Advice: Court her, date her, win her ... continually.

Back at our old church, an older gentleman by the name of Dr. Chuck Harger took me under his wing and had this to say: "Don't ever stop courting your wife. Continue to pursue her heart. Date her, win her."

I'm reminded of this sound advice as I read in Song of Songs this morning. It's bittersweet in that I know it's right and Godly advice, which is energizing, but it also reminds me just how much I fail as a husband.

I do not court my wife as I should.
I often take her for granted.
I do not date her enough.
I'm not actively working to win her at all times.

But God redeems. He is not looking for shame and regret. He asks us not to look over our shoulder to see how we've failed in the past. He simply wants acknowledgement, repentance, and for us "to go and sin no more". And there is no doubt about it… it is sin, not continuing to chase after my wife. It is sloth. It is pride. 

I am failing to "love my wife as Christ loved the church." (Ephesians 5:25) How does Christ love the church? He continually draws us out, in order to draw us in. He served us humbly. He sacrificed and died for us. And this is what I need to repent of… settling for comfort and rest, when I should be working… out of love, out of obedience to Him. 

Christ continues to woo me. To win me over. That is love. And Christ so loved me that he died on a cross for me. I was literally "to die for".  Meredith is "too die for" too.

I acknowledge my shortcomings as a husband. I repent of my laziness and desire for comfort. I repent of taking her for granted. She deserves more. God deserves to be glorified through the work I put into my marriage.

But it's clear that I can't do it on my own.

Lord, help me to die to myself for Meredith. Help me to love her with your love. My love is inadequate. Snap me out of this stasis, where I'm okay with not loving her fully, not feeding her, not courting her, not winning her heart constantly. I am incapable of doing this alone. But with you Lord, all things are possible. I trust in and love you unabashedly and fully. Thank you for your perfect, Agape love and for your long suffering patience with me. Let your perfect love flow through me to her. I asked this in the name of God the Father, God the Son, in God the Holy Spirit, three-in-one. Amen and Amen.

True Enlightenment is found in Christ

The world has drifted further and further from truth. I see this in friends from my past who are considering philosophies like Buddhism. It is not true Buddhism, mind you, but some new age version of it. But the true enlightenment they find appealing is far greater in Christianity,  they just don't know it.

Take Proverbs. Sooooooo much wisdom in there. I'm truly overwhelmed by it. God is so good to give us this wisdom to live by. I want to say that 'I can't imagine life without it'. But I already know what life was without it. I lived life without it for 38 years.

As it says in Proverbs 2:2, we must
1) turn our ears to wisdom, and
2) apply our heart (not just our mind) to understanding it.

Without these two steps, we will continue to lean on our own flawed, incomplete-at-best, selfish, worldly understanding. We'll embrace the recently popular New Age versions of old age fallacy, like Buddhism. Not that components of that life are bad. Focus and seeking Enlightenment and meditation are awesome... worthy endeavors...
and are actually core to a Christian Life.

Focus (on Him alone) ... this is Christianity.
Seeking absolute truth (enlightenment) ... Only found in seeking Him... Christianity.
Meditation (on Him, His purpose, His truth) ... Christianity.

The thing is, Islam is not 100% wrong. It's mostly wrong, but it has some truth in there. This is truth that is also part of Christianity. But that smidgen of Truth is what lures so many to stay Muslim. Same with Buddhism, Hinduism, even secular humanism. They have some things right, but they are predominantly wrong. Only Christianity is 100% right and true. But this is only apparent and obvious from the top of the mountain. You must first acknowledge the mountain, choose to climb the mountain, then see it clearer and clearer and clearer (a.k.a. true enlightenment) as you ascend.

The next step is 3) do something about it. It is fine and well to 1) hear and 2) apply our hearts to understand. But without 3) action based on what we understand, we are "dead". James says this clearly and bluntly... "Faith without works is dead". It is a dead understanding, in that it is flaccid and useless.

Lord, help me. I now understand, but I am lazy, afraid... I don't know what else. Break the chains that hold me back from a life fully pointed at you and for you.

I am with you.
You are with me.
And I thank you for this.

It's in Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Proof of God and True Science

Is there absolute 
"proof" of God? 
Can we run a laboratory experiment using the scientific method and produce Him or absolute proof of Him? Well no, of course not. First, He is outside of this data set - outside of the space and time in which we find ourselves. Second, there IS unending, overwhelming evidence of Him falling all around us like an avalanche.

Let's look at it this way: 
Within a painting, is there proof of the painter?In a novel, is there proof of the author? In a dance performed, is there proof of the choreographer? No, there is not. But there is quite obvious evidence within said painting, story, dance, sculpture, building, electronic device, automobile, aircraft, sand castle ... of an intelligent, purposeful, intentional creator, though, isn't there?

And how might one prove Vincent Van Gough? Well, one can't in reality. But they can know he existed through seeking evidence in his many, many paintings, all in his unique style ... via books written about Vincent (a.k.a. through witnesses, or through those who knew and interviewed witnesses), and by the many artist since who were influenced by his work, some striving to emulate him ... to be like him.

There is this strange prevailing attitude that faith in God and Jesus is at odds with with science. But it's absolutely not. Many (if not most) of the original scientists were, in fact, believers in God including Kepler, Copernicus, Bacon, Galilei, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Boyle, Faraday, Mendel, Kelvin, Plank and even Einstein (here are even more: 131 Christians Everyone Should Know). They were not all Christian, but they did know that God was there. And even today, there is a long, long list of leading Scientists who are devout believers, despite common blackballing of believers in the scientific community and academia (List of Christians in Science and Technology).

"Contrary to the claims of the new atheists, most scientists do not necessarily see religion and science as always being in conflict. Rice University sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund and coauthors studied the responses of scientists at 21 elite U.S. universities, finding that only 15% thought that science and religion were always in conflict. About half expressed some form of religious affiliation."

In fact, belief in God is what drove a large number of scientists to conduct science themselves ... to answer the questions, "How did God do all of this? How does it all work? What is it that makes all of what we see, hear, taste, smell and touch hum?" Science, for these Scientists, was/is a deeper seeking of the workings God's creation.

Rather, what is at odds is not faith in God vs science, but a difference in bias and in worldview. Some in the scientific community have created a Creed of sorts, precluding anything outside of nature and our five senses. These individuals are NOT practicing science, but a religion of their own making. Science is intended to be truly open-ended: an unbiased method. Only this is true science.

Science has never been a belief system (although many treat it as such). Science, rather, is a tool to be used to chip away at how and what things are based on observation, theorizing, and testing.

If we are humble enough, we must acknowledge that we are but observing and testing shells on the beach, while the immense ocean of the unknown lies before us. And if we persists in our humility, we'll admit that probabilities preclude us from ever getting past wet toes. We are simply incapable of going further than a certain point. Not that we're at that point yet, but much of what exists is beyond our comprehension ... beyond our feeble collective minds' grasp. I believe that is by design.

In both Christian and non-Christian circles, faith is a factor. But "faith" (not blind faith as Dawkins assumes, but faith in its full and true definition) is a commitment based on adequate evidence upon which to base said faith. And there is FAR more evidence for God, the claims of Christ, and the inevitable effects of living the Christian life, than for the opposing worldview. Mountains upon mountains more, in fact.

There is no proof, per se, that can be run in a lab for either the secular or the Christian view when addressing the biggest questions of life, origin, meaning, purpose, etc. Both take faith. Unfortunately for the secular humanist worldview, far more evidence will need to be unearthed to make it any more than stubborn blind leaping faith. The issue is, secular humanists don't realize this. They are too busy denying the possibility of God to actually look into it. And, as such, they have a horribly flawed and limited picture of how things really are.

I pray that they seek Truth without bias or presupposition. I pray they conduct true science. I pray the same for Christians - to know the evidence so that we can effectively help those wearing blinders currently. I once wore these blinders. I was not stupid ... I was simply ignorant and bull headed, ignoring a whole body of evidence based on a bias. And those who choose to seek humbly will find that Matthew, quoting Jesus, was dead on when he said, 

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

He is there, just waiting for you to seek Him. If you do, you WILL find Him as I did. Will you conduct true science, seeking real truth? Or will you rest in an area of arrogant ignorance as I did for too long? I pray that you take the step and ultimately find. 

God bless. 

Good things are costly

You should not expect the easy way, for if you do you are certainly destined for disappointment. Any person who knows the Bible knows that the Christian life is likened to an athletic contest or to warfare, and neither one is easy. Jesus warned His followers to count carefully the cost, and that certainly does not speak of an easy way. But there is no good thing that comes without cost.The Christian life is the most satisfying, but only when we actually go all out and all the way. It is the Christian who tries to compromise who finds life miserable, for he has all the problems, without the fellowship that comes through surrender. For every trial and test, Christ supplies an abundance of grace with which to bear it, and in our weakness we are made strong.

[author unknown]

Quit Making Excuses and Just Do It ... (blunt post)

In 2 Chronicles 30:18-20, Hezekiah prays to God, asking Him to pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God. This is one of hundreds of examples pointing to our HEART as the main point.

"Sets his heart on seeking God ..." 

Bottom line is, those who set their heart on anything always DO something about it. When your "heart's not in it", it shows through inaction, or sluggish action at best.

"Well, give me an example of what you mean, Greg." 

Okay, since you asked, I will ...

Later in 2 Chronicles 31 it says that the Israelites gave generously (finally!) of their first fruits. In their case, this meant the BEST of their grains, cattle, wine, honey, etc. For us, in modern terms, this usually boils down to our money. As a result of the Israelites' generous giving, the Levites who were called to dedicate their lives to God only and fully, had "enough to eat and plenty to spare".

Enough to eat and plenty to spare.

Imagine that. Imagine all the world's people having enough and plenty to spare. 

This is possible. But we as Christians must lead the charge. 

Don't have enough to give? Baloney. Sorry to be so blunt, but you're either defining "enough" wrong or you are simply oblivious to what enough means to a person in a 3rd world country living joyfully on the absolute minimum. 

"But you don't understand what bills I have to pay!" you say. My response: "You HAVE bills. They don't even have that luxury." And you wouldn't have ANY money to pay bills if it weren't given to you by the God who provides all for us.

Question: If you lost your job today and could only get a job making 80-90% of what you made before, would you survive?

Don't answer that. You and I both know the answer is, "of course". So, I think it's long past time to stop making excuses. There are REAL HUMANS, made in the image of God, who are suffering while we debate whether we need cable, or that new car, or a slightly bigger house because this one's too cramped. Enough is enough. Time to check our hearts.

Obey. If you love Him and you love people (as we're commanded), you will just obey, with full faith.

It's for His glory.

It's for the least of these.

And - believe it or not - it's for your good.

No more excuses. Just do it.

Numb & Overwhelmed: Racism, Abortion, Sex Trafficking ...

I'm feeling a little numb this morning as I journal my thoughts. There are so many things on my mind - weighing on me.

Am I leading my family well by serving them, directing them with God's wisdom? Am I leading by example and with humility and compassion?

What should I be doing about the downpour of evil happening all around us? Racism, sex trafficking, abortion ... hollywood and the media news shaping the culture's mind without them knowing it? Breaking through the psychological wall that has been built up in many people's minds, from liberals to conservatives, Christians to unbelievers - no one is immune, it seems.

As I learn more about the pure white, brilliant light that is God's way, the more hideous and disturbing and obvious the darkness becomes. The darkness hasn't changed, mind you. It has been there all along. But as truth beautifully infiltrates my mind, heart and soul, my obliviousness to its abnormality fades.

Things like the content of rated R movies that never seemed like a big deal to me before now are shocking. And it's quite clear the impact it has on the psyche, on our attitudes about things. And enough of it results in a numbing that thinks its "normal".

Things like the subtle tone, wording and innuendo of news reporting that leads us to an intended opinion on a given topic or event ... it's insidious.

Things like the "small" lies and sinful actions that leave us with the universal attitude of, "Come on. What's the big deal? You're taking this 'God's way thing too far."

Couple that with ... I'm not being as loving a husband and father as I could/should be. Anyone from the outside, comparing me with other husbands and fathers, would disagree. But I know better - and so does my friend, God, because He knows my heart. The fact is, I'm being lazy. I'm letting things coast along on idle more than I should. It's neglectful.

• My wife needs intentional, unconditional love. My self-assessment? C+ at best.
• My kids need my focused, proactive (rather than just reactive) time. Grade on that? C ... maybe even a D+. 

Lord help me be who I should be. I'm weak and lazy and selfish. I feel convicted, but something is holding me back, holding me down, keeping me numb and paralyzed. Is it sloth? Plain selfishness? The enemy sitting on my chest, keeping me stationary so I can't do what I and God know is right? Maybe it's all of the above. Bottom line, I can't do it alone. I can't do it at all. I need your power God ... your love, your eyes, your motivation. Crush me where I need to be crushed, and fill me with your Spirit.

I ask this in flawless name above all names.

Jesus Messiah.

Amen.

What is a Fundamentalist, and why is being one such a problem?

Depending on which 'ism' to which one is referring, it could be a huge problem or a wonderful, right thing to be a "fundamentalist". For instance, a fundamentalist about mathematics is good. That means the person keeps to all of the fundamentals of math as we know it. Shifting from fundamentals and one ends up with catastrophes like New Math ;)

In religion, fundamentalism means that you take your holy book(s) seriously.

• If that holy book is all about loving God and loving people as you would want to be loved, it can't be bad ... only good ... to dive deep into the fundamentals. The issues arise when we don't apply all the fundamentals, but rather pick and choose the parts we want to apply/believe - the parts that fit our personal liking. 
• If that holy book is all about forcing all to follow that religion or die, and is about the degradation of women, and killing certain sinners, and suicide bombing, and establishing a one world order that is dominated by that religion ... fundamentalism is scary! We kind of want the latter holy book to be lightly followed, skipping the nasty stuff. 

But let's be clear - if followed only partially,

it's not really that religion at all.

Fundamentalism is often called "extremism" when it's really not. Fundamentalism is really just a following of the entire religion per its full direction.

So, one should want the former "loving" holy book to be followed fully - fundamentally. But one hopes the latter "dominating" holy book is not exercised fully.

By following all of it, the follower of the former becomes more loving, more selfless, and more servant-hearted, drawing others toward it because they want them to have the same love in their heart, and they want others (even enemies!) to be saved for eternity.

By following all of it, the follower of the latter strongly considers killing people from two other major religions until they are wiped from the face of the earth. They are a religion of peace only in that - once everyone is one of them or dead - things are peaceful. So "peace" is the goal.

In summary, "fundamentalism" is good if what the holy book says is true, having been fully inspired by a good, holy, loving (and just) God. "Fundamentalism" is bad when the holy book is built on lies and is no way a reflection of the real God - the one true God.

Just so we're clear.

Lord, draw them to you. And use me to share your truth and the free gift you offer.

In Jesus name. Amen.