How Much Time Do We Need?

I awoke this morning with a very heavy burden.  That burden was so powerful that my hands were literally shaking.  Those who know me well understand that this is not exactly a regular occurrence for me in that I am typically a very calm and even tempered person who relishes logic and reason.  So what was this burden you ask?  I’m glad you asked and let me explain.

God has given us shadows of many things in the Bible ranging from familial makeup, personal obstacles, good and bad leadership, a God like heart, proper and improper motivation, personal growth, etc., etc.  These shadows, or examples, apply to individuals, groups and the collective whole of humanity.  They apply to individuals to show how we are to live our lives as personal example and improvement to be used as outward witness.  They apply to businesses and church groups as to how we are to work together, manage our affairs and lead people into greater growth.  They apply to the global collective in that no one is exempt and we should be a proper representative of God to the entire world as one body. 

This allows room for growth.  God’s purpose is to have us join His family and invite others to do the same.  We are not perfect and therefore make mistakes and God guides us into improvement.  What if we get lazy?  Does it matter if we need more time to go around that mountain again and again and again?  Does it matter if we because of personality and choice,we take as much time as we like?  Does it really matter if churches, organizations or people choose to segregate themselves and do their own thing?  With all of my heart and emphatically as I can say it, YES!!

The image that I was left with, which was so thoroughly disturbing, was that some of the lost have time for further personal and corporate development, BUT SOME DO NOT!  We eventually will have to account for our activities and inactivity’s.  The worst thing that I can imagine, my Hell as it were, would be to get to Heaven and have God show me the people who are not in the family of eternal life with God because I was lazy, stubborn or stuck on myself.  How many have to die before I am willing to do all that I can and get over myself enough to do the work which is worthy of God?  How many years must go by before church groups realize that there is only one church and the credit doesn’t belong to one or the other?

I know pastors in this community who have been watching, working and waiting for people to stand up in unison to claim the harvest that is there.  They weep for their community and have been for 30+ years seeing the same thing time and time again.  I was left this morning with the image of Jesus sitting on a hill weeping over His people with the vision of this day, and division going through His mind.  I was left with the vision of Jesus hanging on the cross paying for all that many today try to take credit for.  Enough with the signs and banners and competition and let’s get down to business…together!

Are We Failing Our Life Study?

It takes most people 16 years to graduate from a four year university and an additional 4-8 years to earn a doctorate in a specific field.  This would require a huge variety of courses to include, but not limited to, a native language, a foreign language, science (physical and chemical), art, mathematics (algebra, trigonometry, calculus, etc.), psychology, sociology, logic and various other liberal arts.  This would make for a well rounded education yet advanced in their chosen field. 

The majority of Christians are Christian from their youth, or they were at least raised in a Christian home.  This precludes that they would have attended church for many years.  Studying Christianity is like studying one subject, albeit a very complex subject with a BIG text book.  This means studying one subject or specialty for decades yet there are many studies which state claims such as “only 45% of Americans can name all 4 gospels”.  This is basic (elementary school level) information for a Christian and if 78% of Americans say they are Christian, and have been for many years, then what is happening?  Are Christian leaders not teaching Christianity?  Are individuals not interested in learning about the Bible?  If they are not interested in learning about the Bible and they are Christian, why are they disinterested?  Are they unconvinced of its reality?  Are we not supposed to learn and only need to ‘feel good’ about our belief?

It is usually my primary focus to get people to ask themselves questions.  Let me offer one suggestion; if you do not have Bible teaching where you are, then find some resources.  There are many resources out there from internet, computer based to literature.  We will be held accountable for everything that we have and have not done regardless of whether the information was easy to attain.  When life on Earth is over, it is up to us to have accomplished the goals established for us.  I’m not referring to a larger house or faster car, but rather those whom we were supposed to help either with encouragement or answered questions.  Am I doing my best to accomplish these goals?  Are you?

*In 1997, 88% of Americans were either Protestant or Catholic and in 2007 that number dropped to 78%.  25% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 claim no affiliation at all and the number of those subscribing to atheistic thought rose from 8% to 16%. 

*The report is based mostly on data from Pew’s 2007 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of 35,000 Americans and the General Social Survey

The Spiritual Butterfly

There are two veins of thought when it comes to free will.  One vein says that we are blobs of biological matter with no free will, because our decisions are pre-determined by external stimuli affecting the firing of synaptic pathways.  The other vein would be that we are a spirit, we have our mind, will and emotions (our soul) and we live in a body.  This would give us the ability to make choices independent of our circumstances and environment.  The following is predicated on the latter.

Our story begins with a small yellow butterfly in the mountains of northern South America.  This type of butterfly takes a journey each year up the coast of South America, along Mexico, traveling north often as far as Tennessee.  This butterfly, however happened to catch an errant breeze which carried him into a town.  In this town, he came across a young girl standing on the side of a bridge with tears in her eyes.  He lingered for a few minutes as the girl stepped from the side of the bridge and they watched each other.  He flew away when the girl strolled away with a smile. 

Being closer to the coast now than he expected, he was caught up in an ocean breeze which carried him out to sea.  The butterfly was dismayed, now far from any land, he thought that he would never be able to meet his friends in Tennessee when along comes a ship.  The butterfly manages to catch up to and land for a rest on this ship.  A sailor working hard on the deck noticed him and recognizing that it was the only thing on the ship which was not grey, captured him and placed him in a cage for viewing.  After several days of travel, the ship came in to port along the southern coast of the United States.  By this point the sailor was feeling sorry for the butterfly and set him free.  The butterfly, ecstatic with his new found freedom, began to fly with an energized fervor towards the north. 

The butterfly now ready for a new visit, saw a black man sitting in a park.  The butterfly, ready for some play time after much captivity, proceeded to fly around and play with the gentleman.  The man first with a heavy heart and concerned demeanor sat up and began to watch the butterfly and consider his plight.  The man extended his had to have the butterfly land on it only for a second before it took flight in the erratic beauty and freedom which only a butterfly has.  The man finally said aloud, “I have a dream” before walking inside of his church.  The butterfly, content with play time, continued on to meet his friends in Tennessee.

The point of this is only to say that one diversion, one smile or even one struggle can be the simple thing which alters your, and someone else’s history for the better.  The butterfly was on a journey which happened to intersect with a few others.  The question is, were the interactions beneficial?  If you have ever read any of Martin Luther Kings sermons, you may have come across one comparing our lives with that of the free butterfly.  The example that Jesus asks us to be is that of freedom and love. 

What does your day look like?

Where are you?

In Genesis 3:9 God calls to Adam and asks "Where are you?".  God didn't have a lack of information, He was having Adam ask the question to himself, because Adam had strayed.  Very often we need to ask ourselves, "Where am I?"

I tend to be the one who looks around to see what is happening.  When the Bible suggests that we should walk circumspectly, I take that seriously.  To do this, I communicate with many different groups whether Christian, atheist, scientific and metaphysical.  The information is actually pretty consistent.  When considering the sources, then comparing values and testing my environment everything coincides with small margins for error.

This is why when I come across information that I recently have, I am bothered.  Some of the information indicates that Christians as a whole aren’t really very committed.  A recent survey shows results that atheists and Jews know more about world religions including CHRISTIANITY than Catholics and Protestants do.  Evangelicals scored the highest in Biblical knowledge among Christian groups but were still trumped by other beliefs.  Another survey shows that almost half of all Americans have transitioned from one faith or denomination to another or even nothing.  25% of Americans between the ages of 18 – 29 claim no religious affiliation at all, couldn’t name the four gospels and atheism has doubled.  Actually a very close relationship exists between the increased number of students graduating college and the increase in atheism/agnosticism.

What is happening with Christianity?  Are people becoming educated beyond the belief of Christianity?  Are kids not being prepared in their faith enough to persist in their convictions when challenged?  Do Christians actually believe what they profess?  My views?...Hosea 4:6