Category: Random

Pilgrims

I am thankful for…

Posted on by Alan

PilgrimsI am thankful…

  • For a forgiving Lord who has promised an eternity with Him for those who believe (which came at such great cost to the Godhead).
  • For an awesome family: my beautiful and undeserved wife Michelle, two tremendous girls April and Jennifer, and two incredible sons Michael and Augie.
  • For the body of Christ all over the globe, especially the ones back home at the Antrim Church of Christ (that I miss so greatly).
  • For friends who have been there in good times and bad, and who have stuck by me at times when I wasn’t the friend I should have been.
  • For a job with a company (Kaiser Permanente) that honestly and emphatically cares about its members and personnel (and for a position leading a department with great employees).
  • For a nation where we can still live and worship (mostly) freely.
  • For the myriad other blessings from the Most High, whether I realize them or not.

Oh…and…

For you…my blog reader…or sermon listener…or Facebook friend…or Twitter follower…or LinkedIn connection. Happy Thanksgiving: May the One we all should be thanking make this the best holiday ever for you and yours.

P.S. And, I suppose, being that I have specifically named the non-profit I work for, I should note that all thoughts that I post on this blog (and elsewhere on the Internet for that matter) are mine and mine alone.  Don’t blame Kaiser 🙂

God Gives Us What We Want

Posted on by Alan

I’ve heard this C.S. Lewis quote before…but was glad to run into it in page 72 of my The Great Divorce:

There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it.

It should be noted that these are the words of a fictional inhabitant of heaven, not theological apologetics by One of my favorite writers.

Did C.S. Lewis Really Say That?!

Posted on by Alan

My present “below 10,000 feet” book is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. Without spoiling the story, it is a fictional way of discussing all the different excuses people have for rejecting the truth.

In one of the interesting dialogues, the saved friend is trying to convince a to-smart-for-his-own-britches former (before he died) intellectual minister.

“Listen!” said the White Spirit. “Once you were a child. Once you knew what inquiry was for. There was a time when you asked questions because you wanted answers, and were glad when you found them. Become that child again: even now.”

“Ah, but when I became a man I put away childish things.”

“You have gone far wrong. Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth. What you now call the free play of inquiry has neither more nor less to do with the ends for which intelligence was given you than masturbation has to do with marriage.”

Now, there is an analogy I never expected out of the mouth of C.S. Lewis. 🙂

But, so true…

Life and Death

Posted on by Alan

No communionDeathScanning through various sites, I ran into two polar articles. First, a church stands for life:

"No communion for Nancy Pelosi: Vatican court head"

Second, a country stands for death:

"Number of Dutch killed by euthanasia rises by 13 per cent"

I disagree with the Catholic Church in major doctrinal ways, but kudos to them for consistency (and recognizing nominal believers shouldn't be treated as believers):

The cardinal also said that Mrs. Pelosi is a perfect example of Catholics who separate their faith from day-to-day living.

"This is a prime example of what Blessed John Paul II referred to as the situation of Catholics who have divorced their faith from their public life and therefore are not serving their brothers and sisters in the way that they must — in safeguarding and promoting the life of the innocent and defenseless unborn, in safeguarding and promoting the integrity of marriage and the family," he said.

As for the Netherlands…they should hang your head in shame:

One explanation for the steep rise of Dutch cases is the introduction last year of mobile euthanasia units allowing patients to be killed by volunatry lethal injection when family doctors refused.

Mobile euthanasia units. 🙁

4,188 people who, for all intents and purposes, were encouraged by the government to kill themselves.

Boy with game controller

“If the Devil had to invent a game, it would be this one”

Posted on by Alan

Boy with game controllerIf you take the time to read (or listen) to my sermon from today, "Ya Got Trouble," then you'll agree that this article from August 31 (that I only saw today) is fitting:

"If the Devil had to invent a game, it would be this one"

It starts off like this:

If the Devil had his own bible, it would probably take the form of a computer game. It would be sly and witty, enjoyable and slick. It would start with small, almost funny misdeeds.

It would offer the player the joys of money, successful violence and easy, responsibility-free sex. There would be drugs which didn’t fry your brain or burn holes in your nose.

You would be made to feel brave, while not actually needing to be. None of your pleasures would be paid for in coin, pain or grief.

It's worth reading the whole thing…

One man showing another man a centerfold

Something that Probably Won’t Surprise Most Men (or Women)

Posted on by Alan

One man showing another man a centerfoldHere's something that probably won't surprise most men (or women)…

"Brain scans find porn addiction"

COMPULSIVE users of pornography show the same signs of addiction in their brain activity as alcoholics or drug addicts, a study has revealed.

In the first research of its kind, scans showed that a central portion of the brain which is stimulated in drug or alcohol addicts also "lit up" when compulsive pornography users watched explicit material. There was no such effect in the brains of people who were not habitual users of porn.

Of course, addiction or not…it's still a sin and you should not view it. Always avoid it like the plague!

To my fellow men, here's a tremendous talk about how pornography works into our minds or lives by Monte Cox from the 2008 Ganderbrook Men's retreat:

Trust me…listen to the whole thing…and you'll understand I suggested it.

The Mind of a Monster vs. The Mind of God

Posted on by Alan

"Officials: Ohio man who held 3 women captive for nearly a decade hangs himself in prison cell"

Versus…

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezekiel 18:23, ESV)

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel (Ezekiel 33:11, ESV)

And it's not just monsters who don't have the mind of God…

"Hashimoto: 'Good' is one word to describe Ariel Castro’s death"

I'm not sure what my initial reaction to Ariel Castro's death was…it might have been in a similar vein as Hashimoto's. However, I am a work in progress and a man who wants to have the mind of God…

Arab Reading

“A statement of simple fact is not bigotry.”

Posted on by Alan

Arab ReadingI suspect it won't be often that I find myself agreeing with militant atheist Richard Dawkins, but after igniting a furor with a comment about Islam, he said something that I think bears repeating:

A statement of simple fact is not bigotry.

(From "Richard Dawkins Muslim jibe sparks Twitter backlash.")

Now, if you always focus on just the negative "simple facts" about a category of people…then that might be an indication of bigotry.

Wondering what Dawkins said that caused people to freak? Continue reading ““A statement of simple fact is not bigotry.””

Angel

Was It an Angel?

Posted on by Alan

UPDATE: It was a priest.

AngelFrom Christianity Today’s "Angel priest, Missouri [VIDEO]: Mysterious holy man vanishes after miracble blessing and saving car crash victim":

A mysterious "angel priest" appeared at a car crash scene in eastern Missouri on Sunday and prayed at the scene before vanishing without a trace.

The Catholic priest does not appear in any of the nearly 70 photos taken at the car crash scene, and rescue workers do not know the identity of the holy man who disappeared shortly after offering his blessing.

Raymond Reed, the fire chief of New London, told USA Today: "I think it’s a miracle. I would say whether it was an angel that was sent to us in the form of a priest or a priest that became our angel, I don’t know. Either way, I’m good with it."

Continue reading “Was It an Angel?”

Evolution Vs. God

Posted on by Alan

I think every Christian, well at least every one who speaks English :-), should see this video.

I am usually not impressed when Christian ministries claim they have disproven some secular view (or have proven some supernatural one). They are "preaching to the choir" with me, but that doesn't mean their arguments don't usually have gaping holes.

And, I am not going to claim that this video disproves evolution, but it does a great job of showing that a belief in evolution requires faith (and that means it does not meet scientific rigor). Kudos to Living Waters.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0u3-2CGOMQ&w=512&rel=0]

Please take time visit the Evolution vs. God site.

P.S. Of course, just because evolution requires faith does not mean it is false. Otherwise, Christianity would be false too. 🙂

Boy playing video game

Pat Robertson Has a Point

Posted on by Alan

Boy playing video gameI may cringe at some other things he has been quoted as saying, but…

Admitting that he's never played a video game before, televangelist Pat Robertson said Friday morning that murdering someone online in a video game is no different than committing the act in real life. (From "Pat Robertson: 'Murdering someone in cyberspace' is a 'virtual sin.'")

And he rightly alludes to these words from Jesus:

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28, English Standard Version).

If anything, I think he was mistaken for backpedalling a bit:

He later clarified that "God won’t send you to hell" for killing people in the virtual world, but that committing the act of violence, real or not, "you lose your sensitivity to God."

I don't thing God sends anyone to hell for any specific acts they do…but I also don’t think that it requires someone to actually murder someone else for there to be an indication he or she is a rebellious sinner separated from the Most High. It's the heart, not the behavior, that matters.

P.S. I did not watch what Pat Robertson actually said…and my initial comment at the beginning of the post wasn’t meant to bus-chuck him. I do think he has said some things that were better left unsaid, but I am not on the anti-Robertson bandwagon.

Shipwreck

Why Didn’t Anyone Die?

Posted on by Alan

ShipwreckAs I continue reading through the New Testament this year, I recently ran into this:

Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, saying, "Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said (Acts 27:9-11, English Standard Version).

A day or so later I read: Continue reading “Why Didn’t Anyone Die?”

What Kind of Eyes Do You Have?

Posted on by Alan

I do not know this minister beyond what LIGHTNING ROD NYC PASTOR’S STUNNINGLY CONFRONTATIONAL SERMON ON TRAYVON MARTIN: ‘YOU SEE THE WORLD THROUGH YOUR BLACK EYES’ says (and it isn’t terribly positive), but he had a jarring reaction to the outcome of the Zimmerman trial:

[Dr. James David Manning] urged his mostly black congregation to stop viewing the world through their "black eyes" and start looking at it through the "blood of Jesus."

If they did that, the pastor explained, there would be no denying that the verdict in the Zimmerman was the correct one. He also told those who are convinced that Zimmerman is guilty that they only believe that because they are black.

Ouch! However, for Christians, it got even worse:

He called out those in the black community who refuse to consider any other possibility than Zimmerman racially profiled and killed Martin in cold blood.

"The only reason why you think that way is because you’re black," Manning preached. "You see the world, not through the blood of Jesus, you see the world through your black eyes. You have not changed yet."

Double-ouch!

I suspect even non-Christians are familiar with Matthew 7:1’s, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (English Standard Version). It is often used to bludgeon those who have the audacity to point out sinful behavior (and often wielded by those who don’t even believe in the inspiration or authority of Scripture). The problem is that it wasn’t uttered alone, instead Jesus continued…

Continue reading “What Kind of Eyes Do You Have?”

The Blood of Martyrs Is the Seed of the Church?

Posted on by Alan

Martyr being led to be burnt at the stakeIf you are a Christian, there is a decent chance you've heard Tertullian1 quoted as saying, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." I could not find that exact quote in my Logos library, but perhaps this is its basis:

Nor does your cruelty, however exquisite, avail you; it is rather a temptation to us. The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.2

The more succinct (oft-quoted) version is inspirational…and on the surface seems logical.

Or does it? Continue reading “The Blood of Martyrs Is the Seed of the Church?”