#blacklivesmatter vs #alllivesmatter

A conservationist in Africa began to be concerned about the Rhinoceros species.  Although there are approximately 20,000 rhinos today, about 20% of them are in captivity (zoos), while over 20% of the overall population is being poached each year due to the value of their horns.  At that rate it appears that the species cannot stand for long except behind the bars of incarceration.  

While this conservationist was starting a movement called the #rhinoslivesmatter movement, one of his friends told him that he was offended that he was saying that rhinos lives matter when in fact all the animals lives matter, including the African buffalo.  The conservationist told his friend, “Yes, the African buffalo is a wonderful animal too, but while there are 900,000 buffalo, the rhinoceros is endangered, and if something is not done it will go extinct.”  

The friend said, “But I always see pictures of rhinos in my flip calendar, and when I take my kids to the zoo the rhinos are always there.  I think I am going to start a movement called the #allungulatesmatter movement, proving that all ungulates, whether buffalo, bison, rhino, zebra, deer, or hippo.  It’s not just the rhinos that matter, but the other ungulates matter too.”

The conservationist replied to his friend, “I am in no way against other ungulates, but this is a critical point in history for this species of ungulate.  Rhinos are being murdered and incarcerated at rates beyond other ungulates so that very soon the only way to see a rhino will be behind the walls of a zoo or it horn that was cut off.  African buffalos are also a beautiful animal, but they are not being poached or taken captive at near the same rate.  The poachers have a great monetary incentive to kill the rhino, while no such incentive exists with the buffalo.  The reason I am saying #rhinoslivesmatter is because it seems that I am a lone voice in a world bent on the extermination of the rhino, and rhinos need someone to advocate for them before it is too late.  For you to say #allungulatesmatter misses the whole point that it is rhinos lives that are being poached in such numbers that threaten speciesicide.  Friend, would you understand that I need your help.  Are you listening?  Do you hear my heart?”

#blacklivesmatter in a Christian context is like one body part hurting and needing the body to respond to the hurt.  “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

I, as a white male, cannot understand what it is like for a black man in today’s culture.  So I pray that I will listen more to my black brothers than talk about them or to them.  I pray this as someone who loves to talk and is bad at listening.  “Lord, give me a listening spirit.  Amen.”

Christian idea: listen to my brother

A great book to provide information on the topic of the mass incarceration of black males is The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.  

Stay Away from Hydrocodone!

Ever since Carl Mannich and Helene Lowenheim mixed it in Germany in 1920, Hydrocodone (or its various names) has been taking away the pain for people all over the world.  Most people who take Hydrocodone, though, are in the US of A.  Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK have all banned its medical use.  Why would that be?

Hydrocodone is a narcotic pain killer.

Do you have pain?'

Think twice or thrice before filling the script so easily given by the doctor for hydrocodone.

This post may get many hits and comments and people may say bad things about this post and blog because hydrocodone is one of many drugs (by no means the only drug - oxycodone, methadone, suboxone, tramadol, and even benadryl) that are abused.

I am not a doctor.

I am not a pharmacutical representative.

I am not a drug dealer.

I try to help people with addictions.

Many people with drug addictions started by using a prescription that their doctor gave them called hydrocodone.

I am the watchman of Ezekiel.  You may think that I am crazy, but I do not want your blood to be on my head.  Hydrocodone is a tool of Satan to take everything away from you.

If you are getting defensive as you read this, let me ask this question, "What did people do for pain before pain killers?"  What good had hydrocodone really brought to this world?  What heartache and suffering has hydrocodone brought to this world.

This blog post was written for one single person.

You who are wondering if you should take it for the pain.

No!!!!!   Don't take it!!!!!!!

Please please please please please don't.

There is no pill that can take the pain away.
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Jesus wants to be with you in your pain.

New Lyrics to T. Swift's Wildest Dreams

One Christian Family idea I have is to make up new words to songs.  I do this a lot.  Maybe I will do this with other songs.  Being a Taylor Swift fan in her younger years, I find that she is leaving reality in the song, "Wildest Dreams," in which, in my opinion she wants to have sexual intercourse with a man for one night.

God made sexual intercourse as a wonderful gift for humankind, so that one man and one woman can enjoy this gift in the committed relationship of Christian marriage.  Today sexual intercourse is seen by many as something to enjoy in any relationship.  This also seems to be the message of Taylor Swift's song.  This is nothing new to pop music.  But for the Christian families who have adolescent children, and for the parents, it is good to be reminded of the deception of the song by writing new lyrics.  Many of the lyrics I will keep the same, but add an element of truth to them so that the song is not a shroud of lies.  If you want to find the real lyrics to Wildest Dreams, I am guessing you can find them on the internet much easier than this blog.



"Wildest Dreams"

He said, "Let's get out of this town,
Drive out of the city, away from accountability."
I thought heaven can't see me now.
He won't last forever, but this is gonna take away my virginity

He's so tall and has a handsome face
He's so bad but he manipulates so well
I can see the end as it begins
My one condition is

Say you'll remember me standing in STD,
Staring at the HIV babe
Red lips and rosy cheeks
Say you'll see me again
Even if it's just in your venereal disease, ah-ha, venereal disease, ah-ha.

I said, "No one has to know what we do, "
Except that I just put it in a song, my facebook page just blew
a hidden camera in the background,
Nothing lasts forever but this is on snapchat now

He's so tall and has a handsome face
He's so bad but he manipulates so well
And when we've had our very last kiss
My last request it is

Say you'll remember me seeing your wife rip her wedding dress,
Seeing your kids on Prozac, babe
in diapers and rosy cheeks
Say you'll see me again
Even if it's just to wreck your home, ah-ha, wreck your home, ah-ha.

You see me in hindsight
Worshipping me all night
Burning you down
Someday when you leave me
 I bet my idol shrine
Follows you around

I'll see her in hindsight
Worshipping her all night
Burning me down
Someday when you leave me
I bet her idol shrine
Follows me around

Say you'll remember me with my ever fading dress,
Staring at my sunset, babe
pale lips and cold cheeks
Say you'll see me again
Even if it's just pretend

You won't remember me standing in any dress,
Staring at your sunset, babe
Red lips and rosy cheeks
Will turn to dust again
Even if it's just in your (just pretend, just pretend) funeral stone, ah-ha, in your funeral stone, ah-ha
(Even if it's just in your wildest dreams) ah-ha, in your funeral stone, ah-ha.

Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?

http://www.fox.com/are-you-smarter-than-a-fifth-grader
Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
is a show on fox that makes some of us nervous.

What if I am not smarter than a fifth grader?

What if I am smarter than a fifth grader?  Will I then have to be smarter than a freshman?  A Ph.D.?

James 3:13 asks a similar question, "Who is wise and understanding among you?"
James, who wrote to the twelve tribes (James 1:1), may have picked this question up from Deuteronomy 1:13 where Moses says, "Choose wise and understanding men. . . . as your heads."

Imagine in your church or your community or even your extended family or friends picking the wise ones to be the leaders?  Who would you choose?  Would you want to be picked?  Would you pick a fifth grader?

It is one thing to be picked as wise and another thing to prove that I am wise.  James loves for us to prove things, and so he writes further in 3:13, "By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom."

Those men picked by the Israelites as their leaders did not seem to lead them very wisely in the next forty years of wandering.  Can I lead any better than they did?  What is my proof?

For James the proof is "the meekness of wisdom," and to understand that we need to look a a leader who was also a fifth grader.  No one knows for certain how old Solomon was when he became king, but some say he was 12 years old.  Even though most fifth graders are 10-11 years old as fifth graders, where I come from plenty of kids were 12.  Some people say Solomon could not have been 12 when he became king because he had a child a year before he became king, but again, where I come from some babies are born to some young kids, and looking at the family Solomon was brought up in, it is easy for me to imagine he had a child at a young age.  So play my game with me assuming that Solomon was a fifth grader when he became king.

In 1 Kings 3:5 God says to Solomon, "Ask what I shall give you."
Solomon's reply in the Danny Smith Paraphrase in 1 Kings 3;6-9 goes like this:
"You loved my dad, David.  You put me on His throne, even though I am just a fifth grader.  I can't even unlock the door or put the toilet seat where it should go.  I don't know what I am doing.  Give me wisdom because I do not have any and you, God, have all wisdom.  Without Your wisdom, I am likely to lead this people of Yours off a cliff."

The meekness of wisdom is Solomon saying, "I have no wisdom.  God has all wisdom."
Personalize that by inserting your name for I:  "_______ has no wisdom.  God has all wisdom."

Contrast the meekness of wisdom with the jealousy of wisdom, and jealousy and selfish ambition was something Solomon saw in his family growing up.  If you want something take it.  If someone is in your way, get rid of them.

James 3:14-16  "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."

James speaks of a wisdom that is from above, hinting that it is from God, and also a wisdom that is from the earth, from us, from demons, or in contrast, from below.  The wisdom from below is in competition mode: "Who can I beat? (Maybe a fifth grader.)  The wisdom from above knows that the One Who is above has blown out the competition, and that the game is over!  The only wise God has all wisdom.  The wisdom from above is described in very humble and meek terms in James 3:17 "pure. . . peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy" and the list goes on.  No need to be in competition when the only Supplier of wisdom is giving it out free to those who ask.

Solomon, the fifth grader, would tell us that the first step to getting wisdom is realizing you don't have any.  The second step to getting wisdom is asking the One who has it.  When I recognized that I was not worthy to sit in any seat, God placed me in the seat, the throne, over His own people.

When we realize that we shouldn't even be allowed to sit in any seat, God puts us in the best seat in the house.  When I was a fifth grader, I was getting an F in citizenship.  My dad came to school, and wow was I in trouble.  I was kicked off the basketball team, and I had to wake up early in the morning to run with my dad before school.  But for one week I was an angel at school and raised my grade to a D-.  My dad decoded to do something for me that I did not expect.  He worked at a University and had dealings with a law office in Indianapolis.  He talked with them and they gave him tickets to a game in Market Square Arena to watch the Indiana Pacers play the Chicago Bulls.  This was 1987.  The main poster on my wall was #23 sticking his tongue out.  My dad walked me toward my seat and I couldn't believe it.  We were just a few rows back from Michael Jordan himself.  I saw his sweat.  I had a great view for his breakaway dunks.  I knew that I did not deserve that seat.  I knew that I had done nothing to sit there, but that my dad just loved to bless me, and to sit together in amazing places.

Our Father in Heaven, Scripture says in Ephesians 2:6, "seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  Our Father has seated us in heaven.  We did not climb there.  We did not fly there.  He just loves to lift us up to be with Him.
We do not deserve to sit with Him, to know Him, to have our eyes opened, to learn of His Wisdom, to have His wisdom poured on us so that we know what path to take, know what word to say, know what pitfalls to avoid.
How do we get this wisdom?  Step 1.  We realize we need it.  Step 2.  We realize that only God has it.  (Danny has no wisdom.  God has all wisdom).  Step 3.  We ask for it.  Pray.  Step 4.  Recognize that God's wisdom can be found in the pages of the Bible.  Read the Bible.  Read it again and again.  Make it become a part of my bloodstream, not to be the smartest Bible person, but because I recognize that I need it to survive.  That it is truly my food.

Am I smarter than a fifth grader?  Not the fifth grader of Luke 2:46-47 who while his parents were looking for him, he was sitting among the teachers, teachers who probably thought they were wise, and they were amazed and both his questions and his answers.  What a turning of the tables!  It's the fifth grade Jesus Christ who teaches the teachers, shows wisdom to the wise.  No, I am not smarter than fifth grader Jesus.  In fact, I have searched all over the place to find someone greater, and I have found that no one can match that fifth grader.  If you truly want wisdom, ask the fifth grader Jesus.  If you would never ask a fifth grader anything, truly you will never receive the free gifts of wisdom, love, understanding, grace, forgiveness that He alone can give.

Finishing The Race

"I have finished the race." 2 Timothy 4:7

When I read Ezekiel 18 and hear God say, "When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it" (Ezekiel 18:26), it makes me think of how important it is to finish the race set out before us.  In races from 5Ks to marathons people quit in the middle.  I do not want to quit in the middle.  I want to continue to run for Jesus Christ.  I want to FINISH.

For those of us who understand how hard a marathon can be we also understand how hard living for Jesus can be, and that different decades, like different mile markers, bring different challenges.  The challenges of my teenage years are different than the challenges of parenting teenagers and I will face new and unknown challenges that those older than me have faced.

In our culture youth is over-emphasized to the point of being told I look old is a putdown (in other cultures this is not a putdown).  In a marathon, the last part, although the hardest, is often the most important and the most memorable.

Here is the idea:  Look at your life as a marathon so that you can plot your age and know what mile marker you are at.  If you take 26.2 times 4 you get 104.8.  Most people do not live that long, and yet some live longer.  For those who do not live that long, they either hit the wall or they were taken up in a chariot of fire.  For those who live longer, the race director thought it best to make the marathon a little longer than 26.2.

At 38, I am at mile 9.5.  Wow!  I am just getting started and a lot of running is left.  I must continue to stay focused and learn new things along the way.  I may feel good now, but a day may come when I do not feel this way.  10 miles down the road (40 years) I may be tired.  Will I finish the race?

18 years old                                      4.5 miles
21 years old                                      5.222 miles
30 years old                                      7.5 miles
40 years old                                      10 miles
50 years old                                       12.5miles
52 years 4 months 24 days                13.1 miles
60 years old                                       15 miles
70 years old                                       17.5 miles
80 years old                                       20 miles
90 years old                                       22.5 miles
100 years old                                     25 miles
104 years 9 months 18 days              26.2 miles  (If you are still alive keep going!!!!!)

Family Sports

When I was a kid, my family would play family football or family basketball.  What that meant was often my dad and I against my brother and my mom.  I never played football for a school or peewee team, but I played with my family.

I coach soccer even though I know nothing about it.  I coach 6-10 year olds and help them work together.  It is fun.  But it is more fun when I text my brother and his family and my family, and possibly others, play soccer as a family.

Here are some reasons to do this.

1.  Instead of dividing up the Christian family into this person to ballet and this kid to karate and this kid to volleyball and this kid to soccer, the whole family plays together.  Sports can be a time of family unity instead of family division.

2.  It is cheaper than paying for the a. gas to go to all the games.  b.  entrance fees to all the games.  c.  registration fees for all of the sports.

3.  You get to play, which is something that will help you in being a healthy person.  Your body is a temple.

4.  Your child sees sports more as a fun activity and less like the be all end all.

5.  The "award" your child gets for playing is called "fun."  What more reward do they need?

6.  The family that plays together stays together.

7.  The research says that family sports and exercise are very good.  See below:

 http://www.commonhealth.virginia.gov/documents/hf/AllTogetherNow.pdf

http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1061376/the-benefits-of-exercising-as-a-family

http://familyfitness.about.com/od/motivation/a/bonding.htm

Praying as Retirement

Retirement:

This is something that many people talk about how much money you are to have, but few talk about the purpose of retirement.  If a retired person does not have a purpose, what will that person do?
Here is an idea of a retirement purpose:  PRAYER.  What follows are some ideas about Praying as retirement that you can use and discard as you wish.
1.  Spend time listening for God's voice.
2.  You could set a time for listening, such as one minute for every year you are old.
3.  Go on a prayer walk every day praying for the people who live where you walk past.
4.  Go on a prayer walk and pray for other things.
5.  If you like variety like I do, have a prayer focus for every year, or even every month, such as wisdom, listening, patience, love, joy, endurance, purity, etc.
6.  Pray for different people each day of the week, for example, Sunday pray for your church body, Monday pray for your enemies, Tuesday pray for your friends, Wednesday pray for your President, Thursday pray for the famous people in the news who get into trouble, Friday pray for you town, Saturday pray for your siblings and their families.
7.  Do Yoga Prayer.  Do different Yoga positions and while in each position pray for a specific person.  Add a position and person each month.
8.  Do basketball prayer.  While shooting baskets talk to God.
9.  Pray while in the grocery store for the people who work at the grocery store, and pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them.
10.  Pray through the newspaper.  After every article you read in the newspaper, pray for the people involved or effected by that article.

Best things to inherit - #4

Eternal life.  "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life."   - Matthew 19:29 (ESV)

Ah, leaving the inheritance of this world does not mean that we are leaving inheritance altogether, but it could mean that we have found a greater inheritance.

A man says to a person dribbling a basketball, "Excuse me sir, I will pay you one million dollars to wear these shoes for a year and let me take your picture."

The person dribbling the basketball says, "No thanks, NIKE pays me one million dollars every minute."

Saying no to an inheritance that is smaller to put all our eggs in the basket of a larger inheritance is good.

Jim Elliot died at age 28 an did not enjoy an inheritance on this earth or of this earth.  He died trying to share Jesus with the people who killed him.  Jim Elliot said this, 

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

Eternal life is forever, unlike diamonds anything else this world sells.

Best things to inherit - #5

Salvation.  "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" -  Hebrews 1:14 (ESV)

This reminds me of Super Mario Brothers when someone gets that star thingy or whatever that makes them invincible and not die.  The Super Mario Version runs out, but inheriting salvation is worth so much more than any amount of money or property ever could.  For one, those who receive a large inheritance of money, say someone named John D. Rockefeller the 51st (He doesn't exist yet but he could).  He does not inherit salvation based on his great great whatever grandfather, because the Rockefleer's like all humans, die.  

Salvation.  That is what we need to inherit, and what we want our children to understand they can inherit, too.  Not that we pass it on to them, but that our heavenly Father passes it to all of us who will receive it.  

Salvation from what?  Sin, death, the devil.  Salvation from all that is evil and wrong.  

So if you are broke and cannot leave anything to your children, you can leave what has been passed on to us all that is worth far more than diamonds or gold or land or money.

Salvation, what an inheritance we have!

Best things to inherit - #8

I am continuing my top ten list of Biblical things to inherit.

#8.  Honor.   "The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace."  - Proverbs 3:35 (ESV)
                      "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor." - 1 Samuel 2:8  (ESV)

One thing that begs the question is who is honor inherited from?  If honor is inherited from parents and parents are disgraceful and not honorable, does that mean that the child can not inherit honor?

I think that these verses begin to speak of an inheritance beyond a paper will.  In some ways it speaks of each person's role in their own inheritance.  On the other hand, the second verse speaks of One who provides the needy with an inheritance of honor.  If you received no inheritance, and definitely not honor as an inheritance, honor can be inherited from the Lord, and especially to those who need it.

If you are a parent, probably the best thing for you to do to enable your children to inherit honor is to point them in the direction of the One who can give it.  If you seek honor in and of itself, I fear that you may miss it all.  The idea of inheriting honor helps us to see what a big deal it is Who we inherit from.

Listen to the conversation Martin wants you to have

My conscience:  “Thou hast sinned.”

Me:                        “I grant I have sinned.”

My conscience: “Then will God punish thee.”

Me:                        “Nay, he will not do so.”

My conscience: “Why, doth not the law of God say so?”

Me:                        “I have nothing to do with that law.”

My conscience: “Why so?”

Me:                        “Because I have another law which striketh this law dumb, that is to say,                                   liberty.”

My conscience: “What liberty is that?”

Me:                        “The liberty of Christ, for by Christ I am utterly freed from the law.”

A conversation Martin Luther encourages us to have with our conscience, if we take good hold of what Paul teaches in Galatians, in his commentary on Galatians.

a life expectancy quiz

a life expectancy quiz

Are you a human being?  Yes, give yourself 90 years  No, this quiz is not for you.

Are you a male? Yes, take off 10 years.  

How many cigarettes did you smoke yesterday?  Take off that many years.

Do you have diabetes?  Yes, take off 5 years.

Do you drink coffee? Yes or no – take away 1 year

Are any of your grandparents still alive?  Add one year for each living grandparent.

Are you a pessimist?  Take off 5 years.  Are you an optimist?  Add 1 year.

How many heart attacks have you had?  Take off 5 years for each heart attack

How many days a week do you exercise for 30 or more minutes?  Add that many years.

Do you work at a desk?  Yes, take away 3 years

Do you work in a kitchen?  Yes, take away one year.

Do you work hard manual labor?  Yes, add one year.

Are you good at math?  Yes, take away the number of years of the days left in this week times pi, including today.  No, take away 5 years.

What is your life expectancy?

Moses also does some obituary math in Psalm 90,

^NLT Psalm 90:1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!  ² Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.  ³ You turn people back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, you mortals!"  ⁴ For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.  ⁵ You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.  ⁶ In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.  ⁷ We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.  ⁸ You spread out our sins before you-- our secret sins-- and you see them all.  ⁹ We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan.  ¹⁰ Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.  ¹¹ Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.  ¹² Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.  ¹³ O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!  ¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.  ¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.  ¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.  ¹⁷ And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

“teach us to realize the brevity of life” (12)

In God’s eyes 1000 years are like a day, like a night watch(4).  A night was divided into four watches of  three hours each.  So 1000 years were like a day, or like 3 hours.

Enoch had a son named Methusaelh in the book of Genesis who lived for 969 years.  If Enoch would have asked God, how long will little baby Methusaleh life for?  God could have said, “to me, not quite a day, or not quite 3 hours.”

Moses(1), who lived 120 years, spoke of the common life of then, which is fairly the same as now, 70 to 80 years(10).  But what is that 70 to 80 years? Besides toil and trouble. . .

If 1000 years is like a day, or three hours, what is 70 or 80 years?

Here is my math:  70 years like 1 hour 40 minutes or like 12 minutes 40 seconds.

80 years like 1 hour 55 minutes or like 14 minutes 20 seconds.

The analogy of grass that sprouts in the morning only to wither in the evening(5-6) does not make sense to me because our grass is usually good for the whole year, but of course I did not spend my whole life in the African desert as Moses did.

So I ask myself, “what analogy would help us understand our fleeting life?”

What is something in our life that is short, less than 2 hours, or less than 15 minutes?

A cup of coffee.  How big is your coffee cup?

My life is, in the eyes of God, as lasting as a cup of coffee.  Personally I really enjoy my coffee, although I have had bad cups before, and yet it is gone so fast.  If you want to see your life the way God sees it, think of yourself drinking that one cup of coffee.  Maybe your cup is bigger than mine and you will live to 105, and so you get a 24 ounce cup of coffee, but it is still gone so fast.  Our life is so quick that, one moment, here we are, and the next moment God says, “Return to dust.”(3) And the cup is empty.

Our life is like a cup of coffee to God.

Moses asks God “Return, O Lord, how long?”(13)  But how can God return to us when we are to him like a cup of coffee?  God did end up answering this prayer of Moses.

God became a cup of coffee, a very small cup as Jesus died at 33 years old, so that he could take us beyond our little coffee cups into a much different kind of time, a time the Bible calls eternity.

So as you drink your coffee this morning, think of how short your life is in the eyes of God, and how God came into your coffee cup existence so that He could give you something more.

Generational Baggage

Do you have generational baggage?  Maybe it is a generational sin like murder or some sexual sin or gossiping, or maybe it is something that was done to you, or maybe it is some secret that you do not know.

Do you see yourself in the light of that baggage?
Does God see that baggage and say, "Yes I love her, but I can't use her with all that baggage on. . . "

Saul felt the same way when he said to Samuel, "Am I not a Benjaminite, the least of the tribes of Israel, and is not my clan the humblest of the clans of Benjamin?  Why are you talking to me in this way?" in Samuel 9.

Benjamin was almost done away with in a civil war (Judges 19-21), so they were literally the least tribe in terms of numbers and the only tribe to be genocided against.

But what about his clan?  What would be the humblest clan of Benjamin?  The reason for the civil war was because some worthless men from Gibeah of Benjamin surrounded a house in a similar way that the men of Sodom did in Genesis except that the men of Gibeah actually committed an act - they did things to a woman so that she died.  It seems that the most humble clan of Benjamin would be the clan connected to the town of Gibeah.  In 1 Samuel 10:26 we learn that Saul is from Gibeah.  It may have been some of his family members that were doing the evil deed of Judges 19, one of the worst things done in the entire Bible, and that is saying a lot.

So God chooses Saul.  Why would God choose Saul?

He also chose another Saul of Benjamin, but he was also the son of Pharisees, and Pharisees were the enemies of Jesus and they planned his murder.  So when God decides to pick someone to take the message of Jesus Christ to the other nations in the world, he picks Saul, whose family did the worst thing in the Bible.

Why does God choose the worst possible choices?

"God chooses what is foolish in the world to shame the wise,
God chooses what is weak in the world to shame the strong,
God chooses what is low and despised in the world,
even the things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." (1 Cor. 1)

God chooses you not because of your goodness but because of His goodness.

the myth of a Christian nation

America is not a Christian nation. . . .

not because the President supports abortion
not because the almost President is a Mormon which is a cult
not because of Roe v. Wade
not because the founders fathers were Freemasons which is a cult
not because Andrew Jackson killed as many Native Americans as he could
not because this country was built on enslaving the continent of Africa
not because this country was built on raping and pillaging Native Americans
not because they allow gay marriage
not because the ten commandments are not in city hall
not because there is no prayer in school
not because we have lots of guns, big ones, to kill everyone else
not because of MTV
not because of marijuana
not because of meth, bath salts, crack, and pills
not because of broken families and prisons

but because Jesus did not come to institute a "nationalistic" government
but because Jesus did not come to be king, president, or governor
but because Jesus did not come so that Harry Truman could blow up Hiroshima and Nagasaki
but because Jesus did not come for religious freedom in the sense of democracy
but because Jesus did not come for people to have a free market economy
but because Jesus did not come to be elevated on a throne
but because Jesus came to be crucified and to die
but because Jesus did not call his followers to overthrow Rome
but because Jesus called his followers to be something more than Rome,
and more than Spain, and more than England, and more than the United States,
and yes, even more than Israel
but because Jesus called his followers to follow him by taking up our own crosses and dying
but because there is no such thing as a "Christian" nation, because the very idea of
"nation" is that we are concerned about it, concerned about something besides joyfully following Jesus Christ into the face of death so that His face we see.

you may want to keep your idea of your Christian nation
I want to keep HIS idea of the Christian Church
let's follow His to our deaths

Child Sponsorship

When my wife and I were newly married we sponsored a child through Compassion International.  He was about 6 years old I think, and we would write to him and he would write to us, and our small monthly funds to him helped him to go through the Compassion International program, which included education.  We got a letter from our sponsored child recently, who is now 19, that he has completed all of his courses.  Let me tell you from my perspective the value of our relationship with him.  We got to see him grow in the Lord through his letters.  I wish my handwriting was as good as his was, but he writes on and on about his relationship with Jesus.  I don’t think that child sponsorship is the answer to all of missions, but I do think that it helps connect the busy Americans like ourselves to the poor throughout the world.  If you do not sponsor a child, you should consider it.  Compassion International is one of many Christian child sponsorship programs. 

http://www.compassion.com/

Picking up hitchhikers

Is it a good idea to pick up hitchhikers or not?  I usually side with not picking up hitchhikers because first of all it is illegal, and second who knows what situation you could find yourself in. All that said, I want to share with you how impactful picking up hitchhikers can be.

It was in the years following the Great Depression and a widow with four children told the youngest, a boy, that he would have to make it on his own.  He was 12 I think.  That boy felt rejected and decided to go to California.  Why?  Beats me.  I am not sure if he even knows.  He got picked up by a truck driver, and the boy told the truck driver he was going to California.  The truck driver asked the boy about his family and learned that he had an older sister in Ohio.  So the truck driver drove the boy to Ohio instead of California.  The boy went to his sister's and his sister took him in.  

Later the boy thought about that truck driver, and thought that he was his guardian angel.

If that man had not picked up my grandfather and taken him to his sister, much would be different in my world.

My grandfather tells that story a lot these days, and he realizes that God can work amazing things though people who pick up hitchhikers.

Mind you, the hitchhiker was 12.

On the other side of the coin, I would say it is often a very bad idea to pick up hitchhikers, especially of the opposite sex if you are alone, or anyone if you are alone.  

What are your thoughts on picking up hitchhikers?

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, dead, and buried;

the third day he rose from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

Defining "Family"

There is a lot of talk in politico-religious news bulimia feasts about the definition of the family.  Almost all of the time I hear this from Christians.  Almost all of the time it is to show that homosexuality is not a viable option for Christian families, only one husband and one wife is.  Any time there is any sort of heated argument it seems that we push our idea as the idea of the Bible, instead of letting the Bible speak its own idea.  So I wanted first to offer some ways to define the Christian family, and then to share what I believe is THE definition of the Christian family, and also share why this is important this very hour and day.  The first instance of a Biblical family is Adam and Eve, one man and one woman, and this family is referred to by Jesus in Scripture (Matthew 19:4-5; Mark 10:6-8; ).  Another family is the polygamous family, with one husband having more than one wife.  Examples of this are Lamech, Adah, and Zillah; Abraham, Sarah and Hagar;  Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah; David and his many wives, and Solomon and his 700+300.  There are many variations of the polygamous relationship, such as being a wife, a sister, a concubine, or a slave turned wife.  Many combinations are possible and many combinations are described.  There is also an interesting example of polyandry with Maacah the daughter of Abishalom bearing the Solomon’s son Rehoboam, and also bearing Rehoboam’s son Asa.  This incestual family is the one Jesus comes from.   There are many other examples of families that are not one man and one woman, such as Lot and his daughters, Hosea and Gomer and Gomer’s other men, Daniel and no wife, the Samaritan woman and her five husbands + current man, Jesus and no wife, and the list goes ever on.  So does the Bible push the idea of one man and one woman?  In a way you could say it does, but to push this idea of one man and one woman I think could make us miss THE definition of the Christian family.     

“(Jesus), your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you” (Mark 3:32).  They were referring Jesus to his family, even though the family they were referring him was one woman and no husband (There was no mention of Joseph – maybe he died, maybe not).  I wonder how many would object that Joseph could not have left Mary because Joseph was a righteous man and people back then just didn’t do that.  Honestly, I would not be shocked if Joseph left Mary.  Jesus needed to come save us all, even his dad, even his mom. 

Jesus responds with a question, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  Jesus then goes on toward a new definition of “family.”  Family is summed up in the first two words of the Lord’s prayer: “Our Father. . .”  THE definition of the Christian family is nothing less than those who are the children of the living God.  Our relation to the family of God is actually more defining than how we relate to our own family.  For instance, what if all of my family died, my wife, kids, brother, father, etc.  Would I have no family?  Not according to Jesus.  Jesus rewrites the definition of Family.  A Christian family is those who are God’s children.  The widow has a family if she is a follower of Jesus.  A Christian is by definition in a family, even if he or she is single and his or her parents are gone.

Here is the Christian family idea:  make sure your kids know what family they belong to, that they have a Father who is in heaven.  My son knows he has two fathers.  When you ask my kids if so and so is a member of our family, they think on two levels, because if someone is a believer in Jesus Christ, they are a part of our family.  Maybe you are reading this and you have no “biological” or “nuclear” family.  Jesus invites us all to be a part of his family, his Father’s house.  Which family takes precedence?  I hope the answer is obvious.  This does not mean the pastor spends every hour at Church and neglects his or her spouse and kids.  What it does mean is that the name Smith will soon be forgotten and not used again, but that the name of Jesus will go ever on, and only through his blood are our family members made.  

The 5 Year Plan

My grandpa always talked about his 5 year plan.  Most, if not all, of the time this had to do with getting the dock out of the lake and getting the boat hoist out of the lake.  He not only had a plan for how to do it, but he had a plan for the next 5 years how it was going to get done.  His talk of the 5 year plan must have rubbed off on me because I have developed a 5 year plan for January 2012- January 2017.  What really made me think about this was that my kids, who now span ages 4-10, would then span 9-15, and somehow it clicked for me that these next 5 years are crucial to my relationship with my kids.  So what kind of habits and traditions and goals to I want to put in place so that my kids and I can have a good relationship.  One of my goals in the plan was to have regular Sunday morning dates with each kid on a rotating basis.  Although my five year plan has a lot to do with my kids, there are other aspects of my plan as well.  On the financial side, one part of the plan is to pay off all of my school loans.  Part of my plan for my work as a mission counselor is to develop a discipleship relationship that multiplies and then multiplies.  I have many other parts of my 5 year plan.  How will it go?  How is it going?  Some parts of it are better than others.  But having a five year plan makes me think about what things I want to happen in the future and then boil those things down to see what steps over those five years need to be made in order for those things to happen.  So maybe a 5 year plan is for you.  What would you write as a part of your 5 year plan?

Naming your Children

I would call this “Baby Names” but they don’t stay as babies.  Those babies grow up.  My wife and I loved to name children so much we had four children, but could have named a dozen more.  We had a bit of a theme when naming our children.  Their first name was the name of a Character in the Old Testament.  Their middle name was from a family member.  Their last name was all the same – Smith.  There are many names from the Old Testament that we liked but did not use, like Jael “most blessed of women,” and Eve “mother of the living,” and Enoch “the one who walked with God,”  and Solomon “the wise one,” and Melchizedek “King of Peace” – okay okay I am the only one who liked Melchizedek.  We also could have named them from Lord of the Rings characters like Elesar, Eowyn, Arwen, Samwise, etc, etc.  Or we could go really bizarre and name them East African bird names like Carmine, Turaco, Crowned, Ibis, and Hornbill.  Catch me on another day and I am naming them Hebrew words like Emeth, Chesed, Ahava, Tov, or Greek words like Dikiosune, Aletheia, Kalae, Kolos.  Our theme for Old Testament names also extended that starting from the oldest child we went backwards in Old Testament history.  For those of you who know my kids names, we went from the beginning of the exile back to the beginning of the kings back to the beginning of the Exodus back to the re-beginning.  This helps since having four kids it is easy to forget which kid is which.  So what should you name your baby?  Don’t forget to think about initials.  J.F.K. is okay initials but Albert Sampson should not be a Smith name.