"I get tired of hearing about tithing all the time!"

Tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing, tithing. tithing, tithing, tithing.

Doing it all the time takes the sting out of hearing it all the time.

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Funny though how folks never get tired of receiving blessings, or of asking God for favors.

This is just my opinion ...

... but based on what I've read in scripture, I think Jesus loved children.

A whole lot.

A few small major differences

How does Christianity differ from other religions?

1. Man-made religions are based on forms and traditions; Christianity is based on a relationship with the Christ.

2. Man-made religions are all about earning salvation and equaling their Deity's expectations; in Christianity, so one can earn their salvation or hope to equal God's righteousness.

3. Man-made religions emphasize improvement and bettering of self; Christianity emphasizes surrender and submission of self.

4. Man-made religions declare the hope of salvation; Christianity declare faith in Christ as the promise of salvation.

5. Christianity is the only faith that worships a living God and a resurrected king.

Tomorrow will be the most exciting day in the past 2000 years

I'm no prophet, so how can I say that?

Because tomorrow will be the day to share the Gospel with people who have been waiting their entire lives to hear it.

Engaged

My ex-girlfriend got engaged last night, and dropped by this morning to show me her ring.

In the interests of privacy I won't go into a lot of details, except to mention that her fiance admits his kids like me a lot more than they do him. :-)

Best Wishes!

"But it's my right!"

Before we get started, here's a picture of a Tiger Shark:

Tiger Sharks can grow to be up to 24-feet in length and weigh up to 1900 pounds. Tiger Sharks are extremely aggressive by nature and Tiger Sharks are found in tropical waters all over the globe.

Tiger Sharks are known as "the waste baskets of the sea" because they'll eat anything ... fish, seals, squid, dolphin ... even old tires and automobile license plates. But Tiger Sharks love eating sea turtles more than anything else.

Given a menu choice at the Coral Reef Cafe, Tiger Sharks will order the sea turtle special every time.

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"Nobody's gonna boss me around or tell me how to live my life!"

Why do so many non-believers insist on arguing that living according to God's word and following his commandments would somehow limit their freedoms or restrict their choices?

I mean, I've got the freedom to go swimming at night in a sea turtle costume, don't I? And I could choose to merrily splash and paddle toward the first exposed dorsal fin in sight, couldn't I?

Isn't that my right, if that's what I wanna do?

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Folks can ignore God's commandments ... but it's much, much harder ignoring the consequences of choosing sin.

Sounds like a line from a bad sci-fi film, doesn't it?

Today's post isn't about movies; it's about real life and the deadly serious business of resisting the enemy's attacks.

If Satan were to suddenly appear in the flesh right before your eyes, ever wondered what the first words out of his mouth might be?

How about, "Take me to your leader"?

The Sexual I-dentity

(-from August 18, 2009 9:15pm)

As a believer in Christ's resurrecrion, if I had to describe 21st century sexuality in two words the first word would be Disconnected. Meaning broken down, incoherent and irrational.

The second word would be Dysfunctional ... as in malfunctioning or undermining.

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You've heard all the trendy, popular arguments about sexual relationships: "What's the big deal" "It's just sex," "If two people are consenting adults, then what's the harm?" and even "I know it's not a sin because God wants me to be happy, and he knows I have needs."

So what's wrong with those arguments?

The first problem has to do with perspective. As in, seeing the world as if you'd created it ... and then trying to conform God's laws to suit your needs. The second problem has to do with Sin.

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As a culture, we've adopted the worldview that if something's fun and feels good, it makes sense and is perfectly OK to do it.

The physical pleasure associated associated with sex didn't happen by accident. Sex is a powerful, almost incessant drive ... and one that's God-given, too.

But because we want everything in life to be convenient, freely available and without consequences, we overlook the destination inherent in the drive ... which is reproduction and child-bearing.

We're Disconnected from what God created sex to be all about. God didn't created sex to please you; he created sex because it pleased him.

Our attitudes about sex are Dysfunctional when we focus on pleasing ourselves, instead of focusing on pleasing God. Whether we're talking about fashions, porn, dating or Mama Gina's Womanly Arts, human sexuality in popular culture has become nothing more important than an aerobic exercise, and nothng more consequential or long term than a fast food hot dog.

I imagine that some people are shaking their heads and disagreeing: "What's the big deal? Sex is part of who we are! If God wired us to be that way, what's wrong with expressing and satisfying our needs outside of marriage?"

That one's easy to answer: Because God said it's a sin.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

- 1 Corinthians 6:18

For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 2:16

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NewSpring Church

sermon series: Five Lies of the Devil

week 5 preview: "It's Just Sex"

watch the preview here

[Note: I am not on the staff of, nor am I endorsed in any way by, NewSpring Church. The opinions presented here are strictly my own, and I am solely responsible for any errors, omissions or misstatements.]

The compromises involved in following Christ

I can't think of any. Not a single one.

Speaking theoretically ...

Over the past five years I must've had two dozen people ask me abstract questions like "Do you think it's OK in church to ..." and "Do you think it's a sin to ..." or "Does your preacher teach that the Bible says ..."

Off the top of my head I'd guess two or three of those folks were genuinely interested in finding out something useful, and that the others were probing to find a point or two to attack and provoke me.

I think I've gotten better about discerning intent; I may have improved a little bit when it comes to responding, too.

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I don't have any authority in any church; authority comes from God ... so my opinion doesn't matter.

God didn't (and will never) give me the command to decide what is sinful and what is not: he's already plainly covered "What's sinful?" in scripture ... and doesn't need any help or input from me to make up his mind.

My pastor preaches straight from God's word; it's hard to be any clearer than that.

Tying off the lines

The other day I finally got tired of being tossed around like a marble inside an empty soup can by the wake of passing ships and tugboats, and decided to re-configure the spring lines (ropes) securing Calypso in her slip. In other words, now the lines at the bow and starboard side criss-cross in an X, instead of just being tied to the nearest available cleat.

What a difference.

I was so thrilled about the results that I couldn't help noticing the mistakes other folks had made with their lines. And because I was so satisifed that my system worked, I felt inspired to tell every other boatowner in the marina that in order to secure their vessels properly, it was necessary to tie their dock lines just like mine.

My method worked for me ... so why shouldn't it work for everybody else just the same?

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The marina has some pretty stern commandments about things like leaving dead batteries and gasoline cans on the dock (and some stern consequences to go with them), but has no commandment dictating that "all vessels must be secured in this way" ... which leaves each owner free to choose how to keep his boat from (a) slamming into the dock, and (b) making him seasick while still tied up in the marina.

Just because the way I tie off my lines works for me and keeps my boat from slamming into a piling doesn't in any way mean that my method is perfect or that the marina has mandated "The X way is the right way." Inside the marina, the marina makes the rules and only the marina is always right.

Oh ... and the marina better not ever catch me telling anybody that "The marina says that everybody has to tie their lines the X way ... just like I do."

The more I started thinking about it, the more it seemed like tying off dock lines sure has a lot in common with man-made rules about "What's right" and "What's wrong" that try to equate themselves with God's commandments.

Because inside the universe (and that includes his church), only God gets to make the commandments ... and only God is right every time.

Got kids? Got worries about the future?

I don't have kids; let me say that up front.

But watching TV news over the past few months might make me start thinking long and hard about what kind of world, as well as what kind of country and culture, today's kids will be growing up into.

I won't list or explain the issues involved; you certainly already know what they are. (As Americans, we might want to remember that no matter what happens here at home, chances are that the world doesn't much care (or even pay attention) and will continue pursuing their own national agendas as if we didn't exist. Or keep trying to destroy us, as if we are their sworn enemies.)

So what kind of world will that be for kids to face when they're adults?

I don't know, and neither do you.

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I try not to spend time dwelling on it, nor do I pace back and forth trying to figure out how to write fiery letters to world leaders that will somehow make them all wake up and straighten out. I don't have any control over world affairs or what will happen to this country in the next 10 (or 50) years.

And neither do you.

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Does that sound socially irresponsible? Don't I have social obligations as a citizen to stand up and take a stand, one way or the other?

Let's re-word the question: Do I want to stand before God and explain why I spent time organizing or participating in political action committees on behalf of a particular political party? Do I want to stand before God and endorse any political party's platform?

Or, when I stand before God and face eternity, will any of those things even matter?

No, only one thing will matter then ... and it's the same and only thing that matters today.

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But but but, what about our kids? What about the world they'll have to face?

I understand why people worry about tomorrow ... but at the same time realize that the world is filled with people who will die without knowing Christ. Billions of people who're alive today and in need of salvation right now.

And I also know that whether 4 minutes, 4 or 40 or 4000 years from now, God will still be in control.

No matter who's in the White House, no matter what the tax rate, no matter which party controls Congress, no matter where wars are being waged and no matter what the latest polls say the rest of the world is thinking.