To Serve or Not to Serve

That is the question or at least it is at church. How do you know if you are being called to serve? Does God have a cell phone or land line? Does he have e-mail or Facebook?  Believe it or not God will call you on any of those plus a whole lot more. Well, He actually has someone do it for Him. I really cannot picture God hunkered over a keyboard slapping on a smiley face to His latest tweet.

Moving right along … I was an Elder once many years ago. I always thought an Elder needed to be old, but someone put my name into the calling committee at church and I received a call from Pastor Bob. He asked me to pray fully consider serving God as an Elder. I told him I would think about it, even as my mind spun out of control with all the reasons this would be a bad idea. The more I thought about it the more reasons I came up with not accept the call. My first excuse was that I didn't have time. If I don’t have time I can’t really do a good job and others would suffer. Right? Would God want others to suffer because of me? Also, I don't know how to be an Elder. I'm a wiseguy not a wise guy. Wait a minute! I’m not worthy. That’s it. I am not a good person. I’m a sinner and I can’t even control my own house hold. That’s in scripture, isn't it?

Okay, so you get the idea. There are a lot of excuses. I then recalled a bible study that I had done recently for the high school youth. Keep this in mind the next time you have a great idea for a bible study. God always comes back to haunt you. Why do you think He's also called the Holy Ghost? Anyway in that study we looked at how much time we have in a week and how much we should give back to God. I had them start calculating hours in a week and what they did during those hours. There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep 8 hours a day that’s 56 hours. Another 63 to 70 hours are spent on work, school, homework, commuting, extra curricula activities, etc., and after eating and whatever else we thought of we still had about 20 or 30 hours left. We can fill that up pretty quickly with TV and internet. So how much time does that leave for God? Hey God? How about I give you a couple of hours on Sunday unless it’s hunting or football season? How about 16.8 hours? Yeah, that’s ten percent and I know that’s in scripture.

Ultimately I asked them, “How much of your time does really God want?” They beat around the bush. They hemmed and hawed but didn’t want to give the obvious answer. “God wants all of your time”, I said.  They were not very receptive to that answer. What teenager would be? Then again what adult? Why does God want all out time? How can we give Him all of our time? I've got stuff to do and The Big Bang Theory is new this week. Sounds kind of whiny doesn't it? I'm betting that all of you have seen this passage many times:

Colossians 3:23-24: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

“What ever you do”, that includes work, school and even sleeping. When we sleep we sleep for God knowing that He knows we need rest. When we eat we eat for God because He knows we need food to survive. When we work or go to school we know that God will use what we learn or earn for His purpose. God gave us all the time we have here to do His work, not ours. To accomplish this God gives us gifts and abilities that we use every day. We use these in our jobs and personal lives all the time. Why then do we balk at using them for God? We all know the answer but we also have a hard time admitting it

So when that call or e-mail from God arrives don't make excuses but be honest with yourself. Just know that God will provide you with everything you need to serve Him. Remember, Jonah eventually went to Nineveh.

In response to Mr. James Smith, Judith Hayes and Raymond Smith:

Lets put this into perspective. In 100 AD 80% or more of the population were illiterate. There was no news service. There was no public media of any kind. It was spread by word of mouth or proclamations read in public squares. The Roman leaders were not fools. They controlled the masses by keeping them ignorant and illiterate. The literate population were the rich and powerful and they wanted to keep it that way. They ignored Christians simply because they either didn't know about them or they were too unimportant to even think about.

Lets examine the name Jesus. Which Jesus? We think of this name as uncommon or unique but in the first century it was a common name. This is why we refer to Jesus as “Jesus the Christ” or “Christ Jesus” which makes it distinct. Why? Read Acts 2:32, Acts 2:36, Acts 6:14 and Acts 17:3. I follow “this Jesus” not that one or that one or even that one. So is it Jesus of Galilee? Jesus of Nazareth? Jesus of Jerusalem? Jesus of Judea? Depends on what was written about “that Jesus” so you can determine if it was “this Jesus.” Everything needs context.

The Jews were expecting a Messiah. A King that would lead them. But as usual they were thinking in human terms and not spiritual. God does things His way not the way we normally think. So when a poor carpenter from Galilee claims to be the Messiah it's going to be viewed with some skepticism by the majority of Jews and especially those in charge. Why? Because His teachings along with those of John the Baptist undermined their man made authority.

As far as the majority of these authors, why would they write anything about an obscure religious fanatic from a back water place like Galilee? Are you saying all of them are less reasonable than you are? Of course not. If you were a Jew at that time and even heard of Jesus you would either believe in Him or not. If you believed then you would write about Him and His message. If you didn't then why give credence to His message? You would ignore it and hope that it would go away. See Acts 5:38-40. Either that or be like you and actively write against Him. Look up the literacy rate for the Roman Empire in 100 AD. The majority of the people below were from rich families and considered themselves better than the masses. These are the elite writers of their time. How many writers (no news or media) write about less than 1% of our population today?

I have a question for you: How many 3^rd or 4^th generation Americans (both parents in all generations were born in the USA) do you think have English as a second language?

San Francisco, California has a Chinese population of approximately 172,181. This is 21.4 of the cities population. The vast majority speak Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) as their primary language. I know this from personal experience as I lived 34 years in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Also using your argument, not one of the New Testament authors writes about any of these men below. Why is that? Did they really exist? Of the authors you gave me (40) two don't appear to exist. Cannot find them on the Web, so you either got them wrong or spelled them incorrectly. Some did not live during the period, i.e. were not contemporaries of Jesus and/or the Apostles. Some were not adults during Jesus life but based on the document only these men, who were adults, could have been in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus death (9): Apollonius of Tyana , Lucius, Petronius, Phaedrus, Philo-Judaeus, Quintius Curtius, Seneca, Valerius Flaccus and Valerius Maximus. I can find no proof that any of them were there between 30 AD and 33 AD which are the crucial dates in question. Please supply the proof and cite your sources.

Same Sex Marraige: The Slippery Slope...

Lets uppose we pass legislation to allow same sex marriage in the USA just for the sake of argument.

Now two brothers decide that they want to get married because they live together anyway and want to take advantage of the tax break. Why would that be wrong? They are not going to have sex just take advantage of the tax laws. They can always get a divorce if they find someone else.

So now brothers can get married. What about sisters? Same arguments apply so, okay lets let them do that too.

Here comes the problem child. Now that we let brothers and sisters have same sex marriages, what about brothers and sisters? Can't discriminate against them either. But wait they can't have children because that is incest. Hmmm, no problem we just rewrite the incest laws.

So now anyone can get married to anyone else, which is fair by mans standards. No discrimination for ANY reason.

So two friends decide to live together but they don't want to get married. After 10 years one of them decides to move to another state. The other one sues the first one because they live in a Common Law State and the statues say after 7 years they are married. Don't think that can't happen. It does already as there are laws on the books in common law states that protect women and since we have to be fair...BINGO.




I know what you are going to say, that law is a myth. Well check the law suits that have been filed in those states and you will see that they do happen. Some win some lose.

All the marriage laws would need to be examined. This is a can of worms without bring God into it. Do we really want to go down this path?

Marriage: A Rose by Any Ather Name...

What was Shakespeare thinking when he wrote Juliette's line?:

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

In short it doesn't matter what we call something, that "thing" is still what it was. Take the debate over Same Sex Marriage. Calling two men or two women married doesn't change the fact that they cannot actually be married in the sight of God. Scripture says:

Genesis 2:23-24
New International Version (NIV)

23 The man said,


“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man. ”


24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

"One Flesh." How can two men or two women become one? They can't. You can call them married all you want, pass all kinds of laws to make it true, but it will never be true. Although Christians should be concerned about this issue we must understand it is in mans nature to sin. Yes we should voice our opinion, point to scripture and then move along without accepting it from a spiritual perspective. The world will continue to sin and pull away from God. This is our struggle. We can only educate people and let them choose to sin or not to sin.

Both Matthew and Mark tell the same story where Jesus confirms what Moses wrote in Genesis.

Mark 10:6-8
New International Version (NIV)
6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Matthew 19:4-6
New International Version (NIV)

4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Non-Christians always try and point out that we are trying to show our moral superiority or belittle them in some way. While that may be true for some Christians not all of us feel that way. We understand that sin is sin and that all fall short of the Glory of God. The Law condemns us. All of us. But the Grace of Christ Jesus saves all who flock to Him.

All Christians are sinners. The Pope all the Cardinals and Priests. All Clergy in any denomination. Name one who is not a sinner? Just as God took care of Sodom and Gomorrah He will take care of all those who are against Him. Our fight is not a physical one but a spiritual one.

According to a recent poll 52% of Catholics (as a whole) in the United States are favorable to same sex marriage (http://www.pewforum.org/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality/Religion-and-Attitudes-Toward-Same-Sex-Marriage.aspx)

I think they need to re-read scripture.

What must God think...

...when Pastors like Sean Harris twist God's word into something that does not communicate His great love for us? We Christians often forget that sin is sin, period. Sodomy and other sexual immorality are no worse than calling someone names or killing 6 million people. There is only one sin greater than all the others. One sin that is unforgivable. One sin that exiles you from the presence of God and that sin is truly turning away from Him. If you do this there is no going back and since only God knows our heart, only He knows if we have truly turned away from Him. All other sin is equal. This is a difficult concept for most Christians. We want some sort of scale to chart the sin on so that we can say, "Well I never did that."

Pastor Harris, in case you have not heard, made some statements from the pulpit that in no way build up Christians or call others to our faith. His sermon should have stuck to scripture rather than embellishment with his personal opinions. He and God would have been better served if he had. He has since issued an apology but the cow's already out of the barn.

The short version (1 min 41 sec) is here => http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/audio-pastor-sean-harris-calls-punching-effeminate-boys
The whole sermon (55 min 03 sec) is here => http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=42912940300
And the retraction is here => http://pastorseansblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/official-statement-of-retraction.html

The problem is that unless we all have the same definitions for the terms used in the sermon we are not getting the same message. What is Effeminacy? According to Merriam-Webster (on-line) it is defined as:

Effeminate:

1: having feminine qualities untypical of a man : not manly in appearance or manner

2: marked by an unbecoming delicacy or overrefinement <effeminate art> effeminate civilization>

 

I see nothing here against scripture. Is it manly to turn the other cheek? Is it manly to let people spit on you and degrade you? It has to be otherwise Jesus did not act as a man.

 

If you'd like to contact Pastor Harris, good luck. The "Contact Us" page has been removed from the churches web site. That's understandable.

Pastor Harris take a look at these:

1 Corinthians 13:1-13
2 Timothy 3:15-17
Matthew 5:43-44

Again?

Some mornings when I wake up I ask God, "Again?" Like all Christians I'd like to wake up somewhere else, say like Heaven, rather than here on the old Earth. I have to remind myself that if I wake up here God still has work for me to do. These are the things He placed before me before I was even born. One of these is prayer. As the Bible says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

All too often I hear Christians say, "Well, I guess all I can do is pray for them." Golly, gee whiz I tried everything else so the only thing left to do is pray. What??? Prayer should be the FIRST THING YOU DO as a Christian not the last. This is one of the tasks that God has placed before you. Pray.

For example I have a prayer list. These are people in my life that I take a few moments to lift up to God. I try to do it daily but alas it sometimes turns out to be weekly. God is always listening, always attentive and always there. I have someone right now that is at the forefront of all my prayers, even before a friend of mine dying of brain cancer. He believes I pray in vain and has been verbally abusive about it in his posts on Opposing Views (http://www.opposingviews.com). I consider him my enemy and I love him for that. Seriously, I do love him and feel sorry for his unfortunate circumstances. His name is James Smith (http://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/JamesSmith) and he is a very angry man.

From his blog and posts it appears he was raised Presbyterian by his parents and immigrated from the United States to Brazil some years ago. His anger is directed primarily at Christians and if what he says is true and not just his perception, then he may have some basis for his anger. For some reason God has placed him before me and I am not sure why yet. If I'm planting seeds it's not good ground but that's my opinion.

Here's to you Mr. Smith, May The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Any tomorrow when I wake up I'll try not to say, "Again?" but embrace the tasks joyfully that God has placed before me. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

TCH