My Life

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. 10We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. 19I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon. 20May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.

10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

I have been doing some reading/viewing on conspiracy theories and have found them interesting. Something that is potentially even more interesting is people's responses to conspiracy theories. For some reason, people want to believe that conspiracies do not exist. In the face of mountains of evidence, people want to stay naive.
These reality TV shows have been a big hit for years now with Survivor often listed as starting the genre. Does anyone remember the first survivor? The winner, Richard, was great at manipulating people and conspiring against them behind their back.
Brothers and sisters conspire against their parents.
Students conspire against their teachers.
Employees conspire against their bosses.

In all these cases, there are minimal gains to be won. Richard won a million dollars, but I think it is pretty clear that people will conspire for much, much less.

So how about for much, much more? The government and big businesses control billions and sometimes trillions of dollars. Do we really think there are not any conspiracies going on? A common idea is that there would need to be widespread buy-in into the conspiracy for large organizations to be doing something like that, but Enron disproves that idea. One of the largest companies in the world was corrupted by just a few men at the top.

I am not advocating that anyone look for conspiracy theories everywhere all the time, but I also think being too naive is bad also. As with practically everything, extremes are bad. Do not accept everything government or business (through media) gives you without thinking about it critically.

Is our society becoming less moral over time? There is alot of evidence that it is, but one piece of evidence became glaringly obvious to me the other day as my wife and I watched a movie. The movie was "Mad Max" which is a futuristic movie from 1979. As I was putting the DVD into the player I realized it was rated "R" which is a rating my wife and I try to avoid. I wondered outloud about why it might be rated that way and thought we might end up turning it off half way through if it was not acceptable. As I paused my wife said, "It's an old movie, ratings were different then." How true that is.

As we watched the movie I kept waiting for the flurry of curse words to justify the rating. They did not come. I think one or 2 curse words were said throughout the entire movie. I also waited for the nudity. Not there either. There was a scene of a couple together but the scene was purposely set up so that nothing could be seen. When that was not present I kept waiting for the blood and gore. That never came either. People died in the movie, but there were not the graphic scenes that dominate movies today.

When comparing an "R" rated movie from 1979 with one today the differences are stark. If this version of "Mad Max" came out in theaters today it would probably get a PG-13 rating at worst. Thinking about this fact made me realize that our society is indeed becoming less moral. We have been desensitized to foul language, nudity and violence. What was once wrong to show a normal viewing audience is now OK. There are tons of other examples to support the fact that we are going the wrong way as a society but this movie gave me a very clear example in about an hour and a half.

During the campaign, and so far into his term, those who still believe Obama to be the messiah have defended him and some of his stupid moves with statements like, "Well, at least we have a president that can speak in complete sentences" or "He is so brilliant, you can tell that in the way he speaks". A question mark has now been added to his speaking abilities. If Obama is not as smart as many thought he was, what does that mean for his leadership abilities since he certainly wasn't elected for his experience?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090305/pl_politico/19663

In many of my writings/discussions I come down hard against abortion which has led some to believe that I hate, judge, or like to condemn people who have themselves had an abortion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Let me be clear here, I believe that abortion is murder, which is therefore a sin against God. However, I am in no place to judge or condemn another since I sin against God too. Everyone does. Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".

Have abortioners broken God's law? Yes. Have I? Yes. I therefore find myself in the same boat as anyone who has had an abortion since James 2:10 says that, "whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it". We are all guilty of breaking the law. Period.

Left there that would be rather hopeless. There is however a very, very silver lining to this cloud.

1 John 1:7 explains this lining when it says, "the blood of Jesus, God's Son, purifies us from all sin". Romans 8:1-3 follows this up, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death". In other words anyone who commits a sin whether it be abortion, stealing, or lust, is not condemned if he or she asks for forgiveness and has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.

Ideas taken from H2O, a City on a Hill Productions show

If I won the lottery, would my life be the same? Of course not, so why is my life the same when I have the riches of heaven, which are way better?

Making a home on a plane would be ridiculous right? So why do Christians act as if this life is their final destination? This life is simply a journey.

Training and trying are different. If someone asks me to write a book in Chinese at this very moment, I would tell them I can't. If they simply told me to try harder, I would still tell them I can not. Some things are a matter of trying and others are a matter of training. In many ways the Christian life is a matter of training. Mere effort will not get the job done if the training is not in place.

Christian life is a long distance run, not a sprint. You want to quit, take a break, and it hurts. Perseverance is the answer.

Procrastination is a tool of the devil when it comes to Christians not doing God's work or doing things for God's kingdom. I've done it before and will again, but I need to realize what's going on when I do that. The more spiritually powerful the idea or task the harder the devil will try to encourage me to procrastinate.

Ever seen a Rocky movie? Rocky, and real life boxers, prepare for months for a single fight. Hours of grueling training day after day for a few short rounds of boxing.

Olympic sprinters train for years for a race that can last less time than it has taken you to read this far in this post.

Why do they train so hard and long for events that might only last a few seconds or minutes? I assume it's because they believe the outcome of the fight or the race will be in their favor and the reward will be worth all the hard work they put into getting that prize.

How does this relate to my life?

According to the Bible, I should be preparing for a fight.

Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

I am also involved in a race.

1 Corin 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

2 Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

After thinking about all of this, it seems pretty obvious to me that my training for the spiritual fight I am in and the spiritual race I am running should be as least as strenuous as the training people do all the time for worldly prizes. If I think I can come out and fight against the devil's schemes without the necessary preparation, I am not only kidding myself but also setting myself up for a serious butt kicking.

Training to fight for God's Kingdom will not always be the easiest thing (you can bet on that) but the outcome of the fight will ultimately be in my favor (because it will be in God's favor) and the prize will definitely be worth it. So, let's get to work!