It makes me think about so many people I’ve met who God’s given incredible gifts in an area- music, art, cooking, teaching, business, the list goes on an on. And they’re passionate about using that gift- I love that, but if the gift isn’t recognized and used to glorify God and help people understand God’s grace, something falls a little short.  In this video, we hear of how Ed Thomas helped young men love football but also learn about life and God, and how even in his death he kept teaching lessons about grace.

Ok, so again, I’m trying to avoid any Christmas wars discussions, but this video brought me to a slightly different line of thinking than simple Christmas wars.

I’m curious about how you’ve dealt with Santa in your family, either as you grew up or as you’ve dealt with your own kids.  We’re kind of getting to a transition point in our own family, so I’ve been thinking about this more.  Thus far we’ve talked about Santa and played along with the fun- after all Santa is a relatively benevolent figure and our feeling was that as long as we focused more on the religious side things were good.  Enjoy some Santa fun, but focus on Jesus as the reason for the season.

Here’s the thing though, Reuel is getting older and he’s already asked, “the question”- “Is Santa real”.  Thus far my wife and I have kind of side-stepped the issue- Santa is a story that we like to talk about at Christmas.  That’s satisfied him so far, or at least his 3 1/2 year old attention span has moved on to something different, but that will be changing by next year I’m sure. 

So I’m curious, have you tried to play on the idea of Santa as part of the “spirit of Christmas?  Have you gone whole hog, “of course Santa is real” and tried to keep up this perception with whatever steps necessary?  Have you had “the talk” (no, not the Birds and the Bees, the other talk) with your kids about how Santa isn’t real?  If so, how do you get a young child to understand how to deal cautiously with this issue when they’re around other kids. 

I’m especially curious about your experience and especially how it’s impacted your kids in terms of what they think about Christmas, their focus on Jesus and faith at this time of year.

How do you deal with temptation?

More importantly, what actually helps you fight it off?

I saw this article today when I was going through rev.org and their email update which gives me a selection of interesting articles and news stories.  What I find especially intriguing is that this is an article which deals with a study on the subject of temptation. We can all talk about temptation and how to face it, but this study delves into the reality of the subject as best a survey can.

And it finds some interesting things.  Men report more temptation than women.  Are men more prone to temptation, or do we just realize our temptations that much more clearly?

Also we discover that while people list a number of different things that can help, the number one method is to read the Bible, and not just occasionally, but regularly, as in four or more times/week.  Obviously, this is no magic bullet, but it makes sense. If we truly are spending quality time with God every day, then we’re opening access to the Spirit.  If you’re really in the Bible four or more times/week then that probably means you’re not just giving him a glancing thought, but really inviting him into your day.  It means that you don’t have to go back days ago to remember God’s Word, but that he is impressing his Word on you that day.

What do you think?  Anything surprise you from the study?  Any reactions to this topic of temptation?

Here’s another story

Well, first I’m going to break it to you.  The story isn’t true, at least not in the forms we commonly see. 

This is another one of those Christian forwards that I find challenging.  Do you take some truth from it, the basic message that we need to stand up for our faith?  The truth that God can do what he wants when he wants?  Certainly many of us have been challenged before and it’s nice to see the story of someone who felt some backup when they stood up for their faith.  Maybe you’ve gotten into debates with your friends or coworkers, or a high school teacher, or even a college professor as in this video.  It would be nice if God occasionally gave us some proof that could be seen by others (e.g. lighting some drenched wood on fire- 1 Kings 18).

I can’t say I’ve ever gotten this kind of a sign.  But I have felt God’s presence at times when I needed it most.  You know what I mean.  Opening up my devotions and getting just the right verse.  Having someone come up and tell me they were praying for me, even throwing out something like “I’m not sure why I was thinking about you yesterday, but I felt like I should pray for you”.  Those kinds of things.  God can work in whatever way he wants.  Sometimes he does give incredible signs. Sometimes he’s more subtle.  But while some may not find the whole “just the right Bible verse” discovery all that amazing, I find it perhaps the best.  After all, God promises he will always be there for us in the Scriptures.  God promises he will always give us the words we need, and in the Bible we have his Word to us.  So yes, these things are more than coincidences.

But back to the forward. The other angle that troubles me is how to deal with a forward like this that isn’t true.  I have a hard time referring to it or sending it on.  There may be a moral within that is true, but as Christians I think we need to show ourselves committed to truth as being grounded in fact.  We believe Jesus Christ really came to earth as a baby, grew up, died, and rose again.  These are more than stories with a spiritual, uplifting truth.  These things happened.  And we need to know these things really happened.  And as we move forward then I think we need to continue this pattern, in giving people truth.

Now that doesn’t mean we can’t use story.  I like fictional stories, as long as it’s clear that’s what they are.  Jesus used parables, so if you want to tell a story that’s true in the fashion of parables, that’s good.  Just make sure we all know that’s the case.  That’s where I have trouble with forwards like this.  They seem to claim fact while really being only parables.  In our world where truth is already seen as so mixed and gray, we need to be careful of that as ones who believe there is real truth, and the Truth, as found in Jesus Christ.

On a more serious note, I was working on a Bible study this week and one of the subjects that comes up in the 1 Cor. 11text is the relationship between men and women, especially husband and wife.  It’s that sticky stuff about “headship”.  I won’t get into the whole thing, though that might make an interesting series at some point.  But as I watched this video, it made me think to this subject. 

Christian men need to take up the gauntlet and hold themselves to a higher standard.  Headship is a higher standard.  It’s not about running the show or dictating, or saying ridiculous, thoughtless things like in this video.  Headship as the Bible talks about it is servant leadership.  It’s loving your wife and the women in your life as Christ loves his people.  It’s putting their needs before yours.  It’s about responsiblity.  It’s about compassion and care.  Not what we typically think of when we talk about this fiery debate, but that’s what the Bible is calling us to.

There are various versions, but from reading multiple stories the story essentially seems to be this- Rifqa Bary is the daughter of Mulim parents in Ohio.  She started doubting her faith, attending Christian gatherings, and converted to Christainity.  She had a confrontation with her parents/father and fled from her home in Ohio to stay with a Florida pastor and his family whom she met through Facebook.  She says her father threatened to kill her, part of the honor killing that has and does continue to happen within some Muslim communities.  He says he made no such threats and that she will be safe at home.

You know how this goes.  Both sides ratchet up the tension.  Honor killing does happen in some Muslim areas.  In fact, two sisters were killed in TX when it was discovered they were dating Christian men.  So some say this girl is in fear for her life, that she will indeed be killed here if returned or sent back to Sri Lanka where it could happen more easily.  On the other side accusations are made that this girl was brainwashed and that the Global Revolution Church she fled to is actually a cult.

This is a difficult case and unfortunately I think many jump to conclusions without trying to learn more.  We do need to acknowledge the reality of militant aspects of Islam, and if not in her own family, from some communities who might see her as a target.  Also we need to make sure we protect the religious freedoms of people like this girl.  Too often Christians back down, feeling like we’re being pushy if we bring the faith and present it to Muslims or others. 

At the same time, we don’t want to turn everything into a religious war.  The mere fact that her parents are Muslim does not mean they will kill her.  In fact her home country of Sri Lanka is not a Sharia ruled Muslim country, it’s largely Buddhist.  And as some have pointed out, her father has allowed the family to become somewhat morphed into the American culture with dress, activities (she was a cheerleader), etc, so he may not be militant, even if he was upset by the decision.  Sometimes Christians seem to be looking for issues to turn into battles, as Muslims have done as well.  This is what we want to be careful of as we seek to keep open communications with those of Muslim faith so that we can share the Gospel with them, rather than turning everything into a us vs. them mentality.  We do need to be aware of the tensions that can exist and not be afraid, but what I’m saying is that we also need to be cautious.

I’m not sure where to stand on the issue.  I do hope that the courts ruling on this case will think seriously about this girl’s well-being, including that of her chosen faith in addition to her physical safety.   As in all such cases where we’re not sure we know what’s best, we pray the Spirit guides with wisdom.

Well, Lee Stroebel gives us a couple of examples from his own experience in sharing the faith.  He speaks of one instance where he was talking with a Indian man about faith and he seemed genuinely intrigued.  He asked questions comparing Hinduism and Christianity and was excited about grace, and then all of a sudden Stroebel could see a difference in the questions and the man’s demeanor.  The objections to Christianity became almost ridiculous and Stroebel finally asked him what was going on.  The man admitted that he knew he’d have to give up cockfighting if he became a Christian.  In another experience, Stroebel spoke with an atheist and dealt with many of his intellectual objections, but when asked about his interest in faith, the man finally admitted that the real reason he didn’t want to become a Christian was because he didn’t want to give up “an active sex life”.

This chapter helps us in a couple of ways. First, it helps us raise our awareness.  When we talk with people about faith or when we meet people who aren’t Christians, we need to ask ourselves, “Why don’t they believe?”  They may say one thing, but frequently it’s really a smokescreen for something else.  It may be something straightforward like a “favorite sin” or it may be some pain in the past that they can’t let go.

Second, we need to be ready to deal with these problems.  Many people have this idea of God as some kind of mean judge up in the sky bent on oppressing people into a boring life.  We need to live and speak to a different experience.  When God says not to do something, it’s because he actually wants us to enjoy something even better.  He doesn’t say no sex- he says he wants sex to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman.  That’s good stuff!  He doesn’t say no money- he says accept it as a gift from God and be willing to give it back to God and others.  You can go down the line.  God has a greater design for our lives, one which has the ultimate trump card.  It’s a life lived in forgiveness, grace, and the promise of heaven.  No matter what joy they get out of a sin they hold onto, that can’t be even close to eqaul to the joy of grace.

Here’s a video that captures some of the heart and passion that go into this question.  “Are we a Christians nation?”  Related to this- were we ever?  Or, do we still want to be one?

That’s some intense debate and my views on this issue are constantly evolving.  What I think this video does do for us is answer unequivocally that our forefathers and many great leaders in this country have absolutely relied on God, and not just a vague “god”, but God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for guidance.  Not just in private, but they let people see their faith in public as well.  They acknowledged that God guided them personally and in their work and that his values were bound up in what they saw as values our country should promote.

I don’t think we should let this be taken away from us.  Leaders should be allowed to lead in a way that God guides them.  In fact, I want leaders to be guided by God.  And I want this country to promote values that God promotes.  Why?  Because I believe his values are the ones that he has written into the design and fabric of this world to make things work.  If this is true, a person should be able to find these values, these freedoms, these virtues in the Scriptures, and also be able to argue for them from science, nature, sociology, history, etc, becuase these are all God’s realms as well.

This is important, because we need to think in terms nonChristian faiths as well.  What are the implications for other countries.  Do we want our Christian brothers and sisters to face oppression because the leaders of those countries say they should be able to promote Shariah law, the Hindu faith, or something else?

No, but here’s where we should be ok.  One, leaders can be guided by their faith.  NonChristian leaders can be guided by their faiths as well.  It may not guide them in the right direction, but everyone has the freedom to adhere to their faith and speak about it publically as they like.  Two, the only laws we make and promote in a country need to be ones which we can show to be grounded in science, sociology, history, nature, etc as well as Scripture.  So that applies to others countries as well, and Shariah law or whatever else should not find such support.  At the same time, what’s great to see is that there are certain principles which God has written into the fabric of creation which many faiths hold in common.  Their faith will drive them to be allies in the effort to help people go back to creation and look at God’s design for lives.

Those are some of my thoughts right now on the topic.  It’s intense, and like I said, my views continue to evolve as I study the theology and practice associated with it.

But today I received a forward from Tangle that grabs some of the soundbites that have been flying lately on the gay marriage debate.

We could get into the arguments back and forth.  I’m not opposed to that idea completely and if there’s interest maybe we could try to take it on.  I guess what this forward most provoked in me was curiosity about how you speak about this subject.  Since it’s so sensitive, how have you sought to speak to others about it without immediately alienating people.   What’s your reaction to the words of others as they try to do this?  Have you heard someone who you thought did a good job of framing the debate on the issues- homosexuality in general, gay marriage, the role of the nation and states in passing laws on this issue, etc.

The different answers people give and the experiences they relate are probably as interesting as anything else.

So here’s a test- is the girl in this video a miracle?

Some will argue no.  What she does is simply the result of hard work and natural talent God gives her. Special yes, but a miracle no.  A miracle is a supernatural act of God, where he “changes the rules”.

Others will say yes.  Maybe you can say this is natural, but how often does this happen?  It doesn’t.  So God has done something special and miraculous in this girl’s life.

Think of the miracle stories you’ve heard.  Of people who are cured suddenly or saved from near accidents.  Could some of these be explained scientifically?  Maybe.  Does that eliminate from the miraculous?

I remember a woman from my home church growing up who was battling cancer.  She battled it for many years, but finally did die.  I remember hearing that a member of her famliy was having a hard time with it and talked to the pastor.  She had been praying all these years for a miracle and it didn’t happen.  The pastor then responded that they had indeed been praying for a miracle, and maybe one did happen.  The doctors had given this woman only  months to live and instead she was blessed with years of life with her family beyond what anyone could have predicted. 

Was this a miracle?  Again, it’s a sticky issue, but I guess the key is that in a miracle, God is breaking into our world to do something powerful, and that he does it for a purpose, to help people understand his graciousness.

Tell me about your miracle stories or thoughts.