Drunk on wives, Muslim Favor and Biblical Sexism

Let's face it men- God wired us as visual creatures and we yearn for more physical intimacy with our spouses than they do- generally speaking. It's just a fact of life and that makes married life a bit more challenging for our wives.

How many of our wives can compete with the carefully crafted and often artificial images of femine beauty thrown at us daily if not hourly in this culture? Few women can match those images at first glance and it is therefore a competition the Bible forbids. God calls men- Christian husbands in particular, to love their wives as Christ loved the church as we'll discuss Sunday (Ephesians 5:25-33), in a self-sacrifcing, unconditional way as an act of the will. So, a righteous husband decalres the beauty contest over before it begins by choice. He declares his wife the winner and happily chooses to devote his heart and eyes to her in advance. Proverbs 5:18-21 tells us that a husband is to be "intoxicated" in the love and beauty of his bride. Your wife doesn't need to be second best men- she can be your delight if you choose to see her as Christ sees His bride- the body of Christ.

When you invest time and effort in getting to know your wife by spending as much quanity and quality time with her as you possibly can, her winsomeness and inner beauty will take on a physical beauty that no porn web-site or magazine cover could ever match. More on this Sunday in "The Biblical Blueprint for Husbands."

Speaking of the Ladies.... Delilah, Jezebel and Eve... whether they were temptresses, harlots or simply chattel for men, are know as biblical failures to some extent and give women everywhere a raw deal according to most feminists and scriptural skeptics right? However, according to new research, the majority of women found in scripture receive positive or matter of fact write-ups dispelling the notion that the Bible is somehow "sexist."

The Bible Society found that there are "four times as many saints than sinners" in God's Word and that women are often described in "glowing terms" therein. We must remember that much of our Bible is historical narrative (e.g. thge Old Testament and the book of Acts) narrative in nature and therefore men or women alike, will be described as the are: fallen, sinful creatures in need of redemption and reconilliation with their maker.

BTW: President Obama who declined to observe the National Day of Prayer (a 50-year-old American, presidential tradition often chaired by evangelical Christians), just observed the Islamic high holy days of Ramadan by extoling the "dynamism and diversity" of Islam at a dinner marking this monthly fast for Muslims everywhere. This is an interesting show of support for diversity when we consider that according to World Net Daily, a new and much anticipated Muslim film (a 52 part series) called the "Arrivals," just debuted putting forth the idea that the Jesus Christ of the Bible worshipped by millions is just a Christianized version of Ra, the Egyptian "sun god," who may be part of a world-wide conspiracy to conceal his true identity as a 'one-eyed' anti-christ. Isn't that lovely?

How would the press and the President treat a Christian-based film today making similar claims of Mohammed or Allah? Would diversity reign supreme then? Keep your eyes and ears open.

What do Women Really Want?

As I was driving home after wrapping up our message Sunday on the "Biblical Blueprint for Wives" from Ephesians 5, I was wondering what the ladies were thinking (with or without husbands)on their trip home as they considered God's call on their lives to submit, or lovingly come under the leadership or God-ordained authority of their husbands.

Then, I got to thinking about the question 'what women really want' and I was reminded of the weekend struggles my wife Mary and I have on dining out decisions. I try to love her and give her the option to choose where we take the kids to eat Friday night or after church, and she proceeds to hem and haw and then throws this huge responsibility back in my lap and the verbal match like ping-pong goes on and on until I finally take hold of the issue and make the call on where we go. And then it dawned on me....despite what Eve pulled on Adam in Genesis 3, what many women want- particularly God-fearing Christian wives, is that their husbands make the decision. I've even heard feminists agree on this. Most women have an innate desire to be led by, protected and provided for by the stronger vessel.

Courtney Ressig from the Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood wrote that women should be encouraging the men in their lives to take on this biblical mantle of leadership in the home. Since I can confirm that a man desires respect and admiration even more than sex, a Christian wife has a unique opportunity to exhort their husbands to be the leader that God has called them to be in their family. Not only should our ladies strive to encourage their husbands to be the leader God wants, but they must prayerfully be patient with those who struggle to do so. Ladies , 1 Peter 3:1 tells us as we mentioned Sunday that we can be "without a word, won by the conduct of our wives." That idea excludes the notion of "nagging" which is desirious to some women and is akin to sharing a needle with Keith Richards for the men.

Encouragement is the key sisters. When your husband loves you and leads a devotion for your family in the home- thank him. In fact feel free to suggest that he do just that and how wonderful that would be - as a couple or for the family with children if he's not doing so already. Further, it won't hurt to let him know periodically that you thank God for him and for trying to be the man that he can be. That said women, understand that your hubbies will dissapoint you. They are to imitate Christ but are not. Your husband is to love you as Christ loves the church (the subject of our next message at C.C.C.) - but too often will not. Have real expectations and remember that his sanctification like yours is a process. So eat lots of Bible, pray often, be filled with the Spirit and lovingly and submissively encourage him and hope in Christ and ask that He would lead your fallen-man to be the leader you and God want him to be.

The Key to a Biblical Marriage is ...

Promise Keeping, Pastor Bernie Diaz

Americans have a literal love/hate relationship with marriage which I think somewhat parallels our relationship with God Himself. On the one-hand, the U.S. has the highest divorce rate in the world, and on the other hand, our rates of remarriage and multiple marriages contribute to those numbers and to the fact that American kids are more likely to live in a household with a revolving casts of parents than anyother child from any other developed country. As an example, Newsweek reports that 40% of American children born into a two-parent family experience a break-up of that family by the time they turn 15, compared to 30% for Swedes.

Why? What is the common denominator for our infidelity with marriage and with God? In a word- committment. Since everyone today is looking for the proverbial quick-fix, hence the phenomena of pills for whatever ails our bodies and minds, we should ask: 'Is there such a silver-bullet or magic pill to fix what ails the family today in general and its foundation -marriage in particular?' I would say yes. As we turn to the maker's manual- the Bible, as the blueprint for marriage and families, and as we began Sunday ('All in the Family') to consider that God is the maker of marriage and of it's methods (Genesis 2:18-24), we should remind ourselves that the key to a successful and godly marriage from a theological AND practical standpoint comes down to the word covenant, or if you prefer that synonym, committment.

A covenant biblically, is an agreement between two parties that involve promises on the part of each one. God has made such covenants or agreements in the past with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and the new covenant (or testament) with mankind, which is based on the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, resulting in the formation of what we know as the church. And as Paul wrote the church in Ephesians 5, that covenant between Christ the bridegroom and His bride the church, is irrevocable - it cannot be broken. No matter how ugly, apathetic and unloving His church might be, Christ is always faithful to her, sanctifying her and preparing her for a grand reunion. Guess what? Marriage between men and women on earth are to serve as the illustration or picture of what Paul calls that same "great mystery (Eph. 5:32)," the wedding between Christ and His church. Covenant and committment - the taking seriously and keeping of wedding vows and promises is actually the magic pill- the key to lasting and biblical marriages.

If you're born-again and married, think twice the next time you're frustrated by your spouse and plan on leaving or splitting your family. Think about whether or not your Lord and Savior would leave you high and dry and without His family every time we hurt Him, reject Him and are unworthy of His forgiveness and then think about whether or not we should do the same. Such a mind-set could revolutionize marriages and families.

It's All in the Family

Who can ever forget the immortal words of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: " We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills." Does this sounds like many of your family vacations?

What is it about our families? We love one another and we drive each other crazy at the same time. A great illustration of that is my all-time favorite TV show, "All in the Family," which featured love, loyalty, dysfunction and feuds from that adorable dingbat Edith Bunker, her irritating and obnoxious (and biblically misquoting) husband Archie to their children; Gloria, the emotional feminist and the ultra-liberal and intellectual son-in-law Mike "Meathead" Stivic. Who was or is the meathead or dingbat of your family? Can it be us?

A better question is who or what do you turn to resolve your family feuds? How do you resolve conflicts, understanding that Archie Bunker is not the paragon of conflict resolution? If you've inhereted dysfunction and conflict as a family trait, then yes your hill may be higher to climb. What is your roadmap then to success? Surpise, I take you to the maker's manual- the Word of God for the blueprint of a successful family- beginning with the foundation of that structure- marriage. Proverbs 1 tells us that we are to "hear our father's instruction and forsake not our mother's teaching (Pro. 1:8-9)," which begin with the fear and understanding of the LORD.

If 2 Tim. 3:16-17 is again true, and the Bible is all-sufficient and all-authoritative ( 'that the man of God would be perfect or complete for every good work'), then it is a sufficient and profitable manual for the family and it's success.

Hero Worship

The King- of pop or Calvin?

This week we observed (like it or not) the passing of a pop star, who according to family members at the public service- or concert if you prefer, was persecuted by the very same paparazzi, press and public that deified and worshipped him to begin with. This week's funeral extravaganza was described by national news headlines as, " We've lost a Hero."

Hero? A talented entertainer perhaps. Hero? Not if you take the definition of the word seriously. A hero is defined as one who is, "someone distinghished for exceptional courage, fortitude or bold enterprise." While worship is to be reserved soley for God, we can admire heroes of the faith like missionaries and martyrs who knew and know what persecution really means and sacrifice all- life and limb in particular, for the cause of Christ and His kingdom. A hero is a young boy- two actually, who lost their heads - literally, in Somalia earlier this year for refusing to divulge information about a church leader to terrorists.

Though flawed, another hero of the faith is John Calvin, whose 500th birthday is celebrated today. Calvin broke away from the apostasy of Roman Catholicism, to lead a movement to return the church to the authority of the inerrant, infallible Word of God and to a better understanding of the doctrines of grace, a theology which extolled the rightful sovereignty of God over all- including salvation and justification by grace alone and faith alone in Christ alone. Calvin's ministry influenced western civilization in general and America in particular, with his emphasis on the individual and liberty for all - economically and even politically, as an extention of the Lordship of Christ.

Ultimately the hero and master I wish to worship is the One- the only, Jesus Christ. Psalm 146:3-5 summarizes hero worship best, when it says, "Do not put your trust in princes (or kings of pop), in mortal men who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they retun to the ground. On that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed is he whose hope is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God."

Is There Hope for the American Marriage?

Why Marriage Matters...

The recent fall from grace of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, a "family-values conservative," (a la Jon and Kate) sent TIME magazine scurrying to explain the pitfalls and consequences of infidelity and broken-marriages and homes in the U.S.A.

What is particularly hurtful in this latest escapade of celebrity sin, was Sanford's professed allegiance to the faith and a political platform built on that very same faith, which he undermined after having ilicit emails discovered by a local newspaper. TIME picked up on Sanford's self-admission that he had "..broken God's law,' a sentiment that served only to emphasize the narcissism that had got him in trouble. Wrestling with God's law had apparently been the subject of many sessions of his Bible-study group, a seminar that may have spent a little too much time on the Song of Solomon." As we know, virtually nothing hurts the cause of Christ more than hypocrisy - particularly from those in the public eye.

However, TIME's article does remind us of at least two basic maxims or lessons from infidelity in matrimony: (1) "a lasting covenant between a man and woman can be a vehicle for the nurture and protection of each other, the one reliable shelter in an uncaring world- or it can be a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering on the people you supposedly love above all others, most of all on your children." The article confirms the long-held, common-sense notion that divorce breaks homes by breaking hearts , which then breaks communities and nations - to say nothing of the fact that divorce breaks the heart of God (Malachi 2:16) (2) The definitive reason for, or the root cause of broken families- adultry and divorce more specifically, stems from the sin of selfishness- or better yet, self-gratification. TIME framed that issue well when the author asked, "What is the purpose of marriage? Is it- given the game-changing realities of birth control, female equality and the fact that motherhood outside of marriage is no longer stigmatized - simply an institution that has the capacity to increase the pleasure of the adults that enter into it?"

God's biblical answer to the question is manifold. The good news is that God is a God of second or third or many chances. God heals divorcees in Christ and can give them another shot at a godly family- blended or otherwise. How then do we live and breathe in marriage in lieu of all of the above? It's simple enough to understand- forget changing your spouse- work on yourself. Put your spouse's interests and those of your family's first. 1 Pet. 3:1-2 directs wives to "accept the authority of their husbands, even those who refuse to aqccept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won by watching your pure, godly behavior (New Living Translation)." Within the same chapter, God through the apostle, admonishes husbands to "...give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together." In fact, the verse (1 Pet. 3:7) warns husbands that God will not "hear" or answer their prayers if they don't treat their wives as they should. What's the common thread then? Obviously, self-sacrifical love- just like God and Christ's on Calvary (John 3:16).

As one marriage counselor noted, "Maybe the best prevention for an affair outside marriage is to plan one with the man or woman we're married to."

The Death of Plastic Surgery, Piercings and Tattoos

Finding Neverland....

The passing of Michael Jackson into eternity last week has been called everything from the 'sad end' or 'death of an icon,' to the 'passing of Peter Pan.' But what is most fascinating to me in Jackson's adult life and death is it's similarity to 16-year-old pop diva Miley Cyrus' ("Hannah Montana") revelation of a new nose piercing and what that might say about America's obsession with appearance. What does the death of Jacko and Miley's many piercings have to do with each other? Simply, it's an illustration of our modern-day discontent with who and what we are and look like, and our fascination- particularly by celebrities, to alter what God has created us to be.

In Jackson's case, his history does reveal a harsh if not abusive childhood under the tyranny of father Joe, as well as challenging skin problems as a youth - those not terribly uncommon to many kids today. That might explain a natural inclination to make some physical adjustments. However, to say the 'King of Pop' went through a little make-over from childhood to manhood would be an understatment, as evidenced by the fact that at his death he looked NOTHING like the boy born in Gary, Indiana. As Newsweek reported, " Jackson arguably looked his "blackest" on the original cover of 1979's Off the Wall; by Thriller, the transformation had begun. Off the Wall was his declaration of manhood: it came out the year he turned 21, and it was his greatest purely musical moment. Why did he feel so deeply uncomfortable with himself? The hopeless task of sculpting and bleaching yourself into a simulacrum of a white man suggests a profound loathing of blackness."

What is it about ourselves - celebs and now youth today that drive them to body piercings and tattoo markings of every sort and plastic surgery of every kind? We know that many, if not most, plastic surgeries are attempts to meet emotional voids in physical ways, to attract attention, or to seek approval from others. The most commonly performed cosmetic procedures include breast augmentation/lifts, liposuction (the removal of body fat), facelifts, buttock lifts, botox/fat injections, and nose and face reshaping a la Jackson, who had more thorough plastic surgery than what you get in the witness-protection program. Amazingly, two million people subject themselves to these kinds of procedures each year, shelling out money and sacrificing much time and comfort. When vanity motivates a person to undergoing surgery, he/she has become his/her own idol (Commandments 1 and 2), therefore regulating God to the status of an afterthought, which is why the Bible warns us not to be vain or conceited (Philippians 2:3-4) and not to draw attention to ourselves by the way we look (1 Timothy 2:9).

Tell the kids and write your favorite star that even the most skilled surgeon cannot hold back the hands of time, and all cosmetic surgeries will eventually have the same result—aging. Those lifted body parts will sag again, and those cosmetically altered facial features will eventually wrinkle. The Bible says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). Therefore, it is far better to work on beautifying the person underneath, “that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight” (1 Peter 3:4), than the piercing, marking and alteration of God's good will and purposes, which ultimately is for the make-over of our hearts, minds, souls and spirits for relationship with Him- for eternity.

Do You Know the Gospel of Satisfaction?

Religion Can't Give You Eternal Life

“What can Jesus do for me that I cannot do for myself?” That was the question posed by evangelist Luis Palau to hundreds attending his Highland Festival in Inverness this past weekend. Palau, who has a Scottish grandfather, told around 1,000 people that Jesus could do everything that money could not and do that which neither scholars nor scientists could fully explain.

As we continue to ask and wrestle with the question, "Why Give the Gospel?" and how to, we have to come to grips that people almost instinctively are looking to fulfill a deeply-held desire for meaning and love in their life. A courageous ex-homosexual man in our community who is a friend and has a burden to minister to and win homosexuals to the kingdom of Christ, said that many of these people caught in this perverted lifestyle, are as the song goes, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." He added that that they are looking for a man to love them unconditionally and this local missionary to homosexuals tells them, "I know such a man- Jesus Christ."

What can Jesus do that we can't do for ourselves? One, He can love us as only God can, and as a result, He can be the only substitute necessary to forgive us of our sins- sexual or otherwise. Only HE can pay the ultimate price- or make the ultimate sacrifice for us. As I often say, that's the greatest news in the history of the world. When's the last time you shared or broadcasted that news with someone?

Palau, the world evangelist based in Portland, Ore., warned against the dangers of sexual temptation, saying that although sex is a beautiful gift from God it should be used within God’s plan of marriage. Urging young people to first find love in God, Palau encouraged the crowd to regard themselves as the holy temples of God and appealed to young girls and women especially to do what is right in the eyes of God, rather than give in to pressure from men to have sex.
“When you are looking for real love, pure love, you delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart,” he said, quoting Psalm 37.4.

“As a young person looking for love you have to say ‘Jesus Christ I can’t find real love without you, fill me with your love.” As you go about your daily business today and the rest of this week, pray and ask God for opportunties to walk and talk in such a way that lost and dying people will yearn to ask you about life and where and in whom they can find unconditional love, fulfillment, satisfaction and escape from the judgment or wrath of a loving AND holy God. Then, be ready to 'give an answer for the hope that lies within you (1 Peter 3:15).'

Great Fathers Are Family Evangelists

What Makes a Great Dad?

There are not too many personal nor political issues on which I would agree with President Barrack Obama on, but his call for real and serious fatherhood this past Father's Day might be one. Abandoned by his father as a child, the President understands what it means to be fatherless, like a ship at sea without a rudder, if not a compass. According to his biography, he got a basketball, his first name and ambition from his father, but little else. I would argue the greatest defficiency he suffered from in that home was a spiritual one, which may be a defficiency he's still looking to fill.

This past Father's Day Sunday, He said he came to understand the importance of fatherhood from its absence in his childhood homes — just as an estimated 24 million Americans today are growing up without a dad. It is that absence, particularly that of a godly man in the home, that has produced more than a generation of fatherless boys who are much more likely to be drug-addicted, alcoholic, poor, uneducated and crime-ridden than boys who grow up in the home of their biological father. President Obama' relative success is the exception- not the rule according to virtually every bit of sociological data we have. Why? Is it just a matter of a fatherly presence in the home that makes a difference?

What exactly did God intend for fathers to be to their children? One little boy said..."The primary duty of my dad is to take out the trash." Suprisingly enough, the primary duty of a father is not even to bring home the bacon. The primary duty of a father is not to fix what's broken. The primary of a duty of a father is to bring his children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and then to teach holy living to his children. Fathers are to be primarily evangelists, pastors and preachers of good news and wisdom to their families as the first 10 chapters of the book of Proverbs teaches. Admittedly, parenting is a difficult and challenging 24/7/365 job and has never been more difficult than it is in 2009. However, the Job description has never changed in God's economy. As I drill in the head of my three children who in their flesh yearn for me to be more friend than father, I exist to provide, protect and prepare. The former two items are for now, the latter is current preparation of their hearts and minds for the future.

Above all dads, don't fall prey to today's post-modern and post-Christian culture which teaches you to leave all or most of the parenting to mom, step-mom, school, day-care and yes- church (i.e. youth group). But instead, love your wife and the mother of your child or children as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:22) and love your children enough to tell them as we've been saying the last two weeks at CCC, that they're born rebels, dead in sin and need new life that only God who created them through you and who loves you even more than you do, can save them from the penalty of their sin by their repenting and placing their trust and faith in His Son, King Jesus. Though God will take care of the outcome, be what God wants you to be first and foremost in your home- an evangelist of life-saving truth.

What Are You Doing Right Now?

Study: Americans Spending More Time Online, Less Time With Family

Web-surfing and the internet are invaluable tools for me as I blog you this very minute, working from my home office. However, as my wife and kids are wont to do on occassion, they remind me that I may be spending too much time in front of this machine, at the expense of loving them, loving God and loving peoople. Perhaps more than I'd like to admit.

According to a new study, 28 percent of Americans interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. In 2006, 11 percent of Americans had said the same. Furthermore, significant percentages of Internet users said they were sometimes or often ignored because another member of the household spends too much time online (44 percent). An even higher percentage (48 percent) said they were ignored because others spend too much time watching TV.

This marks the 15th annivesary of the web's general access to the public and the amount of time that Internet users spent online has grown in each year of the Digital Future studies, and has now surpassed an average of 17 hours per week (I easily pass that). In fact today, the percentage of Americans who use the Internet has reached 80 percent, according to the study and the highest percentage of web-surfing Americans is under age 18. What does that mean? Well, common-sense, experience, observation and more research has told us that it means more time for on-line, inconspicous, tempting and even dangerous social-networking for immature youth and even less time for outdoor work and play, for interpersonal discipleship and fellowship, time alone with God, His Word and face-time with neighbors, family and friends who need the gift of Christ and the life-saving and transforming truth of the gospel.

Yes we are to yearn for balance and in all things moderation, but that is easier said than done when you think you have time for everything and we can put off priorities and what is most important for tomorrow. What then should you be doing with your time- with a life that only God knows how long will last (Psalm 139)? Here's a hint- relationships. Alhtough the Bible does not lay out a step-by-step order for relationship priorities, we can still look to the Scriptures and find general principles for prioritizing our relationships beginning with family. First. on the vertical side, God obviously comes first: Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” If you're married, your spouse comes next. A married man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

Christ’s first priority—after obeying and glorifying the Father—was the church, where he offered an example every husband should follow: God first, then his wife. In the same way, wives are to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22). The principle is that a woman’s husband is second only to God in her priorities. If husbands and wives are second only to God in our priorities, and since a husband and wife are one flesh (Ephesians 5:31), it stands to reason that the result of the marriage relationship—children—should be the next priority. Parents are to raise godly children who will be the next generation of those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4), showing once again that God comes first.

All other family relationships should reflect that. Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us to honor our parents so that we may live long and so things will go well with us and no age limit is specified, which leads us to believe that as long as our parents are alive, we should honor them. Following one’s extended family in the list of priorities are fellow believers. Much of the book of 1 Corinthians is Paul’s instructions on how the church should live together in harmony, loving one another. Now how much time does that leave for YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and 'Desperate House Wives?' If you think of "God's Marching Orders" and the call to love our neighbors, I would aruge there is nothing more loving we can do than share the new life - the only life to live in Christ- in word and deed. So, what are you doing right now? I'm going to power down... I hear Mary and Bryana calling...

"Are All Things Lawful?"

Momentum Builds For Legalizing Pot

Just when you thought it was ok to say "no" to marijuana again, legalizers who love liberty and license more than purity and righteousness, are rearing their ugly heads using the savage drug war in Mexico, crumbling state budgets, war on drugs fatigue and the election of a president who said, "Yes — I inhaled," to push for the legalization of marijuana in America.

Said a veteran of the movement, Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance: "This is the first time I feel like the wind is at my back and not in my face." Some examples of this momentum are:

_Numerous prominent political leaders, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Mexican presidents, have suggested it is time for open debate on legalization.

_Lawmakers in at least three states are considering joining the 13 states that have legalized pot for medical purposes. Massachusetts voters last fall decided to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of pot; there are now a dozen states that have taken such steps. BTW: this policy has proven to be an abject failure in the Netherlands and Holland, as pot-smokers at open and legal cafes, have moved up the obligatory ladder of addiction to heroin use, abuse and related crime (oops- they didn't figure on common sense).

Because of these developments , legalizers are kindling unprecedented optimism among the many Americans who want to see weed legalized. Make no mistake, the "green" movement has gone haywire. National polls show close to half of American adults are now open to legalizing pot — a constituency encompassing today's college students (of course) and the 60-something baby boomers who popularized the drug in their own youth.

What is the Bible to make of this movement regardless of whether or not uber-liberals like Barney Frank can make it happen through legislative channels? The apostle Paul says we are to make of it the same as whether or not we should engage in any other addictive, tempting behavior or lifestyle that our secularly influenced government allows, such as: fornication, over-eating, drinking and gambling, as per 1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything" While Paul was speaking to lusting and partying Corinthians about abstaining from things not explicitly condemned by scripture, the principle holds true for American Christians today that love Romans 14 liberty more than holiness and Romans 13 love, which prioritizes relationship and godliness more than our legally-sanctioned appetites.

For those of my liberty loving, libertarian friends, brothers and sisters that attack anything that may smack of alleged legalism, they should keep in mind that when you take any prior substance- particularly an illegal one, that has been an attractive social lure and taboo for two generations here, legalize it, remove it's social stigma, make it more accessible and cheaper, use and abuse will only rise. Would greater pot use- abuse, be better or worse for this country? One DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency) official said, "Legalization of marijuana, no matter how it begins, will come at the expense of our children and public safety. It will create dependency and treatment issues, and open the door to use of other drugs, impaired health, delinquent behavior, and drugged drivers."

With today's marijuana containing four times the THC content (active chemical in marijuana) of it's 70's counterpart, little wonder that drug-rehab facilities are filling to the brim with young, pot-only addicts. For the Christian with (non-bloodshot) eyes to see through a biblical lens, there is only one true option regardless of U.S. law, the option Paul wrote of in that same letter to those curious Corinthians, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19-20)."

Life and Death

Am I the Kind of Person God Saves?

How do you really know if you’re a Christian or not? Were you to die today (like the 150,000 or so people around the world passing into eternity), do you really know whether or not you would go to heaven? A pretty important question you think? On the one hand the world is crowded with churches and preachers that say salvation is something you earn through good works and a moral lifestyle. In fact most of the cults and Catholicism that infer faith in Christ would lean toward such a doctrine. Others market salvation as a feel-good path to self-fulfillment, and downplay sin or personal guilt, and preach that salvation is nothing more than a “belief” or acknowledgement of certain facts about Jesus (the gospel).

Either way, the message is the same: God saves those who have something to offer Him. But is that really the kind of person God saves? Have you sought salvation on God’s terms, or yours? Sometimes we complicate this issue more than necessary and shouldn’t, since it’s only life and death and getting it wrong (as in more than one gospel) can cause painful consequences for today and tomorrow. John Piper in a six-minute gospel presentation defines salvation essentially in one sentence, “The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy. That’s the gospel.” Is it that simple?

I am struck with the simplicity and profundity of the Christian gospel. You can see it from the very beginning. It's right there in the Christmas story in what the angel said to Joseph, "You shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Perhaps the church just needs to get back to remembering that God sent His Son into the world to save His people from their sins (Mission of the Messiah- Lu. 19:10). Seemingly, a proper presentation of the gospel would focus on that. The angel told Joseph: "He is the one who will save His people from their sins. That is why you must name Him Jesus (Yeshua-“Jehovah who saves”). Humanity's real destroyer is sin and its penalty, and the guilt for sin is a real guilt, a God-imposed guilt that damns to eternal hell. That is why people need to be saved, rescued, and delivered. That is what people must understand in the gospel, and that is what we must proclaim.

That’s why this Sunday, we’ll begin part one of a two-part message in our Basic Training series entitled, “Why The Gospel?” We’re going to clear up the myths, ambiguities and questions surrounding the issue of what it means to be saved and have eternal life as opposed to eternal death (which is not so good). Come and learn once and for all what it means to be a Christian. Then, on Father’s Day Sunday, we’ll finish this message with an answer to the question, “Why Give the Gospel?” That answer will equip and empower you to meet the requirement to give the answer to the first question to those that appear lost If you have been hesitant or scared to share your faith and the gospel to family, friends and neighbors, come and learn why you MUST and can share your faith and do your part to fulfill the Great Commission. Let’s make this summer a key time to refocus on what maters most shall we?

Can you Tweet the Gospel?

How Twitter Changed- Ruined Our Lives

Though I am loathe to tweet or text, I find it interesting that one could theoretically tweet the gospel- at least the plan of salvation via John 3:16, as it just makes it under the 140 character limit, though the gospel as presented by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:2-3 does not. Though God can and uses all mediums of communication to gather His elect and bring glory to Himself including Twitter I'm sure, short, limited electronic burts of words are not my preferred means of sharing life-transforming truth. How about you?

I agree with the introduction of this week's TIME cover story about this latest techno fad, which begins by saying, "The one thing you can say for certain about Twitter is that it makes a terrible first impression. You hear about this new service that lets you send 140-character updates to your "followers," and you think, Why does the world need this, exactly? It's not as if we were all sitting around four years ago scratching our heads and saying, 'If only there were a technology that would allow me to send a message to my 50 friends, alerting them in real time about my choice of breakfast cereal." Indeed. Our President, the leader of the free world as we know it, took time from his busy schedule to alert his "followers" (disciples) last year, "Hosting a 4th of July family picnic in Butte, MT and celebrating Malia's 10th Birthday! Watch it live: http://my.barackobama.com/l...11:05 AM Jul 4th, 2008 from web." Did we need to know that? Was that TMI (too much information)? Do Tweeting followers have a life?

Better yet, what happened to interpersonal communication? Can anyone pick up a phone and make a call today? At this rate my beloved email habit will become archaic by next month. Tweeting may have its place somewhere under the sun, but nothing can replace personal, loving, discipleship- discipleship that is about exhortation, encouragement, yes reproof and as we learned last Sunday, "instruction in righteousness." This Sunday, we'll take at least 40 minutes to answer the question, "Why the Gospel?" Be sure that no tweeter can fit that message in nor should, as it happens to be the most important news in the history of the universe. I pity the fool who tries to tweet that truth in our church!

More Biblical Blindspots

How About a Bible Study?

While it’s one thing to expect a sitting U.S. President to have proper biblical theology, it’s quite another thing when a Christ-professing protestant denomination seems to lack a clue. Again, as we’re learning from our Basic Training series, the church of America continues to struggle with retaining a biblical world-view as evidenced by the Episcopal Church’s recent decision to appoint a panel of its theologians to prepare a paper on same-sex relationships in the life of the church.

According to one Episcopal leader quoted by the Christian Post, the project is "designed to articulate theologically a full range of views on the matter of same-sex relationships in the church's life and to foster better understanding and respectful discernment among us." Have any of the leaders in this denomination considered God’s “view” and “understanding” through His revealed Word as Paul exhorted Timothy (2 Tim. 3:16-17)? Obviously, Episcopalian theologians think the scripture is as inspired by God and as sufficient as President Obama, who just declared June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month,” becoming the first U.S. president to include bisexual and transgender in the proclamation’s title.

How curious is it that a professing Christian president issued a proclamation encouraging pride in what God clearly calls sin? Does such an act profess more biblical compromise or plain biblical ignorance? Less we’re too harsh towards public figures, note that nearly nine in ten Americans who participated in the latest Associated Press poll identified themselves as Christian but only about half of them fit the typical picture of one – or at least one close to what their leaders try to paint. Case in point, though 86 percent of those polled said they consider themselves a Christian, only 35 percent said they attended religious services at least once a week. Meanwhile, 51 percent said they believe abortion should be legal in all (19 percent) or most cases (33 percent). Are U.S. ‘believers’ misinterpreting their Bibles (even more fundamental and straight-forward doctrines) or flat-out not reading them?

Your Best Life or Risky Advice?

How Many Steps to a Better Life Now?

No sooner do we preach a sermon last Sunday about the debate over whether or not the Bible is sufficient and authoritative over all matters of life, do we get a deluge of news items and controversies in the culture war this week, highlighting that very same world-view conflict.

First, the church of Oprah is actually being scrutinized by Newsweek over her holiness' advocacy of Suzanne Sommers unusual secrets to staying young. The cover story reports that "Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. She smears progesterone on her other arm two weeks a month. And once a day, she uses a syringe to inject estrogen directly into her vagina. The idea is to use these unregulated "bio-identical" hormones to restore her levels back to what they were when she was in her 30s, thus fooling her body into thinking she's a younger woman."

Sommers also swallows 60 pills per day and practices "overall detoxification." If she drinks wine, she goes to her doctor to rejuvenate her liver with an intravenous drip of vitamin C. If she's exposed to cigarette smoke, she has her blood chemically cleaned with chelation therapy. In the time that's left over, she eats right, exercises, and relieves stress by standing on her head. Somers makes astounding claims about the ability of hormones to treat almost anything that ails the female body. She believes they block disease and will double her life span. "I know I look like some kind of freak and fanatic," she said. "But I want to be there until I'm 110, and I'm going to do what I have to do to get there." That was apparently good enough for Oprah. "Many people write Suzanne off as a quackadoo," she said. "But she just might be a pioneer." While I'm tempted to go with the former description as I'm reminded of her Three's Company character Chrissy, I'm thinking that this obsession with finding a biological fountain of youth is endemic with an attitude that says this life is all there is and we determine it's length and breadth.

Sommers and others with a similar worldview, omit God from the picture and ignore His sovereign rule as creator and sustainer of all life in the universe. While some people focus entirely on spirituality, to the neglect of their physical bodies, others focus so much attention on their physical bodies that they neglect spiritual growth and discipleship. 1 Timothy 4:8 informs us, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Notice that the verse does not negate the need for physical care. Rather, it says that exercise is valuable, but it prioritizes exercise correctly by saying that godliness is of greater value. To say nothing of the fact that it is God who "fashioned" all of our days and are written in His book (Psalm 139:16). More on this story Sunday at CCC.....

Are Pro-Lifers 'Facist?'

Hours after the Sunday morning shooting death of late-term abortion doctor George Tiller in Wichita, Kan., a Boulder Colorado physician — who says he could be the only doctor in the world still performing the procedure — said Tiller’s assassination was the “absolutely inevitable consequence” of decades of anti-abortion fanaticism.“I’m profoundly sad and I’m furious and I think the American people need to understand that we have a fascist movement in this country,” Dr. Warren Hern told The Colorado Independent on Sunday. “We don’t have to invade Iraq to find terrorists. They’re right here killing abortion doctors.”“Every doctor that does abortions has been under an assassination threat for decades,” Hern said. “The anti-abortion movement message is, ‘Do what we tell you to do or we will kill you,’ and they do. This is a fascist movement.”

Gee, I never thought being pro-life in my view equated me to being a Nazi-like facist! This view leads to the common fallacy that Christianity is cruel or false because of the Inqusition and the Crusades done in the name of Christendom or every Muslim should be condemnded because of extreme terrorism. To paraphrase the good doctor above, I'm more concerned about the ignorance expressed by abortion advocates, who while crying out about a rare case of exteme and inexcusable murder, turn their back on the more than 3,000 children being legally executed in this country every day. May God remove the scales from their eyes and be merciful to us all.

Gay Double Standards

Former Vice President Dick Cheney became the third national Republican figure to publicly approve of gay marriage this week, joining a former McCain campaign manager and President Bush's former Solicitor General Ted Olson, who is helping spearhead a legal challenge to Proposition 8 in California. Yet, Cheney also signaled his support for letting states ban gay marriage. Is it possible to hold both positions simultaneously? Absoutely, if you ignore scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) or leave your biblical worldview behind when thinking about issues - especially when they impact your family.

At a press conference this week, Cheney said, "I think freedom means freedom for everyone. As many of you know, one of my daughters is gay and it is something we have lived with for a long time in our family. And I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish. Any kind of arrangement they wish." So we can take this to mean should we have a child who wished to marry three or four people (regardless of their gender and age) it would be allright and good for everyone, as long as they consentually "wished" right? This kind of thinking doomed Israel when in the time of the Judges, "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25). While I symphatize with the former Veep's family conflict, we cannot form good public policy on personal and emotional whims absent from the wisdom of God's Word.

Jon and Kate May Lose Eight...

My family once enjoyed the adventures and reality TV exploits of professing Christians "Jon & Kate Plus 8" (including sextuplets) on the TLC network. We were once fascinated and yes, entertained by the struggles and mundane mishaps of a married couple trying to live life and raise eight small children and then came black monday, on the heels of tabloid reports proclaiming the divorce and demise of the Gosselins.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:7)

The season 5 premiere of the show wracked up nearly 10 million viewers Monday night. Why? We, like the other 10 million couch potatoes, driven by a good bit of morbid curiousity, tuned into to watch the anger (mostly Kate's), angst and selfishness of two parents, who were overcome by the celebrity of book tours and papparazzi on their way to a collision course with classic 21st century dysfunctionality. One blogger known as "Think Christian" described the fall well, "I was hoping to see how a Christian family is working though tough marital times. Instead, it was a sad look into how fame can corrupt a family of eight...not one mention of God or faith from the Christian couple...The family that once was compelling to watch because of their realness has now become a victim to the drama filled, conflict-driven reality television realm...For me one of the toughest moments of the show came at the sextuplet's birthday party when one of the girls told Jon she didn't want him to leave anymore..."

Tales of Jon's alleged adultry, may have led to their current state of affairs, however the lure of fame and fortune - the height of self-exaltation and pride, seem to appear as cracks in this crumbling family foundation. by contrast, toward the end of Christian pop star Rich Mullins's career, it was known that he made a lot of money, but you'd never know it by looking at how he lived. Though he made hundreds of thousands of dollars, he chose to live on $24,000 a year. He told his accountant not to tell him how much money he had. It was easier to give it away if he didn't know how much he had, he would say with a smile. Rich's sister, Debbie, recalls a time when she saw how little he cared for fame and its trappings: "I went with a friend to see him when he was playing with Amy Grant at Radio City Music Hall. After the concert we were standing outside, and this white limousine someone had provided for him pulled up to take him back to the hotel. He told the driver to go on because he wanted to ride with the guys in the equipment van. We said good-bye, and he left in the van. "My friend said, 'Do you ever get tired of people treating your brother like he's different from you or anyone else?' "When I said no, she asked why. I said, 'Because he is different. I would have gotten into the limo." What would Jon and Kate do? Would they bring the kids along for the ride?

The Pro-Life Movement's Not Dead Yet?

The black knight of Monty Python fame might have best described the current trend of the pro-life movement with the slogan, "we're not dead yet- we're feeling better." A new Gallup poll claims that for the first time since 1995, when the question was first asked by the organization, most Americans consider themselves to be "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice." The straightforward question asked of participants was this: "With respect to the abortion issue, would you consider yourself to be pro-choice or pro-life?" Fifty-one percent responded that they were pro-life and 42 percent said they were pro-choice. These percentages are the reverse found in the same poll in 2006.

What happened? Why the change in public opinion? the past several years of pro-life work, education and family-friendly policies may have contributed greatly as well as the technological advances of our day (e.g early preemies, sonograms and crisis pregnancy centers), which make it practically impossible for pro-aborts to deny the reality of unborn, human life. Whatever the case may be, there is change coming, as noted recently by an atheistic columnist from the Denver Post, David Harsayni who wrote, "After a life of being pro-choice, I began to seriously ponder the question. I oppose the death penalty because there is a slim chance that an innocent person might be executed and I don't believe the state should have the authority to take a citizen's life. So don't I owe an nascent human life at least the same deference? Just in case?"

The fight is far from over however, Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare recently ruled that women are permitted to abort their children based on the sex of the fetus. In the United States, a woman can have an abortion for nearly any reason she chooses. In fact, a health exemption for the mother allows abortions to be performed virtually on demand. That said, maybe this poll tells us that the dynamics of the abortion debate are about to change, that Americans are getting past the politics and into the morality of the issue. If true, that makes this war once again, a fair fight.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Should Christians 'Respect' Other Religions?

One of the most popular and politically correct ideologies around today is that of religious or philosophical tolerance and respect. Somehow, someway, disagreements over doctrine and taking stands for truth over the last several years, has led to the branding of biblical views as "hate speech", and to new and revised definitions of words like tolerance and respect. Whatever happened to the marketplace of ideas anyway?

In the aftermath of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Jordan, where he spoke of his "respect" for Islam (coming on the heels of the Pope's notorious 2006 speech about Islam in Germany), columnist Albert Mohler posed the provocative question, "Should Christians respect other religions?" Now before you answer his question for yourself, let's remember that words mean things, and we may want to actually know what the word means before we throw it out for public consumption. According to most dictionaries, tolerance simply refers to, "a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own." Similarly, respect carries an interesting two-fold definition as having, "esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, and "deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges."

The point of this definition is that we should not be moved to silence by hyper-tolernant friends and foes when disucssing religion and world-views. As per the real meaning of these words, we can appreciate an individual and even defend his or her right to be WRONG (this is called respect) about God and salvation and we can even politely listen to their opinons, but still should lovingly confront their error. What kind of eror do we mean? Speaking of the Pope and his new-found reverence for Islam, the Roman Catholic Church officially teaches that Muslims are "included in the plan of salvation" by virtue of their claim to "hold the faith of Abraham." Should that idea be refuted? Can it be done so respectfully and with tolerance? Obviously.

As Mohler implies, what are we to do we do with major documents such as Vatican II which state, "But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohamedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind. " That same language is basic to the current official catechism (indoctrinated teaching)of the church as well and trust me will be judged. While the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Islam is both erroneous and incomplete, it also holds that sincere Muslims can be included in Christ's salvation through their faithfulness to monotheism and Islam. That's just wrong- its NOT true. Truth dear ones is divisive and exclusive by definition and we cannot remain silent when witnessing and sharing with others when souls and eternity are on the line.

Mohler right conlcudes, "Evangelical Christians may respect the sincerity with which Muslims hold their beliefs, but we cannot respect the beliefs themselves. We can respect Muslim people for their contributions to human welfare, scholarship, and culture. We can respect the brilliance of Muslim scholarship in the medieval era and the wonders of Islamic art and architecture. But we cannot respect a belief system that denies the truth of the gospel, insists that Jesus was not God's Son, and takes millions of souls captive. This does not make for good diplomacy, but we are called to witness, not public relations." Now that's respectful truth and comes as a result of good doctrine, which comes from the scripture, as we'll discuss in greater depth this Sunday (Why the Bible?) .

Is Torture Biblical?

Jack Bauer and Jesus

Most anyone who knows us at all, knows that Mary and I have been faithful viewers of the TV show, "24" for the past few years- it's about the only TV show we watch with any regularity thank God, but after this week's finale, we'll be on hiatus for some time. We have followed and been riveted by the exploits of secret-agent man Jack Bauer, who tortues bad-guy terrorists and wars against evil by the minute literally 24 hours a day (when does that man go to the bathroom or consume a beverage of any kind, for goddness sake?).

In lieu of the recent controversy over the CIA tapes of America's "enhanced interrogations" of suspected terrorists in the 'war on terror' that escalted more than a notch after 9-11, I have begun to wonder what God thinks and what the Bible has to say about such things as "waterboarding" (simulated drowning of suspected terrorists in interrogation). I know what the aforementioned Mr. Bauer would do (waterboarding is a day at the beach for him). But more importantly what would Jesus, a victim of 'torture' Himself ( read Isa. 53, the gospels and see the Passion) would do or say about it today? First, what are Christians saying about it?

For starters, white evangelicals are more sympathetic to torture. The poll data from a survey of American adults released April 29 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found 62 % of white evangelical Protestants said torture of a suspected terrorist could be often or sometimes justified to obtain important information. By contrast, 51 % of white non-Hispanic Catholics, 46 % of white mainline Protestants (mostly liberal) and 40 % of the religiously unaffiliated held that position. Moreover, those who attend religious services at least once a week were more likely than those who rarely or never attend to say torture is sometimes or often justified in that scenario - 54 to 42 %. What is torture anyway? Torture can be defined as “the infliction of intense pain to punish, to coerce, or to derive sadistic pleasure.” Of course, sadism is never appropriate or just, but what about punishment or coercion? Is there ever a time when inflicting pain is justified in order to punish wrongdoing or to obtain a confession? What if that confession would lead to information that could save thousands of lives( this is the Jack Bauer defense)?

Pro-Family leader Gary Bauer said the answer is "It depends. I think if we believe the person we have can give us information to stop thousands of Americans from being killed, it would be morally suspect to not use harsh tactics to get that information." Many other evangelicals and conservatives disagree, including Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, who revealed this month that he thinks waterboarding is torture and never justified. He said part of his conclusion is based on his belief that it's "...very likely to cause permanent psychological damage. It seems to me once you accept the 'end justifies the means' argument, then you have taken a step onto a very steep and slippery slope to a dark and dangerous place."

What now? Last fall, a university study on morals and ethics found that 44 % of white Southern evangelicals rely on life experience and common sense to form opinions on torture. By contrast, 28 % said they relied on Christian teachings or beliefs. Doh- red flag! Not good family- we need a biblical world-view, not a life-experience one in order to answer tough questions. So what does the Bible say?The Bible acknowledges the existence of torture. In a parable, Jesus spoke of a servant who was “turned . . . over to the jailers to be tortured” (Matthew 18:34). Such an allusion seems to indicate that the use of torture was common in the prisons of the day. The Bible also records the stories of many victims of torture other than Jesus (e.g. Paul and Silas -Acts 16), the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:2; 38:6), and other unnamed saints (Hebrews 11:35). In every case, we see that the godly are the victims of torture, never the perpetrators of torture. After all we are all (that means evil terrorists included) made in God's image and guess what- worthy of redemption right? It should go without saying that as individuals, we are not to seek revenge. Vengeance belongs only to the Lord (Psalm 94:1; Romans 12:19).

Here's another question then, what about from the govermental view? We know that God has appointed civil governments and charged them with maintaining justice in this world (Romans 13:1-5). “For [the ruler] is God's servant to do you good . . . an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (verse 4). Elsewhere, God calls judges and magistrates to provide justice, which comes from God Himself (Psalm 82:1-4). If they fail in their duty, they will themselves be judged by the Lord, the Judge of all (verses 7-8). So government bears the responsibility to protect the good and punish the evil (Jack likes that part). What methods may it employ in carrying out that responsibility? Beyond the endorsement of capital punishment (Romans 13:4; Genesis 9:6), the Bible does not say. The Bible neither condemns nor condones a government’s use of torture. Many more questions can and should be asked: What specific techniques should be considered “torture”? Where do we draw the line? Is the infliction of any kind of pain inherently wrong? What if there are no permanent physical effects? Is sleep deprivation torture? What about a forced change in diet? Should yelling at a prisoner be considered psychological torture? Though there are practical considerations there, but it is scripture and the prompting of the Spirit that should dictate our view.

These are all questions not addressed explicitly in the Bible and are beyond the scope of this pastor at the moment, but they do highlight the need for us to dig deeper (see today's Dig Deeper from the blog- to pray “for kings and all those in authority”, 1 Timothy 2:2). May our President and other policy makers have the wisdom to distinguish good from evil and to provide true justice considering that all people are created in the image of God.

Mother's Day Madness!

As I feared and expected, some of you ladies were a bit ruffled after our Sunday morning Mother's Day message on the "Gift of Order", which concluded our series on The Body (the church). Although I might have come off a bit chauvinistic to some of you in expositing or explaining Paul's text from 1 Corinthians 14:33-40, I prayerfully hope that I did not needlessly offend with my words and that this blog will clarify where time on Sunday at CCC could not.

I understand this is a provocative and to some, a controversial passage of scripture, in that it steps on the toes of modern coventional wisdom, American culture, political correctness and assuredly, feminism as we know it. The issues are predominately two-fold: can women speak in church and can they or should they serve as preachers and pastors in the biblical and evangelical church? Well, rather than skip Paul's teaching there in dealing with the excesses and disturbances occuring in the Corinthian church (including tongues and prophesying) as he concluded his doctrine on the behavior of the local 'body' of Christ, we attempted to deal with the issues head on as scripture does.

To summarize, when Paul spoke to the order of the church, as God is a God of order and authority (1 Corinthians 14:40), the text tells us that women are to "keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak;...(14:34)." As I mentioned Sunday, one of the challenges we face in interpreting, explaining and preaching the Bible, is that we are somewhat handcuffed when translating the original, more nuanced and elaborate, original languages of scripture (Greek in this case) to English. Literally, 'something gets lost in the translation,' and this text is an example of that. The word "speak" here literally means to proclaim, or to speak forth, as in prophecy (heralding truth, not the predictive type) or preaching. Therefore, a better translation or understanding might be that 'they (women) are not to preach.' Again, that would be in the gender-integrated context of the local church gathering. This admonition again would not preclude a woman from speaking or questioning in a church gathering in so far, as it would not disrupt the service or usurp the pastoral authority of the preacher as was the case in Corinth with regard to revelations and tongues. Nor, would that admonition preclude a woman from exercising her prophecy and teaching gifts in discipleship and among other groups publically.

With regard to this issue and tying it into the question of woman pastors, we noted that Paul elaborated in depth as to the why of this doctrine, in 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Therein contains the timeless principle of church leadership and preaching for all times and all peoples. Refer to the message on-line or an outline we can provide for details. At the end of the day, we have to accept that not only has God given men and woman spiritual equality at the cross and from creation, but He has also given us diversity, from which should spring unity (The Body, Pt. 1) .

Ladies and gentlemen, God created us in His image, "male and female" (Gen. 1:27) with equal value and dignity. The Prophet Joel and Peter in Acts 2:17, remind us that God poured out His Holy Spirit with gifts on His "sons and daughters." Let's not forget that. Ms. Susan Hunt, a conference speaker from the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood offers five principles from the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) that offer an exhortation and encouragement to our women who want to exercise their gifts for His glory and kingdom:

1) In submission, women must follow the ecclesiastical leadership that God has given them. The women’s ministry must be submitted to the male leadership for approval, but so must every other discipleship ministry. We also see the qualifications for male headship in that women are called to submit to godly leaders not tyrants. This should be seen as a security for women, not a hindrance.
2) A vibrant women’s ministry can come alongside the diaconal ministries of the church because they are compassionate.
3) When a women’s ministry is characterized by community we see what it means to truly be the family of God. The widows in the New Testament were credentialed by a life of the ordinary stuff that makes covenant community life extraordinary.
4) Gender specific discipleship, as seen in Titus 2:3-5, is so important because we would never on our own come to an understanding of what it means to be a life-giver. Gender specific disicipleship that focuses on principles about what God says about our womanhood must be taught because women are hearing something in the culture and what they are hearing is not God’s way.
5) In 2 Timothy 3:2-17 we see that Timothy’s mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures from infancy. Here we see the principles of the foundation and sufficiency of Scripture.

If there are core biblical principles, women’s ministry can be the church's greatest delight for men and women. If not, then it will be our worst nightmare. We'll fit this and all of us together in our new series, Basic Training, which begins Sunday.

More Marks of a Godly Mother and Priestly Problems

More Mother's Day Grades....

Earlier this week, we began our Mother's Day preparations by noting from the Proverbs 31 woman and Hannah's example in 1 Samuel, that a biblical, God-fearing and loving woman in that role, is valuable and trustworthy or loyal (Proverbs 31:10-11). She is wholly devoted to her God, husband, home and children. You may know a mom like that or unfortunately you may not.

Thinking about Sunday and studying Hannah and other biblical matriarchs, I find that their value and devotion is reflected by their parenting and the hunger for holiness in home and children. Christian researcher George Barna in his book on families, found three types of Parenting to illustrate that idea: Parenting by default, is what Barna termed "the path of least resistance." In this approach, parents do whatever comes naturally to the parent, as influenced by cultural norms and traditions. The objective is to keep everyone - parent, child, and others - as happy as possible. Being the buddy of our kids is paramount to this parenting style. Sound familiar to anyone? Trial-and-error parenting is a common alternative. This approach is based on the notion that every parent is an amateur at raising children, there are no absolute guidelines to follow, and that the best that parents can do is to experiment, observe outcomes, and improve based upon their successes and failures in child rearing.

Nice try mom, this is a plea to ignorance. Barna found that revolutionary parenting was the least common approach (which of course makes it the most biblical). Such nurturing requires the parent to take God’s words on life and family at face value, and to apply those words faithfully and consistently. That sounds like an "A" grade from God for the type of motherhood that Hannah seems to have displayed. How about we pray for a revival in revolutionary parenting? Finally, you put all that together and you find a biblical mother "to be praised" (Proverbs 12:4; 31:23, 28-31). It's like the teacher who asked a boy this question: "suppose your mother baked a pie and there were seven of you-your parents and five children. What part of the pie would you get"? "A sixth," replied the boy. "I'm afraid you don't know your fractions," said the teacher. 'Remember, there are seven of you.' "Yes, teacher, said the boy, "but you don't know my mother. Mother would say she didn't want any pie."

A Priestly Problem

In lieu of the Father Cutie scandal (not "cutey" I suppose), one might ask, what's worse, the sin of fornication or 'fall from grace' of a celebrity priest or a single, "burning" (1 Corinthians 7) clergyman, or the unbiblical, ridiculous and scandalous policy of an apostate religion, that forces celibacy on such men? According to the Sun-Sentinel report, "Archbishop John C. Favalora suspended Cutié from the pulpit at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church on Tuesday," coming after a Mexican magazine published 25 photos of "Father Alberto," as he is called, in the throes of rapture more carnal than spiritual. Cutié wrote an e-mail apology, asking forgiveness from "those who may be hurt or saddened by my actions. ... The commitment that I made to serve God will remain intact."

The answer to the question posed above of course, is a both/and. While one cannot excuse nor defend the fornication of a minister or shepherd leading a flock, one must also go to the source and ask while Roman Catholic dogma demands celibacy from it's clergy when it's alleged founder of sorts- the apostle Peter as the first pope (a long, discredited notion), was as Al Bundy once was, "married with children." Celibacy had been a church practice since at least the third century, largely for ascetic and spiritual reasons (e.g. monks). But it wasn't until a century later that a certain Pope insisted on celibacy for priests and deacons. Even then, priests often married until the 11th century, until Gregory VII banned clerical marriage -- and it took another century for the practice to spread churchwide.

Why the change? "Show me the money." Historians note that the Roman church was losing too many assets (like land) and the opportunity to control such, by the inheritance of wives and families of deceased priests and the papacy couldn't have that. How convienent. Cutie once said of his celebrity, priestly status in a Hispanic magazine, "I'm not the priest for the regular Catholic crowd. I made that decision a long time ago. I'm the priest for the lost sheep. Which is why I do the media thing and the press thing and the book thing." Lost sheep? Perhaps the Vatican should begin looking for the lost sheep within it's very midst.

Marks of a Godly Mother

Mother's Day Grades

As I think of this Sunday's upcoming Mother's Day, I remember someone once saying, “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers." There’s just something special about moms isn’t there? Mothers are teachers. Mothers are disciplinarians. Mothers are cleaning ladies (my mom excelled there) and some mothers are gardeners and mowers of lawns (unfortunately guys). Mothers are also nurses, doctors, psychologists, chauffeurs and coaches. Mothers are developers of our personalities and shapers of our attitudes. Little wonder why sports figures salute their mothers first and foremost on those sideline closeups.

That's why no one deserves a special day all to themselves more than today's Mom. A cartoon showed a psychologist talking to his patient: "Let's see," he said, "You spend 50 percent of your energy on your job, 50 percent on your husband and 50 percent on your children. I think I see your problem."Maybe that’s why all women were not cut out or will be, nor should be mothers. Not that motherhood doesn’t bring great reward. Psa. 127:3, Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Though 1 Corinthians 7 tells us that singleness is a gift and many of you ladies have it (e.g. Miriam and Deborah), 1 Peter 3 reminds us that motherhood is a high calling for women. So for a woman who wants to be all God wants her to be as a mother- young or old, where do they go for advice in the scriptures? Not Genesis necessarily, where we read about Eve’s inauspicous debut, Sarah and her lack of faith and trust in providing the child of promise, or even Rebekah who played favorites with Jacob over Esau. This was not motherhood 101.

However, if you look at Proverbs 31, and you look at great godly women like Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2), you'll find out. This often-cited proverb is one to be memorized, as each of the final 22 verses begin with each succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet, making it an acrostic, serving as a great learning and memorization device. Therefore, this week we'll look at four marks of a godly mother from Proverbs 31 in anticipation of Mother's Day. 31:10 tells us the godly mother is costly- in the sense that she is quite valuable, "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." We can take that verse literally, as I think about the sacrifices to ego and self-gratitifcation that my mother and wife have made like so many, to stay home and manage a household of children and business. How valuable is a stay-at-home mom today? According to research from Salary.com, “if the typical stay-at-home mother in the U.S. were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year.” That by the way(BTW), is based on a 92 hour work-week, 40 at base pay, and 52 of overtime.

Second, Pro. 31:11 tells us this great, godly mother is trustworthy, "The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." John Maxwell, the best-selling author on leadership suggests that “If you can’t trust someone, you can’t count on them….trust makes leadership possible.” He added in his book on the 17 Laws of Teamwork, “The greatest compliment you can receive is being counted on.” Therefore, being trustworthy means being someone you can count on. Hannah the mother of Israel's first prophet Samuel, was trustworthy and was rewarded, primarily becuase she was devoted to her God and to her husband (1 Sam. 1:4-8, 28-2:2).

What does that kind of devotion look like? Susannah Wesley, spent one hour each day praying for her 17 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters. No wonder two of her sons, Charles and John, were used of God to bring blessing to all of England and much of America. Next time, we'll look at how a godly mother is to be holy and to be praised.