Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God

 

“Batter My Heart, Three-Personed God” (c. 1610)

“Batter my heart, three-personed God, for You
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend.
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurped1 town to another due,
Labor to admit You, but Oh! to no end.
Reason, Your viceroy2 in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love You, and would be loved fain3,
But am betrothed unto Your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again;
Take me to You, imprison me, for I,
Except You enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me.”

-John Donne (1572-1631)

1 usurped means something that is taken when it is not theirs to take. (like a younger son taking the older brothers birth right) but in this txt it means that the town is being overrun by somebody of whom it does not belong.
2 viceroy- the deputy of the sovereign, who is appointed to rule a country or province
3 fain means gladly, willingly

 

“SPIRITUAL BURNOUT” … there is no such thing as

… Roger Woodward, Jr.

He sat relaxing in our front room. Our three small children were in bed for the night. The dark of night matched the despair that registered on the face of my wife across the room. I was excited about the prospects of a long awaited vacation, but I soon backed off when I realized her total disinterest and depression.

“I feel like such a failure, Roger.” Tears filled her eyes as she said: “I just feel like I’m not getting enough done at church, I’m such a failure.”

I saw a tired woman, weary with church life and at present in deep despair. She was doing all she could, but she felt it wasn’t enough. Her depression, rejection, and feelings of failure are familiar to thousands in C of C Churches today.

They are faithful to attend all of the services of the church. Giving is the first thing in their budget. During the worship services they observe all of the prescribed ritual, being very careful so that God will accept their sacrifice. When committees, programs, or projects are organized they are among the first to volunteer, so that the Lord will know that they love Him. These poor lambs finally “Burnout”, and they say, “Why me Lord?”

These unfortunate ones have little spiritual strength to draw from. They trust the church for such and it is a void. In their state of church exhaustion, they become disillusioned and, as we sometimes say, “They slipped through the cracks.” They are lost to the church.

Still, many more who have not slipped through the cracks are running close to the line. They may put on a good front, but most are empty on the inside, just hoping no one will find out! Their spiritual temperature is almost zero. They are eating religious food of no substance.

During my years in the church I visited many “church delinquents”. The following statements are not uncommon. “I am sick of my empty religious life”; or “What is the use? I can’t do enough”; or “I don’t understand all of the pettiness”; or “All of my work for the church has exhausted me”; or “This can’t be right because I’m so miserable.”

Some say, about these disillusioned saints, who have left the church, that the devil has won a victory. If that is the answer, it only raises more questions. Jesus ascended victorious over all the powers of hell! He said:

“I will build my community … those called out by God. Death will not overpower them” (Matt. 16:18 SEB).

Something is wrong if the devil can blow followers away so easily.

The religious world calls this “spiritual burnout”. They are asking, “Why are people dropping out or moving to the back seats and living on the edge?” They are saying, “Where shall we look to stop the swelling river of church faithfuls who are being swept out of our ranks?”

“Institutional Church Burnout” is the real problem. It is not “Spiritual Burnout”. The spirit of man is not subject to burnout!

Paul said:

“Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (II Cor. 4:16 NIV).

 

Jesus said:

“My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30 NIV).

 

Before Jesus came, the Pharisees dedicated themselves to keeping the law of Moses, called the Torah They were a closed circle into which only the faithful were welcome. They separated themselves from the sinners outside

The fact is, the demand of the Law was simple:

“.. but love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18 NIV).

Not comfortable with this simplicity, the Pharisees added over 600 laws of their own, which they claimed would keep man from breaking God’s law

Now they were practicing religion, but the list of meaningless rules was keeping them from pursuing love.

Within the sacred circle were laws for all of life. Rules for dress, for food and drink, for where to go and not to go; rules for acceptable associates, for divorce, for how to pray, fast, and keep the Sabbath.

The secular Israelites, the common people, were constantly reminded of the rules. They experienced feelings of guilt because they could not live up to the standards of holiness that the Pharisees had established. (Sound familiar?)

How well the man-made rules were kept, was considered to be an indication of how close they stood to God.

However, God cannot be reached by the keeping of man-made laws and the doing of man-made rituals. Jesus did not come to bring us a new religion ladened with new laws. He came to make void such “religion”. He said:

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).

Our relationship with God is not expressed by “acts of worship” carried out behind stained glass windows. Nor is it measured in “doing” church required activities at our dedicated real estate-the church building. It is reaching out to the down-trodden. It is:

… to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27 NIV).

This is God’s view, and it should be ours, if we intend to please Him.

It was because of the religion of form imposed by the Pharisees that Jesus:

“had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mat. 9:36 NIV).

 

To these sheep, weary and exhausted by all of the burdens laid on them by religion, Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 NIV).

 

Today God has no earthly sanctuary except the consecrated human heart. God has no church buildings. There is no certain place to go to perform prescribed “acts of worship”. The C of C Church today is an organization of our own design. There is a veil over our eyes. The church has become a false security blanket used to deceive mankind

Today, in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, there are no holy days, no earthly holy places, no earthly holy things. These all belong to the era of law. We have returned to living B.C. lives in an A.D. world. Jesus said:

My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36 NIV).

 

For the follower of Jesus, there are no holy days simply because there are no unholy days. Every day is a high feast day, the Lord’s day.

As a follower of “the way”, we do not go up to the house of God. We are the house of the living God! When a building is full of saints, it is full of “sanctuaries”.

Man-devised religion brings “church burnout” It leaves one depleted of all spiritual strength, exhausted in one’s attempts to please God. We have been burdened with all the rules and formulas that religion has imposed on us through our professional ministry system. We are crushed by those who intend to take charge of our spiritual welfare. Submitting to man’s laws has produced a spiritual police state-the church!

When Grace came, the list of rules for worship was done away with and replaced with a living Person. To be yoked to Him gives rest.

“. . .and you will find rest –relief, ease and refreshments and re-creation and blessed quiet for your souls” (Amplified Bible).

 

Look at what Paul says we are and what we do because of grace through faith

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10 NIV).

 

There are no rules for man to add, no patterns of worship to labor under, no church to play. It seems silly to go to “worship services”, perform “acts of worship”, listen to sermons, give to the Church treasury, and to look for patterns when the sacred writings are silent about such.

And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25 NIV).

 

Jesus warned His disciples:

“… Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees” (Mk. 8:15 NIV).

 

He saw the deadly doctrine for what it was.

Today he might say: “Watch out for the yeast of the elders, preachers, editors, and other keepers of the gate.” We should see their doctrine as deadly, because it is often an imitation of Judaism filtered through hundreds of years of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism

When Paul wrote to the Colossians, who were hung-up on festivals, new moons, sabbaths, fasting and the like, he said:

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him’ (Col. 3:17 NIV).

 

I recommend that we all accept that just like it is.

If you are one of those who has just come out of the dark cave of institutionalized churchism, now blinking in the light, you may be wondering, “What do I do if there is no church in my life to direct and guide me”?

It’s major surgery to change so dramatically one’s point of view in order to understand what following Jesus really requires of us. It is the giving of our life to people in a caring, loving way instead of giving our life to church organizations and programs.

Those in Christ are upheld by their total commitment to the Ultimate Being There is no greater security than that. Your future is more secure than the ground you walk on. Security is not in things of the world, nor in forms, patterns, or traditions, but Jesus the Christ. If we trust in Him, who can threaten? Nothing can separate us from our Father. Thanks be to God for His overwhelming victory.

If we look at the teaching of Jesus we will see that the taproot of a person’s security is in giving of ourselves to one another To the lawyer He said, “It can’t be in your legal rules”. To the young ruler He said, “It can’t be in your accumulation”. To Nicodemus He said, “It can’t be in your position in life” To all of us He has said, “You must turn loose of everything in which you trust so you can trust in Me” This is why He said to His disciples:

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3 NIV).

 

The Lord spent a great deal of time telling His followers what not to trust in. To those who trusted in status He said, “Don’t”. In respectability He said, “Don’t” In religion He said, “Don’t”. To those who trusted in piety (super religion) HE said, “Don’t” In morality He said, “Don’t”. In an institution or a system He said, “Don’t”. When anyone sought to obtain life from anything except a direct trusting relationship with God, Jesus cut the umbilical cord. There is no other source of spiritual strength other than Jesus

None of the religions, traditions, or opinions upon which the masses today depend can give us spiritual sustenance. The only sustainer is Jesus the Christ.

With Jesus you can say:

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13 NIV).

 

There is nothing left out. The Christian is not deficit in any way because he has trusted not only in Him,but in nothing but Him. When the believer understands this he will say, “I don’t need the institutional church to direct and control what I do in serving my Lord.”

I am a child of God, uniquely and wonderfully made. He is equal to all of my needs. I have no crutches, I have been given strong legs. I have no church glasses, I have been given good eyes. So, how do I proceed in life? I enter each day and each relationship seeking to do what I should do in each situation.

A good guideline for our life is, “Do in each situation what I should do.” This means that my responsibilities are not the same as those of others because I’m not the same as other people. My eyes do not see the same needs that others see. My convictions are not precisely the same as others. My capabilities are not the same as others.

Because another can do something that I can’t, or did not see, does not imply any obligation for me. It does not mean that I should feel guilty or inferior because someone else is capable of handling a situation that I can’t.

One person’s talent may be to provide a meal, another to start a car, or provide a listening ear, or give a loving heart. None of these people can change places and do not need to.

None of them need to feel insecure or inferior. Each should do what he or she can do on that day.

It’s hard to imagine anyone being more tender and loving than Jesus was. This has to be the example for all our lives.

Paul said:

“… are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord” (II Cor. 3:18 NIV).

 

When the Syro-Phoenician woman came to Jesus and touched the hem of His garment, Jesus turned to her and she felt guilty seeking a blessing that she had no right to have. Jesus expressed such love, tenderness, and forgiveness to her that it touches every heart to read the story. The leper that came to Jesus said, “If you want you can make me clean”. Jesus said, “I want to!” and touched him so gently and so tenderly, healing him. The woman, caught in adultery, was hurt and humiliated by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. The Lord, who had the right to condemn, said with a heart of compassion, “neither do I condemn you”. On the other side, it’s hard to imagine anyone being more tough than He was when He cleansed the temple. I can see Him, eyes blazing with fire, blood vessels throbbing in His temples, His face white with anger, His words like a rifle shot: “GET OUT!”

There is no way Jesus could give you a program that says do this in this situation and do something else in that situation. The bottom line of your response must be love. When Jesus found himself facing the cross, it was not an option with Him. His love and His mercy were that great.

Our response of love means we must obey God rather than man. This means we must be fully capable and willing to pay the price of making a choice between what God calls us to do, and what our human traditions, and well-meaning friends are tugging at us to do.

Live everyday in loving service to your Lord. Sunday will no longer be a special day. Jesus will be your sabbath, and your life of worship will be 24 hours a day everyday. You can, with the help of the Spirit, make every act and word of your life to be worship, adoration, and praise to Almighty God and Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior. There will be no “church burnout” because you won’t be busy “playing church,” and being organized needlessly, into what the world now calls “spiritual burnout.”

A poem by Emma Lazarus, is inscribed on a tablet in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It includes:

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

If you are yearning to breathe, free from “church burnout”, try Jesus.

 

 

I Just Listen to the Music

Tue Nov 10, 2009 … 8:02am

Even as young as ten years old I recall hearing teenagers say this in response to a concerned person asking them about the music they were listening to. More specifically the concern stems from the concerned person listening to “the words” that are in the music and considering the message of the lyrics. “I’m just listening to the music” the teenager would respond. Even in my early teen years I remember thinking about this statement. Thinking to myself “Is it really possible to just listen to the music and not be influenced by the words?”. And now almost three decades later I can understand where this is possible and where this is impossible. And as I write that now I think to myself, if they were really just listening to the music then why aren’t they listening to songs with lyrics in a language that they don’t understand. There are quickly a dozen answers to that latter question but the point I am making is still relevant.

“Music influences our soul” is just one of many related sentiments quoted by so many men and women that the world considers to be great people.

Now … just as music “influences the soul” so I believe everything that we look at, touch, taste, and feel influences us. Many a proud self reliant person has said that ‘they’ won’t be influences by outside stimuli such as music or television. However these same “I’m just listening to the music” people are the same people who time after time have not been able to see far enough in the future to know that they would one day be singing along with words that they (at that point) fully understand.

It’s unavoidable ! … I remember being a teenager and envying those that were able to remember and sing along with the words. It seemed that those that could remember the words got the attention of the other kids. I wanted that attention. I wanted others, especially girls, to be mesmerized as I parroted off a few lines of what was popular. But despite my best efforts I couldn’t remember neaerly a third of what “the popular” kids seemed to be able to remember. Now despite my inability to remember these words, I am to this day still have bits and pieces of songs go through my head when I am not trying. My point is I am influenced even now by words that I was incabable of memorizing; only because i listened to the songs so many time. Sadly there are those who do not believe they can be influenced by things on a “less than conscious” level.

And God, who I often remind others is a lot smarter than us, in His wisdom gave us some instructions regarding the things we should be influenced by. “… whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” … Philippians 4:8

And in another place “Everything is permissable, but not everything is beneficial” … 1 Corinthians 10:23 … Can we think for a moment that the songs of my past or the song of our children’s present are able to “fit the bill” of what God would say is “good, pure, holy, etc”. Here are a few modern examples from music on the charts this decade:

• I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas … It’s songs like this that I ‘hope’ are going to have a good message. I mean, it sounds putting good to begin with but then you get into the rest of the lyrics it doesn’t take rocket science to get that the kind of “good night” that this guy is talking about involves getting “wasted” and getting laid. Yes in my “B.C. days” this is the kind of thing that I would have looked ’so’ look forward to. But now I know that God is a lot smarter than I am and has great reasons why we should keep these kinds of things off our minds and out of our hearts.
• Your Guardian Angel – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus … again, a song about devotion to something (usually a someone) other than God. Yes from a world perspective you might easily say (so what’s the big deal). But then there is a reason the scriptures teach us to be devoted to nothing else other than the one that gave us life; our heart’s should be undivided. A human being makes a poor replacement for the place that God is suppose to inhabit inside each of us. … Admittedly the song is beautiful though. And this beauty is enticing. If I didn’t “know better” I would spend hours enjoying and filling my mind with songs such as these.
• Year 3000 – Jonas Brothers … This was a harmless song for me. But then I am open minded enough to know that it is harmless for me because I have no struggles with having my mind so full of science fiction fantasy that it would distract me from God’s thoughts in any given moment. For for someone else this song might not be harmless. The scriptures say in many places that ‘His’ people are continually praying, unceasingly remembering, and always rejoicing in Him. … That doesn’t leave much room for many other thoughts does it?
• One Time – Justin Bieber … “Love” songs are some of the most dangerous songs to listen to in regard to anyone seeking God’s will. The reason for this is that, of all things, God is spoken of as ‘being’ Love. This may sound contradictory but hear me out for a moment. Is God “a feeling”? Is got a beat of your heart or a bunch of “butterflies in your stomach”?; of course not. … The enemy has skillfully twisted what “love” ‘is’ into something that God is not. And as a result our ideas of God are often twisted into things that God is not. A hundred thousand words need to be written on this aspect of it.
• Voices – Randy Orton … What else can I say about this song that hasn’t been written. “Sorta like WWJD, only in this case Jesus would kick you in the skull instead of pull you up if he saw you down.”. ‘Nuff said; nothin’ “good” about that.
• You Belong With Me
  Lyrics by Taylor Swift … a song about a woman who is ’so’ consumed by the idea of convincing a man that she should be the one that is his. Whoah! If the reason we were put on this planet was to learn to be devoted to God, do you think that God wants us to instead live that life learning to be infatuated with another person?
• In The End – Linkin Park … Ok another one of those “debatable” songs in so many senses. But if your goal in life is a Philippians 4:8 thing, would you honestly choose to listen to this? If so I am looking forward to learning your reasons why ‘you’ do. Perhaps this will give me some incite into being better able to understand other’s reasons as well.

Now I’m not daft enough to believe that anyone should make an “off limits” list of music that no one is permitted to listen to. There are have been times in my life that songs like the above have been good for me to listen to just for a couple of minutes because they reminded me of something other than the intended message of the lyrics. While listening to songs like the above I have had thoughts like “Wow, the world is so subtly twisted. So skillfully and subtly twisted by the enemy as to get music lovers to redefine “good things” and no longer be able to recognize something of God.

And especially regarding “love” songs, I can think of many men and women that have an “innocent crush” on someone other than the person they are supposedly in a “committed relationship” with. This is a mindset that has been taught to us as innocent by a twisted modern culture. God has another plan regarding male female relationships. It goes along the lines of devoted yourself to God and then, when ‘God’ is ready it will make it clear to you if He has chosen someone for you to be with. And amazingly God doesn’t even need you to “date” in order to help Him figure that out :-)

When You Fast

It’s hard not to look at fasting like it’s a way that will help me lose weight, or to associate fasting with the “oh what a great” feeling that I had at various times I’ve fasted in the past. The temptations to look at it in some other way other than the way that I ’should’ look at it adds to the difficulty of looking at it the way that I should.

Naturally I am a man that wants to go my own way. I want to figure things out, resolve problems, and feel good about what I’ve been able to do. About what ‘I’ am able to do. This is my nature, my self reliant nature that is by and large separate from God. To go my own way is in it’s own admission, to go in a direction that is separate from God’s. It is impossible to go my own way and be submissive to God’s will at the same time. Here is where fasting comes in for me; at least in one aspect of it. If you could imagine for a moment, my sinful nature;strong looking, just a little off light colored, attractive but murky. However keep in mind that though it ‘is’ attractive, and it’s qualities can be twisted to look good, that these qualities are all in their essence separate from God.

In my illustration I used the phrase “strong looking”. Now it is my sinful nature’s nature to feed itself. It is hungry and it’s nature is to satisfy it’s desires; paramount in this is it’s desire for pleasure. It doesn’t matter what kind of pleasure as long as it can find a weakness in me to exploit. If my weakness is food then it will exploit my desire for it, if my weakness is the desire for women then it will try to fill my heart with it’s desire for them. Whatever it is, it will be motivated at it’s core to feed … on what is carnal (see, hear, feel, touch, taste). This might include any number of things that would, in a non Christ following context, be labeled under the category of “fun”. Nothing against fun by the way, it’s just a poor reason to get up in the morning when compared to the riches of knowing Christ. That however is another subject entirely.

But now I know it’s weakness; it can not be denied. It can not have it’s appetite dispossessed. This is where fasting comes in. Food, is such a basic desire of human nature. If you take it away from the sinful nature the body will live much longer than the sinful nature can stand. Even after a day or two that dark inner personae can ’start’ to deflate. And forget it, if you have the regular habit of fasting one day a week, that dark symbiont will have no desire to hang out in a body that isn’t devoted to listen, taste, and touch; everything that it wants.

By and large in my life I have always had more food than I needed. Even by the standards given by many nutrition charts that I’ve examined over and over again in my life. And so often I’m not eating to feed my body. If I am honest I realize that I am eating to feed my desire. Jesus set an example for us of denying ourselves of what the body desires Mark 8:34-35. We are called to do the same Gal 5:24. “If you fast” was never a question for the 1st century believers, it was a question of ‘when’ you fast Mat 6:16–18. And spiritual food from the father is more important than physical food for the body. Jn 4:32

Deleted Off the Pastor’s Friend’s List

Wow … I just got deleted off of the friend’s list of a previous pastor; or should I rather say ‘my’ previous pastor. wow. …. All I did was send him an email asking him a few questions. Questions that are so honest that I’ve even posted them here on my blog so that others can see.

I changed the name below because I’m not interested in slandering the guy. And although there is a ‘part’ of me that wants to “bring him out”, I realize that I don’t have to bring anyone out. That God is fully capable of bringing things to light if ‘he’ desire it. And God isn’t interested in being impatient with anyone; in this life God has taught me that He takes his time because he wants everyone to “turn around” from their own ways and give in into His ways. Thank God He ‘has’ given me His patience.

Timothy L. Gott November 4 at 9:50am
One of the things that I like about Facebook is the open forum, a sort of a group discussion where everyone is able to learn and grow from each other.

I checked for the comment that I made on your profile and it is gone. … That actually hurt a little bit because I put a lot of thought and effort in my comment and thought it was valuable. There is always the possibility that there was some sort of Facebook glitch or you deleted it on accident, or perhaps I’m looking for my comment in the wrong place.

However the likelihood of the former seems a little less than the likelihood that you intentionally deleted my comment. If that is true, would you have “deleted” my comment during a small group?

Pastor G. November 4 at 7:13pm
Tim, don’t take it personally. I use facebook to just communicate a simple, friendly, positive message…like God wants to bless you. I don’t have the time to debate through multiple comment exchanges. If someone honestly doesn’t know where I’m coming from and asks a question is one thing. But someone like you, who is a theologian and is just wanting to wrangle about the prosperity message…that’s not what I use FB for…sorry. Again, I’m keeping it simple and delete “counterpoint” messages like this frequently. I’m not interested in this forum for that. Thanks for understanding.

Timothy L. Gott November 4 at 7:48pm
What do you mean by theologian … I’m not even in the possession of a business degree let alone a doctorate in theology :-)

I’ll let this sit and digest this for a little while. … My wife just got home and I should get her to sleep early tonight (there’s twelve hours difference here).

Thank you for taking the time out for a thoughtful reply to my email. Have a good night … well night for me day for you :-) … take care and do God’s stuff !

Pastor G. November 4 at 7:58pm
cool

Timothy L. Gott November 5 at 8:57am
> I use facebook to just communicate a simple, friendly, positive message…like God wants to bless you. I don’t have the time to debate through multiple comment exchanges.

Do you often have people that are interested in debating through multiple comment exchanges? If you do then that might explain why you might have thought that was my intention. As far as debates go, I picture a “debate” being something where there are several exchanges back in forth where no one benefits.

Though I am eager to learn and to help others to learn, I can’t think of a single time over the last several months that I have responded more than twice in any facebook exchange. I figure one response to “put my thoughts out there”, and a second response might be needed to add clarification. However after that I don’t think a multiple goings back and forth would be edifying for anyone. In everything I pray that God will lead me by His Spirit.

My intention relates to this Facebook medium. I’m hoping for a ‘group’ discussion where everyone learns from each other; sort of a virtual smallgroup … I’m certainly no theologian. That is as long as the definition of a theologian hasn’t been reduced to what the Bereans did (the whole daily examination of scriptures thing),.

Before God gave me faith I used to use the sentiment of others “not taking things personally” quite often. I used to use this management technique as a buffer between myself and the statewide organization that I was running. Specifically as a buffer between the rules that I had set and the people that were affected by them. It was a way of emotionally detaching myself from the way that others were affected by those rules so I could focus on what I thought was best for the organization.

God changed that when I realized what he has done for me. He gave his ‘Son’ for me. He has loved me so much and there is ‘no’ buffer between him and me. He ‘is’ affected by the way that I feel; and even as I write these words I can’t help but be affected by the way He feels. Yes, I love him because he loved me first. He has taught me by his example that there is no exchange too little or too great for me to address with as much time or as little time as He would lead me to use to address it. To the world and it’s “time management” philosophies, this is foolishness; but God is my “Executive Director”. He has laid out where and how my time should be used and I will submit to Him as best as I can get this sinful nature of mine to do so.

As far as “a lot of back and forth” goes you don’t have to be too concerned about that. If you reply to the above (in whatever way God leads you) then I am appreciative of that. If the Spirit leads you to not reply at all, then I am appreciative of that. However if you or anyone says that they are my brother in the faith and they come up with their ‘own’ ideas about how they should manage ‘their’ time (as if that time really belonged to themselves) then I am here to correct them if it is the Spirit of God that leads me to do so. I am even more eager to be corrected. I find so few followers of Christ are willing to be used by the Spirit to that however; they’re too busy.

Be Blessed!

It’s the same thing as Video City

One of the teens made an interesting comment to me this morning; a line of thought that I had not considered. “Downloading pirated movies again I see.”. My comment didn’t have a chance to even lose it’s moment before she replied “It’s the same thing as Video City.”.

I had nothing to say in response to that. I had nothing to say because I had two lines of thought and I didn’t know which one, if either, would be of any benefit at that moment. “Wow” I thought to myself, “if this teen really did think that Video City was renting pirated movies than that shows that this teen’s conscience has no problem with watching stolen movies from ‘any’ source as long as they can watch the movies. This just confirms how little this teen must know about what Jesus and the apostles taught about the seriousness of what we do against God’s will … in consideration of Heb 10:26-27 … What someone wants to watch is another story.

Now there are ’some’ debatable issue in life ( Rom 14:1 ) which we should not go back and forth about. If anyone doesn’t think that taking something “for free”, without the permission of the owners, which others are selling in stores isn’t stealing; then well there isn’t much for me to debate. It might be helpful for me to understand ‘why’ they don’t think that is stealing though. Usually those that are doing this like to bring up issues of how much the owners are charging for the product or how they can’t afford it. How would either of those points make stealing ok to a God that could give us anything anything He wants to give us. I think if God doesn’t give us enough to have more than food and clothing, than He must in his divine wisdom know that we don’t need those things.

And as for the point about Video City having pirated videos, well there is no way I could know that for sure, just as it would be so hard to be sure if ‘any’ DVD or SVCD were pirated. All I can say is that this news article and also this report I read and the licensing information that I looked at, make it difficult to believe that the Video SVCDs are of the pirated variety. Yes, it’s still possible. But just quite unlikely.

I think that, as a God that searches the heart, that God is looking for those that are ’so’ affected by what they know was done for them through the sacrifice of his Son, that they will do everything they can to fight their inner self gratifying natures. Does this mean we will be perfect, no. But each of us can answer the question ourselves as to whether we are doing ‘everything’ to fight that inner self seeking nature for the sake of Christ. Am I fighting that nature at all?; are you?

What Would a Follower of Christ Watch?

First off I’d like to address the title of this journal entry. In very few ways to I believe that I have truly addressed the topic of “What Would a Follower of Christ Watch?”. I believe to address it as if there could be some sort of “do and do not” watch list, would be to reduce God to something stagnant and written. What should and should not be watched is much more personal than I could possibly address below. It has to do with the relationship that each of us might have with the God that gave Jesus for the sacrifice of our sins. Without further ado however, I present the below.
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I had originally started to put this together for a movie night for a group of teens. They wanted me to get this movie list to them a lot quicker than this. However with such a short time left I know that they will not be able to use my recommendations now. So, my primary purpose for composing this is more for reflection and prayer. Most of them will not get to see this until ‘after’ the JCF get together.

JCF Movie List

The following movies were put together by the JCF. As I looked over the list and thought of the titles of the movies, I wondered what each of them “stood for”. I didn’t know the answer to the question however. I also didn’t know whether Christ was in front of every decision that each of them made when selecting the movies.
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In other words did each of them ask theirself “In reflecting on how much God loves me and the life that Jesus has given for me, what kind of things does God want me to listen to and watch? What kinds of things does God want me to be exposed to so I will become the kind of son or daughter that God wants me to be.”. Check out this resource.

How to use the review below

You can click on each of the movie title names in order to see a review that I looked at.
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Facing the Giants

I think this movie looks pretty good. Though I do think the sentiment described in this link is something that should be considered while watching it. Oh, and here is the quote from the previous link “Troubled by it: This response comes, surprisingly enough, from Christians who feel the message of the film is that no matter how bad your problems are, if you turn them over to God, every single problem will come out with the happy ending for which you pray. You’ll get a raise. Someone will replace your old car. Your team will win. Your infertile marriage will be blessed with (multiple) children. Get a grip, they say. God doesn’t work this way.”
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High School Musical (HSM 3)

From what I read about it I like it.
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Twilight

I didn’t think the violence and sensuality were things that any of us (including myself) needed to fill ourselves up with.
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UP

Looks like Fun
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Hannah Montana (The movie)

Not crazy about this movie because of the “worldy” things that it teaches us to admire. I haven’t seen this movie, I’ve only looked at the reviews so I could be wrong. But if I ever watch a movie and I see people get excited because someone has the “cool stuff” or the “cool life” then I immediately think to myself that Jesus and his disciples were the only ones that had the ‘real’ cool life.
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Kimmy Dora

My first impression of this movie was that it was funny and relatively harmless. I’ll spare the reader of some of my more personal convictions regarding the life we should live motivated by Christ. I’ll leave those for another time.
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YaYa & Angelina

I think in “modern society” that are a lot of things that we find amusing that God (in His wisdom) does not want us to find amusing. And if we have the heart of God, if we love the same things that He loves and hate the same things that He hates, then  rebellion will be one of these things. In Rom 1:30-32 we can read how those that are insolent and/or disobey their parents are on equal terms with those that are faithless, heartless, and ruthless. … Do we show that we approve of these kinds of things by our laughter?
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Clover Field

In the first review that I saw I didn’t see anything in the description that seemed too far off base. However I heard Gilbeys mention that there was too much gore in this movie. And since I hadn’t watched it I decided I would trust Gilbeys’ assessment on this. Better to lean on the side of caution. But then I saw this review and a youtube video. And I have to say that the intensity of this film is something that I personally don’t want lurking around in my heart. “Above all else, guard your heart,for it is the wellspring of life.” – Proverbs 4:23
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Death Note 1,2,3

This is a movie about a deranged serial killer and how he tries to take over the world. Is there anything admirable there? “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” - Philippians 4:8

I am Legend

Hopefully I’ll have time to flesh my thoughts out on this one some day. But in short there are a couple of scenes in here that are just a bit too intense and graphic (I don’t even want them “in my head”). If I had an entire day to import the movie into a fast multimedia editing computer I could take out the parts and the story would be completely in tact.
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My First Romance
I will have to review this later.
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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

One of the excerpts that I read of this movie said “Bridget, the soccer player, does manage to seduce the coach, and though he resists at first, finally gives in to his sexy, young pursuer. Afterwards, though, Bridget is devastated and depressed, and she tells her friends that premarital sex left her feeling incomplete, rather than healed.” This is actually one of the problems of movies that are marketed as wholesome or even worse marketed as “christian”. The idea of avoiding premarital sex ‘because’ it leaves you feeling incomplete is totally not something that Christ taught. … If the motivation for living a Godly life isn’t ‘because’ you understand the love that God has given you by the pouring out of the life of his son Jesus, then it is ‘not’ “Christian”.
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Resources you can use in the future
*to help you decide what movies you can both enjoy and ’should’ watch.
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http://www.crosswalk.com/movies/

http://www.crosswalk.com/movies/archives/

http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/

http://www.christiancolleges.com/blog/2009/100-all-time-best-movies-for-christians/

http://www.christiankindred.com/2009/06/how-does-a-christian-decide-which-movies-to-watch/

http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/2008/09/Top-20-Inspirational-Sports-Movies.aspx

Read more >> Options >>

Be a Part of ‘Our’ Ministry

Gratefully God is not phased by TD Jakes pride or arrogance. One of the best things that TD Jakes does is he gives the credit (Glory) to God. But one of the worst things that he does is hail how great his ‘own’ ministry is and sell the idea that others should become a part of ‘that’ ministry. It’s not ‘that’ ministry (his) that anyone should ask others to become a part of. It’s not even the words “I want you to share in this ministry of God” that should ever be said out of someone’s mouth. With the subtle underlying message always going back to whatever ’small’ ‘insignificant’ part that each of us play (including me).

God’s kingdom is ’so’ much bigger than the small part that each of us play. Even if (with worldly eyes) we see millions of people being a part of it and are fooled into believing that it’s size is large. … Large compared to what; God? And I’m not saying that I have never done this myself. It has been rare, but yes I have. And I’m not saying that TD Jakes is alone in this arrogance and pride. Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, pick any biggy or smally. The size of your worldly ministry doesn’t make you immune to this.

We are all evil. It’s important not to dismiss it, sweep it under the table, or to simply say we’re forgiven by Christ and we don’t have to think about our failings or sins anymore. Recognize and admit your own sin (me too) and God is faithful and will forgive you. Check out http://tinyurl.com/gottesteem for more on the “we are evil” part.

Ghosts! – Do They Exist?

Lately the topic of Ghosts has been pretty heavy. I think partially because of the time of the year, and partially because of the upcoming family series. I’m not sure how much value there is in this topic. I recently heard a couple of real life ghost stories. And though I’ve never scene a ghost in my life, at least I don’t think that I have, I ‘do’ believe that they exist. But I am simply not fascinated with them anymore. Not like I used to be before God gave me wisdom in the faith that He has given me.

Being over fascinated with the idea of ghosts is of no value. Prayers “of protection” against ghosts, being overly concerned with them, are also of no value. After all, there is no place in the scriptures (as I can recall at the moment) that teach us to pray for protection against anyone or anything; that is except for “evil” itself, and there is certainly no where in the scriptures that refers to a “ghost” being evil. I have so many favorite scriptures; however regarding the concern for “ghosts” Philippians 4:8 comes to mind. Is there anything good, noble, pure, or right in spending our mind’s time on the topic of ghosts? The only thing valuable I can consider regarding this topic is spending the time teaching others how invaluable it is to fill up one’s time with the idea of Ghosts.

Yes ghosts exist. Yes it is ‘very’ likely if you hear someone saying that they saw one that it is probably true. “Why is it there?”, “What is it trying to communicate?”, “Is it the spirit of someone that you once knew?”; all useless and valueless questions. Let me share with you some useful and valuable questions; “What does Jesus the Christ want for my life today?”, “How can I draw closer to God?”, “What does is God trying to communicate to me today?”.

You see, if it doesn’t advance the kingdom of God then there is no value in it. If I saw one, yes it I would probably be distracted; but just for a moment. Because after that moment of weakness I would then recall the hundreds of hours I have spent in scripture and the wisdom that God has given me on what He really has planned for our lives. Remember the scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus – 2 Tim 3:14-15

The Laundry Woman’s Husband

Just got information about our laundry woman’s husband. She showed up here in tears just a couple of hours ago when I was not here.

One of the problems after the flood is so many people with previous problems (like diabetes) have had wounds that were infected by the dirty standing water as they attempted to save items from their homes and/or clean their homes. Her husband’s wound on his leg has become ’so’ infected that it is already purple now all the way up to the knee.

Just got information about our laundry woman’s husband. She showed up here in tears just a couple of hours ago when I was not here.

One of the problems after the flood is so many people with previous problems (like diabetes) have had wounds that were infected by the dirty standing water as they attempted to save items from their homes and/or clean their homes. Her husband’s wound on his leg has become ’so’ infected that it is already purple now all the way up to the knee.

They may need to amputate later, but for now he needs a shot that will ease the infection and the pain. Our laundry woman is only asking that she can borrow the money. That she will work it off later. But for now her husband is in urgent need.God has given us enough to help with this but it is still hard. I think about the money that I have set aside for the purpose of helping others according to God’s will; but then I also think about money that we were saving for other medical and education “needs” of the family and how that is going down faster than it is going up.

Like most people I have this part of me that wants to believe that it is money that I need in order to provide for what my family needs. The part of me that is unfaithful to God’s promises wants to trust that the money we have set aside is what I will find my security in. However, just as my phrases ablove alludes to, I know that instead I need to trust in God.

Though there is an unfaithful part of me that wants to say trusting in what God has given me is the same thing as trusting in God; I know better. I know that “trust” is intricately bound to the very essence of “love”. So, if I trust in what God has provided me (and my mind is on the wealth that He provided me) then what I am actually trusting in is the wealth itself; as if God was only able to work through money. Though there is nothing wrong with money, the ‘love’ of the stuff is the root of all things that separate us from God.

God has given us the opportunity to give. And moreso I need to remember that He loved me so much through His son to give us life eternal. That was a very hight cost that was paid. And it’s not this world that we are taught by Him to invest in. It is the kingdom that will be prepared for all those that believe.