April 2008 Archives

Today I was out picking up a few things and came upon a fender bender in the parking lot of a Home Depot. It looked as though a car had pulled out of a space and was struck by a pickup truck from a business called "Fore Sight"... oh, the irony.

It made me think of how when we "advertise" something we believe, it gives everyone a chance to take a shot at you without knowing you.

As a follower of Christ, my belief system has been advertised for the last 2000 years or so. Plenty of time for anyone who might like, to absorb, assess, and take a shot at someone who says they are Christian.

The worst part of that is, after identifying you with Jesus, they feel they have license to hassle you whether or not your life lines up with what they know about the Bible. If your life does line up with scripture, you can be labeled as intolerant, or prudish, or weak and foolish. However, if your life doesn't line up, you are no safer, as then you're, in their eyes, the worst of the worst... a hypocrite.

My problem with all of that is, the reason they can label any Christian "hypocrite" is that they know ahead of time (thanks to advertising) what we are supposed "believe" and therefore "live". Most of the behaviors we exhibit aren't what we get maligned for; it's that we don't do what we say we believe.

I should add, that is truer than I care to admit, even in my own life. However, the fact of the matter is that those who enjoy dropping an "H-Bomb" are conveniently immune to hypocrisy simply because we cannot see any "advertising" for their beliefs. Plus, even if we could, they have liberty to change what they believe and call it "growth" or "enlightenment". So, they are never hypocritical.

Okay, so this is a pet peeve of mine. (Peeve is a funny word isn't it?) But, it is a drag to not be recognized for trying to do the right thing but stumbling, as opposed to not trying at all, or changing course every time something becomes too difficult, less interesting, or too inconvenient.

With that said, we must always do what we can to understand others that might see us this way, and to seek to be understood. It is a two way conversation that leads to the unity that Jesus spoke of when he prayed in John 17:20-23. Perhaps we can avoid future fender benders.


C

PS You can see my main blog at www.cnotesonline.com
Subscribe and never miss a post!

ArkAlmighty - an online tool that helps match the needs in our congregation with the skills of our members. Click the image below to get started posting needs and skills.

Virtual Church Bulletin Board - works like an old-fashioned church bulletin board (help wanted ads, information from people looking for a roommate, ads about free stuff, etc.), but online.

May 4-5 at Calvary Community Church

On Monday they'll have classes on creation science specifically for kids in grades K-5 and 6-12.

Admission is free. More information can be found here.

Check out the Answers In Genesis website.

Download the general sessions and panel discussions from the 2008 (and 2006) T4G conference. The speakers include R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, John Piper, and Al Mohler.

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.com/Resources/T4G.aspx

 

Together for the Gospel is a biennial conference for pastors and church leaders, hosted by Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Albert Mohler, and C.J. Mahaney. You can learn more by reading their blog, visiting the 2008 conference info page, or watching video highlights from the 2006 conference.

Judging by the response to his recent passing, there seems to be a fair number of Larry Norman fans in our church. This is for you.

Find more here.

(Found at SmartChristian.com)

I was driving to work today and drove past the Photo Radar cameras on the 101 freeway in Scottsdale. I drive by all of them everyday to and from work. I think they are a good idea. If you break the law, you get flashed and you get a ticket. They even have "grace" built right in (you can go 10 miles over the limit and not get flashed).

That's when it occured to me; the cameras only flash you if you are going too far OVER the speed limit, even though it is also illegal to go too far UNDER the posted limit. I understand that we do that to protect lives. However, the thing that bugs me, and that I hear most people complain about, is not how FAST people are going, but how SLOW some people go.

I would like to propose that the people that drive by the cameras at less than 10 miles an hour UNDER the speed limit are also flashed. And, if they are going that slow in the far left lane (The Fast Lane) then their ticket could be even more expensive.

It reminds me that we naturally accuse people of being "wrong", or even "weird", using ourselves as the basis for "right". For example, regardless of whether we are going too fast or slow in relation to the speed limit, we call anyone going faster than us a "maniac" and anyone going slower than us an "idiot".

That's why having an external measure for right and wrong is crucial. Without an absolute that we can all subscribe to there will always be some measure of chaos.

It's even better, if that "external measure" is perfect. What if we were so lucky as to have that external measureER, care about us... ALL of us, even the ones who don't care about him. What if he desired nothing more than to just be close to us and were willing to sacrifice himself to make that possible. That would be great (Romans 5:8).

 

C

PS You can see my main blog at www.CnotesOnline.com

Subscribe and never miss a post!

These posters were designed by Ministry Growers to illustrate Jesus' radical message of love.

Our Modern American Minds are Callous to the Revolutionary Message Jesus is Telling

We can't understand Jesus' words because we have it so easy. Let's take a minute to remember who he was talking to. Jesus was talking to a group of Jews under the iron fist of the Roman Empire. Many of these people had their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters slaughtered, killed, and murdered by the powers that be. Jesus is telling them to pray for those who persecute them? This message just took on a whole different level of depth. Jesus is calling us to love those who don't deserve it, because we don't deserve it.

But realize that the freedom in Christ is so profound it allows you to love the worst, most vile people ever...Because He first loved you, and nothing else matters.

(Found at billyburnett.org)

View more pictures from Pastor Becky's trip to Cambodia here