1 Peter 3:18 NIV (underlined for emphasis)

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.

"There is no such thing as a non-Christian." With that statement, the instructor stopped for dramatic effect. "There is however, the 'not-yet Christian'". With that, a very interesting discussion ensued.

I sat back and listened and absorbed as the younger people in my class were quick to jump all over the statement. They had every reason under the sun to defend the concept that there were such things as non-Christians. The instructor patiently held his ground through the whole mix of conversation. One look at the twinkle in his eye and the slight smile on his face told me he still had more to share. He did.

While the class argued "What about the atheist?" "What about the people from other religions?", the wise instructor just kept smiling. After the whirlwind of comments had run their course, the instructor said. "Nothing you have said changes the opening statement, there is no such thing as a non-Christian, there are 'not-yet Christians'. And yes, people will die in the state of a 'not-yet Christian'.

The illustration was used that pointed out that non-fat milk will always be not-fat. It implies something has been removed and cannot be reinserted. The opposite is true of 'not-yet' Christians. All they need is a simple ingredient added to their life. We have the ingredient, and it is meant to be shared.

The active discussion has given way to contemplative silence as we wait for the next intriguing words.

The instructor then said, the only difference between a Christian and a 'not-yet' Christian is the seed of faith has not taken root in the 'not-yets'. He explained, "Maybe all that is needed for the seed of faith to start to grow is the right word from you." Silence continue to hang thick in the room.

Too many of us treat our faith as a treasure that if shared will be lost forever. Just the opposite is true. Sharing ones faith allows the faith inside us to grow. Plus, by sharing, we are multiplying, which is exactly the call of the Great Commission. We were called to make disciples, or in other words, make the 'not-yets' into committed and growing Christians.

There are a lot of 'not-yets' out there. What are we waiting for? Let's share.

More later.  

Colossians 3:23 NIV

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

I remember back in the old days of elementary school, one of the first assignments when we returned from summer vacation was to write a theme about what we did on our summer vacation. Do they still write themes in school? Since tomorrow officially ends my summer, and I return to classes, I figured it was time to write about my summer vacation.

First, the summer assignment. We has the privilege of working our summer assignment just 40 miles away in Glendale, California. We were able to stay on campus, meaning we were able to stay home. How nice is that? We did commute up and down one of the busiest freeways in LA everyday to get to our assignment, but that was just part of the adventure. I told you about the car coming straight at us going the wrong way on the freeway. I didn’t tell you about the “dead” girl or the crazy hospital person wandering in the middle of the street. Those are some interesting stories for another time when we can sit and have a cup of coffee together.

Working in Glendale with the Officers at our assignment was nothing short of wonderful. These people love the Lord and they love people. Just their demonstration of love for their assignment and the community was a huge lesson. There was also the “hands-on” practical learning we experienced this summer. It was a solid seven weeks of learning about the day-to-day activities of a Salvation Army Officer. It is not an easy job and no two days are ever the same. Thank you Captains Ray for your teaching a Cadet couple the daily life of an Officer couple.

Our vacation was a time of returning to our geographic home, the beautiful Pacific Northwest. We flew to Seattle and proceeded to put 2,006 miles on a mini-van loaned to us so we could visit family in 3 different states. While it was nice to visit family, my favorite part of the vacation was taking Dora out on a dessert date and leaving the boys home with grandma. We ate at a wonderful restaurant on the waterfront in Edmonds, Washington. After dessert and coffee, we strolled along the Edmonds pier and watched the lights of the small boats reflecting on the water. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Picture 1, This is the restaurant where we enjoyed dessert. From the look of the picture, this could very well have been our table. Picture 2, Anyone who knows me, knows I can spend hours watching the ferries come and go. We did just that from the restaurant. Yes, I did look into my wife's beautiful brown eyes too. Picture 3, This is the pier we walked on after dessert. Quiet times are special times. (Special thanks to Yahoo! Images for these pictures)

Now summer is officially over for us. Classes start tomorrow and it is time to start focusing on the work ahead for the next nine academic months. There will be challenges and struggles. There will be long nights of homework and study. But, at the end of all that hard work and study will come ordination and the appointment to our first church.

So, why am I say all this? Because I heard a very wise man over 3 years ago tell us that whatever we do, we should do it for the Lord. I think his words were, “Don’t just do your best in life, do your best for God!” Somehow when we do our best for God, it seems to take the effort up one more notch. It is giving that extra effort that we didn’t know was there. When we finish what we are doing, we don’t take the credit for what was accomplished. Rather, we give the glory to God, because it was all for Him anyway, right?

In an effort to give God my very best, I am voluntarily stepping back from Xanga to focus on my studies. I only have nine short months to give my best effort. When this time is done, I will never get it back again. I really want to make the most of this time at school. While I won’t be writing, (much), I will be visiting sites and even periodically commenting. It is my desire to return to full-time Xanga-ing after I have my diploma in hand! In other words, I will be back.

Meanwhile, if you think about it, pray for my family and me as we finish this academic process. While there may be short term struggles, there will be long term rewards.

Blessings to all!

More later.

1 Corinthians 6:11b NIV

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

While on vacation, I decided it was time to wrestle with some issues. Often times when I start to wrestle with issues, I get a resolve I don't expect. The issue I decided to wrestle with this time is homosexuality and the church, (enter the collective gasp). Since my subscriptions have diminished to near nothing and no one seems to read my site on Saturday, this seems to be a good time to talk about such a prickly subject.

Homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible as a sin God does not like. Many are quick to point to 1 Corinthians 6 as proof that God does not like homosexuals. Before I go further let me say, wrong! There is a huge difference between the homosexual and the act of homosexuality. The act of homosexuality is the sexual activity between two people of the same sex. That particular act is a sin according to 1 Corinthians 6. However, the homosexual themselves is a person with a soul and God loves the person. If we read further into that one particular passage, we will find some sins many church people and pastors conveniently pass over. While they will look at the passage of 1 Corinthians 6:9 as a reason to not even talk to the homosexual, they fail to read verses 10 and 11.

Let's look at what else is mentioned in the whole context of 1 Corinthians 6. The sexually immoral will not inherit the Kingdom! That isn't just the act of homosexuality, but anyone who is involved in sexual activity outside of the bounds God has established. Do you know anyone who is living together outside marriage? Do you know anyone who may be sexually active outside of marriage? How about someone having an affair? These are all sins, yet these sinners are accepted and welcomed into the church. These sex sins are just as bad as the sin of homosexuality, as they are mentioned in the same sentence. What does the Bible say about adulterers. These people are also mentioned. Adultery is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. Yet, if we look at the Biblical definition of adultery, many Christians who are on their second or third marriage are in adultery. Why is that sin acceptable to the church?

Verse ten continues with the types of sinners not welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thieves, liars, swindlers, people who get drunk and cheaters are all people who will not inherit the Kingdom. Have you ever told a lie? What about the "white lie"? Have you ever sold a car and have not been completely honest about the condition of the car? Have you ever cheated on a tax return to get a little more money? These are all mentioned in the same paragraph as the act of homosexuality. Please do not try to defend some sins as acceptable. In God's eyes, no sin is acceptable.

Now, lets look at the featured verse, verse 11; "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Paul recognizes that the people in the Corinthian church were sinners of all kinds, but they were washed, sanctified and justified in the Name of Jesus and by the Spirit of God. Adulterers are made whole, cheaters, liars and thieves are made whole, and dare I say it, even those who were involved in homosexuality are made whole. Why? Because the sinner, no matter what the sin, has a soul. The person has something that God loved so much, He sent His Son to die for them ... even the person who is committing homosexual acts.

Paul isn't done yet, in the same section of scripture, he talks about the sin of over eating! One look at me will tell you I have enjoyed the dinner table more than a few times too often. Yet, according to 1 Corinthians 6, gluttony is a sin. Those of us who have gone to the church pot luck, or have gone to the buffet restaurant after church and have over indulged are sinning. Abusing our bodies with food is every bit as bad as abusing our bodies sexually. Our body is to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, not a mega-church.

I got long winded to say this. God loves people. He loves all of us and will forgive all of us when we come to Him in full repentance. There are no special degrees of sin that are more acceptable than others. If a fat man comes to me and wants to accept Christ as his Savior, I will be happy to lead him to the Lord. The same is true for the thief, the cheater, the adulterer and yes, even the one who has been involved in homosexuality. People are people and God loves all people. Sin is sin and God hates all sin. The sooner we see a difference between the person and their sin, the sooner we can start loving our neighbor to the point where they will want to leave their sin.

Will there be people who love their sin more than they love God? Of course. That is their decision, not ours. How dare we decide who is going to get to hear the wonderful words of eternal life based on the other persons sin and our personal acceptance of it. We need to take the message of Christ to all peoples of the world without discrimination and let them decide what is more important; a life of sin or a life with God. If it is a life with God, then they need to leave their sin at the foot of the cross, and experience a new life through Jesus Christ.

More later.

Acts 1:11 NIV

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

In school this last year, we learned about the gnostics in the days of the early church. I could understand their viewpoint of believing Jesus was not God, especially in the days of the early church. They believed He was a man, even a special man sent from God, but Jesus was not to be worshipped as God. It made for interesting study, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would have a deep Biblical discussion with a gnostic in real life. Yesterday I did.

It all started during Vacation Bible School. I mentioned something about Jesus being God, and I could tell by the look on the face of my assistant something was wrong. I should explain that my assistant was a volunteer from the Armenian Orthodox church. She is a wonderful college student who volunteered to gain some community service hours during the summer. After class my assistant questioned me, "You believe that Jesus is God?" Yes. "You do not believe the Father is God?" Yes, I believe the Father is God. "Then you have two Gods?" No, just one. Her face was more confused than ever. Since we had to go to our next area and the kids were more than restless, I told her we would talk again after VBS, which we did.

I told her I respected her church and was pleased she was interested in finding out out more about what we believe.  I showed her some scripture to back up the thought that Jesus was God too. We departed with her saying she wanted to do some more reading in the Bible. I thought it was over, but apparently this young lady has been doing her homework. She burst into my office yesterday with "proof" Jesus is not God. I was surprised by her study and diligence on the subject. I then showed her more scripture backing the idea that Jesus is God. We literally went from Genesis to Revelation in our talk.

Without realizing it, I short circuited the talk when I asked the question, "Do you believe the Holy Spirit to be God?" A blank look swept over her face. "There is a third God? How many do you have?" One, I replied. "Show me in the Bible about this Holy Spirit, which I did. She asked if she could take the Bible home and come back Friday with answers, and I said yes. I also asked her to talk to her pastor about the Holy Spirit. She again stunned me when she said, "You cannot talk to the pastor in my church. He is a spiritual leader and you cannot question him, just listen." She then said the thing she appreciated most about her summer assignment is that she found pastors who are willing to talk to her about anything in the Bible. I am looking forward to what she comes up with on Friday.

There are a lot of beliefs within the body of believers. Open dialogue within the body is welcome and both parties can come away learning something new. I am so thankful this young lady brought her questions to me and not to someone who would approach her desire to learn with an attitude of  "I am right and you are wrong." Too many of us do that today. Thankfully, Jesus did not take that approach when he was ministering. He came in love, taught in love, and died in love so that we would have life in Him and a restored relationship with the Father. Don't ever discount the beliefs of others. Instead, engage in the conversation and maybe they will learn something from you. And, maybe, by listening, you will learn something from them. I did. I learned there are still gnostics in this world who need to fully understand and know Jesus.

More later.

Proverbs 30:5 NIV

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Suppose for a moment, you are at a baseball game. Your team is down by one run. It is the bottom of the ninth inning and one man is on second base. Walking up to the plate is the star of the team. He is athletic as well as handsome. The crowd goes wild as they know that once the ball is hit, the game will be tied, or even won. All it will take is one well placed pitch. The batter takes his position and everything is looking good. Then, in 3 perfect pitches, the star batter is out. The game is over and the opposing team won. The home team is cheering wildly. Not fully able to understand what is going on, you ask "Why are you celebrating? Your team lost!" The answer you get stuns you. "Of course they lost, but they sure looked good doing so!"

As crazy as that story is, that kind of seems to be what is happening in Christianity today. A week ago, I was in Idaho. I sat down with my father and watched a young TV preacher. I had never seen him before and it turns out he has only been on TV a short time. He was preaching a good sermon. The text was a basic salvation message. He was delivering the Word and doing it well. Then came the moment the young preacher was to bring home the message. Suddenly, the message took a quick left turn and it became an opportunity to sell his book. When that happened, the salvation message was lost and no return to the topic was given. Just a quick flash to a commercial to receive his book in exchange for a love gift to keep the program on the air. I was stunned. I asked my dad what just happened? He lost the opportunity to bring home the message. My father would just comment about how good this young preacher looked in the pulpit and how good it was to see young people in the ministry.

It has been a week since that show, and I still cannot shake the vision of that show from my mind. Who knows how many people were tuned into this young preacher to hear a Bible message that turned into an infomercial for his book. I am still mourning the loss of the opportunity. This was the first time in a very long time I had watched a television preacher. I had to wonder how many others are doing the same thing? Are they looking good in the pulpit, putting on a good show just to sell their products? Do they realize we are in a spiritual battle and this kind of behavior can give the enemy a victory?

The Bible is an amazing book. When boiled down to its simplest message, the Old and New Testaments actually follow the same pattern. The Old Testament starts with the introduction of God and His relationship to humanity, the birth and building of the Hebrew nation and the prophesy of the coming Messiah. The New Testament starts with the introduction of Jesus, God's Son, the birth and building of the church through the power of the Holy Spirit and the prophesy of the coming King. That is the entire Bible in a nutshell. No where in this outline is the plan to sell books based on a preachers sweet words.

This televison show has served as a wake up call for me, and it should be for you. If God gives us the opportunity to bring someone the point of salvation, do it! Don't use the message of the Bible for personal gain. Most importantly, don't deprive someone of a relationship with God.

More later.