The Gloves Are Off Now.

Alright, I usually don't stand up against a teaching that I hear so often, but I have had just about enough of one teaching that is being shoved down my throat. I hear it so much in my schools teaching, and through many big name pastors who I happen not to agree with. The soft "happy go lucky", "you can have what ever you want, "think positive and you will prosper" gospels. This post may be very controversial if more than one person actually reads this. I do not agree with this teaching at all. I don't recall anywhere in the Bible where it says "You can have anything you want."
Yes, the Bible does speak of blessings, but I do not think getting a blessing means getting anything you want. These days I hear so much of this teaching and frankly, I don't like it. I recently read an article by Dave Daubenmire talking about this same thing. Here's some of the questions he asked:
-Does the Gospel of the Kingdom apply to all people in all places?

-Should the gospel preached from any pulpit, regardless of where you live, be applicable to any other Christian regardless of where he/she lives?

- Does God have one gospel for America and another gospel for the underground church in China?

He goes on to talk about how North Americans seem to have one version of the gospel, that may not "apply" in other countries.

"The Gospel of the Kingdom is a life-changing, world-altering, gospel. Today it has become nothing more than a marketing technique designed to give you all the things those in the world desire, only sanctified as “blessings” of one’s Christianity."

I find this little paragraph to be so true. So much of the teaching I hear is summed up by this. It is a gospel that says I will be given all the things I want through blessings. It is a "get rich quick" form of the gospel. A "motivational book" that promises success and all the desires we want.

"Turn on Christian radio and listen to the “gospel.” Settle in front of your TV with a bowl of popcorn and embark on a Trinity Broadcasting Network marathon and watch the Humanistic gospel that is reflected off of the satellite. No longer is a sin-hating, turn from your wicked ways, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God gospel being trumpeted, but a worldly, pop-psychology, Jesus is an ATM in the Sky, life-enhancement, seeker-friendly, do not judge or offend gospel is being dished out. It hasn’t always been this way."

This is yet another statement I find to be true in the teaching I am hearing today. The teaching that seems to be popular is more of a motivational speech, rather than a gospel that gives the cold hard truths.

This is where it gets intense for me. Daubermire talks of a lunch he had with a South African missionary who was visiting Ohio. What the Missionary said to him blows my mind.
"Please do not send anymore missionaries to my country. The American gospel is making our job harder. When financial blessings and prosperity fail to come to our people it is hard to open their hearts back up to receive the life-changing Gospel of the Kingdom. Please keep your version of the gospel in America."

That statement blows my mind. That someone would ask for missionaries not to be sent to a place in need because of what they preach. I don't really know what my reaction would be if, lets say, I was an orphan, and I had to find my own food, and was poor, and someone is telling me I can have what ever I want, that I will prosper.
To me I don't think just because we are Christians we will all be prosper, and be successful. Some people may live a devoted life to Christ and suffer all their life. I can't imagine what goes through the head of a persecuted Christian when they might hear these teachings.
"The American gospel is a humanistic, man centered, “meet my needs” gospel, designed to enhance one’s earthly life, not transform it."

I find this to be a good point. We have a "man centered gospel." A gospel that preaches our personal gain. Sure we can preach about meeting the needs of the poor, which is important, but we seem to have twisted giving to the poor as simply another way for us to meet some more of our "needs". We hear ways to make our lives seem a little better. We rarely hear a life changing, foundation shaking teaching.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." I John 2:15-16.
"Is it possible that the American gospel is creating enemies of God by catering to the flesh?"
Is it really possible? Are we just preaching a gospel that is pleasing to our flesh? The answer could very well be yes. Our flesh seems to long for this personal gain. It longs for the riches that the world can offer, and I hear so much teaching on gaining these riches. I hear so much about how we can prosper and gain in the WORLD. Is this teaching from GOD, or is it a distorted teaching of the world?

I want to end with one thing that stuck with me from this article:
"The gospel has not changed, only the presentation of it has. Look at this list of top selling Christian books. I wonder how many persecuted Christians in Iran are buying them. The American-gospel is no gospel at all."-Dave Daubenmire.



Any thoughts?

Respect ya'll.

These days I find myself having a deep respect for the type of person who can treat everyone with the same respect. The type of person who is kind to everyone. This is the kind of person I find myself trying to be. However, I fail dreadfully. I find myself trying to hang around these type of people, hoping they will begin to rub off on me. I think we need these type of people around us. It's these type of people who make others feel welcome, and maybe even make them feel good. It's these type of people that keep assholes like me in line.
I try harder to find people that kind to everyone, then I try to imitate their actions in one way or another. I get so damn sick of the way I find myself and many others treating people. To be honest I get down right pissed at myself when I look back and begin to think about how I treated someone.
Changing the way you treat others is much easier said than done, but it is one of those things we all have to keep trying to change if we want to see any different actions from ourselves.
I encourage everyone to challenge themselves to treat everyone equally.
"Enjoy life and take the Lord along for the ride"-Alva Sample
God Bless.

It is time to take seriously, the seriousness of the cross.

Throughout this Easter one thing that is been standing out to me, or impacting me the most is the seriousness of the Cross. So many times I find myself looking at the Cross and thinking almost nothing of it. When I realized this it was a shocker for myself. It seems like the Cross was just "the norm" for me. I see it so often. However, lately when I look at a Cross I see something much deeper. Something that was said today during the Good Friday service at my church stood out to me. Gavin was talking about the story of Easter, and what it is about. Is it about a weak man who was rolled over by the weight of the world? Is it about an unimportant man who got in the way of those who were more important? Is it about a religious or political leader who kicked up trouble? Is it, as Dave Matthews said, a story of an amazing man who got screwed? Or is it the story of the Son of GOD, who came to save us all? This was the thing that hit me the hardest today. Not because I found out Dave Matthews can be quoted in Church, but because it helped me realize part of what I am missing when I look at the Cross. I started thinking of the cross a lot before today, now it's the main topic in my mind. I almost can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop thinking about the Son of GOD, the ONLY Son of GOD, who came to save us. The Son of GOD who came to be our Savior. He befriended those who were cast out, he healed the sick, He saved us, the sinners. This could not be done by a weak man, an unimportant man, a religious of political leader, or even an amazing man. This action, this punishment of taking all sin on himself and being crucified for all man. This can only be done by the Son of GOD.
So, What do you see when you look at the Cross?
It is my encouragement to everyone, to look at the Cross and reflect on what was done for us, and who did it.
May the Cross not be something normal to us, but instead, be a significant part of our faith that causes us to give thanks and to think.

Show me your muddy palms

Not too long ago a group of folks from church went away to Haiti to help build a medical clinic. Last week they played a slide show of pictures from that trip during that slide show the song Muddy Palms by Del Barber was playing in the background. First of all I love the song so that caught me right away, so I enjoyed the slide show. Now, this week at during the service Cody (the guy that made the slide show) told the story, of why he chose that song. in the song Muddy Palms there is a line repeated. "show me your scars, show me your muddy palms." Another part in the song says "Don't you get tired of hiding yourself?"
In his story he talked about the first morning he was there. He said he woke up early in the morning to a woman belting a song at the top of her lungs. It wasn't even the whole song, it was just the same line again and again for over an hour. He thought about if this would happen in Winnipeg. If someone was yelling the same line over and over early in the morning someone would tell that person to shut-up. However, the people in Haiti just let this woman be. He said later that night he told the guide type person about this lady. He sang the line that the lady was singing over and over. The Guide (who is also the doctor of the clinic they were helping to build) kind of gave a half laugh and said "that lady was mourning. She lost her child. That's how she mourns, she cries that song."
What does this have to do with the song Muddy Palms? This lady who was mourning was showing her scars, she was showing her muddy palms. She was not hiding any part of herself, she was showing a honesty that is hard to find these days.
Why did this story hit me so much? So many times we all (myself included) put up these walls, and we aren't fully honest with anyone, or with ourselves, or even with God. Why do we try hide ourselves from everyone and from God? God is our forgiver He is our father, why should we not be totally honest with Him? Why don't we show God our scars? Why don't we show God our muddy palms? Why do we try hide ourselves from God? We know that He sees everything and knows everything, yet we still try hide.
We went through some passages in the book of Mark, two stories really stuck out to me.
First was the passage of the rich man in Mark 10:17-23. He asks Jesus "what must I do to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Jesus replies "Do not Murder, do not commit adultery, do not give false testimony and honor your father and mother."
The rich man said "all these I have kept since I was young."
It says Jesus looked and him and loved him, and said "one thing you lack, go sell all you have and give it to the poor. You will have treasure in Heaven, then come and follow me."
The thing that stuck with me, once it was read again was "Jesus looked at him, and loved him." Jesus can see everything in us, he can see all our sins, all our imperfections and all our problems. Yet He still loves us, and that to me is a humbling thought.
The second passage is in Mark 12:41-44. The story of the widows offering. It says Jesus sat in the temple across from where people were placing their offering, many people put in large amounts of money, but then a poor widow put in two copper coins worth a fraction of a penny. It says Jesus told his Disciples that the widow, gave the more than anyone. Everyone gave out their wealth, but she gave everything she had to live on. This hit me big time. The widow gave EVERYTHING she had, so many times we all just give what we want, or what we feel like. This widow was not ashamed to show her scars, to show her muddy palms. She was hiding nothing from God, and gave Him her all.
It is my encouragement for us to all stop Hiding ourselves from God, and to be honest with Him, show Him our scars and our muddy palms. He will look on us with compassion and love.
God bless

A tough moment.

I was very recently talking to a friend and they asked a... Well, a very random question. "If you could have one more moment with anyone in the world who would it be?" This was a tough thought to choke down, after my grandma only passed away 5 months ago. It got me thinking about what it would have been like if I could have had one more moment with my grandma. How many regrets would I not have right now? In one more moment I could apologize for not seeing her enough, because of my fears. I could thank her for waiting for me all the time. I could say good bye one more time. This question made me think, even though I have so many regrets about ways I was selfish towards my grandma, she knew I loved her, and I know she loved me. I just have to use these regrets as learning experiences. That way when I'm in a similar situation, I will learn from past mistakes.
I think we all need to use our past regrets as tools to learn. As hard as it may be some times, we just need to buck-up and not let our past mistakes happen again.

God Bless.