A New Semester Has Started

Sorry I’ve been away for a week.   Spring Semester at IPFW has started for me, and although I am only taking four classes instead of five, it’s a much heavier workload because all of the classes I’m taking are very reading and writing intensive.  I’ll try to write regularly (if you care) but I can’t promise anything.  Thanks for reading.

A Christian Perspective of History

Check out this article.  Amazing!!!

A Christian Perspective of History

Is It Enough?

Is it enough that I go to church on Sunday?

Is it enough that I sometimes go on Wednesday night?

Is it enough that I teach a class on Sunday to a group of high schoolers who grew up in the

church and don’t really care?

Is it enough that I sometimes teach on Wednesday nights to a group of middle schoolers

who are there because it’s free babysitting for their parents?

Is it enough that I faithfully drop my 10% in the basket every week?

Is it enough that I do my best to obey God’s laws?

Is it enough that I study God’s Word?

When have I fed the hungry? When have I clothed the naked? When have I given water

to those who thirst? When have I visited the lonely, or cared for the sick?

“So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.” Matthew 20:34

“And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:14

“And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34

“Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.’” Matthew 15:32

“‘Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Is it enough?

One of Those “Aha!” Moments…

So I’ve been having a conversation (via email) with my good friend Adam about a recent post of his on his blog. It was called Projected Holiness. It cause quite an uproar with many, including me. Not that anyone was angry(as far as I know), it’s just a sensitive topic. Plenty of misunderstanding. I completely misunderstood his point, and he was kind enough to explain himself further. Which led to the title of this post, when I had an “Aha!” moment. The email is reproduced below. Enjoy!

“maybe I’ll call this ‘comparative holiness’

An action might be sinful for Bob and not sinful for Jim. That is
subjective. With the exception of a specific word from God, the thing that
makes it sinful for Bob is sinful for Jim as well. For example - violent
movies. Bob doesn’t go see violent movies because when he leaves he’s all
stirred up and wants to go kill somebody. Jim can watch violent movies and
just enjoy it (And I’d even wager to say that it even honors God on some
level - not everything that honors God has a “Jesus” stamp on it - the
grass in my back yard even honors God). So their is one action, but the
action sinfulness is subjective.

BUT…..

What made it sinful for Bob (violent emotions) IS sinful for Jim as well.
But that movie didn’t make violent emotions come out in Jim. But the
violent emotions in Jim would still be sinful…. its just that the movie
didn’t do it for Jim.

Another example is Bubba and Dr. Smith. If Bubba sees certain parts of a
woman naked he gets turned on. When Dr. Smith sees certain parts of a
woman naked, he thinks, “You may have cancer here” or “You’re going to
have a baby.” Bubba is sinful because of his lust. Dr. Smith does the same
thing, but (most likely) has no lust in seeing parts of a woman naked. So
the action is sinful for one, not for the other. But the THING that makes
it sinful for Bubba (lust) is STILL sinful for Dr. Smith.

That’s why its so important to strip down the holiness of our actions to
the heart of the issue. Seeing a woman naked isn’t sinful. The lust is.

The exception to this is where God tells someone to not do something… a
specific word from God. This MAY include a “personal conviction.” But it
always includes stuff that God just tells you. “

“Was Jesus Real?”

So I’m looking at my email the other day, and I happen to see an advertisement for a website entitled “jesusneverexisted”. I didn’t open it, because my bloodpressure is high enough already.

But, it got me thinking: what would I do if a non believer asked me that?

How would I respond? What would I use to back it up?

What do you think? I’m interested to hear (read) your thoughts.

The Case For Christ…and Robin Hood?

So, our small group is starting tonight. We’re going to be reading through The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Lee is a former journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He became a Christian while on a quest to prove to his Christian wife that her faith was wrong. The book is the story of his journey.

I love this book. I encourage everyone to get a copy. Also, if you are a young couple under 30 and are interested in this study, you can contact our group leader, Nathan Diehl, at nathan@newhope.in

Now, the Robin Hood thing.

Stephen R. Lawhead is one of my favorite fiction writers. He has re-written many of the legends surrounding King Arthur, using a lot of real historical evidence (unlike the recent movie with Clive Owen, which, while entertaining, is SO inaccurate). I would highly recommend his works, as he skillfully, and subtly, interweaves his Christian faith into his books. His latest, Hood puts a much different spin on the Robin Hood legends, using some very early source material that indicates a Welsh origin for the legend. Good stuff!!

What’s your favorite book? If it really is the Bible, great! But I’d like to know what book besides the Bible is your favorite.

Oh, yeah, Happy 2007. Good luck remembering to write 2007 instead of 2006.