Women of Valor

Here we are, just a couple weeks out from Memorial Day.  Memorial Day, of course, is the holiday where we remember those who've given their lives in defense of freedom.  Dwelling on the meaning of the day I got to thinking about the women of valor in the Bible.  Yes, there are women of valor in the Good Book, but most people don't know about them.  I want to change that state of affairs by starting a new series called "Women of Valor" here on Ragamuffin Faith.  Periodically I will write posts on women in the Bible who showed great courage in standing up for their beliefs, defending their people, defending their faith, and doing what's right.  I'm not doing this to try and be "modern" and subordinate the faith to the spirit of feminism.  Rather, I'm starting this series just to highlight a neglected "niche" in the body of Christ and to enhance believers' lives with the lessons each of these women of valor can teach us.  So, I hope you, dear readers, like the series, and I hope it will be greatly edifying for you.  We need to know about God's brave women, His women of valor, and we need to learn from them.  For who knows?  The day may come when we will be called upon to be women of valor, too.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, friends!

THAT'S Manhood?!

While shopping at Wal-Mart the other day I took a look at one of those celebrity magazines.  I think it was In Touch.  One of the short articles was about how Zac Efron (you know, of High School Musical fame) shed his "squeaky clean image"  to show he's now a man.  And how did he do that?  By dropping a condom on the red carpet at a movie premiere.  Yep, you read that right.   Zac Efron established his manhood by letting the world know he's sexually active, and not just with one girl, either.  A friend of Efron's was quoted in the article as saying that the actor has been seen "taking girls to his room".  When I read that it just really hit me how screwed up secular culture really is.

The way a boy becomes a man, says the world, is by sleeping around with multiple women and letting everybody know it.  That's it.  No need for responsibility, commitment, duty, honor, respect for women, or doing what's right.  And certainly no need for faith in God.  Nope, casual sex is all that's required to cross the threshold from child to adult.  Now I understand this was a very short filler article and was most likely meant to be lighthearted, but even in "jest" this message about masculinity is disturbingly shallow.  It reminds me of an article I read a few years ago about the maturing of kid hip hop artist Li'l Bow Wow.  The article featured photos of the grown up Bow Wow--he'd dropped the "Li'l" from his stage name--outside of his mansion and posing with his four ultra expensive cars.  I was instantly put off by that article's association of maturity with brazen materialism.  Fast forward to 2012 and pop culture's message hasn't gotten any better, as evidenced by the In Touch article.  The Church must do more to counter the world's empty vision of manliness.

God's Word has definite teachings on the meaning of manhood, although many believers appear oblivious to them, perhaps because Scripture doesn't neatly package those teachings in a single volume entitled, "God's Rules for Men".   Rather, the Bible's portrait of Godly manhood--what it is and what it is not--is scattered throughout its pages, being revealed in the lives of the Bible's famous characters and in the Wisdom sayings.  Here are a couple of examples.

We all know the famous saying of Joshua (the leader of the Israelites after Moses) recorded in Joshua 24:15,  "...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  Joshua made that statement after telling the Israelites to choose between serving the gods of their ancestors, the gods of the Amorites, or the true God, Yahweh.  Most believers think of Joshua's statement as a confession of commitment to God, and that's true.  But this little snippet of a verse also teaches us something about Godly manliness.  Look at the verse again, "...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  Did you get that?  Joshua didn't just make a personal confession of commitment to God, he made a familial confession of commitment to God.  Not just him, but his house, would serve the Lord.

What does this teach us about manhood?

This passage teaches us that a real man leads his family to worship God.  Joshua was the head of his household and made sure that "his house" followed him in serving the Lord.  We see this also in Cornelius in the New Testament.  Acts 10:2 describes him as a gentile "who feared God with all his household".  Like Joshua, Cornelius also made sure his family followed his devout ways.  We aren't told in these passage just how Joshua and Cornelius led their families in practicing true faith but the fact that they did sends a clear message to believers.  Real men are the priests of their households and multi-generational fealty to God is a fruit of true manhood.  What a different message from the world!

We believers need to stop acting like biblical manhood is something to be ashamed of.  It's the world that needs to be ashamed of its shallow, libertine, materialistic, self-centered, misogynistic, and family-destroying vision of masculinity.  Believers need to boldly proclaim the Bible's powerful, uplifting, life-changing, family-saving, faith-producing, chivalrous, and civilizing message of real manliness.

Dropping condoms on the red carpet?  Kid stuff.  Leading a people to victory over their enemies and a household to faith in God?  Now that's manhood!

A Short Earth Day Observation

While he was still running for president, Rick Santorum made a statement that got him pilloried and lampooned by the usual suspects. Santorum said that Obama believed in a pagan theology that taught that man exists to serve the earth. Like I said, Santorum was mocked for that observation but in truth he was spot on.  And what's frightening is that many people, not just Obama, are believers in the pagan environmentalist "creed" that the earth is higher than man. For these people nature, not Yahweh, is their god, and they will countenance any amount of human suffering to ensure the survival and purity of that "god". Bible-believing Christians do not and cannot subscribe to this false theology.  But as Earth Day brings environmental concerns to the forefront for 24 hours, just what should be the correct Christian position on environmentalism, the planet, and being "green"?   

Whether out of a misguided effort to be relevant or as a result of pagan infiltration into the Church, some Christians have gotten completely into green theology.  A couple of years ago, for example, some Australian clergy issued a declaration that believers should have fewer children because large families rob resources from future generations.  I cringed when I heard that on the news.  Pure paganism, to my mind.  Still, there needs to be a Christian response to environmentalism, and I think there is one, if we'd just look at Scripture.

I think the Christian answer to pagan, the-earth-is-god, environmentalism is Biblical conservationism, or "eco-stewardship".  It's right there in the book of Genesis, if we'd open our eyes to see it.  The first book of the Bible tells us that God created man in His own image and gave him dominion over the nature.  That dominion, however, is NOT a license to rape the planet for Scripture also informs us that "the earth is the Lord's."  Man is not the creator, God is.  Man did not make nature and, consequently, has no right to destroy or misuse nature.  Nature is God's gift to man for his survival. Man can use nature to meet his needs but he can't abuse nature as it is God's possession,  just like man himself.  God put man into the Garden of Eden to care for it, not destroy it.  Therefore, I feel that it's obligatory on believers to love and protect nature out of gratitude to God for His provision and not to serve nature itself.  That, in a nutshell, is my view of Biblical conservationism or "eco-stewardship".  Yes, Christians can "save the planet" without worshiping it.


Happy Earth Day.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, friends!

Ragamuffin Faith

Hey friends! As you can see, I've changed the look and, more importantly, the name of this blog (although I've kept the same url, divinemusings.blogspot.com, to keep it easy to get to my blog). Here's why.

From the time I started this blog I never liked the name I gave it, namely, "God and Me". I thought that name was painfully unoriginal and boring! But I couldn't come up with anything else that fit the purpose of my blog, so I stuck with the lame name, until now. I just got fed up with "God and Me" and decided to turn to Google for help (don't know why I didn't think of this years ago). I googled "christan blog name ideas" and, among other things, a list of the top 50 Christian blogs came up. While perusing that list my eyes fell on a blog named Ragamuffin Soul and I immediately knew that was the name for my blog. Unfortunately, it was already taken. What to do? What to do?

I looked at the name again and felt drawn to the word ragamuffin. The word refers to a person, especially a child, dressed in ragged, dirty clothes. As an adjective--as it's used in the blog name--it describes my spiritual reality precisely. I'm a ragamuffin believer. My faith is ragged, unkempt, and ill fitting. I try to wash it. I try to make it as clean, orderly, and well fitting as the faith of my Christian friends, or the confident Christians I see on tv boldly giving testimony of God's live-changing intervention in their lives.

I try to have faith like that. I wash and polish my faith to a wonderful sheen, but it always goes back to its natural, unkempt state. Doubts, confusion, weakness, the cares of this world, all distract me from "every word that comes from the mouth of God" and dirty my faith up all over again. So, that's what I have: dirty faith, distracted faith, smudged faith, saltless faith, ragamuffin faith. Yet, God has been kind to me and answered (some of) my prayers. He's seen me through proverbial thick and thin. Even though I am far, far from perfect and have dropped the ball more than once during most of my Christian walk, the Lord chooses to look after me. He knows I need him, and He responds accordingly. He embraces me, warts and all.

If you think God doesn't love you. If you think He has no use for you because your faith is less than stellar. If you think the Lord will just pass you by, you're wrong. God loves you, is interested in you and longs for a relationship with you, even if all you have is ragamuffin faith. Just ask me.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends! I'm looking forward to 2012 and whatever God has in store for me, my family, my friends, and even my country. I'm praying and believing that 2012 will be a blessed year for me and my loved ones. That doesn't mean I believe that hard times can't happen but that God will be there for me if they do. The one thing, however, that I'm praying definitely won't happen is any relapse in mine or my mom's health. I do NOT want another bout with cancer for either of us, nor more heart problems for my mom. I'm earnestly praying that the Lord will spare us and all my loved ones that or any other health problems. But with that caveat, I'm ready to plunge into the new year. Welcome, 2012! And thank you, Lord, for letting me see it.

Christmas 2011

To those believers who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. To those believers who don't celebrate Christmas, I still hope this season was good for you. I wish all believers a blessed New Year and pray that 2012 will see the Church repent of its sins, pray, and reclaim lost territory in the culture and the hearts of men. Amen.

On Being Quiverful

This post was prompted by the news that Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar, America's most famous big family parents, were expecting their 20th, yes 20th, child. Sadly, Duggar #20 didn't make it. During a doctor visit to discover the sex of their baby, Jim-Bob and Michelle learned that their little one had died in utero.

When I heard of the Duggars' miscarriage I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was sad for Jim-Bob and Michelle who so clearly view every child as a joyful blessing. But I also wondered that maybe this miscarriage was God's way of telling them it was time to stop having children. Not, understand me, God's way of stopping the Duggars' fertility but, rather, God's way of telling them to stop their marathon procreation. In short, telling them it's time to use birth control. And therein lies the problem.

The Duggars are followers of something known as the quiverful movement, which is popular among a small segment of ultraconservative Christians. The stated aim of the movement is not for Christians to have many children, but for Christians to trust God to decide the size of their families. Therefore, the movement is strongly anti-contraception, seeing it not only as anti-child but also as evidence of distrusting God. So, it's highly unlikely that Jim-Bob and Michelle Duggar will interpret their miscarriage as a divine message to stop reproducing.

I'm a Christian. I believe the Bible, and the Bible, especially the Old Testament, encourages fruitfulness and repeatedly describes children as a blessing and a reward. Because of that I think most Bible-believing Christians will and should have more children than unbelievers (and nominal Christians). However, I do NOT believe that means family planning has no place what so ever in the life of Christians. I've read no Biblical commandment to that affect, and I've read no commandment asserting that contraception denies children are a blessing and/or indicates a lack of trust in God.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not endorsing the anti-child/anti-family sentiment that prevails in our feminism-dominated culture, and I'm not denying that attitude's destructiveness and incompatibility with Biblical teaching. Christians who believe the Bible won't be anti-child or anti-family, and most of them will have more children than the feminist-controlled majority. However, having more children than the majority doesn't mean Bible-believing Christians must engage in uncontrolled, irresponsible reproduction.

There are legitimate reasons for limiting procreation, at least in certain situations. Financial difficulties, health issues, and pathologies like addiction and abuse are all legitimate reasons for delaying childbearing. Christians who use contraception in such circumstances are showing neither anti-child prejudice nor a lack of trust in God. On the contrary, they are using the common sense God gave them to make responsible decisions in trying situations. Such believers need support and understanding, not condemnation, from their brothers and sisters in Christ.

I believe the quiverful movement means well. I admire its commitment to following the Bible's standards rather than the world's. On that score, I think the movement can teach something to the larger Christian community which is plagued by worldliness. I also believe, however, that the quiverful movement has the potential to do more harm than good. Runaway reproduction can have serious consequences for families, consequences which are NOT God's will. If the quiverful movement can accept that fact then it can be a positive force in the Church. If it can't, the movement will undermine itself by judging Christians who use family planning in tough circumstances. That, not using birth control, is the real sin.

Custom Vs. Worship

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day* and it made me start thinking about something that I think needs to be clarified for some Christians.

Valentine's Day is, of course, the holiday on which we celebrate love. Believe it or not, there are some Christians who oppose celebrating Valentine's Day because they say it has pagan roots, the same reason these Christians give for not celebrating Christmas and Easter. These Christians oppose birthday celebrations for the same reason. While I understand their reasoning I believe they are quite mistaken to oppose birthday celebrations or holidays like Valentine's Day because of their pagan origins.

It's true that Scripture tells us that God doesn't want His people to worship Him with heathen practices. That's why I agree with those "anti-holiday" believers who have a problem with Christmas and Easter. Those holidays are about actually worshiping God with pagan "holy" days, and that's wrong. Scripture tells believers not to worship the one, true God the way pagans worship their false ones. I understand applying that principle to things like Christmas and Easter, but it's misguided, I feel, to apply it to things like birthday celebrations and "neutral" holidays like Valentine's Day.

Yes, birthday celebrations and holidays like Valentine's Day and New Year's Day are rooted in paganism, but they are not celebrated today as ways ofworshiping God. Rather, these things have come down to us as customs. And that's the key. Worship and custom are two very different things.

Worship is how we relate to God, how we honor and praise Him in certain sacred settings. Custom is how we live our lives. Of course, if we are God's people then we will live our lives differently from unbelievers in many ways, but that doesn't mean avoiding everything in life that has pagan roots. In fact, we can't avoid everything in life that has pagan roots because paganism permeates human civilization.

Take the days of the week, for instance. Five of them are named after pagan deities. In English, four of those deities are Germanic and one is Latin. Tuesday is Tiuw's day, Wednesday is Wotan's day, Thursday is Thor's day, Friday is Freya's day, and Saturday is Saturn's day. The other two days of the week, Sunday and Monday, are named after the sun and moon, which were worshiped as gods by pagans. It's the same with the months of the year. Six--January, February, March, April, May, and June--are named after pagan gods or goddesses. Two more--July and August--are named after Roman emperors worshiped as gods.

So where does this leave believers if we are to avoid all things pagan? Are we not to say the names of the days of the week or the months of the year? Are we guilty of worshiping false gods if we do say those names? What about eating the main meal of the day at noon, a practice that I've heard has pagan roots? Should believers who live where that's the custom eat their main meal in the morning or the evening instead? How far is avoiding all things pagan supposed to go?

I think everyone can see that paganism touches all aspects of life and that avoiding it all together is just impossible. And that shouldn't be believers' goal. Rather, we should be discerning, as befitting followers of Christ, and make rational distinctions between acts of worship and mere custom. We should understand that we can celebrate a birthday, or Valentine's Day, or eat our main meal at 12 pm without accepting whatever pagan religious beliefs undergird those things. We must not use pagan religious practices to worship God. But participating in pagan-derived customs which do not involve worship is perfectly ok. So go ahead and attend that birthday party, send that Valentine's Day card, and eat your dinner at noon. God won't strike you down with lightning bolts if you do. He's saving those for the real sinners.


*I started this post on February 13.

Does God Really Hate "Fags"?

On Wednesday March 2 the Supreme Court ruled that the Westboro Baptist Church could picket outside the funerals of soldiers killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan. The father of one such soldier had sued the Church for infliction of mental anguish when Church members picketed his son's funeral.

In case you don't know, the Westboro Baptist Church--and I use the word "church" loosely here--is that group infamous for its website God Hates Fags. The "church" protests outside the funerals of fallen soldiers, hailing their deaths as a sign of God's judgment on America for tolerating homosexuality. The "church", as it website's name suggests, believes that God hates "fags". But is the Westboro Baptist sect right? Does God hate "fags"? In a word, no.

Do not misunderstand. The Bible does condemn homosexual behavior as sin. Any church that says otherwise is, to put it bluntly, lying. But God doesn't hate "fags", or homosexuals, which is the correct, non-pejorative term. There are many things in this world that displease God, and He is angered by continuous, unrepentant indulgence in them. The Lord will punish such willful sin, eventually. This punishment often takes the form of national calamity such as economic collapse or defeat in war. God punishes sin, but that doesn't mean He hates the people who commit the sin. If the sinners repent and turn to His ways, God will forgive even the most wicked of them and save their souls.

The Gospel of John says, famously, that "...God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That "whosoever" includes gay people; it even includes the hate filled heretics of Westboro Baptist. To be sure, once we have believed in Christ we are obligated to submit our lives to His will, living as He commands and not as we wish. This includes our sexual lives. However difficult it may be for homosexually inclined people, they must live out their sexual lives as God commands. If they sometimes fail and do what God forbids, forgiveness and a second chance are available to them just like everyone else. Nowhere in Scripture is their sin considered so heinous as to put them beyond redemption. Telling people they're beyond salvation when they're not is a far worse sin than finding intimacy with someone of the same sex.

So, to reiterate, the Westboro Baptist cultists are wrong. God does not hate "fags". He doesn't hate any human being. He does hate sin, though, and if the Westboro Baptist fanatics keep on slandering God's name with their outrageous distortion of His character and Word, they will discover that there's a special place in hell just for them. And the "fags" in heaven will laugh.

A New Year Of Mindful Living

Today is the first day of 2011, and it's the beginning of a new year of mindful living for me.

What's "mindful living"? For me, it simply means being mindful of God. It means being aware of His ways, His commandments, His character, His presence, His people and being aware of how my life reflects on Him and my fellow Christians. In short, "mindful living" means seeking first the kingdom of God, as the Bible puts it. Mind you, I have little practice in seeking God's kingdom first. Growing up, that wasn't even talked about, let alone practiced, in my nominally Christian family. So, I have little idea of what "seeking God's kingdom first" or "mindful living" looks like, but I'm going to try to practice it.

How do I begin to do something that's almost totally foreign to me? Where do I begin? Do I read Scripture every day? Do I go to church, even if I don't feel like I belong? Must I constantly watch what I say and do lest, through unChristlike words or deeds, I dishonor God? I think "mindful living" entails all of the above, and then some. I think it's practicing a whole new way of life that you are led into by God's spirit. For me, I think coming into that life will be gradual. As I've said before, I never had one of those sweeping conversion experiences where habits are changed instantly, so I know I'm not on the fast track to a Godly transformation. A gradual approach may actually be better since it will give me time to process the change, truly learn from my experiences and so make "mindful living" second nature.

Seek first God's kingdom then everything you need will be supplied to you. Meditate on God and His Law when you get up and when you lie down. That's what Scripture says (paraphrased, of course). Being aware of God is the beginning of mindful living. As the new year unfolds, I will try to be aware of God in my daily life, especially remembering to thank Him for His strength and answered prayers. I know I will forget to do that more often than I not. "Mindful living" hasn't been part of my life and old habits will die hard. Still, I'm going to start on this path and will trust that God will be faithful and just to forgive me when I fail. So, I'm on my way to a new way of life. I'm seeking firs the kingdom of God. Mindful living, here I come.

Christmas: Should We or Shouldn't We?

Should Christians celebrate Christmas? That's a question most Christians would find nonsensical, if they thought about it at all. Of course Christians should celebrate Christmas. What would their faith be without the celebration of it's founder's birth?

From a cultural standpoint, I support Christmas. Christmas is the single, most visible evidence of our Judeo-Christian heritage, and there are people in our increasingly secular nation who hate that heritage. They are waging a "war on Christmas" as part of their efforts to eradicate all knowledge of America's Judeo-Christian roots. It is an act of rank anti-Christian bigotry. For that reason I support the celebration of the "mass of Christ" as a declaration of committment to what it is perceived to be evidence of: our Judeo-Christian heritage. That is my view of Christmas from a cultural perspective, but from a spiritual perspective I'm beginning to feel very differently.

I've known for years that Christmas isn't Biblical but originated in pagan religious festivals celebrating the winter soltice and/or the birth of various pagan gods such as Mithras. I've also known for years that in the Bible God tells His people NOT to worship Him the way the heathens worship their gods. I'm increasingly convinced that that's exactly what we're doing when we use pagan festivals to celebrate Christ's birth. And I'm increasingly uncomfortable with that.

I understand that Christmas is deeply engrained in Christian culture and most Christians see nothing wrong with it. They might think I'm being legalistic in questioning the correctness of celebrating Christmas. Some Christians might remind me that, in his epistle to the Galatians, Paul told believers not to let anyone judge them with respect to days they observe. Others might remind me that Christ freed us from the strictures of the Mosaic Law. I get that, but I also know that the Bible in the New Testament says we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. How can we worship the Lord in truth if we're using the festivals, practices, and traditions of false religions?

I'm not telling anyone to stop celebrating Christmas. I don't condemn the overwhelming majority of Christians who observe the holiday. In fact, I still observe Christmas, though not primarily as a religious holiday. Christmas, for me, has become more about gratitude and reflection rather than about celebrating Christ's birth. It's about giving thanks to God for His blessings and for the strength and comfort He bestowed on me to sustain me during my trials. And it's about reflecting on what I did during the year, honestly confronting my sins, and asking God to help me do better in the new year. That's what Christmas is mostly about for me now.

So, should Christians celebrate Christmas? I think the answer to that question should be left to each believer. I don't think congregations should require all their members to believe one way or the other. The question of Christmas is not, I don't think, a salvation issue. Believers with polar opposite views can be equally saved. Therefore, both sides should treat each other with respect. They should not make the other side's opinion into a character flaw. Both sides should strive to be Christlike in this debate. And that's what Christianity is really all about, isn't it? Becoming Christlike, not getting too concerned about which days your neighbors observe. That's the essence of Christianity.

Merry Christmas.

New Template

Well, I finally found a new template for God and Me. Finding just the right templates for my blogs has become something of an obsession for me. I want my humble spots on the 'net to be an expression of me and what I'm trying to say, and finding templates, backgrounds, or skins that do that has been a pain. But then I saw this template on the Final Sense website and the header grabbed my attention. The template is called Lake and Mountain and the first thought that came to my mind when I saw it was that it'd be perfect for God and Me.

At first glance a nature template wouldn't seem like the perfect choice for a Christian blog, but it is. How? The header photo shows a glimpse of the beauty and majesty of God's creation, which reveals the beauty and majesty of God Himself. It reminds me of the teaching in Scripture that God is "seen" through nature and that creation testifies to His existence. This template calls attention to God in a less direct way than a template featuring a cross or a church would, but I think it's more effective for that reason. An unbeliever who stumbled across my blog might pass on by if a church jumped out at him from the computer screen. However, a photo showcasing the beauty of nature might be less threatening to him, and he just might decide to check this blog out. And whatddaya know, a new follower!

I really like my new template. It's going to be good for my blog. God revealed in His creation is the perfect visual theme for God and Me. I'm glad I went back to Final Sense, and I hope everyone enjoys my blog's new look. I certainly do, thank God.

I'm A Believer!

Well, I've finally decided to do it. I've decided to call myself a Christian. What, you say? You weren't already a Christian? Well, yes and no.

As I've written before, I was raised in a nominally Christian home. My family celebrated all the "Christian" holidays and abided by superficially Biblical morals. But neither of my parents modeled real Christian living to my siblings and me, and neither took us to church (our Grandmother did). Despite my religiously deficient upbringing I managed to emerge from childhood believing in the orthodox fundamentals of the Christian faith, and I retain that belief to this day. Yet, for several years I've been reluctant to call myself a Christian. Why? A few reasons.

First, I hesitated to call myself a Christian because I've never had the kind of "conversion experience" that Christians so often talk about. I prayed the sinner's prayer and asked Jesus into my heart when I was 15, and nothing happened. I didn't feel God's presense. My life didn't suddenly change. I wasn't instantly freed from bad habits. In short, I didn't have that "conversion experience" which supposedly proves you're saved. Therefore, I didn't feel right calling myself a Christian when I wasn't sure I actually was one, i.e. saved.

Second, I hesitated to call myself a Christian because I was afraid of giving the faith a bad name. I'm a human being, flawed like any other. I know there are forces out there who love to use any failing of a professed Christian to denounce the faith. I didn't want to openly say I'm a Christian and then get caught doing something unChristlike, thereby making all Christians look bad and dishonoring my Savior. I couldn't see a way out of that predicament so I stopped saying I was a Christian.

Third, I hesitated to call myself a Christian because I don't understand every aspect of the faith. I do understand the fundamentals of orthodoxy that I said I believe in, but Christianity is deeper than that. The fundamentals are the "milk" of the faith, as Paul put it, not the meat. I understand some of the "meat" of the faith, but understanding it all is still beyond me. I didn't want to appear ignorant about my religion if I were ever asked a hard question, so I played it safe by avoiding the "Christian" label.

But then something happened to change my mind: I got breast cancer.

Television preacher John Hagee once said that adversity is God's university, and I can attest that that's true. When I felt that telltale lump in my breast this past March, that was my enrollment into that divine school. And it's been a beneficial and enriching course. Having breast cancer hasn't been easy but going through this valley of disease has brought me to a place with God that I would never have gotten to otherwise.

While fighting cancer I've seen God work miracles for me. Not big, spectacular ones but small, personal ones that spoke to me in the way I needed it most. The most meaningful miracle I've experienced is receiving God's strength to deal with my illness. While I was waiting for the results of my biopsy I was sure I'd freak out if they came back positive, but I didn't and I know that was God. He gave me His strength which kept me calm, positive, and unafraid. That's been a huge blessing for me and I'm very grateful for it.

As I've gotten closer to the Lord during my trials I've learned the worries I outlined above don't matter. God isn't looking for me to be perfect, to have full spiritual knowledge, or to live in a constant state of spiritual ecstasy. Rather, He just wants me to trust Him. As I do that, God will lead me to the people and sources that will help me grow in faith, knowledge, and even "perfection". I don't have to worry that I might embarrass my Savior or appear ignorant of my faith. God is close to me and He will guide me through any akward moments. Because of that, I feel I'm finally "in the fold", so to speak. Jesus is the shepherd and I'm one of His sheep. I'm a Christian. I'm a believer, and I'm blessed.

The Devil Made Me Do It

As we approach Halloween with its emphasis on the demonically supernatural, I was inspired to do a post on a habit among many Christians that's a real pet peeve of mine. What is that habit, you ask? It's Christians' habit of blaming everything bad they do on the devil.

Now I understand that Scripture calls Satan the tempter. He tempted Jesus during His forty day fast in the wilderness, and he tempts us. But blaming the devil for all our sinful deeds is, in my opinion, a cop out. While Satan definitely works to lure us away from God and His way, we are also led away from God and His standards by our own sinful nature.

The Bible says that the unsaved man is naturally full of enmity toward God. When we are saved we do receive a new nature via the Holy Spirit, but the old one isn't erased. It remains, constantly contending with the new nature for dominance in each Christian. Maybe that's why many Christians blame the devil for their sinning: it's easier than waging spiritual warfare with themselves.

A life of perpetual, internal, spiritual struggle isn't what many people today are told to expect when they "accept Christ". Rather, they're told that accepting Christ means instant sainthood epitomized by a "victorious Christian life" of health, wealth, and happiness. Acknowledging, let alone struggling with, their sinful nature just isn't on the menu. So, when things start to go wrong and these Christians find themselves sinning they see it as a Satanic attack on their "victorious life". They don't take responsibility for their own actions, repent, and seek forgiveness from God and man; instead, they enlist prayer warriors to help them repel the devilish assault. In going this route, they deprive themselves of golden opportunities for spiritual growth.

The apostle Paul plainly states that all believers begin their Christian walk as spiritual infants and must grow into mature believers. This maturity develops through spiritual struggle, not just study of God's Word. Blaming the devil for their sins means Christians don't grow as they should. It prevents them from dealing honestly with their weaknesses. Facing their weaknesses teaches Christians humility and helps protect them from pride. Facing their weaknesses teaches Christians patience and empathy for others who struggle and helps protect them from self-righteousness. Facing their weaknesses teaches Christians to rely on God for strength, bringing them closer to Him. Working, with God's help, to overcome their imperfections exercises Christians' spiritual muscles in a way blaming Satan can never do. And spiritually strong believers can resist real Satanic attacks much better than weak ones.

The devil made me do it may be an easy out but it can't create a mature, strong follower of Christ. Those who regularly use this out may appear Godly but lack the power thereof, as Scripture puts it. Therefore, anyone seeking to become a true Christian must put aside blaming Satan and accept responsibility for his sins. He must recognize his complete dependence on Christ for the strength to overcome sin. And he must accept that overcoming sin will be a lifelong struggle, but one that will refine him like fire refines silver. That will make the Christian spotless when he stands before the Lord. That's why the struggle is necessary and worth it, and why "the devil made me do it" must go.

Cute!

I found this video on www.tangle.com, formerly known as God Tube, and it's so cute I just had to post it. This adorable trio of siblings saying the Lord's Prayer will put a big smile on your face. Enjoy!

A Problem With "Purity"

We live in a hypersexual age. The anti-Biblical philosophy of sexual liberation is now the reigning authority on how we should live our sexual lives. So long as you practice "safe sex" there should be no restrictions on your sexual behavior. If it feels good, DO IT! That's what our society now devoutly believes. Understandably, Christians who take their faith seriously are appalled by this state of affairs. They are horrified and grieved by the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering intrinsic to sexual "freedom". Wanting to spare themselves and their children such hardship, and wanting to remain true to God's way, faithful Christians started a "purity" movement to teach and maintain the Bible's sexual ethic in their homes, schools, and churches.

I admire the intentions of the "purity" movement. An uncompromising and unapologetic commitment to God's standards is, sadly, missing from the lives of far too many modern Christians. Believers and unbelievers alike need to hear a spirited defense of the Biblical sexual ethic of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage. The "purity" movement is trying to deliver such a defense but I feel it may be spreading an unintentionally negative and unBiblical message to its followers.

The problem stems, I think, from the very idea that "purity" means abstaining from sex until marriage. The implication of this notion is that once you have sex, even in marriage, you are no longer pure. And the implication of THAT is that sex is somehow intrinsically defiling. That is not the Bible's teaching.

God created sex and, like all of His creations, it is good. The Bible doesn't teach that sex is inherently impure. If you doubt that read "The Song of Solomon", the Bible's ode to physical love. If you're open that book will disspell any notions you might have of God being anti-sex. God's not against sex. God is against sex in wrong circumstances.

God has given humankind a set of rules to govern our sexual behavior, just as He has given us rules to govern other aspects of our lives. These sexual rules are meant for our protection and our good. God doesn't want sex to bring us heartache, spread disease, or destroy our families. He meant it to be a joyful experience within the proper circumstance, namely, marriage. Sex outside of God's ordained arrangement IS impure, but the impurity lies in the unlawful situation and in disobedience to God, NOT in the sex act itself. I feel the "purity" movement doesn't do a good job making that distinction. Consequently, some people influenced by the movement might come away with an utterly unBiblical discomfort with sex itself. And that's a shame because the goals of the movement are supremely laudable.

The "purity" movement needs to counter the damaging doctrine of sexual liberation intelligently, in a way that neither saddles people with unscriptural prudishness nor leaves Christians open to gross stereotyping by the sex libbers. The latter would like nothing better than to portray supporters of Biblical sexual morality as menacing advocates of a dangerously backward and repressive ethic. Let's not give them the rope with which to hang us.

Christians and others who are committed to traditional sexual morals have no need to be defensive about what they believe. It is the philosophy of sexual "freedom" that, when put into practice, has caused untold suffering for people of all ages. The purity movement has the joyful, compassionate, life-affirming, love-affirming, alternative. It should make sure the public truly understands that.

Holiday Honesty

It's that time of year again. The holidays are upon us again, and once again I'm marveling at the self-righteous double standard of many Christians. It begins with Halloween.

Many Christians refuse to celebrate Halloween and it's easy to see why. Halloween is a "holiday" overtly rooted in spiritual darkness. The whole tone of the festival is occultic, with it's "lighthearted" emphasis on ghosts, goblins, witches, etc. The actual origin of Halloween in Celtic paganism is the final straw for anti-Halloween believers. I understand the distate these believers feel; what I've never understood, though, is why the Christians who so sanctimoniously condemn Halloween eagerly celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are just as pagan in origin as Halloween. I've never gotten a real answer from such Christians, but I recently had the pleasure to finally meet a Christian who was honest about the holidays.

His name is E, and I work with him. He's a strong Christian and leads the prayer group at work. Right before Halloween I asked E if he was taking his kids trick or treating. I must admit that I was baiting him; I wanted to see where E stood on not only Halloween but also the larger issue of pagan "Christian" holidays. E answered my question with a question. He asked if I knew the origin of Halloween and I said I did. He then said that I should know why he didn't celebrate Halloween. Because it's pagan, I responded and E said yes. Then I asked him if he celebrated Christmas and Easter, since they're pagan in origin, too. E said he didn't, and I was surprised. That was the first time I'd heard a Christian be consistent on the holiday issue.

I told E I was surprised by his answer because most Christians I knew refused to acknowledge the paganism of Christmas and Easter. E had a response to that. He said that his duty as a Christian was to be true to Scripture, not Church tradition. E said that while he remembered Christ on Christmas and thanked God for sending His Son to earth, he didn't celebrate the holiday itself. As I said, I found that refreshing.

I admire E for his honesty. So many Christians are uninformed, inconsistent, or just plain ignorant on the issues of the holidays and whether they should celebrate them. E has taken a stand and he's letting the Bible, not cultural norms, be his guide. He is being consistent and honest on the holidays and doing it to remain true to God. E is living out holiday honesty, would that every Christian did so.

The Connection

This blog is about my often troubled and contradictory relationship with God,the Church, and the Christian faith. I was raised in a nominally Christian home and my Christian education was rudimentary. Neither one of my parents modelled Christian living to my siblings and me. My grandmother took me and my sister to church regularly but I never felt I belonged and as soon as I could I stopped attending. Still, I managed to emerge from my largely religious deficient childhood believing in historic, orthodox Christian doctrine.

I believe in God. I believe that the Bible is His inerrant Word. I believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate. I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, was crucified, buried, and rose on the third day. I believe that Jesus died for our sins and that He is now the only way to God and salvation. I believe all of that yet I hesitate to call myself a Christian. Something is missing in my spiritual life, and until I find it I feel the label "Christian" is best not applied to me.

What's missing? I can't put it accurately into words but I refer to it as "the connection".

Over the past two decades I've read lots of Christian books and watched lots of Christian television. I've noticed a common theme when the topic of salvation is being addressed. In virtually every case new Christians described having what I call the conversion experience. This experience seemed to cement their commitment to the faith more than a rational understanding of Christian truths. This experience, which was invariably described with great emotion, opened up "the connection" with God. And what is "the connection"?

"The connection" is the feeling that you really do have a relationship with God. "The connection" encourages and helps sustain committment to Christian convictions. It's more than just a cerebral understanding of the reality of God; it's the heartfelt realization that God is there. I've never had that heartfelt realization.

When I was fifteen I asked Jesus to come into my heart as I'd been taught to do in church. I was serious; I really wanted Jesus in my life and in charge of my life. After praying, though, I felt nothing. I thought I must have done something wrong so I asked again and again, nothing. I tried a third time and got the same result. That was 30 years ago and I still don't understand why I didn't experience "the connection". I still ask myself, why did God reject me?

Well meaning Christians who have had that conversion experience and know the reality of God will insist that God didn't reject me when I was a kid. They'll insist that He did answer me, even if I didn't feel it, and I've been His child ever since. They'll say that faith isn't about feeling but about believing that God will do what He says He will do and then acting like you believe it. That's what well meaning Christians will say because they just don't understand what it's like to pursue God and not find Him. They don't understand because they have "the connection". So those well meaning Christians, sadly, are of little use to me.

Why does God choose to connect with some people but not others? And why would He do that if He really wants everyone to be saved? I mean, how is God encouraging people to seek Him and His salvation when He ignores them when they do? Alas, I am at a loss for any rationally and emotionally satisfying answers to such questions. One resource that was helpful to me was the book Disappointment With God by Phillip Yancey. While I believe Yancey fell back on some pat answers toward the end of the book, it was so refreshing to see someone in the Christian community acknowledge that God can be disappointing. My attempt to reach God had left me feeling like a woman quoted in the book who said:

I kept hearing the phrase "personal relationship with Jesus Christ". But I found to my dismay that it is unlike any other personal relationship. I never saw God, or heard him, or felt him, or experienced the most basic ingredients of a relationship. Either there's something wrong with what I was told, or there's something wrong with me.

Boy do I understand how that woman felt! And maybe she's got a point. Maybe what's wrong isn't her, me, and others like us but, rather, what we were told Christianity would do for us. I don't know, but my pursuit of God continues albeit with a lot less intensity than when I was young. I still want God in my life. I still want "the connection". Maybe, if I keep trying and have faith, I'll one day get it.