Living In My DeLorean

My best friend points out I say a lot about wanting to change things from my past.  It's a thing that comes up too often when we are talking about how we expected life would go and where it's actually gone. We cannot change the past, but I find myself thinking that way a lot.  Unfortunately, it's a foolish way of looking at life, and something I haven't yet broken in myself.

Today, I went for a walk to clear my head.  Right down the street from my office is an elementary school I attended in second grade.  A major event happened there that was one of the first "traumatic" things I remember happening in my life.  While waiting to be picked up after school, I watched my mom and sister in our old Ford Pinto station wagon get hit from behind and pushed forward into a school bus.  I remember thinking my mom and sister were going to be seriously hurt or killed.  It turned out my sister was thrown forward into the windshield and cracked her head (pre seatbelt laws, I guess), but that was the extent of the injuries, from what I remember.  I don't even remember the state of the Pinto following the accident.

On my walk by the school today, I talked with God about my feelings on correcting behaviors from my past and felt led to walk onto the campus to the area where I remember watching the crash.  I said to God, "Take me back to that point when I arrive on the sidewalk."  As I got closer, a huge portion of my life flashed before my eyes and I realized what I was actually asking.  It wasn't the thought of reliving the past forty years that freaked me out.  It was realizing, should I retain all my current knowledge and experiences in hopes to "change the past," I am still the same sinner who might still make some of the same mistakes I wish I could influence and change.  I realized further, my sin and understanding of life now may lead to additional sins and regrets.  I may re-live life even more foolishly, rather than improve on the items I reflect on as tragic mistakes.

Some of my corrections may also impact friends and loved ones I have now.  My kids, would they be the two blessings I have now?  Would my corrections result in different opportunities for failure and compound my frustrations with my weaknesses and mistakes?  Would I look at God's grace and somehow try to take advantage of even more of His forgiveness?  Would I be a better Christian, better person, better father, better leader, better husband with the ability to make these changes?  Or would I chose other sins and other roads to destruction that would lead me further from God's goodness, to a place of rejection and darkness, more arrogant in my own knowledge and understanding?

I know that mistakes have led to where I am right now.  And right now, I recognize my desperate need for God and the plan of salvation he offers through the death of His son, Jesus.  So now I need to be content with living in His grace to this point, while hating my sin (past and present), discontinuing my constant thoughts of the past, and work on improving my current path forward to protect the future glory God offers.  Instead of living in my DeLorean, hoping to time travel and impact my life positively by changing mistakes, I need to work on proclaiming God where I am now, so I can impact my current needs and those of the people I know and love now.  Rather than continue in a life of mediocrity, I need to live a life of light and be changed now by God's grace through those past wrongs, and into the future.

What a weird feeling to sense God's presence today.  I will say it felt initially like He said, "Okay, Jeremy.  Step onto the sidewalk and I'll return you to forty years ago.  But, realize this, my child, the impact will be greater than you know, and your sin will still be present while on earth.  You don't know My will and divine plan for you, as it is still being worked out for both My glory and your salvation."  It was a scary feeling to realize He is present and working in my life right now through those mistakes, and I'm not recognizing that appropriately.  My own sin nature would likely lead me into additional trauma, new sins, further distancing myself from God's will and closer to my sinful self-righteous foolishness.

Knowing God does have a plan He is working out for each of us can be a place of peace.  We can hate our sin and continue to turn away from it, while also knowing we are earthly being who have inherited the sins of our fathers back to Adam.  But, this plan God is working out because of sin, is filled with grace and mercy we won't fully know until we are in Heaven with Him.  Praise the perfect, all-knowing, loving God forever.

Updated with a Bible passage shared by my mom: 

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.7.15-25.ESV

Why I Love Thanksgiving More Than Other Holidays

There are so many people who trash Thanksgiving for various reason.  Some attribute it to the taking of land from the Native Americans, while others post things like this.  Anyway, I love Thanksgiving more than other holidays because of a few F-Words.

1.  Food.  Of course this tops my list because I love to eat.  I love to mix my mashed potatoes with butter and gravy along with my buttery and salty corn.  I love brown sugar and butter mixed with yams to make sweet potatoes (slow and low simmer style).  I love homemade rolls with more butter.  Maybe it's the B-Word, BUTTER.  Turkey is okay too, but it's not really about the turkey.  Later, I love the pumpkin pie and a second round of all the fixings.  And maybe even later, I'll have a third round of the fixings.  And don't get me started on the leftovers on Friday.

2.  Family.  I actually do love my family.  The annoying ones are fun to watch and silently judge.  I'm such an ass, it doesn't bother me when they demand their way.  The loved ones I get to be with and enjoy.  The funny ones make me laugh and laugh along with my humor.  I just love family.

3.  Football.  There's always a game or two on Thanksgiving (or three this year).  What's great about the role football plays is how it prevents awkward silences.  It keeps things moving throughout the day.  Whether it's that time after the family sports competition or between meals or desserts, there's always a game on somewhere to break-up those times where we all run out of things to share with our family.

4.  Freedom.  This F-Word is a stretch, but it stands for the freedom in Thanksgiving to just enjoy the day without the stresses tradition brings in other holidays, where gift giving is required and expected.  Thanksgiving beats Christmas out in my holidays ranking list because I don't have to work on gift ideas for everyone I'm going to see.  The freedom to just enjoy the day and the people and the nourishment is what I love about Thanksgiving.

So here's my point:  ENJOY THANKSGIVING.  Be thankful for food, family, football, and freedom.  What more can we all be thankful for than these things.  What a great holiday.  What a great time of the year.

(For my Christian friends worried I'm not thankful for God's provision and in love with Christmas because we can celebrate Christ...settle down ya zealots.  The Father and Faith are also F-Words.)

Paul Gives Up His Rights...Disciplines His Body (Updated)

I came across this post from 2011 and it felt relevant to my recent tweets at @jeremydburch. I hope this encourages you.

First read 1 Corinthians 9

February 21, 2011
There are so many rhetorical questions in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. It's almost like Paul wants to say, "Duh" to the church at Corith. What he is doing is pointing out the things he is giving up in his life or disciplining himself from so that he is a better witness for the gospel. He is making it clear that, although some of the things he gives up are not sinful to partake in, he abstains from such things to be set apart and free from guilt. Just like in chapter 8, where he explains he is free to eat or drink whatever he desires, he does not eat or drink certain things in certain situations so he does not cause someone else to stumble or judge him wrongly. Now in chapter 9 is goes further to explain the freedoms he gives up to better serve God.

Really, this is too short an explanation to do this passage justice, but to break down each statement would take me too long with my limited time to write. Basically, we need to look at the things in our lives that are not necessarily wrong to be involved in but that might cause others to stumble or question our faith. We need to be able to use our freedoms to further the kingdom of God and allow us to more easily share the gospel. Just as Paul says in 9:22 "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some," our freedoms allow us to present the gospel to all types of people. But we must, "discipline (our) body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others (we) should be disqualified."

Christian Thoughts Rather Than My Own

It's interesting what goes through my head on a daily basis.  Work, home, God, people, friends, frustrations, family, all these things have meanings that really affect how I act, think, talk, react, and live.  Recently my pastor tweeted:

This led me to this post, which I hope will again renew my Bible reading and Christian living.  I thank God I'm saved by grace, because I'm not cutting it in the "religious works" column.  I mean, let's look at the list I created above of things that have meaning in my life, and notice the order in which I typed them:

1.  Work
2.  Home (which could be family)
3.  God
4.  People
5.  Friends
6.  Frustrations (which could be foes)
7.  Family (again because "home" didn't really feel as connected as "family" should be)

Are you kidding me that I put "work" first?  I mean, my employer would probably like that I'm consistently thinking about my duties and working hard, but even they would say that it's not very good "work/life balance", which is a term we use to say, "we make sure to balance life and work evenly."  But more importantly, I thought of that over God and family?  What in the world is wrong with me?  If I was going to list this on some "spiritual scale" I'd have to list God, Home, People, then maybe work.  I'm not even really concerned that it's work first, more that it's NOT God, or at least Home.  I mean, even non-Christian people would say home or family is more important than work.

Last year in July I was renewed to be a better spiritual leader in my family's (specifically kids') lives because of my uncle's encouragement to have a family devotional time.  And, while that lasted a little while, it didn't last even a year and we completely neglected the Bible for the most part after that.  I'm raising two boys in a desperate time, and I'm not even leading them in the truth of scripture?  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?  I continue to battle my anger over losing my job with the county, and yet that's the plan God had for me at that time.  And I don't turn that anger over to Him until I get so angry I literally scream with frustration because of my complete failure in that pursuit.  My point is, there are so many issues to address in my life and I turn none of them over to God. WHY NOT?!?!?

Well, the answer is because of what Lance said.  I'm not listening to Christian thoughts.  Specifically, I'm not listening to the Words of God.  I'm not in the Bible studying.  I'm not praying, at least not more than a simple prayer with my kids at night.  I'm not involved in church.  I don't surround myself with Christian friends.  I'm a mess.  I claim Christ, and yet no one would believe that I'm His child.  My anger rules me.  My frustrations control my every thought.  I focus on what I can not control because I think I would do things better than most.  I'm driven by what's not fair or right or correct because I demand it be that way and hate that I can't make it so.  WELL, LIFE ISN'T FAIR BURCH.  And frankly, neither is God.  I mean, if God was fair he'd kill me and send me to hell for eternity because I sin against Him daily.  If I have someone do something against me only a few times a year, I am disgusted with them.  BUT, ALL of us fall short of the glory of God.  I learned this confusing phrase as a kid but I still remember it today as the definition of sin.  Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.  This is a truth which damns us all to hell, apart from Christ.  We can not achieve Heaven on our own because one failure eliminates the required perfection.  Once we've sinned just one time all hope in ourselves should be lost, at least in gaining Heaven apart from Christ.  It's only thanks to Jesus' death, which paid the price of all our sin, a price tag of death and separation from God, that we have salvation if we believe.  But, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW GOD AGREED IT WOULD WORK, He sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to be that payment, because perfection could not be held in the grave and Hell could not keep the Son of God contained.

Now, if you've read this blog over the years, you may recognize the pattern of frustration I have with myself, and the fact that I go back and forth, up and down, in my apparent spiritual life.  But really I want to assure you, there is no pattern of success; there is only a pattern of failures and recognition of those failures, which could be argued as a success based on our hopelessness to achieve success over sin while separated from God.  Possibly, the recognition of our need is the only true success we can have here.  I'll say it again,  I am thankful that it's grace that saves, not works, because I'm an awful Christian.  I have no religion; I care for no one.  I claim Christ and God yet do not live to prove Him.  In fact, really the only evidence of transformation I have is a peace that comes from the knowledge of grace, and the hope I have in a God who is Holy and Unchanging, who promises to save all who believe in Him.  I wish so badly that I was the guy who lived how a Christian should live, transformed by the Spirit, renewed by the gift of Jesus.  But I struggle more than I can bare to live out my faith.  I conform to my surroundings and blend into the ways of those I work with, play with, live with, interact with, and the things I read, watch, hear, and all the things I immerse myself in.  If these things were Christian Thoughts, I'd be more successful as a child of God, but they are the things of the world: people, places, things that are not how God designed them, but of man.

Okay, but how do I change?  How do I rid myself of the anger and frustrations that lead me to not live a life that is pleasing to God?  How do I discipline myself to think on Christian things, rather than earthly things?  How do I listen to the voice of God and the Holy Spirit and read the Bible, rather than being tempted by the damning voice of Satan and his demons, calling me to sin in anger, frustration, and hate?  Honestly, I have answers to these questions but don't do the things I know I need to do.  Instead, I surround myself with fools and sinners and temptations and anger, rather than fellow believers who can build me up and who can be built up by me.  I need to worry less about my place in the world and more about my place in Heaven.  This leads to the Bible and studying the things of God, Christian things.  This leads away from the things of earth, the things that people tell me will make me happy, successful, satisfied.  I must press on toward the upward call of Christ and hope in Him and listen to the Holy Spirit's prompting.  I must commit to reading and studying the Word of God, to surrounding myself with the things of God, and to have Christian thoughts envelop my life.  I must find Christian friends to be closer to, to encourage and be encourage by.  I really need to work on my devotion through the Word of God, and know what God wants me to know from His own inspired words.

via jeremydburch.blogspot.com

The Types of Man

Yesterday, our pastor used an interesting description of 4 types of man. I modified it a little and added a fifth. He admitted, as do I, this is not completely theologically sound, but I found it interesting enough to post.

If you are interested in his explanation, head over to bridgewaychristian.org and look for the audio for Part 2 of his Hebrews series. Heck, listen to the first one too.

Types of Man
1. Original man - created by the hand of God, sinless Adam, Eve, and Jesus

2. Fallen man - all mankind after Adam and Eve sinned, apart from God

3. Redeemed man - saved from sin by Jesus, believer by faith

4. Condemned man - fallen man at death, sent to pay his own price for sin

5. Glorified man - redeemed man at death, covered by the blood of Jesus, who is the only original man to live to death in His original sinless perfection as both God and man, able to pay the price for all, bringing many sons to glory

In Hopelessness, I Shall Seek Out The Word

I'm not going to pretend to think of myself as deep.  In fact, I'm a shallow fool who desperately needs God's grace to cover a multitude of sin, that otherwise earns me eternal damnation, separation from God, and torturous everlasting death.  Eeek.  But I tweeted tonight about hopelessness, and how it abounds exponentially with the leadership of this country (I may have said it differently due to the 140 character limitation).  This tweet, which I felt I needed to share, led me to this blog post, which, again, I felt I needed to use to explain the hope that is in Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and who is God.

I titled this post "In Hopelessness, I Shall Seek Out The Word" to be creative with it.  I decided to share the following verses tonight because I've had this on my heart since reading them with my kids.  We started a family devotion time after our July family vacation to Newport Beach, CA with my mom's side of the family.  It was awesome!  My mom's brother, a pastor in Georgia, sat everyone down the first night and explained he thought we should all do a "family devotion" each night of the trip, just after dinner, for 15-20 minutes.  At first, I was a little bothered by what felt more like a demand than a suggestion, but I quickly realized this was going to be one of the major highlights of the trip.  And, it turned into something I felt was important to my family's spiritual health.  Anyway, I've written about this vacation before, so I'm just going to move on and explain my title.

"I Shall Seek Out The Word".  Really, "The Word" is a name John uses for Jesus.  John, the book of the Bible I decided to read with my family, starts with:

1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  v2 He was in the beginning with God. v3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. v4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."


1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

When I'm feeling hopeless, I need to seek out Jesus.  Why?  Because He is God, Creator, Life, Light, Grace, and Truth.  He created us and gave us life and light.  Then he came to earth and provided a way for us to not be hopeless in a sinful world, giving us grace and THE truth of Himself.  Jesus existence is not disputed in history.  He really lived as flesh and dwelt among us.  Only His sovereignty is disputed.  The unbelieving deny the life and light that His glory gives.

3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  v17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.  v18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  v19 And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.  v20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  v21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."


I can't really say it more clearly than this.  I tried, but I deleted what I wrote because it was not as precise.  Be encouraged by God's words. All of 3:16-21 is Jesus speaking to Nicodemus about salvation.  It's God's own words.  The words of The Word.

Word.


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Judas is the Demon I Cling To

I sometimes feel like I have a lot to say, but I know it's not usually anything of value.  I've been debating doing an entry on the change in morals and values in just my short 35 years of life, but I know that some would be offended and I'm not always the softest person when it comes to dealing with differing opinions.  My wife (poor thing) can tell you about that.  But I feel like writing something.  So here goes...

First, remember that I added myself to this blog for the attempt at adding spiritual topics.  So, when you see that I've written an entry, feel free to skip it if that's not something that interests you.  Or, if you think me a hypocrite, based on something you've observed in my life that doesn't seem to fall into what I write, realize I already know and that's why I am so glad God saves by grace not merit.

Now, here comes my way of starting a spiritual topic with something that doesn't really sound too spiritual.  I love Lady Gaga.  Honestly, I find her to be a very talented musician.  She does things that can not be considered boring or just like every other artist.  She has an ability to go places with her music, harmonies, and sound that others wish they could reach.  And, unlike many of the artists today, she is actually musically talented.  Now, I didn't include the video to the song I'm going to refer to below, because she does do things that are provocative and inappropriate to my topic, but she is good at her job.

Her newest album, "Born This Way", was recently described to me as "very Catholic".  And, while I've never really been to a Catholic church or Catholic mass or Catholic friend's house, I can see how someone not necessarily involved in a "Christian religion" could believe this, with some of the songs and lyrics on the album.  Which brings me to my main point.  There is a song on the album called Judas, as in the guy who betrayed Christ.  Some of the official words of the song are:

I'm in love with Judas.
When he calls to me I am ready
I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain
Even after three times he betrays me


I'm just a holy fool oh baby it's so cruel but I'm still in love with Judas baby


Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to

Besides the artistic license taken with regards to biblical accuracy (woman who washed Jesus feet with her hair, Peter was the one who denied knowing Jesus three times, etc.), I actually choose to look at this as a pretty good understanding of the depravity that we "cling to".  The betrayal of Jesus was the ultimate sin, since it was the complete rejection of Christ (the only sin that is not forgiven, since it is the rejection of the only way to salvation).  But we all do it every day.  We all choose self gain over the glory of God.  I would attempt to roughly translate her words as:

I'm in love with myself
When I want something I go after it
I'll do anything for self gratification
Excuse myself for what I do
Deny the prompting of the Holy Spirit


I know what I do is wrong, but I do it anyway because I seek self gratification


Jesus is virtue but I choose the desire I have to satisfy myself

Now, she may not be thinking of it like me.  Perhaps she loves doing what is wrong.  She may find Judas so attractive that she doesn't want to believe he is wrong, but I choose to think of it as a cry against what she knows to be wrong and lacks the strength to deny herself of.  In another part of the song she says, "I'll bring him down, bring him down, down."  What happens is, we think we CAN fight and defeat our sinful desires on our own.  But it's not possible.  Sin, the desire for self gratification and self glorification, is so  strong and so deeply rooted as part of our nature, that we can ONLY cry out for Jesus.  Sin is over powering without the strength granted us from God, through the Holy Spirit.  And only by the blood of Christ are we able to be freed of the sin we have, do, and will commit.

Finally, I know that I may be stretching it a bit with my translation of this song and its meaning, but I think apart from God, all creatures are seeking the completeness that does only come from fulfilling the purpose for our creation, which is to say, we were created to glorifying God and therefore, will only find true joy and wholeness in doing that.  Although the desire to gratify and satisfy our self seems most important, by seeking instead, to glorify God first, total joy and wholeness will be a result that voids our need for self gratification.

And now I've written it to go out tomorrow and not live it.  If only God came now to take me home with Him, so that I would no longer betray him daily with my life.  Damn you Judas.















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The Awkward Guess of When The Impending Judgement Day WILL Happen (and Why I'm Still Scared)

I was talking to my wife a few days ago about the whole "Judgement Day" thing and, although this post is a little late to the game, it's really a chance to express my own thoughts from the past few days. The idea that some man "figured out" the day God is going to fulfill His promise to return to earth for His people, using the same Bible that has verses like Matthew 24:36, is ridiculous.  I actually told my wife, it wasn't going to happen, based solely on the fact that he predicted a date and time. If "...no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only," then any time someone says, "Yeah I know when it's going to happen," you can bet it will not be that day.

But that's not really my point in writing this post. I did some reflecting on my own life and what a nightmare, joke, sham, ridiculous mess it is, compared to the life the Bible directs a believer to live. After all, our example is the life of Jesus Christ, who was (besides perfect) compassionate, faithful, a servant, a leader, knowledgable of the things of God, a prayer, a studier, a teacher, solely focused on satisfying God's will for His life.  Even on the cross, at the point where God was going to turn His back on Jesus and place all our sins on Him He said, "Not my will but Yours be done."  And, I'm more realistic to what REAL LIFE is like these days. I mean, the longer I live and the more I experience, the clearer the picture of our desperation and absolute need for God's grace becomes. I never believed a sinless life was possible, but I did think, at one point, I was doing okay.  But, more and more I understand the recognition of our depravity is important, and the pain sin causes is required for us to comprehend just how much grace and mercy are crucial for us to spend eternity in Heaven verses Hell.  I don't think it is ever going to be possible to feel qualified for Heaven, and if we do, we are probably living a lie, but I am so miserably unhappy with my current Spiritual place, I am becoming more honest with my own "disgustingness" as a creator created by God and realizing my desperation for His grace on either Judgement Day or the day he takes me home.

Here comes the BUT in this, for my Christian friends who are thinking I am justifying sin. I know I am still called to live a life that is holy, blameless, and pure. I just think the holy life of a sinful creator proves to be much harder than most Christians pretend it to be. I often think about the Holy Spirit's role here, and wonder if I'm completely ignoring His prompting and cautions for me to avoid sin, or I'm I not able to hear them because my sinful life is the true evidence of a lack of salvation. OH CRAP, that scares me. If I really think about eternal separation from God, it makes me want to puke. I hate my sin. I hate that I am often consumed by it or overpowered by the temptation to be involved in it. And the fact that it seeks me out and draws me into itself is a horror film playing out its plot in my life.

So what can I do? I can turn to God, His Word, and His people for support. I can flee from the advances of sin. I can pluck out my eyes or cut off the parts that lead me to sin (Matthew 18:9, 5:29, Mark 9:47). Only, I feel I've done that last one in the past (jail job), and yet I continue to fall back into the same negative disgusting life. Why? Why am I drawn to the very thing I do not want? And why I'm I not running toward the very thing I know I need? God gives us all we need to be successful as His children, but I turn towards selfish gain and self desire instead of purity and holiness found in Him and His word. Granted, there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but we are still called to live holy, pure, and without blame.

So, there is either Hell or Heaven. One I can achieve on my own, living in the nature of my sin. The other I long for, but can only achieve apart from myself and that nature. One takes no effort. The other takes a life time of selflessness and God's grace. And, although I believe that we all earn Hell, I can not earn the Heaven I so desperately long for. Not without Christ. Not without the sacrifice of God's Son. Not without the WILL of God being such, that He placed all the eternal penalty for my sin onto His blameless Son to bare the price to free me from myself. I am nothing, but I will suffer forever for my nothingness if I don't trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding. I am called to acknowledge Him in all my ways, and He will direct my path and make it straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Oh God, I cry out to You. Renew me, forgive me, oh God. Make me whole in You. Give me joy only Your truth can give. Make me love, like only You can love. Give me peace and patience in this world. Help me trust in you. Direct my path.
 

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Paul Gives Up His Rights...Disciplines His Body

There are so many rhetorical questions in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians. It's almost like Paul wants to say, "Duh" to the church at Corith. What he is doing is pointing out the things he is giving up in his life or disciplining himself from so that he is a better witness for the gospel. He is making it clear that, although some of the things he gives up are not sinful to partake in, he abstains from such things to be set apart and free from guilt.  Just like in chapter 8, where he explains he is free to eat or drink whatever he desires, he does not eat or drink certain things in certain situations so he does not cause someone else to stumble or judge him wrongly.  Now in chapter 9 is goes further to explain the freedoms he gives up to better serve God.

Really, this is too short an explanation to do this passage justice, but to break down each statement would take me too long with my limited time to write.  Basically, we need to look at the things in our lives that are not necessarily wrong to be involved in but that might cause others to stumble or question our faith.  We need to be able to use our freedoms to further the kingdom of God and allow us to more easily share the gospel.  Just as Paul says in 9:22 "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some," our freedoms allow us to present to gospel to all types of people.  But we must, "discipline (our) body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others (we) should be disqualified."

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Love God. Love Others. Watch What/When/Where You Eat?

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 is a long passage to say something that isn't really that big of an issue for people I'm around and for most of our society. Maybe I'm missing something, but, there aren't foods that are offered to idols, or foods that cause fellow believers to stumble. I have heard this passage used to say it's okay to drink alcohol, as long as you do it where believers who don't agree with the drinking of alcohol are not going to see you and be tempted by it; meaning even though they think it's wrong in their mind, they drink in spite of that. This would be sin for them, not because it is wrong to drink, but because they think it's wrong and still do it. It's like a sin against their own conscience and a decision to choose sin over what is right.

But I just read this passage twice, and I didn't really have much to apply to myself. I drink the occasional glass of wine or beer. I eat pretty well, for the most part. I think the biggest thing I'm going to take away from this passage is to be aware of who is watching and listening to you, in all situations. There are things people are observing in us that would lead them to make judgments against our faith. We are all sinners, and we all fail to reach heaven on our own. But it is so important to try and live a life that glorifies God and shows those around us that we are set apart for Him. Christ saved us from eternal death. Now we need to live a life of love. "If anyone loves God, he is known by God." Show God love by glorifying Him with all we do. I know, it's hard. At least for me it is.

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Undivided Devotion To The Lord

1 Corintians 7:25-40 wraps this chapter with Paul advising not to marry. He says it is better to stay as you are because your focus can be on your relationship with God and not on the things of this world, or how to please your spouse. He says it's not a sin to be married, but it takes away focus and time that can be spent on God and out "interests are divided." Paul says these things over several verses, but to the point that we "may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Without getting into details, there are time that I argue with my wife and feel like the arguments are such a waste of time. Are we in anyway sharpening each other or helping build our relationship with God? No. But I also know that the passions of my flesh would not allow me to be like Paul without sin. And he does address that too. It is not a sin to marry. Paul says, "So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."

God did give me my wife as a partner. Last night we talked about our church service and a challenge our pastor presented, a 40 day fast. The church is planning a prayer service 40 days from Tuesday. The challenge was to give something up for 40 days as a fast, and on every Wednesday to fast from food, until the prayer service. Our pastor said he felt like he wasn't prepared for the last prayer service and he wanted to be more prepared this time. The 40 day fast was suggested as a means of preparing our hearts to "be in the presence of God" at the prayer service. My wife talked to me about what she wanted to do for the fast, and I realized I didn't even take the thought of the fast serious. I thought about what I would want to do for it, but I didn't plan on actually participating.

The point of this section of scripture for me is: it is better to be focused on God than the things of this world. To do this it is better to be focused on God than have the distraction of a spouse. But more often a spouse protects you from the lusts of the flesh and can often times point you back to God. In the words of a past pastor, a wife can be a help mate. I believe my wife is often a help mate, even when she doesn't know or realize she's being one.


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Live As A Believer In Whatever Situation You Were Assigned

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 starts with a really straight forward command, "...each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them." Step 1 of being a Christian: live as a believer. What? Are you serious?

Now, this is not actually "Step 1", I'd say faith is, but how often are we actually living as though we are saved from our Sin by the God of the Universe? Salvation is from eternal death, pain, torture, and separation from God? Are we living like we understand the grace that has been given to us? We don't deserve to be forgiven of our sins, but God has given us Jesus as payment for our sins.

When we are saved, we aren't called to take ourselves out of the situation we are in. And we are not called to make drastic changes (like circumcision) to ourselves. Outward physical changes are not what living as a believer is about. Verses 19-20 "...Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each person should remain in the situation they were in when God called them."

The last section of this passage talks about whether the believer is a slave or one who is free. For the slave, he is not to worry, unless he can earn his freedom. I'm not really sure about this section, or how to relate it to our society today, but I know that we are not to enslave ourselves to any thing or any one. We are the Lord's slave, because we were bought by His blood. When He paid for our sin with His life, He called us to serve Him. As believers we should live as such, by expressing the freedom from sin and its consequence (eternal separation and death) we have in Christ.

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Commanded To Not Separate

1 Corinthians 7:10-16 talks about staying together in a marriage.  Today it seems like divorce is the answer to most people's marital problems.  If you don't get along, just divorce.  If you want to be with someone else, just divorce.  But as Christians, we are commanded not to separate from our spouse.  Even if that spouse is not a believer, we are told to stay with them as long as they will stay with us.

Divorce is wrong.  I know that there are situations and scenarios that we all try to put together to justify making that decision, but for the most part it's not God's will.  Too often, the problems in a marriage come from the selfishness of both parties.  Instead, thinking of the needs of the other person can solve most of the problems.  And as Christians, we are called to love others.  This includes our spouse.  When we feel like we aren't getting what we want out of our marriage, I think we need to look at what we are putting into it.  And even if we feel like we ARE doing all we can and it's still rough, I think that God will still bless us for our commitment.

Love your spouse today.  Remember the commitment of marriage and God's command to not separate.


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Sex Is For Marriage...Marriage Is For Sex

1 Corinthians 7:1-9 continues on the topic of sex.  Some in the church think that Paul will agree with them about abstaining from sex, because Paul is not married.  But Paul tells them that not everyone has the self control and that this is a gift from God that he has. "But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another..."

I think that a lot of fights in marriage (right up there with the money ones) are based around sex.  If both spouses listened to this passage, I think that we could reduce the amount of adultery that is so prevalent in our country.  There are TV and radio shows that talk about cheating.  There are leaders of our country that are caught in it. It is a huge thing in our society.  I think it comes down to a misunderstanding of marriage and a major purpose for it.  Paul says he wishes we were all like him, able to remain single, but that marriage is important for those who do not have self control.  Marriage is important so that sexual desires can be fulfilled within that relationship.  When spouses withhold sex from each other, even if the withholder feels they have a legitimate reason, they do not understand that in marriage you give up your own body.  It becomes the spouse's.  The only time it is okay to abstain from sex in marriage is if you agree to have a time of prayer, like fasting from food to be focused more on God.

Marriage has more than sex of course, and there are lots of things that affect how we respond to each other.  Like I said in my three 2011 resolutions, I'm going to work to serve my wife.  We have to work together as a team in all aspects of the relationship.

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The Body Is For The Lord

Well, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 is an awkward topic because sexual immorality is so prevalent in our society.  I'm sure it's similar to the time of the church of Corith.  Today we have gay rights, porn ruling the Internet, and everyone having sex with anyone at any time.  We've made sex just an okay thing that anyone can do with anyone else.  Sex is not saved for marriage anymore.  I've even heard people say you have to have sex with someone before you marry them to make sure you are "compatible".

"The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body."  Sex joins two people together. "The two will become one flesh."  This is a real thing too.  I hate how people today have sex with anyone and everyone, and pretend that it was "just sex".  There is a connection that sex creates.  The only thing that I can agree with is, the amount of sex people are having with others numbs the connection to each other that sex causes.  Think about why people need each other.  There is a feeling of completeness for a moment.  But this is a perversion of what the body is meant for.  The body is not meant for sexual immorality.  The body is meant for the Lord.  We are called the bride of Christ.  We are meant to have that connection with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  He is the head of the church and we are the body.

Just a last minute thought, if the body was made for the type of sex people are having today, do you think there would be so many sexually transmitted diseases?  If we were meant to have sex with anyone and everyone, there wouldn't be so many dangers from having sex in this manner.  There isn't a sexually transmitted disease caused by one man and one woman having sex with each other only.

We are here for a short time.  We have lusts of the flesh that lead us to sexual immorality, but for our time here we need to fight against those urges.  If we can focus on God, and not ourselves, we will be better equipped to fight the temptations of the flesh.  It's not easy, but it's required of us.  If we can place our focus on things above, not on things of this earth, we will succeed.  Colossians 3 talks about putting on the new self and verse 2 tells us, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."  These instructions will help us put to death our sinful nature and live as those called to be children of God.



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Remember, "Who Cares" Is the Slogan For Earthly Troubles

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 asks believers the question, "When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?" This talks to the problems Christians have with each other. I've seen my share of Christians having issues with each other. I've been involved in church splits, pastoral resignations, and more. Almost always, someone's opinion is chosen over another's, feelings are hurt, people retaliate, and sin occurs. Instead, we should deal with this as fellow believers. Now, I will say, this passage is talking more to the fact of legal wrongs being done, because they are taking things to the local law instead of the church, but I think the application of how to handle a wrong done against you, either actual or perceived, by another Christian should be handled in a manner that pleases God.

Verse 7 asks rather than sue, "Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?" We all wrong and defraud people. Suck it up for your short time here on earth. We have so much more coming ahead that we should be focused and excited for that. We will inherit the Kingdom of God. Sinners won't inherit heaven, unless they are "washed...sanctified...and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." Just like the old saying, "like water off a ducks back" we need to let go of the troubles of this world. Try to say, "Who cares." in trials and tough times, or when you don't agree with something that wrongs you here on earth. Who cares about getting cut-off on the freeway (I say with my hand raised). Who cares that the government and some of the banking industry giants messed up our finances and housing. Who cares that I'm over looked for this or that. Who cares that the music guy wears skinny jeans. Who cares that this person or that doesn't see things the way you do. Who cares. Work on loving others. Work on showing GRACE. Work on glorifying God forever and in all things that you do.

Praise be to God, who is patient and working all things for His glory. Praise Him for the grace that He gives us. Praise Him for the gift of Jesus, who paid the price we never could so we can be saved from these sins that rule our lives here. What a wonderful perfect plan. How great is God, that we can call Him Father, Savior, and Lord. And if he is these things to you, you are saved from death and eternal sorrow. I think for 2011, I will work to make Him Lord.


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A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Lump

1 Corinthians 5:6-13. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." We are called to share Christ with the world, so we are going to be around sin and sinners. But when that sin is committed by someone who calls themselves a Christian, and they are unrepentant of that sin, Paul says not to associate with them. Leaven leavens the whole lump just like association with a believer who is unrepentant of sin will corrupt others, or appear to do so. The church at Corinth was proud of their acceptance of sinners. Paul tells them not to boast because it's not good. I think they were boastful in their acceptance of sin, instead of sinners. We are called to share God's grace with sinners so they might turn from their sin to God. Corinth understood God's grace incorrectly. Just because we are saved by grace, doesn't mean sin is okay. They were accepting of people's sin, and this was not at all what grace meant. We are still called to judge the actions of believers. There is still a responsibility to live holy lives as believers. Sin is still wrong.

Life seems to get harder and harder. Sin seems to be more and more tempting. I think the early church had the same problems, only they didn't have the whole Bible to study and be encouraged by. We all need fellow believers to come along side us and encourage us too. But, if those believers are living in sin, how can they be encouraging to us? We need to be blameless for the sake of our brothers, just as we need to find ourselves surrounded by believers who are blameless and who can guide us and help us.

Delivered Over To Satan So The Spirit May Be Saved?

The memorial service for Doug Healing was amazing. He was a true example of what a Christian should live like. People got up and spoke about Doug from all aspects and times in his life, and the consistent message was that he was a godly man. Through this whole thing, I've really had to take a look at my life and I've realized there is nobody that can say the types of things about me that were said about Doug. There aren't people from work that would come and say I loved the Lord and I was always sharing my faith. I don't even know if there are people that would come say the standard, "he's a good guy."

I need a drastic turn around in my life. I need to live like I'm required. I need to glorify God and make that my chief priority. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 talk about a sinner in the church needing to be removed. Paul pronounces judgement on this person and tells the church they are to "deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh". Yikes. They do this "so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." I do not want to be separated from the church. I definitely don't want to be delivered over to Satan, but I'm a reached sinner living in arrogance and sin, instead of working to glorifying God with my life.

We all need to take a look at how short life can be and what our example is here. Right now, I've done the kingdom of God no good. I've failed to witness to the people I work with. I'm a Sunday morning Christian. I really don't know what the fix is either. I don't know how to recover and change at work. It's going to be a slow process of changing people's opinions with the way I act and speak. Prayer and continued study are all I have. I have no strength on my own.

Doug Went Home for Eternity

Although many people prayed for healing, God decided he wanted to bring Doug home to Himself. If we can think about it from Doug's perspective, he is in total peace with God. God decided it was time for Doug to enjoy Him in His presence, and that is so great for Doug. I feel sadness for the family. I really hurt for Josh, who was with his dad when the accident happened. Obviously, the whole family is hurting, but as a son myself, I would not want to be with my dad when a life ending accident happened to him.

Continue to pray for the Healing family. Pray for peace for them. Pray for provision for Betsy. Pray for the comfort that comes from knowing God.

We Never Know When Death or Christ Will Come

I just looked at my last post and I noticed I mentioned our time here on earth is short. We really don't know when and how we are going to die or if Christ is going to return. Monday evening, my dad received a call about a close family friend falling off a his roof. He apparently broke is neck and ribs. At this point, we are not sure he is going to make it.

I know that I often think to myself I'm going to get my life right with God later or I'll be able to be a good witness next time. But the truth is, we don't know how much time "later" we have. We don't know if there is going to be a "next time". God could decide to take us home at any minute. We need to be living our lives correctly, properly worshiping God and glorifying Him with all aspects of our lives, right now.

I really wanted to write this to request that you pray today for a miracle for Doug Healing (his actual last name). He would need major healing from all the injuries. He is probably paralyzed from the neck down. They're not sure about proper brain function at this point. God can do miracles if He desires. My pastor talked about death a few weeks ago and reminded us that the death of a Christian is awesome for that person. They get to be with God. And, although we miss them and wish they were still here with us, the truth really is, they don't want to come back. Once they are in the presence of the Almighty Creator, they are pain free, worry free, in perfect peace and joy. Please pray for comfort for the family. Pray that God is glorified through this tragic accident.