This is where you can peer behind the veil of the public persona I've crafted over the years of living in a fishbowl. I might anger you. I might entertain you. But I will shoot straight. I simply hope to somehow inspire you to deeper thoughts.
Comes from a term that meant to rend, or tear apart violently, as with flesh. Like a wolf tearing the meat out of a carcass. Sarcasm. An emotionally violent act.
And yet, we live in an extremely sarcastic society. Sarcasm is the first tool to which many of us turn when attempting humor, or argument. Sarcasm is what we use to demonstrate our disdain for an idea or a person. It is also a demonstration of our sense of self-superiority. It's a prideful gesture.
Sarcasm is often used in place of a sound argument. It is typically a sign of weak reasoning, or a lack of solid facts from which to argue. Sarcasm is the first resort of a weak mind.
Yet, we all use sarcasm. It makes us feel powerful. It makes us feel good. It makes others feel stupid and inferior...unless they are sure of their facts. Then it makes us look like fools. Attempting to take cheap shots at the intellect of another when he holds a firm grip on truth and reality, and when his belief in that truth is unwavering, is a fool's errand. It is the mark of a fool.
We profess love for one another, yet commit verbal violence. It's a sad contradiction. If sarcasm is derived from the term to rend as flesh, why do we do that to those we claim to love? Is it to feel superior to them? If so, then we do not truly love. Is it to dominate a disagreement? Then we do not love. Our sarcasm renders our claims of love fraudulent.
Can we not speak the truth in love? Can we not simply state facts? Can we not show our love for one another even in our disagreements?
Your sarcasm does not cause intelligent men to think you intelligent. Just the opposite, really. For your sarcasm is a failure of reasoning. It is mental weakness on display.
It is not included in Jesus' description of the fruit of the spirit.
Just something God's been working on in my spirit. Thought I'd share.
Jerusalem. The most religiously, politically, and militarily important location on earth. For millennia this small area has been the epicenter of wars and atrocities, worship and blasphemy. This tiny speck on the map has been the topic of more discussions, the destination of more pilgrimages, and the core of more arguments than any other geographical location.
As a Christian, I have spent all of my life with Jerusalem as a key figure in my mind. So much of scripture is centered in this very spot that one cannot ignore its significance.
With the renewed focus on Islamic radicalism over the past decade, I thought I'd point out a few things you might find interesting. This blog is called The Daily Whims of an Overactive Mind for a reason. I was struck with a serious case of insomnia last night. Among the many topics that swirled and sworled through my brain, this one kept coming back.
Do a quick Google image search for Jerusalem, and what do you see? In nearly every image, you'll see a skyline dominated by a large gold-colored dome. Ask ten people what this is and eight of them will say, "That's the Temple Mount." They are partially correct. Let me fill you in on some important details. For some, this will be elementary knowledge. However, stick with me until the end of this post and you might find that your outlook has changed somewhat.
That large, arguably beautiful, gold dome is called the Dome of the Rock. It is an Islamic shrine. It is sometimes called the "Mosque of Omar." However, it is neither a mosque, nor was it built by Omar. The prayers of Muslim men are offered up at the Al Aqsa mosque about 200 meters away. Muslims believe that this is the precise spot where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son, Ishmael. This, you'll quickly recognize, is a distortion of the biblical account of Abraham nearly sacrificing his son, Isaac, until the Angel of the Lord told him to stay his hand.
The shrine was built by the Muslim ruler Abd el-Malik in 688-691. It wasn't always gold in color, nor is it real gold. Because of its
situation on bedrock, the numerous earthquakes over the centuries have
not caused significant damage to the structure (unlike its neighbor Al
Aqsa mosque). This shrine was covered by a lead dome from 691
until it was replaced with a gold-colored covering in the early 1960s. Because of
rust, the anodized aluminum cover was again replaced in 1993 with a
gold covering.
I know the details can seem dry, but there is a point to all of this information. For over fourteen hundred years, the Dome of the Rock has been the dominant structure in the Jerusalem skyline. Two hundred meters away is a second Muslim structure, the Al Aqsa mosque.
Let's look at the specific location for a moment before we get back to the shrine.
Mount Moriah is the actual name of the hill we call the Temple Mount. As I mentioned earlier, the Bible declares it as the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac. It is the place God selected for His Holy Temple. Israel's King David built an altar here. Later, his son, Solomon built the first Holy Temple on this very spot. It stood for four hundred ten years until it was destroyed by Babylonians in 586 BCE.
It was rebuilt around seventy years later by Jews returning from the Babylonian exile. At one end was the Stoa, an elevated area upheld by pillars. This is likely the scene where Jesus cleansed the temple of the money changers. Every structure and gate had spiritual and national significance. It was a place of passionate worship of Jehovah. It was a place of ceremony and a place of dedication. The Jewel of Jerusalem. To understand the importance of the Holy Temple to the Jew is to understand the importance of the heart to the body. They love and long for it. Without it, something is missing from their lives.
For Christians, the Temple Mount plays a significant role as well. Jesus religiously visited the Temple. From there, one can see the Mount of Olives, where Jesus delivered His famous sermon. Just outside the walls, one can quickly travel to the spot where Jesus was crucified and buried. Throughout scripture, we are told of the exploits of biblical characters in the streets of this great city.
We are also told of the future of this location. We are told of the rebuilding of the temple. We are told of the return of the Messiah to the Mount of Olives, a fact upon which both Jews and Christians agree.
With a little more understanding of the importance of the Temple Mount to the Jews of Jerusalem, perhaps you will see the Dome of the Rock in a different light. This is the holiest place on earth to the Jews. This is the focal point of the Jewish faith. It is the focal point of their history and their future. To Christians, this is the city to which God's Son was sent to create a pivot-point in history. This is the city over which Jesus wept. Is it possible that with the eternal eye of God, Jesus was looking upon the desecration of the Temple Mount by radical Muslims? Read Luke 19:41-45 and tell me it's not a possibility.
Now, in the holiest place on earth, stands a flashy shrine to a false prophet. A dome of gold that dominates the landscape. A brazen altar to a false god who claims peace, yet bathes the land with blood. You see, the Dome of the Rock is a defilement, a desecration, and an abomination. It might look pretty to the uninformed eye, but it's sole purpose is to demonstrate Islam's purported superiority to both Judaism and Christianity. It's a touchdown spike, an end-zone dance. And as a Jew or a Christian in Jerusalem, you have to see it every time your heart causes you to look to the place God chose for His holiest site.
The mere presence of this building is a vile desecration of the Holy Place of God. Since Islam's desire is to insult both Judaism and Christianity, inscriptions in the building declare that God has no Son, and that to believe that is to believe a falsehood. Islam's insult slams the truth of Holy Scripture. Once again, the "religion of peace" is on the offense.
Yet, our media wants us to believe that the Muslim Palestinians are victims. We're supposed to feel sorry for them. We hear daily of how poor Palestinians are in Israel, how their schools are overcrowded and how difficult their lives are. We hear of Israeli Defense Force tanks rolling into neighborhoods and terrorizing the poor people, while we are made to believe that Israelis live lives of ease.
The truth is quite different. In 2011, there were 680 recorded rocket, missile, and mortar attacks on Israel from the Palestinians in Gaza. In Israel, it isn't a question of if you'll experience Palestinian violence. It's when.
Yet, the media portrays the Palestinians as victims of an "occupation" that has lasted since 1948. What about the occupation of Jerusalem's holiest place for the past fourteen hundred years? What about the multiple ransacks of Jerusalem by Islamic radicals? What about the countless Jewish dead over the millenia, slaughtered by Islamists?
What I used to think of as a "pretty golden dome" that seemed to be a part of Jerusalem's skyline now resembles an ugly scar. It is a disgusting feature on an otherwise beautiful landscape. Scripture says it will one day be destroyed, to be replaced by the Temple of the One True God. I long for that day.
On Sunday, our guest speaker mentioned this passage of scripture. It's found in Matthew 8. A Roman Centurion approached Jesus and asked Him to heal a trusted servant. The servant lay dying at the home of the Centurion. Jesus immediately agreed to go and heal him. However, the Centurion said, "I'm not worthy that you should enter into my home. If you just say the word, my servant will be healed." Then he made a profound observation.
He said, "For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to
one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my
servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
As westerners, we often miss a subtle part of that statement. We often rejoice in the authority we have. We sometimes boast about it. An American might even say, "For I, too, am a man of authority." It's the way we are raised and is the way we approach life. In the Evangelical Movement, we've been taught to recognize our authority in Christ. We write books about it. We sing songs about the enemy being "under our feet." I've even heard some people actually try to "command" angels or even "command" God to do something. (This is not a practice I would endorse, as I'm not all that fond of electricity, fire or brimstone.)
This Centurion, however, had a different perspective. He recognized the source of his authority. He wasn't a man of authority. He was a man under the authority of Rome. When he spoke, he spoke with the voice of Caesar. When he gave an order, his subordinates heard it as if Caesar himself had spoken to them. He knew that Jesus spoke with the authority of the One whose power is beyond that of any man. "...only say the word where you are, and my servant will be healed."
I read a book called The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock a few years ago. This was not a light or easy read. It was written sometime in the late 1600s. In it, Mr. Charnock makes some brilliant points. At one point, the author posits that there is a little bit of atheism within each of us. His rationale is that if we truly believed God to be who He says He is, if we truly believed the Bible as it was written, we would be far too terrified to sin. We would never choose to anger a God who held all power over life and death in his very words. A God who could speak the universe into being, who could part the waters of the sea, who could open the earth to swallow faithless multitudes, who could flood the earth, is not One you would want disappointed with you. I tend to agree. Just sayin'.
For several years I was involved in a church in California that was teaching some aberrant doctrines. Of course, I didn't recognize it until God opened my eyes through His word. The church was very heavily into the Word-Faith Movement. It was a large church that had many prominent special guests each year. I "rubbed elbows" with some of the most well-known individuals in Christian broadcasting, music and preaching. It was exciting and I felt like I was really in the main thrust of a mighty move of God.
However, as I began to dig further into scripture (yeah, blast that inquisitive mind God gave me!), I saw inconsistencies between the teachings of my church and that of scripture. I saw ministers preaching on key words and talking points, while overlooking pivotal doctrines of scripture. I saw people by the thousands who absolutely ate up the uplifting messages that made us all feel important and powerful. And I saw the faith of many of those same people crumble as they faced trials that their positive confessions couldn't combat.
The problem is that the Word-Faith Movement has something very much in common with the new age movement and secular humanism. It's egocentric. It focuses on the individual. It extols the power of an individual's faith, while subtly taking the participants eyes off of the One with the true power.
May I take a moment and explain something very essential to the Christian faith? The "original sin" was not the consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden. Sin preexisted mankind. The original sin was committed by Lucifer when he determined that he would "ascend above the heights of the clouds" and would "be like the Most High." There is a reason Yahweh God is called the Most High. None can exalt himself above Him. No one can stand beside Him. He is the ultimate being.
Given that thought, who are we to say that we have authority? Are we not mere men and women?
Many will quote the scripture where Jesus said those who have faith in Him would do "greater works" than even those that He had done in His ministry. They'll tout the idea that this "proves" the authority of the believer and demonstrates the "fact" that followers of Christ are powerful beings whose words of faith can change the course of history. There are many word-faith teachers who even claim that we become "little gods" who can speak things into being. What they fail to recognize is that it isn't their words that does it. They, in themselves have no authority. They are as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, and yet they are as insignificant as a single grain. Jesus said, just a few verses earlier that it was the Father who was doing the work.
Who are we, that we should think so much of ourselves? It is God alone who can save and heal. It is God alone who can deliver the bound. It is God alone who can create. In Him we live an move and have our very being! The only authority you have is that which Christ has given you! You are mere man, not a god. Yes, you can do great things. However, you must remember that it is His power, His authority, and His glory. We are nothing without Him! As the song says, "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name...would care to feel my hurt? Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to light the way for my ever-wandering heart?"
Ladies and gentlemen, the first sin was self-exaltation. The first sin was pride...thinking more highly of oneself than is proper. Even the prophet Isaiah, when he stood in the presence of God was immediately reminded of his frailty and failures when compared to the brilliant glory he beheld. Who are we that we should think more highly of ourselves?
Our God is able to save, deliver and heal. We simply need to remember that it is God, not us, who has the power and authority. You'll notice that this Centurion said he was a man under authority. While he could walk in that authority, he was also governed by it.
Likewise, we, as followers of Christ, walk in the authority of Christ. However, the authority is not our own. It is His. We use His authority at His bidding and for His pleasure. It is not for our own gain, but for the glory of God. The power in which we tend to revel is not ours, but Christ's. Can we do greater things than raising the dead and healing the lame? Yes! We can demonstrate the power of God in our lives. We can demonstrate the redemption of a lowly, sinful life into a life of dedication and worship to the God of creation! We can lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! We can be the vessels by which God transforms lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yes, God heals! Yes, God saves! Yes, God delivers! He takes joy in doing these things. But it is not we who do these miracles. It is God. Best that we should remember this, for He will not share His glory with any man.
As of the day before yesterday, I decided I was going to take a "leave of absence" from Facebook. Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the constant stream of data that flows into my brain while I'm at work and at home. While I'm at work, I'm working on accounts online, reading updates, adjusting pricing plans, updating the company Facebook page and working with customers. When I'm at home I am always connected with my smartphone and my tablet computer. It seems like I am constantly referring back to Facebook to check in on the status updates of people from all over the country and to attempt to post the wittiest updates on my own page. Add to that my photography page, my family reunion page and monitoring the goings-on with my upcoming high school reunion, I just needed a few days to regroup. One of the reasons I've become so frustrated while on Facebook is my Christian friends. Seriously. My non-Christian friends don't bother me all that much. Probably because they are living up to the stand they've taken in life. They know what I stand for, and that I will always represent Christ to the best of my ability with the help of the Holy Spirit. I am not shy about my stand. I share my faith. They're good with it, and I respect their position as well. Though my heart aches for them to place Christ as the central figure in their lives, I respect the fact that God has given us all free will. I only hope that my ongoing prayers, example, and encouragement will be a catalyst for their conversion. Many of my Christian friends, however, are enough to drive me to distraction. If I base my understanding of God solely upon the status updates and comments of those who claim a relationship with Christ, I find three prevalent themes:
Theology is BAD
Religion is BAD
If you point out how any type of behavior diverges from scripture, that's being judgmental... and, as we all can guess, Judgmentalism is BAD.
Seriously??!! These are people who should know better! (Oops! There I go being judgmental again!) Let's look at these three items in a bit more detail, shall we?
Theology
Let's look at the meaning of the word theology. Theo comes from the Greek word theos, meaning God. -logy also comes from the Greek, and is a suffix in the English language that means the study or knowledge of... Therefore, the word theology really means the knowledge of God. As Christians, we believe in the Word of God... or at least we claim to. If we believe the Word of God, the Bible, we must acknowledge that God has described His attributes, personality and commands in His Word. As a Christian, there is no way around that acknowledgment. It either is, or it isn't true. If it isn't, than the Jesus you're following is a liar, and you're a fool to follow Him. So, with all this in mind, can someone please explain to my poor underdeveloped mind how theology is bad? Can the knowledge or study of God be bad? It was God who said "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me." [Pr. 8:17] He also said, "you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." [Jer. 29:13] Throughout scripture, we are instructed to seek the Lord, to know the Lord, to emulate His attributes. To say that theology is a bad thing is to put aside this mandate. These are not man-made ideals or man/centered rules. These are directives handed down through the Holy Spirit to the men who penned the Word of God. I submit to you the idea that those who claim theology is bad or unnecessary 1. don't know what the word means, 2. haven't gotten to know the God they claim to serve, and/or 3. have hearts that are filled with rebellion and simply refuse to submit themselves to the lordship of God.
Religion
James 1:27 says this: "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." This is a short summary of Christ's ministry on earth. He cared for those in need, and he kept himself unsullied by the filth of the sinful world. All the while, He spoke the truth of scripture and taught adherence to biblical law. Many say that Jesus came to abolish religion. This is false, and is a dangerous false doctrine. Jesus said, "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled." [Mt. 5:19] His sentence just prior to that was, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." Did Jesus come to abolish religion? No. Did Jesus abide by the religious traditions of the Jews. Yes, inasmuch as those traditions were scripturally mandated. Jesus fulfilled the law and cast aside those man-made perversions that had become popular at the time. Have there been man-made rules that have been passed down from generation to generation? Yes. People will always try to insert their own philosophies into scripture. The point is to know the Word of God, and not to be fooled by extra-biblical teachings. False religion is the hijacking of scriptural truths to serve human interests. As I recently told a friend, to shun tradition merely because it is tradition is rebellion. To question the origin of traditions and weigh them against the Word of God is wisdom. Many claim that religion has caused violence in the world. True. However, not pure and undefiled religion. False and man-centered perversions of religion have caused violence. In short, sin has caused violence and death, just as scripture promised. Think about it. The "crusades" were caused by power hungry men who used their positions to try to spread their influence, all the while pretending they were doing it in the name of God. These crusades were largely in response to an earlier power grab by Islamic zealots who used their false religion to capture, torture and kill people by the thousands. I believe this is one main reason scripture draws a line of distinction between false religion and "pure and undefiled religion." Religion isn't bad, folks. Man-centered perversions of religion are bad. If we don't hold true to the meanings of our terms, then nothing we say has any meaning.
Judgmentalism
This is, by far, the most commonly used tool of those whose actions are called into question in light of scripture. Judgmentalism is misunderstood and misused in many cases. Hopefully I can help to clarify the topic a bit. "You're a Christian! You're not supposed to judge!" How many times have you heard this? How many times have you said this? In Matthew 7:1 and 2, Jesus says "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Seems pretty cut and dried, right? Elsewhere in scripture, though, we are instructed to measure the qualifications of spiritual leaders by comparing their lifestyles to scriptural edicts [1 Ti. 3:1-13, Tit. 1:5-9] We are also told that if someone calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral, covetous, an idolator, slanderer, drunkard or swindler, we are not to associate with him at all. [1 Cor. 5:11] Given these two commands, are we not asked to judge? Yet, when one holds up scripture and shows how another's actions deviate from it, he is chastised for being judgmental. You see, it's all about context. Jesus did say not to judge. He connected that to judgment placed against ourselves. As my father used to say: "Whenever you point your finger at someone else, you have three pointed back at you." How true this is! That's exactly what Jesus was saying! Jesus said that we would be measured by the same standards to which we hold others. He was telling us not to be hypocrites. He was telling us that if we judge, the very standards by which we judge will be used against us. I am not qualified to judge the inner workings of your heart and soul. I cannot place myself in the position of the Judge Who determines your eternal future. For me to try is foolishness. However, scripture tells us that we will be known (judged) by our works. Scripture tells us to judge whether a man is qualified to serve in leadership in the church by weighing the evidence of his life against scripture. I can--and should--point to scripture and call upon my brethren to question their own actions and motives. Let me make something perfectly clear. Those who ride the "don't be judgmental" pony are soon bucked off! They are people who, again, 1. don't know the meaning of what they're saying, 2. haven't spent enough time in scripture to understand the biblical standards of holiness to which we are all held, and/or 3. have a heart full of rebellion and misuse the words of Christ to justify their own sinful behavior. There are certain standards the scriptures set for those who call themselves followers of Christ. Those standards must be followed, or you prove the failure of your own testimony. That isn't someone else bringing judgment on you, that's your own choices bringing judgment. Those whose lives are solidly rooted in the Word of God see things through spiritual eyes. Don't be so arrogant as to believe that you can live in contravention to God's Word and have that life be unnoticeable to God's people! God's standards do not change with time or popular opinion. If something was wrong two thousand years ago, it's still wrong now. And throwing the hollow accusation of judgmentalism upon whoever sees your sin and calls your attention to it does not nullify God's Word. If you are listening to someone who allows you to think you can do whatever you want to do without spiritual consequence, I refer you back to the book of Matthew, chapter 5: verse 19, where Jesus said, "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." I know this blog isn't going to win me any new friends. I'm OK with that. It may even cost me a few. That's OK, too. What I'm not OK with is my friends thinking they are just fine because they get together with other like-minded folks, have a good time, feel good about themselves because they feel justified in their worldly behavior, and then die and find out how self-deceived they are. I love my friends too much for that. When someone calls someone else judgmental, they say it in a way that indicates that the person is uncaring, unloving, and hateful. You can call me judgmental if you want. Just line your life up with scripture, or you'll find yourself surprised one day when God says "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you."
Comes from a term that meant to rend, or tear apart violently, as with flesh. Like a wolf tearing the meat out of a carcass. Sarcasm. An emotionally violent act.
