No Self Control

            I found this article to be interesting.  Well.  I guess I don’t find the article all that peculiar.  It’s the general response that I don’t understand.  Most of the responses I have been reading seem to be upset that she was let go because her boss found her irresistible.

It doesn’t make sense to me.  I mean, that is precisely what our world teaches over and over.  My daughter is in her first year of high school and she is being taught the very same things I was taught over 20 years ago.  Whenever anyone brought up the concept of celibacy outside of marriage, the predominant teaching was that you can’t expect people to control themselves.

                It is taught year after year, generation after generation, and from class to class.  We are animals with no self control.  Whatever your inclinations are, either men or monkeys, there is nothing you can do about it.  History and science generally teach the same.  We’re just creatures of instinct.   (Personally, I don't know why we aren't offended by the message.)

So why is it, that a man without self control would offend our culture?  Not only that.  Why are we appalled at rape?  If we can’t control ourselves, then we can’t control ourselves.

                One of the comments I read said something like this – ‘I thought we were past this sort of thing.’   That’s precisely the point.  This is the very direction we are headed in.  We tell each other that we are animals.  We teach our students that we can’t expect them to control themselves.  We glorify the orgasm in song and in film, and somehow we have the gall to be offended when somebody can’t control himself.

Of course…the news writers spend very little time taking note of the fact that her boss asked her to dress down.  I don’t know about you, but in my workplace, the people who sign my paycheck generally expect me to do as they say.  In fact, I even have to wear the clothes they tell me to.  

Did the dentist do right?  In my opinion, that depends on whether he is a monkey or a child of God.  If he is a monkey, he did well.

For the Weird Girl

  Whether we realize it or not, there is a very real battle being fought for our minds.  Some of those fights are waged hoping that we will simply purchase their product. Others are trying to convince us of their political views or to get us to join their cause.  Others are vying for our very souls.

   I often wonder whether or not those battles are intentional, or if we have been programmed as such.   We’re taught, at least in English, how to form a thesis and defend the argument, in order to convince the reader of that thesis.  Rather than a seeking after truth, we have been taught how to defend our point.  (Personally, I think there is a great injustice in that)

     It is therefore no surprise that our world does everything it can to mould you into their form, buy their stuff and think their thoughts.

    Sending you off to high school wasn’t really all that tough of a decision for your mother and I.  A lot of people thought it must have been hard.  You have likely overheard many people ask, “So.  Are you ready for the big change as your daughter heads off to high school?”

   I guess it was big in the sense that we did a lot of praying over the decision.  It was also big in the sense that I almost cried when your cat walked to the road to say good-bye on your first day of school.  It was not a big deal in the sense that we are worried about your ability to find your way in this world. 

  It isn’t so much that we think you’re the perfect girl and that you don’t sin.  It’s more that, we believe that your faith in Christ is authentic, and that He is able to meet your every need as you navigate through life.

    As believers, we often debate over what our lives in this world should look like.  Sometimes we look down on people who seem to isolate themselves from the world.  The truth is, we are in the world whether we like it or not.  The question we need to ask is, “What am I doing as I live in the world?”

Jeremiah 15:19

“....If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!”

   When I think of you in your life at high school, God’s words to Jeremiah often come to mind when He said, “You must influence them.  Do not let them influence you!”

   You are much different than the world, and by now, you have no doubt noticed exactly that.  It’s not that you are better than anyone, that you sin less or that you do more good things.  The difference is Christ.   Sure.  Our world is fine with individuality, just as long as our individuality remains about the clothes we wear, our hair style or wearing black lipstick.  We find opposition when we actually are different.

   I believe that you are there in your setting to influence those around you.  They are not to influence you.  My hope is that you don’t grow weary in being you, because your mother and I REALLY like you.  I know it can be tiring to swim upstream, but that’s kind of the whole point.

Don't Work On Your Marriage

  Here is where I finally blow it.  I am about to write something that flies in the face of what many or most serious Christians in my life have to say about the topic.    Actually, you may be one of the many people in my life, who at one time said this to me, “You need to work on your marriage for it to be successful.”

  Don’t get me wrong.  I think marriage is great.  The bond between husband and wife can be beautiful, romantic and God glorifying all at the same time.  Still, I don’t really believe in “working on my marriage”.

  To be sure, many of the things that I do might be considered by some as an attempt to “work on my marriage”.  I do most of those things we read about in those, ‘Top Ten Tips for a Successful Marriage” articles.   I simply don’t do those kinds of things as a way to put effort into the relationship.

    We are planning to go on another date this coming month.  We’ll likely go to Boston Pizza.  She’ll order a chocolate eruption cake and I’ll down a perogy pizza.  After that we’ll stay the night at a motel.  In the morning we’ll go shopping at Dollarama.  We often go for walks together to the back of our farm.  It’s a 2k walk there and back.  When she asks me to do something, I do it.  I don’t do these things because I’m trying to make it work.  I do them because I love her.  We go out together because we like being together.  I pick up my clothes because she’s my wife, not my mom.

   If you are married, I hope you enjoy a healthy marriage.  As important as our marriages are, (And I believe that God hates divorce) I really find that for the believer, our marriage is secondary to our relationship with Christ.

1 Corinthians 7:29
But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage

   The Bible has a lot to say about the relationship between husbands and wives, yet it isn’t the primary theme throughout scripture.  Marriage is meant to be a very brief lifelong affair.  If we are to ‘work on a relationship’, the relationship that calls for the most attention is our relationship to Christ. 

  In Christian circles, we have developed a significant amount of resources designed to help strengthen our marriages.  Most of them are wonderful.  Is it not possible, as noble as the cause may be that we occasionally snub the true lover of our soul in the process? 

  What I’m advocating isn’t necessarily a recipe for a successful marriage, although, most of the time, if our hearts really are walking in step with Jesus, the overflow out of it tends to improve our relationships with other people.

    If I grow in my relationship with God having the love of Christ, the peace of Christ, the patience of Christ, the kindness of Christ and the gentleness of Christ, what kind of impact do you think it would have on my marriage?  And if in growing more like Christ doesn’t make me a better husband, what kind of God am I seeking after anyway?  An authentically deepening relationship with Jesus, often benefits the relationships we have with others.  (Often, not always)

  There are no guarantees in life.  If you were to pour all of your attention into your marriage, you are only one part of the equation.  Sorry folks.  Wives leave perfectly decent husbands.  And there are husbands who leave, even when they have a good thing going.  Even if you do everything you possibly could, you might not find yourself capable of maintaining the relationship.

   I won’t ask you to model your marriage after mine.  I won’t even ask that you seek to be married.  I would encourage you to either receive or to remain in fellowship with Christ.  Our relationship with Him deserves the attention.

 (Unless your God is dead, and unable to make you more like Christ.  In that case, work on your marriage.)

Covering Up Sin

This week I posted this on my Facebook:

“So you’ve turned from a life of sin.  What lengths do you go to cover up your tracks?”

   I thought I’d answer my own question here in this space, because it wouldn’t fit under comments.

   I guess to me, the phrase ‘cover up’ sounds misplaced.  When I think of someone covering something up, it’s usually in reference to someone who is afraid that they will get caught.  They aren’t really sorry that they did the deed.  They just don’t want to be found out.

  Having been forgiven, I’m really not proud of my shame, but I don’t live in hiding either.  So where I don’t feel the need to cover my old life as some dirty secret, there are reasons why we don’t intentionally broadcast our past depravity.  Here are a couple of reasons.

God Will Forgive You – The World Probably Won’t.

  If you have believed in Christ, in the way you have been called, your sins are forgiven.  The world however is not so forgiving.  Oh.  They say they are tolerant.  In actual fact, we are the ones who are expected to be tolerant.

  If I say Tiger Woods, we remember his infidelity.  If you were alive during Nixon’s time, you will no doubt associate his memory with scandal.  God wipes the slate clean for those who receive His pardon.  The world will hold your crimes against you as long as she can remember them, perhaps longer.

  It’s no secret that employers often pass over potential employees after discovering their dirt.  So maybe the picture with you and the crack pipe would be better left off of your Timeline.  Just saying.  You might be proud of who you were and all, but it might hamper your future.

The Immaturity of Others

  If everyone was jumping off of a bridge would you?  A lot of people would.  I had the privilege of listening to this conversation between a man and a son a few weeks ago.

  “Hey dad.  I want to do STUPID THING”

  “Don’t do STUPID THING son.  It’s stupid”

  “Sure dad.  But you did STUPID THING when you were younger.”

  “I know son.  But it’s really stupid.  So you shouldn’t do STUPID THING.”

  “That’s not fair dad.  You did STUPID THING when you were young, so why can’t I do STUPID THING now?”

   Unless you live under a rock, you have known people to do stupid things, just because other people did stupid things.   You probably know of people who were unfaithful, because someone else was unfaithful.

  Just so you know.  The young man ended up doing STUPID THING.  People are dumb.  We use the sins of others to justify our own.  When others find out your sins, some of them will be tempted to use them to justify doing the same.

  This isn’t the whole story on the topic.  It’s only part of it.  There is a place to publicly confess, as a way to speak against the issue itself.  Feel free to write that part yourself.

Processing Life

 How accurate are you at processing life as it happens?   I’m sure you’re a pro.

    My daughter brought a graphic novel home from her school’s library this week, and she gave me a weird look when I asked her, “What is it teaching you?” 

“Nothing.  It’s not a teaching kind of a book, dad.”

   Whether we know it or not, and whether we intend it or not, the stories we tell do in fact teach a message.  As we looked at it together, it was making rather strong statements about good and evil, right and wrong, sin and righteousness.

   Many of the people who read my writings have read at least some of The Bible.  If you are among such people and if you look at The Bible for what it is, it isn’t a book of doctrine or systematic theology.  It is a book composed largely of stories.  Stories were even one of Christ’s greatest methods of teaching.

   Other than the parables of Christ, the stories we read about in Scripture are true stories.  So I often feel that our ability to grow as believers depends largely on our ability to process life itself.   We learn and we teach each other, whether intentionally or not, by the very lives we live, and the light in which we view life’s narrative.  The brush that paints the picture, often proves to be more significant than the events of the story itself.

   When we read life stories told from God’s perspective, it looks different than when the same events are told elsewhere.   Evil is called as evil, and righteousness as righteousness.  Dark is called dark, and light is called light.

  As we looked closer at my daughter’s graphic novel, in a very noticeable fashion, dark was portrayed as being light, and light was presented as if it were the darkness.  Similarly, sin was presented as if it were the right thing to do.  For a piece that wasn’t supposed to teach anything, it made some very strong statements.

     I have no idea whether or not the author had crafted his story with the intent of making sin look right.  I find it more likely, that in his heart, he really saw nothing wrong with sin, and wasn’t intentionally trying to convince someone of his way of thinking.  It just happens on its own.

  Similarly, our lives teach whether we know it or not; whether we intend it or not.  For all of the teaching I do, I get more feedback where people have been challenged, just from watching how I make decisions, love my children and live out my faith in Christ.  Likewise, more often than not, I find myself being convicted of sin, not by the preacher’s words, but from the conviction of a close friend. 

  Depending on the company we keep, it works the other way as well.  It’s easy to find comfort in our depravity when it’s affirmed in the lives of those who walk with us. 

  Considering that scripture is made up of real stories, written by God’s real people, I often find it odd when I hear of people who say that life’s experiences tell a different tale.  If your life’s story doesn’t sound like God’s story, why is that?      

  If you’re drawing different conclusions about life than God does, who’s wrong?

 

Alien Love Lessons:What I've Been Writing Lately

    I saw an old friend today.  Well, he’s not old.  He’s my age.  It might be old......Oh never mind.  He asked me a question that a lot of people have been asking lately.  I don’t remember his exact phrasing, but it went something like this, “So do you see yourself writing any more books in the near future?”

  I gave him the typical answer.  “No.  Nothing seems to be coming for the moment.”

   It’s strange.  I’ve actually been writing a lot lately.  It just doesn’t seem like writing.  I’m trying to put together a study guide for Alien Love, and for some reason, it just doesn’t seem to count.   I guess I should change my answer next time.  “Yes.  Yes I am writing.”

  In a weird way, putting together a study guide seems to take more thought and preparation than composing the actual book itself.  If you’re interested, I’ll give a peek at a short section of the guide where I share the vision, not only for the book, or the study, but for my life’s work in general. 

The Vision

If you’re serious about this, which I hope you are, allow me the privilege of sharing my personal vision, not just for “my group”, or “your group”, but for the church as a whole.  It’s a vision which I endeavor to strive towards, and will continue to do so until it is achieved.  It is a vision, not of a dream, but of a past reality, and one which will find its perfect fulfillment when we stand with Christ in glory.  It is a picture of a people who are right with God and with each other. 

When you read the passage I am about to share with you, I urge you to treasure it.  Place it in that special place in your heart.  Imagine it to be the kind of photograph that would sit on the mantle above the fireplace in your grandfather’s home, holding the very snapshot of a precious moment captured in time.  It is the image of a people who, if but for a historical moment, loved each other well.

Acts 2:42-47 (NLT)

The Believers Form a Community

⁴² All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

            Humour me a little longer.  Take the picture down from the mantle if you would and gaze upon the beauty of it.  What do you see?  Do you see people in the foreground and in the back?  Can you place yourself among them?  Read the passage again if need be.

            What kind of expressions are on their faces?  How do they look upon one another?  Are they sharing a meal?  Holding hands in prayer? Maybe they are sitting at the feet of, listening to their beloved teacher.  Can you see your place in it?  Did you bring a salad?  What is the temperature there?  Is it warm?

            This is what I work toward:  A people who have been reconciled with their Father and with each other through Christ our Lord.  I hope your heart beats similarly.

How I Met Your Mother

  Hollywood probably won’t pick up on our story, because we didn’t come together to get laid.  We came together to make a life.   We met each other 20 years ago this past September, although, maybe it would be more accurate to say that she met me. During our first encounter together, she walked away thinking of me as the exotic country boy from Tillsonburg.  After that first week at the University of Guelph, I merely remembered her as a vaguely familiar and pretty face.  

  She had never heard of Tillsonburg before, but that long haired, country boy had been spinning the tobacco town tale on his turntable.  That is where her first memories of me begin; listening to me playing Stompin Tom Connors from my small university residence room.

  I first remember seeing her standing in line at the Mountain cafeteria.  At that point, I only knew I had seen her somewhere before.  I also knew that she was standing behind me.  Besides being familiar, she was also very pretty.  I remember her smiling at me when our eyes met, and it wasn’t the kind of alluring or captivating smile that a poet would write about.  It was the kind of smile that exudes from an authentically happy heart.

   This is the scene which has set the stage for the rest of our lives.  I wasn’t in the pizza line because I was hoping to find someone.  I was waiting for pizza because I was hungry.   I couldn’t see myself standing in the very moment which would change the course of my life for the better.  I simply saw the opportunity to ask a pretty girl to have supper with me and my friends, and for the moment, that is where I left it.

  She must have read a lot of books about ‘How To Get A Guy’, because in the weeks that followed, she demonstrated both the resolve an tenacity of a skilled hunter.  Either that, or she was a natural born man killer.  I am not sure which.  Whether by training or instinct, she regularly appeared in my room, pretending to ask my roommate for help with her calculus.

  There really was no hope of escape for me.  Besides being resolved and tenacious, she was also very cunning, calculated and methodical.  She had studied her prey, knowing my schedule and eating habits.  I know this now, but at the time, I believed it merely coincidence that she happened to show up at the places I ate each day.  The thought never occurred to me that she might have been interested in me.  I was becoming acutely aware however, that I most definitely did like her.

   It’s probably a good thing that I didn’t know much about womanizing, because I probably would have found a very different kind of woman, and that is a thought I find to be completely unbearable, even tormenting.  We carried on this way for a few weeks.  Morning after morning, as I drowned my waffles in syrup, she was there.  Maybe that’s how relationships are meant to grow.  Maybe being there for, and with a person is the most fertile ground there is, since I found myself hoping, day after day that she would be there for me in the next.

   I find myself thinking the same still today, hoping, day after day that she will be there with me, and I with her in the next.  Sometimes I wonder if it’s bad to continue to ask God for more, to see her in another day, and yet again tomorrow. 

 How many tomorrows can I have?  I’ll take them all.

Labour Disputes

  I’m fine with whatever kind of world you want to build.  I truly am.  I don’t plan on staying here for much more than 40 years or so anyway.  So please don’t take this as a scathing criticism of any kind.  I don’t much care what kind of ideology or political system you support.  In my mind, they’re all flawed.  I wonder how long it will take before we realize that none of our ‘isms’ actually work.

   This year, our daughter entered the public school system, and it just so happens that it’s another year with a labour dispute.  Anymore, it seems as though there is some kind of dispute every time the contract comes to its close, whether we’re dealing with hockey players, nurses or teachers.

  As for education, it hasn’t always been this way. I grew up in a world where teachers taught, nurses nursed and hockey players played hockey without having a labour dispute every 3 years.  There have always been issues for sure.   And no.  It’s not just me and how I remember things.  I ask people older than myself, and it really hasn’t always been this way.  My take on it is this:  Without Christ, nothing works well.

   I’m not sure if you know this or not, but when people are doing something either for God or a god, they work differently than if they are simply working for money.  Some people will hijack a plane or strap on a suicide vest, blowing themselves up at a busy shopping mall.  Others surrender their own comfort and ease in order to help the poor, free the oppressed, keep the peace or heal the sick. 

  I know a guy who writes stuff.  He has written for the past 11 years, publishing two books and it has cost him thousands.  He does what he does because he senses that it is God’s calling in his life.    I know a young woman who works tirelessly at trying to raise funds to set other women free from sexual slavery.  She doesn’t get paid.  She does it because she thinks that her God cares about justice.  I know several people who teach their students without being financially compensated, merely because they are convinced that God wants them to do so, and because they love their students more than they love their own life.

  It is not the norm, but it is very common for believers to leave successful careers in the “secular” world, in order to pursue positions that pay significantly less, all because they believe that their God is calling them to do so.  It’s common in Christian circles, but I find it to be extremely rare outside of those circles.

  For a person who views their work as their calling, they don’t do it for the contract, paid sick days, job security or benefits.  They do it because of their faith.  They do it because they want to help people.  If they were able, they would do what they do for free.  They even find ways to make their own money in order to subsidize their service to their God; taking on their role at great personal cost, sometimes at the expense of their very lives.

  There is such a thing where a person actually views their career as their calling.  There is a word which embodies such an attitude.  Instead of a career, it’s called a vocation.  (Not to be confused with a vacation)  For a person who views their work as a vocation, they don’t serve primarily for the salary or the pension plan.  They are there because they believe in a purpose which is far beyond money.  Sure, they need to provide for their family.  They do need to eat, but the reward is bigger than the contract itself.  As long as their family is provided for, they are content, because they see the meaning behind the service.

 We live in a land where there are fewer people who confess Christ as Lord as the generation before, and as such, fewer people view their careers as a personal God given mission while here on earth.  So likewise, our service depends more and more on the terms of our employment contract, which is never really enough to keep us content for long.

  I know this isn’t the complete picture.  I’m just here to bring the scenes to mind which are never brought to the forefront on the CBC.

  If you are a teacher, a nurse or a hockey player who views their career as their calling, I am very thankful for you.  You are a dying breed.  If you’re just doing it because you need a job, I’m thankful for you too.

  Consider what is said about Jesus in Colossians.

Colossians 1:17

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

  I don’t have a whole lot of hope for our nation.  I believe that Jesus is the One holding all things together, and that includes the institutions of our country.  I also believe that He is a gentleman.  As we ask Him to leave us be, He lets us be.  I think we’re just a few years behind most of Europe.

  Maybe you are of the sort that thinks we’re evolving.  As for me, when I look at the world, I wonder how far we have to fall before we realize that the course we’re charting really isn’t working out for us.

  Enjoy your world.  It’s a short stay.  If I had a concluding statement, it would be this.

It takes a huge pile of cash to compensate for a God given mission. 

I Know What's Wrong With You

For some reason, it’s much easier to be able to recognize the inconsistencies in the lives of others, and it is that fact which causes me to hesitate to write.   No doubt, this will turn out to be another one of my own inconsistencies.  I’m about to write a post which criticizes people for criticizing.   Now that is pure irony.

  About a month ago, a friend of mine was talking about a song that he objected to.  The song in question was, “What Faith Can Do”, by Kutless. 

  He took issue with the song, saying that, it isn’t about what faith can do.  It should be about what God can do.  He’s right.  Isn’t he?  Our healing, our deliverance, our right standing with God is all from God.  Saying that “YOUR” faith accomplishes anything, kind of goes against the very Gospel itself.  In all honesty, I couldn’t argue the theology of what he was saying.

  So I’m reading through Luke 8 to my kids a few nights ago, about the woman with the bleeding.  She reaches out to touch Him without being seen.  When He finds out who touched Him, He declares to her, “your faith has made you well.” Luke 8:48

   Jesus made the same kind of statement that my friend was speaking against.  The same objection to Kutless’ song would apply to the words of Christ Himself. 

  As believers, we need to be discerning as to what we take in.  There is also a place to call people out.  It’s not uncommon however for us to over scrutinize the life, work and speech of others.  I’m sure this isn’t typical for my friend, but there is a kind of Christianity which seems to exist solely for the purpose of pointing out the shortcomings of others.   We can spot heresy and false doctrine a mile away, as long as it resides in someone else.  Slander becomes acceptable, because we’re doing it for the good of the church.

  I won’t tell you who my friend is, because I think very highly of him, and if you ever meet him, I hope that you would do the same.  If you feel compelled to expose someone, please let it be for something similar to what we see addressed in scripture.  Think of blatant sexual immorality, drunken at communion or Christians suing other Christians.   You know...biblical stuff.

  Maybe the preacher, the teacher or the singer missed the context of the passage.  Do you judge your own words quite so closely as you do his or hers?  I doubt that you do.  (I don’t either.)

I Am Not the One Calling the Vampire a Tramp.

This past week, a friend of mine asked me the following question,

“When is it appropriate to approach someone else about their sin?”

  Thank you very much for those of you who ask honest questions.  I consider it a privilege to be someone who comes to mind.  As for this question, ultimately, we confront people about their sin when God wants us to.  Please keep that in the forefront of your mind as you read everything else that follows.  As for discerning when God is calling you to do so, that may not be so easy.  Beyond that, here are a few thoughts.

1.        If you authentically have the person’s best interest in mind.
2.       If you’re certain that
       a.       It is a sin.
        b.      The person is walking in it.
3.       The sin could lead to death.
 

 Do you Really Love Them?

   Throughout scripture, God warned His people over and over through various means of communication.  Sometimes He warned them personally.  At times He communicated in dreams.  Other times, He sent His prophets.  We have His written word.  God doesn’t point out our shortcomings because he hates us.  His intention is that we would experience life to the full, and ultimately be made right with Him.

   The world we live in has a very difficult time recognizing how a loving God or a loving person would confront someone with regards to their wrongs.  Our world works in the opposite direction.  We rant about people we don’t like.  We subject adulterers like Tiger Woods to public disgrace.  We refuse to buy their chicken.  If the good looking vampire girl sleeps around, we smear her name all over the internet.  (No.  I will not combine the words tramp and vampire.)  Conservatives bash liberals and liberals bash conservatives.  For my American friends, Democrats trash Republicans and Republicans trash Democrats.  We are not evolving into a more tolerant and compassionate society.  We are growing increasingly vicious, vindictive and malicious.

   That’s how this world works, but it’s not how God works.  God is not like Rush Limbaugh.  God warns and chastises his own people, the people He loves.  I believe we are to act similarly.  I might be wrong, but if you really want to see someone get burned, let them be.

  Yeah.  I understand that Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to burn, but if you’ve read my first paragraph, you’ll understand that I did qualify the scenario.  God told Him to and He made it painfully obvious when Jonah went the other way.  Also, God, the true messenger did not want to see Nineveh burn.

Are You Sure?

  Are you sure it’s a sin?   How clear is it in scripture?  We tend to have a lot of personal convictions which we adhere to quite passionately.  There might be a place to share our convictions publicly, or with those in our lives, yet we do ourselves, our hearers and our Lord a great disservice when we raise our flag around them, making the issue our life’s mission.

   Maybe the Christians in your life love to celebrate pagan holidays, and in your mind, it seems so obvious that it’s wrong.  In their mind, they’ve Christianized it, which makes it oaky to them.  Are you sure you’re right?  Personally, I wouldn’t risk looking like a jerk or weighing down their conscience unless it’s an issue that is spelled out rather clearly in scripture.

  Are you sure they are involved with the sin anyway?  How do you know?  Mostly people try to hide the more blatant sins.  Who really wants their sin to be brought to light?  If you’re not sure, at least talk to the person first and find out.

 Could It Lead To Death?

Here is the passage I would like you to chew on:

1 John 5:16-17 (NLT)

¹⁶ If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. ¹⁷ All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

  As believers, it isn’t our job to go around pointing out everyone else’s sins.   Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit.  If we see someone sinning in a way that doesn’t lead to death, we’re called to pray for them.  Pray that their eyes would be open.  Pray for God’s mercy.  Pray for repentance and restoration.  Pray that they would find true life.  You are not the church’s morality police.

  If the sin could result in death, then it isn’t a time for prayer.  It’s probably time to address it. I’ve shared before.  We don’t let pedophiles teach Sunday School at our church.

  The issue becomes this:  What kind of sin results in death?

  Some sins really do result in death.  Sexual immorality often results in death, even when they use that little rubber thingy.  I’m sure that your life has never personally been touched by an STD, but there are some diseases that actually kill people.  Murder results in death.  Gluttony can result in someone dying before their time, although it’s tough to call when to confront someone about their eating habits.  I’ve had family members die from their use of alcohol. 

   Beyond that, I have written in the past about some parts of the law that the apostles held rather seriously.  You can read that here.  There are also parts in the Old Testament where God told His people to ‘kill those who do those kinds of things’.  Here is a short list if you want to study it on your own. There are still some religions that kill people for moral crimes, but for us, Jesus put an end to that.  What I’m saying, is that if God wanted people dead for certain sins, it shows that He was quite serious about them.

Exodus 21:14

Exodus 21:16

Exodus 21:17

Exodus 22:19

Leviticus 20:2

Leviticus 20:11

Leviticus 20:12

Leviticus 20:13

Leviticus 20:27

Numbers 25:5

Deuteronomy 13:5

  It’s not an exhaustive list, but it should get you started.

  I hope this helps you my friend.  Maybe we are hypocrites because we address some sins and not others.  I do think though that we have to pick our battles. 

 

Love Kevin

Bill Nye The Science Guy

Dear Bill Nye The Science Guy,

 

  Take heart. As time progresses, there are fewer and fewer parents who are actually teaching The Bible to their children in America. So be encouraged, if you're right in the way that you think, America will soon recapture her former glory. Your utopia may be mere decades away. I hope you live to see it.

 

   Be honest, as we abandon Christ, are things really getting better? 

 

Kevin Abell

Setting The World On Fire (What's Burning?)

I’ve come to accept how in the eyes of the world, people like me just don’t get it.  I guess I don’t.  (Get it that is)  I don’t get what’s so wrong with God’s kind of justice.  I’m not talking about killing people for moral crimes.  I think Jesus settled that one.  What would be so wrong about a world where the criminals actually pay for the damages of their actions?

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. . . . A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double. If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard. If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution. . . If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies . . . he must make restitution” (Exodus 22:1, 3-6, 14).

   I believe that restitution goes far beyond thievery.  This past summer, our local Walmart was set on fire by three young men.  Who ended up paying for lost wages, product and repairs to the facility?  When a mob starts burning up the neighbourhood in either London England or London Canada, who ends up paying for the damages? 

  What was so horrible about a God who expected the culprit to pay?  Can someone explain it to me?  From my end, it seems that the wrong people end up paying the tab.  What’s worse, when someone torches a home or a storefront as part of a mob, they carry some kind of crude cult hero status for ‘fighting the power’.  

  Answer me this:  When our culture celebrates setting the world on fire, what exactly are they advocating?  Whose things are they burning; their own, or someone else’s?

 

  What do you think is being said in this video?

2012 AbellFIFA Soccer Summary

Sorry Abellsoccer fans, but the final page has turned once again on the summer soccer season.  This year we finished with our best collective showing to date, winning 15 and losing 13 games.  Rebecca’s Shades of Green finished with the best results, grabbing 3^rd place in their age group with 6 wins and 5 losses.  Next in line was Jeremy’s Scotia Bank with 5 wins and 4 losses.  The twin’s NRG finished with a respectable 4-4.

Shades of Green U15

   Accomplishment wise, Shades of Green proved to be the most rewarding.  Having a very solid team, they seemed to carry the upper hand for many of their games, suffering the most when half of their team was absent for a field trip. 

   Our lovely girl went through the season without any points, a statistic that often proves discouraging for many young people.  Spending the entire season on defence however has not diminished her love for the game.  When asked why she likes to play soccer on a team where she has little opportunity to produce good offensive numbers she replied, “Because it’s fun!”

    Even without any measureable statistics, she has consistently proven her worth to the team.  Game after game, she has held her ground against boys twice her size and speed, and more often than not, the boys are the ones who land face down on the turf.

NRG U11

  For Matthew and Nathaniel’s NRG, the story tells itself entirely differently.  Opening the season with an impressive 7-0 victory, it seemed as if the team was destined for glory.  What you might find interesting, is that those 7 goals ended up accounting for 41% of the total goals scored for the entire season.  Win or lose, every game afterward was hard fought.

  Losing the next four games straight, the season seemed to be all but lost.  Whether it was the coach’s, “I believe in you, but you just haven’t proven yourselves” speech, a new work ethic, accepting the reality that the team can’t score more than 2 goals a game, the revamped defence or because the coaching staff stopped putting players where they wanted to play, we’ll never know.  What we do know, is that they finished the season winning 3 straight, against the top teams in their division, bringing their record even for the finish.  (And if the final game had have been any more exciting, I might have wet myself)

  Matthew continued to show his competency as a net minder, producing 4 shut-out halves.  Being scoreless for the season, he has improved greatly from last year, demonstrating greater stamina and being able to stay on his feet.  Nathaniel finished the season with one goal and two assists, his strength being his speed and endurance; capable of running the entire length of the field for multiple shifts, without becoming terribly fatigued.  His work ethic and stamina proved to be an incredible midfield advantage in every match.  Without the contributions of Matthew and Nathaniel, it is highly doubtful that the team could have ended its season on a winning note.

Scotia Bank U7

   Although pulling off a winning season, the narrative behind Jeremy’s Scotia Bank is not one of soccer greatness.  The challenges of U7 soccer had very little to do with the offensive prowess of the team, their skill level or speed.  Keeping 6 players on the field at the same time proved to be a struggle on its own.  Line changes were positively nightmarish, and for some games, one might wonder if they were even playing soccer at all.  Caring little whether won or lost, each player seemed to be content to just enjoy each other’s company and to ridicule the penmanship of their coach.  One young lady exclaimed, “Oh Mr. Abell, your writing is messy.  It’s so messy, I have to show my mom!”  And show her mom she did.

  In spite of the lack of serious military style discipline, Scotia Bank finished the season with a 5-4 record.  It is probably the very absence of serious soccer mindedness that made this team the most enjoyable experience of the season.

  Jeremy has demonstrated his ability to perform well no matter where he is placed.  Scoring a hat-trick in his second last game, he has given every indication that he can produce excellent offensive numbers.  Game after game he also proved completely solid as a defenseman, and when given the opportunity in net, shown himself to be both aggressive and trustworthy in the role.   For the family as a whole Jeremy led the Abell family with 4 goals and one shut-out half.

   That’s all of this year friends.  Until next time, remember, physical fitness isn’t nearly as important as spiritual fitness!