i have good news

Do you have something worth sharing?

2011-10-30T15:28:00.005-05:00

I had the pleasure to listen this morning to a man with a heart for people of all colors and religions. The man's name was John Mayer (ha) of City Vision and he educated me and a church full of people on some pretty amazing facts and statistics regarding the incredible diversity in nationalities and religions in the Twin Cities. Muslims, Hmongs, Somalis, Liberians, Karens, Wiccans, Buddhist, Hindus -- these are just a few of the major nationalities and religions that the Twin Cities has some one of the largest concentrations of anywhere in the United States. John Mayer has a vision to reach out to these people groups with the good news of Jesus Christ and impact their lives and create a ripple effect all over the world as a result of the Twin Cities becoming a religious mecca (pun intended) for several major religions including Islam and Hinduism.

This was a very inspiring lecture. It was fascinating to find out that the little ol' Twin Cities is on the forefront for a massive shift in ethnic and religious diversity in the United States.

This was a very stirring lecture. It moved to the front burner the call of Jesus to share the good news to every nation. A interesting anecdote of Mayer's lecture is that the nations are coming to the Twin Cities.

This was a very controversial lecture. It was not controversial in a Christian church building, but this is far from the "all roads lead to heaven" popular post-modern religion that is acceptable to talk about on daytime talk shows.

This was a very confrontational lecture. Not confrontational is an offensive, arrogant or pios way, but confrontational in a "do you have something worth sharing" kind of way.

If the Christian faith was a bowling alley, I believe there are two gutters. One gutter, would be the gutter of grace where "everything is acceptable" and God knows your heart and intentions, and emphasis is on verses like "we are all sinners saved by Grace." The other gutter, would be the gutter of judgement where "being holy" means watching your every move and avoiding being "lukewarm" in your faith. Grace and works are both part of being a Christian, but it's not good to put too much focus on just one or the other.

I err on the side of grace - and I will admit that I am prone to roll a few grace "gutter-balls." I believe that God will cast a bigger net of salvation than most of my fellow Jesus following friends probably believe. I don't believe that all roads lead to heaven, but I do believe that many people of many different faiths believe they are on the road to heaven and would not be on that road if they knew it wasn't the "right" road.

I err on the side of "do not judge" and also "do not be an ass and start preaching to someone about their beliefs - and why your beliefs are superior - before you have earned the right or at least asked for the right to talk to them about such things." I have been humbled by taking this approach of telling others that my Christian beliefs are "right" only to feel like an idiot when I was asked good, legitimate questions about my faith that I couldn't answer. A good, humble, non-judgement approach never fails.

Perhaps I err on the side of not sharing enough. My "do not judge"-centric approach also may be wasting many opportunities that I have to share hope and joy with people that I come in to contact with. It's embarrassing for me to say that I think it says that I lack faith that my faith is "good enough" to share -- that my fear of coming across as saying and assuming that "you are wrong in how you live and my faith is better than yours" is getting in the way of me sharing love. My fear of not having all of the answers and "airtight proof of Christianity's validity" is keeping me from sharing something that I know is true in many ways - and the core of Christianity's message of "self-sacrificial love" is truly the best way to live life compared to any other other religion.

If it's offensive to tell other people that they are wrong for not living a life of love and self-sacrifice, perhaps I need to be more of an ass.

Hell No: God doesn't hate His enemies.

2010-07-27T00:11:00.002-05:00

Have you ever spent time thinking about how a God who is love, perfectly gracious, perfectly merciful and perfectly just could punish you for eternity? This is a question that has caused many Christians and non-Christians to doubt the existence of the Christian God because of the offensive idea that a loving God will punish majority of his creation for eternity for their finite transgressions. A close study of the history of hell reveals that “eternal torment” does not fit into the overarching bible message of God’s love for his creation and his ultimate plan of salvation in drawing his creation to Him.

Early In my study of hell I came across an excellent website, tentmaker.org, that raised many questions on the “eternal torment” view of hell that resonated with me:

If the “eternal torment” view of Hell is real....

...why wasn’t Cain warned about it, or any of those who committed the earliest recorded “sins?”

...why didn't Moses warn about this fate in the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Covenant consisting of over 600 laws, ordinances, and warnings?

...why did God tell the Jews that burning their children alive in the fire to the
false god Molech, (in the valley of Gehenna) was so detestable to Him? God said that such a thing “never even entered His mind” (Jer. 32:35). How could God say such a thing to Israel, if He has plans to burn alive a good majority of His own creation in a spiritual and eternal Gehenna of His own making?

...why is it that the only time Paul even mentioned “Hell” in any of his epistles, was declare the triumph of Christ over it? (1 Corinthians 15:55). The word “Grave” in the passage is the Greek word “Hades.”

...why is it not mentioned once in the book of Acts in any the evangelistic sermons that were recorded by the early Apostles?

...did Jesus fail in His mission? He said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47).

...how can the Scriptures speak of the gathering of all things into Christ (Eph. 1:10) and subdued unto Christ (1 Corinthians 15:28, Philippians 3:21, Hebrews 2:8).

...how can it be that the scriptures promise that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10).

...how will Jesus ever see the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11)? If the traditional understanding is correct, most of those He came to save will never experience His salvation.

....then isn’t Satan ultimately the winner in the war for souls? After all, traditional interpretation of the Bible says that more people will end up in Hell than in Heaven.

...how can the increase of Christ’s government and of peace have no end? (Isaiah 9:7).

...is it conceivable that God would derive pleasure from seeing those He created endlessly tortured? God says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ez. 33:11).

...if God loves His enemies now, will he not always love them? Is God a changeable being? (James 1:17)

...if God only loves those who love Him, what better is He than the sinner? (Luke 6:32-33)

...does that mean that motherly love is more powerful and enduring than God's love? Do you know of normal parents who would endlessly torment most of their kids? Why do we believe our heavenly Father, who is millions of times more loving than all of us combined, could do such an evil, wicked thing?

...why does the human spirit writhe under the horror of wars and prison camps, torture chambers and dictators? How can we judge these things as wrong, if Hell is real? After all, Hell far eclipses these earthly torments which came from the most sinful and beastly part of humanity. We say God is grieved by man’s violence and disregard for life, and yet believe that He Himself enforces the same principles for all eternity!

...how does the threat of endlessly torturing us convince us that God loves us and that we should love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

...how can the world be reconciled to God? (2 Corinthians 5:19, Romans 11;15, Romans 5:10) and when can there ever be a "restitution of all things? (Acts 3:21)

...how can the most often-repeated Biblical description of God be true? "His mercy endures forever" (literally, "His mercy/lovingkindness endures for the ages"). Certainly, as long as there are ages, and people in need of mercy, God's mercy will endure.

You can find the complete list at these questions at www.tentmaker.org/ifhellisreal.htm

Until I began my study I had no idea that there is no documentation that the church councils of the first four centuries of Christianity embraced the doctrine of "eternal punishment." The church councils at Nice in A.D. 325, at Constantinople in A.D.381, at Ephesus in A.D.431 and at Chalcedon in A.D.451 never embraced this doctrine! It was not until 553 A.D. that the Roman Catholic Church denounced the teaching of ultimate reconciliation (Universalism) as heresy.

J. W. Hanson, in his book "Universalism: The Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years" gives more detail on the history of Universal salvation in the early church:

The first comparatively complete systematic statement of Christian doctrine ever given to the world was by Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 180, and universal salvation was one of the tenets. The first complete presentation of Christianity as a system was by Origen (A.D. 220) and universal salvation was explicitly contained in it. Universal salvation was the prevailing doctrine in Christendom as long as Greek, the language of the New Testament, was the language of Christendom. Universalism was generally believed in the best centuries, the first three, when Christians were most remarkable for simplicity, goodness and missionary zeal.

 Universalism was least known when Greek, the language of the New Testament was least known, and when Latin was the language of the Church in its darkest, most ignorant, and corrupt ages. Not a writer among those who describe the heresies of the first three hundred years intimates that Universalism was then a heresy, though it was believed by many, if not be a majority, and certainly by the greatest of the fathers.
 Not a single creed for five hundred years expresses any idea contrary to universal restoration, or in favor of endless punishment. With the exception of the arguments of Augustine (A.D. 420), there is not an argument known to have been framed against Universalism for at least four hundred years after Christ, by any of the ancient fathers.

Before taking a close look at the teachings of Jesus and his apostles on God’s plan to reconcile everyone to Him, it’s important to see what the Old Testament says about eternal punishment.

J.W. Hanson, D.D. in his book The Bible Hell explains that just like the early Christians, Jews in the Old Testament also did not believe in a hell of eternal torment:

The words rendered hell in the bible, sheol, hadees, tartarus, and gehenna, shown to denote a state of temporal duration. All the texts containing the word examined and explained in harmony with the doctrine of universal salvation.

The Hebrew Old Testament, some three hundred years before the Christian era, was translated into Greek, but of the 64 instances where Sheol occurs in the Hebrew, it is rendered Hadees in the Greek sixty times, so that either word is the equivalent of the other. But neither of these words is ever used in the Bible to signify punishment after death, nor should the word Hell ever be used as the rendering of Sheol or Hadees for neither word denotes post-mortem torment.

According to the Old Testament the words Sheol, Hadees primarily signify only the place, or state of the dead. The character of those who departed thither did not affect their situation in Sheol, for all went into the same state. The word cannot be translated by the term Hell, for that would make Jacob expect to go to a place of torment, and prove that the Savior of the world, David, Jonah, etc., were once sufferers in the prison-house of the damned. In every instance in the Old Testament, the word grave might be substituted for the term hell, either in a literal or figurative sense. The word being a proper name should always have been left untranslated. Had it been carried into the Greek Septuagint, and thence into the English, untranslated, Sheol, a world of misconception would have been avoided, for when it is rendered Hadees, all the materialism of the heathen mythology is suggested to the mind, and when rendered Hell, the medieval monstrosities of a Christianity corrupted by heathen adulterations is suggested. Had the word been permitted to travel untranslated, no one would give to it the meaning now so often applied to it. Sheol, primarily, literally, the grave, or death, secondarily and figuratively the political, social, moral or spiritual consequences of wickedness in the present world, is the precise force of the term, wherever found.

Sheol occurs exactly 64 times and is translated hell 32 times, pit 3 times, and grave 29 times. Dr. George Campbell, a celebrated critic, says that "Sheol signifies the state of the dead in general, without regard to the goodness or badness of the persons, their happiness or misery."

So how, then, did this doctrine of a burning hell enter church doctrine? Two key factors led to the incorrect interpretation of Scripture: 1. The Dark Age churches found the fear of hell to be a strong incentive to keep people in the Church, and to make new converts; 2. Parables and symbolic passages in the Bible were taken literally, distorting the true intent of the scriptural message.

Lorraine Day, M.D. explains how the doctrine of “eternal torment” came about in “Was the Doctrine of "Hell" Manufactured by Theologians?”:

Jerome, a Bible scholar who was born in 347 A.D. in Italy, re-translated the Latin Bible (from the Old Latin version), in 390-406 A.D. This is now known as the Latin Vulgate which became a classic. However, it is through this Latin Vulgate version that we inherited the words "eternal" and "everlasting" as INCORRECT translations of the Greek word "eon", a word that means a period of time with a beginning and an end, not eternity.  

Jerome had a vindictive and unforgiving personality, and a very bad temper according to those who knew him and wrote about him. His disposition was revealed by his insertion into the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, the doctrine of everlasting hellfire rather than the correct doctrine of "age-lasting chastening" or, reaping what one has sown, a remedial judgment designed to turn the sinner back to righteousness.

  However, it was left to the Emperor Justinian (527-565 A.D.) to formally condemn the belief in the Restoration of ALL. This was done at the Fifth General Council in 553 A.D. when Justinian condemned Origen's beliefs and stated in Anathema IX:
"If anyone says or thinks that the punishment of demons and of impious men is only temporary, and will one day have an end, and that a restoration will take place of demons and of impious men, let him be anathema."

And thus Origen, a man of integrity and kindness was cursed and slandered by the basest of men, his writings were anathematized and eventually he was thrown out of the church because of his beliefs.  The condemnation of the teaching of Universal Restoration and the embracing of the doctrine of a literal hellfire were both formalized by the Church Council under the Emperor Justinian.
 
These diabolical decisions by the Christian church were a result of believing in a "God" that had all the characteristics of Satan. Because those who worshiped a "killer God" became killers themselves, they plunged the world into the Dark Ages of unspeakable tortures and murders of those who refused to accept and adhere to the teachings of "the Church." This spiritual barbarism lasted many centuries until Martin Luther and the other reformers uncovered at least part of the truth about God's character of love.  But even much of that "recovered" partial truth has been lost over the last two centuries as the world, including what passes for the "Christian" world, again has turned away from the character exhibited by Jesus when He was on earth and has instead embraced the barbaric doctrines of Satan, doctrines that are the antithesis of Jesus' character and teachings.

The doctrine of "hellfire" was manufactured primarily by Augustine and Jerome, with an insolent nudge by Terullian, in accordance with their own vindictive and unforgiving characters, and their incorrect translation of the word eon. The doctrine of "hellfire" was never a part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the apostles nor of the early church fathers. After the death of the last apostles, John and Paul, the degeneration and deterioration in the church accelerated, and within 400 years the truth of Jesus Christ's salvation for ALL virtually disappeared.

So instead of “eternal torment” what is the correct interpretation of hell?

The Greek form for "everlasting punishment" in Matthew 25:46 is "kolasin aionion." Kolasin is a noun in the accusative form, singular voice, feminine gender and means "punishment, chastening, correction, to cut-off as in pruning a tree to bare more fruit." "Aionion" is the adjective form of "aion," in the singular form and means "pertaining to an eon or age, an indeterminate period of time."

God’s righteous "Punishment" in the bible is always with the purpose of leading someone or a nation of people back to relationship with God.

The bible talks a lot about a great, impending judgment. Jesus said that the way to life was narrow, admitting few, while the road to destruction was wide, teeming with travelers. Many, he said, would go away into eternal punishment. We read descriptions of outer darkness, Gehenna, gnashing of teeth.

What do we make of these passages? In “A Case for Universal Restoration” Dr. Steve E. Jones states:

One hermeneutical key is to understand that the judgment language of Jesus was generally not addressing questions of afterlife. He was speaking of a coming kingdom and an accompanying judgment ready to burst upon his generation. A time of unparalleled calamity was imminent. The holy city and temple would fall to signal the event.

The disciples asked Jesus when this event would occur. He told them to watch for the signs. Wars would flare up. False messiahs would come. Then he gives his hearers a time indicator to alert them to the nearness of this apocalypse: “Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” (Matt. 24:35)

The terrors of which Jesus spoke found their fulfillment in the razing of Jerusalem and the end of the Mosaic economy. Gehenna (translated “hell” in the New Testament) was a real place in the valley of Hinnom where the Jews burned garbage. It was a picture of what the holy city would look like after its fall. The fire would be unquenchable — no one would be able to put it out or halt its advance until it had done its work of destruction.

Gary Amirault of Tentmaker.org elaborates on how God’s punishment is for the purposes of refining our character and drawing us to Him:

Scriptural references that speak of everlasting fire or judgment must be understood in light of God’s (Love’s) clearly expressed heart, promise, desire, purpose and will. They are "everlasting"; that is, they are continuous and on-going—until—God’s judgments serve to accomplish His unchanging will and purpose to unite all creation in Christ. (Gen. 12:3, Romans 4:13, Heb. 6:17).

Our Lord does not cast off forever (Lam. 3:31-32, Heb. 13:8). He who taught us to forgive and bless our enemies will surely do the same for His. For every tongue will give thanks that in Him they have righteousness and strength. All flesh will bless His name forever and ever! For our Lord will not fail or become discouraged until He fulfills all of God’s purpose, word and will. For He tells us that everyone will be "seasoned" with fire and this is always to refine our character and lead us to obedience to his will (Matt. 5:17, Mark 9:42-49, Acts 3:21).

Those who disobey the gospel and persecute Christians will be repaid with "everlasting" (that is, continuous) tribulation, destruction and punishment—until—by such persistent correction God shows them their need for Christ. So what is written in the prophets will come to pass, that all shall be taught of God, and everyone who has heard and learned from the Father (eventually) comes to Christ. Thus, all the families of the nations will remember Him and worship before Him. And all will submit to Him and sing His praise. So God’s promise will be fulfilled that ALL men shall reverence Him, proclaim His works, and wisely consider His doing (Ps. 22:27-28, 64:4-5, 64:9, 2 Thess. 1:7-10)

So does Universalism mean that those who live in rebellion to God will receive no retribution? Absolutely not.

Thomas Allin in “Christ Triumphant” explains:

We press on all the impenitent the awful certainty of a wrath to come, and this with far more chance of acceptance, because taught in a form that does not wound the conscience; because we care not teach that finite sin shall receive an infinite penalty. Few things have so hindered the spread of the larger hope as the wholly and absolutely groundless notion, that it implies an inadequate sense of sin, and pictures God as a weakly indulgent Being, careless of holiness, provided the happiness of His creatures is secured. In fact it is those who teach the popular creed, and not we, who make light of sin. To teach unending sin in hell, even in a solitary instance, and under any conceivable modification, is to teach the victory of evil. To us this seems at once a libel on God and an untruth -a libel because it imputes to God a final acquiescence in sin; an untruth, because it teaches that His Omnipotence breaks down at the very moment it is most needed, and that His Love and Purity can rest with absolute complacency, while pain and evil riot and rot for ever.

My hope is that in our study of scripture that we will always ask God to help us rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) and that we will do so humbly and with a spirit of love and unity with our fellow believers.

____________________________________________________________________________

The following verses reveal the very Good News of Jesus Christ. This list of verses can be found on Tentmakers.org. Verse commentary on the verses by Gary Amirault

Luke 3:6: "All flesh shall see the salvation of God." This verse is probably taken from Isaiah 40:5, which says, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Surely these verses point in the direction of universal salvation. Matthew 5:8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Luke 6:27-36: “But I [Jesus] say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either....But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Remember also that God is unchanging. If God's attitude toward sinners now is love and mercy, it will always be. Could the loving God described above really be happy knowing that even one of His children created in His image is suffering unspeakable anguish in hell forever?

Luke 15:4: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?" Forgive me for coming back to this passage, but it is one of my favorites. To me it is so clear. If the average shepherd would keep on looking for one lost sheep and not give up until he finds it, surely our Lord will be no less persistent in seeking out every last one of His sheep, not just until they die, but until He finds them and brings them back safely to His fold. If a shepherd won't give up until he finds one lost sheep, how much more will God refuse to give up on His children.

John 1:6-7: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him." That ALL might believe. That is God's stated reason for sending John, and that is His reason for all of His dealings with mankind. Dare we say that God will fail to accomplish His goal in sending John and all of the other prophets, and His only begotten Son?

John 1:29: "The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, `Behold, the Lamb of God, who is going to try to take away the sin of the world!"' Is that what it says? No! Jesus is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" The sin of the whole world, not just a part of it. Will He do it? Does He work "all things according to the counsel of his will?" (Ephesians 1:11).

John 3:17: "God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Again, why would God, who is all knowing, send Jesus to save the world if He knew beforehand that most of the world would not be saved? That doesn't make sense. God sent Jesus to save the world because He knew His Son would accomplish exactly what He sent Him to do.

John 12:32: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." Jesus didn't say that He would draw a select group called "The Elect"! He doesn't say He will try to draw all people to Himself. He says He will do it!

1 John 3:8: "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." What is sin? The works of the devil. Jesus came not to keep sin in hell forever but to destroy it. That is why 2 Peter 3:13 says, "But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." Some day the entire universe will be completely devoid of sin, and God will be all in all!
There won't be a place called hell that is full of sin forever, because according to Revelation 20:14, "Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire," presumably for destruction.

1 John 4:14: "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the few who receive him in life, and to throw the rest into everlasting torment." Is that what it says? No, it says, "The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." Will He succeed, or will He fail?

Acts 3:21 (NLT): Jesus "must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of ALL things, as God promised long ago through the prophets." What else could this refer to but the complete restoration of every child of God created in His image to a right relationship with Him?

Romans 5:18: "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for ALL men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for ALL men." This passage couldn't be more explicit. Everyone who was condemned by Adam's sin will be justified by Christ's death. If the word "ALL" means "all mankind" in the first part of the verse, it means "all mankind" in the second part.

Romans 11:36: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Look at each part of this declaration one at a time. "For from him ... are all things." This obviously means that all things have their origin in Him. He created every thing. "Through him ... are all things" Everything is sustained by Him. "To him are all things." As all things had their origin in Him, so they will return to Him.

Romans 14:11: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." The margin of the ESV says, "Or shall give praise." The NASB translates it: "Every tongue shall give praise to God." The words are self-explanatory. Everyone will praise God!

1 Corinthians 15:22-28: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

At the end, there is no place for sin, evil, or hell, for God is all in all! If God has to cast some people into everlasting hell, it means that He was unable to get them to submit themselves to Him. They won't be submitting themselves to Him in hell; they will be hating Him and cursing Him for all eternity. What kind of subjection is that? All will willingly subject themselves to Jesus and to God the Father after He has purged them of all sin and rebellion. The same word is used of Christ's subjection to the Father, and of the subjection of Christ's enemies to Him. Obviously Christ's subjection to the Father is out of love. How can endless evil and torment be described as subjection to Jesus? Such an interpretation is excluded by the last statement in this passage: "that God may be all in all"!

1 Corinthians 15:55: "0 death, where is your victory? 0 death, where is your sting?" If the majority of mankind will go to everlasting hell after death, it would seem that death will have won a gigantic victory! Paul's words give only an imperfect expression of the absolute triumph of Christ, of the flood of glory that will fill the universe in the widest possible sense.

2 Corinthians 5:19: "In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself." Note that it doesn't say God was trying to reconcile the world to Himself. He was doing it! God's reconciliation of the world to Himself is an accomplished fact. When we tell others about Christ, we are just telling them to embrace what has already been accomplished.

Ephesians 1:9-10: "His purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time," is "to unite ALL things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." If all things in heaven and earth are to be united in Christ, how is there any possibility of an endless hell or a creation permanently divided?

Ephesians 1:22-23: "And he [the Father] put all things under his [Jesus'] feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." The Greek verb used here for all things being under Christ's feet is used in 1 Corinthians 15:28, referring to the subjection of Christ to the Father. As we saw in looking at that verse, Christ's subjection of Himself to the Father is willing submission out of His love for the Father. That is the same submission Jesus will someday have from "all things." Notice the last phrase of verse 23: "the fullness of him who fills all in all." God fills everything in every way. The idea of a place existing for all eternity where people are forever shut out from the presence of God doesn't fit in a universe where God fills all in all.

Ephesians 4:8: "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." Who are these captives? Luke 11:22, which we have already looked at, tells us. When Christ, the stronger man, broke into the strong man's (Satan's) house, he carried away all his belongings. 1 Peter 3:19, 4:6 tells us that Christ went and proclaimed the gospel to the spirits in prison (Hades) that they might live in the Spirit as God does.

Ephesians 4:10: "He who descended is the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things." As we saw in looking at Ephesians 1:23, if Christ fills all things, how can there be an everlasting hell where people are forever shut out from the presence of Christ? The doctrine of eternal hell totally contradicts so many verses of scripture.

Colossians 1:19-20: Through Christ "God was pleased ... to reconcile to himself ALL things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." If God's goal in sending Christ was to reconcile everything to Himself, nothing can thwart that goal because He "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11).

Philippians 2:10-11: "At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Don't let that word "should" throw you. The NASB, NLT, NCV, CEV, The Message, and other translations all say "will." The key phrase is "to the glory of God."

1 Timothy 4:10: "We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe." The meaning is so clear it's transparent! God IS the Savior of everyone! He is the Savior of believers now and He will save everyone else in due time.

2 Timothy 1:10: "Our Savior Christ Jesus ... abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Jesus has abolished death, and with death what it implies in scripture--sin and evil. Death abolished and death in its worst form, the second death, maintained forever, are plain contradictions.

Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people." How is God's grace bringing salvation for all people consistent with the eternal damnation of anyone?

Revelation 20:13-14 “And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.” if one thinks of "hell" as death represented by the grave, it makes sense for hell to be cast into the lake of fire. After all, if "hell" itself is really a lake of fire, how can it be thrown into itself?

Sacrifice

2009-12-10T06:00:00.003-06:00

I've been reading the stories about the first followers of Jesus and how the church started. As a "doubting Thomas" that needs to understand how something works before I believe in it, I've been pondering the idea that something amazing had to happen for a small group of followers of a no-name rabbi to start the world's largest religion. This is when the validity of Jesus being sent from God begins to make sense - I can't figure out how a small group of believers could have had the passion to go in to Jerusalem and convince others to change their Jewish faith and follow the teachings of a dead man if something spectacular didn't happen.

What was this new faith all about? As I look at the roots of the Jewish faith it was about "giving sacrifices." God wanted mankind to not get wrapped up in individualism. The core of evil is selfishness and God worked through a system of mandatory sacrifices to help man get used to giving up something. When the first sin entered the world by man choosing to not listen to God's instruction, it began a wicked pattern of man doing what HE wanted when HE wanted. God knew that "life" happened when man wasn't bound to himself. Teaching the idea of sacrifice was for the betterment of mankind.

When Jesus came into the world and began teaching, it was sacrifice 2.0. Jesus taught that the best way to sacrifice wasn't to sacrifice something on an altar - it was to sacrifice yourself. When you give up you, you can make life better for someone else. Giving up you, Jesus taught, is a simple concept of putting others before yourself. The Golden Rule.

An analogy I thought of is the traffic sign to "Yield". If nobody knew how to yield or cared about yielding, our highway system would not work. Nobody would get on or off of the highway. Other than the word "sacrifice" the word "yield" is about as close as I can think of to one word that describes what Jesus taught.

The very first followers of Jesus had to have a huge army, or something or a spectacular message to start a movement that would go worldwide in a short amount of time. When I think of the revolutionary message of self-sacrifice - yielding - giving your life to others - I think I have my explanation.

Great insight into the mystery of unanswered prayer

2009-06-01T16:29:00.003-05:00

I would like to share something that I just read in a book I picked up a few weeks back titled "can it be true? a personal pilgrimage through faith and doubt" by Michael Wakely.

Wakely uses the story of Lazerus to help explain the mystery of unanswered prayer:

"I find the story of Lazarus' death very helpful. Lazarus was ill - very ill, and his sisters set for Jesus, knowing that he, the miracle-worker, could heal their brother. John is very non-chalant in the way he tells the story. 'Jesus loved Martha and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.' That comes across as an insult. Though he loved them so much, he did nothing at all to help them in their hour of need. He waited till he was sure that Lazarus was beyond healing - and then he went.

Is it any surprise that both sisters were angry with him when he finally arrived? They complained, 'Lord...if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' Their implication is: 'Where were you? You weren't here when you were needed. Why didn't you come more quickly? You were too slow and now you are too late.'

What great lessons there are in this story for those whose prayers do not get answered! First, of course, Jesus wanted to demonstrate a resurrection - not a mere healing. Secondly, his goal was far greater than just to meet their needs with compassion. He wanted to strengthen their faith with a lesson they would never forget. God moves in a different realm of understanding, and he is never too late. But very often his ways are hidden from us, an this leads us to conclude that he has failed. Finally, of course his motive is usually very different from ours, and part of the purpose of prayer is to give us the mind of Christ. Jesus' foremost desire was the reputation of his Father, not the health of Lazarus. 'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' he said to the frustrated Martha, moments before her dead brother returned to life."

I hope you find this as enlightening as I did!

I get it now

2007-11-04T20:36:00.000-06:00

I need to know the facts, I need proof and I research things a bit compulsively. My whole life I've taken Christianity as the "one and only true religion" based on faith. One day I picked up a book by Greg Boyd titled "Letters from a Skeptic" and it changed my life. It's a book of letters between Greg Boyd, a Christian, and his atheist father. The book opened my eyes to the deep questions that skeptics have about Christianity, as well as the apologetics ("defense") of the faith. I became fascinated with the "defense" and "proof" of the historical accuracy and philosophical defense of the Christian faith. For several years I have been reading book upon book of apologetics and theology. For the last year or so I have gone a step farther and started chatting with people of different faiths (and no faith) -- and it has rocked my world. It's one thing to read books from Christians defending the faith, but it's an entire other thing to discuss faith with people who are as ingrained in their belief (or lack of belief) as Christians who are ingrained in their belief. To be honest, I had become overly confident in my ability to defend what I believe. I had become quite arrogant that if anyone didn't believe in Jesus, they were intellectually dishonest -- and it wasn't in an arrogant way -- I just honestly couldn't see why people, if they did their "homework", didn't believe in Jesus. Since I have spent time talking with many people of various faith and non-faith backgrounds, I can see why many people can be very confused because there is an overwhelming amount of religions and philosophies to choose from (not including the many different "Christian" sects!). I was spending time on beliefnet.com in Christian debate forums getting my butt handed to me on a platter by Jews, athiests, and Noahic believers who knew what they believed, why they believed what they believed and why the don't believe in Jesus. It was humbling, and pretty much faith rattling for me. I thought I had all the answers!

I've learned that I have a lot to learn about Christianity -- and I've come to realize that we don't have enough years in our life expectancy to learn about all of the different religions out there. And on the other side of the coin I believe that there is more than enough time for being confused about Christianity, or any religion for that matter. There are so many questions I could ask about Christianity, and so many intellectual and philosophical questions that could literally drive me crazy trying to figure them all out. It could consume me very easily. I have been consumed more than I want to on questions about Christianity and why I believe what I believe -- and if I'm believing in something that isn't "proovable" to my satisfaction. I've been very uncomfortable in my faith for about the last year -- a feeling kind of like if you're just leaving for a trip and you know that you're forgetting something very important but you don't know what it is.

I think I figured out what it is.

I was sitting in church this weekend listening to our pastor, Greg Boyd (the same "jerk" that wrote the book "Letters from a Skeptic" that got me questioning everything!) talking about love, and I had a thought something like this: I think the most valuable thing in life is love in relationships -- I don't think anyone would argue with this -- and if I'm to figure out what is true --of -- if I need peace that I'm following the right "spiritual path", I think I can hang my hat on choosing the one that best explains "love".

Is there any better story of love than the gospel? If love is the most amazing thing in our live, wouldn't it make sense that love runs the universe -- doesn't the gospel explain love so perfectly?

I know I could spend the rest of my life questioning everything -- spending a LOT of energy making sure I had all the answers for why this religion is wrong and why my religion is right, but I think that would be a sad way to spend my life. I choose to spend my life aiming for self sacrificial love as displayed perfectly by Jesus.

Doubt and the Vain Search for Certainty

2007-06-29T12:33:00.000-05:00

Fantastic article for anyone who wrestles with needing certainty for things. Click here

Here's an excerpt:

Two major surveys of the religious beliefs of scientists, carried out at the beginning and end of the twentieth century, bear witness to a highly significant trend. One of the most widely held beliefs within atheist circles has been that, as the beliefs and practices of the “scientific” worldview became increasingly accepted within western culture, the number of practicing scientists with any form of religious beliefs would dwindle to the point of insignificance. A survey of the religious views of scientists, undertaken in 1916, showed that about 40% of scientists had some form of personal religious beliefs. At the time, this was regarded as shocking, even scandalous. The survey was repeated in 1996, and showed no significant reduction in the proportion of scientists holding such beliefs, seriously challenging the popular notion of the relentless erosion of religious faith within the profession. The survey cuts the ground from under those who argued that the natural sciences are necessarily atheistic. Forty percent of those questioned had active religious beliefs, 40% had none (and can thus legitimately be regarded as atheist), and 20% were agnostic.

The stereotype of the necessarily atheist scientist lingers on in western culture at the dawn of the third millennium. It has its uses, and continues to surface in the rehashed myths of the intellectual superiority of atheism over its rivals. The truth, as might be expected, is far more complex and considerably more interesting.

The point of these reflections is obvious. Any worldview—atheist, Islamic, Jewish, Christian or whatever—ultimately depends on assumptions that cannot be proved. Every house is built on foundations, and the foundations of worldviews are not ultimately capable of being proved in every respect. Everyone who believes anything significant or worthwhile about the meaning of life does so as a matter of faith. We’re all in the same boat. And once you realize this, doubt seems a very different matter. It’s not a specifically Christian problem—it’s a universal human problem. And that helps to set it in its proper perspective.

What('s) the hell?

2007-06-16T00:19:00.000-05:00

I struggle with the concept of the hot, fiery, tortuous eternity in hell for non-believers -- I just have a hard time picturing Jesus allowing someone to burn baby burn. So, I've been reading different perspectives on the topic of hell that makes more sense to me. I may never understand hell, but what I do believe is that there is a choice to live for God or not, and that the end will be different based on that choice. I'm thinking that living for God will have a better final destination.

Here's a very good article I found on heck..

Ancient Faith, Modern Life
Frederica Mathewes-Green

Why We Need Hell

It is tragic that some Christians have been so battered with stories of a prideful, vindictive God that they have fled from Jesus’ fold. No wonder some become atheists; who would want to spend eternity with such a tyrant?

Click here for the rest of the article

God is Pro-Choice

2007-06-07T08:56:00.000-05:00

What if you had a child that was the perfect student, the perfect citizen, the perfect brother, nephew and so on and so on -- yet, he rejected you as a parent? He did everything to please everyone in his life, except honor you?

Silly example, but if your pet dog is nice to all of the neighborhood dogs, and can do all the tricks in the world, but still bites you everytime he's around you, you have no choice but to part ways no matter how much you love him. Same with God, if you reject him at every turn in your life, He will eventually give you what you want -- eternity without Him -- even though that's the last thing he wants. God will make every attempt to reach you (by your conscience, people in your life, etc.), but he will always give you your choice -- your free will -- to choose or accept him.

The laws that God gave to Moses (the big 10) instruct us to treat our fellow humans well (the last 6 of the 10) BUT also to honor God (the first 4). If we are only doing good to our fellow humans, that is great, but we are still ignoring our creator/master/savior.

Jesus said: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Fortunately, God does want to be with us for eternity! All we have to do is have a relationship with him and trust Him that he is God, and he knows what's best for us. God is pro-Choice!

Intolerance is Not a Bad Word

2007-06-05T12:01:00.000-05:00

Below is a great article about tolerance. It's not really intolerant, unless you are one who is intolerant of people who may challenge your beliefs about intolerance.

When Tolerance Is Intolerant

By Greg Koukl

There’s one word that can stop you in your track. That word is “tolerance.”

Let’s take a look at the confusing and mistaken ways tolerance is used in our culture today.

Using the modern definition of tolerance, you will see that no one is tolerant, or ever can be. It’s what my friend Frank Beckwith calls the “passive aggressive tolerance trick.” Let’s start with a real life example.

I had the privilege of speaking to seniors at a Christian high school in Des Moines. I wanted to alert them to this “tolerance trick,” but I also wanted to learn how much they had already been taken in by it. I began by writing two sentences on the board

"All views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another."

“Jesus is the Messiah and Judaism is wrong for rejecting that.”

They all nodded in agreement as I wrote the first sentence. As soon as I finished writing the second, though, hands flew up. “You can’t say that,” a coed challenged, clearly annoyed. “That’s disrespectful. How would you like it if someone said you were wrong?”

“In fact, that happens to me all the time,” I pointed out, “including right now with you. But why should it bother me that someone thinks I’m wrong?”

“It’s intolerant,” she said, noting that the second statement violated the first statement. What she didn’t see was that the first statement also violated itself.

I pointed to the first statement and asked, “Is this a view, the idea that all views have equal merit and none should be considered better than another?” They agreed.

Then I pointed to the second statement—the “intolerant” one—and asked the same question: “Is this a view?” They studied the sentence for a moment. Slowly my point began to dawn on them. They’d been taken in by the tolerance trick.

If all views have equal merit, then the view that Christians have a better view on Jesus than Jews is just as true as the idea that Jews have a better view on Jesus than Christians. But this is hopelessly contradictory. If the first statement is what tolerance amounts to, then no one can be tolerant because “tolerance” turns out to be gibberish.

“Would you like to know how to get out of this dilemma?” I asked. They nodded. “Return to the classic view of tolerance and reject this modern distortion.” Then I wrote these two principles on the board:

“Be egalitarian regarding persons.”

“Be elitist regarding ideas.”[1]

The first principle is true tolerance, what might be called “civility.” It can loosely be equated with the word “respect.” Tolerance applies to how we treat people we disagree with, not how we treat ideas we think false. Tolerance requires that every person is treated courteously, no matter what her view, not that all views have equal worth, merit, or truth.

To say I’m intolerant because I disagree with someone’s ideas is confused. The view that one person’s ideas are no better or truer than another’s is simply absurd and contradictory. To argue that some views are false, immoral, or just plain silly does not violate any meaningful definition or standard of tolerance.

The irony is that according to the classical notion of tolerance, you can’t tolerate someone unless you disagree with him. We don’t “tolerate” people who share our views. They’re on our side. There’s nothing to “put up” with. Tolerance is reserved for those who we think are wrong, yet we still choose to treat them decently and with respect.

This essential element of classical tolerance—elitism regarding ideas—has been completely lost in the modern distortion of the concept. Nowadays if you think someone is wrong, you’re called intolerant no matter how you treat them.

Whenever you’re charged with intolerance, always ask for a definition, then point out the contradiction built in to this new view.

As ambassadors for Christ, however, we choose the more courageous path. In Paul’s words, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). In a gracious and artful way, we accurately speak the truth, and then trust God to transform minds.

Now I Know Greek, Kinda

2007-06-04T11:06:00.000-05:00

Click here

A great website where you can check out the original Greek translation of the New Testament -- and look up what specific words in the bible meant. i.e.

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

believes: (Pisteu)

to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in

of the thing believed
1. to credit, have confidence
in a moral or religious reference
1. used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
2. to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith 1bc) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith

to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity

to be entrusted with a thing

Kill Your Enemy?

2007-06-01T08:09:00.000-05:00

This Blog entry of Greg Boyd's captures my sentiments on war. Here's a snippet -- the whole post is very much word reading.

...my Lord’s words and example have taught me that it's better to love your enemy, do good to them, pray for them, and bless them than it is to ever kill them. I’ve been taught to never retaliate but to always return evil with good. I’ve been taught that violence is cyclical, and that if you live by the sword you’ll die by the sword. By submitting myself to this teaching, I’ve come to actually see its wisdom and beauty. I’ve come to see the taking of human life as demonically arrogant – demonic, because it expresses hopelessness in another, which is the opposite of love (I Cor. 13:7), and arrogant, because only the giver of life can justifiably take it.

Click here for the rest

Spiritual Warfare

2007-05-31T13:56:00.001-05:00

If a normal picture says a thousand words, this one says at least 1,250. This sums up what I believe Jesus taught about war. Credit for this illustration goes to Alan Close.

Keeping it Safe

2007-05-30T12:53:00.000-05:00

So our 12 year old is getting to the age where she's interested in the internet, and her friends are talking about Myspace -- YIKES! I've been spending some good time finding out what kind of internet filters there are, and there happen to be some good free ones. Naomi actually has a MySpace blocker and Google image & video blocker!
Naomi
We-Blocker

The Best Potato Chip Ever

2007-05-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

I just had these as a pre lunch snack today. I nearly ate the whole bag.

Fiero's and God's Will

2007-05-25T12:57:00.000-05:00

I was just driving back from my lunch break and I saw a Fiero. Remember those? Click here.

During lunch, I was reading one of my favorite books "Man to Man" by Richard Halverson (I hope you don't get sick of me talking about it, because I may keep on for a while). I only wish it wasn't titled in a way that leads people to think it's only for men - because it's written for all humans. I still can't get over how brilliant the guy is. Here's some bits I read today.

"The blood of Christ cannot cleanse excuses, it only cleanses sin. 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' I John 1:9

How that works is a mystery - but regardless - it only makes sense that God can only work on a sinful heart that wants to be made clean (and that has to happen by a willful admitting that there is something wrong that needs to be worked on).

Another great lesson:

Genesis 24:1-27

"Here is one of the most beautiful and practical incidents in the Bible demonstrating how the will of God is understood. The key to the passage is verse 27. Note the simplicity of the arrangement.
Knowing God's will is NOT complicated. "I being in the way, the Lord led me." The servant was "in the way", therefore, "the Lord led."
Man's side is to be "in the way." God's side is "to lead." Do not confuse these. They are two orientation points in knowing and doing God's will. God promises to lead the man who puts himself in the way to be led. Man does not have the responsibility to figure out God's will, this is God's part. Man's part is to be "in the way." Man's part is to be available.
However he does it, God will make known his way to the man who waits to walk in it. This is not an over-simplification. Count on God to lead, never mind how. He promises so to do! Be sure you are committed to His will, ready to be led, then depend upon Him to keep His side of the bargain. Whether or not you feel you are being led is immaterial. You have God's promise. Count on it! "I being in the way, the Lord led me."

So how does that work? I think it's about listening to our conscience -- to me it sounds like an internal whisper telling me what is the right thing to do. It's easy to drown out the small whisper sometimes with my selfish desires, but when I follow that whisper, I find that God upholds his end of the bargain and leads me to peace.

Not So Smart, Are We?

2007-05-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite books is the book "Man to Man" by Richard Halverson. It's been out of print for about 20 years, but it's amazing how relevant to the current times it is.

Here are some excerpts from one of my favorite essays:

"Human-like, man blames everything but himself for his trouble. It's the government or education or economics of the military or the law or management...
Everything is wrong except man himself!
So man goes on in his blundering, egotistical way puttering with the symptoms while the disease rages unchecked. The pay-off is precisely what we feel at the mid-twentieth century--complete frustration. Take a frank look at our position in this enlightened age...
We are more knowledgeable about child psychology than we've ever been, yet juvenile delinquency steadily increases.
Law enforcement has become an excact science and sociologists have produced the answers on rehabilitation of the criminal, yet the crime rate rises every year.
Elaborate, scholarly research has gone into alchoholism and its causes. A.A. labors tirelessly around the clock, yet in the U.S. there are fifty new alcoholics every hour (1200 a day).
Book and articles by the hundreds are published on marriage and the home, marriage clinics and counselors abound everywhere, yet the divorce rate ascends inexorably.
In an era of unprecedented application of psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and psychotherapy, mental hospitals are bulging, mentall illness is skyrocketing, and millions exist on Benzedrine, tranquilizers and sleeping pills. Even the perfecting of astounding new antibiotics seem to trigger new, unfamiliar mystifying viruses.
While America is burdened with a growing food surplus, halft the world never knows the luxury of a full stomach and millions perish of starvation annually -- and apparently the only solution man can devise for the dreaded population explosion is some method of preventing babies from being born.
There is more and more talk about peace--and less and less hope for it...
Incredible progress has been made in science and technology, but the consumerate product of that progress constitutes a sickening, relentless threat to survival of civilization. Meanwhile, human nature sweats it out, blaming everything but itself for its confusion and perplexity.
One step forward and two steps backward, seems to be the pattern of history. It looks like the smarter we are, the farther behind we get--the more we know, the less we can do about it!
However, the mystery lifts when we consider the diagnosis Jesus made as it is recorded in Mark 7:14-23. He declared that the trouble lay withing human nature itself. He diagnosed it as a malignancy in the human heart which infects all that man does. Man's trouble originates within man, springing from a condition in his nature which only God is adequate to meet. The burdens of the world are the symptoms of which the disease is sin, and the only cure for sin is the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
Not the way human nature is organized, but human nature itself is the root of the problem. While he was president of the United Nations General Assembly, General Carlos Romulo of the Philippines said, "We have harnessed the atom, but we will never make war obsolete until we find a force that can bridle the passions of men and nations." This is the big question, where do we find that force?
The answer is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes..." Romans 1:16"

Man to Man, Richard C. Halverson, Zondervan Books, Copyright 1961 by Cowman Publications, Inc.

Holy to the Core

2007-05-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

During lunch today I was reading an article in Christianity Today (a very well produced and non-cheesy pub I should add) titled "Holy to the Core" by Joel Scandrett. I thought Joel does a great job of detailing how the Christian church has struggled for many years with the term "holiness". Even though many churches today have done a good job of casting off the old legalistic notions (i.e. no dancing, drinking & playing cards) -- a lot of churches are guilty of replacing them with "private, moralistic notions" of sexual purity, financial honesty and commitment to private prayer. While these things are good of course, they miss the bullseye of what being holy is. As Joel says:

"This is partly due to our quest for cultural relevance, which is defended in the name of winning others to Christ. If we talk about holiness with unbelievers, won't that present just another hurdle for them to overcome on their way to Christ?"

"Moral purity is not, first and foremost, what Scripture is talking about. Instead, the most basic meaning of the word 'holy' is to be 'set apart' or 'dedicated' to God - to belong to God. "I will be your God, and you will be my people," says Yahweh (Lev. 26:12, Heb. 8:10). Thus, prior to any consideration of morality, biblical holiness describes a unique relationship that God has established and desires with his people. This relationship has moral ramifications, but it precedes moral behavior. Before we are ever called to be good, we are called to be holy. Unless we rightly understand and affirm the primacy of this relationship, we fall into the inevitable trap of reducing holiness to mere morality."

Tell it like it is, Joel! I know that in my past I have been guilty of reducing my "spirituality" and relationship to God to just following rules of do this and don't do that. In hindsight, I was so dumb. God doesn't want me to follow rules -- he want's me to be in union with him. We don't want our children to just follow our rules -- we want a relationship with them!

Joel goes on to say: "At bottom, God's call to be holy is a radical, all-encompasing claim on our lives, our loves, and our very identities. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ requires nothing less than death to our fallen, egocentric selves in order that we might live in and for him." (Mark 8:35-36)

Have a joy and peace filled day.

Morality vs. Sprirituality, Round 1

2007-04-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

Did you realize that morality and spirituality are different? I just learned the difference in an old book I picked up at The Salvation Army: Questions Non-Christians Ask by Barry Wood.

Morality means right relations with your fellow man. Morals refers to ethics on a man-to-man, person-to-person level. Morals denotes our horizontal relationships.

Spirituality means right relations with God. Being a spiritual man involves a daily walk with God. It's a vertical relationship -- man to God and God to man.

Morality is not spirituality. Just because someone has good morals, does not mean they are spiritual. Just because you are on the in's with people, doesn't mean your on the in's with God.

However, every spiritual man will be a moral man. The story of Nicodemus in the book of John illustrates a moral person who was not right with God. A good example of someone who is spiritual and moral, is the story of Jesus of Nazareth.

Have a moral day, I mean, spiritual day!

His name is Jesus?

2007-04-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

If you are interested in the history of the name of Jesus Christ, here are a couple of good sources:

Jews for Jesus article

Yeshua.com

My Record is Broken

2007-04-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm sounding like a broken record -- maybe not -- but my thought on the way to work this morning is: There are so many things about God that are confusing -- so many things that are debated about God not only between Christians and other faiths -- but also within Christianity. I think when you look at the story of Adam & Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good & evil it makes sense why we have the confusion. It's the first time that they were told that they could be like God -- they could know learn on their own without God's help -- they could be their own God. Since man from the time of Adam has had this obsession with figuring things out on their own -- and when man tries to figure out the infinitely higher and wiser God -- there is going to be a lot of frustration and confusion. My worldview lately has been that of the analogy that we have all been poisoned by sin. We all have this poison inside of us -- Adam and Eve were infected by the poison and they've passed it down from generation to generation all the way to us.

We have these ideas that if we learn enough, if we keep on studying, we'll get it figured out. We will know who God is and how he thinks and how everything works. I'm not turning into a relativist, because I do believe there are some fundamental things about God that are knowable when you look throughout history how God has made Himself known, but I also believe that God doesn't leave some things a mystery for some reason. I believe that some things about God we just can't comprehend with out little human brains.

My theory is that we have so many varied beliefs about God -- different religions -- different sects of Christianity -- because we hold on so tightly to our human understanding and our obsession with study and knowledge and getting it all figured out. We all have pride in what we think we know is the truth. When we rely on our own reasoning to figure out God we can end up with really bad human reasoning and understanding. When we yield to God and plead and beg for him to show himself to us, I think we are at a good place to study and reason to learn more about him. I know that I'm guilty of this -- I love to read, study, contemplate etc. My favorite form of worship is reading and learning about God. I don't spend enough time in prayer and/or asking God to show me truth about him as I study and seek Him.

Please pray for me and for those you love that we can all give our questions, confusions and frustrations to God, and that we ask him to sort them out for us instead of obsessing about doing it ourselves. One promise that I hold on to in the Bible is that if we seek God, we will find him.

Mother of the Year

2007-04-19T15:30:00.000-05:00

People I'd like to have dinner with this week

2007-04-17T23:39:00.000-05:00

C.S. Lewis

Rob Bell: Teaching downloads or podcast @ iTunes, or books

Greg Boyd: Teaching downloads or podcast @ iTunes, his books or get his blog

Rick Warren

Josh McDowell, the guy I'm reading right now

Am I wrong?

2007-04-13T23:32:00.000-05:00

I have a friend (I can't prove it) who has a website where he talks about Christian stuff and he gets Christians and non-Christians posting comments etc. I'm kind of jealous. The thing is, as you know, that I love a good discussion/debate or whatever you call dialoging about debatable things. It challenges me, and I suppose there's that little person inside of me that needs to feel like I know what I believe and why. Also, I sell radio ads, so I spend a lot of time selling, negotiating and persuading and it tends to come out in my non-work life.

Here is my formal request to please challenge me on what I believe. My passion in life is studying, following and telling others good news, I mean, THE Good News. Have I told you yet? 2000 years ago God came to the earth as a human, named Jesus. His Hebrew name is Yeshua, which would be Joshua in English speaking countries (I just learned that - pretty interesting, huh?). Jesus came to offer his life as a sacrifice for our sins so that our souls can go to heaven and be with our creator -- because we are too messed up to ever do enough good to make up for the bad we do. The conscience we have that we especially notice when we do something wrong comes from God. The fear of death and our desire for eternal life comes from God. The Good News is that we don't have to worry about doing more good than bad to live forever with God. The Good News is that Jesus paid for our sins (our past sins and future sins) by giving up his perfect life for us. God chose to live the most lowly, humble and persecuted life as a human and die a horrible death so that we would be reconciled with him forever. All we have to do is live for God -- acknowledge that we are not the ruler of our lives and acknowledge that God is. Accept his sacrifice and stop trying to "work our way to heaven".

This sums up what I believe to be true... it's an oversimplified, stream-of-conscious "statement of faith" but I think I'm saying enough to fire up any dissenters out there.

18-21The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written, I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head, I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots.So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:18 (The Message) The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Resurrection Hoax?

2007-04-05T15:58:00.001-05:00

I encourage everyone to read a book on proof of the resurrection sometime -- it's pretty interesting and faith building. Here's an article online I just read that is a succinct version of proof of the ressurection. Otherwise, check out The Case for Easter, or, I am eagerly awaiting The Jesus Legend by Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy - a nice and beefy 512 page book that comes out in August. Happy Easter!

Love that Rick guy

2007-04-05T12:54:00.000-05:00

Newsweek featured a debate between well known Christian author Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life -- incredible book) and athiest Sam Harris. I recommend reading it here.

Do Good People Go To Heck When They Die?

2007-03-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

One thing I struggle with sometimes is the age old question: how could a loving God send "good people" to Hell? I know most of the text book Christian answers to that question - and they help - but I still have to wrestle with the question now and then. I've decided that I believe good people just go to heck when they die. Of course I'm kidding, but anyways...

I believe that God doesn't send anyone to hell -- I believe going to heaven or going to hell is up to you! God won't drag anyone to heaven kicking and screaming -- if you tell God you want to live for him you will be with him in heaven when you die -- if you do not choose God now, he will not force you to be with him when you die. The cool thing is, is that people who really want to know God WILL find him. The Bible says that God wants nothing more than for us to find him and know him. I love meeting people who want to know God -- I think if oftentimes means they are humble and the universe is not revolving around them -- they are open minded enough to seek the truth. Plus they're usually just fun to talk with. My wife is a perfect example. She was in to all sorts of miscellaneous beliefs and then she found God. She's been a new person since, and she has a faith that will move mountains. If you need to know if the claims of the bible are true, just look at her life. The nativity story tells how God chose people who were in to astrology to be the first people to see Jesus -- what an amazing God to choose people who didn't even follow him but a different religion to be the first to greet the savior of the world.

So... where do good people go when they die? I think most of the time good people will go to heaven, because most good people are not living for themselves but for God. Even if some good people haven't discovered the real God, they are probably on their way to finding him. As a follower of Jesus, I want good people to know about the ultimate good person -- Jesus. I figure good people like to know how they can be gooder -- and Jesus is a great good person to model. Not to mention that living like him will land you in heaven when you die. I don't want to be pushy about telling good people about Jesus though, because sometimes people think you're just trying to make them a religious person, and they usually don't like that. Plus Jesus was never pushy, and he's the ultimate good person and I want to be like him. I think with bad people you can be pushy about Jesus - they usually need a good role model.

WARNING - A LITTLE TEACHIN'/THEOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY: C.S. Lewis, I believe it was, says that God doesn't send anybody to hell - they send themselves. It's a choice. Everyone either chooses to trust God and live for him forever, or live for yourself and not be with God when you die. God doesn't send good people to hell - it's like choosing to do drugs or not - if you don't, good things happen, if you do, bad things happen - you already know what happens if you choose drugs, or choose a self centered God-less life - God isn't guilty for sending anyone anywhere. Now hell is often portrayed as never ending torture - this is actually up for debate. Some people interpret hell in the Bible to be that your soul is destroyed -- Annihilationism -- basically you die and lose out on heaven - this is the "eternal punishment." I used to be the person who does good things to try to earn my way to heaven, until I realized that God sacrificing his Son for the sins of the world was so that I didn't have to try to earn my way - I just accept God's sacrificial gift. I also believe that either Jesus is God, or he's not. If he's not, the whole Christian faith is a lie. If Jesus IS God, than all the other religions of the world are lies. Jesus and other religions aren't compatible - they all have different endings. It's a choice we all have to make -- even if you choose nothing - you're choosing something!

Gina's new Biz

2007-03-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

Gina's officially out of the coffee biz and now working as an independent consultant for The Body Shop at home. It's a home party business offshoot of the original Body Shop (copied by Bath & Body works, etc.). Gina is looking forward to making her own hours so that she can spend more time in ministry and volunteering. She has her own website: www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/ginanorman.

Clearing Things Up. Part A.

2007-03-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

Christians are not people who go to church on the weekends. Going to church is one thing that Christians do, but it doesn't make anyone a Christian. I was trying to think of an analogy to really paint this picture, and I think I have one:

Pat enrolls in a community education class on becoming a certified lifeguard. She finishes the class, but decides that she doesn't want to teach lifeguard classes because she's perfectly fine with her life as it is without commiting extra time at the local beach to be a lifeguard. Is Pat a lifeguard? Not really. She took a class on it, but if you were to ask Pat what she does, would it make sense for her to tell you that she's a lifeguard, when she's never ever used her knowledge in a real life lifeguarding situation -- when she doesn't?

Just because someone attends a class (church), or even makes a commitment to attending a class on a regular basis, doesn't make somebody something unless they apply/use what they learn (living a Christian life). Now like any analogy, this one isn't perfect. However, it's sad that many Christians and non-Christians identify Christians as people who just go to church. Church is an important part of the Christian life - it's where people go to learn, spend time with other Christians, and thank God for what he has given us -- but if people who go to church don't get out and live the kind of life that Jesus teaches us to live in the bible, it's like that person who takes the class, but does nothing with it -- you're shouldn't say you're a Christian -- just like Pat shouldn't say she's a lifeguard! And to be clear, it's not about "being good and doing nice things" -- another common misconception of the Christian definition that I'll probably blog about later -- it's about BEING a Christian and not DOING Christian traditions!

It's OK To Be Right

2007-03-08T08:01:00.000-06:00

There is a school of thought out there that says that everyone is right - experience is the yardstick for truth and if you suggest that someone is wrong, well you are wrong because there is no such thing as absolute truth. The problem with this school of thought is that if you claim there is no absolute truth, than that statement is false... think about it. I believe another term for this school of thought is post modernism.

In relation to religion, post modernism says that all religions are true and heaven is what you believe to be true. For some Christians, the sparkle of post modern thought is very appealing because those raised in a fundamentalist background have been turned off by those who claim to know ALL the answers and have a patronizing attitude to anyone with a different viewpoint -- that nothing is negotiable -- that man can know everything about God -- that all other denominations are wrong -- and that God is a God of technicalities. I believe this rotten stench of "know-it-all"ism makes post modern thought -- not having to claim anyone is wrong for fear being one of those "know-it-alls" -- very attractive. I've been there and I can say I've found happy middle ground between Christian radical fundamentalism (i.e. those that claim to pretty much know everything and say everyone else is going to hell) and post modern thought.

I guess my happy middle ground would be this: I have beliefs that I find to be true, but I can admit that I could be wrong.

I believe the danger is when someone can't admit that they might be right, for fear they are saying everyone else is wrong. I think that there are things that are flat out, true: (2 + 2 = 4, everyone dies, the sun is hot, etc., etc.).

I'll give an example: you may have seen the episodes of American Idol where they show all of the contestents that are really, really, horrible. The parents and friends of these horrible singers just might be people who are afraid of giving someone the truth for fear of hurting their feelings.

"No, Bobby, you are a really good singer! You should try out!"
[Weeks later, after the pain and humiliation of sucking really bad on national television]
"Mom, everyone is saying I was horrible!"
"Oh Bobby, they just don't know a good singer when they hear one!"
"I don't know, mom, I was just on the "bad auditions" show, Paula was in tears laughing at me and you're the only person saying I'm good."

OK - here's an example of a mom knowing their kid stinks - but they don't want to hurt their feelings. What would have been the loving thing to do? Tell their kid the truth up front and save their kid the humiliation of singing really badly on national TV.

This example should make those who believe in God stop and think - if I know the truth - even if I could be wrong - is it more loving to share it, or not share it? Most religions believe their truth leads to heaven, nirvana, etc. If you don't have the truth, most religions believe that there is hell, or at worst, a ton of lost blessings. Shouldn't you share the truth - especially if it's good news?

Here's my happy medium again: as a Christian, I will share what I believe to be true. I share it with love and humility -- but I'm not insisting that I have all the right answers. If I am right -- it's something that I HAVE to share or else those I don't share with are REALLY missing out. If I don't share it, it's like being pretty sure that your friend has the winning lottery ticket but not telling them. I'm doing them a favor. I think I'm right, because I've done my homework and my life experiences corroborate my homework. Again, having an attitude of humbleness, and love are crucial.

One thing that confuses me about other religions, is that if following their religion leads to fulfillment and if not following their religion doesn't -- than why don't their followers share it with as many people as possible? If they can show me the truth, I'd want to be "converted!" Again, if I had some really good news, I think it's the moral thing to share it with as many people as possible. From what I know, Christianity is one of the very few religions that care about telling this wonderful truth. Admittedly, a lot of Christians, including myself, have done a really crappy job in how we share the truth.

Post modern thought is very attractive, because it's much easier to not tell someone they are wrong. And who like's being like the annoying "know-it-alls"? However, I believe it's not an "either-or" proposition. You don't have to be a "know-it-all" if you think that you have some truth to share. And I suggest that you are really my friend if you share what you believe to be true with me, and tell me that I might be missing the truth (i.e. I might be wrong).

Don't Leave Money on The Table

2007-03-06T08:07:00.000-06:00

You may have heard of the saying "Don't leave money on the table". In business it means don't incorrectly assess a prospective client's buying power. For example, if you work at Caribou Coffee and someone orders a coffee, don't assume that they don't have enough money for a muffin. If you sell them a coffee, and they have $10 and they only spent $2, you "left money on the table."

What does this have to do with more important spiritual matters? Well I've been thinking a lot about how God is probably very pleased when he sees us using the talents that he gave us. I'm thinking that this is SO IMPORTANT -- to find out what your good at, and really use it for God's glory. If we don't use our God given talents -- you see where I'm going with this -- we're "leaving money on the table".

I encourage you to discover your spiritual gifts. One way to do this is find a church that has a class for finding your spiritual gifts. There is also a free spiritual gifts survey online right here. Personally, I am happiest when I'm using my talents for things of higher importance -- and I think God is too.

How To Not Have a Warm Pew

2007-03-05T08:59:00.000-06:00

I am finally taking my thoughts to the streets. I've always been an idea person, but most of my ideas never see the light of day and they end up in my large idea graveyard. Since I've had several ideas that I thought may benefit the community of believers, I've finally by the grace of God put them in to writing. My mission now is to share my ideas with communities of believers thoughout the planet with hopes that they may be used to ignite people into action for the Kingdom of God. You may view these ideas at http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddbbs8tw_38chd45w

Deception

2007-02-23T11:26:00.000-06:00

I was talking to a co-worker yesterday who had the blessing of going down with a group to New Orleans last week for Mardi Gras. They went down to share the good news with the partiers. One of the things that he told me about was that there were other groups who called themselves Christians, yet acted nothing like Christ asks us to act. Instead of showing love and sharing the good news, they judged and condemned. Now I wasn't there, but I can imagine what the type of people are that he saw. I don't believe that you should leave sin and judgement out of the gospel message (what is good news without telling people what they are saved from?). But I'm also a believer that you "attract more flies with sugar than vinegar" - or however that saying goes.
One of the ways that my co-worker, Eric, described the condemner people, is that they are "deceived". I think that word is so good - it's so much better than heathen, pagan, idiot, moron -- and many other words that some Christians use to describe non-Christians that come off as rude and "I'm better than those sinners". If we truly look at non-Christians as lost and deceived, we can have compassion for them. Good chance that these people have been brainwashed into thinking they're doing the right thing to "save these pagans from destruction". I can admit that I used to think to use any means to save someone from hell regardless of how rude it is was a noble thing to do. Greg Boyd gives analogy that we shouldn't "shoot at the sinners because we need to save them". We're in a war against Satan who is a great deceiver, we're not in a war against flesh and blood.

OK... I Have an Agenda

2007-02-22T08:08:00.000-06:00

I was listening to Toby Mac's new album "Portable Sounds" on the way to work this morning and in one of his songs he uses the highly offensive word - Jesus. It got me thinking for some reason why do some people accept Jesus, and some people reject Jesus. It's not exactly a new question, but in light of my recent obsession with how should one evangelize, I've had some new thoughts about it. As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I think that I have been guilty of trying to push Jesus on people -- as if I push hard enough they will have to believe. I'm sure part of this comes from me being wired by God as an "influencer" -- I like to influence people -- I'm in sales, etc. But like sales, good sales people should be asking more questions vs. dumping tons of info about their product or service. I think we as Christians would be more loving if we remembered that. Of course some may say that "you have an agenda" even if you're asking questions to try and get people to follow Jesus but hey -- I'm guilty as charged. As a Christian, that's my marching orders (i.e. the "Great Commission"). Honestly, if I found out that someone had an agenda to share Good News with me -- life saving, life altering, purpose giving, hope of heaven news with me, I wouldn't be offended -- that is, unless they were sharing it in a pushy, I don't care what you think, "accept this or you're going to hell" way!

One thing that I know...

2007-02-21T06:20:00.000-06:00

...is that I don't know much.

One thought I've had recently that is that a lot of people think that Christians are closed minded - OK many are - but if we can let people know that we are OPEN to a dialog about things - let us reason together - we are starting at a point of humility which is more approachable and less arrogant. I think a big turn off is when people think you just want to talk AT them instead of talk WITH them and get to know their opinion on things and what they think. It's the whole eating from the tree of knowledge - the whole thinking we have ALL the answers - that is a major problem with Christians - and I'll be the first to raise my hand to admit I've had this stink about me before! I think a big reason we Christians can come off as arrogant and unapproachable is because we put on this facade that we know everything - out of a fear we may not be able to prove what we believe is true. Who likes to talk with somebody who is completely close minded to anything you have to say (i.e. a Christian who is completely close minded to your experiences and opinions about things) - not me! What a turn off! We Christians have a tendency to get nervous if someone has something to say that may cause us to question if what we believe is true. Let's not fear that - true faith is believing that God will come through in our fears and questions. Rob Bell talks a lot about this in his book Velvet Elvis. Here's my challenge today for me and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ - let's be humble, approachable, and let's have a desire to get down and dirty with those questions that seekers have and we may have ourselves - let's not be afraid to have God reveal himself in honest questions from others and from our own minds!

MyChurch.org

2006-12-12T10:36:00.000-06:00

You can find this blog there now - just seach for me, my username is kevinnorman

Stre-e-e-e-tch

2006-12-05T08:04:00.000-06:00

My mind was racing on the way to work this morning. I thought of a couple different things I wanted to write about. The first one was about how we all try to be in control of things and tend to not want to give God room to work in our lives and in the lives of others. We hear of a someone we know possibly going down the wrong road, or about to make a wrong choice and we instinctively think it's all on our shoulders to make sure they don't - that we are God's divine messenger and if we don't get to the person in time all is lost. Sometimes we can be God's divine messenger - but we don't know that. I don't believe God would want us to get so worried about that person that all of a sudden we're not trusting in God that He can't work in that person's life some other way than by us convincing them that they're making a wrong choice. Our job is to do our best, pray, and leave it up to God.

My other thought comes from the book I'm reading - "Velvet Elvis". As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, it's really making me think. I have been blessed over the last 3 or 4 years by listening to several pastors on the Christian radio station that I work for. Two of them: Todd Friel and Greg Boyd have VERY different ways of evangelizing and theologizing. Now, the book I'm reading is showing me a different brand of Christian theology and it's having me think through another lens. Here's what I'm thinking: stretch yourself by exposing yourself to God loving pastors that have different theology. For me, I used to listen to Greg Boyd, or listen to Todd Friel and think that they have it all together theologically. Now, there are things that they each say that I'm not sold on, because I've heard opposing viewpoints. For me, this has brought me closer to God because it's reminding me that God is really BIG. It keeps me humble because I might have an opinion on an ancillary theological issue one day, but then hear an opposing viewpoint and question my original opinion. I don't claim now to think I'm "right" in an argument because I'm not God. I think a definition of "narrow minded" would be one who has an opinion that is very limited because they're only seen one viewpoint and never challenged it - I've been guilty of this. My passion is for people to seek -- and seek hard! If you seek, you'll find, if you don't, you won't (nice rhyme huh?). My job is to love God and love others - this doesn't mean having everything all philosophically or theologically worked out in my mind, and making sure everyone agrees with me!

Have a blessed day!

Still here!

2006-12-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

Hello people who may have accidentaly came across my blog - I won't assume anyone is actually reading my blog INTENTIONALLY!

Why the long abscence? I've been getting ready for our missions trip, trying to keep my sales up and focus at my job, and all the other stuff that keeps us all so busy. I've not given up on my blog, but I don't want to fill it with boring posts either!

Have you seen www.mychurch.org? Pretty cool website if you're in to the social networking thing, and you're a Christian! Get you church to sign up!

Speaking of churches, Gina and I are still working on finding a new church home. We love Woodland Hills, the church we've been going to for almost 4 years, but it's pretty far away from our new home in Hastings, MN. We've been visiting Hastings United Methodist church now. We checked it out on a referral that they have a great youth group. I like it a lot so far - they have a wonderful pastor and they're very active in the community. The Methodist church has a neat history too, which we've been learning about. The website is .

Reading a good book now - Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. I'm not sure if I sign off on everything he says, but he definitely is getting me to think.

James 1:27

2006-11-13T21:23:00.000-06:00

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Gina, Madelynn and I have an opportunity on January 12-22 to travel to Puebla, Mexico to serve at an orphanage. We will be part of a team from Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota that will be helping children that are living at Living Hope International’s youth home called Esperaenza Viva.

Esperaenza Viva is a home for youth who come from a number of different tragic circumstances. Some of the children’s parents are serving life sentences in prison, some children were abandoned and living on the streets, and some come from abusive homes. At Esperaenza Viva they can experience the love of God, overcome hopelessness and rejection, and receive education and medical care. Our team will be assisting the staff in caring for the 85 or so children who live there by: doing work projects, teaching, playing games, craft projects or just spending time showing love to the kids. The cost for the three of us that includes transportation, room & board, and project money is roughly $3,400.

Over the past several years the three of us have been humbled by the people and children in poor circumstances in our own back yard literally, when we lived on the East Side of St. Paul. We love reaching out to the broken and those in need. That is why this trip has a special spot in our hearts.

If you feel led to help us financially, please make a check payable to: Woodland Hills Church and send it to my work addres: Salem Communications, ATTN: Kevin Norman, 2110 Cliff Road, Eagan, MN 55122. (In the memo please put “Puebla Mission Trip” but do not put our name on the check or the gift will not be tax deductible). We need the funds by December 12.

Even if you may not be able to support us financially on this trip, please pray for our family, the rest of our team, and the Esperaenza Viva orphanage as this trip is approaching and during the trip. Thank you very much!

It's November 7, Don't Forget to Pray

2006-11-07T13:18:00.000-06:00

I voted today, but more importantly, I prayed.

When so many people are sweating bullets about whether their candidates get in, just don't forget -- God is in control! And if you cast your heavenly ballot by praying (please forgive the cheesy analogy), you are making a postitive kingdom difference. If you talk to him, he hears you. If you ask for his will to be done, you are covered by him!! Talk to God and ask him what is best -- tell him what you want, but don't be presumptuous to think that you know what is best. God knows what is best for us! Just ask him to do his thing! I'm guilty of trying to "steer" God to do what I want, but sometimes I do remember that like a old, very wise person (to use a very bad analogy, because unlike an old wise person, he actually CREATED me!), he knows better than me!

It's gray out there...

2006-11-07T11:59:00.000-06:00

Someone recently asked me about what I think about the death penalty -- I haven't thought about the death penalty for a while, but I think there are at least a few reasons why I have not been totally opposed to it 1) People that get the death penalty know beforehand that their crime is a crime that will be punished - if death is the punishment, and they commited the crime knowing that they could be sentence to death... 2) Death row inmantes have time to repent (they have a lot of time on death row to get right with God). 3) I've heard that places that have the death penalty have a much lower crime rate... if the citizens know that they could be sentenced to death for their crimes, and as a result they do crime less, that seems like a pretty smart system to me.

However, because our judges aren't omniscient like the True Judge (God), I'm not crazy about the idea that there are innocent people who get sentenced to death sometimes. SO, I'm not crazy about it, but not against it either...

I have a feeling that if you brought this issue up with Jesus, just like the issue of war and any other gray area, he'd tell us to not divide over this issue, but come together on spreading the good news!

Free Derek Webb!

2006-11-03T13:03:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to Derek Webb's newest album - "Mockingbird" now for about a month and it still continues to amaze me. Derek is the former frontman of Caedmon's Call. What's almost as amazing as the lyrics and music on Mockingbird is that Derek Webb is giving it away for FREE online. You can get it by clicking on the banner above or by going to freederekwebb.com or derekwebb.com. The lyrics will completely blow you away - I promise!

I've decided not to sell the AK

2006-11-02T10:33:00.000-06:00

I think I'm done ruminating on war vs. peace. I just did a Google fight (www.googlefight.com) between war & peace and war won - by a landslide. I'm done sweating this one because I don't want this topic to get in the way of more important questions in my head like do I eat at 11:30 today, or do I eat at noon...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me on this one -- I think I still lean toward more of a MacGyver viewpoint instead of an A-Team viewpoint on war, but please don't hold it against me if you don't - because I want you on my side if we go to war.

Have a happy November 2nd!

THAT IS IT. I'm selling my AK-47...

2006-10-31T13:04:00.000-06:00

So I can't get off the subject of whether Christians should engage in war. Here's a passage in the bible I just remembered, that I think it has motivated me to sell all of my assault rifles:

This is Jesus speaking to his apostles before he sends them out:

"...take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." Notice he didn't mention to bring a sword - even though Jesus later in the chapter said they would face some serious haters.

he also says:

"...When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another." Again, says nothing about fighting back. He takes a more passive approach. Would Jesus have organized an army if force was going to help, or if it was important to protect the apostles if they started getting oppressed?

and one last thing in the same chapter that's strengthening my opinion that Jesus is not a fan of war or force:

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. "

So the argument that terrorists may come to America if we don't fight them overseas seems to be "being afraid of those that kill the body". Seems to me that we have bigger fish to fry -- caring about people's souls vs. people's safety.

Again, just talking this out. I used to be a big fan of fighting "just wars" and I thought I wouldn't change my opinion then, so even though I'm strongly leaning towards a "love not war" stance on things, I could change my mind if there is a theme in the bible I'm missing.

Love you reply posts on this one!

Have a safe October 31st!

2006-10-31T08:22:00.000-06:00

Hi family, friends and enemies -- Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays - I think because I like tricks, treats and scary stuff. I'm not one of the Christians that believe we shouldn't "celebrate" Halloween because of the pagan roots. I'm not summoning spirits or celebrating paganism. We're in a world that is fallen, and if you try to avoid everything that has connection to pagans you're going to paint yourself into the corner of a small room and NEVER be the salt of the earth that Jesus wants us to be. I think it's a dangerous thing for Christians to create a little Christian bubble that isolates them from non-Christians. Especially when participating in something as innocent as going door to door in a Sponge Bob Square pants costume collecting candy. If I wasn't a Christian and someone invited me to learn about their faith - where they don't participate in Halloween -- I'd think that they have a pretty legalistic faith that is ridiculous. Personally, I can't see Jesus telling kids to stay home and don't have fun trick-or-treating. I can see him saying to stay away from occult activities - but I think trick-or-treating is a bit different. If you really, really feel that participating in Halloween is a bad thing, then don't do it (you shouldn't, or else it is a sin for you) -- this is just my humble opinion and you have a right to yours as much as I do to mine. My only fear is that by drawing a circle around yourself so big that you're not participating in innocent holidays that are not even an echo of whatever their pagan roots may have been, you are creating a perception of a faith that is bit like that of the Pharisees. Have a safe October 31st!

Faith & Politics - The Discussion Continues

2006-10-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

Christian involvement in politics is quite the hot topic these days, and I think for good reason. I believe it's a worthy discussion for Christians to have because the line between "Politics" and "Faith" is getting very blurry - and is that a good thing? I'm not so sure.

If this topic interests you, on Monday night, Jim Wallis (author of God's Politics and president and founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal) and Greg Boyd (author of The Myth of a Christian Nation and senior pastor at Woodland Hills Church). had a public dialogue on "Politics and Faith: Do They Mix" at Bethel University. CNN and several Newspapers were there so you may hear about this in the news.

Click here for Greg's very informative and succinct post-event blog entry or click here for audio from the event.

Happy Friday

2006-10-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hi friends, family, and people who accidentaly came across my blog. I just want to wish you a happy Friday. I don't have much to say today. I'm just avoiding making some cold sales calls for as long as I can....

Here's your wisdom for the day:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

War, huh, Good God Y'all, What is it Good For?

2006-10-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

...I'm not sure?? I've been thinking about it lately and even though I have my opinion on most modern day issues for Christians, the war thing is something I still don't have figured out. Is any war "just?" What would Jesus do with situations like Hitler Germany, Rwanda, and now Darfur? Should people there not fight back? Should they turn the other cheek? Should we help them with guns and warfare? Or is there another approach that would help? I know that God hates injustice, but does he ever want us to be his "hands & feet" of justice in a violent way? Doesn't Jesus want us more concerned with the souls of people than with how comfortable they are on earth (even in oppression - I mean look at the apostles - they never fought back)? I think a lot of wars come about because people are concerned about our very temporary life here on planet Earth. I have a wife and a daughter and I hate the idea of potentially being blown up by a madman, but as a Christian I believe I should be concerned more about the eternal destination of my family and that madman - more than being concerned about killing him in his lost state.

Jesus says to turn the other cheek. Jesus saved humanity by hanging on the cross instead of by violence. This says to me that there has to be a way to help these oppressed people with ways other than violence. I'm aware that a lot of people would say this may be next to impossible with certain cultures, but most people would say the way that Jesus lived his life was pretty crazy. Also, if you want a case study that shows violence in a culture can be changed without war, check out End of The Spear (movie or book), a true story about how some missionaries went into one of the world's deadliest, most violent African tribes and -- you guessed it -- the tribe changed it's violent ways in a major way, because of a change in their heart.

I'm not claiming to have a perfect plan for solving the world's conflicts, but from what I read in the Bible it seems to me there could be a better way to start to solve them - the way of self sacrificial love that Jesus modeled. And war never changes the heart of anyone - but sacrifice does.

Please share what you think about this - I'm seeking the truth. I'm seeking to learn why in this age most Christian's think that war is fine, when it seems to me that Jesus modeled change by sacrifice. Please feel free to share with me any different insight you may have on this.

2006-10-23T14:29:00.000-05:00

Christian music????

2006-10-21T16:25:00.000-05:00

Gina, Mads and I went to one of our new favorite hangouts, Augustana Care Center on Friday night to bring some cheer to the oldies there. We went up and down the hallway recruiting people to come listen to some music with us. We rounded up about 15 oldies in the gathering area and we sang karoke to songs from the 50's and 60's ranging from Elivs to Franki Valie to Richie Vallens (sp?), The Who and Aretha Franklin. We weren't winning any best singer awards, but I think we entertained them at least (or at least some of them - we had a few grouches).

One really neat story was of a lady we met named Ruth Bartholemew (can a name be any cooler?) who was visiting her husband that evening. Both she and her husband were probably in their late 60's and her husbad had a stroke earlier in the year and was in very bad shape - he had no control of his body and his face was frozen in expressions beyond his control - very sad. When I went into their room so see if they wanted to go, I actually thought that Ruth was the person in the room, but when I peaked around the corner I saw she was the visitor. I asked if she wanted to come before I realized that, but then she very sweetly let me know probably not because her husband clearly was not mobile (he was in bed). Anyways, we started our singing without them and about 15 minutes into it Ruth came down and was watching us. I can't remember how it happened, but we found out that she was a singer, and she ended up singing a song from our CD. THEN about 10 minutes later, the nurses came rolling Ruth's husband in! He told them that he wanted to hear her sing! She ended up singing a song and after we called it a night we visited with her for a while and she told us he was dying and then we found out she goes to a church we are considering joining (United Methodist Church in Hastings). She told us she has done karoke for a long time (she has a beautiful voice) and now I think she's going to bring her karaoke songs and sing for everyone, including her husand. What an amazing blessing! Gina and I believe God used us to answer a prayer for Ruth and her husband!

Anyways, it was a wonderful night - again, there's probably nothing that we could have done that we would have blessed us more. We pretty much know most of them by name now, and they ask us when we will be back.

control yourself

2006-10-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

I think most people would agree that we are creatures of habit -- we are largely programmed by this world to think the way it does (more is better, look out for yourself, someone hits you, you hit them back, etc). However, most would also agree that we do have free will to make choices we want - but how much free will do we have vs. how much of what we do is because we're responding to what we've been programmed by the world to think?

If you've ever struggled with these types of questions, you will probably enjoy Greg Boyd's books and sermon's. A book that changed the way I think about these things is his book, Letters from a Skeptic - a book of letters between Greg Boyd and his ivy league, atheist dad.

If you're an intellectual, or if you know someone who is and you're struggling with questions like how could a loving God allow natural disasters and all sorts of evil, this book is for you. Also, if you're interested in how religion should or should not mix with politics, Greg Boyd was just featured on the front of the New York times for his new book Myth of a Christian Nation - the article can be read here. Lastly, Greg was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose on PBS along with Rick Warren. You can view that interview here.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 (taken from a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome)

www.dakotacity.org

2006-10-18T19:44:00.000-05:00

Hey Minnesota friends,

Just found out about this one from my friend & co-worker Kevin Cash. It's an re-created old village with original buildings. It's only open occassionally throughout the year, and it's going to be open this weekend for Grand History Days. Check it out! www.dakotacity.org

chillin with the oldies

2006-10-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

I feel so bad for me - all these postings but nobody is reading them. It's kind of like talking to myself. Ha. Anyways, Gina and I went to Augustana Care Center tonight and hung out with the old folks and chatted with them. It was a lot of fun. We brought some games but the game table was being used. They were pretty funny. If you ever want to feel appreciated, go hang out with the old folks. They are lonely and love to feel appreciated -- kind of neat how it's a two way street. They love to laugh and have fun -- so we actually went out and bought a cheap karoke machine to bring next time for some fun. Stay tuned...

think small

2006-10-17T08:13:00.000-05:00

I have many stereotypes of people groups in my mind -- conservatives, liberals, arabs, african americans, hispanics, Christians, non-Christians -- the list goes on and on. If you are a living, breathing human, you do too. Some are good stereotypes, some are bad stereotypes.

Have you ever judged someone based on a group they belong to and end up completely "surprised" that they weren't the type of person you thought they were? I know I have. When that happens it may be God reminding you that you're not an all-knowing God, and it's good to get to know someone before you draw assumptions about them.

The thought I had on the way to work today was -- "think small." Always look at people as individuals and don't judge them on a group they belong too - regardless if you've had a negative experience with someone from a particular group. I know I would'nt like someone sterotyping me with a negative stereotype they have of Christians, salesmen, or of middle-class-white-guys. I guess this is long way of saying what Jesus said summed up perfectly: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Shout out to the Portland Brandimores...

2006-10-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Now those are some nice coffee's

Dogs are Better Than Cats: New Evidence

2006-10-16T14:13:00.001-05:00

Cat starts house fire, dog saves owner
Associated Press

For article click here

ihavegoodnews.blogspot.com Album Of The Year

2006-10-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

It's official, the ihavegoodnews.blogspot.com Album of the Year has been announced -- this is a VERY prestigious award -- and it's Jars of Clay's Good Monsters. Please check out Jars of Clay's new album "Good Monsters" -- it is PHENOMENAL. You can listen to it at www.jarsofclay.com P.S. ihavegoodnews.blogspot.com would have named Good Monsters the album of the decade, but the decade isn't over yet.

Introducing: Asadeerpantsforwater.blogspot.com

2006-10-15T18:41:00.001-05:00

View my lovely wife's new blog @ www.asadeerpantsforwater.blogspot.com

My Photo

2006-10-15T00:18:00.000-05:00

It's weird - so many people have told me I look like a camel in this photo.

Tigers

2006-10-14T23:37:00.001-05:00

What a great story - it's not exactly the typical Good News that you'll read about on my blog ... more on that later, but it goes to show you that even in sports when you're down and out (119 losses in the 2003 season) that our God given spirit is very resilient if you don't give up! www.tigers.com