Christian Thoughts Rather Than My Own

It's interesting what goes through my head on a daily basis.  Work, home, God, people, friends, frustrations, family, all these things have meanings that really affect how I act, think, talk, react, and live.  Recently my pastor tweeted:

This led me to this post, which I hope will again renew my Bible reading and Christian living.  I thank God I'm saved by grace, because I'm not cutting it in the "religious works" column.  I mean, let's look at the list I created above of things that have meaning in my life, and notice the order in which I typed them:

1.  Work
2.  Home (which could be family)
3.  God
4.  People
5.  Friends
6.  Frustrations (which could be foes)
7.  Family (again because "home" didn't really feel as connected as "family" should be)

Are you kidding me that I put "work" first?  I mean, my employer would probably like that I'm consistently thinking about my duties and working hard, but even they would say that it's not very good "work/life balance", which is a term we use to say, "we make sure to balance life and work evenly."  But more importantly, I thought of that over God and family?  What in the world is wrong with me?  If I was going to list this on some "spiritual scale" I'd have to list God, Home, People, then maybe work.  I'm not even really concerned that it's work first, more that it's NOT God, or at least Home.  I mean, even non-Christian people would say home or family is more important than work.

Last year in July I was renewed to be a better spiritual leader in my family's (specifically kids') lives because of my uncle's encouragement to have a family devotional time.  And, while that lasted a little while, it didn't last even a year and we completely neglected the Bible for the most part after that.  I'm raising two boys in a desperate time, and I'm not even leading them in the truth of scripture?  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?  I continue to battle my anger over losing my job with the county, and yet that's the plan God had for me at that time.  And I don't turn that anger over to Him until I get so angry I literally scream with frustration because of my complete failure in that pursuit.  My point is, there are so many issues to address in my life and I turn none of them over to God. WHY NOT?!?!?

Well, the answer is because of what Lance said.  I'm not listening to Christian thoughts.  Specifically, I'm not listening to the Words of God.  I'm not in the Bible studying.  I'm not praying, at least not more than a simple prayer with my kids at night.  I'm not involved in church.  I don't surround myself with Christian friends.  I'm a mess.  I claim Christ, and yet no one would believe that I'm His child.  My anger rules me.  My frustrations control my every thought.  I focus on what I can not control because I think I would do things better than most.  I'm driven by what's not fair or right or correct because I demand it be that way and hate that I can't make it so.  WELL, LIFE ISN'T FAIR BURCH.  And frankly, neither is God.  I mean, if God was fair he'd kill me and send me to hell for eternity because I sin against Him daily.  If I have someone do something against me only a few times a year, I am disgusted with them.  BUT, ALL of us fall short of the glory of God.  I learned this confusing phrase as a kid but I still remember it today as the definition of sin.  Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.  This is a truth which damns us all to hell, apart from Christ.  We can not achieve Heaven on our own because one failure eliminates the required perfection.  Once we've sinned just one time all hope in ourselves should be lost, at least in gaining Heaven apart from Christ.  It's only thanks to Jesus' death, which paid the price of all our sin, a price tag of death and separation from God, that we have salvation if we believe.  But, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW GOD AGREED IT WOULD WORK, He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to be that payment, because perfection could not be held in the grave and Hell could not keep the Son of God contained.

Now, if you've read this blog over the years, you may recognize the pattern of frustration I have with myself, and the fact that I go back and forth, up and down, in my apparent spiritual life.  But really I want to assure you, there is no pattern of success; there is only a pattern of failures and recognition of those failures, which could be argued as a success based on our hopelessness to achieve success over sin while separated from God.  Possibly, the recognition of our need is the only true success we can have here.  I'll say it again,  I am thankful that it's grace that saves, not works, because I'm an awful Christian.  I have no religion; I care for no one.  I claim Christ and God yet do not live to prove Him.  In fact, really the only evidence of transformation I have is a peace that comes from the knowledge of grace, and the hope I have in a God who is Holy and Unchanging, who promises to save all who believe in Him.  I wish so badly that I was the guy who lived how a Christian should live, transformed by the Spirit, renewed by the gift of Jesus.  But I struggle more than I can bare to live out my faith.  I conform to my surroundings and blend into the ways of those I work with, play with, live with, interact with, and the things I read, watch, hear, and all the things I immerse myself in.  If these things were Christian Thoughts, I'd be more successful as a child of God, but they are the things of the world: people, places, things that are not how God designed them, but of man.

Okay, but how do I change?  How do I rid myself of the anger and frustrations that lead me to not live a life that is pleasing to God?  How do I discipline myself to think on Christian things, rather than earthly things?  How do I listen to the voice of God and the Holy Spirit and read the Bible, rather than being tempted by the damning voice of Satan and his demons, calling me to sin in anger, frustration, and hate?  Honestly, I have answers to these questions but don't do the things I know I need to do.  Instead, I surround myself with fools and sinners and temptations and anger, rather than fellow believers who can build me up and who can be built up by me.  I need to worry less about my place in the world and more about my place in Heaven.  This leads to the Bible and studying the things of God, Christian things.  This leads away from the things of earth, the things that people tell me will make me happy, successful, satisfied.  I must press on toward the upward call of Christ and hope in Him and listen to the Holy Spirit's prompting.  I must commit to reading and studying the Word of God, to surrounding myself with the things of God, and to have Christian thoughts envelop my life.  I must find Christian friends to be closer to, to encourage and be encourage by.  I really need to work on my devotion through the Word of God, and know what God wants me to know from His own inspired words.

The Types of Man

Yesterday, our pastor used an interesting description of 4 types of man. I modified it a little and added a fifth. He admitted, as do I, this is not completely theologically sound, but I found it interesting enough to post.

If you are interested in his explanation, head over to bridgewaychristian.org and look for the audio for Part 2 of his Hebrews series. Heck, listen to the first one too.

Types of Man
1. Original man - created by the hand of God, sinless Adam, Eve, and Jesus

2. Fallen man - all mankind after Adam and Eve sinned, apart from God

3. Redeemed man - saved from sin by Jesus, believer by faith

4. Condemned man - fallen man at death, sent to pay his own price for sin

5. Glorified man - redeemed man at death, covered by the blood of Jesus, who is the only original man to live to death in His original sinless perfection as both God and man, able to pay the price for all, bringing many sons to glory
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In Hopelessness, I Shall Seek Out The Word

I'm not going to pretend to think of myself as deep.  In fact, I'm a shallow fool who desperately needs God's grace to cover a multitude of sin, that otherwise earns me eternal damnation, separation from God, and torturous everlasting death.  Eeek.  But I tweeted tonight about hopelessness, and how it abounds exponentially with the leadership of this country (I may have said it differently due to the 140 character limitation).  This tweet, which I felt I needed to share, led me to this blog post, which, again, I felt I needed to use to explain the hope that is in Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and who is God.

I titled this post "In Hopelessness, I Shall Seek Out The Word" to be creative with it.  I decided to share the following verses tonight because I've had this on my heart since reading them with my kids.  We started a family devotion time after our July family vacation to Newport Beach, CA with my mom's side of the family.  It was awesome!  My mom's brother, a pastor in Georgia, sat everyone down the first night and explained he thought we should all do a "family devotion" each night of the trip, just after dinner, for 15-20 minutes.  At first, I was a little bothered by what felt more like a demand than a suggestion, but I quickly realized this was going to be one of the major highlights of the trip.  And, it turned into something I felt was important to my family's spiritual health.  Anyway, I've written about this vacation before, so I'm just going to move on and explain my title.

"I Shall Seek Out The Word".  Really, "The Word" is a name John uses for Jesus.  John, the book of the Bible I decided to read with my family, starts with:

1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  v2 He was in the beginning with God. v3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. v4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."


1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

When I'm feeling hopeless, I need to seek out Jesus.  Why?  Because He is God, Creator, Life, Light, Grace, and Truth.  He created us and gave us life and light.  Then he came to earth and provided a way for us to not be hopeless in a sinful world, giving us grace and THE truth of Himself.  Jesus existence is not disputed in history.  He really lived as flesh and dwelt among us.  Only His sovereignty is disputed.  The unbelieving deny the life and light that His glory gives.

3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  v17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.  v18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  v19 And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  v20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  v21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."


I can't really say it more clearly than this.  I tried, but I deleted what I wrote because it was not as precise.  Be encouraged by God's words. All of 3:16-21 is Jesus speaking to Nicodemus about salvation.  It's God's own words.  The words of The Word.

Word.


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On Christ The Solid Rock...My Version

Well, I'm a little embarrassed at this video, obviously not so embarrassed as to not post it, but I understand this could be my "Chocolate Rain".  Even the lighting is yellow like that guy's video.  The point of posting this is to get some reaction to this very raw version of my re-write of the classic hymn "On Christ The Solid Rock".  Please add comments to this blog entry, on the "James Guhn Facebook" post, or email me at jeremydburch@jimmythegun.com.  Also, I posted the words below if you can't understand them.

Ever since the destruction of the Sacramento metropolitan area's best church (in my opinion of course), First Baptist of Auburn, when the horrible decision was made to split apart a church family that had both mature and immature Christians, with both differing levels of spiritual discernment and leadership, combined with the hearts of both men of God and men of self, I haven't been on a very good path in my own spiritual life.  During my vacation last month, I had the pleasure of watching my Uncle Terry, my mother's youngest sibling, take charge in the absence of my Grandfather as sort of the "spiritual leader" on my mother's side of the family.  He called us all to have evening devotions during our vacation.  They were no longer than 30 minutes of song, scripture, and prayer; and although this was a low key time of family worship, I was so impressed and impacted by this time, I decided to implement it in my own family.  My wife, kids, and I have a time each night now, where we sing spiritual songs (not just hymns), we read the Bible (I started with John, since every pastor I know has taught through this book 18 million times. I'm an exaggerator, see best church comment above), and we pray as a family.

The point is, I miss this being central in my life, not just the music ministry I was involved in at FBC, but really being in God's word consistently, praying, and working on living as though I am actually saved.  ARGH!!!  I hate my sin.  I recorded this video with my iPhone, at a hotel in Redding, while staying there for a work related visit as people were walking in and out of the lobby (it was a little awkward).  But with the loss of access to my piano, it's the only chance I get to play.  I took a binder of songs on the last trip, which included many that I've written or arrange, and this one jumped out at me.  I quickly, in one take, laid down this really rough version, hoping to use it more to remind myself of what I loved doing so much.  I honestly miss music ministry so badly, but feel disqualified these days.  Sin is awful.  And, I don't know if it's that I'm sinning more or realizing my sin more, but I'm frustrated with it and need to find the hope that only comes from Christ.  Often, I'm finding myself so far away from how I know he calls me to live, that the truth of my own salvation pops up as a reoccurring question.  I know He truly is the Rock of salvation, and reading John reminds me of the fact that Jesus, the Word, who was with God in the beginning, and breathed life into all creation, came to earth to die a horrible death, after perfectly living only about as long as I've lived, and paying of the sins I commit every single day.  And yet, knowing these facts, I continue to live in a way that makes people hate me, fear me, attack me, and NOT see God in me.  I'm gross.

So here are the great words to this song:

On Christ the Solid Rock

Words by Edward Mote and William B. Bradbury

Music by Jeremy Burch

Verse 1
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name


Chorus
On Christ the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand


Verse 2
When darkness veils His lovely face I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil


Verse 3
When He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne


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Judas is the Demon I Cling To

I sometimes feel like I have a lot to say, but I know it's not usually anything of value.  I've been debating doing an entry on the change in morals and values in just my short 35 years of life, but I know that some would be offended and I'm not always the softest person when it comes to dealing with differing opinions.  My wife (poor thing) can tell you about that.  But I feel like writing something.  So here goes...

First, remember that I added myself to this blog for the attempt at adding spiritual topics.  So, when you see that I've written an entry, feel free to skip it if that's not something that interests you.  Or, if you think me a hypocrite, based on something you've observed in my life that doesn't seem to fall into what I write, realize I already know and that's why I am so glad God saves by grace not merit.

Now, here comes my way of starting a spiritual topic with something that doesn't really sound too spiritual.  I love Lady Gaga.  Honestly, I find her to be a very talented musician.  She does things that can not be considered boring or just like every other artist.  She has an ability to go places with her music, harmonies, and sound that others wish they could reach.  And, unlike many of the artists today, she is actually musically talented.  Now, I didn't include the video to the song I'm going to refer to below, because she does do things that are provocative and inappropriate to my topic, but she is good at her job.

Her newest album, "Born This Way", was recently described to me as "very Catholic".  And, while I've never really been to a Catholic church or Catholic mass or Catholic friend's house, I can see how someone not necessarily involved in a "Christian religion" could believe this, with some of the songs and lyrics on the album.  Which brings me to my main point.  There is a song on the album called Judas, as in the guy who betrayed Christ.  Some of the official words of the song are:

I'm in love with Judas.
When he calls to me I am ready
I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain
Even after three times he betrays me


I'm just a holy fool oh baby it's so cruel but I'm still in love with Judas baby


Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to

Besides the artistic license taken with regards to biblical accuracy (woman who washed Jesus feet with her hair, Peter was the one who denied knowing Jesus three times, etc.), I actually choose to look at this as a pretty good understanding of the depravity that we "cling to".  The betrayal of Jesus was the ultimate sin, since it was the complete rejection of Christ (the only sin that is not forgiven, since it is the rejection of the only way to salvation).  But we all do it every day.  We all choose self gain over the glory of God.  I would attempt to roughly translate her words as:

I'm in love with myself
When I want something I go after it
I'll do anything for self gratification
Excuse myself for what I do
Deny the prompting of the Holy Spirit


I know what I do is wrong, but I do it anyway because I seek self gratification


Jesus is virtue but I choose the desire I have to satisfy myself

Now, she may not be thinking of it like me.  Perhaps she loves doing what is wrong.  She may find Judas so attractive that she doesn't want to believe he is wrong, but I choose to think of it as a cry against what she knows to be wrong and lacks the strength to deny herself of.  In another part of the song she says, "I'll bring him down, bring him down, down."  What happens is, we think we CAN fight and defeat our sinful desires on our own.  But it's not possible.  Sin, the desire for self gratification and self glorification, is so  strong and so deeply rooted as part of our nature, that we can ONLY cry out for Jesus.  Sin is over powering without the strength granted us from God, through the Holy Spirit.  And only by the blood of Christ are we able to be freed of the sin we have, do, and will commit.

Finally, I know that I may be stretching it a bit with my translation of this song and its meaning, but I think apart from God, all creatures are seeking the completeness that does only come from fulfilling the purpose for our creation, which is to say, we were created to glorifying God and therefore, will only find true joy and wholeness in doing that.  Although the desire to gratify and satisfy our self seems most important, by seeking instead, to glorify God first, total joy and wholeness will be a result that voids our need for self gratification.

And now I've written it to go out tomorrow and not live it.  If only God came now to take me home with Him, so that I would no longer betray him daily with my life.  Damn you Judas.





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The Awkward Guess of When The Impending Judgement Day WILL Happen (and Why I'm Still Scared)

I was talking to my wife a few days ago about the whole "Judgement Day" thing and, although this post is a little late to the game, it's really a chance to express my own thoughts from the past few days. The idea that some man "figured out" the day God is going to fulfill His promise to return to earth for His people, using the same Bible that has verses like Matthew 24:36, is ridiculous.  I actually told my wife, it wasn't going to happen, based solely on the fact that he predicted a date and time. If "...no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only," then any time someone says, "Yeah I know when it's going to happen," you can bet it will not be that day.

But that's not really my point in writing this post. I did some reflecting on my own life and what a nightmare, joke, sham, ridiculous mess it is, compared to the life the Bible directs a believer to live. After all, our example is the life of Jesus Christ, who was (besides perfect) compassionate, faithful, a servant, a leader, knowledgable of the things of God, a prayer, a studier, a teacher, solely focused on satisfying God's will for His life.  Even on the cross, at the point where God was going to turn His back on Jesus and place all our sins on Him He said, "Not my will but Yours be done."  And, I'm more realistic to what REAL LIFE is like these days. I mean, the longer I live and the more I experience, the clearer the picture of our desperation and absolute need for God's grace becomes. I never believed a sinless life was possible, but I did think, at one point, I was doing okay.  But, more and more I understand the recognition of our depravity is important, and the pain sin causes is required for us to comprehend just how much grace and mercy are crucial for us to spend eternity in Heaven verses Hell.  I don't think it is ever going to be possible to feel qualified for Heaven, and if we do, we are probably living a lie, but I am so miserably unhappy with my current Spiritual place, I am becoming more honest with my own "disgustingness" as a creator created by God and realizing my desperation for His grace on either Judgement Day or the day he takes me home.

Here comes the BUT in this, for my Christian friends who are thinking I am justifying sin. I know I am still called to live a life that is holy, blameless, and pure. I just think the holy life of a sinful creator proves to be much harder than most Christians pretend it to be. I often think about the Holy Spirit's role here, and wonder if I'm completely ignoring His prompting and cautions for me to avoid sin, or I'm I not able to hear them because my sinful life is the true evidence of a lack of salvation. OH CRAP, that scares me. If I really think about eternal separation from God, it makes me want to puke. I hate my sin. I hate that I am often consumed by it or overpowered by the temptation to be involved in it. And the fact that it seeks me out and draws me into itself is a horror film playing out its plot in my life.

So what can I do? I can turn to God, His Word, and His people for support. I can flee from the advances of sin. I can pluck out my eyes or cut off the parts that lead me to sin (Matthew 18:9, 5:29, Mark 9:47). Only, I feel I've done that last one in the past (jail job), and yet I continue to fall back into the same negative disgusting life. Why? Why am I drawn to the very thing I do not want? And why I'm I not running toward the very thing I know I need? God gives us all we need to be successful as His children, but I turn towards selfish gain and self desire instead of purity and holiness found in Him and His word. Granted, there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but we are still called to live holy, pure, and without blame.

So, there is either Hell or Heaven. One I can achieve on my own, living in the nature of my sin. The other I long for, but can only achieve apart from myself and that nature. One takes no effort. The other takes a life time of selflessness and God's grace. And, although I believe that we all earn Hell, I can not earn the Heaven I so desperately long for. Not without Christ. Not without the sacrifice of God's Son. Not without the WILL of God being such, that He placed all the eternal penalty for my sin onto His blameless Son to bare the price to free me from myself. I am nothing, but I will suffer forever for my nothingness if I don't trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding. I am called to acknowledge Him in all my ways, and He will direct my path and make it straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Oh God, I cry out to You. Renew me, forgive me, oh God. Make me whole in You. Give me joy only Your truth can give. Make me love, like only You can love. Give me peace and patience in this world. Help me trust in you. Direct my path.
 


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Happy Resurrection Day...Carrie Underwood Sings "

There isn't a better day to think about how great God is than the day we celebrate the proof that Jesus was God's Son, Resurrection Day.  Praise God for how great He is and how vital His grace is to us.



Happy Easter Resurrection Day.


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We Have Only One Reason To Exist

I don't really know how to sound intelligent or deep. I'm a super opinionated person, with nothing really to say. I read all sorts of blogs and Internet sites trying to gain knowledge on things that will make me sound like I know what I'm talking about, but I don't really know anything about the important things of life. Well, there is one exception to that.  I actually know the most important thing in life.  But I don't live like I do, or share that knowledge.  If fact, most of the time I live and act and speak like I don't know this crucial truth to our existence. I know there is a deep and critical purpose for our lives. I know this purpose brings hope and joy. I know that, without understanding this purpose, besides the eternal damnation we face apart from this truth, our lives will be lived hopeless and frustrated, filled with hated, anger, and emptiness. The crazy thing is, even with this knowledge in my own head, I live in a negative place right now.  And this is because we are not called to merely understand this purpose, but we are told to live it.

I turned 35 last week and I've started to take a look at my life, maybe for the first time. I've been looking at where I came from, where I am, what I've accomplished, and what I've set as goals. I started my life in a loving family, where I was raised, protected, and guided in the knowledge of God. I grew into an involved member of the Church, playing music in worship services, leading small group discussions, working on my own relationship with God, studying the Bible, and trying to live my life to please God.  Currently, my life is a joke.  There is nothing in it that resembles a life lived in faith. Sure, I go to church on Sundays where one of the most dynamic preacher I've ever heard teaches, I teach my kids about God, I pray with them, I even pray (mostly plead) on my own, but there is no living by faith. My wife and I have had our share of tragic happenings, from medical things and deaths in the family to financial and job related trials, but our prayers and requests for God's help and guidance are far and few between. We don't live in faith. We don't live as though we understand our purpose for existence.

I am a huge failure. I place a lot of the responsibility for my wife's spiritual maturity on my own shoulders.  I should be leading this family into meaningful, deep, real, solid relationships with God.  Instead, I'm the one that is to angry and frustrated at the outcome of my life this far to be a positive force in this family.  As someone who was raised in the church, with lots of access to the Bible and teachers and examples of God pleasing people, i should lovingly lead my wife and kids into God's light and grace. I have the chance to show them God's grace and love, and that our purpose is to enjoy glorify Him. But I'm selfish, frustrated, sinful, and horrible. I don't bring God glory with my own life, so how can I teach my family to do the same?  After 8+ years together, how is it my wife is still a baby Christian and I've now become someone who doesn't even resemble one at all?

Knowledge is nothing without actions. Just like James 2:19 says "even the demons believe - and shudder".  It's not knowledge of God that saves. It takes faith in our need for Jesus. We must give up self control.  We MUST realize we can never be good enough on our own.  Apart from God, we are nothing.  Our purpose is to glorify God, who is the Creator of all things.  He gave us free will, and then a Savior to save us from ourselves.  Think of it like this: we are called to go out into the world and reveal God to those we meet.  But it we don't know God ourselves, who can we share Him with others?  I need to wake up and live this knowledge.  I am nothing apart from God.  I deserve eternal damnation because of my sins.  And without God's Son, Jesus, I'd be there.  But by the grace of God, I am saved from these sins by the perfect lamb, sacrificed for me.  Now I have only one reason to exist: I MUST GLORIFY GOD!

Paul Gives Up His Rights...Disciplines His Body

There are so many rhetorical questions in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. It's almost like Paul wants to say, "Duh" to the church at Corith. What he is doing is pointing out the things he is giving up in his life or disciplining himself from so that he is a better witness for the gospel. He is making it clear that, although some of the things he gives up are not sinful to partake in, he abstains from such things to be set apart and free from guilt.  Just like in chapter 8, where he explains he is free to eat or drink whatever he desires, he does not eat or drink certain things in certain situations so he does not cause someone else to stumble or judge him wrongly.  Now in chapter 9 is goes further to explain the freedoms he gives up to better serve God.

Really, this is too short an explanation to do this passage justice, but to break down each statement would take me too long with my limited time to write.  Basically, we need to look at the things in our lives that are not necessarily wrong to be involved in but that might cause others to stumble or question our faith.  We need to be able to use our freedoms to further the kingdom of God and allow us to more easily share the gospel.  Just as Paul says in 9:22 "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some," our freedoms allow us to present to gospel to all types of people.  But we must, "discipline (our) body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others (we) should be disqualified."

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Love God. Love Others. Watch What/When/Where You Eat?

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 is a long passage to say something that isn't really that big of an issue for people I'm around and for most of our society. Maybe I'm missing something, but, there aren't foods that are offered to idols, or foods that cause fellow believers to stumble. I have heard this passage used to say it's okay to drink alcohol, as long as you do it where believers who don't agree with the drinking of alcohol are not going to see you and be tempted by it; meaning even though they think it's wrong in their mind, they drink in spite of that. This would be sin for them, not because it is wrong to drink, but because they think it's wrong and still do it. It's like a sin against their own conscience and a decision to choose sin over what is right.

But I just read this passage twice, and I didn't really have much to apply to myself. I drink the occasional glass of wine or beer. I eat pretty well, for the most part. I think the biggest thing I'm going to take away from this passage is to be aware of who is watching and listening to you, in all situations. There are things people are observing in us that would lead them to make judgments against our faith. We are all sinners, and we all fail to reach heaven on our own. But it is so important to try and live a life that glorifies God and shows those around us that we are set apart for Him. Christ saved us from eternal death. Now we need to live a life of love. "If anyone loves God, he is known by God." Show God love by glorifying Him with all we do. I know, it's hard. At least for me it is.

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The Spiritual RQA

My job is to review the 6 branches I'm directly responsible for and see that they are operationally sound. I'm called an Operations Specialist. Really, I go in and point out people's mistakes, tell them how to fix them, teach them how to avoid the mistakes next time, and tell them how to do it correctly the first time all the time. I give resources, helpful tools, and policy standards each branch so they can function within the rules and regulations that govern my industry. Basically, the people who want to do a good job appreciate me for the help I provide, and the ones who don't seem to care have a hard time with me pointing out all their mistakes. Part of my job is to prepare these branches for the "testing" process or the "Retail Quality Assurance Review". These reviews happen roughly every 12 to 18 months. The RQA group comes in and assigns a grade to the branches operations to judge their operational soundness. The branch is found "Acceptable", one we need to "Watch", or "Unacceptable". This is where the stress comes from for me.

I have 6 branches, all are due for their RQA audit...well now it's 5 of 6 because one just had its review and passed with the "Acceptable" score. Yea! Of the other 5 remaining branches I have 3 that I am really struggling with, and I've been struggling with for months. I tell them how to do things correctly, and they don't seem to be able to put that into practice. I explain to the managers the need for their buy-in into my recommendations, so they can be successful in their upcoming audits. In most cases; however, it doesn't seem to be happening. I'm very tired. I'm very discouraged. I'm very worried about how well they will do. I think a big issue is the accountability portion of this process. The score for the branches is put on me, not the manager of the branch or the team that is at the branch daily. It mainly reflects on me, and I'm only there, at best, once a week. With 6 branches spread over 200 miles, it's a little difficult to be at any given branch on a consistent basis.

I'm not here to complain about my job, although it may seem like that. I like the challenge. I actually wanted to relate this dynamic to God and us. God tells us in the Bible how to live our lives correctly (please don't think I'm saying we can earn salvation if we live a good life) so that on the day of judgement we can be found pure and holy. He gives us resources, instructions, council, guidance, and the answers we need to live as believers. He longing for us to be His. He gave His Son for our sin. All we need to do is believe. And yet we have all these resources and one easy step to follow (faith), and we don't listen or follow the simple step to the perfection of eternity. We think all our own stuff is so much more important than glorifying God with our lives. We think that our own goals and our own desires will make us happy and successful in life. But in reality, if we do not follow God's words and instructions, we will fail. Romans 10:9-10 says, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." But James 2:18-20 says, "But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?" You have to believe to be saved. But true belief or faith is evidenced by actions. There better be some evidence to your claim of salvation in your life. You better be doing what God tells you to do in His Word, the Bible.

NOTE: I assume only a few people read this blog, and that those are my Christian friends. If you are not a Christian, and you think that I'm comparing myself to God, understand that I am actually the sinner realizing I have the Word of God to point me to a proper pleasing life, but I fail to follow those instructions and it frustrates God that I do not listen to Him. I am only saved because of grace. If there was an RQA Review on my life, I would not be saved. I would be found "Unacceptable". Praise God that He shows grace on me. Praise God that He saves


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Undivided Devotion To The Lord

1 Corintians 7:25-40 wraps this chapter with Paul advising not to marry. He says it is better to stay as you are because your focus can be on your relationship with God and not on the things of this world, or how to please your spouse. He says it's not a sin to be married, but it takes away focus and time that can be spent on God and out "interests are divided." Paul says these things over several verses, but to the point that we "may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Without getting into details, there are time that I argue with my wife and feel like the arguments are such a waste of time. Are we in anyway sharpening each other or helping build our relationship with God? No. But I also know that the passions of my flesh would not allow me to be like Paul without sin. And he does address that too. It is not a sin to marry. Paul says, "So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."

God did give me my wife as a partner. Last night we talked about our church service and a challenge our pastor presented, a 40 day fast. The church is planning a prayer service 40 days from Tuesday. The challenge was to give something up for 40 days as a fast, and on every Wednesday to fast from food, until the prayer service. Our pastor said he felt like he wasn't prepared for the last prayer service and he wanted to be more prepared this time. The 40 day fast was suggested as a means of preparing our hearts to "be in the presence of God" at the prayer service. My wife talked to me about what she wanted to do for the fast, and I realized I didn't even take the thought of the fast serious. I thought about what I would want to do for it, but I didn't plan on actually participating.

The point of this section of scripture for me is: it is better to be focused on God than the things of this world. To do this it is better to be focused on God than have the distraction of a spouse. But more often a spouse protects you from the lusts of the flesh and can often times point you back to God. In the words of a past pastor, a wife can be a help mate. I believe my wife is often a help mate, even when she doesn't know or realize she's being one.


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Sunday Is Not For Church

It has become almost a regular habit lately for my family to miss church. We haven't gone for some weeks now because of sick kids. First Caleb. Then Ryan. And now both. But is it really because of the kids?

I've talked for a while about my own spiritual life being in the dumps. My past involvement in church kept me accountable to being at church, living with a level of responsibility to my own witness, and a feeling of correctness and freedom to call myself a Christian. But the place I'm in now leads me to question whether I was fooling myself before or if I've just fallen into a depression over the depravity of man.

Selfishness, corruption, laziness, popularity, the "cool factor", modern, fun, easy, comfortable, friendly, politically correct; these are things that make me so mad about both our society and the church. Mankind is disgusting. Why God would want to die for us, I can not
understand.

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Live As A Believer In Whatever Situation You Were Assigned

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 starts with a really straight forward command, "...each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them." Step 1 of being a Christian: live as a believer. What? Are you serious?

Now, this is not actually "Step 1", I'd say faith is, but how often are we actually living as though we are saved from our Sin by the God of the Universe? Salvation is from eternal death, pain, torture, and separation from God? Are we living like we understand the grace that has been given to us? We don't deserve to be forgiven of our sins, but God has given us Jesus as payment for our sins.

When we are saved, we aren't called to take ourselves out of the situation we are in. And we are not called to make drastic changes (like circumcision) to ourselves. Outward physical changes are not what living as a believer is about. Verses 19-20 "...Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them."

The last section of this passage talks about whether the believer is a slave or one who is free. For the slave, he is not to worry, unless he can earn his freedom. I'm not really sure about this section, or how to relate it to our society today, but I know that we are not to enslave ourselves to any thing or any one. We are the Lord's slave, because we were bought by His blood. When He paid for our sin with His life, He called us to serve Him. As believers we should live as such, by expressing the freedom from sin and its consequence (eternal separation and death) we have in Christ.

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Commanded To Not Separate

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 talks about staying together in a marriage.  Today it seems like divorce is the answer to most people's marital problems.  If you don't get along, just divorce.  If you want to be with someone else, just divorce.  But as Christians, we are commanded not to separate from our spouse.  Even if that spouse is not a believer, we are told to stay with them as long as they will stay with us.

Divorce is wrong.  I know that there are situations and scenarios that we all try to put together to justify making that decision, but for the most part it's not God's will.  Too often, the problems in a marriage come from the selfishness of both parties.  Instead, thinking of the needs of the other person can solve most of the problems.  And as Christians, we are called to love others.  This includes our spouse.  When we feel like we aren't getting what we want out of our marriage, I think we need to look at what we are putting into it.  And even if we feel like we ARE doing all we can and it's still rough, I think that God will still bless us for our commitment.

Love your spouse today.  Remember the commitment of marriage and God's command to not separate.


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