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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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 ...