My Dad’s name was Bill Cable.  He was not my biological father but he adopted me when I was only two years old and I never knew or met the man that was there when I was conceived.  He is a father also, to me and others later, I heard, so I hope he has a great day also if he still lives.  But he was not my Dad.  Bill Cable was.

I did not even know that I was adopted until sometime in my fourteenth year.  And Bill never gave me any reason to even think it.  I have a sister and two brothers that he was the biological father of but there was never any favoritism.  Well, actually there might have been at times, but it was favoritism towards me.  He loved me as much as or seemingly even more sometimes as any of us.

He was a small man.  Standing only 5′ 2″ tall and weighing about 125 pounds, I still remember him having me sit in his lap when I got out of the Army at six feet tall and 185 pounds.  It was ridiculous looking probably but I am smiling just thinking about it.  My eyes are a little watery also.

Bill Cable, my Dad, died in 1991 at the age of 55.  Much too young and way too early to go.  I miss him.  I don’t talk about it much but before Jesus introduced Himself to me there was no other person on this planet that I felt comfortable telling my deepest secrets, fears, dreams, and thoughts to than my Dad.  I never have been a very open person and have just started growing into it in the last few years even to the degree I am now.  But my Dad would listen, never judge, and tell me like he saw it.  It was not always comfortable but it was real.  How many people tell anyone anything real anymore?  Not enough.  At least not in my life or experience.

Even though I had the best example for a loving father, not a perfect man by any means, but a real, truly loving man which is what really matters, that anyone could have, I still blew it when it came my time.  I have six children.  Five of them are sons that are not mine biologically.  While I do believe I loved them a long time ago, I know I did not do it the right way.  Some of it was me, some was the enemy of all of our souls, but mostly it was my lack of belief that that enemy or God was real.  My Father, God, has and still is, changing me.  I thank Him for that most of all because I do not like who I used to be.

We all have a Father in heaven, whether we have one here or not.  And He is good and gracious and merciful and loving, but most of all He is real.  And He tells us like it is.  If we will only listen.

If you have a father here, let him know you love him and appreciate him today.  Even if he was or is not who you think he should be, he is your father.  And who among us is who our Father, God, wants us to be anyway.  And if you are a father, then be the best one you can be while you still have time.

Happy Fathers Day to all and Dad, I miss you and love you.

Love you all

Tags: army, Belief, Bill Cable, biological father, Father, God, Heaven, jesus, Love, Self

Last week’s topic was not real popular it seems.  Not many want to share their views about what it takes to be a Christian.  But that violence one sure keeps going on.  Thanks for the discussion to all that have and still are participating.

Today I have decided to only ask one question.  But depending on who you are and what biblical and theological worldview you hold, it has the potential to get a wide range of responses.  And to be fair, I should tell you it is an atheists question, so give it all you got.  Someone’s soul is at stake.

If it was always God’s plan to provide salvation through Jesus, why didn’t he send Jesus from the very beginning, instead of confusing and misleading generations of people by setting up a religion called Judaism which he knew in advance would prove to be inadequate?

Any takers?  I could use your help.

Love you all

Tags: atheist, Christ, Discussion, God, jesus, religion, Theological, town hall, Tuesday, violence

Yes.  He did.  And we are here, only by His gracious act of creation.  If you have been following along with the posts and especially the commentary the last couple of weeks you are aware that creation has been discussed and I hope will continue to be.  No one is denying the fact of creation, just how to interpret the narrative we have that portrays it.  This post is not about creation in a wider sense.  It is about the many questions I have read out there in cyberspace asking what God created.

There is the question asking, did God create evil?  Another asks, did God create sin?  What about, did God create time?

Some believe He created evil and sin for example, so that we can experience good and His mercy.  Some believe He had to create time because He does not experience duration or sequence because He is infinite, but because we are finite we had to have time created to experience the same.  Some of these concepts are definitely brain twisters and the most vocal of the believers in these things end most of the discussions with the argument of God being so far beyond, above, mysterious, and such that we should not attempt to even ponder them.  Logic seems to have no place for determining what God is like.

I have other questions.  If we need evil to experience good, then how in the heavens are we going to experience good in eternity?  Isn’t the promise that evil will be gone?  Is evil a noun; is it something with independent existence?  Or is it just what occurs when Gods ways are not followed? The same goes for sin.  Isn’t it really just a turning from the path God set before us, missing the mark, as it is defined?

God is good because he said so.  Good has independent existence because God exists.  But God never, ever, said He was evil.  Isn’t evil really just a measurement, as is sin, of how much we are unlike God or how far we or our actions are from Him.  Did God create large, small, sweet, sour, pretty, ugly and such, or are these just descriptives and measurements of the things He did create?  Evil and sin are not things.  They are what things that are created do.

Time is in the same ballpark.  It is a measurement of sequence and duration.  Again, do we say that God created height, or depth, or diameter?  Or aren’t these just concepts that we use to relate to creation?  To me, time fits this description.  I once thought of God as timeless and above and outside time and it gave me nothing but headaches.  Upon further study, prayer, reflection and discussion I have come to the conclusion that this is a manmade concept and is not only unbiblical, it actually goes against much of the biblical witness.

As I read the love letter to mankind that we call the bible, I see a God that desires relationships with His creations.  I see a God that experiences sequence and duration.  A God that asks things like, how long?  How much?  When?  All of these things point far away from timelessness.  In eternity, if God does not experience time, meaning duration and sequence, then how will we relate to Him then?  It will be no better than it is here.

God is everlasting to everlasting.  God simply always was and always is and always will be.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, which are actually finite terms meaning the beginning and the end.  These do not point to timelessness either.  They actually point us to the fact that we find our beginning and ending only in Him.

Did God create…?

As far as evil, sin, and time go, I say no.  It just does not fit the picture of the Father that Jesus painted for us.  Instead we find that He is good, He is perfect, and He will be there with us and for us.  Hallelujah.

Love you all

Tags: alpha and the omega, Beginning, Bible, Creation, Discussion, Ending, Eternity, Evil, Father, God, Good, hallelujah, Heaven, jesus, King, Mercy, Perfect, relationship, Relationships

You probably read the title and might be wondering what in the world I am talking about.  Atheism was not as hard as what?  The answer is atheism was not as hard as Christianity.  At this point some of you are probably thinking I am crazy, but hold on.  Am I?  Do you find Christianity easy?  If you do then I simply have to ask which Jesus you are following.

I know, before some of you even say it, loving a wonderful, merciful, savior is easy.  Loving God as Father is easy also.  He is so very easy to love when you get a taste of His incomprehensible mercy, amazing grace, and unsurpassable peace.  The very real fact that He rescued me from the jaws of death, literally, and an eternal destination far from Him, and even from enslavement by sin and service to the enemy makes it easy for me to love Him.

But is that all Christianity is?

No, it is not.  Christianity, no matter how a postmodern society and church defines it, is really about or should be about, following, serving, and doing as that easy to love Savior-King, Jesus, commanded us.  And He commanded us not only to love Him but to love everybody else too.  We must love our spouses as He loves the church-His body and bride.  We must love our families by obeying our parents and caring and instructing our children.  We must love our brothers in the family of God because anyone that hates his brother is a murderer.  We must love our neighbors even as we love ourselves and we know that we love ourselves very dearly.  We must even love our enemies and show it by turning the other cheek and giving them our coat when they steal our shirt.

This is a love that goes against our very natures.  When someone does not love us like we love them we tend to draw away, to hold back.  But this is in direct opposition to our instructions.  When I am faced by someone that does not reciprocate the love I try to develop I must try even harder.  When I am faced with bitter words coming from a loved one I am to keep quiet instead of retaliating.  When I am faced by ridicule, slander, or hurtful invective I am supposed to pray blessing upon that person.  None of this is easy.  But it is necessary.

It is necessary if we are going to be effective in our mission.  It is necessary if we are going to help win some to the cause of the Kingdom.  It is necessary if we are going to achieve unity in the Body.  It is necessary if we are going to be like our King.

Yes, atheism was easy in comparison.  All I had to do was be self-centered and admit it instead of deny it like we seem to do when we are born again.  Joining Christ’s cause did not automatically take away my self-centeredness.  I also recognized that I pretty much hated everyone and cared little about anyone except sometimes in a self-centered way.  Hate is easy but the eventual destination is not anything I would wish on my worst enemy.  And that is what love is all about.  It is about being truly concerned for the eventual eternal destination of everyone we know or meet.  But loving everyone in a magnanimous, sacrificial way is so very hard at times.

Atheism was not this hard.  But where was the challenge in it.

Love you all

Tags: amazing grace, Atheism, Christian, Christianity, Church, Death, Enemy, Father, God, Grace, jesus, Kingdom, Lie, Mercy, mission, Murder, neighbor, Self, Service