unless I'm vastly mistaken and this pastor has the gospel correct.
we live in a country that is composed of freedom and "rights". I'm all for taking advantage of a right when it furthers the kingdom of God - Paul did as much in Acts by appealing to Caesar. but, the fundamental nature of Christianity is the sacrificing of ones "rights" - right to self-interest, right to self-promotion, right to egocentric living, even the right to possessions. we are called to be in the world and not of it, and the world holds its "stuff" very dear; but we are not called to be tied down to material possessions. nor are we called to rely on our own strength for protection.
somehow, the cause of Christ has been confused with the cause of American Values. the right to bear arms may be an important one to protect for Joe Blow American, but it is not one a Christian needs to fight for, let alone a pastor.
Christians have become used to their "rights", and I find it unfortunate given that the movement was founded in a culture that denied those Christians their rights. American Christians are comfortable with their stuff, their possessions and rights and status. if I understand the words of Jesus correctly, those who are materially rich (read: rich young ruler w/ possessions, rights, status) have an awful hard time entering the kingdom of God. it's not impossible, but when a person has all they need without needing God, that same person learns to rely on their own strength and not God's (Who is sufficient for us all, btw). God then becomes a crackerjack box toy that a dude can pull out as his ace up the sleeve when he "needs" it.
I own arms. I enjoy hunting. shooting guns is fun, and if it weren't for hunting and for shooting stuff the relationship I have with my dad and cousins would be vastly different. but I'm not going to fight for those. they're a luxury as a Christian, not a right.
and the church shouldn't be viewing them as such.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
a quick one
went on a date with my wonderful girl tonight. it was fantabulous.
work is....less than desirable right now. pretty sure I'm hoping on the next job that's even comparable in wages. too much frustration, too much aggravation, too much annoyance. such is life I suppose, but I certainly don't see any reason to willfully subject myself when options exist.
oh, and I watched the video of the girl who died in the Iran protests. horrific. I shouldn't have, I'll probably have sad dreams now, but...I dunno what it is about human nature that must watch others' suffering. perhaps it is our desire to identify and to a subconscious extent empathize with others. perhaps it's a sadistic side. perhaps the sadistic side is itself a way of empathizing with pain.
whatever it is, I am so very deeply saddened by the violence. I know that such violence is "more common" in the Middle East, but clinical depression could be more common over there and I'd still be sad. I'm saddened. and I'm realizing I'm not praying near hard enough. I sincerely pray that the scheduled protest will be peaceful and not marked by violence or the emergence of new martyrs.
work is....less than desirable right now. pretty sure I'm hoping on the next job that's even comparable in wages. too much frustration, too much aggravation, too much annoyance. such is life I suppose, but I certainly don't see any reason to willfully subject myself when options exist.
oh, and I watched the video of the girl who died in the Iran protests. horrific. I shouldn't have, I'll probably have sad dreams now, but...I dunno what it is about human nature that must watch others' suffering. perhaps it is our desire to identify and to a subconscious extent empathize with others. perhaps it's a sadistic side. perhaps the sadistic side is itself a way of empathizing with pain.
whatever it is, I am so very deeply saddened by the violence. I know that such violence is "more common" in the Middle East, but clinical depression could be more common over there and I'd still be sad. I'm saddened. and I'm realizing I'm not praying near hard enough. I sincerely pray that the scheduled protest will be peaceful and not marked by violence or the emergence of new martyrs.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
technology
is stinkin fun.
combining my shared rss items with my blog, updating rss subscriptions to my interests, sync my contact pictures online and on my phone...
I'm having more fun than should be allowed for something as geeky as this.
combining my shared rss items with my blog, updating rss subscriptions to my interests, sync my contact pictures online and on my phone...
I'm having more fun than should be allowed for something as geeky as this.
apprehension
so I casually follow the news now that I am a Google addict. Google's Reader makes it fairly easy, especially since I can check news items out on my phone. typically I'm checking out sports stuff, Mariners and whatnot, which is most entertaining for me.
but I get a lot of Fox news items when I'm online, and I've seen a lot of stuff that has me wondering what the world will look like in the next 6 months. I'm curious if the stuff in Iran is going to keep escalating and another revolution will take place. I honestly doubt a full-scale revolution will happen again in Tehran in my lifetime, yet I'm left wondering if perhaps the democratic ideals in place in Iraq aren't having an influence next door. needless to say, I'm going to be watching and praying; watching to see if change in a harsh environment is possible, and praying that blood isn't shed and lives aren't lost.
I'm almost positive a "conflict" is on the horizon with N. Korea. Too much is in contention. my gut feeling is there'll be some kind of skirmish in the near future. the pacifist in me hates that it would come to this; logically, the removal of Kim Jong-Il's regime would precipitate less potential violence, and I'm all for less violence in the long run, but I'm all for less violence period. Shane Claiborne taught me a while back (when I was reading and his books were in my list) that violence doesn't solve violence. violence begets violence just as peace begets peace. unfortunately I cannot rely on any party involved in this conflagration to be the peacemaker. truth is, the only peacemaker I can rely on is Jesus, and I can only rely on my own peaceful intentions as far as my fallen human flesh can take me.
so, I will be praying. praying for world events, praying that WW3 will never exist, praying that leaders of nations will speak peaceful words of wisdom, praying that God will intervene for His holy purposes and that those who need to do what He needs them to do will, in fact, do what they need to do.
times are always troubling. history repeats itself. wars and rumors of wars have been around for a logn long time. I'm not predicting the apocalypse, nor am I using isolated events as indicators of the end times. I'm just praying for peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
I'm praying for Jesus to come back.
but I get a lot of Fox news items when I'm online, and I've seen a lot of stuff that has me wondering what the world will look like in the next 6 months. I'm curious if the stuff in Iran is going to keep escalating and another revolution will take place. I honestly doubt a full-scale revolution will happen again in Tehran in my lifetime, yet I'm left wondering if perhaps the democratic ideals in place in Iraq aren't having an influence next door. needless to say, I'm going to be watching and praying; watching to see if change in a harsh environment is possible, and praying that blood isn't shed and lives aren't lost.
I'm almost positive a "conflict" is on the horizon with N. Korea. Too much is in contention. my gut feeling is there'll be some kind of skirmish in the near future. the pacifist in me hates that it would come to this; logically, the removal of Kim Jong-Il's regime would precipitate less potential violence, and I'm all for less violence in the long run, but I'm all for less violence period. Shane Claiborne taught me a while back (when I was reading and his books were in my list) that violence doesn't solve violence. violence begets violence just as peace begets peace. unfortunately I cannot rely on any party involved in this conflagration to be the peacemaker. truth is, the only peacemaker I can rely on is Jesus, and I can only rely on my own peaceful intentions as far as my fallen human flesh can take me.
so, I will be praying. praying for world events, praying that WW3 will never exist, praying that leaders of nations will speak peaceful words of wisdom, praying that God will intervene for His holy purposes and that those who need to do what He needs them to do will, in fact, do what they need to do.
times are always troubling. history repeats itself. wars and rumors of wars have been around for a logn long time. I'm not predicting the apocalypse, nor am I using isolated events as indicators of the end times. I'm just praying for peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
I'm praying for Jesus to come back.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
first time for everything
I haven't blogged in a long long while, and no one actually sees this blog anyway so I could get away with posting just about anything I wanted to. I have a feeling it might start getting some traffic if I get around to promoting it, but who knows.
I had a real downer of an evening. put in 50 hours of work this week, overdrafted the moon, had one or two vent sessions over the boss/work, and endured some pretty fierce spiritual attacks. I survived all but the last - endured is the wrong word, sustained is perhaps a better choice. or perhaps even "fell flat on my face in front of".
it would make sense that all heck would break loose at once. things typically go fine for a long while, while the enemy bides his time and waits for an opportunity. then, wouldn't you know it, he springs in the midst of a firestorm. and I don't guard myself well at all.
I almost wonder if perhaps all heck broke loose as a result of loosing the battle. sin affects everything we do whether we know it or not. my emotional ventilation might not have been such a taxing experience had it not been for me screwing up. in fact, the whole work situation might have been handled completely differently if I hadn't allowed my connection to God get strained.
of course, the only thing I can do now is pick it back up and keep moving forward. I have the unfortunate duty of figuring out a good way to be accountable to someone. I know all the tricks and tips and so on about accountability, but for whatever reason (read: lazy) I have a hard time keeping it in place and useful.
on a completely different thought, I'm trying to figure out a way to make my life feel a little more "useful" right now. perhaps I could use this blog as a vehicle for, something. research? I did want to research and exegete a passage of Scripture and then put the results on here. maybe I'll do that later - it'd be nice to have a purpose again, rather than trying to find some kind of satisfaction out of building fences I'll never use or need.
I could probably carry on a thought or two about fences, but.....nah.
I had a real downer of an evening. put in 50 hours of work this week, overdrafted the moon, had one or two vent sessions over the boss/work, and endured some pretty fierce spiritual attacks. I survived all but the last - endured is the wrong word, sustained is perhaps a better choice. or perhaps even "fell flat on my face in front of".
it would make sense that all heck would break loose at once. things typically go fine for a long while, while the enemy bides his time and waits for an opportunity. then, wouldn't you know it, he springs in the midst of a firestorm. and I don't guard myself well at all.
I almost wonder if perhaps all heck broke loose as a result of loosing the battle. sin affects everything we do whether we know it or not. my emotional ventilation might not have been such a taxing experience had it not been for me screwing up. in fact, the whole work situation might have been handled completely differently if I hadn't allowed my connection to God get strained.
of course, the only thing I can do now is pick it back up and keep moving forward. I have the unfortunate duty of figuring out a good way to be accountable to someone. I know all the tricks and tips and so on about accountability, but for whatever reason (read: lazy) I have a hard time keeping it in place and useful.
on a completely different thought, I'm trying to figure out a way to make my life feel a little more "useful" right now. perhaps I could use this blog as a vehicle for, something. research? I did want to research and exegete a passage of Scripture and then put the results on here. maybe I'll do that later - it'd be nice to have a purpose again, rather than trying to find some kind of satisfaction out of building fences I'll never use or need.
I could probably carry on a thought or two about fences, but.....nah.
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