Happy Easter.. He IS Risen.

I posted these on Facebook earlier but felt here was the perfect place to post them... especially on today.

Remember... He IS Risen.....

And...

And Finally.. the Sum of it all..

Equality...

I have heard and listened to all the wind and fury over equality, gay marriage, and other myriad issues that all fall under the equality banner lately. And yes, I have grown sick and tired of it. Each side just spouts their view louder and louder each time while shutting their ears to the opposing side. Neither one has bothered to listen to seriously consider their opponent or even why they hold such views. I have heard each side call the other ignorant or uneducated or uncultured... either behind the times or forward thinking and on the losing side of history.

And what has it all gotten us I ask? Nowhere but further entrenched in our own trenches, it certainly hasn't gotten us any closer to a solution or a compromise.

I have tried to stay out of at least in the more public sphere of Facebook not because I am ashamed of my views nor because I am afraid to hold debate and discussion on such issues, but mainly because it will do good. It will change no minds and most participating will not listen openly and honestly to an opposing view. They will either "shout me down" or close their ears to anything I have to say.. so what's the  point really?

But while watching Lincoln and the many soliloquies and speeched on equality (albeit over slavery and the inherent worth of people regardless of skin color) I feel that my view must be clarified if only here in the blog amongst the 2 or 3 that read it.

During the movie Daniel Day Lewis as Lincoln talks about equality in terms of Euclid's Axioms... specifically the one states is that if two things are equal to another thing, then they must be equal to each other. He states that it is inherent, self evident. I agree with this and apply it to the current issues.

First off... let me state my personal views. Personally, I believe that homosexuality is a sin, however nor worse or better a sin than any other such as theft, greed, lying, murder, etc. I am guilty of more than my fair share of sins and can hold no on else better or worse than myself for their sins. I also believe that God ordained marriage to be between a man and woman  only.. but that is the religious definition of marriage not a civil or legal one.

The current debates going on about gay marriage in my opinion pertain to the legal, civil, political definition not the religious. We are talking about the "state" sanctioned definition of marriage, about the legal status of marriage..which I hold to be separate from the religious or christian definition. Now that may anger or upset my fellow christians but that is how I see it, they are free and welcome to see it differently.  The Church has no business in such decisions in regard to our separation of church and state.

Let me clarify that a bit before I get all the hate mail...lol. As a Christian I feel (and wish) that all government were run per God's laws. However, that is not how our government was set up. Our government was set up so that everyone would have an equal right  and voice, and that means that those who do not believe in God (or believe in a different way than I do) have an equal right and an equal voice to mine. And this then means that there will be some unhappiness with laws and policies by and from each side. In other words... many laws will be passed that I do not like or agree with and vice versa.

I have heard the statements from my fellow Christians who oppose Gay marriage that they follow God's definition of marriage, so do I. However, they are confusing the issue... we are not talking about God's definition but the human, political one. None of the current laws or policies change God's definition of marriage, just the political one. All they change are are the standing under the law which is different than the bible or God's laws.

I have gone round about I know and meandered further and longer than I intended and yet in many instances I haven't gone far enough but that must be left for a future blog. I just wanted to get a small point out as to the way I see the issue.

While I do not support Gay marriage as many would define support, I also do not oppose it (again as many would define oppose). I see there being a political/civil/legal definition and a religious definition of marriage. They are 2 different things in today's world as much as I might wish it different. Legalizing Gay marriage just pertains to the legal definition in my opinion, not the religious one because only God can change the religious defintion, while our government can change the political-legal one as they see fit.

That is how I see it anyway.

Daydreams and Doldrums

 Today's blog is going to be a little different, it is going to be a free-for-all, stream of consciousness, random musing on wishes and daydreams. I have been in an island, Jimmy Buffett frame of mind the last week or so and that has me both daydreaming of the ideal future as well as in the doldrums of the present reality.

The present reality has me in Colorado (which I do love) awaiting 7-12 inches of snow (also which I do love in it's own way) working a part time job (12-16 hours a week at $8.16 per hour) and no great future prospects. This is where the doldrums set in... I am nowhere close to where I would ideally love to be, nor does this reality provide me with the possibility of getting there in the future.

The ideal wish/daydream would be to sell or give away everything I can't take with me and just pack the essentials (a few clothes, some treasured books, the iPad, iPhone and laptop) and make my way in whatever method available to a Caribbean Island and just stay there. Find a hut or a shack to live in, find whatever odd or small job I can (that would ideally provide me just enough to live on.. I am a simple man at heart and don't really require much outside of food and water and dry place to store my books). And then to spend the rest of whatever time God has allotted me on Earth living out that dream. I don't need a big house, I don't need a lot of possessions (although I do need my books and hopefully the iPad and laptop and thus I would need some electricity to keep them charged). I really don't need TV, while I do appreciate it and watch a lot because it is there.. I wouldn't really miss it all that much and it is certainly one of the first things I could live without.

That is just a daydream however, I have no present way to make it a possiblity. In other words I don't make enough to pay what bills I do have much less save enough up to run off to that island paradise. However, should the day arise be warned.. I am gone. All I have left in close family is my Dad (most of you are aware I lost my Mom and Brother in the last couple of years) and should something happen to him... I will make this dream a reality in whatever way I can.. I would have nothing left for me, so off I would go.

I have had many people tell me that I should at least save up for a vacation to the islands, but I know that once there I would never come back, so maybe that is something I should consider. I know we all have dreams of just running away and never looking back and that is how it usually stays.. just a dream. But I promise myself that should the opportunity arise I will jump at it.. I really have nothing else to look forward to in the future or to hold me around.

Anyway.. I just needed to get that out, thanks for putting up with me while I put it out there in the cyber world.

Do we really believe God is sovereign?

Let me say at the outset that this post is going to step on some toes, including my own, and while it is not my intention to upset or offend, I do hope you give it some thought.

I don't know about many of you but a lot of what has been happening nationally and politically has caused me to do a lot of thinking, especially about where my allegiances truly lie and if I truly believe that God is sovereign. I know how that sounds and I do not mean I doubt God's sovereignty for I don't, but more along the lines of whether I act and live as if God is sovereign.

This first began on election night when I reading friend's reactions on facebook about the election results. As you would expect my friends on the political left were ecstatic while my friends on the right were distraught and angry. A small disclaimer-politically I align more with the right. I understood both sides and their reactions but I found myself with a third perspective-God's.

While my political personality was upset and felt that a bad decision had been made, that the country was headed in the wrong direction, my spiritual personality realized that God had ordained this direction for the country. Like it or not, agree with it or not, at this point in time. God has ordained the current government. We can debate as to the reason (reaping what we have sown since the 60's, repercussion of ignoring him and pushing him out of the public square, or punishment for legalizing abortion just being a few), but the Bible teaches us that God is in control and has ordained the current government.

Whether it is "render unto Caesar what is Casear's" or "submit to authority", we are called as Christians to submit to the authority of those in charge over us. That God has ordained that for the present time the government we live under. And as part of that, we are to obey the laws whether we agree with them or not. That we are to submit to the authority of those leaders, that we are to pray for those leaders, again whether we agree with them or not. We are only given permission to rebel or disobey IF those leaders and laws require us to violate God and God's laws and commands. Otherwise we are to submit and obey.

I have heard many of my friends say they are going the route of "civil disobedience" towards laws that they disagree with or feel violates their long cherished freedoms. This is especially noticeable amongst many in regards to the current efforts in Gun control. Again, I completely understand how they feel and find myself agreeing with them in principle. BUT, we must remember that as Christians we have a higher authority in God and he has commanded us to submit and obey as long as we are not required to violate God's commandments.

This has certainly convicted me as of late, because as I mentioned in the Split Personality Part 1 post, I have the Cultural/American personality that cherished freedom and wants to rebel at anything that treads on that, but I also have the spiritual personality that requires me to submit and obey. The more I pray and submit to God's sovereignty, I find myself more in conflict between the personalities. It is a continual battle between the two and I am nowhere near as faithful as I should be.

It all comes down to a personal choice-Do we really believe God is sovereign or not? If we answer Yes, then we are called (and MUST) submit to the authority of those he has ordained to be in charge regardless of if we agree with them or not. If we answer NO, then we must realize that we are not truly following Jesus as we should. See.. I told you toes would be stepped on.

I realize you are now sitting there getting mad at me. Trust me, I am mad at myself for the conviction this brings to myself. But if we truly call ourselves Christians and are truly trying to follow Jesus then it is something we must ask ourselves and consider.

Split Personality Part 1

I want to discuss or work out for myself (and hopefully for you as
well) what following Jesus really means.

I struggle constantly with what I call a Christian Split Personality:
Two competing impulses or voices that draw into a constant tug of war.

On one side I have the personal or cultural identity that has been
informed by the tried and true American ethos of rugged individualism
and self determination. This voice tells me to go for what I want and
fight for what I want, to not let anyone get in my way or stop me. It
also leads me into the political realm and all that that entails.

On the other side I have a spiritual identity that is informed by the
Bible, prayer, and Jesus' commands and teachings. This voice tells me
to follow him and then goes on to tell me that that entails hardship,
suffering, and ridicule. That to truly follow him I must put
everything I hold dear (myself, family, wants, desires, etc.) aside
and view them as secondary or even tertiary in importance. Here is
where the struggle and the split occurs.

I honestly, truly, and deeply love and believe in Jesus and all his
teachings. I want to follow them and him as well as serve him with ALL
of me. I have this desire and knowledge in my heart, however, where
the problem comes in, is in my head.

In my head the loudest voice is the American, Individual voice. Every
time I commit to follow Jesus from my core, the other voice kicks in
and I inevitably end up holding back and maintaining my original
course.

I have recently been reading the book "Radical" by David Platt, as
well as his other book "Follow Me" and both of these have been
instrumental in creating this post. They have really hit me hard and
convicted me as to where I usually fall short.


I am not sure if anyone else has this same problem but I would love to hear about it if so. Otherwise until then, you will just have to listen to my soul searching and pondering. 

God Bless.

The Greatest Valentine

I had a different post ready to go for today but seeing as how today is Valentine's Day, I feel this is a more appropriate post.

Before we all get caught up in the hype of today with all the cards, candy, and flowers, I hope we just take a moment to remember and give thanks for the greatest Valentine ever given anyone.

John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I have forgotten where I got this so please forgive me for not listing the source...

For God-The Greatest Being

So-The Greatest Degree

Loved-The Greatest Affection

The World-The Greatest Object of Love

That He Gave-The Greatest Act

His Only-The Greatest Treasure

Son-The Greatest Gift

That Whoever-The Greatest Company

Believes-The Greatest Trust

In Him-The Greatest Object of Faith

Should Not Perish-The Greatest Deliverance

But Have-The Greatest Assurance

Eternal-The Greatest Promise

Life-The Greatest Blessing

Barrabas as scapegoat

This post will not make much sense to anyone who is not a church attender or studied the bible but you are welcome to read and comment (if you so choose) all the same.. just a disclaimer.

 This thought came to me while reading over the past week or so.. I claim no theological truth in it just an interesting thought. To lend some meat to the post I must explain a little first... my nighttime (bedtime actually) reading currently is Tosca Lee's wonderful new book called "Iscariot", it is a new fictional take on the life of Judas Iscariot who you will recall was the one who betrayed Jesus. She spent years doing tons of deep research on Judas and the time period he lived in. I highly recommend this book. Anyway, she mentioned a Jewish zealot or insurrectionist group that called themselves the "Bar Abbas" or "Sons of the Father". That is going to sound more important soon, just stick with me. Next I was doing bible study a few days ago and my daily reading that day was the trials of Jesus prior to his crucifixion and specifically when Pilate let the people choose what prisoner he would release to them. They chose Barabbas, who was in prison for revolt against Rome. So here is where the earlier note about the "Bar Abbas" will come in. Barabbas in Hebrew means "Son (Bar) of the Father (Abba) and Greek tradition holds that his first name was Jesus which was a common name in the 1st century. So in other words he was called Jesus Son of the Father.

 Now lets briefly flash back to when God was leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and was instituting the laws and sacrificial system. On the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, which is the Holiest Day of the Jewish Calendar, the people were to bring 2 lambs to the High Priest. There were to cast lots and one was to be prayed over and then sent out the camp to the wilderness as the "Scapegoat", while the other was to be killed to cover the people's sins.

 So now' back to period of Jesus... here you find TWO (2) "lambs, both Jesus "Son of the Father. One, Jesus Barabbas, and second, Jesus Christ.... again both "Sons of the Father". One was freed (Barabbas) serving as the scapegoat and the second (Jesus Christ) was killed to pay the penalty for our sins. I had never put these facts together until just recently and have never heard it taught or mentioned before. However, I have recently talked to some who have heard it before so there goes my new theological insight..lol.

 Again, I claim to no theological validity or truth... just found it meaningful and interesting. If it bothers you or makes you uncomfortable please by all means disregard it, but I hope you find it as interesting and new as I did.