Spirit – Laura Woodley (Tehillah Toronto CD—you’d know it if you’ve heard it before)
Seven people I want to join in, too
1. Baking Freak
2. Refolutionair
3. Shine is Dead (I know you’re reading this, might as well do one)
4. Jerry Botox
5. Duncan
6. Coin Laundry Loser
7. Amy Meshnick (it will give you an excuse to update for the first time this month)
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