The furnace did it!

I was reading in Exodus about the time that Moses confronted Aaron regarding the golden calf. Aaron made the excuse that all he did was throw in the gold and out came the calf. Basically he said that the furnace did it.
Since that time people have basically been using the same excuse. If you were born into my family, if you lived where I lived, if you had my job, if you had my ... and the excuses go on. People are willing to blame anyone or anything but refuse to take responsibility for themselves.
I remember hearing a native pastor say that for years he had blamed his father for what had happened to him until one day the Holy Spirit said that he was not responsible for his father but he was responsible for himself. At that point he took responsibility for his own actions and found forgiveness and release. Stop blaming the furnace.

I have decided

We use to sing a song called "I have decided to follow Jesus.". At church we were asked to decide for Jesus, to make a decision for Christ. Some how we make it sound like it is like choosing whether to have cereal or toast for breakfast. Maybe we should remind people that it is about yielding rather than deciding. Yielding is total commitment.

Is God Poltical?

One definition of political is: "relating to your views about social relationships involving authority or power." If that is the definition of political then the answer would be "yes, God is political." God is concerned about social relationship that involve authority and power. However, we often associate being political with being liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. God is not liberal or conservative; He is neither Republican or a Democrat but He cares about social relationships. God is less concerned about our views as they align with a political party as He is with our views in how we care for one another.
Now this is my opinion and I would love to have other opinions to think about. You may think I am baying at the moon or you may think I am being naive. Maybe I am but help me think this through.

Is God Religious?

What kind of a question is that? Isn't religion about God? While my answer to the question is "no". We divide life into the secular and the spiritual but with God all is spiritual. Religion refers to the external but God deals with the heart. If we say that God is religious then we can regulate Him to that compartment of our life which is religious. He isn't interested in being regulated to any part of our life, He wants all of us.

A Biblical World View

There has been quite a bit of talk about having a Biblical worldview but some people who talk about it don't know what a Biblical worldview is. First of all to have a Biblical worldview one has to know the Bible. You need to read it, study it, meditate upon it and know that it is truth not just contains truth. Second you shouldn't ask the wrong question. Instead of asking how does the one view this situation Biblically you should ask how does the Gospel speak to this situation. So what is the difference in these two questions? To me there is a big difference. The difference is the starting point. In the first you start with the situation and then apply the Bible while in the second you start with the Gospel knowing that the Gospel speaks to all areas of life.

Does Prayer Work?

Now what kind of a question is that? Is prayer a tool to make our life more comfortable? God does answer prayer but is that the reason we should pray? I am only asking the question but shouldn't we be thinking in terms of fellowship and communication? Why do I talk to a friend? Yes there will be times I will ask him for something but if the only time I ever talked to my friend was to get something I wonder how long that friendship would last?

The Greek Debt

There has been a lot of talk lately about the Greek debt but maybe we should remember our debt as the church to Greece. Greece gave us some of the earliest teachers and writers, Luke and Timothy as well as others. Greece also gave us the language for the New Testament.
Should we be concerned about the Greek debt? Absolutely! But let us not forget our debt to Greece.

When He says "Go!"

When God tells us to go and we stay we are not only hurting ourselves but we are also hurting those for whom we wished to stay. Often you have heard it said that why should we go when there is so much need at home? The issue isn't the need but obedience. Do we think we have a right to tell God what is best?

Now is the time

I have been thinking and praying about what to teach in the fall. The following are the options that have been going through my mind. I have not yet decided so if you have any ideas I would appreciate any comments. These are not in any particular order.

1. Exodus
2. Prayer life of Elijah
3. Luke
4. 1 Corinthians
5. 1 John

Those of you who know me know that I have a real love for teaching the Old Testament but we do need to have a proper balance.