Which sin is worse?

Let's say there's two men who're next door neighbors. One man is a fall-down drunk, the other sneaks a peek at online porn and lingerie catalogs. Which man's sins are worst?


Without Christ's forgiveness, which man's sin disqualifies him from eternal life?

Dear Lord

Thank you for loving sinners so much your son was willing to die in their place. I meant our place.

I meant my place.

Race Results

"They [the driver and his throttleman] sustained injuries incompatible with life."

Wouldn't it be simpler to say "Both men died from their injuries"?

Or has dying become optional here in the 21st century, so long as we exercise enough, eat enough of the right foods, breath the right air, avoid the wrong chemicals, drink the right fluids, avoid the wrong fluids, get the right inoculations, avoid the wrong inoculations, take enough of the right supplements, live the right lifestyle, get the right health care insurance, do exactly what the right doctors say and not make any mistakes?

No wonder people think in terms of "preventable deaths."

King criticizer, Self publicizer

I wonder how many folks who find fault with others, who demean their brothers for no other purpose than to exalt themselves, voice their criticisms from the comfort (and safety) of central-heated living rooms, lounges or corner-office studies.

Then I wondered how many others criticize and find fault looking down from the cross ...

... waiting for the spear.
-----

Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

- Matthew 26: 33-34

Are all religions the same? Really?

Joseph Smith wrote his own sacred book and called his followers Mormons.

Mohamed wrote his own sacred book, called the religion he created Islam and its followers Muslims.

Confucius wrote texts which may or may not be attributable to him, and the question of whether Confucianism is a religion or not remains wide open to debate.

L. Ron Hubbard wrote his own sacred book and his new religion was called Scientology

Bahá'u'lláh wrote his own sacred book and called his new religion Bahá'í. Its followers are called by the same name

Sun Myung Moon co-wrote his own sacred book. His new religion is the "Unification Church" and its members are called Moonies.


How is Christianity different?

For starters, Jesus Christ wrote no book, named no new religion after himself and called his disciples friends.

Having Faith ... and meaning it

Christian Pastor Faces Execution in Iran for Refusing to Renounce His Faith

- from The Daily Mail U.K.

A man who converted from Islam to Christianity is facing the death penalty in Iran for refusing to return to his former religion.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, of the Church of Iran, faces hanging after refusing a court order to renounce his Christian faith.

If the execution goes ahead it would be the first Christian to be officially executed in Iran for religious reasons in 20 years.

The pastor had defied a request by the Gilan provincial court, in the Iranian city of Rasht, to repent ahead of today's hearing.

He said: 'Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?'

-full story here

So how's Mans' Plan Workin' for You?

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Selfishness Pays ... with interest [improved & super-updated]

"We deserve ours ... and all you other people can get in line behind us and wait till we're done."

The US is the greatest country on earth, right? The rest of the world is jealous, and that's why they hate Americans. Americans enjoy the highest standard of living and are the wealthiest people in the world, right?

Wrong ... in fact, the US isn't even close.

Standard of Living
1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Canada
4. Belgium
5. Australia
6. United States
7. Iceland
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Finland
-source

Snoozing in The American Dream Land
-U.S. students scored lower on science/literacy than their peers in 16 of the other 29 OECD jurisdictions and 6 of the 27 non-OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] jurisdictions - source

-The US ranks #21 in Litericy (behind Armenia and Barbados)

-The US is the world's largest debtor nation.
"In recent years, the US trade deficit has reached roughly 6% of the GDP, a level former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker calls unsustainable." -wiki

-Every US citizen owes the federal government $$30,378.80 (babies and children are citizens, so figure about $79,000 per taxpayer). "Poor" countries like China and India are lending money to the US to service its debt)
(Update: As of August 5, 2011 everybody you know owes Uncle Sam $46,838.47)

Check out the National Debt Clock here.

-The second most expensive item in the US budget (after Defense spending) is paying interest on the national debt ... more than $1 billion per day in 2006. (NASA's annual budget is just $15 billion ... that's just two weeks of interest)

-Though accounting for only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world's energy -more energy info here

-The US ranks #45 in both Life Expectancy and Suicide Rates

---
I'm not crossing the line into politics, but look at today's headlines.

I hope it's not s sign of things to come that OPEC and other global oil suppliers, worried about the shrinking value of the dollar, might start asking to be paid in currencies other than dollars. Or that Great Britain is mussing with the idea of "constructive accommodation" with Islamic Shariah law.

Meanwhile Congress borrows another $168 billion to stimulate the world's greatest consumers into spending themselves even further into debt.

Don't get me wrong: Americans enjoy tremendous political freedom and have greater economic opportunity than any country in the world. Still I wonder if the US is the greatest country on earth ... or maybe just the most selfish.

I guess we'll find out when the bills come due.

Posted by joe hall at 9:27 AM

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Bail Me Out, I'm Sinking!

Digging the Hole Deeper

The Coast Guard, by law, mandates a required minimum equipment list for boats to have onboard at all times. Safety-associated things like life vests, signal flares and fire extinguishers.

But bilge pumps? Wouldn't you think some kind of pump that's designed to keep your boat afloat in case it starts sinking would make the list? Shouldn't a bilge pump be life-saving priority numero uno?

Nope, and for a very simple and revealing reason:

"There is no more efficient bailing device than a scared sailor with a bucket."

-- -- --

America's financial market is in danger of sinking. The credit crisis is so severe that the proposed "bail-out" is considered an emergency action ... not to save the big shots on Wall Street, but the little guy on Main Street.

Here's the catch: by heaping another $700 billion burden on top of the budget, the national debt will approach $11 trillion (that's eleven thousand billions) to be repaid by taxpayers. So where is this extry $700 billion in bail-outs gonna come from?

Our government will borrow the money it needs to save our finance and credit markets from other countries. So our $11 trillion debt figure doesn't include interest. You know, like you pay on your charge cards every month for carrying an outstanding balance after buying all the things we're entitled to as Americans.

$11 trillion dollars of debt is outstanding indeed. So let's not call it a "bail out" or even a "rescue."

"Digging the debt hole deeper" better describes what happens when countries, like people, live beyond their means by spending money they don't have and keep borrowing on credit to spend even more.

Rather than stop spending, and start bailing.

-- -- --

You can calculate the share to be plucked from your purse or wallet by dividing 11 trillion dollars by about 60 million people ... that's a rough estimate of the number of citizens actually paying taxes in the US.

But you might wanna sit down first.

Posted by joe hall at 6:37 AM

"Owe is me!"

"I don't think God knows what I'm going through"

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

- Hebrews 13:5

When Love meant telling a story

Ever wondered why Jesus so often used parables ... riddles ... to illustrate and explain his point?

Christ himself provided the answer in Matthew 13:10-17.

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" He replied,

"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."

But why did Christ bother explaining himself in the first place?

Being God, why didn't the Messiah simply put his hands on his hips and angrily inform the multitudes, "Why? Because I said so."

I believe Christ went the extra step and told parables to the crowds because he loved the people who'd taken the time and trouble to seek him out and hear his message, and because he wanted each and every person to believe and place their faith in him.

Through their choice, and not through his threats or commands.

no assembly required

I've noticed three all too common characteristics in folks who call themselves Christians:

1. An amazing capacity and willingness to remake God, Christ and Scripture in their own image to satisfy their expectations and suit their own purposes: "God fits right inside this shiny box I built"

2. An unflinching eagerness to identify and diagnose the other guy's sins while completely overlooking and denying their own: "I may have my faults, but they're nothing compared to so-and so"

3. A condescending and suspicious I'm more saved and closer to God than you are attitude under the smiling handshakes and happy veneers: "I'm glad they're going to church and all, but I'm just not sure they're sincere"

Why those 3? Because I see them reflected in myself.

----

Take a night off from network TV and the cable channels to experience the film Of Gods and Men on DVD instead.

"Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay." - imdb.com

What's faith ... and testimony ... without works?

Watch the trailer here.

Indefinite power outages in Tanzania

"Nairobi — Tanzania's chronic energy crisis deepened last week after the country announced a 12-hour power-rationing schedule.

"A drastic drop in the water level of the Mtera hydroelectric dam in Iringa Region forced the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) to announce an alternating power rationing programme ushering in 12-hours of power cuts during daytime and six hours at night in most regions.

"According to the World Bank, only 15 per cent of households in the region are connected to national grids. Tanzania is the least electrified of all, with 7.2 million off-grid households. This is followed by Kenya (6.2 million), Uganda (5.5 million), Rwanda (1.7 million) and Burundi (1.4 million)." - allafrica.com

Death ... and hating sin

Much as I try accepting that it's inevitable, I can't say I'm looking forward to death.

The Apostle Paul seemed to sometimes have trouble making up his mind too, so I hope none of you will judge me too harshly if I confess to some ambivalence.

Some people look forward to being reunited with loved ones and pets in Heaven while others look forward to reaping great rewards like mansions and crowns. Still others can't wait to be bestowed with omniscient knowledge (even if that gift isn't mentioned in scripture and it means spending eternity never knowing "who shot JFK").

Tonight it occurred to me there's something I've never heard anyone claim they're looking forward to: Shedding the sinful self and finally being free of sin and temptation forever.

Being alive with Christ in God's presence ... with every form of sin and temptation vanquished, dead and buried forever ... is a powerful reason to rejoice, to give thanks to Jesus and to be humbled by his love and sacrifice on the cross.

How powerful is your God?

Ever noticed how many folks have adopted "designer" religions? People feel completely comfortable, and actually empowered by, picking and choosing what parts of what religion they like while rejecting any parts with which they disagree.

For those people, faith is all about choice. But here's a question.

If you believe in a god that's your custom creation, how powerful can your god be ... since you were powerful enough to create him/her/it in the first place?

The Sin Driven Life

I'm neither a preacher nor a priest so I have no way of knowing, but my guess is that sermons dealing with sin seldom rank at the top of the congregation's My Favorite Message list.

Sin is never a pleasant or entertaining subject (unless we're talking about the other guy). Sin is something we'd like to pretend our spiritual lives have grown past, as if sin is what separates that other guy from our holiness and our righteousness.

Like mixing castor oil with orange juice to disguise the taste, church doesn't seem so tedious when the worship hour is watered down to meet our tastes. Similarly, the sermon can be made easier to swallow when it's mixed with humor and self-deprecating anecdotes. But it's hard to sugar-coat sin and then believe we pulled one over on the Creator.

-------

Scripture is often described as out-dated, restrictive, dull and boring. Dead, in other words.

Why is it that sin can be described as exciting, liberating, satisfying and interesting? Alive, in other words.

-------

Remember the skip in your heart when you walked into the dealer's showroom and saw that new car? Remember the morning you looked inside your closet and decided you "deserved" that new outfit? (Just a month ago my TV broke, which I excitedly told myself was "proof" I "needed" a new one.)

I don't believe scripture teaches us it's a sin to have material possessions. But I do believe that beyond our appearance and the role we play on Sunday mornings that it's our goals, our ambitions and our priorities that combine to reveal what's at the center of our hearts.

We should take notice soon as we become more excited and more thrilled about achieving our goals and securing the things we want than we are about surrendering and listening to our Creator.

Be Awed

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.

- Job 37:5

How's your god been feeling recently?

How's life been looking?

If you keep up with the news and find yourself worrying about the future and what calamities may be lurking just around the corner, is it because the thing you worship, whether it's career, money, power, success, prestige, social status or whatever, has been taking a beating in the headlines ... and suddenly your god doesn't seem as permanent and secure and safe as you'd hoped and expected and believed?

Are you so surprised?

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

- Isaiah 40:28-29

a new look

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

Worldly Priorities on another earth day

Ever noticed how often we're told burning fossil fuels is dangerous? Just like we're admonished that wearing animal skins for clothes is wrong?

The earth must be protected ... and animals have rights, you see. And because animals and the earth are co-dependent, they're both deserving of dignity and protection.

That's why, we're told, showing disrespect for the environment and killing animals for food is disgusting and reprehensible.

Disgusting and reprehensible?

------------------

What about suctioning human embryos from their mother's uterus or injecting 8 month old fetuses with saline solution to induce abortion?

Doesn't a living human being merit a greater measure of respect and protection than a swamp marmot or an orange tailed flying squirrel or a snoot-nosed summer salmon?

Ooops no, we're told. That's different, because God's law can't be allowed to interfere with man's politics, schedules and agendas.

But man didn't separate light from dark, nor did he create the earth nor breath his life upon it

They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, “Who will see it?”

- Psalm 64:5

Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the plans of the wicked?

- Job 10:3

The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

-Psalms 33:10

John 3:17

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

"I don't think God knows what I'm going through"

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

- Hebrews 13:5

What's your ride to work like?

-Friday blog lite

A 25-mile commute through Russian traffic showing the "quick" way to work. Hang on ...

"Why does God let bad things happen?"

I've heard critics use that argument, asking why a loving, benevolent and forgiving Creator would let tragedies happen ... as if therefore, God must not exist.

If God exists and if God is supposed to love us, then why did He allow that tragedy to happen?

In other words if God doesn't answer their inquiries or fulfill their expectations, these critics will eagerly deny God's existence and then optimistically place their faith (and salvation) in whatever god they can bend and conform to conveniently suit their expectations.

That's why the world is filled with gods like intellectualism, rationalism, money, fame, material success, sex, drugs, religion ... or anything else that happens to suit.

---

The next time the news headlines are splashed with the lurid details of another flood, another famine or any other tragedy, I wonder how many of the same critics who deny God's existence will step forward and argue

"Rationalism/money/sex/career success must not exist, because rational thought/money/sex/career success didn't prevent that bad thing from happening."

"My Sins don't matter"

So let's talk about you, your faults and your sins.

In other words since I was born without sin and since I helped Jesus climb up on the cross and since God never asked me to sacrifice what I love

... And since I helped Roman soldiers drive spikes through Jesus's hands and feet so Jesus could prove who He said He was

Let me tell you why I think you're a sinner:

Here's what's wrong with your life.

In your prayers, please remember Jean and Scott Adam

Jean and Scott Adam are the Bible-distributing missionaries captured by Somali pirates on February 18.

"The Adams were unhappy being "dirt dwellers" so they took to the sea on their yacht, distributing Bibles around the world, their website said. Photos show a smiling couple who delivered Bibles to remote villages "fromNew Zealand to Alaska to Central America -- and now from Panama, through French Polynesia, the Cooks, Samoa, Tonga and back to New Zealand."

"We seek fertile ground for the Word and homes for our Bibles," the website said. "Often, the ultimate homes are best found by people who are already living locally and seeking and cultivating that fertile ground. AND even more extraordinary are the times when people have been praying for Bibles for their group or their schools and when we arrive we are often greeted by the attitude of, 'We were expecting you.'" - source

Read the full story here.

Read more about SVQuest here.

Update

Four Americans Killed on Yacht Hijacked by Somali Pirates

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/22/americans-aboard-yacht-captured-pirates-reportedly-killed/#ixzz1EiwHTkJQ

Feel compelled

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

- 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Which way should we go?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6