Ever wonder where famous people are after fading into obscurity after brief or even extended time in the limelight of hollywood, the media or politics? Actually no we don't wonder too much because we forget about them as the newest shooting star or media darling quickly takes their place. This is why you have TV and radio programs dedicated to updating us on what our favorite long lost star is doing now.
Today a man who was despised by many and loved by everyone else, died after battling a brain tumor. Ted Kennedy held to the opposite view of everything that I personally stand for. I had no respect for the man but this is not a postmortem rant about what he did that I think was wrong.
My question is, where is he now?
This week it was also announced that Michael Jackson's death is now being ruled a homicide. Again I am not here to write a biography of Michael nor to state anything about his troubled life. If anything it's really sad.
I just wonder where is he now?
Both these men along with millions of others slipped into eternity so far this year. Their bodies stopped working and they were transported to another place. All the arguments in the world won't change the truth that everyone at some point will realize there IS a heaven and there IS a Hell.
While I can't accurately say where either of these two men ended up since I am not God, I can however, look at their lives and say that they never displayed any evidence that their lives had been changed by the power of Christ. The things they stood for and their actions are testimony to lives that were lived for self and not in line with any principles of the one true God. So one can conclude they are not in the presence of God but instead in torment, being separated for all eternity in a real place called hell. How can anyone be happy that these men are gone, because being dead means they are beginning an eternity of suffering.
Those who don't believe in hell can just go on with life zooming headlong towards the same fate. Those who aren't sure better start to consider the reality that without the saving power of a risen saviour Jesus Christ who has made a way to eternity with God, they too will be with these men.
And finally for those who believe that Christ IS the answer and that hell is a real place where those without Him will go, listen up! Why aren't we shouting out the good news? You don't have to go to hell! How much do we have to love ourselves and hate people to NOT tell them about the freedom in Jesus and the peace that comes with knowing where we will spend eternity. Fear is not an excuse. Ability is not an excuse. We have no excuse other than the sad reality that we don't truly believe with our heart, not our heads, that there is a place of eternal punishment called hell.
If you meet the same fate as these two men, and you will, will others be able to answer, "Where are they now?"
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Have You Ever?
Have you ever let someone merge into traffic only to have them go slow, make it through the light and force you to have to stop and wait as they go on their way oblivious to the fact that your kindness made you wait?
Kindness and acts of service are only worthwhile if you are willing to happily accept the possible negative ramifications of your actions in order that someone else may benefit, even if they don't have knowledge of what you sacrifice.
Kindness and acts of service are only worthwhile if you are willing to happily accept the possible negative ramifications of your actions in order that someone else may benefit, even if they don't have knowledge of what you sacrifice.
Think About It
Are you a Christian? If so what does that mean? Why do you believe what you believe and do you really believe it?
You may think that those are not difficult questions to answer. But are they that simple? Is our faith in Christ and belief in God that simple to answer? Regardless of your ability to answer them is the greater question of can you answer them correctly?
I have become increasingly frustrated with believers who claim the name of Christ and yet years after conversion still know little to nothing about their faith. As humans we take big things and make them small so we can deal with them. Instead of exploring the vastness of God we fit him into a box we can understand. We over simplify.
Why are we not more wise in our faith and what we believe? People look at Christians and say we are ignorant. And we respond with, "I'm not very smart or Christ came to the poor and the weak". True he did. But through his power, those poor and week became strong. Not in a physical sense, although that may be the case sometimes, but mentally. He gives wisdom. We can't understand and know everything, but he gave us minds to think.
I have a growing desire to know more about my God and to take a stand when challenged on what I believe. Because of that I have started reading more and have really been drawn in by Ravi Zacharias who has a program called "Let My People Think". On a recent broadcast of his he had Dr. Peter Berger on his program. Dr Berger was asked, "Is evangelical intellectual an oxymoron?" Berger replied "No it isn't. There is a prejudice, in fact it's one of few prejudices in elite american society that is still permissible. Everything else is racism, sexism, or whatever. I think it is a very unfortunate stereotype which has little to do with reality. It is deplorable that this prejudice exists and it should be counteracted." Counteracted by knowing what you believe. By the way, Dr. Berger is by his own statement not an evangelical.
Why are we considered ignorant? We have not given the world a reason to think otherwise. I believe we have become lazy. We listen to others tell us what to do, what to think and it is often the world dictating these things to us. No wonder only 9% of people who called themselves Christians had a biblical world view. It's a result of watching Oprah all week and listening to the pastor on Sunday. I can assure you those two messages don't jive. We even need study guides to help teach others the Bible. Why is the Bible not enough? I'm not knocking study guides, they are helpful but they are often a crutch. We need to tap into the wisdom God says he will give if we ask for it. (James 1:5)
We have watered down our faith. The Gospel is simple and easy to understand. God made it that way. Praise Him for that. But our faith and knowledge of God is not. We need to be willing to work through difficult issues. Matthew 10:16 says to "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves". We are do be wise about our faith. As 1 Peter 3:15 says, "...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"
Are you ready to give an answer? What will your answer be and will it cause someone to run to God or run away?
You may think that those are not difficult questions to answer. But are they that simple? Is our faith in Christ and belief in God that simple to answer? Regardless of your ability to answer them is the greater question of can you answer them correctly?
I have become increasingly frustrated with believers who claim the name of Christ and yet years after conversion still know little to nothing about their faith. As humans we take big things and make them small so we can deal with them. Instead of exploring the vastness of God we fit him into a box we can understand. We over simplify.
Why are we not more wise in our faith and what we believe? People look at Christians and say we are ignorant. And we respond with, "I'm not very smart or Christ came to the poor and the weak". True he did. But through his power, those poor and week became strong. Not in a physical sense, although that may be the case sometimes, but mentally. He gives wisdom. We can't understand and know everything, but he gave us minds to think.
I have a growing desire to know more about my God and to take a stand when challenged on what I believe. Because of that I have started reading more and have really been drawn in by Ravi Zacharias who has a program called "Let My People Think". On a recent broadcast of his he had Dr. Peter Berger on his program. Dr Berger was asked, "Is evangelical intellectual an oxymoron?" Berger replied "No it isn't. There is a prejudice, in fact it's one of few prejudices in elite american society that is still permissible. Everything else is racism, sexism, or whatever. I think it is a very unfortunate stereotype which has little to do with reality. It is deplorable that this prejudice exists and it should be counteracted." Counteracted by knowing what you believe. By the way, Dr. Berger is by his own statement not an evangelical.
Why are we considered ignorant? We have not given the world a reason to think otherwise. I believe we have become lazy. We listen to others tell us what to do, what to think and it is often the world dictating these things to us. No wonder only 9% of people who called themselves Christians had a biblical world view. It's a result of watching Oprah all week and listening to the pastor on Sunday. I can assure you those two messages don't jive. We even need study guides to help teach others the Bible. Why is the Bible not enough? I'm not knocking study guides, they are helpful but they are often a crutch. We need to tap into the wisdom God says he will give if we ask for it. (James 1:5)
We have watered down our faith. The Gospel is simple and easy to understand. God made it that way. Praise Him for that. But our faith and knowledge of God is not. We need to be willing to work through difficult issues. Matthew 10:16 says to "Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves". We are do be wise about our faith. As 1 Peter 3:15 says, "...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"
Are you ready to give an answer? What will your answer be and will it cause someone to run to God or run away?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Get some son
I planted a garden this year. Not having much land area to till up ground I was forced to use boxes. I Even followed a special formula for mixing soil to ensure that I got the maximum yield. I planted, watered and fertilized my tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, and other veggies only to have them look green, well some of them, but produce pretty sad amounts of fruit.
It occurred to me the other night that our Christian lives are like my garden. We don't produce very much fruit. We go to church and plant ourselves in good soil. We water ourselves with the preaching and fertilize our spiritual plants with Sunday School and other types of training which produces green plants. However, the fruit we produce really isn't worth much.
I know why my garden has done poorly. God revealed to me that we have the same thing lacking in our spiritual growth. We have limited exposure to the sun. The SON of God is the source for producing in us healthy, plentiful fruit.
My back yard has lots of trees that shade the yard and though I put the garden in the spot that gets the most sun, it isn't enough.
What trees in our life are shading us from the Son? Trees of busyness, hobbies, money? You see, the trees are actually good and nice to provide shade. The shade that keeps us from the Son may seem good but are actually keeping us from getting the nutrients we need from our Saviour to produce good fruit.
I know I need to trim some trees. How about you?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
HealthScare
One of the biggest issues facing us as Americans other than unemployment, a dreadful economy, pending nuclear war from North Korea and a host of other issues is that of healthcare.
You won't find any passive opinions on this subject. People are very passionate about their stand on whether we should leave the system the way it is and refine it or go to a national healthcare system. All can agree on one thing-- it's a broken system.
National healthcare sounds great from many perspectives. It's free right? Hah! No, it's not free. Nothing is free. There is a huge price that has to be paid.
One might expect someone like myself who doesn't have any health insurance to be all for national healthcare. That person would be wrong. While I hate the money hungry, self preserving Insurance companies and the doctors who abuse the system and drive up premiums, I know that we will be worse off to be on the other side of the coin.
I don't write this to solve the present crisis because if I could I would be a rich man and wouldn't have time to write this. I can however give several reasons and references as to why national healthcare is NOT the solution. Perhaps I will just stick with references to prove my point. Hang on, here we go.
1. Where does the money for "Free Healthcare" come from?
The short answer. YOUR pocket.
"The most obvious component of "free" healthcare is that, in fact, it is not free. Socialized medicine is paid for through taxation, and in countries in which it is practiced, everyone pays these taxes. Much like our own "Social Security" tax, which imposes a 15.2% tax on anyone who works for a living, socialized medicine schemes are paid for through a combination of income taxes and national sales taxes, or VAT taxes. In other words, working people pay for "free" healthcare through payroll taxes and taxes on purchases. Nonworking people and individuals working for cash still pay for "free" healthcare every time they buy gasoline, food or clothing." Read more here.
2. What happens if the government runs out of money and can't pay for your doctor visit?
Think it can't happen? It's happening right now. In California. "Top financial officers say (July 28th) that's when the state will run out of cash to pay its daily expenses unless lawmakers pass a balanced budget. Schwarzenegger has warned that government will come to a "grinding halt." The state controller describes "a meltdown." Read the whole article here.
3. How well do you think you are going to get treated?
The answer: Like a number. There will be little to no personal concern for your situation. While that may be somewhat of a problem with the current system, it will become the norm under socialized medicine. Ever been to the DMV and stood in line? That's how social medicine works.
Consider this quote. "Many countries provide universal insurance but deny critical procedures to patients who need them. Britain's Department of Health reported in 2006 that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals, and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year. In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year." Read the whole article.
4. Will you have choices in ways you can be treated?
No. In fact a treatment you need may not be provided resulting in your death. Want proof? Read this article to get more on this quote. "If I lived in New Zealand, I’d be dead."
5. Why should I have to pay for your doctor visits?
Defenders of socialized medicine have no problems stating that "universal health care transfers greater financial responsibility to an even broader base: the entire population, through some combination of taxes and premiums."(Jonathan Cohn, senior editor at The New Republic)
Um, folks that's communism. Enough said on that.
There are a host of other reasons and resources that show socialized medicine is not the answer. Do your own research, I've just provided a starting point. I get tired of people who look at solutions and embrace ideas based solely on their own perspective. A perspective that says, 'I don't have any money for health insurance so the government should take care of me by providing free healthcare'. That reasoning is selfish and ignorant. Please step outside yourself and look at how "solutions" effect everyone, not just yourself. Sadly the only way we will probably learn that socialized medicine will not work won't come from failures by other countries that we have already seen, oh no, we have to make our own disaster before we will learn.
H. L. Mencken said: "For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant, and wrong." Universal healthcare is a exactly that.
I would like to give a very short biblical perspective on this if I may. Healthcare as we know it has only been around for a short time. In the history of mankind you depended on your own remedies and most of all God to be your physician. Praise the Lord that we have the healthcare that we do, but I believe it has become another way we have said to God, "We got this under control. Thanks anyways." We have somehow come to the conclusion that healthcare is a right. No, it's a privilege. Communism says everybody has the same right to all things. This country was built on the opposite of that. It is called Capitalism. You earn what you have. That leaves some people behind and I might be one of them. The reality is some succeed others don't. That is life.
You won't find any passive opinions on this subject. People are very passionate about their stand on whether we should leave the system the way it is and refine it or go to a national healthcare system. All can agree on one thing-- it's a broken system.
National healthcare sounds great from many perspectives. It's free right? Hah! No, it's not free. Nothing is free. There is a huge price that has to be paid.
One might expect someone like myself who doesn't have any health insurance to be all for national healthcare. That person would be wrong. While I hate the money hungry, self preserving Insurance companies and the doctors who abuse the system and drive up premiums, I know that we will be worse off to be on the other side of the coin.
I don't write this to solve the present crisis because if I could I would be a rich man and wouldn't have time to write this. I can however give several reasons and references as to why national healthcare is NOT the solution. Perhaps I will just stick with references to prove my point. Hang on, here we go.
1. Where does the money for "Free Healthcare" come from?
The short answer. YOUR pocket.
"The most obvious component of "free" healthcare is that, in fact, it is not free. Socialized medicine is paid for through taxation, and in countries in which it is practiced, everyone pays these taxes. Much like our own "Social Security" tax, which imposes a 15.2% tax on anyone who works for a living, socialized medicine schemes are paid for through a combination of income taxes and national sales taxes, or VAT taxes. In other words, working people pay for "free" healthcare through payroll taxes and taxes on purchases. Nonworking people and individuals working for cash still pay for "free" healthcare every time they buy gasoline, food or clothing." Read more here.
2. What happens if the government runs out of money and can't pay for your doctor visit?
Think it can't happen? It's happening right now. In California. "Top financial officers say (July 28th) that's when the state will run out of cash to pay its daily expenses unless lawmakers pass a balanced budget. Schwarzenegger has warned that government will come to a "grinding halt." The state controller describes "a meltdown." Read the whole article here.
3. How well do you think you are going to get treated?
The answer: Like a number. There will be little to no personal concern for your situation. While that may be somewhat of a problem with the current system, it will become the norm under socialized medicine. Ever been to the DMV and stood in line? That's how social medicine works.
Consider this quote. "Many countries provide universal insurance but deny critical procedures to patients who need them. Britain's Department of Health reported in 2006 that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals, and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year. In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year." Read the whole article.4. Will you have choices in ways you can be treated?
No. In fact a treatment you need may not be provided resulting in your death. Want proof? Read this article to get more on this quote. "If I lived in New Zealand, I’d be dead."
5. Why should I have to pay for your doctor visits?
Defenders of socialized medicine have no problems stating that "universal health care transfers greater financial responsibility to an even broader base: the entire population, through some combination of taxes and premiums."(Jonathan Cohn, senior editor at The New Republic)
Um, folks that's communism. Enough said on that.
There are a host of other reasons and resources that show socialized medicine is not the answer. Do your own research, I've just provided a starting point. I get tired of people who look at solutions and embrace ideas based solely on their own perspective. A perspective that says, 'I don't have any money for health insurance so the government should take care of me by providing free healthcare'. That reasoning is selfish and ignorant. Please step outside yourself and look at how "solutions" effect everyone, not just yourself. Sadly the only way we will probably learn that socialized medicine will not work won't come from failures by other countries that we have already seen, oh no, we have to make our own disaster before we will learn.
H. L. Mencken said: "For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, elegant, and wrong." Universal healthcare is a exactly that.
I would like to give a very short biblical perspective on this if I may. Healthcare as we know it has only been around for a short time. In the history of mankind you depended on your own remedies and most of all God to be your physician. Praise the Lord that we have the healthcare that we do, but I believe it has become another way we have said to God, "We got this under control. Thanks anyways." We have somehow come to the conclusion that healthcare is a right. No, it's a privilege. Communism says everybody has the same right to all things. This country was built on the opposite of that. It is called Capitalism. You earn what you have. That leaves some people behind and I might be one of them. The reality is some succeed others don't. That is life.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
General Update
I'm getting worse at keeping this current. Part of the reason is that we just returned from spending 2 weeks in Panama City with the family. We had a great time, great food, great fun and it all went way to fast. I'm so glad we got to spend that time. I know it was good for all of us to have that much time to be together. I can't remember when we had that much time to spend together without major projects or agendas to accomplish. I did take my work with me and fortunately wasn't overly busy which made it possible to spend a little more time with the fam than I had anticipated. It wasn't really a vacation as we would describe but it got my out of the daily grind and that was very beneficial.
So I'm back in the saddle here and working on some things that have some great potential. Praying those will work out. Also looking to God for direction about our future in some areas so that is often on my mind.
I'll try to make the next post a little deeper or at the least focused on something worth reading.
So I'm back in the saddle here and working on some things that have some great potential. Praying those will work out. Also looking to God for direction about our future in some areas so that is often on my mind.
I'll try to make the next post a little deeper or at the least focused on something worth reading.
Friday, May 15, 2009
We've Gone Soft
I have found, for me at least, that since my mind wanders a lot, that when I study the Bible and passages speak to me I can meditate on them better by putting down my thoughts on paper. Basically a study journal. Quite a few of my "journal entries" end up here on the blog.
Today is no different. The verse of the day at biblegateway.com, one of my study resources, is Ecclesiastes 11:5. “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” (NIV)
I have a saying that is not original to me but I use it a lot. It says, "There are two sure things in life. 1. There is a God and 2. You're not him." This saying is another way of stating Ecclesiastes 11:5. His ways are truly not our ways.
I'll admit that while I say the above quote quite a bit, I have a hard time with that reality. I don't understand what God does. Why would he take a 18 year old girl in a car accident who had incredible talents and an exceptionally bright future. Does God want my family to be burdened down by having an extra house for sale for over a year? He knows how desperately we need to sell the house. It was sold a year ago, we thought. What is he doing?
So many questions that simply have to be answered by the reality that we "cannot understand the work of God." I know God knows best and I trust that, however, I still struggle with not trying to "figure God out". This is a struggle for all of us not just me.
God has revealed to me that part of my problem I believe is a bigger issue that is prevalent here in the United States. We as a culture don't want any type of discomfort. We go to great lengths to keep ourselves from having difficulty. Like spoiled children we pray for God to remove the pain or relieve the frustrations we have and then get upset when he doesn't answer the way we want. In America we forget that life is hard. We have it so good we don't know what it's like to live with daily suffering. We have become soft. You would think that with the travels I have made to 3rd world countries and having seen the poverty and suffering that millions live with on a daly basis that I would be more thankful and less prone to frustration at my own little problems.
God forgive me for questioning your plans. Help me to remember how blessed I am and to respond with thanksgiving in spite of the difficulties I may experience. They are but light afflictions.
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