Standing for What You (Give me Something to) Believe In!! #RayLewis #Psalm91 #Poison #Life #Death

A well known poet and his band once wrote pen to verse:

And give me something to believe in
If there’s a Lord above
And give me something to believe in
Oh, Lord arise

Ray Lewis and his Baltimore Ravens are in the Super Bowl.  Ray is certainly a lightning rod of a character.  He has overcome many obstacles in his Hall of Fame career – both on and off the field.  Among the biggest was his involvement in the deaths of 2 young men in Atlanta following the Super Bowl 13 years ago.  He knows that when he stands before the media today – wearing his Psalm 91 t-shirts and praising his Heavenly Father, that he is going to be under the scrutiny of millions of people looking back at him through the camera’s lense.

³ Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

Poison’s song recounts several occasions why a person should question his or her faith.  The lyrics are shared, sung and believed by millions of people the world over.  Where is God?    Give me something to believe in!

Ray Lewis is but a failed, sinful man… but a warrior of a man.  His response should be our response in this broken world – Stand up for what you believe in!  Claim victory over sin and death!  God is with the broken and lost!  Do not be ashamed of the gospel – wear it proudly on your chest!  He meets us where we are at and forgives us of our past!  He is unconditional and everlasting love!

We are in midst of a battle.  Do we choose sin filled poison or everlasting life?  Standing tall and boldly or searching blind and aimlessly?  A dark past or a bright future?

What do you believe in?

Your AM STATIC “Headlines You Missed” for January 16, 2013 #Flu #Orioles #U2 #Israel #Equality #GraphSearch

News

• 5 Ways to Avoid the Flu in the Workplace by Entrepreur Magazine

Sports

• How Orioles Writers Would Vote for Hall of Fame (2013) by the Camden Depot

Music

• U2 ‘in fine fettle’ recording new album by the Irish Examiner

Religion

• UK Equality Laws Trump Personal Religious Beliefs, European Court Says by the Huffington Post

Politics

• Obama’s Alleged Criticism of Netanyahu Enlivens Israeli Election by the New York Times

Technology

• Facebook’s Bold, Compelling and Scary Engine of Discovery: The Inside Story of Graph Search by wired.com

Other

• Horsemeat in burgers ‘wouldn’t taste different’   by Audioboo

Would you let your daughter live in #Uganda… alone? #kissesfromkatie #amazima #Psalm37:4

What if your daughter asked you if she could live in Uganda?

This could easily be a book review about the book Kisses from Katie, but it’s not.  After all – I purchased the book on Saturday and lost it to my wife on Sunday- who snatched it away from me so she could read it – after only getting to read the introduction.

But reading the introduction as the author – Katie Davis – begins to describe her journey to not just living in Uganda, but adopting 14 girls left me wondering…  How would I handle a situation where my teenage daugther asked me if she could go live in Uganda, Poland or just about anywhere else?

At this point, I want to share a quote (from the introduction, of course):

For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite Bible verses has been Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  I used to believe it meant that if I did what the Lord asked of me, followed His commandments, and was a “good girl,” He would grant all my desires and make my dreams come true.  Today, this is still one of my favorite passages of Scripture, but I have learned to interpret it in a totally different way.  It is not about God making my dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into His dreams for my life.

Wow!  How many of us adults can learn from this young lady?  Many of us spend our days following OUR dreams, OUR passions – and sometimes all in the name of God.  And who suffers?  Our children.  Our marriages.  Our friends.  And most importantly, our relationship with our Saviour.

(Steps down off of my soapbox)

Now onto the question at hand.

I have a beautiful 8-year old daughter and this question scares me – just as it did for Katie’s dad.  But – I have decided to prepare for her to ask me the question by preparing her to be willing to ask and accept the question.   That question doesn’t necessarily have to be “I feel God is calling me to go and live in Uganda… can I?”  However it is seeking to do God’s will – no matter what His will is.

There is a big difference in my opinion in seeking to do His will and seeking to do His work.  You can certainly and quite easily do God’s work following your own will.  But it is very difficult to follow His will while doing your own work.

So the process of answering those big life questions begins by daily reminding myself of Katie’s instruction.  It’s not about God making my dreams come true but about God changing my dreams into His dreams for my life.  Only when our children see that in us and how we live our lives, can they accept and follow it for themselves.

Our Growing #Water Problem: A #Christian’s Response

You wouldn’t expect to find a dire water shortage warning on an investment firm’s website.  But read this:

It takes 35 gallons of water to make one cup of coffee. Why? Because of all the water used to cultivate coffee beans. Similarly, it can take about 635 gallons to make one hamburger because of all the water required to grow feed for the cows.

The need for clean fresh water is increasing rapidly, too, as populations rise and standards of living improve around the world. In some places — such as central California, the North China Plains, and parts of India — the demand for water is already outstripping the local supply.

Because global water consumption is expected to increase by 40% over the next 20 years, water shortages may get more acute and widespread, spurring more reliance on desalination technologies, water reuse, and conservation. The results could have massive economic, ecological, and geopolitical consequences…

Great information… but here is the pitch:

…creating investing opportunities in places you may never have considered.

Whether you believe in “saving the earth” or not, the fact is that we are rapidly consuming our most vital resource – and it’s not oil.  According to the United Nations:

By 2025, it is estimated that about two thirds of the world’s population – about 5.5 billion people – will live in areas facing moderate to severe water stress.

Jesus says in Mathew 24:7 that as the end of times approaches there will be great famines.  He describes this time in Luke 17 as “days of Noah”

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also it be in the days of the Son of Man.  People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.  Then the flood came and destroyed all of them.

Alarmingly, there are going to be a great number of people who are going to party it up during these days – like nothing is happening in the world around them.

Are we as Christians included with these party goers?  Many biblical scholars believe that the 7 churches that Jesus speaks about in the book of Revelation as the 7 periods of church history beginning with the early church up to today’s modern church.  If that is true, and we are living in the age of the last church or the days of Noah… here is what Jesus says about us:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

If this is true, God is not happy with us and saving the earth’s water may seem to be the least of our concerns.  But, it may be a starting place to be the Church that Christ has called us to be.  How?

1 – We need to be bold in proclaiming our faith no matter the circumstance.  Social justice issues are not excuses to be wishy washy in who we are and what we stand for.

2 – We need to take bold steps to help the extreme poor.  The “Age of Noah” cannot be an an excuse to sit around and wait for Christ’s return.  Yes, we need to be mindful that he will be back soon, but it would be sin to party while people around us are dying because they don’t have clean water to drink.

Here is one easy way we could work together to give clean water to those in extreme poverty.  If each Christian and their families pledged to cut one minute off of each of their shower times – it would save tens of millions of gallons of water a day.

After a month, you should see savings on your water bill.  It may not be much, perhaps $10.  But that money can go a long way if you pledge to donate it to a Christian non profit such as The Water Project. LifeWater or charity: water who are all working to bring clean water to the extreme poor.

Water is an investment and so are those who lives it saves when it is clean – especially if they learn about the Savior who offers Living Water to all that believe.  It is one topic all Christians can agree to.

Establishing #Atheism as a #Religion

Websters Dictionary defines religion as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.

Whether it is a belief that there is a God or a belief that there is no God – a belief is a belief.  And a set of beliefs is a form of religion.

Atheism is organized into denominations/sects (Link) and Atheist can join a church (Link) and even become ordained pastors.  Like other forms of religion, the only way atheism grows is through evangelism and conversion (Link).  Their congregants struggle with such religious terms such as spiritualism (Link).

Like other religions, Atheist use the political system to change laws to ensure their beliefs are not discriminated against.  They have a group of lobbyist (Link) and are working to establish a political party (Link).

Much like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism… there is no doubt that Atheism looks and acts like a religion.

If it looks like a duck… and quacks like a duck… it must be a duck.

#Bluegrass music, #religion and #politics will ruin #family gatherings.

I don’t know if a natural progression in musical taste is to begin enjoying bluegrass music when you reach your mid to late 30s.  What a surprise it was to me that while recently scanning the FM dial I found a local honky tonk station and the dial hasn’t changed since.  Banjos, fiddles and mandolins rock!

This isn’t your run of the mill bluegrass station, but a Christian station that mixes in some hard hitting talk.

Now, I will periodically listen to a pastor’s sermon but I have not really listen to Christian talk until my switch.  My verdict after giving a listen is that Bluegrass music is good… Christian talk – not so good.

And here is why.

I have a real problem when we mix our faith with politics when 90% of what I hear on Christian talk is bashing the Democratic platform with very little biblical based alternatives.

I am a Republican.

Going to my parent’s house is like listening to a very long winded Christian talk program.  I am labeled a liberal by my family because I ask questions like this:

“You don’t like Obama’s healthcare… so what are we as Christians going to do to fill this gap because we are called to take care of the poor.”

Oh, he’s just an Obama lover!

“Tree hugger, huh?  But aren’t we called to take care of God’s Creation? ”

That hippie!

Don’t get me wrong.  There are inconsistencies on both sides of the aisle when faith and politics mix.  I just believe that our beliefs and actions should be more consistent with our Christian faith than a political party.  Don’t you?

 

Would it be easier to be a dedicated #Christ follower if you lived under #persecution?

Let me ask you… and think about it before you reply:  Would it be easier for you to be a dedicated Christ follower if you lived under persecution?

“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.”

– Jesus (John 16:1-4a)

When I checked out my twitter feed this morning I saw another report of a church bombing that left several dead and even more injured.  There is little doubt that the church in Asia, the Middle East and in some parts of Europe are under attack.  Christians are being persecuted and dying for what they believe in.  Others are in constant fear for their lives and their family’s lives.

Persecution is not a trending topic for Christians in the West.  We become upset about disintegrating biblical values that many Americans used to follow – but very few fear for our lives as we daily live our Christian faith.

Much like the 40 days Christ spent in the desert preparing for his ministry and the cross,  perhaps we are living in a season of Lent – a time of  preparation for a coming persecution.

Will we take advantage the freedoms that we have and become dedicated Christ followers during a season of preperation?  Or will we wait for a time of persecution – when our lives may depend on it?

#Lent: What it means to me

My first real Lent experience (I want to say lental – but those are beans) came about 10 years ago on Ash Wednesday.  For one reason or another I went to a church close to where I worked and had the ashes crossed on my forehead.  I went back to the office and the first things one of my workmates said was “oh, I thought you were Jewish.”

It wasn’t until 4 years later when I really observed Lent.  Over the years I have given up fast food or candy… and all that is cool.  It doesn’t of course compare to the 40 days Christ fasted in the wilderness.  But I can honestly say that it is the closest I have ever connected to not just Christ, but his followers over the past 2,000 years.

That is what Lent means to me.  Christmas and even Easter are holy holidays that have moved me in the past – but there is something deeply spiritual and powerful about Lent.