Learning to Un-learn

When someone goes through hardship or difficulty, one idea expressed by many Christians is that God is trying to teach them something. According to Oswald Chambers, God is doing the opposite: he's trying to get them to "unlearn" something. This is a profound truth that I hope I never forget.

Our lives are marred by sin for sure, and because of that we need to unlearn all the bad habits that we have ingrained into the very depths of our being. Everything that comes between us and God needs to be stripped away.

In that sense, God utilizes the "addition by subtraction" principle. Our lives get more abundant when God removes all that prevents us from walking in perfect unity with him.

For those of you who are going through difficulty right now, what do you think that God is trying to get you to unlearn?

Love Lift Us up Where We Belong

Every Day Is a Sunny Day above the Clouds!

On my flight home from Denver I was reminded of a truth about God and his ways. Because of the clouds, the sky was dark and it seemed later than it was. But as we climbed to a higher altitude in our plane, the sun was quite evident.

Sometimes trials can mask God and his love, much like the clouds did the sun. Darkness surrounds us but God is there all the time; we just can't see him.

But when you get to the higher levels of faith, through obedience and spending time with God, you'll live at the highest levels, above the cares of the world, with a joy and peace that surpasses any trials that life can throw at you. This kind of living brings you in the realm of God, above the darkness.

That is why the Apostle Paul could sing hymns to God despite being chained to a post in the deepest, darkest bowels of a Philippian jail. Fly high and don't settle for anything less than that which God Almighty has ordained for you!

Doing Scary Things, Part II

'Scuse me, exactly where is this bus going?

God and his ways seem scary because they are not always what we would like. But isn't that the beauty of God and his ways, that they are higher above our own?

God is light and his ways are light; anything other than that is darkness. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." God is doing wonderful things in our lives daily, and without him, it is easy to see how dark life will be. Go to the light. You won't regret it.

Honor Killings in America

Yesterday's post about the democratic process of 'majority rule' and its contribution to moral relativism referenced murder disguised as an act of honor as one possible result of a society governed by an immoral majority.

Honor killings are all too real. And it doesn't just take place in the Far and Middle East or in Third-World Countries. Fox News is airing a special on honor killings in America.

Read more HERE.

Saturday, July 26 at 8 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 27 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET

Majority Rule?

Post-modern thinkers tend to agree that majority rules. If the majority of the People agree on one direction or one idea, then that idea should be honored. It has been this way since Democracy was invented. For a free people, Democracy is the *end* when it should only be a *means to an end*.

The majority of Americans currently believe that it is one's right as an American citizen to own and bear arms - just as they interpret our Constitution's Second Amendment to mean. Suppose eventually, due to sufficient media influence and political pressures, the majority of Americans agree to amend the Second Amendment or to vote to ban personal firearms? You could argue that if it's majority rule, then, in a democracy, that ban should be upheld.

But what if the majority decides to vote on things of absolute moral value? Murder, for instance. What if, one day the majority votes that murder should be allowed (as did the ancient Romans in the form of gladiator battles and as modern-day theocracies do in the form of honor-killings and moral justice)?

Does the majority decide what is right and what is wrong?

Almighty God has already defined absolute truth and the definition of what is morally right and wrong. No amount of human reasoning and justification can reverse God's judgment. On matters of absolutes, majority does not rule. God rules.

Press on.

Death to the Death Penalty

Under the rules of the EU (European Union), a country cannot enter the EU charter if it allows capital punishment.

Capital punishment, to the modern-day liberal is considered cruel and unusual. It's considered barbaric and anachronistic. "Who has the right to take another's life?", an anti-capital punishment pundit might ask.

It's been said that "Jesus would forgive" so that we haven't the right to pass judgment. The founder of Stand To Reason, Christian apologeticist, Greg Koukl's argument AGAINST the simplicity of that argument:

Some say Jesus’ ethic of love and forgiveness requires us to end the death penalty. This was the appeal Mother Theresa made when Robert Alton Harris was facing the gas chamber in California. She appealed to the governor saying, “Jesus would forgive.”

This view falters because it simply proves too much. What alternative punishment would be justified with this rule? Should we put capital criminals in prison for life? But Jesus would forgive. Imprison them for ten years? But Jesus would forgive. Imprison a murderer for 24 hours? But Jesus would forgive.

If this argument works it becomes justification for the abolition of any kind of punishment whatsoever. What Jesus decides to do in God’s court does not dictate what justices should do in man’s court.

Perhaps one day the death penalty musn't or needn't exist. But for now, the claim that "Jesus would forgive" is insufficient to champion that cause.

Doing Scary Things, Part I

"I took a wrong turn and I just kept goin'..."

Campus Crusader Samantha Li spoke at our church this past Sunday and delivered a line I hope I never forget: "Taking steps of faith is just Christianese for doing scary things." What a great description!

If we are willing, God gives us God-sized tasks to do; tasks which we cannot accomplish on our own. If we could do everything without God, why would we need him? And that is what makes taking steps of faith so scary. We have no control. It's like driving a car with no hands on the steering wheel. In our hearts it feels like a car wreck waiting to happen!

But really, the people whose lives most resemble car wrecks are the ones who are NOT walking in obedience to God. If you are a believer, sooner or later you will be faced with a decision of whether or not to take a scary step of faith. What will you choose?

The Key to a Powerful Life

Do you want a life of power? Do you go through your day and wonder why some people live a victorious life in Christ and you don't?

The answer comes in one word: surrender. The problem comes when we don't want to surrender our lives to Christ. As someone once said, "Jesus is not Lord at all if he is not Lord of all."

If there is something in your life that you withhold from him, who is Lord? But as we surrender our will to him and allow him to carry out his plans in us and through us, then we will live a life of power, then we will live a victorious life in him.

God has big plans for you and your life, but you must surrender all to him. What is preventing you from the life God has for you? Will you surrender it to him?

Satan Hates YOU!

"I hate you and have a wonderfully destructive plan for your life."

You gotta admit, Mel Gibson's take on Satan is pretty darn creepy. If you saw him on the street, you'd want to walk the other way.

In reality, I think Satan is ridiculously beautiful. Like David Beckham beautiful. Unfortunately, what is inside him is more gross than Andrew Zimmern's food!

This morning as I was driving to church I was listening to a radio preacher who said that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for us. He also said that Satan, who tries to twist and destroy all that God creates, hates us.

Yesterday's video posted by Shawn is a moving testimony of both facts. I was thinking that it would be cool if someone made "Satan hates you and has a destructive plan for your life" tracts. Sometimes that which is negative can end up pushing you towards the positive.

He Who Wants Only Good For Us

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
- Jer 29:11

Get in the Herd!

"I shoulda stayed with the herd!"

In the wild, predators usually attack when when an animal is separated from the herd. This is because there is strength in numbers such that even a small and weak animal has power through the sheer numbers of the herd. In contrast, even a strong animal separated from the others is vulnerable.

The Apostle Peter describes Satan as a lion who is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Guess who's the easy prey? Anyone separated from the herd, and especially the small and weak in faith. Lone Ranger Christians beware!

Do yourself a favor and get in the herd! Find a group of brothers and sisters in Christ that you can join in order to best protect yourself from the attacks of Satan. Satan may still attack, but through the prayers and support of the herd, he will not be able to bring you down!

Excellence No More

Yesterday's post about "running the race that is marked before us" (Hebrews 12:1) is inspiring for those who understand sports analogies. The world of sports is, in a way, a great place to display Christian virtues such as perserverence, leadership, integrity, mercy, and even love.

Sports analogies have found their way into scriptures on more than one occasion because sports is something that anyone can relate to. Most everyone has participated in a sport or game of some kind; and if you haven't participated, you've spectated.

Everyone gets it - all sports are boiled down to one thing; doing your very best. Some atheletes have more natural skill than others, some have better training regimens than others, but no matter what, once you are competing, you are expected to do your best.

Sometimes that best is good enough to win the prize, sometimes it isn't. But no matter what, you do your best to try to win that prize.

So what happens if you did your best, you should have won the prize, but are told that your best doesn't matter because we don't want to hurt those that didn't do as well? That's exactly what happened in Beachwood, Ohio where the annual Fourth-of-July Little League All Star Game (for ages 9-12) was cancelled because new administrators decided that it would be too hurtful to those not chosen.

The full article can be seen HERE.

Like "Dash" said in the Disney Movie, The Incredibles, saying everyone is special is another way of saying no one is.

The problem with this, mentality is that it blurs line between individual worth and individual achievement. Certainly a child's moderate baseball skills are not an indictment of his worth or value as a human, but his equal worth to other children shouldn't diminish another's extraordinary skills or achievment. This should be true in all arenas of life, but it should be especially true in sports.


The very nature of sports is competition. The reason you play is to win - and if you win, someone will lose. Nevermind discussions about recreational versus competetive sports. If you're keeping score, you should have a winner. Otherwise, you should start a league that doesn't keep score and allow that league to run separately from other leagues where those who excel expect to win accolades for their hard work.


Even our God is a God that recognizes individual effort and offers us a reward in heaven in accordance to our service to Him here on earth (I Chron 3:8, II Tim 4:8, Luk 6:35, Rev 22:12). Though the world's standards may continue to fall, ours remains the same. Let us continue to I "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

Running the Race

Uphill Racing at Purisima Creek

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Sometimes the Christian faith can be an uphill battle. But it is so much easier and fun when you are with other people. When trials and tribulations come, having a support group of brothers and sisters who to help will prove to be invaluable. God created us to be intimately related to one another hence the term "body of Christ."

When you are part of a group that is committed to throwing off all hindrances or anything that comes between you and God, you will run your race with even greater perseverance than on your own. Be in fellowship.

God Grants Independence

Our country's Founding Fathers observed that their king, more closely resembling a tyrant, caused "repeated injuries and usurpations" of rights against the inhabitants of the American Colonies. In an effort to break free of the king's bondage and free themselves from his tyranny, they organized a rebellion; one that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and heartache among leaders and laymen alike.

But through all the military, political, and social hardships, - in spite of the fact that the Continental Congress was not in full agreeance about the rebellion - God's providence ruled. Our Founding Fathers neither neglected to seek God's counsel nor were they oblivious to God's Hand.

The Declaration of Independence reads,

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General
Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good
people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united
colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states;...

...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our
sacred honor.

To these leaders of men, the decision to secede from Great Britain was no small matter. Hundreds of hours of debate, tears, and heartache was poured into deliberation. Personal and corporate prayer for Divine Counsel was the norm. Their property, their families' fortunes, and their very lives were at stake. These men were seen as treasonous traitors with bounties posted for their lives.

Men from the Continental Congress convening and praying.

Nevertheless, in the end, with God's help, the United States of America successfully became independent from the rule of Great Britain.


We can commemorate our country's independence by thanking the Almighty for the good works that His hand hath brought. And by praying prayers of thanks for the leadership of our God-fearing forefathers, the courage and sacrifice of our brave militia, and the service of every man, woman, and child who supported the American rebellion against the tyranny of her king.


Today, America still stands as a beacon for those who are oppressed and whose freedoms are encroached upon by their ruling government. By God's will, America will continue to be free and free those who are in bondage.


God bless America!

Independence Day

Tomorrow is Independence Day! It is good to remember that the freedom we have in this country came as a result of great sacrifices on the part of many.

As believers, we also have an even greater freedom which came as a result of the sacrifice of One.

Please remember to pray for our soldiers and their families as they continue to protect and defend our country. And thank you Jesus, for freeing us from the bondage of sin!

Illegal Dumping, pt. II

So here are some survellance pictures of the perp messing up our church. It seems he just drove in, dumped his compost, and drove out. So uncool!

I wonder what Jesus would have done if someone in Jerusalem did that in the temple?