This I Believe

In an age in which seemingly vast numbers of people are confused about their beliefs or experience an ongoing evolution in their belief system based upon public whims and political correctness, I see a need to make clear statements and acknowledge the beliefs that form the foundation of my character.  Therefore, I will take this opportunity to publicly state where I stand on the most important issues in history.

I believe God created the heavens and the earth.  In His unfathomable brilliance, He fashioned the stars and the planets, the moons and the space within which they move.

I believe since God created space and time, He is bound by neither.  This is the concept of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.  He is the beginning and the end, and sees all from where He stands.  Therefore, no circumstance or event is beyond His ability to control.  He is never surprised or caught off-guard.

I believe God is sovereign.  Though in many cases He has revealed His reasoning to us in His word, He is not obligated to do so.  He has chosen to order the universe the way He sees fit.  That is His right and His prerogative.  He does not need to condescend to explain Himself to me.  Likewise, mere mortal mankind is foolish in its attempts to refashion God in its own image, for He cannot be contained in human understanding or will.

I believe mankind chose selfishness and disobedience rather than honor and holiness.  Through this choice, sin entered the human race.  Because of that sin, mankind now struggles under the self-chosen curse of sinfulness.

I believe God poured out His righteous wrath on the earth in the form of a flood, nearly wiping out life on the earth.  This was a holy cleansing in which God not only showed His anger but also His mercy.

I believe God made a covenant with Israel when He chose to send His Son to dwell among them.  This covenant has often been broken by Israel, but has been upheld by the great Creator as He has protected, prospered and defended His chosen people throughout the ages.

I believe God sent His Son to dwell among men.  He was miraculously fully God and fully Man.  He was the perfect example of love in action, mercy exercised, and grace personified.  He was the only person to live a sinless life.  Because of the conflict between His sinlessness and the scourge of sin that clings to mankind like a plague, He was rejected by men, arrested, and murdered.

I believe Jesus, God's Son, arose from the grave victorious over death.  In this act, He demonstrated His transcendence of the laws of nature.  He is, once again, not bound by space or time.  He is all-powerful and undefeatable.

I believe Jesus ascended to heaven, where He now abides with the Father.

I believe God sent the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, to guide and direct those who have committed themselves to Him.  The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, the three facets of the Personhood of God.

I believe mankind can have a personal relationship with Almighty God, through Jesus Christ.  That relationship is the ultimate reason for man's creation.  For, God desires that His creation should seek Him in love and worship.

I believe that maintaining a relationship with God requires devotion and commitment, that faith without works is dead and useless, and that our loving Father is willing to embrace imperfect humans who seek to honor Him in all they do.  He has given us the pathway to His embrace in His revealed Word.  Our task is to follow hard after Him by seeking to live by the precepts He has given us.

I believe that, just as selfishness and disobedience introduced sin into mankind, so selfishness and disobedience are the foundation upon which all sin is built.  This is why God revealed His commands to His people, starting with "You will have no other gods before Me."

I believe that a time is coming when Jesus will return to earth to catch away those who have embraced Him in this life, and that others who have ignored the message of Christ will be left behind.  Not everyone who calls himself a follower of Christ will be counted among the true believers.

I believe that God has given man the choice of his eternal destination, a literal heaven or a literal hell.  Heaven, a place where those who know and love God will spend eternity with Him, and hell, a place where those who have rejected God in favor of selfish pursuits and disobedience will spend eternity in the torment of separation from God.

I believe these things to be true.  Therefore, I believe it is my duty to share this knowledge and reach as many as possible, not because I am important or special, but because I'm indebted to my Creator for His many blessings and am filled with love for my fellow man.  I wish that all mankind would embrace the Truth of the Savior and reap the reward of eternal life with Him.

This is what I believe.  This is the message I deliver.  This is the passion of my heart.

Just a Few Hours To Go...

Thirty year-old Lauren Rousseau was a permanent substitute teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary.  On December 14, 2012 she went to work like any other day.  Anyone who has ever worked with young children knows that the process of corralling youngsters is very similar to the job of herding cats.  This was Lauren's job, and she was hard at it that day.

Thirty-eight year-old Anthony Tempesta was a husband and father who worked as a bond broker for Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.  On September 11, 2001, he was working on the 105th floor of One World Trade Center.  It was his daughter's seventh birthday.  His wife had called him because their front door had been open when she awoke that morning.  He'd stayed on the phone with her while she'd checked the house for intruders.

Army Pfc. Michael Pearson was just twenty-two years old.  He had left a local furniture business job to join the military and have the opportunity to serve his country.  He was known for having a great sense of humor and loved "horsing around with his nieces and nephews."  He was at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas on November 5, 2009.

Lori Ann Lewis-Rivera was a wife and mother who was simply going about her daily activities, vacuuming out her minivan at a Shell station in Kensington, MD on October 3, 2002.  Life doesn't get more normal than that, right?  The mundane tasks of an ordinary day.  However, like those listed above her and like so many more, her time on earth was about to come to an end.

On Monday, two explosions rocked the finish-line area of the Boston Marathon.  Three died and scores were injured. Later, MITPD officer Sean Collier was murdered.  In West, TX, a fertilizer plant exploded killing fourteen and injuring nearly two hundred others.  An 8-month-old girl was killed and her mother badly injured when a driver hit a bus stop in a St. Louis suburb.

The people I've listed here were just like you and me.  They had families, lives, jobs and daily duties.  They had bills, stresses, successes and failures. They were imperfect yet beautiful creatures who were trying to do the best they could in the world.

If you're like me at all, your heart's desire is to give your children a better life than your own.  You work hard, whether in an office, a factory, or in your home.  You end your days tired from your daily activities and you get up in the morning to repeat the cycle.  You have bills that you sometimes have to struggle to pay.  You have stresses from employers, neighbors or family members that cause you to sometimes lose sleep.

Sound familiar?  It's a story as old as time.  We all have such circumstances and stresses.  We have people we love and who love us.  We have certain obligations that we spend a large amount of time trying to meet.  We have joys and we have struggles.  It's just part of being human.

The thing that struck me today, in the wake of this week's violence and mayhem was the suddenness of the events that took their lives.  These people--and the countless just like them--were simply going about their business.  Do you think they awoke on their fateful morning thinking that they had just a few hours to go?

Probably not.  And neither did I this morning when I left for work.  Neither did you when you started your day today.  And yet, today could be that day.  It can come by human hand, by illness, or by happenstance.  Life can be extinguished in an instant. James 4:14 says:  "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

It sounds pretty ominous, doesn't it?  Yet, in another verse, scripture says: "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

So, what's my point?  The Bible tells us how fleeting life is, yet we're not supposed to worry about it.  Interesting, and so counter-intuitive, right?  It's a piece of cake, actually.  

Yes, life is fleeting.  Yes, life can be snuffed out or radically changed in an unexpected instant.  And no, we are not to worry about it.  And... yes, it is possible!  You see, when you've given your life to Christ, committed your very existence and all your plans and ambitions to Him, the "peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7)  When the Spirit of God thrives within you, there is no room for fear.  God is love and "perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)

When you've given yourself to Christ, you recognize His sovereignty and His power.  He is then in charge of your well-being.  If He is sovereign in our lives, then we must choose to believe that He has the right to decide what comes our way.  That way we can live in that peace that passes understanding--that peace that, no matter what's going on around us, places its trust in our sovereign God.  That's true peace.  That's peace that doesn't rely on my strengths or weaknesses, but places trust in God, Who has no weaknesses!  

You can have this peace.  All you have to do is stop relying on yourself or others for your assurance.  Turn to God, Who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.  My email address is 2010.michaelland@gmail.com.  

On Being A Dad

I have two natural sons.  One born in 1994 and one in 1998.  These boys have grown into really impressive young men.  My oldest son has recently graduated high school.  He is preparing to leave for Air Force basic training where he'll begin a career serving our country.

My younger son is an accomplished drummer.  He's still in high school, where his people skills and personality are gaining him a lot of attention.  My sons are articulate, exceptionally smart, have great senses of humor, and are a lot of fun to be around.  I love these young men dearly.

My wife has a son who was born just before we started dating.  He is now five years old and he knows me as Daddy.  He's a talkative little guy whose dream is to be a superhero.  He says that his favorite superheroes are, in this order, the Incredible Hulk (because he has huge muscles), Jesus (because he's the strongest of them all), and me.  

My wife and I married last August.  She is a wonderful woman and a great mom.  She's done an amazing job with Tiegen, and we're very excited about the upcoming arrival of our daughter, Palin Nichole.  She should make her debut around November 13.

I recently got the opportunity to attend my oldest son's high school graduation.  It was the first time I'd seen Adam or Isaac in a very long time.  I'd like to be able to say that I had a major role in shaping these young men into the people they are today, but I can't.  I haven't been there for them as I should have.  Thinking of the time and distance between us tears my heart out.  I have longed for those boys every day since before they were born.  Being separated from them by an unpleasant divorce never altered that fact.  Anyone who is close to me knows that there are times when I would just withdraw into myself and sit in silence because I could think of nothing but my sons.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to begin rebuilding the bridges that time and distance have eroded.  As I recently sat across a table from them in a restaurant, I see that these are fascinating young men who, even if I weren't their dad, I would want to get to know.  The depth of their thought processes and the warmth of their personalities move me.  There's a light inside them that draws people to them.

My high school reunion is this week, and I was asked to write a short autobiographical record of the past twenty-five years.  As I sat down at the computer and pondered where I've been and what I've done, the most vividly emotional moments were those spent with Adam, Isaac, and Tiegen.  Jobs I've had and places I've lived fade into nothingness next to the memories built with these three guys.  Going to a little northern Nevada county fair with Adam when he was very little, rolling down a grassy hill with Isaac in a park in Oregon, building a "fort" and a cannon for them in Alaska, and splashing in a little plastic pool with Tiegen on a hot summer day.  This is my highlight film.  I haven't always been the best dad.  I haven't been where I needed to be when I needed to be there.  But the love I have for my sons is beyond description.

In November, Palin Nichole Land will be born.  Once again I'll be blessed to carry one of my children with paternal pride and introduce her to the world.  Once again I'll get the joy of watching through new eyes of wonder as she discovers things we've long forgotten.  Once again I'll share the blessing of cuddling with my little one.  I long for that day, and fear it as well.

I don't deserve the blessings who call me Dad.  Adam, with his depth and compassion.  Isaac, with his humor and unnerving wisdom.  Tiegen, with his inquisitive mind and thoughtfulness.  And now, Palin, who won't call me anything for a while.  God has truly blessed me, and I am grateful beyond words.

Peanuts on the airplane...

Life is about the destination, not the journey!

I know, that goes against the tide of contemporary teaching.  We are constantly told to stop and smell the roses, enjoy life, focus on today, etc.

All of that advice has some merit.  We should not just numbly stumble through life, oblivious to the blessings that come our way.  We should seek adventure and chances for personal growth.  We should touch as many lives as we can with the love and grace of God.

All of these things are true!

However, as I was driving to work today I heard a brief snippet from a speaker who mentioned that nobody enjoys a trip so much that they choose to stay on the plane rather than go to their destination.  Even when traveling "first class,"  the plane ride is a means of getting us somewhere.

So much of the teaching today has adopted the humanist approach to life.  According to their philosophies, we should not be concerned with our eternal future, but should be focused on the beauties of the day-to-day human experience.  We focus on the blessings that come our way during this life.  We zero in on what we can get out of life--business success, popularity, companionship, financial benefits.  One pastor with whom I associated used boast about "the favor of God."

I am not demeaning the blessings of God. He grants us what we need to have in order to live the lives He's called us to live.  I am grateful for the many blessings He's chosen to give to me.  I have a beautiful family, a comfortable home, a few close friends, a car, a job, etc.  Those things are in my life because of the unmerited favor of God and I am grateful.

But those things are the peanuts on the airplane!  They are given to us to make this journey easier and more comfortable.  They are given to us to help us accomplish the tasks before us.  Those blessings are not to be our goals! 

We often cling to those blessings as though they were the goal.  Like the Children of Israel hoarding the manna that God had provided, we expend so much energy and time seeking our definition of the blessings of God.  And, like the Israelites experienced, those hoarded gifts spoil and decay.  God's love and mercy are new every morning!  He provides us with what we need for life.  He expects us to work hard and trust Him for what we need.  But, much like the mentality of the four-year-old in my living room, we confuse what we want with what we need.  We are so eager to obtain the little pleasures of life that we lose sight of the destination He has set before us.

Our goal is to be with God.  Our goal is to seek Him.  Our goal is to spend eternity in a love relationship with the One who lovingly created us.  We are the Bride of Christ!  We are traveling toward the Marriage Feast!  Why do we get so wrapped up in the peanuts on the plane?

Jerusalem

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.

For I, too, am a man under authority...

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.

Seriously??!!

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:

1. Theology is BAD
2. Religion is BAD
3. 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."