Survive This!

This video has been pretty popular on the various web and radio outlets that I'm commonly checking out. I don't watch Survivor, specifically because I hate a show that glorifies the human condition and our ability to take advantage of any given situation that might give us a personal benefit. (/end sermon)

However, it seems that a bit of Christianity crept into the show recently in this new season. Check out this video:



The video is long, so if you're thinking "Ehh... no thanks, tl/dr." (That's "too long/didn't read" for you folks playing at home), let me summarize; Two contestants on the show were open about their faith and one of them had a Bible. She lost the competition and gave the Bible to the other guy who was also a Christian.

Most people are talking about the amazing fact that CBS didn't cut the religious portions out of the episode. Everyone's like "Wow - I can't believe they left that in there!"

As my youngest son would say... "Why come?"

Please don't get me wrong - I watched the whole video and really appreciated seeing two people who were willing to speak out about their faith, even in a situation where that faith would be wildly unpopular. I was Especially touched by the loser giving her Bible away and the appreciation that you could see on the guy's whole body. That's good stuff.

But what happened to us as a people that makes this issue so surprising? I could, perhaps, be seeing an issue where there isn't really one in the first place, but it just seems so heartbreaking to me that a TV show that actually showed Christians openly would be considered a "wow" type thing.

I'd like to submit the following as a reason why; Because we (the Church) let it happen.

God's been on my case a great deal, recently, on the importance of being a disciple and the cost that comes along with that. In fact, in my preaching class Monday I preached on discipleship, and so did the other 3 guys that preached. We could have preached ANYTHING from any of the four Gospels, yet we all preached discipleship? Tell me that's random... you can't.

What has bothered me the most is a reference Paul made to the Corinthian believers. Look:

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

I think things like this Survivor deal highlight the fact that we, the Church, have failed to imitate Christ. And, in turn, the world imitated what they saw - a limp-wristed faith that would rather shrug and say "oh well," than actually getting dirty and taking care of business. So, you then might say - "Hold up preacher boy... the world doesn't even pay attention to the Christian Church, so they didn't imitate us - they are just nasty, dirty sinners!"

We need to realize that the Devil never took any ground that we did not first surrender to him.

In a survivor sort of mood - I wonder how the church survives with any sort of relevance as we go into the future. Christianity, if it hasn't been already, is about to be "voted off the island" in the hearts and minds of a lot of people... and that's my fault. That's your fault Sister Christian. You too, Brother - we did this.

But, we can undo it too. We can reclaim the beauty of the Gospel and start living like the disciples we have been called to be. We can really live the life we've been called to live and take back what we so foolishly turned over to the Devil.

Cause even the gates of Hell can't prevail against us.

No wonder they did it naked!

Scouring the internet, as I am wont to do, I came across a most interesting story on one movie star giving another movie star advice on the art of movie-nudity. Not that it matters, but specifically it was Kate Winslet (of Titanic fame) giving the advice to Evan Rachel Wood (of I have no clue who she is fame). It seems Ms. Wood is/was required to do a full-frontal nude scene in some HBO thing that she's a part of called Mildred Pierce.

She was nervous. She perhaps didn't want to do it, I don't really know. But - Kate came to the rescue - to comfort and encourage Ms. Wood to expose herself to the entire world on television. What were her words of wisdom, you ask? What could possibly shore up a person's uncertainty at the thought of being totally nude and captured for all time through TV and Internet media? Well - let me share a direct quote from the article:

"You've got to do it. Trust me, it's so brave. Put a merkin on and you'll be fine."

Seriously... it's SO brave? Talk about enlightening. I had no idea.

I know history records that some groups, like the Ancient Celts and the Hyksos, used to fight battles in the nude and the Ancient Greeks participated in sporting events sans pants... but never had I realized that all these women taking nude pictures of themselves and flashing it all on the big/little screen was bravery. This is life-altering information here folks!

I'm a married man. I have children. One of them is a daughter. I now know that I have been a terrible father to her these past 5, almost 6 years. While I was busy teaching her to honor herself, to realize how precious she was in the eyes of God and of her Daddy... I was really supposed to be teaching her that exploitation and a disregard for anything private were the real traits to be admired. How awful can I possibly be?

I shouldn't tell my little girl that she needs to be respected as a person. I shouldn't tell her that a man needs to love HER and ask nothing FROM her physically. I shouldn't even teach her that she is completely beautiful and not just physically beautiful. Nope... those are old school and foolish.

Instead, bravery won't come from holding herself in a high regard, it'll come from her getting naked in front of people and then letting EVERYONE on the planet see that nakedness. Don't fight for the right to be loved completely and honored as a Woman - just get naked! Don't expect a man to forsake all else and cherish you as a gift from the Almighty - just get naked! Be BRAVE!

We could be talking about the solution to World Peace here people!

I hope my sarcasm is clear here. I hope I've been able to make this a humorous little aside that forces you to consider the larger issue. Because - let me be clear here - this is NOT brave. The only way you might convince me to consider showing yourself like this for a POINTLESS TV program is to mention the fact that she had to overcome her embarrassment. Maybe, maybe that could be viewed, in some loose way, as bravery. But that "bravery" would be so watered down, so diluted in the stupidity of the situation, that it would be akin to more like "gullible stupidity" than it would bravery.

The truth is this - Bravery walked out the door a long time ago. Bravery asked us to stand up for what was right and just and, after being ignored for so long, decided to retire and live a life of seclusion - only coming out for brief moments to remind the world that there is another way; a better way.

Ladies - this isn't brave. Ladies, living with him before marriage isn't brave. Ladies, giving yourself to him outside of a marital commitment isn't brave. It's just a sign that you weren't taught how precious you really are. It's a sign that you aren't being loved the way you deserve to be loved. It's a sign that too many people failed to tell you these things. On their behalf, I apologize. I'm sorry that we didn't let you know - didn't share with you the absolute gift that you were made to be - didn't share with you how you are supposed to be cherished and protected.

Stepping on toes? Yes. Telling the truth? Yes.

You ask how I know? You suggest that I'm a narrow-minded fool who wants to ignore "woman's rights" and chain women back to the stove - never letting them leave the home?  Oh please....

We've been force-fed that mess for so long we think it's a valid way of looking at things. I'm not selling some idea that's a veiled attempt to make you less of a person - what I'm trying to show you is that you're living life SO MUCH LESS than what you were made to be. You are a treasure and you live like trash. And you let these "friends" and these "respected people" teach you to think that this exploitation isn't exploitation - it's Women's Rights!

Whatever.

How about we settle the argument that this isn't about respect or bravery? How about I provide my summation:

When's the last time you saw someone tell a DUDE that getting naked on screen was brave?

I rest my case.


"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature that then the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans 1:24-25

Back from the Brink

I live! I made it back from Marietta, GA just a little worse for wear. Those week long classes are a close kin to torture, but only because of how much they try to cram into those few short days. I'm always amazed how a chair can start out feeling so comfortable, but after 7 hours feel like it's lined with spikes. I suppose we're not supposed to sit in one spot for that long...

How about some sermons? Now - I confess to you that I noticed Tanner moving the camera back and forth a little (he's trying to "do good for Mimi"), so if it's a little too all-over-the-place, just leave a comment and I'll tell him to tone it down.

It was interesting to feel driven to another place in the Bible that I wasn't originally thinking to go, but the morning sermon didn't belong to me one bit. I've never prepared a sermon and then felt God tell me that I needed to say something else... but that's what happened. And then, when I stood before the church, I found myself questioning what I was about to do. But, I know all too well what happens when you deny the boss... so I "girded my loins" and just said what I was supposed to. Hope it's worth the listen.



This evening sermon wasn't so much a sermon as it was just some thoughts that occurred to me as I was attending class. Of course - who can take some "thoughts" and end up talking for 26 minutes? Me.

Short and sweet

I'm getting ready to head to Marietta, GA for a week-long workshop class on Missions. So, I don't have my usual amount of time to think up something witty to say...

That may be a positive thing, I don't really know.

Anyway - here are the sermons from yesterday:






I hope that there's a positive message there for you and that you hear God speaking to you. I really appreciate the comments that I've been getting recently and want you to know that its encouraging to know that you're listening and thinking on the things that I have the honor to preach about.

Ok - gotta go... GA awaits me. As my Dad used to say: Remember who you are.

Jesus and the Judicial System

I saw this totally hilarious picture today while scouring CNN and reading about these hearing that are taking place to examine the radicalization of the American Muslim community. It seems that a Representative from New York is holding these hearings and - of course - is receiving death threats and threats of other violence because of his involvement in the process. Do folks ever consider the stupidity of professing to represent a peaceful point of view and then threatening to kill those who disagree? Notice I didn't say they were Muslim, those who have made the threats, just that they're stupid. It could be Mr. White America for all I know. I just think it's funny that they're upset when someone seeks to investigate a known-violent group, and their response to that is to threaten violence! Surely we are a stupid people...

Looking at that man, I assume he's either a Catholic, Anglican, or Episcopalian priest based on his white collar and black coat. Of course, anyone can purchase that sort of clothing, so it could be "Joe Blow the garbage man" for all I know, but the total package is presented to us as a religious representative who is pointing out that Jesus wouldn't persecute Islam or anyone... but is that correct? Would Jesus persecute anyone? Did He already? As Isaiah 1:18 says... "Let us reason together..."

Read Matthew 10:34. Go ahead, I'll wait.
Don't have a Bible with you right now... ok, let me post it here for you:

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."


Hmm. That's not very "nice" is it? That's not at all what Jesus is supposed to sound like. Jesus is flowers and butterflies and uses Pantene Pro-V to keep His hair looking unnaturally shiny as He gives all those peaceful sermons on the top of hills with little bunnies and squirrels and children running around. Right? Isn't that the Jesus that the mainstream media wants to remind us of? I mean, Jesus wouldn't be upset if ABC wanted to run a show called "Good Christian B**ches" - cause He's nice and understanding.

You might not believe that, you might even be able to see my sarcasm, but trust me when I say to you that we are much more like what I've mentioned above that what Jesus proclaimed that He was.

My buddy up there with his sign is asking a good question; Who will Jesus persecute? Hippie Jesus won't persecute anyone because He'll be too busy petting puppies and drawing rainbows in the sky, but the Jesus of the Bible? Well... that's different.

Persecution of anyone is bad - in fact, the meaning of the word contains a reference to treating someone "unfairly." Please understand that I'm not using the word like that. I'm not talking about Jesus picking on the new kid because he doesn't know how to get to the playground or the new person at work who can't close out the register at night.

Jesus will persecute EVIL, and He will do so judiciously.

When things like this happen I'm always amazed at the "expected" Christian response. We always have situation A that has some group doing something that people think is wrong (remember the Koran burning guy?) and then this large, vocal group jumps up and points out that Jesus  wouldn't do that because that's not "nice." It's almost as though they want to see just how far they can push the issue until Christianity just gives up, folds its tents, and walks away forever.

You know, there's a reason that the Bible is called the "Sword of the Spirit." Now, certainly a Christian is called to wear the shoes of peace (boy, that's a strange paraphrase!) - but when Paul mentions putting on the whole armor of God, has it ever struck you that NO ONE puts on armor of ANY kind simply to go shopping? You wear armor so that you can be protected IN BATTLE. The church has forgotten this point for too long... and look at what we have been rewarded with.

"$#*! My Dad Says" - seriously? At this point, why even pretend that you're trying to have some decency? We could have called it "stuff" my dad says, or "things" my dad says - but noooooo... we go for the low hanging fruit. "But Mason," you say, "it was the title of the book!" WHO CARES?! That's the same thing with this Good Christian "blah blahs" that's coming out soon. Oh, they'll change the name to GCB - VICTORY! Now we can watch the show and not feel guilty about the PERSECUTION that the show is portraying.

Khrushchev famously said that America would be conquered without a single shot being fired. He was right. When Rhett told Scarlett that he really didn't give a care, did we stop to think where this would all end? Did we consider that it would go too far? Not in a week, or a year, or even ten years from that moment - but after our grandchildren started having children... what would it look like?

Turn on the TV and see - the revolution is here. We can say what we want, do what we want, and indulge in what we want as long as we sacrifice our gifts on the altar of Tolerance. This is the new world order. This is the end.

And so we ask, who exactly would Jesus persecute? He will persecute evil; whether that be among you, or in you, or all of you. And no matter what sign you wear, no matter what group you join with - He will be justified and right when He comes, because He is God and we are not.

"Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to STAND firm."  Ephesians 6:13

Forgiving Unforgivably

There is a news story making the rounds today that is a terrible and sad story in multiple ways. The story is difficult to read as a parent and I regret that it ever had to come to be. But man is capable of terrible things, and so we grow accustomed to seeing things like this - little reminders of the world we really live in.


It seems that a few years before I was born, a man decided that he would take a 5 year old boy into his home and murder him with some sort of knife. The bones of this little boy wouldn't be found until 7 years after the fact, when they were discovered shackled inside the murderer's house. That murderer was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but received a provision for "good behavior" and may be released from jail in the near future.

This is a terrible and all too common story - and none of these details are why the story is in the news today.

This story is in the news today because the father of that 5 year old boy has stated publicly that, should this man be released from prison, he will kill him if he can find him. In fact, his actual quote is: "I do intend, if this man is released anywhere in my vicinity, or if I can find him after the fact, I do intend to kill this man." 
Let it be said that I have not lost a child in any way; not by disease, not by age, and certainly not by the hand of someone else. I speak no ill towards this man and have absolutely no right to tell him how to feel. I do not know how it is to walk in his shoes and, God willing, never will. But, I feel sorry for him. In fact, when I read his story - my heart breaks for him.

Because he doesn't know forgiveness. 


You ask how I know that? Because he tells us so in his desire to kill the man that took such a precious thing away from him. For all these 30+ years, this poor father has carried his hatred with him and hasn't been able to put it down. He has every right to be mad - but I wonder if he's realized that he's had to sacrifice himself to that anger... Does he know that forgiveness isn't for the murderer - it's for him? 


I find it interesting that this issue will make some people violently mad, and others moderately so - but all will have some reaction to a total stranger pointing out a grieving father's need to forgive, but if I may be so bold:


"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15

I don't want to proceed to tell this father how to feel anymore than I want him to just throw away the memory of a son that he only briefly was allowed to raise into a young man. Instead, I wish I could sit with him, become his friend, listen to him cry, and walk with him through a difficult time. I wish we all had someone who would do that for us. 
I think the reason we have such an aversion to people mentioning forgiveness is because we DON'T want to forgive. Think about all the relationship problems you currently have in your life and think about all the justifications you've given yourself as to why you are allowed to feel that way. "Yeah, forgiveness might be good... but he betrayed me!" "Forgiveness is something I deserve, but SHE went too far and is worse than a snake!" 

See, we justify our deeds because that helps US. But, imagine the shoe being on the other foot. When you mess up, when you fall down, do YOU want to be forgiven. Of course you do. We all do. And when we get that forgiveness? AHHHhhh! Like a breath of fresh air! We're released from that prison in our minds which has no door and no key, other than the forgiveness that others give to us. And though we enjoy that freedom, we insist on holding others in bondage because they simply don't deserve it. 


None of us did.


I mentioned this in our morning sermon last Sunday. The idea that hate (the inability to forgive) is like acid that damages not only what it's poured on, but the cup that holds it. That's what our lack of forgiveness is doing to us - eating us up from the inside. 

I can't say it enough - my heart BREAKS for this father. I wish it could be taken away from him and that he could have his son back. I wish too that the man who has spent 30+ years in prison could go back and be given a second chance to make a good decision. I wish he could be connected with help and never commit that which he has been punished for.


But I wish most of all that we could all be released from the sin of unforgiveness. I wish we would quit pretending that we had a handle on this and would actually live out what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6, or what He said to Peter in Matthew 18, or what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:32 or Colossians  3:13. 


Forgiveness is the only weapon we have against things that are evil. Doing anything else causes us, in some way, to become evil ourselves. We call it being a sissy, or getting taken advantage of, or being an easy mark. It might be all that and more - but the one thing it is that we forget to call it is the Word of God. 

Last thought - look at the cross and consider what took place there. A murder of a son by the hands of evil men. What if God looked at that event, then looked at you, and said; "I do intend, if this man is released anywhere in my vicinity, or if I can find him after the fact, I do intend to kill this man."

Sermon Time

Here are ELBC's sermons for the morning and evening services on March 6, 2011. Tanner has been officially inaugurated as the camera man, so if there's some interesting movements - bear with it. He's learning!

You might also notice something a little different about me in these videos, if you can see it... I debuted my glasses! I actually got them this past Friday, so I had a day and a half to try and get used to them. Singing from a hymnal was a little different, but everything else was about normal.






Both sermons spoke directly to me, personally. I hope they speak to everyone else as well.

Things that can't be bought

The other day we stopped at the gas station so Dad could get out and fill up Mom's car with gas. Sort of a normal thing, right?

Once I was finished, I closed up the gas tank, got my receipt, and proceeded to get back in the car. Through the window in the door I could see Becky smiling at me with this great big smile. It was one of those "you're going to really like this" sort of smiles. Like the kind of smile when you get a present, or someone brings you breakfast in bed.
As I entered the car, I heard my twins in the back, running their mouths - which is a normal, everyday thing. But, as my ears adjusted themselves to the interior of the car I began to understand what they were saying... the most beautiful thing I've almost ever heard. We came home and I asked them if I could record it - and here it is.




Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

Blessings are never hard to find - and sometimes you just luck up and trip on one. These two blessed Daddy more than they'll ever understand... or at least until they have a little one who does the same for them.

The best thing? They are telling the truth! God will renew those who wait upon Him and put their trust in Him alone. I hope you find yourself in that position - resting in His faithfulness.

Who really gets to pay?

Look at all the people. Am I the only one who looks at all these people and wonders... "Do they have actual jobs right now, or are these all unemployed union workers who can spend 17 days standing around with signs?" Also - am I alone in thinking that an 8% pay cut is better than no pay at all?
I understand how sensitive this issue is for so many people, but do all these protesting folks consider what their protest looks like to the man or woman who hasn't been able to find employment for 12, 13, or even 24 months? That same man or woman who lost their car, lost their home, and lost their families because of the job situation in this country right now... do these union folks consider any of that?

How about those elected officials? Do those missing legislators consider the message they're actually sending to all of us? I'm sure they want us to assume that the lesson is a heroic one of how they were willing to leave happy home to avoid doing something difficult. Well - to bad for them because the real message looks more like this:

"When something difficult has to be done, the best thing to do is to run away and blame someone else for the problem."

See, the way Mason sees this, this story isn't a new one. The same story is told in the history of a people we call the Hebrews. There was this difficult thing they had to do when they finally got to the promised land - but instead of being willing to actually do it they complained, whined, and said they weren't going to. Does anyone remember to what happened to them?

Look,  understand the plight that these folks feel they're in. I really do. The government mishandles all our tax money, spends itself into a huge hole, and then asks of US to take pay cuts so that we can get ourselves free from the debt-bondage that we're currently in. But guess what, it's gotta start somewhere! When you're family budget busts - you gotta start making tough choices. Can't afford all the bills, then you gotta start cutting things off. Lose the satellite TV, lose the Netflix, lose the (and this one would really hurt!) Internet.

Do I know all the details of this issue, no. And some might say that I shouldn't comment without all the facts, but come on... you think everyone in that photograph actually knows what they're really protesting? They're just repeating the process that someone has laid out for them. Maybe I am too - but it seems to me that, all too often, we're willing to be TOLD what to think about a subject without taking the time to think the actual issue through. This issue is a perfect example. Most people who know about this don't "know" - they just got internet-wise by checking CNN or Fox or whatever news website is the flavor of the moment. Just like me... but do we stop and look past the words to what's actually being said?

God doesn't want this for us, not for any of us. We were meant for so much more. We were meant to support each other, to have relationship with each other, and to show love above all things - yet we bicker and squabble over the scraps of the world and try to fill ourselves on the emptiness therein. Oh, that we would even attempt to live the way that the Bible calls us to live!! But no - we've looked into that promised land, we've even viewed the power of surrender through the eyes of Scripture... but we always say "no." We look at the difficulty of doing right and we say "No way - did you see how hard that looks!?" - and we hear others say the same thing. We think, since there's more people saying it, that we must be right and we encourage each other to be cowards and live a life less than what we were created for.

And God, the whole time, begs of us to look in His word and to see how this already played out in a desert near Egypt.

"I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die." (Numbers 14:35)


They saw the way, they turned away, and they died in the desert. 
How I wish we wouldn't busy ourselves with repeating history, but changing the future. How I wish we would put down signs and recapture the hope that we could make things better, though that might be born on the back of hard work. 


How I wish that we would dare to live the way Jesus taught us. 

Raising Hate

I wonder if these kids have any understanding of what their signs actually say. Take little "Johnny" on the left; Does he honestly believe that God caused the Columbia shuttle to have a heat-shield failure and burst into flames during reentry?
How about little "Sally" on the right? I won't ask if she knows what a "fag" is, because I'm quite sure that Mom and Dad have taught her exactly what that word means. I'm more interested in her understanding of the word "hate." In fact, I wonder if anyone associated with Westboro Baptist Church really considers what they mean when they claim that God "hates" anything.
God does hate. Let's get that out of the way. Proverbs 6:16-19 shows seven things that God hates. A lying tongue, murder, wicked hearts that devise wicked plans, people who spread strife... and others. God hates idolatry (Jeremiah 44:2-4). But, you know what God doesn't hate? You.

God does not hate "fags," nor does He hate any sinner. He hates what we do, but not us as His precious creation. How do I know this? Romans... specifically Romans 5:8 -

But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I've had the pleasure (or perhaps displeasure!) of translating that verse from the original Greek. You know what's interesting. The while we were yet part. That's a present active particle (BOOM with the Greek grammar!) that denotes something we're currently doing. So, it's not really while we were yet sinners, it's better to say while we are being  sinners. See the difference? We change it to make more sense in the English language, but the meaning isn't that we were once something, it's that we currently ARE something - and STILL Jesus came to die for us.

Maybe I'm the stupid one here, but it seems to me that we hate much more than God does. You're black and I'm white - HATE! You're gay and I'm not - HATE! You're fat and I'm skinny - HATE! You're rich and I'm poor - HATE!

Folks - Westboro Baptist Church gets it wrong and they use the Bible to try and justify their skewed ideas. They protest and celebrate at funerals, all while speaking about hate and God's good pleasure to kill people, and all the while they seem to forget that Jesus equated hate with murder... and then those same sign-holding folks become the very thing they're protesting.

There are so many issues wrapped up in this one - it's hard to stay on a single point. So, I probably should stop there. Let me close with this:

All these problems are OUR fault... not God's. We've become so much an "entitled" society that we've even moved that entitlement towards salvation and God's perceived "requirement" to save us from the mess we've made. This is simply not true. There was no "have to" with God - He chose to. He saved you and me because  HE WANTED TO - we bring Him nothing. And what do we do with that salvation? Look back at that picture...

We bend and mold His words to fit our desires. We make Him appear to be the originator of all our evil thoughts, desires, and schemes. All the while, we forget Jesus' teaching on that last night that He would sit with His disciples. On that final night,... what did He think was most important? What did He think to say to them the eve before He would suffer on their behalf?

By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)

If you can mix that picture with Jesus' words - then you're a much wiser person than I am. Because, try as I might, I can't picture Jesus holding one of those signs.