The Temple

Hearts trained in greed…some phrases you can’t get out of your head. Our men’s Bible Study is in 2 Peter and this phrase is used in chapter 2 verse 14 to describe false teachers. But there may not be a more apt phrase that would sum up and characterize American Chrisitianity’s biggest problem. Our hearts have been trained in greed.

Most statistics with regard to American consumption (as with many other statistics) would show very little difference between Christians and non-Christians. We are no different from anyone else in the USA when it comes to amassing stuff, consuming and throwing away massive amounts of…everything. Mostly we dismiss this sort of criticism of our lifestyle as irrelevant seeing that it is liberal political and social groups throwing the “criticism” our way. We uncritically join in the consumer mentality, not because it is a Biblical value, rather it is our preferred way of living.

Hearts trained in greed…

Let’s just look at our personal water usage compared to how much water is available to others around the world:

I took a 10 minute hot shower this morning. Let’s say I use 2 gallons per minute, I used 20 gallons of water to take a shower. Now I feel that a hot shower is a necessity, not an option nor a luxury. But in fact, it is a luxury and that luxury is not shared by many people in the world. But if my water heater goes out, replacing the water heater becomes the most important task in my day. Not having water mind you, having hot water.

(Fill out this questionairre by the US Geological Survey to figure your daily water consumption, mine was 59.36 gallons per day. That is personal usage, not what I use to water the lawn etc.)

1.1 billion people (18% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water and almost 2 million children die each year due to a lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation.

Now maybe your answer to that is the pat American response: “I’ll just put my waste water in an envelope and send it to Africa.”…if it is you should be ashamed of yourself.

The phrase in 2 Peter is convicting. We have more, use more, waste more than any other nation in the world, and still have the gall to talk about suffering and complain about our circumstances. The reason we do this is that we have had our hearts trained in greed. The word greed is defined as “the state of desiring to have more than one’s due, greediness, insatiableness, avarice, covetousness” (BDAG Greek Lexicon). “Desiring to have more than one’s due…” Wow, if that doesn’t define us I don’t know what does. Maybe Christians should worry more about our own personal greed than other people’s sexual sins???  I would bet that proportionally sermons in our American churches mentioned homosexuality 1.000% more than they did greed this past Sunday when proportionately the reverse was more represented in the pews.

I am working on evaluating my addiction to greediness in just about every area of my life.

Read the story at NPR.org (you can listen as well) of James Woodard who spent 27 years in prison for a murder of which he has now been exonerated.  The amazing part of his story is his attitude about the years he spent in prison:

Woodard doesn’t know how a cell phone works and has no inkling of Macintosh versus PC. He’s neither bitter nor angry, and he will not agree that those years in prison were for naught.

“Time is what you make of it,” he says. “You’re living no matter where you are. I think I came out pretty good. I think I won. I think I’m a winner.”

He went into prison in 1981, the same year I graduated from college and I think he has a better attitude about the last 27 years than I do.  Something for the rest of us to think about.

Kelly (the wife) and I are launching a new blog called The Parenting Paradigm and she has started a blog focused on home education called Substantive Education. Take a visit - they are in their fledgling forms.

Technorati Tags: Home Education, Parenting

Michael Spencer at the Internet Monk has written a provocative and insightful post called “What Do Gays and Lesbians Hear?” on Evangelical challenges in rightly dealing with the issue of homosexuality.

Technorati Tags: Homosexuality, Evangelical, Internet Monk, Michael Spencer

I don’t know how you prepare for worship on Sunday, but one of my habits I have decided to share with you is what I practice on Saturday. I am blessed with Russian genes, which means I default to pessimism. As a believer, that seems like an unacceptable place to stay, so I have worked hard at attitude. One of those attitudes is to look for things to be grateful for, so here is my list I am taking to church with me tomorrow so that I can worship God with a grateful heart.

• Monday: I am back to work after a month Sabbatical. It is so good to have a great job and wonderful co-workers.
• Tuesday: Dinner with my oldest sons (Tim and Levi)on the wharf in Santa Barbara, followed by a pleasant train ride home. Good conversation with my third son (Caleb) as he picked me up from the train station in Fullerton. It is good to have children who know Christ.
• Wednesday: Funeral for a friend. Zena was a woman who immigrated to the States with my parents; the resurrection is a true source of hope and comfort.
• Thursday: 16 mile bicycle ride…what a great day, I still have my health.
• Friday: Quiet evening at home. Borscht for Dinner. I forgot how nice that can be.
• Saturday: History day building project with my youngest son. Building in the garage, project accomplished.

I have so much to be grateful for…so do you. Take it to church with you tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Blessings, Gratitude, Worship

Could you help me out? Please define the above term off the top of your head - no Bible study or looking up verses, just a quick definition you would give to a 8-12 year old. What does it mean to “Walk by the Spirit”?

Put your answer in the comments section…thanks.

Technorati Tags: Holy Spirit

I heard David Levy on the radio a few weeks ago, nobody better than Stephen Colbert to highlight the problems with humor and sarcasm. The philosophical underpinnings are more disturbing than the moral challenges with this sort of industry. Philosophically, people will not have a problem with this and it probably will embrace it openly. As you listen to the guy you will notice that he sees no problem whatsoever with sex with a robot. The reason for this is that he is a materialist, as are many people in the world (at least when it suits them). Since he believes that all that exists is the physical/material, he correctly concludes that there is no problem with sex with a robot, or any other kind of sex for that matter. The moral component is difficult to supply if you are a materialist, because all we are dealing with is what the “material” needs or wants.

Christianity does not support materialism, rather we would philosophically be considered dualists (at least of a sort, a longer discussion for another post). Since Christianity assumes more to life than a physical component, we attribute a spiritual quality to sex. It is more than simple physical procreation. This philosophical underpinning gives foundation to monogamy, fidelity and purity in the sexual experience. Sex is not made up of simply the physical activity but includes the underlying spiritual component. Christianity will have a problem with this not simply because of the moral component, rather we are most uncomfortable with the materialist underpinnings that leads to moral .

Unbelievers and believers who are not adept at critical thinking and have not evaluated their mindset and personal philosophy will fall into the trap of being materialists at one level, and moral at another. For instance, when it suits people they argue that if it happens in the privacy of a bedroom, it is private and is nothing more than “sex”, like an itch that needs to be scratched. It didn’t include the spiritual component. So we try to divorce the biological act from the spiritual act, as if there was no inherent connection. If we are only material beings, with no spiritual component, we are simply talking about a physical activity. It is simply biological function without the procreation element, or the STD element. But the Scripture doesn’t know about this dichotomy. Christianity is about correspondence between thinking and acting.

from stevebag.vodpod.com

Technorati Tags: Colbert, David Levy, Sex with Robots, Materialism, Dualism

I have heard it said many times in Christian contexts that God is not concerned about our happiness, that joy is what we shoot for and that happiness is superficial and circumstantial. Joy on the other hand is substantive and lasting. In many sermons I have heard the two ideas juxtaposed, treated as if they were mutually exclusive. I am convinced that many Christians believe that God wants us to be unhappy. This idea is similar to the thinking that says if medicine is going to work it has to taste bad. Both ideas are incorrect.

God wants you to be happy.

God also wants true happiness for you, and that is a happiness that has as its source the truth which leads to the fruit of joy. Now joy is the source of happiness. Happiness is the outward expression of joy. To divide or juxtapose happiness and joy is to miss the point. Our character needs to find expression in our action. To claim joy but not express happiness is not godly; it is a forced misery, an unholy suppression. We all want happiness – we are drawn to it, motivated by it, addicted to it. Everyone seeks happiness, and so we should. It could possibly be the highest expression of praise with regards to living and the God who gave us life. The Hebrews understood this connection. That is why when I watched the Chabad fund raiser on television the Hasidic Jews (very conservative law keepers) were dancing in their black suits and hats. Baptists on the other hand would never dance with joy before the Lord – it would be considered ….well, happy.

God wants you to be happy.

Listen to these verses:

• Psalm 16:11: You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. When Peter quotes this verse in the New Testament it goes this way: Acts 2:28 ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’

• Nehemiah 8:10: Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Did you notice that in Nehemiah the command is to eat and drink as a response to the joy of the Lord? Happiness as expressed in mundane, day to day activities flows out of a heart that is right with God and understands the will and purpose of God. A heart that is joyful (substantively happy) because of the knowledge that God has redeemed me from sin and bought me with a price, forgiven me, called me his son, and promised me life eternal, abundant and free. That kind of joyful heart eats and drinks in celebration of what already is. The heart without the joy of the Lord eats and drinks to attain happiness because there is no joy – a massive difference.

A person without the foundation of joy still seeks for happiness. The problem is that the substance of their happiness is found in temporary things, with a limited life span and a limited ability to satisfy. That is why we always need more and better things. That is why ultimately without God who is our strength (substance), happiness is fleeting. With an eternal source of joy, happiness is recharged all the time; rather happiness can be recharged all the time. We often choose to not be happy. True happiness is an expression of true joy. True happiness is natural growth from existing internal and real joy. Fleeting and surface happiness goes after the expressions of happiness (“eating and drinking”) as the substance versus the expression. It is like buying fruit from a stand when you can own a grove of trees.

Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:25-34. He said to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” All these things are the things which make people happy: food, clothing, length of life, and the things of this life. They will only make us happy when we find our joy in the kingdom of God.

Here are some quotes about happiness:

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Abraham Lincoln

Two interesting observations in light of our conversation: true happiness comes from true joy; we have all we need if God is our source – so be happy.

God wants you to be happy.

Technorati Tags: Happiness, Joy

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.

Technorati Tags: GK Chesterton, Quotes, Enemies

A fresh start.  Take advantage of it.  New Years day brings at the very least the motivation to start new.  So a brief newsletter at a busy time to encourage you to:

Be grateful.  List the blessings and let the list overwhelm you. 

Be generous.  Take some of that money you spend on yourself and give it away to make someone’s day.

Be gracious.  Speak more kindly to those around you. 

Be gentle.  Forsake a violent or distant approach, and reach out and touch someone lovingly.

Be genial.  It means to promote life and growth, creating an environment that is pleasantly warm, mild, and healthful.

Be a gentleman.  Courteous, polite with a strong sense of honor.

Be a germ.  Plant a seed.

Be a gift.  Surprise people with giving.

Be good.  Change some habits this year to make you a better person.

Be the gospel.  Share Jesus with someone or many ones this year.

Be godly. 

What will it take?  Make a plan, stick to the plan.  Be proactive, positive change just doesn’t happen.