2008 October | Bad Days Better

Oct 31

Don’t Waste Your Vote

Posted by Josh

Though I do not support Barak Obama I can’t say that I buy into the whole ideals that everything I am is wrapped up in the political process.  I remeber my Sunday School class discussin politics briefly and many people say they fear what will happen if Obama is elected.  My question was and still is why?  When i notion the fact that if Obama is president it is because God has allowed him to be people some how can not fathom such a thing.  I would challenge those who believe in Jesus Christ to let their vote count but also let their life count.  As usual I think John Piper has said it well in this short clip.

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Oct 30

This is Powerful

Posted by Josh

Russell Moore’s sermon manuscript, Joseph Is a Single-Issue Evangelical: The Father of Jesus, the Cries of the Helpless, and Change You Can Believe In, is now online. Here’s how it closes:

The question for us, then, of whether we are truly pro-life or not, has very little to do with how many signs are in our yards or what bumper stickers we put on our cars. Indeed, it may be the case that after this election the abortion debate will be over in this country politically. 

But even if that’s the case, it’s not over. Our churches are to follow in the walk of faith, which means that–like Joseph walking away from stability and comfort–our churches must be different, they must be counter-cultural, the kind of place where the teenage mother is welcomed and loved, where abandoned children are received, and where a culture that is in love with death can come and hear a message saying that life is better than death because there is a man, an ex-corpse, a former-fetus, who is standing as the ruler over all the nations and the universe. And he is not dead anymore. 

 What we must have is a church in which the gospel we give is the kind of gospel that leads people out of death and despair and toward the kind of life that is found in confessing a name–a name that was first spoken by human lips by a day-laborer in Nazareth, “Jesus is Lord.”

 If we follow this kind of pure and undefiled religion, it doesn’t mean we will be shrill. It doesn’t mean we will be culture-warriors. It doesn’t mean we’ll be belligerent. It will mean that we will have churches that are so strikingly different, that maybe in ten or fifteen years the most odd and counter-cultural thing a lost person may hear in your church is not, “Amen,” but is instead the sounds of babies crying in the nursery.

 And hearing the oddness of that sound, when they look around at the place in which all of the Lord Jesus’ brothers and sisters are welcomed, protected, and loved, the place in which the lies of a murderous and appetite-driven dragon are denied, the lost person might say, “What is the sound of all these cries?” And maybe we’ll be able to say with our forefather Joseph, “that’s the sound of life. That’s the sound of hope. That’s the sound of change.”

 You might even say, it’s “change you can believe in.”

You can also listen to the MP3 online.

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Oct 20

Do You Have Real Friends

Posted by Josh

This Sunday we were looking at the life of Jonathan a little bit in our small groups.  As we talked about Jonathan and David’s relationship we all agreed that indeed Jonathan was real friend and we discussed a little bit about what is a real friend.

I know that in my life I have had many people that have said they were my friend but when push came to shove in reality instead of showing me friendship I was shown a boot in my seat.  It comes easy to tell people we are their friend but unfortunately words mean little and actions mean so much.  When adversity strikes and troublesome times come you begin to see who really is your friend and who in reality may have pretended to be your friend for whatever reason.

When we looked at the life of Jonathan and we saw loyalty, trust, love, and Jonathan’s unswerving ability to stand with David no matter what the cost.  I see in Jonathan what I would love to have in any friend.  Unfortunately a friend like Jonathan seems rare.  What causes people to look you in the face and tell you they love you but then to give you the boot and forget all about you.  Unfortunately I had to go through some of the most difficult times of my life without some that said they were my friends.  I am unsure what causes people to say they are your friend and yet during those times when you need a friend the most they do not call, they do not email, they do not really do anything.  How unfortunate it is when our friendships are based on feeling instead of on God.  How unfortunate it is when instead of loving our friends we disown them, as if they are some piece of garbage that we really know longer need.

I am so thankful for those that have been just like a Jonathan to me, they know who they are and I am also thankful for those that I have had the opportunity to be a Jonathan to.  So do you have real friends?  You know the ones that are like Jonathan who will stay by your side through it all.

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Oct 14

Is Abortion an Issue

Posted by Josh

Theologian Dr. John Frame:

“…in some cultures (like the ancient Roman, in which the New Testament was written) there is not much that Christians can do, other than pray, to influence political structures and policies. But when they can influence them, they should. In modern democracies, all citizens are ‘lesser magistrates’ by virtue of the ballot box. Christians have an obligation to vote according to God’s standards. And, as they are gifted and called, they should influence others to vote in the same way.

This is not to say that political choices are always obvious. Often we must choose the lesser of two evils. Candidate Mershon may have a better view of one issue than Candidate Beates, while Beates has a better view on a different issue. It is an art to weigh the importance of different issues and to come to a godly conclusion. Each of us should have a large amount of tolerance for other Christians who come to conclusions that are different from ours. Rarely will one issue trump all others, though I must say that I will never vote for a candidate who advocates or facilitates the killing of unborn children.” [The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R 2008). p. 617.]

Preacher/author Dr. John Piper:

“…When we bought our dog at the Humane Society, I picked up a brochure on the laws of Minnesota concerning animals. Statute 343.2, subdivision 1 says, ‘No person shall . . . unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill any animal.’ Subdivision 7 says, ‘No person shall willfully instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal.’ The penalty: ‘A person who fails to comply with any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.’

Now this set me to pondering the rights of the unborn. An eight-week-old human fetus has a beating heart, an EKG, brain waves, thumb-sucking, pain sensitivity, finger-grasping, and genetic humanity, but under our present laws is not a human person with rights under the 14th Amendment, which says that ‘no state shall deprive any person of life . . . without due process of law.’ Well, I wondered, if the unborn do not qualify as persons, it seems that they could at least qualify as animals, say a dog, or at least a cat. Could we not at least charge abortion clinics with cruelty to animals under Statute 343.2, subdivision 7? Why is it legal to ’maim, mutilate and kill’ a pain-sensitive unborn human being but not an animal?

These reflections have confirmed my conviction never to vote for a person who endorses such an evil—even if he could balance the budget tomorrow and end all taxation.”

Princeton prof Dr. Robert George on 10/14/08:

“Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress…”

This was snagged from a blog I read here

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Oct 14

Why I can’t vote for Obama and neither should you

Posted by Josh

I recently read this article online and wanted to share it with my readers.  I have heard many argument from Christians for reasons to vote for Obama and have not heard one yet that holds water.  One argument states we simply can not impose morality on people.  This has to be on of the most absurd things I have ever heard.  We do this very thing every day.  Secondly I have heard people say that abortion should not be an issue because the laws will not change once again how absurd.  I am sure many thought the same way over slavery.  Come one.

In this article Dr. Robert P. George dealing with the arguments that Christians are giving in favor of voting for Obama. Please read the whole article here.    Dr. George’s conclusion:

 

What kind of America do we want our beloved nation to be? Barack Obama’s America is one in which being human just isn’t enough to warrant care and protection. It is an America where the unborn may legitimately be killed without legal restriction, even by the grisly practice of partial-birth abortion. It is an America where a baby who survives abortion is not even entitled to comfort care as she dies on a stainless steel table or in a soiled linen bin. It is a nation in which some members of the human family are regarded as inferior and others superior in fundamental dignity and rights. In Obama’s America, public policy would make a mockery of the great constitutional principle of the equal protection of the law. In perhaps the most telling comment made by any candidate in either party in this election year, Senator Obama, when asked by Rick Warren when a baby gets human rights, replied: ”that question is above my pay grade.” It was a profoundly disingenuous answer: For even at a state senator’s pay grade, Obama presumed to answer that question with blind certainty. His unspoken answer then, as now, is chilling: human beings have no rights until infancy – and if they are unwanted survivors of attempted abortions, not even then. 

In the end, the efforts of Obama’s apologists to depict their man as the true pro-life candidate that Catholics and Evangelicals may and even should vote for, doesn’t even amount to a nice try. Voting for the most extreme pro-abortion political candidate in American history is not the way to save unborn babies.

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Oct 13

This Moved Me

Posted by Josh

After watching this video I was deeply moved.  Man how often do we just play the game and put on the face.  How many in our churches may be doing this every sunday.

Life, My Thoughts, Spiritual Application

Oct 10

Farrakhan Calls Obama the Messiah

Posted by Josh

Have you seen this video yet.  In it the Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan calls Obama the Messiah.  There is one Messiah and he has come and will come again and it is not Barak Obama.

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Oct 07

The Adolescent Church

Posted by Josh

I recently read this 

Adolescence is achieved after the long and painful season of doing the hard work it takes to get a church functioning with healthy systems, competent leaders, and clear expectations of people.  This season is marked by a number of critical beginnings, such as getting the wrong people out of the church and getting the right people to commit to the church and to doing whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.  Getting to this phase is exhausting, and if the leaders’ plans fail, they lose credibility and the church settles into a lethargic state of decline.

The emphasis has been added by me this quote is from Mark Driscoll’s book “Confessions of A Reformission Rev.”  I read this quote over and over again.  Many times churches struggle with both competent leaders and clear expectations of the people.  Some churches will have competent leaders but the people have no clue what is going on.  Others may communicate well and the people may know expectations but the leaders are not competent.  There are also cases where neither is true the leaders are not competent and the people really know nothing of the expectations.  

Sadly many churches go with the warm body mentality when it comes to leadership and as long as a person is willing they are cast into a leadership role with very little discipleship.  I feel strongly it would be far better to not have leaders then to have leaders that are not competent to perform the task.  Why do we get so caught up into this idea that we need an Elder or a deacon that really is not qualified to do the job.  Why do we not disciple them first and I am not talking about taking them through a book.  Though there is nothing wrong with book studies but what is wrong with the pastor or another leader inviting someone to be a part of their life,  and discipling similar to how Christ discipled and therefore qualifying someone for a leadership position.  Many churches today are failing to have competent leaders.

In addition many churches are not giving clear communication to their people.  They muddy the water with unnecessary detail or they fail to communicate clear vision.  For that matter some churches even fail to tell the whole truth of what goes on behind closed doors and in essence lie to their people.  The people dont know what to expect and dont know what they are supposed to do and have no common vision, mission, or values.  Because of this many churches are floundering, and instead of the people being informed of expectations the people begin to gossip and they substitute their own expectations in place of expectation that should already have been stated by the leadership.  Instead of trying to please everyone leadership needs to give clear expectations and you know what some people may leave but is that wrong?  Which leads into whats next.

Sometimes people need to leave the church.  Some people enter the church and they want the church to only please them and if you dont do it their way they get upset and they want to manipulate others and in many cases they want to manipulate the leadership.  Why are those with the narcissistic personalties never confronted.  Why are those that complain the most and find the most problems never confronted, why does the squeaky wheel always get the grease.  Is there anything wrong with telling these people straighten up or leave.  To often people are allowed to destroy the church for their own selfish desires.  I am afraid we may need to be tough with those that want it their way.

Finally I am afraid many leaders have lost credibility.  Not only because their plans have failed but because they have failed to have a plan.  Sadly I have been in a church where I watched this very thing happen.  Where I sat and watched as the leaders of the church lost credibility with people in the church.  Many people left because of this very issue.  Without credibility the church will indeed fall into a lethargic state of decline.

I am thankful that right now I am in a church where I have seen none of this.  Is the church perfect? No but I have seen God do some great things here and I pray He continues to do so.  I am rarely impressed with a business meeting and though I thought it was somewhat long I was impressed with a Church that saw God’s vision and was willing to move forward with that vision even without knowing how it would be accomplished.

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Oct 03

The New Barak Obama

Posted by Josh

After lastnights VP debate Obama decided he had to change his tactics because of Sarah Palin so this is what he came up with.

This is satire.

Life, My Thoughts