To Believe and Follow

The Perfect Illustration

Don't believe for a moment that this only relates to advertising. This video perfectly illustrates the strategy of the father of lies. Satan desires to take the natural and make it unnatural making you believe it is supernatural. Read Genesis 3.

It applies to politics as well. Where else can we be duped into believing that while living in the wealthiest, most free, most moral (still, believe it or not) country in the world. Can the country whose economic model has created the most innovation, done the most for healthcare worldwide, transportation, communication technology and just technology period really be held up as an ugly Betty in need of a worldwide image facelift? Are we really ready to believe that any government can do better than individuals given the freedom to create, especially this government who has not proven they can do anything but create a military properly? Shall we use Medicare or Medicaid as our example? Social Security? Welfare? No Child Left Behind? CAFE standards?

If we do not trust the CEOs of business that are "too big to fail," why would we trade all of those in for one giant business (the Federal government)? Do we think politicians are more ethical than Enron executives?

I saw on the news last night that Iraq is getting Twittered up and more Iraqis than ever are getting online, a result of their newfound freedom. But I thought the war was a failure and immoral?

We are watching the civil equivalent of a breakdown of truth in advertising.  It was Josh Billings who said: "As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand." It is left to those who have the spiritual discernment to speak up, both in the voting booth and in the marketplace. Whether we are talking about the world's definition of beauty, or political power-mongers, our children cannot afford for their parents to give away what was entrusted to them.

We're trampling on the blessings God gave to us in the form of the greatest nation in history, The United States of America.

Resurrection Proliferation

Easter is to Satan what nuclear weapons were to the Japanese emperor of '45. Easter is checkmate. And while nuclear weapons represent the worst of human destructive potential, Easter is reserved for destroying destruction itself. It is the ultimate in guided missiles and never destroys innocent civilians. In fact, when it explodes it creates innocent civilians. It blows away the penalty of sin while leaving the sinner clean.

Ground zero of Easter is death itself, removing it's stranglehold on the human race and stretching a ladder that reaches from the burning building of this world's system to the light and glory of God's presence. Easter offers freedom, and the fragrance of the resurrection flower is a strange smell to those who pack the concentration camps of Satan's kingdom. The kingdoms of the millions of churches around the world are to the enemy the terrible sound of warplanes thundering destruction from the air to the tyranny of darkness.

The truth of the resurrection offers freedom to the captive, and we are all born captive. Bondage keeps us from experiencing freedom, from desiring freedom, and even from understanding freedom.

We are the frog born in the kettle. We live in the filth and degradation of sin and don't feel it because we are accustomed to it and know nothing else. We're like the woman who has had migraine headaches for 30 years and lived with it because she thought it was normal. Once she received treatment to relieve her pain, she awakened to a new world.

We are the children born into the crazy, religious cult, who live in fear and convinced we are undeserving of anything better. We take our meager scraps of existence from our master until grace sets us free. And even still, we must re-learn to live life in the new world.

We are the addict, whose world grows ever more narrow until there is nothing but the drug. No family, no sunshine, no joy can penetrate our world. We serve the next fix, and the dealer who owns our souls. So when Easter detoxifies our souls we still must learn to live without the familiar, and get to know family, and understand overwhelming joy.

When Jesus comes, we find a thirst for freedom we didn't know we had. Most preachers talk about how people came to the cross thirsty and tired of their wretched lives of sin. Some certainly do, but most don't realize just how thirsty and wretched their lives were until they taste the freedom in Christ. Once we taste we want more, in direct proportion to the bondage we were in.  Jesus pointed out "he who is forgiven much, loves much."

May the bomb of grace explode in our lives, destroying what we thought we couldn't live without and replacing it with genuine joy and freedom; and especially an affection for our creator that absorbs our attention like Facebook absorbs so many teenagers.

God loves people.

Resurrection Proliferation

Easter is to Satan what nuclear weapons were to the Japanese emperor of '45. Easter is checkmate. And while nuclear weapons represent the worst of human destructive potential, Easter is reserved for destroying destruction itself. It is the ultimate in guided missiles and never destroys innocent civilians. In fact, when it explodes it creates innocent civilians. It blows away the penalty of sin while leaving the sinner clean.

Ground zero of Easter is death itself, removing it's stranglehold on the human race and stretching a ladder that reaches from the burning building of this world's system to the light and glory of God's presence. Easter offers freedom, and the fragrance of the resurrection flower is a strange smell to those who pack the concentration camps of Satan's kingdom. The kingdoms of the millions of churches around the world are to the enemy the terrible sound of warplanes thundering destruction from the air to the tyranny of darkness.

The truth of the resurrection offers freedom to the captive, and we are all born captive. Bondage keeps us from experiencing freedom, from desiring freedom, and even from understanding freedom.

We are the frog born in the kettle. We live in the filth and degradation of sin and don't feel it because we are accustomed to it and know nothing else. We're like the woman who has had migraine headaches for 30 years and lived with it because she thought it was normal. Once she received treatment to relieve her pain, she awakened to a new world.

We are the children born into the crazy, religious cult, who live in fear and convinced we are undeserving of anything better. We take our meager scraps of existence from our master until grace sets us free. And even still, we must re-learn to live life in the new world.

We are the addict, whose world grows ever more narrow until there is nothing but the drug. No family, no sunshine, no joy can penetrate our world. We serve the next fix, and the dealer who owns our souls. So when Easter detoxifies our souls we still must learn to live without the familiar, and get to know family, and understand overwhelming joy.

When Jesus comes, we find a thirst for freedom we didn't know we had. Most preachers talk about how people came to the cross thirsty and tired of their wretched lives of sin. Some certainly do, but most don't realize just how thirsty and wretched their lives were until they taste the freedom in Christ. Once we taste we want more, in direct proportion to the bondage we were in.  Jesus pointed out "he who is forgiven much, loves much."

May the bomb of grace explode in our lives, destroying what we thought we couldn't live without and replacing it with genuine joy and freedom; and especially an affection for our creator that absorbs our attention like Facebook absorbs so many teenagers.

God loves people.

The Fall of Capitalism

It is likely that the U.S. will never recover from the agenda of the Obama administration. Most evangelical believers feared what might come of his being elected, but the focus was most likely on judicial appointments, foreign policy, taxes, moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and gay rights. I could list pages more of things people expected would happen, but how many expected that in the first quarter of his term an American President would do what the Castro, Chavez, Hitler, and the entire politburo of the Soviet Union during the Cold War couldn't do? Obama has completed what FDR started and has moved us from a capitalist nation to a socialist state.

To some, this will sound extreme and alarmist, but as with almost everything else, government changes take a little while to take full affect. If you don't see it now, just wait.

In a misguided effort to force other people to be more compassionate and  moral, our people have elected to serve tyranny rather than freedom. (and I haven't even read Levin's book yet).  If we are suspicious of greedy CEO's of large companies that oppress their people, what makes us think that government will be more righteous?  If we are afraid of monopolies like Microsoft or AT&T because they keep people from having a choice, what makes us think that a government monopoly will be any different?

Even some Evangelicals have swallowed the cool-aid by expecting government to act like the church. So they preach justice and define it in terms of welfare and wealth distribution. While it is true that the church described in the New Testament more resembled a socialist/communal society with everyone sharing what they had and giving to support the needy, they did so with a redeemed heart led by the Holy Spirit. They were the church, not the government. The Kingdom of God isn't a democracy, it's a Theocracy. God is our benevolent dictator.

But by confusing the two, we have confused self-interest with selfishness and traded individual liberty to become a part of the masses to be led by the cultural elite.  The result is that we are de-humanizing humanity. The masses aren't intelligent enough to make wise decisions, and therefore must be herded like animals, controlled for their own good.

In de-humanizing humanity, we are removing all motivation to produce and to achieve. When all achievement is rewarded by the confiscation of the benefits and it's redistribution to those who have not earned, or have decided not to participate in the work, then the achievers will not achieve, or look somewhere else to ply their talents.

Capitalism, on the other hand considers that all men are created equal, which means they are created deserving equal rights even if they do not have equal talent. Every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and when you read happiness, in founder-speak read "money" or "property."  No one has the right to money, but the pursuit of money. Every person has the right to the opportunity to provide for themselves. They do not have the right to have others provide for them.

At this point, compassion will declare the names of those who are unable to work, but these relatively few examples become the rationale to keep millions more from the motivation that would make them productive members of society. How compassionate is that? The principles of capitalism actually grow from great faith in the abilities of each individual.

But all is not lost. More to come.

Phil

Seven Pounds of Misguided

A couple of nights ago, Donna and I watched "Seven Pounds" and as soon as I successfully guessed the plot, which wasn't very far into the movie, I thought it one of the most misguided movies recently made. You might think that statement over the top, especially in the light of many of the other movies out there, but the one that makes this one so devious is that it will certainly seem so sincere to most people.

I'll try to explain the high points as efficiently as possible, but don't read on if you haven't seen the movie but plan to. I'm about to give the plot away.

Ben (not his name, he impersonates his brother for almost the entire movie) is wracked with guilt over an accident he caused because he was texting on his cell phone. The accident killed his fiancee and six people in another vehicle. Deciding he does not deserve to live, he sets out to atone for his own sin before he takes his own life.

So he finds seven people, does his homework in order to satisfy his own judgement that they are worthy of his kindness, and orchestrates what on the surface and at the beginning seems like noble gestures. He begins with simple things like donating bone marrow (!) to various organs, he gives away his house and car, and finally the last two organs he gives are his eyes and his heart--literally. He commits suicide in order to give his organs to others whom he deemed more worthy than himself to live.

Think about this:

1. What makes a guy who believes he isn't worthy even to live the final judge of worthiness of these seven other people?
2.  If such a small mistake can make someone unfit to live, how can these seven others deserve life, when they have certainly committed such small errors whether they have or have not caused such great tragedy? Does the randomness of the consequences convey that kind of guilt?
3.  Why would these seven deserve such gifts of grace and Ben not deserve the gift of grace as well?
4.  If Ben was motivated to serve and sacrifice to atone for his mistake, isn't it a cop-out to skip life all together when this young man could have dedicated his life to serving much more than seven?

This is a great example of what a blind world believes is justice. A world who doesn't know the grace of Christ and the freedom that He offers to all. The Bible says that Satan is the great accuser, and his great desire is to encourage sin, and then use guilt to destroy their lives. Satan seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.

Here is the truth that Ben and the world desperately needs to know:

1.  All have sinned and none deserve life--all are equally undeserving.
2.  God is the only righteous judge. The only one qualified to pass judgment.
3.  There is nothing we can do that will atone for our own sin.
4.  The good news (gospel) is that Christ came to make the sacrifice for all of us that Ben tried to make. Jesus did in not just for seven, but for everyone--even Ben. That sacrifice will atone for those who receive it.
5.  The result of this good news is the opportunity to live in grace and spread grace that gives both life and death meaning.

Grace is still the stumbling block for sinner and pharisee alike. Most can only understand it when it is visibly demonstrated.

Phil

A lot of little things

Things are moving forward here. Donna and Parker are doing well and Parker is playing baseball. I am still working on two or three long-term job possibilities.

We have planted another garden, which proves that we are sadistic gluttons for punishment and failure. ;-)

It seems very possible that we will be able to stay where we are, so we're really happy about that. God has been so gracious and kind. Thanks for your prayers, and please remember to pray for the Mill.

More to come,
Phil

More posts coming

Working on some material. It seems a little silly to post a blog to tell people you have nothing to say yet.

I'll try to post this weekend with stuff about what's going on these days. But I also have some other musings I'll share.

Thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming. And please feel free to e-mail your prayer requests because I would love to pray for you.

P

Shacking up with God

I have taken a little hiatus from reading other than study for messages. One of the last books I read before aforementioned break was "The Shack" which I highly recommend not for it's theology, which is clearly not it's strong point, (nor was it the intention of the author, I believe), but for the fresh look it takes at our relationship with God.

If you have been following news at our church you know of the recent tragedy as one of the members of our youth group, a 15 year old, died in a freak accident. The family is grieving as is our entire church for them. I mention it because it made me think of The Shack again.

Music

Music is such a personal thing. What one person loves and is really moved by, another person can really not. But if you really want to know what I have been listening to lately, it's been almost exclusively Jon Foreman's EPs and Switchfoot. The lyrics are just expressing how I feel these days.

Jon is a committed Christian, but he doesn't aim to have his music categorized as Christian music. Foreman has been quoted as wanting to "make music for the rest of the world." Perhaps it's one reason why I like it. It voices some raw emotion that sometimes Christians are afraid to admit. Try these:

Switchfoot:
Dare You To Move
A popular and well known song.

Meant To Live
Ditto Above

Awakening
My biography in song.

The Beautiful Letdown
Once we let go of what we think we cannot live without, we find what really gives us life.

Stars (Acoutstic)
Think Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God . . .'

John Foreman's EPs:
Your Love Is Strong
Makes me want to raise a fist in the air for all the times the enemy has made us think God does not care.

Equally Skilled
Convicting. "Both of our hands are equally skilled at doing evil . . ."

Learning to Die
Haunting. Also my biography. "all along I thought I was learning how to take, how to bend not how to break, how to live not how to cry. Really I've been learning how to die . . ."

You might check them out on itunes. John's EPs are folksy, but don't waste your time with the band's albums if you don't like rock.

Birthday Fun

Just got back from Houston and my sister's house. We celebrated Father's day and some birthdays. It was the first time in my memory that Mom and I celebrated our birthdays together.

The weather was great and everyone had such a great time. Thanks, 'Chelle for making it so special.

Love you, sis!