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Do I control me?

If my future is as I foresee it, do my choices make it become reality?

If I do not control me, where does my control end and His begin?

I may choose to follow His path, but is He not free to change it?

And if so, who’s path am I then following?

His, or mine?

How do I live free, walk with Him, and know that I am?

When my mind changes, is it Him, or is it me?

Is the future that I see just a bad reflection of what He has planned?

Is living in a box worth being happy in the long run?

If I step out of this box and decide to live free, am I still living in Him?

Does He want me to be happy now, and happy later?

James 4:13-15 (ESV)

Come now, you who say “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit,” yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Where am I going?

Do I really know?

I know He does, but do I?

So, another year, and another witch gets burnt.

What am I talking about? I’m referring to the witch burning that the Christian community does every time something comes around that they don’t like. Every time some book, movie, entertainer, or idea comes around that Christians believe will undermine the Bible’s authority (impossible), usurp God’s Sovereignty (again, impossible), or mock Salvation (yet again, impossible), we pool our efforts to make it as big an issue as we possibly can. Basically, we go on an old-fashioned Salem witch hunt.

Two years ago, the big witch hunt was Dan Brown’s book and subsequent movie deal for a story which portrayed Christ as human with a mortal lineage tied to Mary Magdalene. Last year, the evil being was disguised as the ultimate usurper of human authority over earth, Environmentalism (although this has been one of the churches favorite witches for over a decade). This year, as late as it may be, the newest witch on the scene is another book. This one is about a couple of children who set out to find and kill God.

“The Golden Compass” is a book written by Philip Pullman. There are lots of conflicting reports on his exact religious leanings, but it is believed that he is an atheist. Whether or not the book is written with a particular agenda in mind, I cannot say. However, why would I care? Do I expect an uneducated mechanic to write a book on quantum physics? Would it be incorrect to assume that a Chemist would likely write a book on Chemistry? Of course not. So then why would we not expect someone who does not believe in blasphemy, or even the existence of a divine to blaspheme, to write a book about the destruction of an idea or belief which he does not hold nor even find valid?

Why?

Because we need a witch to burn. We need something to be heard about. Let me put it bluntly; we need something to bitch about. The Church, and I say the Church because we are one Body no matter what your leaning, whether left, right, liberal or conservative, has managed, over the last few decades, to dig itself into such a rut that the only voice that we think can be heard is that of desperation. That shrill voice which screams, “DON’T DO IT”, or “BOYCOTT XYZ”. It’s this voice which has driven people away from us. It’s this voice that has made it difficult for the non-reactionary types to properly minister to those who want to listen. It is this voice which is the loudest.

What bothers me most is that it is this voice which gives these witches their power. Most, if not all of these things, I am fully convinced, would disappear with little to no recognition if we would just shut our mouths and let them pass on by. I had no clue who Dan Brown was until I read about some churches pushing for a boycott of the company planning to produce the movie adaptation of his book. “The Golden Compass” wasn’t even remotely on my radar until I saw some ridiculous Facebook group urging people to not support the movie. A simple Google search showed me that, just as I suspected, more than 60% of the results were links to articles and blog posts talking about the anti-religious themes and the groups opposing the movie. This movie, just like Dan Brown’s novels, will be successful because we have offered it success on a silver platter.

So, when are we going to stop hunting for witches to burn? It’s obvious that all of our rantings and ravings are doing nothing but giving these witches their power. The real dark magic lies in just how strong they become AFTER we make a fuss about them. When are we going to realize that the best way to beat these things is to stop acting like they are going to shake the foundations of our faith and simply give them the attention they deserve:

none.

There are plenty of ways to glorify God. Burning witches certainly isn’t one of them.

A piece I recently wrote as an introduction to a group message board on Facebook:

This for those of you who feel that there is just something inherently wrong with the modern definition of “evangelism”. You feel that number-motivated theology is just wrong.

You’ve read the scriptures and no where can you find the word “evangelism”. Sure, you’ve read the verses speaking about telling the “good news”, but you also read in the same books the verses which commanded that we go make “disciples of all nations.” You know that the word “disciple” is defined as student.

You know that quality is far more important than quantity.

You have a burning inside of you that screams “Jesus did not die and rise again just for us to get everyone saved!” You know that we were saved from much more than being eternally separated from God. You know that we were saved so that we may no longer be burdened by the sufferings of this world. You know that we were saved so that we may teach others how to live.

You know that a song, a dance, a script, and a question rarely gets anyone saved. You know that it usually just creates a momentary convert. You know that God is after Discples, not converts. You know that quality time invested in one person is worth far more than a conversation with 1000 people.

You have felt the pain and anguish of spending years with someone, living through their struggles, sharing their pain, hurting in their sorrows, and rejoicing in their happiness. You know the joy in seeing that person finally coming to you, the person they know without a doubt loves them unconditionally, and genuinely asking you about your faith and why you care about them so much.

You know the pain of seeing those who have been sucked in to a numbers-oriented church, evangelized, and converted, only to be spit back out and judged as “unwilling to submit” when their shallow understanding of the depth of their commitment broke and they decided it was easier to live the old life. You also know the pain of talking to that person afterwards and the hatred and animosity they feel towards those who judged them.

You know that Discipleship means teaching, training, loving, caring, building, tearing down, and building again. You know that Discipleship requires transparency in your own life, NOT a facade of perfection.

You know that very rarely do people want to hear anything meaningful from someone they barely know or just met. You know that if they can’t trust you, then your words mean nothing. You know that people really don’t care what you know, until they know how much you care. You know that it takes time to build trust.

You are tired of cleaning up the messes of reckless evangelism. You get irritated that there are people who really believe that if they didn’t get out and “spread the gospel” that day that someone out there will go to hell. You know that if God is Sovereign, then he would never put such a monumental responsibility into the hands of those who constantly, and daily, fail him.

You know that Discipleship means meeting someones physical, emotional, and/or mental needs before attempting to offer them something that will meet their spiritual needs. You also understand the idea that all of those needs find satisfaction in the fulfillment of the spiritual. You understand, however, that in order for them to understand that, and to take your ideas in to consideration, they MUST see that you care about their immediate needs. Jesus means absolutely dust to them if they are hungry and need physical nourishment.

You feel that personal testimonies are often nothing more than an demonstration of hubris from an individual who is more concerned with what Jesus can do FOR people as opposed to what Jesus can do THROUGH people. You also feel that personal testimonies are often spoken of in terms of how many people they saved and how many times they shared their testimony. You feel that personal testimonies are basically a testimony to “ME.”

You get frustrated with people who read these words or hear these things and respond with things like: “Oh, you’re just ashamed of the Gospel”, “You’re just a lazy Hyper-Calvinist”, “You’re not filled with the spirit, are you?”, “I think you need to dive into the Word”, and sometimes simply give you that judgemental “Hmmm…” and then respond with “I’ll be praying for you”.

Ultimately, you feel that people are worth more than a number on the roster. You know that Jesus’ Good News is far more than just a ticket to eternity. You know that it is a ticket to a wild and crazy ride with twists and turns that will take you to places beyond your wildest dreams.

I talk too much.

Ok, so I was one of millions who got caught up in the “Left Behind” series years ago. I lost about three weeks of my life just catching myself up to whatever the newest book was at the time. I think I remember reading about 9 books in 2 weeks time. The fastest I’ve ever read before in my life. I can honestly say that it was the Left Behind series that got my seriously thinking about myself and my relationship with Christ.

Well, as time went by, I read the new ones when they came out. I haven’t read any of the newest “prequel” series. Not because I don’t have the time or anything. I love to read. As a matter of fact, I can probably credit LaHaye and Jenkins for rekindling my love of literature. No, my reasons for not reading the newest installments are a little different.

You see, about two years after I read the first eight books, I began talking to people about different Bible study methods and such. Many of them started talking about the things you discover when you inductively study scripture. Well, to be honest, I never thought much of it. If I had the time, I would have taken the nine month School of Biblical Studies course while I was working for YWAM in Kona, Hawaii, but it just wasn’t in my schedule. Never the less, those ideas about study intrigued me. So I spent some time chatting with some friends about the “discoveries” that were made while taking this class. One topic that particularly caught my attention was about the book of Revelation. I don’t remember exactly what they had learned from their study of Revelation, but the one thing that stuck in my mind was when one of my friends said “So many people have this “Left Behind” theology and it just doesnt line up with scripture.” What? How could that be? It all made so much sense. I mean, it’s so well written, how could it not be true.

Well, after almost four years, I am finally taking the initiative to find out for myself. Armed with a study guide entitled “Revelation Unveiled” written by Tim LaHaye, another study guide entitled “Left Behind?: The Fact Behind the Fiction” written by LeAnn Snow Flesher, and of course my trusty little thinline pocket ESV Bible, I will spend the next few months (perhaps years) figuring out the truth behind this “Left Behind” theology. And what better way to study than with sources from both schools of thought.

Ahh, the thrill of study and discovery.

*UPDATE*

After reading through a bit of the “Left Behind?” book I decided to get a couple more books that were slightly less biased than this one. I picked up another critique of pre-millenial “Rapture” theology entitled “Rapture Fiction: And The Evangelical Crisis” written by Gribben Crawford. I also picked up two other books which explain the various eschatological views. The first is entitled “Three Views on the Millenium and Beyond” written by Darrell L. Block, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., and Robert B. Strimple. The second is entitled “Four Views on the Book of Revelation” written by Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., Sam Hamstra Jr., and Robert L. Thomas.

This, of course, now means more reading on my part. Yay! Reasearch is never easy.

I just saw pictures that were taken at this years International Christian Retail Show and I just have one thing to say…

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP MAKING CHEESY RIP OFFS OF BRAND NAMES AND PUTTING THEM ON T-SHIRTS!

Christ was not a cheesy rip off. The market is just completely saturated with these cheesy, un-original, and just plain distasteful pieces of apparell.

So, do us all a favor, and just stop.

No matter how hard I try, I seem to be always waiting for the next big thing. The next year, next month, next week, next day, next hour, or next minute. I look back and can barely remember ever truly appreciating the moment I was living in.

It’s sad, really.

Sure, it’s trite, old news. We hear it all the time. Still, I feel like my life is just passing by and I never see it because I’m looking so far ahead.

I’ve heard this before from other adults. They say they regret not spending more time doing something. I just want to know how to do this. What does it look like. How do I live in the moment without indulging?

I just want to live and appreciate my life where I am now, at this very moment, without neglecting the future. Without obsessing about the next big thing.

I just don’t know how to do it.

Everytime I blink I’m thinking about what happens next. When you boil it down, I’m just waiting to die, and that scares me. Not the “death” part. More so the part about just “waiting” to die. It makes everything else seem unimportant.

I don’t want my death to just be a means to an end. The last bump on the road before Paradise.I want my death to be the end of a good run. The finishing touches on a life truly lived. How do I truly live when all I’m doing is thinking about whats next?

James seemed to have some understanding of this problem. I like the book of James. Such a small book, yet so rich in truth. Five chapters of pure, sensible goodness. The fifth chapter sheds a bit of light on my current thoughts:

James 4:13
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”

James 4:14
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

James 4:15
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Of course, this makes even more sense when put in context with the rest of the book. He speaks of action and words being part of an inseperable pair.

I once worked for a man who, to me, was the physical embodyment of the book of James. However, I don’t think he realized it. This makes me admire him even more. What I admired the most about him though, was the fact that he rarely talked about doing things. More often than not, he would do things, and then talk about how he was going to improve them. He truly was a man of action, and the fruit of his ministry testified to that fact.

He had a vision. He acted on what he knew. He, seemingly, was able to live in a moment, appreciate it, and have a clear vision of the future without muddying up whatever moment he was in. Life happened to him, not around him.

Some people are just born with that kind of drive. The rest of us have to fight for it, tooth and nail. It’s a daily struggle just to wake up, but to wake up and act according to our words, and speak according to our actions, well, that is a war that is fought over a lifetime.

Somehow, I think that is part of being able to live in the now, with a clear vision of whats ahead. I could go into great detail but suffice to say that when you spend time concentrating on what you are doing, you tend to pay close attention to the moment. It is only natural. You can’t think about what you are doing without thinking about what you are doing.

So for now, James is my guide. He’s teaching me some pretty important lessons right now. Lessons that will certainly serve me well in my walk through life.

Hats off to you, James.