Straight paths through crooked roads

If I ask Christ to be the real Lord of my life, my personality might be erased: reason to rebel against the faith # 10.

One kind of rebellion against God is to simply choose to stop growing in relationship to Him.  A person may feel that if they become more and more like Christ, their own personality may become erased.  They may feel that they will become deprived of those things they enjoy most about life.

Assuming that a person has asked Christ to be their Savior, he or she may have ways of thinking, comfortable habits, certain pleasures that are obviously not in the will of God, but they are hard to give up.  If the Christian is sincerely repentant of their former sinful habits, then an inner conflict arises. 

The Christian is forced to decide between going on in their pattern of growth in relationship to Christ or going back and forth between repentence for repeated sinful failures.  The choice to continue to grow will bring a sense of peace and inner joy and strength for the next challenge in life. 

To be continued....

Amy's story: redemption from crystal meth

Can a person have realistic hope of being saved from addiction to crystal meth?  Yes, this is a true story about redemption from what is known as "ice".  Amy is today in a different place.  She is now rebuilding her life.  And, she is not the only one affected.  Amy is pregnant.  She is also saving the life of her unborn child. 

Amy decided to leave home several years ago to go to San Francisco.  She aspired to become a make up artist and found a job with a prestigeous spa in the downtown area.  However, due to some unfortunate decisions, she moved from job to job and from apartment to apartment.  Each move seemed to be going downward to some degree.  She was struggling to find her way.  Amy found crystal meth to make her actually feel "normal".  It seemed at first to enable her to cope with her everyday circumstances.  She knew that it would somehow eventually destroy her.  Nevertheless, she continued to take it.

I'm her dad.  Amy was not confiding to me exactly what was going on.  I got some information in an unusual way.  At about 3 AM in early June 2008, I was awakened by a sudden and very strong impression.  It was the Holy Spirit communicating to me a definite message:  "Amy is in deep trouble."

Stefanie, my wife and Amy's mom and I had heard a TBN ministry from Jentzen Franklin about the spiritual power of prayer and fasting.  So, I simply decided to give up a simple thing that would cause no harm to health.  I gave up drinking my precious coffee for 21 days and devoted extra time to prayer for Amy.  I did not tell Amy about this.

In a few days Amy decided to visit home saying that she needed to get away from San Francisco to do some thinking.  We welcomed her visit.  She seemed to be going back and forth about a decision to return home.  She had created a life there where she enjoyed the community of her friends.  She still had aspirations to become part of show business as a makeup artist. 

The greater weight upon Amy's mind, however, was the suprise she gave us when she told us that she was pregnant.  Amy wanted to save her unborn baby's life by getting off of meth but was not sure how to do it.  She had other issues as well.  She needed a safe haven to recover. 

Stefanie had strong concerns about Amy's return home.  I did too.  But, neither one of us could deny Amy's crisis.  We could not deny her the haven of our home because to do that would have been a death sentence to both Amy and her unborn child.

So, in early August, my friend Tom and I went to San Francisco and helped Amy move.  I later told Amy that I wish I could have had a picture of our truck taking her back home.  It was so precious to me.

Now, Amy has been off of crystal meth since her return home.  She has turned her life over to Christ.  She is actively helping our church by working with children in the nursery during Sunday services.  Amy has been welcomed by the people in the church.  She tells me that she feels comfortable and encouraged there. 

No, Amy is not about to be married to the father of her child.  However, he is supportive of her pregnancy and has decided to contribute financially to her and to the new child. 

Amy has also changed her career goal.  She will be attending Fresno City College and eventually go to Cal. State University, Fresno to their business school for a bachelor's degree.

Amy also tells me that she still feels tempted by her old life and yet she remains determined to continue in her change toward new thinking and wholesome living.  One thing for sure.  She has more than supportive parents.  She has the unfailing help of the Holy Spirit.  It is the life of Christ in her and in Steffie and in myself that has been the key to Amy's redemption from crystal meth.

The stigma of being a Christian: reason # 9 to rebel against the faith.

There are several forms of stigma against being a Christian.  More and more people in society are looking at Christians as being unreasonable in their morality, judgemental against things society accepts now.  Christians are assumed to be prejudicial against people who practice such things as homosexuallity.  Christians are seen as narrowminded against people of other faiths.

Actually, people are confused.  A genuine Christian sees the cross of Jesus Christ as the payment for their own personal sins and the sins of all people of all times including those of today's society.  Christians accept God's definition of what sin is because they humble themselves before God as their Lord as well as their Savior.  Therefore, the Christian way of thinking is the Bible as God's Word breathed into our spirits by the Holy Spirit.  It is the Bible, not the Christian, that defines sin.  The cross defines the sacrifice necessary to pay for all that sin committed by the Christian as well as everyone else, Christian or not.  It is the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection afterward that enable the Christian to become in character what the Word of God calls for.

The authentic Christians commit to live unto the Lord as His Word directs.  Others choose to not live by the Word of God. The lives of these become contrasted with the new life choices of the Christian.  Thus, the sinful nature of the activity of the world becomes more evident in comparison to the wholesome nature of the activity of the Christian.  Light has been shed upon their behavior. 

The response of the world society is denial.  It says, "I'm not so bad."  In contrast, the genuine Christian says, "I'm not that good."  And yet, in reality it is the other way around.  Society defends itself from the light of the Gospel with pride.  Christians open their heart to God's Word in humility.

For that, the Christian is attacked.  But, the Christian is not truly being attacked for who he or she is.  The attack is actually against the revealed work of the cross of Jesus Christ.  It is Him against whom the world truly aims its barbs.  Because the Christian is Christ's messenger, it is the Christian that bears the brunt of the world's scorn. 

Rejoice, Christian, rejoice!  The King of Kings and Lord of Lords Himself calls you wise because you have built your house on the rock of His Word.  Rejoice, Christian, rejoice.  Your Savior and the Lover of your soul has told you to rejoice because your reward in heaven is great.  Why?  Because the prophets and disciples who came before you were persecuted in the very same way.

If you turn away from your relationship with Christ because of the stigma of the cross, you lose.  If you embrace the cross all the more when you are being persecuted because of righteousness, you are an overcomer.  The crown of the overcomer will be yours.  How about them apples?

Christianity just gets in the way of making money, being popular, and having fun: reason to rebel #8

It was a prisoner at the California Youth Authority who told me that he would like to be a Christian but it would get in the way of his "fun with the ladies".  Actually, other choices he had made were getting in the way of having "fun".  What he did not understand is that you should enjoy the blessings of making money, being popular, and having fun but without adding sorrow to them. 

This goes to the central idea that if I give my life to Christ, I lose control.  But, what is that worth?  If I gain everything I want but lose my own soul, what is that worth?  If I pursue happiness in my own strength I am on my own with nothing greater than I am to help me, to guide me.  There are so many things in life which are beyond my control that even if I gain anything I can also count on some kind of sorrow coming with it.  

However, the life that is in Christ is a source of motivation that leads to blessings with no direct sorrow added as a part of it.  When we become one with Christ, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us.  He is not about taking away the opportunity to make money but rather He is about making our dollars honest ones.  That way, we do not fear punishment for how we got them.  The Holy Spirit is all about relationship with God and with others who are important to us.  He is not about deception to gain temporary popularity.  He is about truthful relationships that build lasting trust among dear friends.  The Holy Spirit is not about fun that is self destructive, fun that degrades everyone involved in an activity, that evades responsibility.  Rather, the Holy Spirit is about fun that relaxes and refreshes and rewards good achievement and celebrates healthy relationships. 

There will be plenty of sorrow in this life.  Some of it will be hard to explain.  However, our God is not about setting up a list of rules to ruin our lives.  He is about creating a healthy life with blessings for now and eternity.

Reason # 6 to rebel: Christianity is a psychological crutch for weak people.

People may fear trusting anything but physical evidence to justify what they believe.  They will choose to trust psychology to give them their view of life.  Thus, they think that Christians are guilty of using faith in Christ as a false hope which can be explained by psychology.

When people who use psychology as their explanation of life and have no reference to faith in Jesus Christ accuse Christians of using faith in Christ as a crutch, they do not understand the truth.

Christians need to understand that faith in Christ does give strength unavailable through psychology.  Psychology can be used as a paradigm to explain some aspects of the behavior of Christians.  However, these psychological explanations have no basis in the reality of the Holy Spirit, no basis in the reality of the redemption from sin provided by the risen Savior, no basis in the reality of the creation of the universe by Jehovah. 

Psychology can have useful applications in problem solving emotional issues and can contribute to mental health.  However, it is only a subset of understanding.  Psychology properly applied can be a healthy part of the wisdom useful in life.  However, whatever psychology may have to suggest must be qualified by comparison to the principles found in God's Word.  That is because eternity is a lot bigger than mental health in this mortal life. 

Eternal life includes our mortal life in this body but goes beyond it.  Eternal life as defined by Jesus Christ Himself is to know God, person to person.  (See the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John.) Our person includes our mind, our will, and our emotions and an eternal spirit.  Our spirit is that part of us that knows God Who is also Spirit.  We know Him as Spirit by our spirit:  Spirit to spirit.  Psychology is only based upon human thinking based upon the scientific method and has no connection to spiritual knowledge of God in and by itself. 

To conclude:  psychology is a tool for understanding human behavior.  Christianity is a faith that includes principles by which to choose our behaviors.  But, Christianity is more.  It is eternal life because it is our relationship with God our Father, with our Savior, and with our Companion, the Holy Spirit.  To use psychology to dismiss the need for faith in Christ does not make sense. 

Christianity is not a crutch, it is that Spirit to spirit relationship to God.  We would not say that a healthy family relationship is a crutch.  We would say that good family relationship is healthy.  Likewise, relationship to our Father in heaven, to our Savior, to the Lover of our soul is healthy for now and for all eternity.

Christianity is just a fairy tale to help people accept death: reason to rebel # 5

Syd, my father in law, laughed at death.  Rose, my mother in law, told me that when Syd purchased a cemetary lot, he laid down on the grass of that spot.  Laying on his back, he made arm and leg motions as though he was making a "snow angel" as children do laying in snow.  But, in reality, he was terrified of death. 

Syd was an athiest even though he had been raised in a conservative Jewish home and considered himself a Jew.  He laughed at the spiritual beliefs of Judaism.  We were leaving the Jewish cemetary where he had purchased the burial plots.  It was the occasion of the ceremony of the burial of Rose's mother.  There was a group of us walking together and a Rabbi was right behind Syd and me.  I noticed that there were twelve pictures in a mural on a wall.  I asked Syd, "What do those pictures stand for, the twelve tribes of Israel?"  Syd replied, "What am I, an Indian?"  We laughed, but the Rabbi behind us overheard this.  He asked me, "Where did you get this knowledge?"  (I did not have the heart to tell the Rabbi that I had learned about the twelve tribes of Israel in Sunday school.)

There are many like Syd who believe that any religion, Christianity included, is nothing but the imagination of people who are afraid to die.  After all, Syd was afraid to die but refused to acknowledge that fact.  Others as well, will make fun of Christians for believing a so called "fairy tale".

There is no truth in the aspect of Syd's belief that Christianity is a fairy tale.  Faith in Jesus Christ has been challenged by philosophers and scientists who are using science as the tool of their personal pbilosophy.  Nevertheless, Christianity has stood the test of the heaviest challenges that Satan could level against it.  All of hell cannot overcome the reality of one answered prayer.

It is a miracle that Rose, in her eighties, decided to accept Christ as her personal Savior, her Jewish Messiah.  Syd refused to accept Christ in obstinate resistance to the witness of the Gospel to him as he lay in his death bed. 

Syd died first.  Stefanie, my wife, could not bear to go into his room to identify his body as being Syd.  (This is required legally for the death certificate.)  So, I went in to see Syd's body and identify him.  There his body laid on the death bed.  He had an absolute look of fright.  It was as though the last thing he saw was the angel of death coming for him.  With one hand he had grasped the sheet to pull it up over his face.  His head was arched backward and his eyes wide open in absolute fear.  His other arm had the forearm straight upward with his hand open in the form of a claw as though he was in a final struggle.  His fear of death became a picture of it.  He went into a certain eternity that was no joke.

Rose dearly loved Syd.  Stefanie visited her about a week after we buried Syd in his cemetary lot.  Rose did not want to live without Syd.  However, her attitude toward death was now simply that it was a stepping stone into the next life.  Stefanie did her best to encourage her mother to continue to live.  As Stefanie sat on the edge of Rose's bed, Rose looked up into space and seemed to see a lovely spiritual image.  Rose reached out for it.   Stefanie took her mother's hand and told her, "No, mom, stay with us."  But, the next day Rose passed peacefully to her reward with her Messiah.

Which future would you choose?  We all make such a choice even by refusing to make one.  I choose to place my faith where Rose placed hers.  I hope you do as well.

People may have a difficult time believing the entire Bible is true: reason to rebel #4

There are in fact many accounts in the Bible that seem fantastic.  Nevertheless, this post is not about scientific evidence for and against the Bible.  It is more about reasons to believe and why that is, in fact, reasonable.  Emotion and logic are two key elements in this discussion.

As important as certainty about the Bible is for a basis for our faith, it comes down to the fact that we choose what we believe because we wish to believe it.  If we closely examine human nature, it will become evident that there are two elements in what we choose to believe:  emotion and logic. 

It is not hard for us to understand the difference between emotion and logic when we stop to think about it.  Problem is, we often don't stop to think about it.  Emotions are what cause us to do things.  Emotions motivate.  Logic is a way of thinking we use to shape our emotions into outcomes that make sense to us.  We like to think that we are more logical than emotional.  However, even those who seem to be the most logical among us must admit that many choices we make involve a fair amount of emotion.  If it were not so cars might come in only one color.

When we are looking at Biblical accounts we bring both our emotions and logic to them.  It may feel to our emotions that we are looking at reasonable or unreasonable accounts based upon our feelings toward God.  Our logic can then work to substantiate however it is that we feel.  The athiest and the Christian can look at the account of Adam and Eve and come to different conclusions based upon how they feel and use their logic to substantiate their outcome.

There are many arguments against the Bible that have been shaped by "scientific evidence" only to be disproven later.  There are many arguments for the Bible that defy "scientific evidence".  We can say logically that physical phenomona such as the sun standing still, the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, and fire falling from the sky to consume a sacrifice defy common experience.  However, we can also say that physical phenomona can be, and have been known to be changed dramatically by unseen forces that came as the result of prayer.  There was an immediate cause and effect.

Finally, we can choose to believe parts of the Bible.  But, how shall we logically say that we choose to believe only in part and say that our belief is substantial enough to be genuine.  If the Bible is the Word of God, then, logically, all of it is just that.  If the Bible is partly not the Word of God, then humans are making the decision as to which parts are and are not the Word of God.  It would logically seem, then, that perhaps what Bible is left, would be compromised in its strength to support the spiritual life of its readers.  Logically, it does not seem to me to be valid to disect the Bible. A decision to do so seems much more emotional than logical. 

Those who have difficulty in believing that the entire Bible is true are therefore pressed to make this decision.  I believe the entire Bible or I do not. 

Personally, I choose to take the faith given by God to me to place it in His hands.  I choose to accept the entire Bible not only because I have no way of personally disproving it, but because I wish to place my trust in the God of the Bible as my Lord and Savior.  I believe that God has given me a free will to choose Him and I do so.  Therefore, I choose to accept His word for my life because I believe that He hid His life in His word so that His word could reveal His life to me.

Tommy Smothers and the meaning of truth.

Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers comedy team made a comment at the Emmy Awards on 9/21/08 that bears a great deal of thought.  His comment reveals the mind of Hollywood and his own personal philosophy.  He said, "Truth is what you get the other guy to believe."  Actually, Tommy is speaking a half truth as though it were the whole truth.  But, that is what Hollywood does to society.

The situation was that Tommy was getting an Emmy forty years after the year it was said that he had actually earned it for being the key writer of comedy on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968.  So, after having said, "Thank you" in the customary fashion, and just as he was about to leave the stage, Tommy paused.  Before he could get himself to walk off-stage, Tommy seemed to speak from the heart as he said the following.  I am quoting to the best of my memory.  "There is one word that exists in every language and is translated the same way.  It is the word 'truth'.  Then, he went on to say, "Truth is what you get the other guy to believe."

This is so profound because this statement is the essence of what Hollywood does to society.  It gives deep understanding to the word "make-believe".  They attempt to make us believe all that they say is either true or reveals truth.  They attempt to motivate us to feel, to think, and to act as they do themselves.  This is in spite of the fact that because they are masters of creating anything that will get us to the box office or the music store, they lose track of integrity.  They become in their thinking whatever they need to make a buck.

Hollywood's effectiveness has created a responsive mass of people in society who respond without logic to the emotional drives sold in movies, videos, games, cd's, etc.  These shallow feelings lead to life changing decisions by young and old alike.  There in Hollywood love has been sold as affection but without genuine commitment, the principle of doing unto others before they do unto you has replaced doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Tommy's comment is half truth because there is a type of truth that is only in our own minds.  We also call it perception.  It is the basis upon which we think and act and create new actual truths by what we say and do.  The part of the truth his statement ignores is the objective truth that exists whether or not we perceive it.  There is truth that existed before you or I were born and will be true after we die. 

Wisdom lies in understanding the existence of both kinds of truth and doing our best to make them work together in unity.  The Scripture is our best guide in doing this.  The greatest truth is not a thing, it is a person.  It is God.  Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes unto the Father but through me."

Tommy failed to get it.  He is left with his Emmy and his half-truth.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Reason #3 to rebel against the Christian faith.

Bad things do happen to good people and good answers are difficult.  "Bad" has two basic sources: people and nature.  People create offenses.  Nature creates catastrophes.  God gets blamed for both sources.  Pride or humility determine our personal conclusions.

People may be earnestly trying through good intentions to pressure others to do the right things.  These words or actions may be viewed as offenses by others because the people being pressed may feel that they are the objects of some tyranny.  Even though it is a person doing the pressing, because they may be speaking of God as being the authority by which they do these things, God may ultimately be blamed for what people do.  After all, God allowed this to happen.

People may be doing the opposite.  They may be doing obvious evil.  They may be causing murder, theft, adultery that breaks families apart; they may be causing wars, writing oppressive laws, making dishonest business deals, and so on.  But, because this is a world which God is credited with creating, God may be blamed, again, for allowing this to happen.

Pride is an attitude that lifts oneself in its own estimation in comparison to the worth of God.  If a person takes this attitude, then no explanation that respects God will be acceptible to that person. 

There is, however, an expanation as to why God would allow bad people to carry out evil, or good people to do things that have bad results.  God allows people to have free will.  God allowed Adam and Eve to fall from relationship with Him at the very beginning of human existence.  Ever since that time, humans have had the ability to receive natural strength even as they have committed the most horrible sins.  God has chosen to not overrule human free will.  In that way, the decisions and their results now fall on the heads of those who have chosen to do thus.  This fact is the basis of the judgement that will send evil people to hell.

"What a horrible thing!"  Someone may say this.  However, consider that God also provided the remedy for both evil deeds and evil results in Jesus Christ, His death on the cross, His resurrection from the grave, His authority for good at the right hand of God.

Humility would lead a person to accept the explanation of free will and God's grace.  Such humility before God would change a person's life and tend to lead them in a continuous growth in wisdom, compassion, and faithfulness with good results overcoming evil ones.

Nature provides both the provision for life and the catastrophes that cause deformities and death.  Nature is the source of both wonders and of suffering that are much harder to explain. 

The proud person exalts himself or herself against faith in God by saying that they have a superior way of thinking and believing (even though that explaination is shallow and easily discarded).  They claim that no loving God could ever allow such a thing.  Therefore, they choose to either be an agnostic, an athiest, or the creator of their own "designer" god. (idolatry)

The humble person is awestruck at the power of the Creator and seeks God's strength to endure the difficult and the unexplainable circumstances that come.  Even though the catasrophe may result in death, they reach by faith and place their hand into the hand of their Savior and the lover of their soul.

Our conclusions are the basic result, then, of our reactions to those things over which we may have no control.  We do not choose our parents, our original health, our earliest education, our childhood environment and many things that others may do to us. And, so on it goes. 

However, God has given us the same thing that He gave Adam and Eve:  free will.  With that free will we can choose pride or humility before God.  Pride will put us on our own.  Humility will bring us honor before both people and before God.  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 5:3.

Reasons to rebel against the Christian faith #2: Be the captain of my own soul.

There was a poem written in the 19th century, I think I know the author but hesitate to mention the name because I may not be correct.  The point he made was that he did not wish to bow to any god because he chose to be the "captain of his own soul, the master of his own fate".  The problem with this statement is that it is a half truth.  We do choose to act or to react to what or whom we will base our choices upon.  We cannot, however, necessarily control the outcome of our choices.  And, because we do make these choices we can be held accountable to some authority that can assign a consequence to us as a result of our choices.  These consequences may well be beyond our control.

There follows then, another problem with the idea that we might be our own master.  That is, we would isolate ourselves from the spiritual truth that comes from the Word of God while we would restrict ourselves to the physical evidence that this world offers.  We would then have to construct our view of life and the world and our view of our own mortality on the basis of our own self-imposed limitations.  There are plenty of agnostic and athiestic people who are actually afraid of considering any spiritually based information. 

If we were to attempt to think like this, we would have to explain life on the basis of physical information.  That would have to be our reference to validate our decisions in life.  That means that physical possessions, human relationships, human experiences are the limit to our personal wealth. That seems to be a great deal until we begin to consider eternity.  That seems to be a great deal until we run out of answers on how to survive emotionally in this present life. 

Wait a minute, why couldn't we accept that spiritual information that we choose to believe and forget the rest.  We can choose the parts of the Bible to accept or reject.  We could add some good ideas from other religions.  We could create the image of God we wish to worship.  What would be wrong with that?

Well, that sounds like what the ancient Greeks would do.  They would create their own gods not only with stone, precisous metals, and beautiful artistry but also attribute to them various atributes that they felt were desirable.  However, the Greeks themselves recognized the limitations of their gods.  They recorded how that these gods all had human flaws.  If our present day "designer" gods are created by we ourselves, then they are not truly gods at all.  They have no power except that which we wish to imagine.  We wind up worshipping ourselves. 

The fact is that choosing to be the master of our own fate, the captain of our own soul is an act of unwise pride that rebels against the reality of God.  We cannot truly control a genuine God.  Any true God would be beyond our control and we would be in God's control.  The choice to be our own master, our own captain of our own soul is a horrible mistake.  It is based on half-truth.  That choice cannot stand up in the face of a real God who controls our eternity.  That choice ignores the benefit of joining the kingdom of a God that loves us and has sacrificed Himself for our benefit. 

The wise choice is to reject selfish pride and to choose instead a position of humilty in the face of the truth of the true God.  The greatest amount of truth available to the human race points to the conclusion that the genuine God and Creator of the universe is Jehovah, that He has provided a Messiah in Jesus Christ, that Jehovah has sent the Holy Spirit to be our spiritual companion on this earth and in this mortal life.  The greatest evidence available to the human race points to the Bible as the authoritative voice of the true God to you and to me.

Jesus Christ said that He was the way, the truth, and the life and that no person could come to the true God the Father, except through him, that is, Jesus Christ.  Christ rejected all other religious ways to God the Father.  Christ said that the way was broad that led to destruction and many people were on that road.  Then, Christ said that the way to life was straight and was narrow, and relatively few people would find it.  Scripture says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble person.  Again, Christ said that those who were poor in spirit (humble) were blessed because theirs is the kingdom of God. 

I choose to recognize that I am not nor can I ever truly be the captain of my own soul, the master of my own fate.  I choose instead to place my hand, my faith, my fate into the nail scarred hand of Jesus Christ my Savior, my Lord, and the lover of my soul.  How about you?  What is your choice?