In light of the recent economic developments in this nation I thought it would be good to share something relevant as we try and figure out what our response as followers of Christ should be. Dare I drag a 2000 year old document into the conversation? Surely it’s just way to antiquated, dusty and otherwise obsolete for our situation isn’t it? Well, let me have a wee perusal of said ancient manuscript and see if anything rings true to our conundrum.

 

I watched President Bush address the nation yesterday and I thought he gave a clear summary of how this economic crisis came to pass. It seems that large amounts of invested money fueled our greed for more.

 

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

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My wife, Tina, and I had a great afternoon with great company as we meandered, munching on this and that and occasionally watching in a certain amount of confusion as money would leap from our wallet into the great abyss of noise and fried things. This last Saturday we had the privilege of taking in the concert with Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith at the Puyallup Fair. 

 

Two artists whose music helped shape and define my growing-up years sharing the stage on the same night made the decision to go to this concert a no-brainer. I remember seeing “Smitty” entertain me and many of my friends with tunes like “Sittin’ in the Rain”, “Eye to Eye” and of course, “Friends”. I looked around the audience… not a lot of young people here. There were some but most of them were with their parents.  I was at a Toby Mac / Jeremy Camp / Matthew West concert a while ago and there were LOTS of teenagers. I love these new artists too. Newsboys, Casting Crowns and the like write good music but it’s not the same as “my music”, you know the stuff I grew up with. Petra, Whiteheart, and DC Talk (in their “rap” days), were as “edgy” and “cool” as Christian rock music could be.   On Saturday there was no mosh-pit or even great gobs of humanity storming the stage. I’m assuming this is because security had a firm grip on things, or because no one had the physical energy to leave their seat like they used to be able to do. Reality check, I was at a concert with older people by choice! (No offence to those of you who qualify as “older”)

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This is a follow up from last Sunday’s sermon. Because I felt so strongly that we needed to deal with the issue of lust I don’t believe I gave enough attention to the issue of divorce and the spiritual implications that go along with it. For those of you who have personally experienced the pain of divorce you may be asking, “Where does that leave me?” To which I’d like to respond…

 

Scripture is very clear as to God’s position on divorce, He hates it!  Mal 2:16“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence  as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit,and do not break faith. (NIV)

 

Scripture is also very clear about how God feels towards those who have experienced divorce, He loves them! John 3:16, 1John 4:9,10ff, Romans 5:8, and so many others clearly express the remarkable and constant love the Father shows us through the Son. There are no exceptions made, in fact, these verses show us how...

Today marks the 7 year anniversary of the ominous date in history known simply as 9/11.  It's one of those days that I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard that horrific news. 

My family and I had made the decision to move to the Key Peninsula to serve in the church's youth ministry.  We were finishing our tenure with Venture Teams International by training and launching two new teams.  We were scheduled to have a morning of prayer even before we knew anything about the events of that morning and needless to say.... we prayed.  We had three wonderful Americans in training camp that year.  Reality and confusion set in quickly.  How do you respond to something so vile and purely evil?  How do you comfort your own heart and mind much less the hearts and minds of those around you?

Our safe and secure world received an unwelcome shake up.

Years have passed and although we still remember the events of that tragedy well, we've moved on both positively and negatively. ...

I love movies.  Let me clarify that.  I love well made movies.  They don't have to be critically acclaimed or clean house at the Oscars but they need to do something.  Entertain me, move me or educate me it doesn't really matter.  For the next 90 minutes to 3 hours or so I can get lost in the land of make-believe while I consume the snack of my choice in the company of the woman of my choice.  (Ahem, that would be my wife ).

Yes, I love movies but there are some things movies can't do for you.  Sometimes the pace of them is just too fast.  I'm sitting there devouring a story (albeit a well told one) in a relatively short amount of time.  It is kind of like, "Here, chug this one down".  And it goes down pretty smooth too.  I think it tasted pretty good but to be honest, I feel a little bloated.  How many explosions did I just see?

The busier I get, the more I am finding the desire to read. ...

It feels good to be back in the swing of things again.  I had a great summer and I hope yours brought all the enjoyment you hoped for even if the weather was well... interesting.  It's amazing how quickly this week has rolled by and I'm left with such a short time to write.  For the faithful readers of this blog I will do my best to write here a couple times each week.  While I don't promise to unlock the profound mysteries of the universe I do promise to stay relavent. 

In fact, if someone would like me to write to something specific  I'd be happy to do that.

There are already so many delightful things coming our way that I hope to address, however, including our presidential election and other topics such as parenting, movies (media in general), sports and their influence on the church and hopefully much more.

I look forward to our conversations!