In case you haven’t heard, another useless church slaying occurred Sunday.  A pastor was shot and killed during service and a couple of others were wounded.  The story can be found here and other places.

This was just another senseless attack in a ever increasing string that has occurred lately.  No one so far even knows what the motive for this one was.  This murderous interruption to a worship service has many in the church discussing the issues of church safety and the carrying of weapons in church services.  There are also larger issues to discuss.  So if you would, I would like to read your feedback and answers to these questions.

Do you think Jesus is okay with any of his followers shooting someone in self defense?

Do you think it would be wise for just anyone to carry a gun in church?  Would you?

If you would carry a gun, under what circumstances would you use it?

If you are against all of this, carrying weapons and using them, then what do you think is our role in protection of ourselves and others?

Finally, what caliber would Jesus recommend?

That last one is just a light hearted one meant to keep us from getting too angry in case we disagree.  But this is a very serious topic and I have read a lot of opinions already.

Care to share yours?

Love you all

Tags: caliber, Church, jesus, Murder, pastor, protection, Self, self defense, Service, town hall, Tuesday, Weapons

One of the most amazing things about God is that he loves us the way he does.  Some people hold a belief that he made us for worship; that he actually made us to adore him.  He has the power to have made us that way or any way that he wanted, but he chose to go a different route.  He made us with free will; to really have the ability to make our own choices.

He took a risk.  Love entails risk.  There is always the chance that those that are loved will not love back.  God knew this and still took the route that he did.  He is not the self centered ego maniac that some theological worldviews paint him out to be.  This is good news for those of us that want to reach out to the skeptics of this world.  We actually have something to say against all of their arguments about a loving God doing evil nasty things.

The bible paints a picture of a God that gets hurt when we forsake him.  The idea that God is impassable is just not presented in the bible.  Our choices cause him pain, regret, jealousy, anger, and sometimes joy.  The reformed believers do not fully accept this.  Some reject it outright.  They seem to do this out of a belief that it lessens God somehow.  They believe that those of us that believe the way I do are trying to make God in my image.  This is not so.

He made us in his image.  So what does that mean?  How could we be made in his image if he does not experience emotion since we are riddled with them, driven by them, and even ruined by them sometimes?

God created us like we are because he wanted true relationships with us.  That whole idea about worship and adoration is a side effect actually.  When someone comes to really know him through a real relationship, they are going to naturally worship and adore him because of who he is.  But we can’t know this until we enter into a love relationship with him.  It is intentional on our part.

Some see love as an emotion and in some sense it is.  But really it is the lasting quality, attribute or aspect, which God has for us or wants from us.  Love is something that we determine and decide we will do.  What we call love in the beginning relationship is really attraction, or even lust.  It then turns into desire and maybe grows into care.  But if it never turns into love, agape as Paul calls it, then it probably won’t last.  And if it does not, if we are to believe the evidence, then relationships don’t last.

Ask any person that you know that has been married forty or fifty years if it was all a bed of roses.  I know a few and for most it was not.  Some of them faced and went through things that cause us to wonder why or how they ever stayed together.  The answer is simple, they made a commitment, and they intentionally kept that commitment.  In our society today we not only do not always commit, even when we do we do not necessarily intend to keep it.

When we make marriage vows today, are we saying that we are going to love, honor and cherish or are we really saying we will love until the attraction is not as strong, honor as long as we receive more, and cherish until someone or something comes along that we are more attracted to.  Even the vows we say in a marriage ceremony show the intentionality of love.  We promise “to love” not that we necessarily “do love”.

My wife and I watched Fireproof last week.  I have been letting the movies concepts run through my head all week.  There was not a lot of great acting in it but the message was powerful.  The message was that love, and marriage, is intentional.  The couple had every stereotypical thing that is wrong in marriage going on but even if we are not all going though all that they were, we still need to get the message, the concept, in our heads and our hearts so that we can turn this crisis called divorce around.  This means we must be intentional.  And we really need Jesus to be our Lord.

We must, especially as people of the Kingdom of God, do what we said we would do.  Marriage is a covenant, which is the way God intended, and covenants are not to be broken.  No matter what.  God could have broken his covenant with us long ago and we would deserve it.  But he didn’t.  He even went so far as to send Jesus to die so that we could stay in covenant with him.  The cross was intentional.

If you are married, or intending to be, watch the movie Fireproof and read the book, The Love Dare, together.  I have read most of it and it is a valuable tool to help you keep any vows you have made.  Being, or becoming more, Christlike demands that you keep your promises.

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (Jas 5:12)

Intentional.  What does intentional love really look like?  It looks like a cross.  So let your yes be yes.  Be intentional in loving.  Especially in marriage, but also in everything else you do. 

Love you all

Tags: Belief, Bible, Christlike, Fireproof, Free will, God, jesus, joy, Kingdom, Love, Love Dare, Marriage, Relationships, skeptics

This video is not the only one out there like this so some of you may have seen it.  I was led there from a forum I read.  This is my 100th post.  Some TV series do special 100th episodes and I originally wanted this post to be something great, profound and inspirational.  Instead, you get the following.

Lighten up and enjoy

Love you all

Tags: Church, forum, video

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Susie said determinedly.

“Cool,” her boyfriend Jack exclaimed.  “This may be the last vacation we get to go on for a while or you know that I wouldn’t even ask.”

“I know.  I just wish I had not gone through more than seven months of this.  When we decided to try it you did not even bring this surfing trip up.”

“I’m sorry, baby.  I didn’t think we would have the money.  But that bonus was enough for this and what we will need now too.”

Susie asked, “How long until we get there?”

The couple had been driving for six hours.  They were heading for the beach.  Jack had thought he would have to surf without her.  He hated the idea.  They both loved surfing and had not been able to go for more than two years because of new jobs which had caused them to have to move.  He loved it so much though, and she was the one that wouldn’t give in.

“We can get off the next exit and see but I would bet there is probably one of those new chop shops somewhere close”

He was right.  They found the shop within an hour and pulled in the parking lot.  It was pretty full and he just hoped they could get serviced quickly.  They still had about twelve hours of driving ahead of them.  They would probably have to spend the night somewhere.  He had hoped to make it by morning but if Susie could surf with him it was worth it.

They went in and signed in at the counter and picked up a brochure and sat to discuss its contents.  After about twenty minutes their names were called.  They were directed to a small but comfortable room with a bed and a couple of chairs.  Then a tall man in white joined them.

“I am Dr Walters.  What can we do for you today?”

“We want the Drop and Hop procedure.  It is a little expensive but we don’t really want to waste any time.  We’re going to the beach on vacation,” Jack answered.

The doctor smiled and said, “That’s great.  How far along are you?” he asked as he looked at Susie’s belly.

“Seven months and ten days.  It was due on May 4th and we had arranged already to sell it to one of those sterile families but,” she stopped and just smiled sheepishly.

“That’s okay,” the doctor said, smiling back at her.  “A lot of young couples are doing it also.  But there is no sense in letting it ruin a vacation.  We might even be able to bring it out alive still if you chose a different method.”

Jack jumped in, “No, we don’t need the money like we did.  We’ll still go with the Drop and Hop.”  Susie nodded.

Dr Walters smiled at the eager couple and nodded.  “No problem.  We’ll have that fetus out in 30 minutes or less or you get your money back.”  He laughed at his own joke while they joined him even though they were too young to remember the old commercial the doctor referenced.  “All joking aside, this new procedure will allow you to be rid of this minor inconvenience within two hours and you’ll be on your way.”

“Awesome,” Jack said as Susie nodded and smiled.  “Surfs up,” she thought.

**************************************************************************

This is my sorry attempt at horror fiction.  It is horror because it is probably not that farfetched or too far in the future.  The life of the unborn is already seen as cheap and in many cases an inconvenience.  If we keep on the way we are now on the issue of abortion, don’t be surprised if this little sorry piece of fiction becomes prophetic.

Jason has a post on his blog here where he asks for some practical solutions to this issue.  It is time we took this on as the main issue in our culture and society that we need to address.  No, not address, we need to do something real.  We need to go a lot farther than we are in our attempts to change people’s minds about abortion.  And since I believe Jesus is the only one that can change minds, it has to start with the gospel.  We should be more than barbarians.

Go to Jason’s blog and share your thoughts there as well as here.

Love you all

Tags: Abortion, chop shops, Culture, Hope, Lies, Life, Service, Sin, Worth